Giving Money and a House? You're Spoiling Him!

Lin Mu swept his gaze over the few items scattered beside the massive corpse of the Cave Lord.

A giant axe flickering with a ghostly purple light.

A skill book radiating a blue glow.

And a ring gleaming with dazzling golden light.

He quickly picked up all three items.

[Cave Lord's Bone Axe] (LV.10, Purple)

[Skill Book: Resurrect Skeleton Archer] (LV.10, Limited to Necromancer)

"A ranged summon?"

Lin Mu rubbed his chin. This skill made up for his current summons' lack of ranged output. Against certain special situations in the future, it might come in handy.

[Fear Whisper Ring] (LV.10, Gold)

"Not bad. This counts as a big haul."

Lin Mu stored the loot in his space, the questions about the "surface monster" and the SS rating flashing briefly through his mind.

"Forget it. Let's get out first."

The five-minute countdown was nearing its end.

A flash of white light, and Lin Mu's figure slowly materialized from the light gate of [Wailing Cavern].

The moment he appeared, the crowd, which had been boiling over the SS-rank clear record, seemed to hit a pause button.

You could hear a pin drop!

Everyone's eyes—

Whether they were ordinary professionals or the big shots standing in the front row—all of them were now locked onto Lin Mu.

Their gazes looked like they were about to pounce and devour him the next second!

"It... it really is him!"

"SS-rank clear! He came out alive!"

After a brief dead silence, an eruption of shouts and uproar burst forth like a volcano!

"Is this guy even human?! Over three hours! From LV.4 to LV.9! And he cleared [Wailing Cavern]!"

"Necromancer... How did I ever think this class was weak?!"

Director Liu trembled with excitement, his lips quivering, barely able to form a complete sentence.

He glanced at the other big shots beside him—none of them were any better off!

Mu Wanqing maintained her outward calm, but inside, a storm was raging.

She stepped forward slowly, forcing her voice to stay steady.

"Student Lin Mu, congratulations on completing the challenge."

Lin Mu's expression was indifferent, as if he had just finished an ordinary outing.

He gave a slight nod.

"Just lucky."

"Lucky?!"

The fiery-tempered admissions representative from the War Academy couldn't help but snort.

But his tone carried a heavy mix of admiration and helplessness.

"If this counts as lucky for you, then the so-called geniuses our academies nurture would be nothing but jokes!"

The old man from Huaxia Professional University shook his head with a wry smile.

"I've been in admissions work for decades and have never seen such... unorthodox, yet so successful a challenger."

His eyes swept over Lin Mu, full of scrutiny.

"Student Lin Mu, could you tell us how you managed to push the [Wailing Cavern] rating to SS-rank in such a short time?"

This question was on everyone's mind.

Hearing this, Lin Mu showed a perfectly timed hint of "fatigue."

He said flatly, "The monsters inside... seemed weaker than expected."

"Also, they didn't seem to like coordinating with each other. I seized some opportunities and took them down one by one."

This explanation was strikingly similar to how he had justified clearing the SSS-rank trial dungeon.

It sounded somewhat reasonable on the surface, but upon closer thought, it was full of holes.

Yet, you couldn't find a way to refute it.

After all, the SS-rank clear record was right there!

Mu Wanqing gave Lin Mu a deep look.

"How long did it take you to kill the Cave Lord?"

Lin Mu "recalled" briefly, then replied, "I didn't pay much attention. It took quite a while—its defense was very high. I mainly relied on my summons to wear it down slowly."

"Summons?"

Mu Wanqing's eyes flickered. "Are your summons somehow different from an ordinary Necromancer's skeletons?"

Lin Mu's heart tightened—it seemed she had still noticed something.

But his face remained calm.

"Maybe I got lucky. My class underwent a minor mutation when I awakened."

"Mutation?"

Mu Wanqing savored the word, lost in thought.

She didn't press further but shifted the topic.

"Lin Mu, with an SS-rank evaluation, you cleared the [Wailing Cavern] challenge three days ahead of the deadline."

"As agreed, the [Shengjing Academy]'s 'Heaven Branch' officially admits you!"

At these words.

The admission representatives from other academies around them showed undisguised envy and regret.

Principal Qu Qingfeng was so excited he slapped Lin Mu's shoulder hard.

"Good! Well done! Lin Mu, you're the pride of our Second Vocational College!"

Mayor Fan Zhiheng stepped forward as well, a look of approval on his face.

"Lin Mu, you've brought glory to Xilin City once again!"

He said in a deep voice.

"The city government has decided to award you another five hundred thousand Nova Coins! And, as a reward, a high-end apartment in the 'Tianlan Mansion' in the city center!"

"Hiss—"

Another wave of sharp intakes of breath.

Five hundred thousand Nova Coins!

A high-end apartment in Tianlan Mansion!

Good heavens! Money and a house—they were really going all out!

Tianlan Mansion was Xilin City's famous wealthy district; an apartment there was worth at least several million Nova Coins!

This honor was enough to make any new professional green with envy!

Lin Mu's heart stirred as well—this reward came at just the right time.

He was still living in the old house left by his parents.

The conditions in every aspect were outdated.

Moreover.

As his strength grew and his secrets multiplied.

A safer, more private residence was indeed very necessary.

He gave a slight bow to Mayor Fan Zhiheng.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mayor."

Fan Zhiheng waved his hand with a smile.

"You deserve it. I hope you'll make even greater contributions to Xilin City and to Huaxia in the future."

An assistant beside him immediately stepped forward.

Handing Lin Mu a pale gold-glowing key card and a set of documents.

"Mr. Lin, this is the key card and property deed for Unit 1801, Building A, Tianlan Mansion. All procedures have been completed. You may move in at any time."

The assistant's voice was respectful and professional.