Sudden Wealth

"Indeed, only when people have value do they qualify to be exploited..."

After Tao Yu left the Starlight Recycling Station, he felt the same way he did in the 'Black House' before.

It wasn't being afraid of being exploited, but of not even having the value to be exploited.

Was Liu Hong, the store manager, someone he hit it off with immediately?

No, it was that Liu Hong saw his potential, a kind of hope and confidence.

Fifteen thousand units of Wish Power!

This was the amount of Wish Power Tao Yu currently possessed.

A set of skills cost five thousand, but the main part was the Blood Orchid, which was priced at over twenty times its value!

When Tao Yu took out the Blood Orchid, he could clearly feel the other person's breathing quicken.

Finally, he was able to get ten thousand Wish Power. Besides the Blood Orchid itself, it also included intelligence about the general environment where the Blood Orchid grew.

Actually, Tao Yu knew more about the Blood Orchid, like how it only bloomed once every few years.

But he didn't reveal anything beyond what he should have known.

Perhaps more detailed information could also be sold for money, but he feared he wouldn't live to spend it if he did...

This was not something Tao Yu could covet for the time being; what he needed now was resources and time to grow.

Even leaking some simple information about the Blood Orchid was something Tao Yu had intended to do from the start.

After all, Li Le had also obtained Blood Orchids. If he teamed up with some big shot and wanted to occupy that canyon long-term, then he, who also knew the news and secrets, would be an obstacle.

Since that was the case, it was better to just sell it as a bonus for the transaction.

No matter how high the price and profit, he couldn't keep it for himself right now.

Fifteen thousand was already pushing his limits.

"I still need strength."

Tao Yu felt no regret about eating dozens of Blood Orchids.

If he had only taken out five, it would have been fine. But if he had really taken out fifty, whether he could have left alive was another question.

Looking at Liu Hong, the store manager, who was all about making money amicably, Tao Yu clearly couldn't test his humanity. Tao Yu had even directly stated his fear of being targeted, explaining that he had eaten most of the flowers, prioritizing his own safety.

Fifteen thousand units of Wish Power. Tao Yu had never been so wealthy. In fact, his entire family combined had never possessed such a fortune.

First, he would spend over three hundred units of Wish Power to complete the second skill of his nascent Xenomorph.

As the Wish Power flowed out, Tao Yu felt his muscle definition subtly adjust, and a tingling sensation, like an electric shock, ran through his body, as if it were adapting to the skill, passively receiving a slight enhancement.

[Ambush: Xenomorph]: When attacking an enemy without their awareness, you can always find the most fatal areas, increasing explosive power.

A very good skill. During an ambush, it could increase neural response, forming a hunting instinct, allowing him to reflexively launch suitable attacks without overthinking. Relatively speaking, the Xenomorph's two skills were much better than the Giant Python's.

Without hesitation, he injected another amount, even more expensive than the breathing technique, about two hundred units of Wish Power, directly into Deification.

[Ambush: Enhanced]: Walk with the shadows. The first melee attack upon revealing yourself can gather all the shadow power from your stealth.

Wow, it directly linked with two stealth skills!

Because it was a direct injection of consciousness, Tao Yu instantly grasped the intricacies of this skill.

Both of his stealth skills allowed him to merge into the shadows, and they could even stack. It was just that the mental energy consumed to maintain stealth midway and the stamina consumed for high-speed movement during stealth were previously just gone.

But now, his expenditures would be converted into accumulating 'shadow power'. The longer he maintained his stealth and the farther he ran, the more shadow power he would gather. All of this would be unleashed with his first strike!

This was amazing. This was one of the few ways Tao Yu could enhance his explosive power without harming himself.

"What a shame, it can only be used in melee. How great would it be if it could be attached to bullets?"

Although Tao Yu was delighted, he still had a bit of a "give me more" attitude. Perhaps the next enhancement would allow for that?

With over ten thousand units of Wish Power, if Tao Yu saved a bit more, he could already Deify the relatively cheaper [Basic Combat: Enhanced] again, performing his first secondary Deification.

However, Tao Yu wasn't considering that for now.

His body's potential had not yet been fully tapped. The upper limit raised by the large amount of Blood Orchids and the enhancements from Deifying his breathing technique had not been fully utilized.

To consider the cost of secondary Deification now would clearly be lacking in cost-effectiveness.

"I'll learn the free and half-price skills first, then pour everything into improving their proficiency, striving to significantly boost my overall level again before entering the Abyss."

Although fifteen thousand Wish Power seemed like a lot, when it actually came down to using it, it might not even be enough to fully develop his existing potential.

This was a huge sum that his parents would have to save for five years without eating or drinking, and at least fifteen years if they included their living expenses.

Suppressing some of the excitement in his heart, Tao Yu began to walk along the bustling street, which was now crowded with people, towards the only dojo in Hound Stronghold.

Listening to the hawkers' cries and the "smell of life" in the air, Tao Yu quickened his pace.

He arrived at the entrance of the largest courtyard within the stronghold.

The outer areas of the stronghold were merely a combination of discarded oil drums and barbed wire, but this courtyard was luxuriously enclosed by a large area of uniform stone.

From the outside, he could vaguely hear the synchronized shouts of "Hah~" and "Hah~" from within, clearly indicating that the students inside had already begun their training.

'Myriad Flow Dojo', the only dojo in Hound Stronghold, and a top-ranked dojo even in the Outer City.

The five secret boxing techniques, Tiger, Crane, Python, Bear, and Ape, each cost five thousand in tuition, and that didn't even guarantee mastery.

Other skills taught included combat, weaponry, the Basic Breathing Technique, footwork, climbing, and more, besides firearms.

There were also individual power-up techniques like Explosion.

The prices varied.

But even the cheapest one cost eight hundred units of Wish Power.

It could be said that any Outer City resident who could afford to pay for their studies here at once was at least well-off themselves, or came from a good family.

However, there were also those who used 'Skill Loans'.

Previously, as long as one had combat talent, they could come here for a 'Skill Loan' with an annualized interest rate of nine out, thirteen back, with compounding installments.

This was considered a very reasonable interest rate in the Outer City.

For the dojo, even if a student died during an Abyss mission and couldn't repay, the loss was only a bit of teaching effort, which was completely acceptable.

This significantly expanded the target audience who could afford their services.

Those who already possessed combat talent had a high probability of reaching a company settlement, and their survival rate was much higher than during the day of awakening. Having combat talent also ensured that they had the ability to repay, making it a guaranteed profit.

Similarly, for those with poor family backgrounds who urgently needed initial skills, owners of combat talent would choose to borrow to get through the difficult early stages.

The dojo's registration area was located just outside the city walls, completely in the open.

There was just a sign for the registration office, an old wooden desk, behind which sat a young man in a gray dojo uniform.

Compared to the relatively quiet registration office when Tao Yu had passed by before, this time Tao Yu noticed a queue had formed.

And at a glance, many faces looked familiar.

Several were survivors from the recent incident. With Tao Yu's dynamic vision, once he saw them, it wasn't easy to forget.

"They're all here to get something for free, but I guess that makes sense. A skill learning fee of five thousand is probably the highest tier in the Outer City."

Tao Yu mused to himself that whether it was the half-price package, the Skill Loan, or the free skill slots, using them for the most expensive skills seemed logical.

Wasn't that what he was thinking too?

However, seeing the constipated expression on the young man at the registration desk, Tao Yu knew that the Myriad Flow Dojo itself might not be very willing.

It was possible that the company was forcing them to teach at a low price, or even for free