Could You Lend Me Ten Thousand?

The area where Wild Wolf stood was completely shrouded in thick smoke. Even though the espers had exceptional eyesight, it was still hard to see through the dense clouds.

Especially with that faint, weakened breath coming from within the smoke. Their hearts couldn't help but skip a beat.

Had their boss lost?

Wild Wolf was the boss of Hancheng Number 98. Even among A-Class espers across Jiangnan—or even all of Huaxia—he ranked near the top.

And he'd been defeated by a single punch from the young man before them. That was right: a single punch!

He'd been defeated just like that?

One after another, unwilling glances turned toward the smoke, eager to see whether Wild Wolf had really lost. If he had, Number 98's reputation would take a hit!

After all, the person who had defeated Hancheng Number 98 was just a brash young man!

Gradually, the dust began to thin, then slowly disappeared.

Only then did the scene within the smoke come into view of the many Number 98 espers.

But the sight only stunned them even more.

Because their boss, Wild Wolf—

At that moment, blood was steadily flowing from his body. It was as if he'd taken a direct hit from a cannonball. A deep fist-shaped dent was embedded in his chest.

Blood poured from Wild Wolf's body around the indentation.

The thick stench of blood slowly spread across the entire area.

Wild Wolf was half-kneeling on the ground, bracing himself with both hands. Otherwise, after taking Yang Chen's punch, he wouldn't have been able to get back up at all.

"Haah, haah, haah!"

Wild Wolf panted heavily, large beads of sweat running down his forehead.

His eyes were filled with deep fear.

By all rights, Wild Wolf had served as a soldier in Huaxia, and fear was an emotion he could hardly experience anymore.

Even when facing an S-Class esper he couldn't hope to defeat, he'd never looked this afraid. Wild Wolf had been confident he could escape from an S-Class esper. But when facing Yang Chen, he could clearly tell that Yang Chen had held back at the last moment.

If he hadn't, Wild Wolf would already be a corpse!

"How could this happen? How could the boss be defeated by some brash kid?!"

An esper in the stands suddenly seemed to lose touch with reality. He stared at Yang Chen in disbelief, as if he'd gone mad.

"Jeez... Who is this guy?"

"Boss Wild Wolf is an A-Class esper! How could he not even withstand a single punch? This is impossible!"

Still, some people remained calm and began analyzing Yang Chen's identity. A few even left right away, intending to look into his background.

This person had appeared out of nowhere. Someone with such strength, who was unknown to Number 98—if they didn't find out who he was, he could become a huge ticking time bomb for Huaxia!

Yang Chen stood where he was, his eyes on Wild Wolf. A trace of surprise was evident in his gaze.

Was he really this strong?

Could the levels displayed by the system be the same as the levels used on Earth?

If that was true, didn't that mean he could do whatever he wanted on Earth?

For a moment, Yang Chen felt almost giddy.

Then a cold voice suddenly rang out, interrupting his thoughts.

Ding! Defeated an A-Class esper. Reward: one A-Class spiritual energy infusion!

"Spiritual energy infusion? What's that supposed to be?"

Yang Chen froze, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Forget it. I'll look into it tonight when I have time. I've got more important things to do right now!"

Yang Chen wasn't someone without desires. On the contrary, having grown up in an orphanage and then made a living picking through trash, he desperately needed money and status!

To make up for what he'd lost over the past ten years!

And the fastest way to get those things was to become one of Number 98's higher-ups!

Only then could he get what he wanted!

And Wild Wolf, the head of Hancheng Number 98, was Yang Chen's way of getting noticed by Number 98's leadership!

Yang Chen slowly walked over to Wild Wolf, then looked down at him and said calmly,

"Now, can you prove it?"

Wild Wolf struggled to lift his head. He looked at the somewhat youthful boy before him, momentarily dazed. Then he let out a heavy sigh and said,

"You won. But could you wait until I've recovered before I take you to meet the person in charge of Jiangnan?"

"It won't take long. Just one day."

As if worried Yang Chen might be unhappy, Wild Wolf hurried to explain.

It wasn't that Wild Wolf had lost his nerve. It was just that a mere A-Class like him couldn't take responsibility for someone like Yang Chen, who seemed to be a Grandmaster. After all, how many Grandmasters were there in all of Huaxia?

The existence of someone who might be a Grandmaster would undoubtedly send shockwaves throughout Huaxia.

Yang Chen frowned, then immediately relaxed.

It was only one day. He had nothing else to do, so he could just spend the day at home. It wasn't as though it would be a waste of time.

"Fine."

A trace of relief appeared on Wild Wolf's face.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness this person was relatively easy to talk to. If he'd run into someone who was difficult to reason with, the delay might have left lasting damage from his injuries and made it harder to break through to S-Class later.

"Then I'll report to the person in charge of Jiangnan shortly. Would you rather rest here for a day, or..."

Wild Wolf slowly got to his feet, speaking hesitantly.

Yang Chen waved his hand.

"Never mind. I'll go home. I'm not used to staying here!"

Wild Wolf thought for a moment before saying, "Then go home for now. The day after tomorrow, I'll come get you personally, and I'll take you to meet the person in charge of Jiangnan for Number 98."

Yang Chen nodded and started to leave.

But just as he turned around, he suddenly stopped and turned back. Looking a little embarrassed, he scratched his head and said sheepishly to Wild Wolf,

"So... could you lend me ten thousand?"