Making a Friend

"Good thing they didn't start nagging me to get married or anything..."

Relying on his new body, Tao Yu took a thorough cold shower, scrubbing himself clean from head to toe, then lay down on his wooden bed. As he watched the night grow darker beyond the cardboard window, he lit the Will-o'-the-Wisp by his bedside.

He pricked his fingertip with a small needle and dripped two drops of blood into the lamp oil.

Its glow was dim, no bigger than a soybean, but it still made the room feel warm and cozy.

"Come to think of it, if I have Mental Immunity, I don't actually need to light it at night, do I?"

Tao Yu considered it, but decided not to be different just for the sake of it.

A low-grade Will-o'-the-Wisp like this only offered some protection in the city, guarding against the invisible monsters that emerged from the Gray Fog. They said that some powerful Will-o'-the-Wisps, lit with the Flame of Civilization, could let people cross the Gray Fog and reach other cities.

But the Gray Fog was dangerous, and these connections had grown increasingly rare. Tao Yu remembered seeing a few weary caravans from outside arrive. They brought Wish Power items that were specialties of settlements in other cities...

Since he had no experience with it, Tao Yu didn't try sneaking out at night. He quietly passed his first night back.

Compared to the Abyss, where he had to sleep with one eye open, home was still an awful place, but it unexpectedly made Tao Yu feel secure.

Every so often, the sound of an automatic turret firing in another area would ring out at night. Somehow, it made it easier for him to fall asleep and recover from the strain on his nerves.

People really were social animals...

Too bad his talent meant he'd probably have to act alone most of the time...

Early the next morning, Tao Yu headed out.

Tao Long had wanted to come along, but Tao Yu talked him out of it.

The nearest stronghold wasn't far from Tao Yu's home, less than a kilometer away.

The farm's harvest was always brought to this stronghold for processing.

There were more than a dozen strongholds like this in the Outer City.

Though Tao Yu had set out early, a line had already formed by the time he reached the gate. They were probably Outer City residents heading to work in the stronghold or set up stalls. Many carried goods on shoulder poles.

The stronghold itself looked rather makeshift. The entrance was blocked off with abandoned oil drums and wire mesh stretched across wooden frames. Guards carrying all kinds of weapons inspected people at the gate.

The stronghold was surrounded by a patchwork of wooden boards, wire mesh, and oil drums, barely enough to enclose the area.

There were also several tall platforms fitted with automatic turrets to defend against Gray Mist Demonic Creatures.

The turrets provided overlapping fields of fire, allowing fewer of them to cover a larger area and keep the stronghold safe.

This was the safest place in the Outer City besides the residential district for Security Team families. Many Outer City residents spent their whole lives hoping to move into a stronghold, and only a few managed it.

"The stronghold has a radio station and a mission hall. You can pick up Partner missions there, too. And there's a skill dojo in Hound Stronghold that Uncle Hu recommended..."

Tao Yu's main goal this time was to sell his goods. Once he had some starting capital, he could begin using his free-learning privileges.

If he could learn two skills for free, he might as well pick the expensive ones!

Unfortunately, the Outer City had no Breathing Techniques to learn besides the Basic Breathing Technique. The few people who knew this technique, or similar abilities that could raise the human body's limits, didn't pass them on.

"Even if someone were willing to teach me for a fee, it'd probably cost less to Deify the Breathing Technique one more time."

If he could get something like that for free, of course Tao Yu would take it. But with his talent as a fallback, he wasn't in any great hurry.

The best value for his money was to learn the skills that were available, then use his first, relatively cheap opportunity to Deify them...

As Tao Yu pondered, the line reached him. He showed his copy of the Partner certificate, and they let him through without any trouble or questions.

Even a Junior Partner had to have at least one Level 5 basic skill to back them up.

That already put him in a decent position in the Outer City.

Besides, Tao Yu looked so young that no one was going to pick a fight with him for no reason.

From the outside, with its oil drums and wire mesh, Hound Stronghold looked crude. But inside, it was much cleaner than the Outer City. At least there was no Oli Gei lying in the streets—nothing that needed to be censored.

The buildings were packed close together, with rows of makeshift structures that gave the place the feel of a refugee camp. They left narrow streets and alleys between them, but since there were no vehicles, people could still get around.

The layout was complicated enough to make the stronghold feel like a maze, despite its modest size. First-time visitors getting lost was perfectly normal.

Tao Yu had lived nearby for eighteen years, and this was the closest stronghold to his home, so he knew his way around fairly well.

He didn't bother setting up a stall or asking around. He headed straight for Starlight Recycling Station, a shop that officially belonged to the company.

That saved him a lot of trouble and effort. Not many people in the Outer City could afford to pay that much for skills all at once.

Compared to the refugee camp next door, Starlight Recycling Station was at least a proper, three-story wooden building. Tao Yu had arrived early, and it seemed they had only just opened. There were no customers.

Most Outer City residents were careful with their money. If they could get a better price on their own, they wouldn't come here.

"Well, look at that—we've got a customer. What can I do for you?"

A clean-cut, beardless man who looked to be in his thirties, and much more presentable than the average Outer City resident, grinned when Tao Yu walked in.

From his more refined clothes, he seemed to be the shopkeeper. He had probably stepped out to get some fresh air.

Compared to the company employees in the Black House, this shopkeeper seemed much more like a businessman. A friendly smile was good for business.

"I'm selling a set of skills from the New Frontier. There are two skills in the set."

Tao Yu got straight to the point. He wasn't going to waste time with pleasantries.

No matter how warmly the man smiled or how polite he was, he still wanted to make money off Tao Yu.

"A set of skills? Looks like my luck's good today. Off to a great start."

The shopkeeper seemed surprised. It was rare for the Outer City to receive a complete set of skills. Usually, they got scattered Wish Power items that they had to sort and combine themselves.

What was more unusual was that the skills came from the New Frontier.

That meant they might not be the usual skills people encountered every day. Even if they were ordinary skills, people who hadn't learned them before might be able to stack them onto what they already knew, making them more valuable than normal.

Since the customer had brought this up from the start, there was no point trying to bluff him about it. The shopkeeper gestured invitingly.

"Come with me, sir. We'll talk in the private room. Ah Hua, bring us some tea."

The shopkeeper led the way and told his employee to bring tea.

The employee called Ah Hua had the traditional Outer City look. She was a woman, but she seemed sturdy and strong, with the sort of look you'd see in a kung fu movie on a character saying, "I'm just a farmer."

It was clear that the food here was decent.

She was quick on her feet, too. The tea had arrived by the time Tao Yu had just sat down.

Neither Tao Yu nor the shopkeeper drank first. The shopkeeper opened the conversation.

"The first batch only returned yesterday, and you're already here first thing this morning. You must know that hardly anyone in the Outer City can afford skills like these. Even if they scrape the money together, they can't offer you a high price."

"Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you. You're directly affiliated with the company and have channels into the Inner City. Take them for five thousand units of Wish Power, and you can sell them to someone in the Inner City who wants them for a few thousand more."

Tao Yu knew the man was trying to drive the price down, so he named a relatively high price to shut that down.

He had already discussed this skill set with Uncle Hu. Since it came from the New Frontier, these two skills—Stealth: Python and Burst: Python—would likely interest people in the Inner City with related talents.

The people in the Inner City had money to spare. If they found something they truly wanted, they might even pay ten thousand.

But that was only if they could sell the skills in the Outer City. The most they could fetch there was three thousand units of Wish Power. Most Outer City residents couldn't use skills the way Inner City residents could, to add the finishing touches to what they already had.

To Outer City residents, skills from the New Frontier were no different from ordinary skills found near their own settlement.

And Tao Yu had no way to sell them in the Inner City. Not even Uncle Hu did.

So the price difference was something he'd have to let Starlight Company make. Five thousand was already an inflated price. Tao Yu's bottom line was three thousand five hundred.

"Would you mind letting me appraise them?"

The shopkeeper thought it over, showing no reaction to Tao Yu's offer.

"Sure. I have a few extra pieces from this set."

Tao Yu took a snake fang from his backpack and handed it over.

"Haha, there's no need to absorb it. People in our line of work have to know a thing or two."

The shopkeeper laughed and accepted the fang wrapped in a cloth. He placed it on the table, then ran a finger along its grooves, bit by bit.

Only after a moment did he nod.

"It does have two skills. They're both fairly ordinary, though. One seems to be for stealth, and the other boosts muscle power. It may have side effects, too."

Tao Yu was surprised that the shopkeeper could figure out roughly what was in the fang just by examining it, without absorbing it.

As expected, the people who had the company backing them weren't simple.

"Here's what I'll do. Five thousand, and the shop will take them. The price is a bit high, but let's call it making a friend."

The shopkeeper thought it over, then readily agreed to Tao Yu's price.

For a moment, Tao Yu even wondered if he'd sold them too cheaply!

You could tell just how ruthless the company was from the gap between the prices it paid for meat and the prices it charged.

Tao Yu had discussed it with Uncle Hu beforehand. If he could get more than he would for ordinary skills, that was already good. He'd save the time he would've spent setting up a stall and even get a bit of a premium.

Tuition for a simple skill at an ordinary dojo was usually eight hundred to a thousand. Better skills could cost two or three thousand.

Absorbing a Wish Power item directly to learn was unquestionably faster, but you also had to worry about contamination. So ordinary skills were generally only about fifty percent more expensive.

These two skills weren't anything special. At normal prices, three thousand total would be about right. Another five hundred to a thousand as a premium for coming from a New settlement would be acceptable.

But Tao Yu had started by asking for the moon, and the shopkeeper had simply agreed. It caught him completely off guard.

He couldn't even keep it off his face.

"Do you think I'm being too easy on you, young man?"

The shopkeeper gave Tao Yu a warm smile.

"Like I said, I'm making a friend. The New Frontier must have plenty of good stuff. For a while, those goods will be rare. If you find anything good next time, I hope you'll come to me first."

The fact that Tao Yu had brought back a whole set of skills on his first trip to the New Frontier, despite being an Outer City resident, made him worth investing in, whatever his reasons.

Whether he had talent, brains, or just dumb luck, the shopkeeper didn't mind treating him well.

After all, he really could sell the skills in the Inner City and make a few thousand on the deal. Losing out on a thousand meant little to the company. He might as well trade it for better results in the future...