Awakened

In the restroom, Yang Chen splashed cold water on his face. Looking at his slightly flushed reflection in the mirror, he couldn't help but crack a smile.

However, it wasn't a very pleasant smile.

Yang Chen was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, which had left him with a reserved personality; furthermore, he had been scraping by as a scavenger for some time now.

He had very little interaction with others.

Consequently, he had become somewhat of a loner.

Smiles rarely appeared on Yang Chen's face.

Yang Chen clenched his fist slightly. The faint sense of immense power radiating from within it filled him with a sense of security.

This feeling of being able to hold his own fate in his hands was truly wonderful.

In the past, Yang Chen could only pray for good luck, hoping to find something valuable just to survive. It could be said that the old Yang Chen had lived entirely by the mercy of Heaven.

But things were different now. As an Awakened, Yang Chen could finally take his destiny into his own hands!

Awakened held a very high status among all of humanity.

Although Yang Chen didn't know what kind of Awakened his Grandmaster rank made him, he knew one thing: even the weakest Awakened had a higher status than a civil servant!

Yang Chen fished a few crumpled banknotes from his pocket and counted them; there were exactly eleven yuan.

Yang Chen pushed open the room door, intending to go out and get something to eat.

Now that he was an Awakened, he shouldn't treat himself poorly. Eleven yuan was enough for Yang Chen to eat his fill!

Downstairs, Yang Chen headed straight for "Liu's Noodle Shop" across the street.

This Liu's Noodle Shop was somewhat shabby, yet the flow of customers was endless. Tables were even set up all the way to the entrance, as if they were afraid of running out of space.

At the entrance, a massive iron pot had been set up. Beside it stood an old man, occasionally dropping noodles into the boiling water to cook.

After fishing them out and placing them into individual bowls, he added some seasonings. Before long, the fragrance of noodles mixed with spices wafted through the air.

The aroma entered Yang Chen's nostrils, instantly stirring his appetite.

"Gurgle~"

His stomach let out a cry.

Yang Chen strode toward the noodle shop. Nearby, people looked at his ragged attire, frowned, and shifted away, as if standing next to him was a source of bad luck.

Yang Chen seemed accustomed to these reactions. He simply walked silently to the old man at the stove and spoke softly.

"Three taels of plain noodles, easy on the chili, please!"

Then, Yang Chen carefully took the crumpled eleven yuan from his pocket and placed it gently on the counter in front of the old man.

"Go take a seat!"

The old man gave a slight nod.

Hearing this, Yang Chen found a random spot and sat down quietly, saying nothing. He acted like a wooden statue, seemingly blind to the cold glares and mockery from those around him.

After a while, the old man brought over a bowl larger than Yang Chen's face and set it on the table.

The scent of the noodles was intoxicating. The bright red chili oil instantly whetted his appetite, and several large chunks of beef floated prominently on top of the noodles.

For some reason, Yang Chen felt a lump in his throat, and for a moment, he couldn't find the words to speak.

Perhaps this old man was the only one who had ever truly looked at him with respect!

"Eat up. It won't taste good once it gets cold!"

The old man dropped the remark and walked away, returning to the stove to continue cooking.

Yang Chen took a deep breath, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat in large mouthfuls. During the meal, a tear fell into the noodles, which Yang Chen ate without even seeming to notice.

Before long, the three taels of noodles were polished off, and he even drank the broth dry.

Just as Yang Chen was about to stand up and leave, an extremely arrogant voice rang out.

"Boss, how come there's a fly in my noodles!"

Yang Chen followed the sound and saw a young punk with dyed fire-red hair standing lazily by a table, squinting his eyes and holding a dead fly in his hand as he addressed the old man.

The old man glanced at Red Hair and said calmly.

"Customer, how about I treat you to this bowl of noodles today?"

"What do you take me for? Do you think I'm the type to take advantage of people? Let me tell you, if I get a stomachache, you're going to pay for it!"

Red Hair looked disdainful, propped one foot on the table, and spoke viciously.

Some of the other customers, seeing the situation, quickly dropped their payment and slipped away.

They didn't want any trouble.

The old man ignored Red Hair and continued with his work, as if Red Hair didn't exist at all. He had seen this kind of thing many times; they were just idle troublemakers.

The old man knew his own cooking well. Although his shop didn't look like much, it was very clean; it was impossible for a fly to be there.

Red Hair felt ignored, and his temper flared instantly.

"Do you know who I am? I'm an Awakened! One of Number 98's men!"

The old man's hands paused for a brief moment before he continued his work.

"Since when did Number 98 become an organization that bullies the common people?"

Number 98 was an organization for superpowered individuals in Huaxia. Every superpowered person in the country was either registered with them or had become a member of Number 98 itself.

Furthermore, the several Grandmasters of Huaxia were the very people behind Number 98!

This was no longer much of a secret in Huaxia; after all, so much time had passed since the resurgence of spiritual energy that it was time for the general public to be made aware of certain things.

Beside him, Yang Chen's brows twitched slightly. Wasn't Number 98 exactly what he was looking for?

Joining Number 98 not only guaranteed a handsome reward, but it also served as a form of status assurance. Even those hereditary noble families who possessed immense wealth had no choice but to bow their heads before Number 98.

Of course, that was only on the condition that one held some level of status within Number 98.

Like the Red Hair before them, he was still not worth mentioning in the eyes of those financial magnates!

However, even so, a regular member of Number 98 was not someone an ordinary person could afford to provoke.

After all, the strength of an ordinary person was simply too insignificant in the face of a superpowered individual.

And this was exactly what Red Hair had intended!

He simply wanted to rely on his identity as a superpowered individual to make some quick money!

To be continued!