Keeping Watch

"Y-you're starting to learn the fist techniques?"

Tao Yu went up to Smith just as the martial arts school was about to finish its lessons, leaving him completely baffled.

He'd figured Tao Yu would spend three days speeding up the process of getting familiar with them. How much Wish Power had he used? Was he really that rich?

Speeding things up with Wish Power was great, but the faster you went, the worse the value for money...

"I want to learn all five fist techniques, then head to the Abyss and improve my chances of survival as much as possible."

Tao Yu answered plainly. Smith couldn't help freezing for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"I know you mastered the basic stance after just three tries, and your talent really is exceptional. But they specially distilled an introductory skill from those five fist techniques. That should tell you how difficult they are. With your talent, you should be able to get the hang of one or two in a month, but five is asking too much."

"I want to give it a try."

Tao Yu insisted.

He knew Smith meant well. Scarface Junior Brother had said earlier that at least all five fist techniques had to reach lv4 before one could try combining them to harness one's qi and blood.

Even if Tao Yu really did manage to hurriedly get the basics of all five techniques down, the improvement would actually be less worthwhile than focusing on a single technique.

An ability that needed a specially simplified skill as a prerequisite was bound to cost even more Wish Power to speed up.

But Tao Yu had Deification. No matter what, he'd first learn the basics and turn them into a skill...

"All right. I'll let you try first. You'll change your mind eventually. It's late today, so start tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you, Senior Brother Smith."

Zhang Wei and the others, who were just as exhausted, looked envious.

They couldn't afford any Qi Replenishing Soup. It was far too extravagant, and they were already worn out.

Meanwhile, Tao Yu had not only mastered the basic stance, but was speeding up his training like crazy with Qi Replenishing Soup. And now he was going straight into fist techniques?

The gap was just too big...

It was no surprise if people from the Inner City were already stronger than the best of the Outer City at the very start. They had a massive foundation behind them, and they could buy their way to strength.

But they were all from the Outer City here. The contrast was simply too stark...

"The martial arts school's pretty generous. They even give out uniforms to students with free spots."

Tao Yu looked at the gray training uniform in his hands and sighed to himself.

The material was rough. It might chafe if worn against the skin. It was clearly made to last.

Even so, it was the best clothing Tao Yu had ever owned.

Heaven knew how uncomfortable the fabric of his underwear had been for the past eighteen years. He'd practically rubbed calluses into himself.

They'd recorded everyone's height and weight during registration, then handed each of them a uniform as they left for home. The turnaround had been pretty quick.

But if they wanted a second one, they'd have to pay for it themselves. It cost 10 units of Wish Power.

The school's prices were very high by Outer City standards, but the value for money of each item was actually quite good.

The Qi Replenishing Soup and medicinal ointment were both like that.

Tao Yu had also bought two jars of ointment. It really did promote blood circulation when applied, and he could use it while training.

With his auxiliary skill Deified, Tao Yu could also get a basic understanding of the ointment.

"I don't know what's in it. If I could learn how to make medicine too, I'd make a killing."

Thanks to Deification of his auxiliary skill, Tao Yu had a rough idea of what the Qi Replenishing Soup and ointment were made from.

The soup was probably a kind of medicinal porridge, made by stewing the organs of some creature with herbs and a staple grain in specific proportions. Maybe it came from a Wish Power Creature raised by one of the company settlements.

The ointment was probably made by a similar process to horse balm, and likely came from some kind of Wish Power Creature too.

The company settlements had developed mature support systems by now, so it was no surprise they had all sorts of industries.

But who knew what they'd do here in the New settlement?

"Uh, maybe they'll raise xenomorphs?"

Tao Yu let his thoughts wander. Actually, considering how xenomorphs could rapidly reproduce by parasitizing ordinary creatures, they'd be quite suitable for farming.

Each one was worth only 20 units of Wish Power, leaving aside the value of its skills, but there was no shortage of them.

Still, it was easy to imagine that even if the company really raised xenomorphs and their numbers grew, it would control the distribution of their skills. It would rather convert the surplus directly into pure Wish Power than undercut its own prices.

"And there's the Blood Orchid. Li Le can probably find someone through his connections. I sold some to Shopkeeper Liu too. Once things settle down, they'll probably turn the valley into a cultivation site."

The Blood Orchid probably couldn't be grown artificially and would have to be harvested periodically, with a long wait between harvests. But its effects spoke for themselves. Even if they figured out its growing habits, they probably wouldn't give up on it...

Thinking happily to himself, Tao Yu left the stronghold and turned into a narrow alley.

It was called an alley, but it was really just the gap between two makeshift buildings built outside the stronghold, where they could shelter as much as possible beneath the protection of the stronghold's tower cannons. Filthy wastewater flooded the ground.

As soon as he entered the alley, Tao Yu suddenly sped up and took off running. He weaved through the Outer City's jumbled houses, moving at a speed that surpassed Usain Bolt's. A few people who happened to be passing by cried out in surprise.

"Bleugh! Are you trying to get yourself killed? You kicked shit right into my face! Bleugh!"

"What's the big idea?"

"Trying to run someone over?"

"..."

The Outer City was already a filthy mess, and Tao Yu's sudden dash immediately provoked a chorus of complaints.

If Tao Yu hadn't been so fast and obviously not someone to mess with, some of them might have even tried to hit him.

There were a few basic rules in the Outer City, but unless it was a serious matter, the Security Team wouldn't intervene. In many areas, gangs were the ones who maintained order.

After Tao Yu took off like a maniac, the two figures who had been waiting at the stronghold's gate quickly followed. They weren't as fast as him, but they weren't far behind!

They'd been caught off guard from the start, though, and lost ground when they were slow to react. On top of that, they couldn't match his speed. After chasing for a while and realizing they'd lost him, they spat angrily.

"Damn it, why's he so fast?"

"Looks like he wasn't talking nonsense when he said he ate all those flowers. That's the only thing that makes sense."

Both men were dressed like ordinary Outer City residents, but the burst of speed they'd shown earlier was no joke.

They glared at the hostile-looking crowd around them. To avoid getting shot in the back, they quickly left the area.

But after the two men had gone, Tao Yu slowly emerged from the shadows of an alley behind them. He watched them walk away, his gaze pensive.

"So I wasn't just imagining things. They came looking for me on the second day. In such a hurry, too."

The next morning, Tao Yu had gone straight to Hound Stronghold, where he'd sold his goods and learned skills.

The two men had stayed outside the stronghold instead of entering. They might well have been carrying weapons.

No matter who they worked for, they were definitely connected to the Blood Orchid. There was a small chance they were on Shopkeeper Liu's side, but it was more likely they were connected to Li Le, or someone Li Le had contacted.

But their tailing hadn't escaped Tao Yu's Dynamic Vision. The way their eyes kept sliding toward him, the slight changes in their expressions—all of it had been far too obvious.

"They're not the Security Team. That's a lot better than the worst-case scenario."

Tao Yu pondered.

If they had enough influence to openly crush him, with the Security Team on his doorstep in broad daylight, then unless Tao Yu wanted to flee into the Gray Fog, he'd have no choice but to cooperate and give them whatever they wanted.

As long as he could stay alive, that was enough. He'd endure any humiliation and play the obedient dog if he had to!

But the fact that they were tailing him this way also showed that the situation wasn't that bad.

Maybe they were taking Uncle Hu's connections into account. Or maybe Li Le simply had limited reach.

Tao Yu even suspected they had no idea he'd already passed the information along to the Recycling Station.

Tsk...

One contact alone still wasn't enough. He should have passed along the information to the martial arts school for free as well. He hadn't thought things through carefully enough.

"I'm still too small and weak right now. Uncle Hu's connections aren't strong enough either, so I can only make the most of whatever leverage I have..."

Tao Yu didn't think he was especially clever, but even without having experienced everything himself, he'd seen enough to know how the world worked. A lot of the principles were obvious in an age of widespread internet access.

When you didn't have enough power yourself, you had to spread the stakes as widely as possible.

One Recycling Station wasn't enough, so he'd include the martial arts school too.

After all, the information was free. He could even earn some goodwill...

He glanced up at the sky. It was always gray and hazy, but it was clearly growing darker. Night was nearly upon them, so Tao Yu quickened his pace.

Hopefully they wouldn't try any sudden attacks tonight.

He had plans for the more than ten thousand Wish Power he had left. Better not waste it on recovery...