Zhang Yang naturally intended to do what he had promised Clyde.
At least, he had to keep up appearances.
Otherwise, Zhang Yang was afraid Clyde would call his parents.
He was already over thirty in mental age, and getting a teacher to call his parents would hardly reflect well on him.
So, during the following days, Zhang Yang adjusted his schedule a little.
He added a nap at noon. After dinner, he no longer rushed to cultivate, instead taking a stroll around the academy to enjoy the night scenery.
Of course, he also took the opportunity to witness the unique elementary-school puppy love of the Douluo Continent.
On average, Zhang Yang now spent two fewer hours cultivating each day.
As a result, his leveling speed had slowed down.
November 28, Sunday.
After breakfast, Zhang Yang returned to his dormitory, sat cross-legged, and began exploring the map for treasure.
Normally, Zhang Yang took Sundays off.
After all, he'd spent the whole week diligently hunting for treasure; he needed a day to rest and give his mind a breather.
But this Sunday was different.
A few days earlier, the teacher had announced that the entire academy would hold a Soul Power assessment on December 1.
As it happened, Zhang Yang had already reached level 9.
He was only one step away from level 10.
So, for Zhang Yang, this assessment was an opportunity.
He decided to sacrifice his day off and make a push, aiming to reach level 10 that very day.
Then, he would make a stunning impression at the assessment three days later.
On the loadout screen, Zhang Yang chose the backpack and chest rig with the largest capacities, then equipped a brand-new set of 2 helmets and 2 body armors.
2 helmets and 2 body armors were the highest-grade armor permitted by Confidential Academy.
Although this grade of armor was as good as paper in front of a map boss at the fourth ring, it could still make a huge difference against other enemies.
Then, Zhang Yang put armor repair kits, helmet repair kits, health medicine, mana medicine, painkillers, a few syringes, and a level-one armor called the Heding City Academy Uniform into his backpack.
At this point, Zhang Yang had pushed his combat readiness and loadout value to the maximum. According to the pattern he'd figured out over the past few months, the system would put him in a high-pressure, high-loot match.
"Start!"
GTI Commander: "Confidential Academy is full of danger. Be extra careful."
The zipline carried him down. One glance was enough for Zhang Yang to recognize that he'd landed on Hotel Street.
It wasn't as good as the Academy's number-one spawn point, but Hotel Street still had plenty of loot. After all, it was a major resource area.
With the M14 held at the ready, Zhang Yang strode toward a large hotel nearby called Yuelai Hotel.
He rushed into the hotel lobby, ignoring everything around him. Bracing himself with one hand, he vaulted over the front desk and reached straight inside, opening a small safe.
"One slot."
"Purple, Spirit Master Dagger, value: 29,729."
Not bad. He'd found a small purple item right off the bat. It was a great start.
Zhang Yang tucked it into his secure container, swept his eyes over the front desk, and, seeing no key card, came out and headed straight for the second floor.
There was a chance of a room key card spawning on the desk at the front desk, so Zhang Yang checked every time he passed by.
On the second floor, he first pushed open the storage room door. Three collectible items had spawned on the shelves inside.
Zhang Yang took one glance and turned to leave.
Nothing worth taking.
Next were the three rooms on the second floor that could be searched.
A mocha coffee pot in a drawer, a wooden smoking pipe on a table.
A box of tea on the bar counter, a carved bird on the table.
In the third room, a wine jug sat on the dining table, and a piece of clothing lay on the bed. He reached out, and the display showed one slot in the shadows, with the magnifying glass slowly turning.
"Ding."
"Blue, Academy Infirmary, value: 120,921."
Zhang Yang grinned. "Nice, nice. A key card."
Key cards were great. They were valuable, took up no space, and could unlock some high-grade containers.
A place like the infirmary could yield precious red and blue medicine, and was also a good place to find large medical items.
Going up from the second floor to the third, Zhang Yang reached out and grabbed a local-style lantern from the service desk.
Then he walked up to the only room on the third floor that could be searched and raised his hand to swipe the card.
"Beep. Hotel VIP Room."
After the key card lost two points of durability, the door eased open a crack. Zhang Yang pushed it open, entered, and pulled it shut behind him.
The Hotel VIP Room in Confidential Mode had four containers: a drawer cabinet, a wardrobe, a solid-wood storage chest, and a small safe.
There were also several open loot spawns.
Once inside, Zhang Yang, an old hand at looting, went around the edges and started picking through everything.
The small safe beside the bed had only one slot.
"Ding."
"Gold, Pearl Necklace, value: 58,067."
A small green item had spawned on the bedside table, but Zhang Yang paid it no mind.
A book about a sister-in-law and a belt had spawned on the bed. Neither was worth picking up.
In the drawer cabinet against the wall, Zhang Yang reached in and found a one-slot small purple item.
"Purple, Totem Arrow, value: 15,093."
The bull horn ornament on the wall was at least a purple collectible, so Zhang Yang reluctantly took it.
On the sofa, a jade pendant with gold tassels had spawned.
"Gold, Tassel Jade Pendant, value: 85,856."
A local-style ceramic piece had spawned on the coffee table in front of the sofa. It took up four slots and was a big green item—not worth the trouble.
A small gold cup had spawned on the table.
"Gold, Local Specialty Wine Glass, value: 63,837."
The solid-wood storage chest had two green items and one blue item. The wardrobe held a level-two body armor. None of them were worth taking.
After searching the guest room, Zhang Yang pushed open the door to the bathroom next door.
Then Zhang Yang's eyes lit up.
In the dish on the washstand where guests temporarily left their jewelry, a gleaming wristwatch lay.
"Holy crap!"
Overjoyed, Zhang Yang reached out, snatched up the watch, and stowed it in his secure container.
"Simon, Simon, don't miss..."
"Red, Luxury Mechanical Watch, value: 212,765."
Humming a tune, Zhang Yang inspected the watch and nodded in satisfaction.
Sure enough, the higher his combat readiness, the better the loot rate in the match.
The one-slot red item, "Luxury Mechanical Watch," extended the time available in a treasure-hunting map match.
Once its level-one special effect was activated, the 25-minute match duration for Heding City Academy's Confidential Mode jumped straight to 37 minutes and 30 seconds.
A full 50 percent increase.
Its level-two special effect increased the duration by 200 percent.
In Heding City Academy's Confidential Mode, that meant a single match would last 75 minutes—well over an hour.
The effect was downright terrifying.
With the Rolex safely in hand, he'd finished looting this key-card room.
Zhang Yang opened his personal status panel and took a look. It read: "Loot this match: 726,175."
Zhang Yang slapped his thigh. "See? Confidential Mode is where the money's at. This is the real deal."
It was incredibly profitable.
Of course, the main reason was that the loot rate in this match was high. The key card and Rolex alone accounted for half the total.
Zhang Yang glanced at the nine slots in his secure container. The little gold and red items were all safe and sound inside. He smiled in satisfaction.
Now Zhang Yang had the nerve to make a trip to the Administration Building, too.
His secure container was already full, so if he ran into a boss, all he had to do was see whether it jumped at him and drag it over.
At level 5, you called me "Roadside Stray." I didn't hold it against you. Now I'm level 9. What should you call me?
Hm?
Coming down from the third floor to the first, Zhang Yang had been planning to quickly sweep the first floor and then leave, but he heard a series of hurried footsteps.
"Hm?"
Zhang Yang froze, then turned and slipped back up the stairs to the second floor, hiding there and listening carefully.
"Up the stairs... through the door, in the lobby, left... right-hand room's drawer cabinet, at the front desk."
Then Zhang Yang heard the sound of someone rummaging through things.
On the first floor, a young Soul Master had reached the front desk and was now rummaging around inside it. He muttered to himself as he searched:
"How is there only this much money? Damn it, they even took the cash when they left."
Zhang Yang's thoughts stirred. I can wait until he finds something before taking him out.
The enemy Soul Master could search containers and loot spawns that Zhang Yang couldn't, and might even find things that would make Zhang Yang himself envious.
Now that the enemy was in the light and Zhang Yang was in the dark, he could let the other man fatten up first, then butcher him for meat once he'd filled his pockets.
Thinking of the cramped space at the front desk, Zhang Yang's thoughts shifted. The M14 appeared in his hands, and he began creeping downstairs on tiptoe.
He silently reached the bend in the stairs and pressed himself against the wall. As he listened to the "flap-flap" of pages turning downstairs, he recalled the layout of the hotel's front desk.
The sound of pages turning. The only papers at a hotel front desk would be the account books, internal registration logs, and takeout menus from nearby restaurants, Zhang Yang thought.
"Ha, that's it. Let me go up and see what's in there."
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Yang heard paper scatter with a rustle, followed by the loud slam of a door.
Hearing that, Zhang Yang realized it was time to make his move.
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