A Visit

The Prosperity Star Hotel.

Early in the morning, Lin Shoucheng and his wife stood at the entrance of the private dining room.

As one of East Ning City's most upscale hotels, Prosperity Star had nothing to criticize besides its price. Whether it was the service or the quality of the dishes, everything was impeccable.

Holding a banquet here to celebrate their son becoming an Evolutionary gave them even more face.

"Uncle, you're here."

"Please, sit over here."

"Is this your daughter? She's grown so much in the blink of an eye."

"Uncle Nian, walk carefully. Please come inside. If it hadn't been for you back then, I don't know where I'd be now."

Lin Shoucheng never got a moment's rest, standing at the entrance of the private dining room and exchanging pleasantries.

Half an hour later.

Almost everyone had arrived.

The family banquet officially began.

Everyone sat down to eat and drink.

Lin Yuan sat in the seat of honor, and his chopsticks never stopped moving.

Prosperity Star had grown so large in East Ning City not only because it had powerful backing, but also because of its own strengths.

Many of Prosperity Star's ingredients came from other planets. Much of the meat was from rare exotic beasts, and its quality and taste utterly surpassed the farmed meat native to East Ning City.

Although the energy contained in this meat was far inferior to Advanced Nutrient Solution, it still surpassed ordinary food. Lin Yuan ate with great satisfaction.

At the banquet.

Besides Lin Yuan, no one focused solely on eating.

The main thing was still conversation and small talk.

And among them, the most active were naturally those doing well for themselves.

Lin Shoucheng's distant cousin, Lin Jiye, had caught East Ning City's wave of development. He had bought several plots of land in the suburbs, all of which were later developed by the government, earning him a hefty sum. He was riding high.

"Let me tell you, I've met Prosperity Star's owner a few times. She's a woman, and I heard she's—"

Lin Jiye immediately began showing off his connections and experience.

Still, his words did draw the attention of most people present.

Prosperity Star's owner had always been mysterious, and few had ever seen her. Everyone had privately speculated that she must be some important figure.

"By the way."

"Shoucheng, what are your plans for your Yuan's future?"

After chatting about Prosperity Star's owner for a while, Lin Jiye suddenly looked at Lin Yuan, who was busy eating and drinking.

The moment he said this.

Everyone's attention immediately turned to Lin Yuan.

After all, this family banquet had been organized because of Lin Yuan.

And Lin Yuan becoming an Evolutionary had indeed exceeded the relatives' expectations.

Putting everything else aside, Lin Yuan's future prospects were bound to be great. Most of the relatives present could only look up to him.

"I don't have any particular plans yet. I'll take things one step at a time."

Lin Yuan paused, put down his chopsticks, and answered honestly.

That was the truth. So far, Lin Yuan truly had no specific goal.

If he had to name one, it was becoming as strong as possible. But saying that was the same as saying nothing. Who didn't want to become stronger?

"Why not come work for my company? Your uncle's company may not be big, but if you come, I'll pay you twenty thousand a month."

Lin Jiye said, patting his chest.

Twenty thousand a month?

The surrounding relatives immediately revealed envious looks.

Twenty thousand a month meant two hundred and forty thousand a year. That already counted as a high salary. An ordinary citizen's normal monthly pay was only around two or three thousand.

"Well?"

"Don't think it's beneath you."

"Our company has also hired an Evolutionary to handle security work."

"If you come over, not only will you earn a monthly salary, but you can also ask him about Evolution."

Lin Jiye spoke confidently.

To ordinary people, Evolutionaries were exceedingly rare.

But in the eyes of wealthy bosses, there were specialized channels for hiring Evolutionaries.

Of course, the ones they hired were only Unranked Evolutionaries. Ranked Evolutionaries above that level were not people a small boss like Lin Jiye could afford.

Even so.

Lin Jiye's words greatly raised his standing in the eyes of the relatives present.

Someone immediately asked, "Jiye, is your company still hiring? My son's been looking for work lately."

"The salary doesn't have to be twenty thousand. Five thousand, five thousand will do."

"Five thousand? Third Aunt, your son didn't graduate from some prestigious academy. How does he dare ask for five thousand?"

"Jiye, my daughter is pretty and has a great figure. She'd definitely be suitable as a front desk receptionist at your company."

Before anyone realized it, Lin Jiye had replaced Lin Yuan as the focus of the banquet.

And Lin Jiye acted very politely, beaming amid the flattery of the many relatives.

Lin Yuan did not care in the slightest. He picked up his chopsticks again and ate while watching Lin Jiye perform.

Don't be fooled by how enthusiastic Lin Jiye looked now, acting as if he had everything covered. Once the banquet ended, he might very well play dead.

Earlier, Lin Yuan had taken the opportunity to go online and use his Second Level Citizen privileges to roughly investigate Lin Jiye's assets.

He really did own a company and had once employed an Unranked Evolutionary.

But that Unranked Evolutionary had voluntarily resigned years ago.

The reason was that Lin Jiye had repeatedly withheld wages, and the matter had nearly reached the Evolutionary Association.

It was easy to imagine that Lin Jiye might once have been wealthy, but his current financial situation was certainly not good.

How could he possibly hire another Evolutionary?

Of course, Lin Yuan saw through him without exposing him. But Lin Shoucheng and Lu Qiong believed him, occasionally speaking to Lin Jiye and asking about the job details.

At that moment, Lin Hao, seated in the place of honor, suddenly spoke. "Yuan is still young. Even if he has become an Evolutionary, there's no need for him to enter society and start working so early."

The moment Lin Hao spoke, the room fell silent.

Even Lin Jiye, who had been talking boastfully moments ago, immediately shut his mouth.

Among everyone attending the family banquet, Lin Hao undoubtedly held the highest status.

As the secretary to a certain Bureau Chief in East Ning City, Lin Hao's attendance at this family banquet had even shocked Lin Shoucheng.

"Brother Hao, what do you mean?"

Lin Shoucheng asked quietly.

"Our bureau has a spot this year for further study at a Higher Academy. Only Evolutionaries can apply."

Lin Hao thought for a moment before saying, "How about this? Yuan can attend the bureau's interview after some time. Once he joins, I'll transfer the spot to him."

Going to a Higher Academy for further study as an Evolutionary would inevitably earn him preferential access to that academy's resources. It was entirely different treatment from that given to ordinary students.

Therefore, this spot was a prized prize. Several Evolutionaries in Lin Hao's bureau had their eyes on it.

But Lin Hao was the one who could decide the matter. Although he was not an Evolutionary, he was the Bureau Chief's secretary and managed several Evolutionaries.

Originally, Lin Hao had planned to save such a good opportunity for his own son.

But his son had been a disappointment. Lin Hao had hired several Evolutionaries to teach him, yet he still had not become an Evolutionary.

Just as the spot was about to go to one of the other Evolutionaries in the bureau.

Lin Hao heard that one of his distant relatives had actually produced an Evolutionary?

Lin Hao's thinking was simple. Since his own family had no connection to the spot anyway, he might as well give it to Lin Yuan. At the very least, that was better than giving it to the Evolutionaries in his bureau.

At least Lin Yuan would remember the favor done by this distant cousin in the future.

After all, they were relatives no matter what.

"Ah? Is it really that valuable?"

Lin Shoucheng was somewhat bewildered.

Although he was not an Evolutionary, he understood how difficult it was to obtain a spot for further study at a Higher Academy.

Ordinary people had to overcome countless hardships just to enter a Higher Academy, yet with a single sentence from Lin Hao, his son could get in?

"It's nothing."

"Just listen to me when the time comes."

Lin Hao said without concern.

Giving the spot to Lin Yuan meant keeping benefits within the family.

Who could blame his son for being such a disappointment?

Thinking this, Lin Hao glanced at his son sitting beside him.

He had brought his son along to this family banquet as well.

"Thank you, Brother Hao. Thank you, Brother Hao."

Delighted, Lin Shoucheng immediately stood and thanked him.

"Yuan, why aren't you thanking your cousin?" Lin Shoucheng glared at Lin Yuan.

"Thank you, Cousin."

Lin Yuan spoke.

This was ultimately his cousin's goodwill. At the very least, Lin Hao had thought of him when there was something beneficial.

"Hmph. You got such a huge benefit, and all you can say is thank you?"

Lin Yan, who had been sitting beside Lin Hao without speaking, felt exceptionally displeased.

By rights, that spot should have been his. He was Lin Hao's son, so if such a huge benefit was not given to him, who else could it be given to?

But something had gone wrong with becoming an Evolutionary, and he had failed to become one.

That should have been the end of it. Lin Yan had already prepared himself for the spot to go to someone else.

But he had never expected that his father would ultimately give the spot to a distant relative.

Thinking about how Lin Yuan would go to a Higher Academy in the future and enjoy everything that should have belonged to him made Lin Yan feel miserable.

"You useless brat, and you still have the nerve to talk about others?"

Lin Hao frowned tightly and stared at his son, looking as though he was one step away from slapping him.

The others who heard this revealed strange expressions.

This was clearly an internal problem within Lin Hao's family, yet it had now involved Lin Shoucheng's family. It was quite a show.

Lin Shoucheng's face reddened slightly, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Normally, he should have immediately said that his family did not need that spot.

That would have eased the relationship between Lin Hao and his son.

But Lin Shoucheng was reluctant to give up the spot.

For a moment, the atmosphere became awkward.

Just then.

A Prosperity Star staff member suddenly rushed in.

Looking slightly nervous, she asked, "Excuse me, is Mr. Lin Yuan here?"

Her words immediately broke the tension in the room.

"He's here."

"Is something the matter?"

Lin Shoucheng stepped forward and answered.

The staff member immediately said, "Someone wishes to visit Mr. Lin Yuan."

Lin Shoucheng was completely confused for quite some time.

Someone wanted to visit his son? Hadn't everyone attending the family banquet already arrived? Who would come at a time like this?

Thanks to reader 'Your Radiance' for the two monthly votes.

Thanks to reader 'Reader20220320074843243' for the two monthly votes.

The Main World storyline is almost over. The second traversal will begin tomorrow.

The word count is approaching seventy thousand. Do readers have any opinions or thoughts?