Beverly and Pandora didn't leave until evening. Neither of them wanted Zhang Tie to drive them home, so a refreshed Zhang Tie took them to the bus stop on Monet Avenue. After watching the two of them board the Black Flame City bus, Zhang Tie, with a mischievous Zhang Tie on his face, returned to the apartment building.
Alice's departure was a blow to Zhang Tie Zhang Tie. He couldn't understand why men and women had to lie when they slept together. If that was the truth, why pretend? If a woman liked him, why couldn't she like the real him?
Zhang Tie didn't know what love was. Zhang Tie only knew that if he liked a girl, he wanted to be good to her, make her happy, and not let her get hurt, so they could happily do things they liked together. Was that too much to ask?
Is it that being truthful is wrong, or have people simply become accustomed to hypocrisy?
Am I too naive, or are all the men besides me too clever?
Even in the most dangerous moments, Zhang Tie could face life and death without hesitation for the woman he loved, without any regrets. But in bed, even if telling a lie could make her willingly take off her pants, Zhang Tie didn't want to do that, and he didn't want to force them in the slightest.
Because that's not who I am!
Thankfully, we have Pandora and Beverly.
This afternoon was Zhang Tie's happiest afternoon. In just a few hours, Zhang Tie found that he seemed to have fallen in love with the game "Goldfish and Mummy".
Women truly are a source of happiness.
Later, Zhang Tie committed two egregious violations, resorting to violence, which nearly drowned Pandora and Beverly's two little goldfish...
When Zhang Tie returned to the apartment, there was a car parked in front of it—a real luxury car. A fat man whom Zhang Tie recognized very well was standing at the entrance, curiously looking around at the surroundings.
That was Hans, the manager of the Iron Thorn Combat Hall, a guy who weighed at least twice as much as Hans, the staff officer.
"Manager Hans!" Upon seeing the fat man, Zhang Tie began to guess his purpose.
"Look at your complexion, you're glowing, you don't look like you've just been injured at all!" Manager Hans looked at Zhang Tie with some surprise.
"That's because I'm lucky!"
Zhang Tie smiled, took out his key, opened the outer door of the apartment, and invited Manager Hans inside to talk.
Upon entering the house, Zhang Tie drew back the curtains, and the entire living room regained its brightness.
"Boss Tang De is a generous man!" Manager Hans said with a double meaning after glancing at the apartment.
"He is my mentor. Manager Hans should understand that in the Hua Clan, the mentor-apprentice relationship is almost on par with the father-son relationship! A small gift of money is nothing..."
"Of course, now the entire Black Flame City knows you're very lucky!"
Please have a seat. Would you like some water?
"No, I came to see you on someone's behalf, to clear up a misunderstanding between you. I should have come yesterday after hearing you woke up, but considering you need to rest well, I was delayed by a day!" Manager Hans said, as he took two things out of his pocket and placed them on the table. One was a small box, and the other was a crystal gold note.
" The Gregory Family?"
"Yes!" Manager Hans nodded. "Mr. Feilie, the patriarch of the Gregory Family, expresses his deepest apologies for your assassination attempt. This is a small compensation from the Gregory Family!"
Looking at the things Manager Hans had placed on the table, Zhang Tie was slightly dazed for a moment before accepting the fact. So, at this point, he was already someone even the once-powerful ruling Lineage of Black Flame City had to take seriously?
"Please convey to Mr. Feilie that this incident was primarily caused by me. I am fully aware that the Gregory Family was completely caught up in this matter by accident, and I sincerely apologize for the negative impact this incident has had on the Gregory Family!"
Manager Hans laughed, quite satisfied with Zhang Tie's answer. He had initially worried that someone like Zhang Tie, who had suddenly risen from the bottom, would be difficult to talk to and arrogant after gaining power. But hearing Zhang Tie's words, he realized that this young man was far smarter than he had imagined. No wonder Colin treated him differently. At the same time, this young man's luck was enviable. He had only been struck by lightning, yet he had soared to great heights, instantly mastering the Iron-Blood Dark Force. Even a poison like Blue Frost hadn't killed him. Such a physique was truly enviable.
"Still interested in visiting the Iron Thorn Combat Hall?" Manager Hans changed the subject, chatting with Zhang Tie about the Iron Thorn Combat Hall. " The Black Flame City Battle Hall will reopen next week!"
"Or should we be human punching bags?" Zhang Tie asked.
Manager Hans burst into laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke. "Of course not! A promising officer from the Norman Empire —who would dare hire someone like that as a human punching bag? Even if you wanted to, you probably wouldn't find anyone willing to beat you up!"
Zhang Tie also laughed.
Manager Hans then took out a document from his pocket. "This is the letter of appointment for Senior Advisor of the Battle Hall. If you agree, from now on, you will be a Senior Advisor of the Battle Hall!"
"What rights and obligations does this senior advisor have within the venue?"
"The rights of a senior advisor in the Battle Hall are equivalent to those of our platinum clients. They can also offer their own suggestions on the development and management of the Battle Hall. The salary of a senior advisor is 20 gold coins per week. Their only obligation is that if you are in Black Flame City, you can come to the Battle Hall to play when you have time and show your face."
"Okay!" Thinking of Mary, Zhang Tie readily agreed. It would be crazy to refuse such a good thing that was offered to him.
Manager Hans left satisfied...
After seeing Manager Hans out of the apartment building, Zhang Tie returned and first picked up the crystal gold note on the table. The words "5000 gold coins, redeemable on sight, Golden Roc Bank " on the note made Zhang Tie's heart stop for a moment.
Although Zhang Tie had anticipated that the Gregory Family's offer would be substantial, he still hadn't expected them to offer 5,000 gold coins—roughly equivalent to his father's salary over several centuries. The generosity of these powerful Lineage was truly extraordinary.
Golden Roc Bank is the largest and most powerful bank in the entire Blakerson Human Corridor. Its presence can be seen in almost every city in the Blakerson Human Corridor. Almost all the Hua Clan like to deposit their money in Golden Roc Bank. No matter how turbulent the situation in the Blackson region is, how the regime changes, or how time changes, this bank will never be affected.
This bank's advertising slogan says it all: A thousand years of guaranteed reputation!
This is a bank that existed before the Great Cataclysm. The Great Cataclysm changed everything, but this bank still exists. Just thinking about it is enough to make one realize how terrifying it is and how unfathomable its background is.
Zhang Tie put down the crystal gold note and opened the small box. As soon as he opened the box, Zhang Tie had a feeling of déjà vu—an exquisite crystal bottle with a narrow mouth, and the green liquid inside.
The only difference between this bottle and the Mother Theresa brought out was that this crystal bottle had a line of rather ostentatious gold lettering on it, as if it wanted everyone to know what it was. " Advanced Recovery Potion!"
Indeed, surviving a great calamity often brings good fortune. Looking at these two items, Zhang Tie burst into laughter...
After seeing Manager Hans off, Zhang Tie was left alone in the apartment. Without hesitation, Zhang Tie went to the secret room in the study and then entered the Castle of Black Iron...
----Welcome to Castle of Black Iron, handsome and imposing Fortress Master!
It had been a long time since he had seen this welcoming message. Seeing it again lifted Zhang Tie's spirits.
Because the plants Castle of Black Iron are growing every day, Zhang Tie felt that the vitality and greenery inside the Castle of Black Iron had become even more vigorous after only a few days away.
Zhang Tie arrived at the Little Tree, and as expected, two Flawless Fruit were already hanging on Little Tree, one ripe and the other about to ripen. Zhang Tie planned to use these Flawless Fruit as emergency blood bags, so he didn't pick them.
On another branch of the Little Tree, Zhang Tie saw the newly grown Poison Refining Fruit Little Tree. It was a blue fruit about the size of a strawberry and very similar in shape. The blue color of the fruit immediately reminded Zhang Tie of the deadly poison, Blue Frost. The toxicity of Blue Frost still sent chills down Zhang Tie when he thought about it. That kind of poison was truly terrifying. Without this Little Tree, Zhang Tie knew he would have died again.
After carefully examining the Poison Refining Fruit, Zhang Tie reached out and began to check its properties.
--The Poison Refining Fruit, Blue Frost, is ripe. To use, simply consume it directly after harvesting. Note: Do not take the fruit away from Castle of Black Iron; its energy and vitality will gradually dissipate twelve hours after harvesting.
--All trials that life faces will propel it toward the perfect path of evolution.
--The Poison Refining Fruit, Blue Delight, has the following effects after consumption:
First, it provides complete immunity to all toxins at level one, which is also known as the slightly toxic level.
Second, the body's ability to resist damage from all toxins increases by three percent.
Third, the body's resistance to neurotoxic drugs increases by 7%.
Fourth, the body's resistance to Blue Frost poison will increase by 18%, and the poison immunity period will be 20 minutes. When injured by Blue Frost, the body can maintain its original state for 20 minutes and will not be affected by the poison.
"Fantastic! "Zhang Tie almost jumped up. Zhang Tie had heard before that people who frequently came into contact with toxic substances would naturally develop a resistance to them. He never expected that after being poisoned by Blue Frost, his body would actually undergo an evolution to resist the toxin. This feeling was amazing.
From a toxicology perspective, many things in daily life contain trace amounts of toxins. These are the lightest levels of poison. Generally, a normal person would only be likely to die if they ingested more than 100 grams of pure trace toxins simultaneously. While trace toxins are present in extremely low concentrations in various substances, their quantity and variety are vast. For example, the exhaust fumes from certain factories in Black Flame City, the insects that cause swelling after biting, the sap and fruit of many plants (such as unripe tomatoes), and especially the herbs commonly used by the Hua Clan —all these contain very small amounts of mild toxins. However, because they cause minimal harm, people don't pay much attention. After all, no one would allow themselves to be bitten by tens of thousands of mosquitoes simultaneously, or eat unripe tomatoes for months on end. Therefore, cases of death from trace toxins are virtually nonexistent throughout history. Collecting more than 100 grams of trace toxins is definitely more than 100 times more difficult than collecting 100 grams of highly toxic substances.
Zhang Tie never expected that after experiencing the Blue Frost, he would become completely immune to the mild toxins. This would definitely make his body healthier, and at least he wouldn't have to worry about getting mosquito bites again.
Several other effects of this Poison Refining Fruit also greatly pleased Zhang Tie. It almost raised Zhang Tie body's ability to resist poison to a whole new level, far exceeding that of most ordinary people. How could he not be happy?
Amidst hearty laughter, Zhang Tie plucked the Poison Refining Fruit and swallowed it in one gulp, like eating a strawberry...