After adding each other as friends, Lu Yuan said goodbye and left.
As usual, after going to the mall to stock up on necessities for his next trip into the Origin Land, Lu Yuan returned to his rented apartment.
Ma Lingling's door was open, and the sound of things being moved around came from inside.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and walked over.
The moment he entered, he saw Ma Lingling and Li Qinghe packing up.
Lu Yuan was taken aback. "What's going on?"
Li Qinghe glanced at Lu Yuan and smiled. "Yuan Didi, you're back? Sister Ma is planning to leave this place."
Lu Yuan looked at Ma Lingling.
Ma Lingling's eyes were red and swollen. She gave Lu Yuan a bitter smile. "A Wei is gone. There's no point in me staying here alone, so I'm planning to visit A Wei's hometown first."
Lu Yuan did not say much. He simply nodded. "Then I wish you a safe journey."
Ma Lingling smiled and solemnly placed the photograph from her desk into a corner of her suitcase, then carefully packed away the faded plastic rose as well.
Lu Yuan stepped forward with a smile. "I'll help too."
Ma Lingling did not have much to pack, and soon everything was sorted into several boxes.
Afterward, Lu Yuan carried the boxes downstairs, and the three of them came to the entrance of the residential complex.
Ma Lingling hailed a Hover Car, then turned to Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe with a smile.
"I'm leaving. I hope the two of you have smooth lives ahead and get out of this hell soon."
Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe both nodded.
Watching the Hover Car leave, Li Qinghe sighed softly and took a drag from her cigarette.
"Whew... I always knew lives in the slums were cheap, but I never expected to see someone close to me die."
Lu Yuan nodded, then smiled.
"Qinghe Jie, I made over four hundred thousand this time. It's enough for us to move."
A flicker of surprise flashed through Li Qinghe's eyes when she heard him.
Over four hundred thousand? How much material would he have to sell for that? Yuan Didi only awakened not long ago, yet he can bring out so many materials? He's already this strong? Looks like I underestimated him.
Li Qinghe's thoughts raced. The expression she gave Lu Yuan was filled with disbelief.
"Over four hundred thousand? That much? Gene Warriors make that much money?!"
Lu Yuan smiled. "I'm pretty strong, so making money is a little easier. And I got lucky this time—I found something valuable."
Li Qinghe nodded and smiled. "I don't understand Gene Warrior stuff, but Yuan Didi, you've really made something of yourself. You can earn this much money now. No wonder you dared say you'd cover the food expenses."
Lu Yuan smiled. "Let's not talk about that for now. We should leave the slums too."
Li Qinghe fell silent for a moment before sighing. "Yuan Didi, I still have some things to take care of. Why don't you leave first?"
Lu Yuan frowned. "How can I do that? Tell me what it is. Maybe I can help. And there's that strange Black Shadow around now. The slums are dangerous. I'm not comfortable leaving you here alone."
Li Qinghe looked Lu Yuan over, a half-smile appearing on her face.
Lu Yuan felt a little awkward under her gaze. "What is it?"
"Do you know what kind of matter it is? Yuan Didi, you can't help your sister with this."
Seeing Li Qinghe's expression, Lu Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth and did not dare ask further.
He said, "Then I'll wait until you're done."
Li Qinghe exhaled a ring of smoke. Her gaze softened as she smiled.
"You really want to take me away from here?"
"Of course. You're the only person who cares about me now. If it weren't for you, I might not even have survived in the slums. I can't just leave you behind."
"Fine, then. I'll finish up as soon as I can. Go back and sleep. I haven't slept since I got back either. I'm exhausted."
Back in his room, Lu Yuan opened the Battle Net again.
This time, he had money, so he had the confidence to look at other potions.
He had used up the ordinary Healing Potion he had bought before during battle.
He still had one Superior Healing Potion left.
Lu Yuan bought another Superior Healing Potion.
At the same time, he bought another Superior Speed Potion.
He also bought two Superior Defense Potions.
Not only that, Lu Yuan bought two Superior Strength Amplification Potions as well.
The Healing Potion cost thirty thousand, the Speed Potion cost fifty thousand, and two Defense Potions cost seventy thousand. The Strength Amplification Potion was priced the same as the Defense Potion, so two of them also cost seventy thousand.
Altogether, they came to two hundred and twenty thousand.
Besides those, Lu Yuan bought some other crafted items that could be used in the Origin Land.
They might come in handy someday.
That cost another hundred and fifty thousand.
All told, Lu Yuan spent three hundred and seventy thousand. The money in his pocket shrank again, leaving him with just over seventy thousand.
Still, Lu Yuan was very satisfied.
Just a few days ago, his monthly living expenses had only been a few hundred. Even food had depended on Qinghe Jie's support.
The Lu Yuan from a few days ago would never have imagined that he could be where he was today, casually spending hundreds of thousands.
Origin Land, Sandstone Dungeon's small market.
Lu Yuan emerged from the dungeon entrance.
The moment he came out, people in the market greeted him with smiles.
"Lu Yuan, you're out again?"
"Brother Lu, what did you get this time?"
"Seeing you bring out so many beast materials every time really makes me jealous. Too bad I don't have your strong defense."
There were humans, elves, catfolk, and dog-headed people among them.
Lu Yuan smiled and nodded in response as he walked over to Li Luo's stall.
When Li Luo saw Lu Yuan, his eyes lit up and he broke into a brilliant smile.
"Mr. Lu, you're here again?"
"Yeah. Name a price."
Lu Yuan dumped the materials from his War Rune Space, piling them into a small mountain.
"Black-Striped Snake skins and venom sacs? Mr. Lu, you can already kill Black-Striped Snakes? Those are beasts near the inner ring of the dungeon, aren't they?"
Seeing Lu Yuan's materials, Li Luo could not help widening his eyes and crying out in surprise.
Lu Yuan smiled.
"I got lucky and ran into a few lone Black-Striped Snakes."
Black-Striped Snakes generally lived in groups. Even individually, they had fifty to eighty percent Tempering Level and were extremely powerful.
If one was surrounded by a snake pack, it was no safer than falling into an ant nest.
That was why very few Gene Warriors could hunt Black-Striped Snakes.
Lu Yuan had only been able to kill them because he encountered lone ones.
Over the past few days, Lu Yuan had entered the Origin Land several more times.
Thanks to his powerful defense, he could run rampant through the dungeon, obtaining plenty of spirit crystals and materials each time.
His Gene Tempering Level had already reached thirty-nine percent.
That had already surpassed Zhuo Ming and Wen Ni.
It had not even been a month since he awakened. One could imagine how quickly he was progressing.
As his strength continued to increase, and with Superior Potions on hand, Lu Yuan could explore the dungeon even more freely.
Each day, he ventured deeper into the dungeon and killed increasingly powerful beasts.
The number of beasts he hunted every day also grew.
Once a day, he would leave the dungeon and sell materials to Li Luo.
As he visited more often, Lu Yuan gradually became familiar with all the Gene Warriors in the small market.
The Gene Warriors who often lingered around the market all knew of a very young human Gene Warrior who hunted huge numbers of beasts every day and brought back vast amounts of materials.
In addition, Lu Yuan occasionally encountered other Gene Warriors in the dungeon.
Those Gene Warriors had witnessed Lu Yuan's formidable strength. Naturally, word spread when they chatted and exchanged information in the market.
For a time, Lu Yuan gained a certain reputation in this market.
Because Lu Yuan used Black Iron Body, turning his skin black like iron, and because he was a Guardian-type, people gave him the title of Black Knight.
One had to possess genuine strength to be recognized within a small circle of Gene Warriors and earn a title.
It was a symbol of strength.
Clearly, this small market's circle regarded Lu Yuan as a powerful expert.
"Hunting Black-Striped Snakes takes more than luck. You need strength."
"A total of 3,021 spirit crystals. They're all here, Mr. Lu. Please count them."
Li Luo took out the spirit crystals.
Over the past few days, he had earned more than thirty thousand spirit crystals. However, Lu Yuan had fed most of them into the Evolution Cube.
Even after investing tens of thousands of spirit crystals, the Evolution Cube still could not evolve the Elite Gene to leader grade. That gave Lu Yuan quite a headache, and he had no idea how many spirit crystals it would take.
He kept around two thousand spirit crystals to cultivate and absorb spiritual energy.
Lu Yuan accepted the spirit crystals and put them into his War Rune Space.
"No need. We've worked together so many times already. I trust you."
Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Li Luo immediately smiled.
Anyone would be happy to be acknowledged, especially by a strong person.
"Oh, right! Mr. Lu, I have some news that you might be interested in."
"Hm? What news?"
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Luo curiously.
"It's like this. Someone discovered ruins north of the inner ring in this dungeon area. Quite a few people are planning to take a look."
"Ruins?!"
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted, and surprise appeared on his face.
In the Origin Land, the places with the most treasures were not randomly appearing treasure chests.
They were ruins that could appear in unknown locations.
No one knew how ruins in the Origin Land came into existence.
Unlike treasure chests, ruins seemed to contain remnants left behind by other civilizations.
They contained all kinds of dangers, but they also held knowledge and treasures left behind by those civilizations.
The discovery of every ruin sent Gene Warriors flocking toward it in a frenzy.
He had not expected ruins to be discovered in the Sandstone Dungeon.
Lu Yuan's heartbeat quickened.
He planned to take a look.
Before you continue