Trapped in Honkai: Integrated Strategies [7]

After passing the final node, Lyra visibly relaxed.

If she stuck strictly to the main route, the first floor had four nodes, with the final one guaranteed to be the mysterious trader.

Having already cleared [Hands of Moss], [Sami's Language], and [Ursus], the last node—[Cannot Goodenough]—was completely safe, effectively meaning she'd reached the second floor without further threats.

Soon, after crossing the vast frozen lake that stretched across the first floor, Lyra spotted a small tent oddly out of place against the surrounding ice fields.

"Neither ally nor enemy—some prefer neutrality," Lyra read aloud from the wooden sign. "Looks like this is Mr. Goodenough’s store."

"Indeed it is, dear customer!"

At that moment, a man in a strange bucket helmet and black coat stepped out from the little tent.

"Welcome to Goodenough’s humble shop!"

"Hey, System, are you controlling this guy?" Lyra whispered.

[Absolutely not! There's no way I'd sound this shady, no matter how hard I tried.]

The system’s energetic voice had a hint of annoyance.

[This fellow is just a program generated by the enhancement system. His memory resets with each trial. Relax—just treat him as an NPC.]

"Oh, good," Lyra nodded seriously. "Then I won’t feel guilty about robbing his shop in the future. I was worried it might feel awkward if he remembered me."

"Excuse me, miss—could you at least discuss robbing my shop out of earshot?" A low, weary voice echoed from beneath the iron bucket helmet.

"Hehe~ Don't worry, I'm nowhere near strong enough yet. If I actually planned to rob you, I definitely wouldn't say it to your face," Lyra said, sticking out her tongue mischievously.

"Alright, Mr. Goodenough. Show me if you’ve got anything nice today."

Lyra squinted, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together as if eager to spend.

"And what sort of 'nice' goods would the lady be after today?" Goodenough asked smoothly.

"Got any [Foldartals]?" Lyra leaned in conspiratorially. "Specifically, something to skip nodes."

"You're in luck—possibly. Let’s see your luck," Goodenough said, pulling open the tent flap to reveal his merchandise:

[Support Mr. Boom]
[Medic Rec. Voucher]
[Horizon Invitation]
[Iron Guard - Training]
[Spinach Pack]
[Topographical Map-β]
[Vanilla Soda]
["Heavy Music Anthology"]

"It seems the lady's luck isn't great today," Goodenough deadpanned. "But you do have another chance. Or perhaps you've spotted something useful already?"

"System, quick question," Lyra stared intently at the [Spinach Pack]. "Does my gunshot count as a skill or a basic attack?"

[Definitely a basic attack—even though you can barely handle firing that gun.]

The system instantly saw through Lyra's intention.

[You weren't actually hoping your pathetic shot would qualify as some powerful strike, were you?]

"A pity. Paired with the [Support Mr. Boom], it might’ve given me some real firepower." Lyra sighed regretfully. "Refresh the stock, Mr. Goodenough."

"At your service," Goodenough replied, pulling the tent flap closed, then reopening it to reveal a new batch of items:

[Support Landmine Set]
[Caster Rec. Voucher]
[Rainbow Jar]
[Frozen Husk]
[Blunt Claws - Training]
[Healer's Path - Training]
[Victory Horn]

And—[Foldartal - Reproduce].

"Yes!" Lyra cheered, leaping excitedly. "Luck really is on my side after all!"

"Seems the young lady found exactly what she desired," Goodenough said, smiling faintly. "That'll be 8 [Originium Ingots], please."

Lyra quickly opened her backpack, counting 18 [Originium Ingots] in total.

Handing them all to Goodenough, she said, "Here. Save the rest in my account."

"Wait—System, you removed the faulty investment mechanic, right?"

[Don't worry, Host. I obviously removed that mechanic since it ruined the gameplay experience.]

"Good. If it malfunctioned again, I’d just be dragging unspent money to my grave—that'd be so wasteful."

"This young lady's outlook... is certainly optimistic," Goodenough remarked nervously, quickly pocketing the Ingots and handing Lyra the [Foldartal - Reproduce].

"Since our transaction is complete, I’ll be off. Safe travels, young miss. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

With a dramatic flourish of his sleeves, Goodenough and his shop instantly vanished from sight, leaving no trace.

As Goodenough disappeared, the detector updated with the new map information, along with foresight data for the second floor:

[Upon clearing this floor, you will receive the Foldartal: Canopy]

"Hmm, this is telling me to move forward?"

Lyra expanded the map, but saw only dense greenery ahead.

"The [Placid Forests], huh? But the first node ahead is another [Unexpected Encounter]," Lyra studied the map carefully. "The second node looks like combat... but I can't see clearly beyond that. Still, there's no danger warning for a battle node, so it should be okay."

[It should be fine. For safety, you could just use a Foldartal to skip it when the time comes.]

"Right. Let me see... After the combat node, the left branch splits into two paths. I’ll try going there. Hopefully I'll run into 'High Spirits'—that’ll let me clear a node easily."

"Alright. Let’s get moving again."

Shouldering the noticeably lighter backpack, now without the [Originium Ingots’] extra weight, Lyra resumed her trek across the snowy expanse.

The [Unexpected Encounter] this time seemed unusually calm. There was no spontaneously peeling bark or caves filled with hidden enemies. Lyra walked anxiously for around ten minutes, yet all she heard were leaves rustling and occasional hornbeast cries from deep in the woods. Otherwise, nothing happened.

"No, something’s definitely off," Lyra stopped abruptly after wandering in circles. "Based on experience, if I walk any further, I'll exit this node without triggering anything. Did I miss something?"

[Um, Host, maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere?]

"Impossible—there's only one path!" Lyra protested, even as her hands truthfully reached for the detector.

"Let me see..."

"Huh? Wait—the detector froze?"

[Eh? That shouldn't happen. This thing can malfunction?]

The system sounded even more surprised than Lyra.

"I remember pressing this button to turn it on initially. A long press should reboot it, right?"

Lyra located a button on the back of the detector, pressing it down firmly until the screen finally displayed the message:

[Restarting…]

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This is a fan translation of 人在崩坏，但是集成战略启动 by 想做饭的饭之律者 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!