After Xiao Hu conceded defeat, the two stepped down from the arena.
Lu Yuan was immediately surrounded by a crowd.
"Yuan Ge, you're too strong!"
"Yeah, Yuan Ge! With your strength, I'm afraid only Ming Ge in our martial hall can beat you for sure."
"Hahaha, when Ming Ge gets back and sees how strong Yuan Ge is now, he'll definitely be shocked!"
"Yuan Ge, when are you going to challenge Ming Ge?"
"Yeah, Yuan Ge, when are you going to challenge Ming Ge?"
Lu Yuan smiled. "My strength is still far behind Ming Ge's. I should focus on training first."
In truth, Lu Yuan felt that it would not take him long to surpass Frank Ming.
After all, Frank Ming was merely a Gene Warrior who had just broken through to the Warrior Level.
Given Frank Ming's talent, since he had only broken through now, the genes he had inscribed during the apprentice stage were probably only ordinary quality.
Was that kind of strength really all that impressive?
With the Elite Gene he had inscribed now, once his Tempering Level was high enough, defeating Frank Ming should not be too difficult.
Still, Lu Yuan did not want to stand out too much. Being moderately strong was enough.
He did not have anyone backing him right now. In a dark place like the slums, standing out from the crowd was not necessarily a good thing.
He needed to act according to the core principle of steady development.
After all, Lu Yuan was a steady, low-key man.
A tiger in my heart, delicately smelling roses!
Mm, as expected of me!
After shaking off the crowd, Lu Yuan continued practicing the Military Body Fist and Military Killing Sword.
Time passed, and by evening, Frank Ming still had not returned.
Lu Yuan left the Da Ming Martial Hall.
The slums were far more chaotic at night than during the day, and there were few people on the streets.
Most of them were people working the night shift.
After walking past a street, Lu Yuan heard intense gunfire coming from an alley not far away.
The pedestrians around him hurried onward, lowering their heads as they left.
The heavily made-up young women standing by the roadside seemed accustomed to it. After muttering a curse about bad luck, they hurriedly went elsewhere to solicit customers.
Lu Yuan glanced toward the alley but did not meddle. He followed the pedestrians, quickened his pace, and left the area of the gunfight.
After quietly returning to the residential complex, Lu Yuan spotted a familiar figure on the path.
He raised his eyebrows slightly and quickened his pace as he walked over.
"Qinghe Jie?"
The figure ahead turned around. It was Li Qinghe.
She looked exhausted, with a cigarette in her hand.
When she saw Lu Yuan, she exhaled a puff of smoke, and a smile appeared on her tired face.
"Yuan Didi, why are you still out so late?"
Lu Yuan smiled. "I just got back from the Da Ming Martial Hall."
"Hehe, Yuan Didi is really hardworking."
"Of course. Only hard work brings progress, and only progress brings money. Then I can leave these slums."
"How is your training going now? Didn't you say you entered Origin Land?"
Lu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he smiled.
"I've improved a lot. I entered Origin Land yesterday and gained quite a bit. I made over ten thousand yuan!"
"Oh? That much?"
Li Qinghe's pupils contracted, and a hint of astonishment appeared on her face.
Low-level Ferocious Beast materials only sell for a hundred or two. More than ten thousand... Yuan Didi killed nearly a hundred Ferocious Beasts?! This kid... I underestimated him.
Li Qinghe was genuinely a little shocked.
It was not because of the harvest itself.
She had seen plenty of people who gained even more on their first trip into Origin Land.
When she first entered Origin Land herself, she had nearly wiped out all the Elite Ferocious Beasts in an entire region.
But her identity and talent were what they were, so she could not be used as a reference.
Lu Yuan's gains were enough to make him quite an outstanding genius even outside.
And most of those people had family support.
Li Qinghe knew Lu Yuan's family circumstances better than anyone. It was truly not easy for him to achieve this much.
Lu Yuan regarded Li Qinghe as an older sister who cared about him. Seeing her surprise, he smiled with a touch of pride.
"Unfortunately, I need to use this money to buy some adventure essentials, so there won't be much left. The next time I enter Origin Land, I'll definitely save enough money. Then I'll take you with me when I leave."
Li Qinghe looked at Lu Yuan with a smile.
"I'm already very happy that you feel that way. We can talk about it once you've saved enough."
"By the way, Qinghe Jie, you didn't come back during the day? Did you just get home now?"
Lu Yuan looked at the exhaustion on Li Qinghe's face and asked.
"Mm, I just got back."
Li Qinghe took a drag from her cigarette, stretched her graceful figure, and smiled.
"Why are you back so late today?"
A strange smile appeared on Li Qinghe's face as she sized Lu Yuan up, her tone suggestive.
"Someone wouldn't let big sister sleep."
"Uh..."
Lu Yuan was speechless for a moment.
He opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could really say, so he could only change the subject.
"Looks like you're already very tired, Qinghe Jie. Let's head back first so you can get some proper rest."
Li Qinghe glanced at Lu Yuan, a mischievous smile appearing on her face.
"Hehe, Yuan Didi, you're already an adult, right? Why are you still so shy? Want big sister to help you out? Don't worry, I won't charge you."
Lu Yuan stopped walking and looked at Li Qinghe seriously.
"Qinghe Jie, you've always been the one helping me. I wasn't capable of helping you with anything. But now I have the ability. I won't let you do this kind of thing anymore. I'll give you the life of an ordinary girl, with your own job, your own love, and your own life."
Li Qinghe had not expected Lu Yuan to say that and was stunned for a moment.
She looked over the serious Lu Yuan, took a drag of her cigarette, and chuckled softly.
"Little brother has become so sensible? Big sister is a little touched... Then give me some more time. I need to say goodbye to my clients first. After all, they've looked after me for over a year. Without them, big sister wouldn't be here now."
As she spoke, a cold glint flashed through Li Qinghe's eyes.
Lu Yuan thought about it and figured Li Qinghe was talking about Frank Ming and the others.
After getting to know him better, Lu Yuan had realized that Frank Ming treated his own people quite well.
Qinghe Jie had probably received quite a bit of help from them, so he did not think too deeply about it and nodded.
"Alright, then."
"Come on, let's go back! Big sister is a little hungry. Since Yuan Didi made money, won't you treat big sister to a good meal?"
"Don't worry. Qinghe Jie, just tell me what you want to eat."
"Hehe, then I won't hold back! By the way, are you really sure you don't want big sister to help you enter the adult world?"
"...Qinghe Jie, please stop joking around."
"Hahahaha!"
The two laughed and chatted as they disappeared into the night.
They went for a late-night meal, then returned to their rooms separately.
Li Qinghe returned to her room and lay on her bed, staring at the white ceiling as she narrowed her eyes slightly.
After a moment, the corner of her lips lifted into a smile.
"...That brat. If he sees my true face, I refuse to believe he'll reject me. Hmph!"
Then the smile on her face faded.
"That thing has started again... But with me here, you won't get away."
Lu Yuan returned to his room, turned on his battered computer, logged into Battle Net, and browsed the forums as usual.
This had become a habit Lu Yuan developed over the past few days.
Many of the posts on Battle Net were of great help to him.
Unfortunately, some required payment, while others required a certain Battle Net level.
That robbed Lu Yuan of the joy of freeloading.
Fortunately, judging by their titles, those posts that required money or levels were not things Lu Yuan needed much right now.
Fine, if I can't freeload in the future, then I can't freeload. I'll have money by then anyway!
As Lu Yuan browsed the forums, he quickly spotted a post.
"Humanity Twisted! Someone Actually Did Something Like This in Graystone Forest!"
Graystone Forest?
Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows. Wasn't that where he was right now?
What had happened?
Curious, Lu Yuan clicked into the post.
"Today, I want to tell everyone about something infuriating!"
"Here's what happened. My team and I were hunting Graystone Beetles in Graystone Forest when we discovered a place with intense firelight. Thinking there might be treasure, we went to take a look. In the end, we saw two crazed Black-Striped Graystone Beetles there! We have no idea what happened to those two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles, but the moment they saw us, they went mad and attacked. There were also elf and kobold teams with us at the time. The three teams had to put in enormous effort just to kill those two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles, and I even lost two companions because of it!"
"That wasn't even the most infuriating part. The worst part was that we discovered the Black-Striped Graystone Beetles had originally been guarding a wooden treasure chest. When we found it, the chest was already empty! Someone must have taken the treasure chest beforehand, then deliberately left those two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles behind to trap later arrivals like us!"
"I just want to ask one thing here: does the person who did this have any conscience at all?! How vicious! Their humanity is twisted! Their morals have collapsed! Everyone on the forum, tell me who's right here!"
Lu Yuan: "..."
After reading the post, his expression became a little strange.
Firelight, two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles, and an opened wooden treasure chest.
Why did that all sound so familiar?
Could it have been the treasure chest he opened earlier?
He immediately felt terrible.
He was damn innocent, alright?!
If he could have killed those two Black-Striped Graystone Beetles, would he have left them behind to trap people?
He definitely would have hunted them. He might even have gotten a War Soul from them.
Obviously, he had left them because he could not kill them, alright?
Yet someone had actually called him twisted, morally bankrupt, and heartless.
Lu Yuan felt depressed at once.
There were several hundred replies under the post. Lu Yuan clicked in to read the comments.
"Wow, that person is really black-hearted. Definitely not a good person."
"Heh... The original poster is just weak. Trash Ferocious Beasts like Black-Striped Graystone Beetles can be killed casually, yet three teams besieging two of them still got people killed. What a joke."
"You can't say that either. Who didn't start weak and gradually become stronger? Black-Striped Graystone Beetles are rookie killers, after all."
"But someone was able to open the wooden treasure chest while leaving the guardian Ferocious Beasts alive. They must be a big shot, right? Otherwise, how could they open the chest while the guardian Ferocious Beasts were still alive?"
"I think they're a big shot too. Do big shots these days all have such perverse hobbies? Deliberately screwing with newbies for fun?"
"..."
After reading some of the replies, Lu Yuan suddenly felt pleased.
These people had quite the eye, didn't they?
They actually knew that I, Lu, am a big shot.
Lu Yuan's mood instantly recovered.
He closed the post and looked through some others.
After browsing for a while, Lu Yuan finally closed the website.
His consciousness merged into the Gene Battle Tattoo.
Immediately, a door of light appeared within the white mist of his consciousness.
The door of light was somewhat dim. That was because entering Origin Land had consumed Lu Yuan's mental energy.
However, the dimness was recovering quickly. It would not be long before he could enter Origin Land again.
Coming out alive was fine, but if one came out through death, their mind would be damaged and take much longer to recover. The time needed before entering Origin Land again would be far longer than if they had returned alive.
Lu Yuan waited a few minutes until the door of light fully recovered, then entered Origin Land once more.
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