Although indirectly teaching Devil Yan the Wild Bull Technique through Chu Feixiong only earned him 68 Contribution Points.
Now that he had confirmed the Elite Monster's identity, Meng Chao could often go play with Devil Yan. His Contribution Points would definitely come rolling in.
Chu Feixiong and Devil Yan agreed that after the first stage of the National College Entrance Examination, the "school assessment," they would make the Wild Bull Technique public throughout the school. Devil Yan guaranteed that he could get a substantial amount of cultivation resources from the Principal.
Extorting the school was far more profitable than petty squabbles between classmates, so Meng Chao naturally had no objections.
By the time school ended, counting Devil Yan's comprehension and the sparring in the study group, he had accumulated 1,758 Contribution Points.
He squatted in a bathroom stall and cast the Elementary Healing Technique once, raising its healing progress to 71%.
He poured all his remaining Contribution Points into the proficiency of the Elementary Harvesting Technique.
Although a few hundred Contribution Points were not enough to raise the Elementary Harvesting Technique from "Expert" to "Master," every increase in proficiency stirred up fragments of memories from his past life buried deep in his mind, giving him entirely new insights into harvesting.
He also vaguely thought of some ways to treat Ning Shewo.
Today was the day of the materials trade fair.
After school, Meng Chao skipped evening self-study and took the bus straight to Tengyun Building.
He vaguely remembered attending several monster-material trade fairs in his previous life. They sounded impressive, but in truth, they were not much different from butchering pork at the Vegetable Market—hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys flying everywhere as everyone competed to shout out prices.
But when he saw the resplendent Tengyun Building, the various luxury cars parked outside, and the finely dressed men and women, Meng Chao looked down at his wrinkled school uniform and finally sensed that something was off.
Forget luxury cars—Dragon City was cramped for space, and parking fees, fuel surcharges, and vehicle usage taxes were astronomical. As long as you could legally put four wheels, two sofas, and a Crystal Engine together and drive it on the road, it was a symbol of status.
"Though I was a harvester for more than a decade in my previous life, I was always at the bottom of the circle. The trade fairs I attended then were all like vegetable markets, but this time, I was invited by the White-Haired Ghost Hand. The standard is naturally different. Dressed like this, I do stand out a little."
Meng Chao had no hobby of pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger.
If he had thought of this earlier, he would have changed into cleaner clothes, if only to give Ning Shewo some face.
But since he was already here, he could not be bothered to go home and change. Besides, there were no particularly nice clothes at home anyway.
He swung his backpack over his shoulder, gave a dry cough, and, without changing expression, blended into the crowd of well-dressed men and women as he entered Tengyun Building.
To display its prestige, the five-star hotel naturally came equipped with elevators.
Meng Chao had only ridden an elevator a handful of times in his life. Seeing everyone else operate it with practiced ease, he curiously watched for a few extra moments.
The finely dressed men and women could not help but snicker at the sight.
Some jewel-bedecked young women even leaned close to their male companions' ears, quietly discussing how out of place he was.
At the entrance to the trade fair, even the security guards and attendants looked at him with half confusion and half wariness. Only after repeatedly confirming his identity did they reluctantly let him in.
"Sorry, Little Friend Meng. I still have ten minutes before I arrive. Are you all right?" Ning Shewo called soon after.
"It's fine. I got out of school early. Take your time, Old Ning," Meng Chao said indifferently.
The trade fair took the form of a self-service cocktail reception.
Compared to butchering pork at the Vegetable Market, it was more like an aristocratic banquet of high society.
Amid clinking glasses and raised goblets, trading monster materials was only secondary. Expanding connections, fostering relationships, and conducting business negotiations were the main purposes.
Meng Chao walked around a few times and had already heard several imposing big shots discuss several "small deals worth a few hundred million."
He also saw many top harvesters whose eyes shone strangely and whose hands bore Spirit Runes—clearly Transcendental and Saintly—boasting in a reserved manner.
Their conversations were nothing more than things like, "So-and-so expert was too reckless and punched some super beast's internal organs into pulp. Everyone else was helpless; only I could perfectly strip out those mangled, mud-like organs without damaging even a fraction of their value."
Or, "So-and-so expert's divine skills are unmatched, yet he only trusts me to harvest the super beasts he kills. If I have something to do, he would rather not even go to the Mist Zone," and similar remarks.
In their mouths, those Peerless Experts who shook Dragon City became children who knew neither weight nor measure, smashing monsters into a complete mess every time and needing them to clean up afterward.
Even knowing it was commercial boasting, Meng Chao still felt his blood surge—harvesters truly were one of the top golden professions among the support classes!
As for the looks everyone gave him, the luxurious surroundings, and the lavish food, Meng Chao did not take any of it to heart.
Yes, he was merely an ordinary high school student.
But he was also someone who had seen the apocalypse.
In the apocalypse, even the most luxurious five-star hotel would become shattered ruins; even the most exquisitely dressed beauty would become a skeletal Painted Skin; a Peerless Expert standing high above and pointing out the rivers and mountains today would be an insect struggling at death's door tomorrow. No matter whether one belonged to high society, a powerful and wealthy family, possessed peerless divine skills, or had wealth enough to rival a nation, it was all like a dream, like bubbles, without the slightest meaning.
In such a Dragon City, what place was there that he could not enter calmly? What person was there before whom he had to lower his head?
Meng Chao smiled and headed straight for the buffet table.
The Fire Seed was good in every way, except that each time he exchanged Contribution Points, it consumed too much energy and required him to frantically replenish its "fuel."
Since this was a five-star hotel buffet, it would be a shame not to fill up an entire week's worth of "fuel" at once.
At this sort of high-end reception, no one truly came to eat.
Meng Chao alone piled two large plates full of food, drawing even more sidelong glances.
He himself did not care, but considering that he should still give Old Ning some face, he simply found a corner behind a large flowerpot, sat down cross-legged, and began stuffing himself heartily.
Just as he was eating with gusto, he suddenly heard someone talking.
"Hey, did you see that high school student? He eats like a starving ghost reincarnated."
"In the elevator just now, he stared at the buttons for ages. No wonder he had to squeeze in with us. If he were alone, he'd probably be unable to reach even the second floor, right?"
"Isn't this trade fair invitation-only? Who invited someone like that?"
Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and looked through the gaps in the plants. He saw seven or eight young men in splendid clothes, all carrying themselves with an air of superiority and barking orders with a mere gesture.
At their center was a handsome young man with somewhat puffy eyelids and a trace of wickedness about him. Everyone called him Jun Shao.
However, they stopped there and changed the subject to the world beyond the Mist.
"I heard from my teacher that the spatial turbulence will completely settle down in as little as three to five years, and at most seven or eight. When that happens, Dragon City will fully merge into the Otherworld, and Dragon City's iron cavalry will be able to sweep through a thousand armies and suppress everything!"
"That will be the age of people like us. Once we establish achievements and build our careers, we'll definitely create history."
"I heard from the people at the Alien Research Institute that Otherworld creatures are not limited to monsters. There are all sorts of strange things, even primitive humanoid creatures, like the primitive people on Earth. I wonder whether they're formidable?"
"What's formidable about them? There are indeed many natives in the Otherworld, but they're all terrified of monsters. They call our crossing coordinates things like 'Demon Mountain,' 'Blood-colored Mountain Range,' 'Monster Mountain Range,' and 'Cursed Land.' In other words, monsters are the peak combat force of the Otherworld."
"And we Earthlings, after crossing over for only a few decades, have already been hanging monsters up and beating them. Ha! Once we completely wipe out the monsters and all the mist disperses, whether it's other Otherworld creatures or those 'barbarians' waving clubs and stone axes, they'll all be chickens and dogs made of clay, left for us to slaughter."
"What a pity. It's not exciting at all. How boring."
These children of great families all shook their heads and sighed.
Meng Chao wanted to laugh when he heard them.
That was right. The Another World Natives around the Monster Mountain Range did fear monsters as though they were demons. But so what?
There was an Amazon rainforest on Earth too, filled with vicious beasts such as giant pythons, crocodiles, and piranhas, all feared by many local natives.
Suppose a group of unlucky aliens crossed into the depths of the Amazon rainforest, spent decades finally wiping out the giant pythons, crocodiles, and piranhas, even crushed the jungle natives. Then what?
Then, believing this was Earth's peak combat force, they thought that conquering the Amazon meant conquering the world. When they charged out in high spirits, they discovered that the armies of Earth's five great rogues were all quietly watching them.
The image was too beautiful. Meng Chao could not bear to look.
He snorted with laughter.
"Who's there?"
"Who is it!"
"What's so funny?"
The children of great families never expected someone to be hiding behind the flowerpot, eavesdropping on them and laughing at them.
When Meng Chao emerged carrying two large plates of food scraps, their expressions became especially strange.
They probably wanted badly to step on him, but feared dirtying the soles of their shoes.
The wicked-looking young man named Jun Shao gave him a long, deep look.
Meng Chao did not want to clash with them and cause trouble for Old Ning. He suppressed his laughter and hurried away.
Seeing that he reeked of smoked meat and had greasy hands, the children of great families all avoided him as though he were a plague.
Ning Shewo finally arrived.
Ning Xueshi, dressed in formal attire, was with him.
Today, Miss Ning wore a wine-red, low-cut evening gown. Around her swanlike, slender jade neck hung a crystal-clear necklace, faintly giving off a fragrance that seemed to seize one's soul.
The mature outfit fully accentuated her figure, and combined with the innate cold pride between her brows and eyes, it made the young woman look several years older. Yet the occasional childishness she revealed gave her the adorable air of a little girl pretending to be a powerful woman. The moment she appeared, she drew everyone's attention.
"That's Ning Ghost Hand's granddaughter?"
"She's a famous little beauty in the harvester circle."
"Don't even think about it. She's very cold. She doesn't even give Jun Shao any face. Last time, Jun Shao wanted to..."
Ning Shewo was also dressed in a meticulously handcrafted set of formal clothes made with many monster materials. Every strand of his white hair was combed perfectly into place, and with the jade-bone thumb ring on his right hand, he looked luxurious without losing his imposing presence.
When everyone saw the radiant grandfather and granddaughter walking toward that rustic high school student, they were all stunned.
"That country bumpkin was invited by Ning Ghost Hand?"
Ning Shewo was also taken aback when he saw Meng Chao's outfit.
After his interactions with Meng Yishan, Ning Shewo knew that Meng Chao had no family background to speak of and was merely an ordinary high school student.
But the more Ning Shewo pondered Meng Chao's Reverse Lock Seven Solutions, the more flavor he found in it. He thought Meng Chao must have encountered some fortuitous opportunity, and that his master was likely a major figure in the circle whose words could deafen the ears. Since Meng Chao had agreed to attend the banquet, his master surely would have taught him the basic rules.
Who would have thought that geniuses nowadays were all so unconventional?
Ning Shewo thought for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Little Friend Meng, are you... showing off?"
Meng Chao: "Huh?"
Ning Xueshi: "My grandfather means, did you deliberately dress like this to provoke other people's disdain, then find an opportunity to slap their faces? Do you want to make a name for yourself in the harvester circle this way?"
Meng Chao: "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense. Why are people's trains of thought so bizarre these days?"
=====
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