Ranked Treatment

Wei Fenghua patted a briefcase on the table. "Your Star Splitter and armor, along with some other things."

"I put them all in here."

"You two talk. I'll be leaving first."

Zeng Shan immediately waved. "Goodbye, Teacher."

After Wei Fenghua left, Li Bohang said, "Luo Beichen's body has already been claimed by the Luo Family."

"What's strange is that the Luo Family left you a message."

Luo Yan looked up. "What message?"

Zeng Shan snorted. "They told you to recover properly and not take this matter to heart. They even claimed that the Luo Family absolutely wouldn't retaliate against you because of it."

"In my opinion, they're definitely acting one way to our faces and another behind our backs."

Li Bohang said, "I think it's because the City Lord Election is approaching."

"Luo Tianyi doesn't want to create complications, so he's pretending to be magnanimous."

"Before the City Lord Election, they definitely won't cause Classmate Luo any trouble."

"But after that, it's hard to say."

"Still, at least until the City Lord Election, Classmate Luo, you don't have to worry about the Luo Family."

"Also."

Li Bohang smiled. "Today, Colonel Liang Jian of the Exploration Corps came to watch the Death Match."

"After the Death Match ended, he even said that once Classmate Luo graduated, the Exploration Corps would claim you."

"I think those words were also meant for Luo Tianyi to hear."

"In other words, Commander Di intends to protect you at all costs."

"As long as Commander Di remains in Guangling City, Classmate Luo, you don't need to worry too much."

Luo Yan looked at Li Bohang in surprise, feeling that this classmate was not only meticulous.

He also understood Guangling City's situation extremely well.

Zeng Shan seemed to notice Luo Yan's confusion.

He gave an awkward laugh. "Old Luo, you still don't know?"

"Our Classmate Li has quite the background."

"His uncle is none other than the current City Lord, the top official of our Guangling City, Liu Haoteng."

"Classmate Li hid it really well. We only found out in the past few days."

Li Bohang shook his head and smiled. "My uncle wouldn't let me use his identity to 'throw my weight around,' but I wasn't deliberately hiding it from everyone."

"Besides, I hope everyone recognizes me for who I am, not for my identity."

Zeng Shan laughed, then checked the time. "That's enough. Old Luo just woke up, so let's let him sleep a little longer."

"Shall we head out?"

Li Bohang nodded. "I was just about to suggest that."

Zeng Shan patted Luo Yan on the shoulder. "Old Luo, then it's settled."

"We'll meet at the school gate first thing tomorrow morning."

Luo Yan nodded.

After watching the two of them leave,

he lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Friends..."

Luo Yan slowly savored the word.

The next day.

Luo Yan wore his school uniform, carried his Star Splitter, and arrived at the school gate.

It was Saturday.

Most students chose to go home for a couple of days.

They would return to school on Sunday night or Monday.

Not far away,

He Hao was carrying a backpack and was also preparing to go home.

From a long distance away, he spotted Luo Yan carrying a long sword.

As he passed Luo Yan, he snorted. "Idiot. Weapons are forbidden in the city."

"You're carrying a sword out. Are you planning to go have tea at the Local Security Bureau?"

By the time Luo Yan looked over, He Hao had already walked away.

But he still said,

"Bring your student card with you. If you run into trouble, just show it and you'll be fine."

As He Hao walked, he muttered under his breath, "What a country bumpkin. He doesn't know anything."

A burst of laughter rang out beside him.

Then his partner, Su Jiu, said, "Didn't someone say that after Classmate Luo chopped down Luo Beichen, he was going to go play with him?"

"But why do I see that someone not only didn't cause him trouble, but even kindly gave Classmate Luo some advice?"

"Oh, right. Someone was saved by another person in the Forbidden Land. That counts as repaying a debt of gratitude, too."

He Hao glared at the girl through gritted teeth. "Shut up! Men are handling business here. Women, don't interrupt!"

Su Jiu made a face at him. "Big man."

Then she left, her string of laughter making He Hao's teeth itch.

At the Academy's main entrance,

the students who passed by Luo Yan

some cast him admiring looks,

while others hurried past as though they had seen a plague god.

Several girls even turned pale and didn't dare pass by Luo Yan.

It was as if he were some raging beast.

There was nothing to be done.

Yesterday's Death Match had ended with Luo Beichen dying horribly.

Luo Yan had now been branded a "ruthless man."

"Old Luo."

A moment later, Zeng Shan finally arrived.

He carried a travel bag stuffed until it bulged.

If Luo Yan hadn't seen him come out of the Academy,

he would have thought Zeng Shan was preparing to flee a disaster.

Zeng Shan gave an awkward laugh. "I used Credit Points to exchange for some food. There are a lot of people at home, and it's rare for me to go back, so I brought a little extra."

Luo Yan knew that at the Logistics Department, one Credit Point could be exchanged for two weeks' worth of rations.

But no one wasted Credit Points like that.

Besides, the school provided three free meals a day.

So Luo Yan didn't understand why the Logistics Department had "food" as an exchange option.

Now that he saw Zeng Shan, he seemed to understand a little.

Zeng Shan waved. "Come on, let's take the light rail."

As they walked, he continued, "Both my parents are workers. Our whole family was able to enter Guangling City thanks to my parents taking part in the city's construction."

"But because they're workers without any special contributions, they can only receive Sixth-Rank Treatment."

Luo Yan recalled how, after he passed the Academy Exam, Wei Fenghua had announced that all qualified freshmen would receive Fourth-Rank Treatment.

But he had never known what that meant.

Now that he heard Zeng Shan mention it, he asked, "What is Ranked Treatment?"

"It's a system that distributes work points according to your contributions to the Undercity."

Zeng Shan explained, "You can think of work points as Credit Points. Or, to put it more bluntly, money!"

"Different levels of Ranked Treatment receive different amounts of work points."

"Sixth Rank is the lowest level. Even if you work at full attendance every month,"

"the work points allocated to you will only be enough to maintain basic food and warmth."

"Only my parents can earn work points in my family, but I have quite a few brothers and sisters."

"But now there's me."

"I haven't graduated yet, but I have Credit Points. And we Reserve Mech Pilots have Fourth-Rank Treatment."

"At this rank, you receive 3,000 work points every month."

"But because we're still studying, we only receive 1,000 work points per month as an allowance."

"Even so, that's already equivalent to the amount of work points my father can receive in a month."

"If I become a full-fledged Mech Pilot, I'll be entitled to Third-Rank Treatment. Besides receiving 8,000 work points every month, I'll also be assigned a house and provided with transportation!"

Looking at the delighted Zeng Shan, Luo Yan finally understood what Ranked Treatment was about.

Soon,

they boarded a light rail train heading toward the city center.

At that moment, the broadcast on the train came alive. "We interrupt with an emergency notice."

"Yesterday, our city launched a special crackdown on a smuggling organization dealing in Giant Beast parasites."

"During the operation, several smuggling organizations were destroyed, and 175 frozen parasite specimens were seized."

"However, one smuggling organization escaped during the operation. The local Security Bureaus in every region are currently making every effort to apprehend them."

"If any citizens discover suspicious individuals, please report them promptly to your local Local Security Bureau, or call the police."

Listening to the broadcast, Luo Yan was astonished.

There were actually people smuggling Giant Beast parasites?