Hope in the Darkness

"Quick, the Mithril Cooling Stabilizing Fluid!"

Meng Chao placed the golden-yellow crystal core into the stabilizing fluid, then tightened the cap, finally feeling a little relieved.

"It's really a Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball, very fresh, with an activity level of at least 80%, and in perfect condition!"

The Harvesters stared at the container for a long time, exclaiming in surprise.

A Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball is a unique mutated organ of high-level monsters.

It is a crystalline body formed by ordinary nerve balls nourished by Spirit Energy and steeped over many years.

It is often used to modulate advanced nerve growth agents, which have excellent effects on repairing spinal nerve damage.

It can also be implanted into small war machines to create "thinking chariots."

This thing is extremely fragile and unstable, and it is not easy to perfectly extract it from a monster's body.

Therefore, the commission given to the Harvesters is also higher than ordinary materials. No matter how stingy Shen Rongfa is, he still has to give 3 points, at least more than ten thousand, twenty thousand yuan!

The roughnecks couldn't find enough praise to describe Meng Chao, this natural Harvester.

"It's not just because of the key high school."

They thought, "Could it be that because he's a Young Lad, his hands are especially skilled?"

Meng Chao was also very happy, holding up the translucent container and examining it carefully.

"Be careful, the Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball that has just been extracted is very active and cannot withstand violent shocks," Meng Yishan reminded, then smiled.

His son had grown beyond imagination without him realizing it. He was really worrying unnecessarily.

Meng Chao responded and slowly turned around to admire it, when his expression suddenly changed.

He leaned closer to observe, a greedy look in his eyes.

"Ah Chao, you..." Like father, like son, Meng Yishan knew he had something on his mind.

"Right, Brother Meng," a Harvester suddenly said, "Little Chao was injured last year, and the main problem was with his spinal nerves, right?"

"That's right!" Another Harvester's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Isn't the Golden Ghost's Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball the best medicinal material?"

Everyone looked at each other, and then looked around to make sure there were no outsiders. Realizing something, their breathing became heavy.

"Enough!"

Meng Yishan frowned deeply, snatched the container, and said with a dark face, "Ah Chao, don't even think about it. This is someone else's trophy that they risked their lives to obtain. We are just harvesting it on their behalf."

Meng Chao wanted to explain, "Dad, I'm not..."

"I know you want to take the Undergraduate exam, and I also know how much the injury last year affected you. In the end, it's all because Dad is useless."

Meng Yishan's eyes were cloudy, and his voice was hoarse but firm, "But even if we are poor and have no way out, we can't take other people's things."

Meng Chao scratched his head.

His dad had really misunderstood.

There were too many people around, he'd have to explain to his dad later that his injuries were almost healed.

"Don't blame Dad. I'd do anything to get you into university, but this is really not an option. A stain like this will ruin your life. Even if no one finds out, your conscience will be uneasy, and you'll never be happy."

Meng Yishan said sternly, "Meng Chao, your Harvester skills are beyond reproach, but the most important thing for a Harvester isn't skill, it's... controlling your hands.

"This is a profession where you often see natural treasures. Over time, some people develop crooked thoughts and reach for things they shouldn't. The result is disgrace and a miserable end. It happens every day in this circle.

"If you really can't control yourself, no matter how talented you are, I won't bring you into this line of work. You can go out and do any job, as long as you're upright, can stand tall as a person, and eat happily, you'll always be my good son!"

Faced with his father's righteous words, Meng Chao thought for a moment and decided to find a corner later to have a good chat with his father.

"Dad, don't say anymore, I can control myself." He didn't look at the storage container again.

"Meng Chao, you... take a break," Meng Yishan said, feeling sorry for him.

"Little Chao, come over here and have something to eat." The Harvesters felt very sorry for him and invited him over.

Harvesting carapace-type monsters was strenuous work.

Meng Chao had outstanding awareness, but his body was only seventeen years old after all. He had worked on monsters for two hours in the first half of the night and another two hours in the second half. Now that he relaxed, his arms were sore, and his ten fingers ached like they were being drilled.

He took a sip of the scalding self-heating high-energy nutritional meal and slowly used the secret method attached to the Perfect Level Basic Gunmanship to invigorate his ten fingers.

Connections, capital, corpse sources...

He was also thinking.

Just as he was about to find an excuse to call his dad outside to have a heart-to-heart talk, an unusual sound came through the howling wind.

A fragment of a past life memory flashed in Meng Chao's mind.

His ears perked up, and his expression was even more pleasantly surprised than when he saw the Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball.

He couldn't be wrong, could he? Was this...?

Meng Chao suddenly stood up, instantly regaining his energy.

If he played his cards right, this time he might have a way to dig up his first pot of gold!

"Dad, uncles, I suddenly feel extremely tired. You guys take your time. I'll go to the Harvester camp to rest first. The camp is right at the main entrance of the steel factory, right? It's okay, you guys are busy, I'll go myself!"

As Meng Chao spoke, he took off running.

"Slow down, be careful not to trip over the monster corpses and cut your hands and feet!" Meng Yishan could only shout loudly from behind.

Seeing his son's figure disappear into the dark night, the middle-aged man clenched his fists.

"Hey, Brother Shen, we just opened up a Golden Ghost..." He called Shen Rongfa.

"What!"

The scream on the other end of the phone could be heard by all the Harvesters, "Are you crazy? You can open up a Golden Ghost? Why didn't you wait for Manager Gu? If you damage the materials, Tiger Lord will cripple you!"

Meng Yishan was sprayed with a face full of saliva over the phone, but he didn't even blink, and continued to say a few words in a low voice.

After hanging up the phone, he carefully picked up the storage container: "Brothers, I'll take the Spirit Transformation Nerve Ball to Brother Shen for processing. This thing is unstable, and it's easy to lose control even if it's placed in Mithril Cooling Stabilizing Fluid."

Which of the brothers didn't know what he was thinking: "Brother Meng, you want to buy it from Brother Shen?"

Meng Yishan's eyes flickered, and he looked down at his dirty, anti-corrosion work boots, whispering, "This is Ah Chao's only hope."

"Brother Shen isn't easy to talk to."

The brothers shook their heads, "He won't give you the employee price, might even rip you off. Besides, even with the employee price, do you have the money?"

"I've thought it over. I can still work for a few more years. At worst, I won't be your captain. I'll just sign a long-term contract with Brother Shen and get an advance on my salary for the next few years," Meng Yishan said. "Brother Shen has wanted to sign a 'Level Two Contract' with me for a while now. He'll agree."

"Are you crazy?"

The brothers were shocked. "Level Two Contracts mean dealing with extremely dangerous high-level monsters. These beasts contain powerful Spirit Energy and can easily turn into undead creatures or even biochemical bombs. Harvesting these beasts is more dangerous than clearing landmines. You could be torn to shreds in a matter of minutes!"

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing," Meng Yishan said stiffly. "You guys carry on, I'll be right back."

He held the storage device as if it were a crystal-fragile hope, stepping over the hideous monster corpses, one deep step and one shallow, heading into the darkness.

Two streets away, in front of a collapsing building engulfed in flames.

There was only one monster here, like a spider magnified a hundred times.

Yet, it possessed many characteristics of a jackal, with crustacean and mammalian organs strangely fused together, its body covered in a layer of short, stiff golden fluff, exuding a unique aura of a king.

Its cephalothorax had a fatal wound that had been ripped open, but it wasn't completely dead yet. Seven scarlet eyes on its spiky carapace spun wildly, releasing its last bit of brutality.

Its abdomen still contracted and expanded, its sharp cries like an evil curse.

An old and a young Harvester looked at this hideous monster as if it were fish meat on a chopping board.

The old man had the appearance of an immortal with white hair and a rosy complexion, his eyes shining with a strange light, with circles of light inlaid outside his pupils.

The girl had a delicate face, but a faint arrogance lingered between her brows. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and she wore a pair of snow-white gloves that were neither metal nor iron, as thin as cicada wings.

"Xueshi, you've been learning Reverse Lock Seven Solutions well recently. Today, I'll let you practice on this 'Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider'," the old man said in a mellow voice, casually.

"Eight minutes, Grandpa, I'll finish the battle in eight minutes."

Ning Xueshi knelt on one knee and opened a delicate silver-white toolbox.

The toolbox was like an exquisite pagoda, divided into seven or eight layers when opened, each layer filled with a dazzling array of strange harvesting tools, ten times more refined than Meng Yishan's adzes, chisels, and saws.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

The girl's fingers tapped lightly, and the blades danced like butterflies at her fingertips.

Suddenly, the butterflies disappeared, and she snorted softly, looking dissatisfiedly to the side.

Tap, tap, tap, someone came running clumsily from the end of the street.

Exhausted from the continuous night battles and harvesting, his bladder aching, Meng Chao was out of breath, panting heavily as he supported his knees.

"Grandpa, someone's here."

Ning Xueshi raised her eyebrows and muttered softly, "Doesn't he know the rules? Can my family's techniques be watched casually?"

The old man raised his eyes and saw the "Jiu Xin" logo on Meng Chao's protective suit and the "Intern" red armband on his arm, and couldn't help but smile.

"Forget it, he's just an intern from a small private company, not a real Harvester, so naturally he doesn't know the rules."

The old man said gently, "These young lads in society are actually very pitiful. They have no inheritance and can't learn exquisite techniques. They easily get injured when harvesting monsters, and they're all risking their lives.

"Since he's motivated, let him take a look. How much he can learn depends on his own good fortune."

"Grandpa, you've become more and more soft-hearted lately."

Ning Xueshi said coquettishly, then glared at Meng Chao, "Hey, lucky Young Lad, you're interning nearby but came here to learn on the sly? I'll give you credit for having some discernment.

"If you really want to learn, be smart. See the teacup next to you? Pour tea and serve water, and take good care of my grandpa. This is an opportunity that others can't even fight for!"