Goodwill

Among the many strange, pieced-together buildings in the Outer City, a large, square-shaped castle stood out from the rest.

In terms of craftsmanship and consistency of materials alone, it was even more attractive than the Inner City walls, with their wooden patches.

This was also Starlight Company's office in the Outer City. It handled almost all of the company's business there, and even the Security Team had no right to enter without permission. The people of the Outer City collectively called it the "Black House."

The dark stone covering its outer walls certainly suited the name, though perhaps it had been given some other meaning as well.

"Well, look who it is—Old Tiger! How's the mechanical arm treating you?"

A Security Team squad was stationed at the main entrance, patrolling and manning the gate.

When the squad leader saw Tao Hu arriving with Tao Yu, he greeted them with a smile. Tao Hu handed each of the six Security Team members one of his homemade cigarettes.

"My nephew's got some talent. I brought him here to take care of some business."

"Oh? If you say he's talented, his Combat Talent must be at least C-rank, right? Could join the team. Any chance he's B-rank?"

The squad leader lit his cigarette and chimed in with a knowing smile.

Tao Hu's Precognitive Eye had already made him quite capable. Now that he had a mechanical arm, he'd become one of the Security Team's top fighters, so people were naturally happy to do him a favor.

"Haha, he's got A-rank Dynamic Vision. Too bad it's just an ordinary Combat Talent. What a shame."

Tao Hu laughed heartily. He'd been waiting for this moment, and his face was full of smug delight.

"A-rank?"

Several Security Team members nearby exclaimed under their breath.

The Security Team was a pretty good option in the Outer City. To join, you needed at least a D+ ordinary Combat Talent, and you still had to pass an assessment. To be sure of getting in, you needed the equivalent of at least a C-rank ordinary Combat Talent. Your actual strength could be a little lacking for the time being, but your talent had to be good enough.

It was fair to say that none of them had poor talent, and they were usually rather proud of themselves.

But the moment they heard "A-rank," they all turned to look. Quite a few wore envious expressions.

He'd brought him here, after all. He couldn't be making it up!

They were here to take care of some business. So he was probably going to be tested!

Even an ordinary Combat Talent was impressive if it reached A-rank.

"Haha, the little rascal got lucky. Just lucky."

Tao Hu wore the smug grin of an angler who'd landed a big catch. Tao Yu couldn't help feeling a little speechless.

Still, they were going to show people anyway, so there was no harm in bragging a little.

The power of making a strong first impression meant that information itself was important, but people in the Outer City first had to make sure they used their talents to gain an advantage!

That meant making trade-offs. They couldn't let fear of choking make them give up eating.

Tao Yu watched as Tao Hu went through the routine registration, signed his name, wrote down where they were headed, and then led him into the castle.

Outside, even in the daytime, everything was dim and gloomy. Inside the castle, they'd gone to the considerable expense of installing electric lights, so it was brighter than outside. The walls were somewhat mottled, but still far better than those of ordinary Outer City buildings.

The employees they occasionally passed carried themselves with an air of pride. Meanwhile, the people who were clearly from the Outer City and had come to handle some kind of business seemed rather ill at ease.

You could tell at a glance from their clothes and their manner.

In this situation, Uncle Hu's mechanical arm was something of a status symbol. No one gave them any trouble or tried to make things difficult for them along the way.

Even Uncle Hu didn't seem as relaxed as he had outside, chatting away, but as an old hand from the Outer City, he quickly brought Tao Yu to an office and knocked on the door.

Tao Yu saw the sign above it. He recognized all the characters: "General Office."

"There aren't many partners in the Outer City, so they usually handle the paperwork here as well. But don't worry, they've got everything you need."

Tao Hu quickly explained it to Tao Yu. Only then did they hear a lazy voice from inside.

"Come in."

When they entered, they saw a middle-aged man with silver hair, sitting with his legs crossed as he leafed through a magazine.

Thank heavens. Tao Yu had been in this world for eighteen years and was almost starting to think it had no books. He could barely recognize all the characters; he was practically illiterate.

And now he'd found a magazine here.

It was probably published in the Inner City. He'd never seen anything like it in the Outer City, only broadsheets reeking of ink.

"Captain Tao Hu?"

The silver-haired middle-aged man glanced at Tao Hu's mechanical arm and raised his eyebrows. Then he uncrossed his legs and tossed the magazine onto the table beside him.

"What do you need?"

He showed Tao Hu the basic respect he was due, but as a company employee, that was as far as it went. Don't expect any customer-service smiles.

"Manager Chen, this is my nephew. He has A-rank Dynamic Vision and wants to become a partner."

"Oh, don't call me Manager Chen. I'm a few years older than you, so just call me Brother Chen."

Chen Yong stood up from his chair with a smile, then turned to Tao Yu with a warm expression.

"A-rank talent? That's really impressive—and a Combat Talent, too."

As he spoke, he rummaged through a drawer, pulled out a form, and headed for the door.

"Come on, I'll take you to get his talent tested, then we'll fill out the form."

He led them out and closed the office door behind him, seemingly unconcerned that someone else might come by to handle their business.

"Does he only need to get his talent tested? He also has LV2 shooting skills. With his talent, that should be enough to meet the requirements. A-rank talent gives him an advantage for getting in, right?"

Tao Hu hurried after him with Tao Yu.

"Haha, you said it yourself. His LV2 shooting skills, combined with his talent, are enough to meet the shooting requirement. So what's the point of testing his strength? I'll fill that part in for you later. Saves you the trouble of running around."

Chen Yong wore a smile. Compared to before, he was positively warm.

Before the test, Tao Yu had still been wondering how to explain things to Uncle Hu if he failed to keep his talent in check and got MAX Dynamic Vision again.

But a professional place like this was nothing like Uncle Hu's casual testing.

They came to a room that looked like a training ground. After hearing what talent and level they were testing, the operator's face lit up with a smile. He casually adjusted a machine that looked rather bulky, and the test began.

Patterns flashed rapidly across a big-backed monitor. Tao Yu had three chances to state the correct sequence. He would pass if his total number of mistakes was within the limit, or if he got one entire attempt right.

The test, naturally, went off without a hitch.

"As expected, A-rank—and he got all three attempts right. He's probably pretty good even among A-ranks. Might even be close to A+."

Chen Yong beamed. Even talents of the same rank could vary; it wasn't as if they had fixed values. Performance, condition, environment, and other factors also played a major role, which was why the test allowed for some variation.

"Thanks, Uncle Chen."

Tao Yu put on an obedient act. Uncle Hu had been right about one thing: as long as you showed your value, then, so long as there was no conflict of interest, people around you were more likely to be kind!

Winuo, an arrogant Inner City kid, was relatively rare in the Outer City.

"What are you thanking me for? Can I call you A'Yu? Got a girlfriend? Want me to introduce you to a couple of girls?"

"Ah, I want to focus on getting stronger first. I'm not in such a hurry to earn cannon-fodder points."

Tao Yu waved his hands repeatedly.

To be honest, after being nourished by the Blood Orchid, this body was already quite strong, and his vitality was abundant. His tastes were perfectly normal, too, so once he relaxed after getting back, his mind sometimes wandered.

Every so often, scenes and content from videos in his previous life would pop into his head.

But when he thought of the weather-beaten faces so common in the Outer City, he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

Besides, he genuinely believed that getting stronger was his top priority right now. He didn't want to waste time and energy.

"Haha, fair enough. Young people with potential are usually very selective."

Chen Yong smiled broadly, not bothered at all by Tao Yu's refusal. Pestering him and putting pressure on him would only make him resent it. Who would be foolish enough to do that?

But when he started filling out the application forms, Chen Yong suddenly said in surprise,

"Wait, you're an explorer from the New Settlement?"

The first group from the New Settlement had only just returned, and Chen Yong hadn't expected one of them to be in this batch.

Choosing the "partner" route when they were in such desperate need of talent?

After thinking it over, Chen Yong fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

"You had Captain Tao Hu to advise you and still made this choice, so you must have thought it through. Very good. You know how to make trade-offs. Kids from the Outer City grow up faster."

Chen Yong sounded a little wistful as he finished signing the form and stamped it.

He also dug out a certificate cover labeled "Junior Partner," slipped a certificate inside, and handed both that and a handbook to Tao Yu.

"Congratulations. You're officially a partner of the company."

He paused, then continued.

"It's normal to avoid the whirlpool at the very beginning. For the past ten-odd days, Inner City kids have been entering the New Frontier every day. With so few people there, not many will have talent that can match yours, but they've built up a much stronger foundation."

Seeing Tao Yu listen with an open mind, he continued,

"It's a good idea to stay away from the heart of the whirlpool for now. Quite a few Inner City types are arrogant, and young people might not know when to hold back. Once things have settled down there, you can go back. There'll be far more people trying to recruit you than people wary of you."

It was a kind warning. If Tao Yu were just an ordinary young man with good talent, Chen Yong wouldn't have said so much.

But with A-rank talent, in the New Settlement, and capable of making trade-offs, as long as he survived, he was bound to make it to the middle ranks.

"Thanks for the advice, Uncle Chen. I understand."

Tao Yu looked at Chen Yong's kind, concerned expression. Comparing it to his attitude when they first arrived, and to the pride he'd seen in almost every employee along the way, Tao Yu felt a little moved.

Holding the Junior Partner certificate as he headed back with Tao Hu, Tao Yu noticed that the pride he'd thought he'd seen on the faces of passing employees had vanished.

It seemed their expressions had been perfectly ordinary all along. He'd just been seeing them through the filter he'd put on earlier.

Or maybe...

His own outlook had changed...