New World Building

"Could I, uh, borrow ten thousand yuan?"

Yang Chen's slightly awkward voice rang out.

For a moment, everyone froze—not just Wild Wolf, but all the ability users from Number 98 standing in the stands.

What was that?

Borrow money?

You were a mighty figure who could defeat an A-Class powerhouse with one punch, and you still had to borrow money?

For a moment, all the ability users struggled to process what they'd heard.

To this group of ability users, ten thousand yuan was as insignificant as a glass of water. Sometimes, they spent several thousand yuan just going out for a meal.

It was only ten thousand yuan. Why did he need to borrow it?

Wild Wolf looked utterly bewildered.

How much money was ten thousand yuan again?

At his level, ten thousand yuan was practically nothing.

When he went to the Number 98 branch in Xi'an to exchange for things he could use in his training, the prices started at a hundred thousand or even a million yuan.

Ten thousand yuan really was far too little.

In the stands, some quick-witted ability users had already started pulling out their money. They pooled it together until they'd scraped together ten thousand yuan.

After all, these days, very few people carried cash.

Lending Yang Chen ten thousand yuan would not only help them get closer to him, but might even earn them a favor. For every ability user from Number 98 present, this was a great opportunity.

After all, anyone who could defeat Wild Wolf with one punch had to be an S-Class ability user, no matter how weak he was!

Someone like that was practically a god in a small city like Hancheng!

Yang Chen accepted the ten thousand yuan from several ability users. Feeling its substantial weight, he found himself strangely reassured.

"I'm off!"

Yang Chen smiled, then walked straight out of the arena, leaving the ability users from Number 98 staring after him.

For some reason, seeing Yang Chen made them realize that even beggar's clothes could look so imposing.

"All right, all right. Don't bother trying to cozy up to him. People like that are usually proud. If you keep approaching him, it might not end well!"

After Yang Chen left, Wild Wolf called out to the ability users from Number 98 around him.

"Go on, get back to what you were doing!"

"Pfft!"

The ability users all shot Wild Wolf contemptuous looks, then dispersed.

Soon, Wild Wolf was the only one left standing in the arena. He scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.

"Damn, I've really made a fool of myself!"

At the very center of Hancheng stood a towering skyscraper. Several large characters were emblazoned across the middle of the building.

New World Building!

Yang Chen stood at the entrance of New World Building, gazing up at the towering structure. He suddenly felt as tiny as an ant.

"Phew!"

Yang Chen took a deep breath, then stepped into the place he'd always longed to visit!

He'd been here before, but back then, he'd barely had any money in his pockets and hadn't dared to go in.

But now, feeling the thick wad of ten thousand yuan in his pocket, he felt much more at ease!

As soon as he entered, the scene seemed to shift before his eyes, and all sorts of shops came into view.

Ignoring the looks people were giving him, Yang Chen headed straight for a shop selling men's casual clothes and bought an outfit.

Once he changed, his whole air transformed.

In a slightly loose sweatshirt and baggy jeans, Yang Chen, who hadn't looked particularly presentable before, now resembled the boy next door.

He spent nearly a thousand yuan on the outfit, then tossed his beggar's clothes aside.

Why keep the old when he had something new?

After that, he went up to the second floor and found somewhere to eat.

The restaurant wasn't very big, but as he reached the entrance, a delicious aroma drifted out. Yang Chen had gone in because he'd caught the scent.

Once inside, he realized the restaurant was nearly empty. The place was simply furnished, too. When he'd first walked in, he'd wondered how somewhere that smelled so good could have no customers.

But when he got further inside, he saw the reason.

A group of burly men were threatening the woman who owned the restaurant.

No wonder there was nobody here!

Yang Chen frowned. He didn't want to get involved in any trouble.

But the owner, surrounded by the group of burly men, seemed to spot a lifeline and cried out to him.

"Hey, young man! Help me!"

At once, the men noticed Yang Chen.

"Damn it!"

Yang Chen cursed under his breath, then looked helplessly at the burly men.

"Uh, you guys carry on. I'll just leave."

The apparent leader gave one of the men a look. The man immediately understood and strode toward Yang Chen, a cruel gleam appearing in his eyes.

Yang Chen sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, he should stay away from women. Women were nothing but trouble!

He hadn't done a thing, yet somehow he'd been dragged into this for no reason. It annoyed him.

"Kid, don't blame me. Blame yourself for walking in here!"

The burly man chuckled, rubbing his fists with a vicious look.

Yang Chen's expression gradually turned cold.

"What, you think you can stop me from leaving?"

"You probably won't be walking out. Crawling, maybe."

As he spoke, the burly man punched at Yang Chen, intending to knock him flat.

Cruelty filled the man's eyes. He could already picture Yang Chen sprawled on the floor.

He wasn't an ability user, but he was incredibly strong. He could knock down even a bull!

After Spiritual Energy Recovery, the physical constitution of people on Earth had improved across the board. Even ordinary people were much stronger than they'd been in the past.

And this man was a burly fellow who'd trained, too!

As far as he was concerned, Yang Chen was in for a miserable beating.

But in the next moment, the burly man's expression changed. It felt as if his arm had been clamped in an iron grip.

No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't pull his arm free!

The man's companions noticed what was happening and all turned to look at Yang Chen.

The leader frowned.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and finish him!"

Cold sweat beaded across the burly man's forehead.

His heart filled with bitterness.

It wasn't that he didn't want to. The young man in front of him was just too strange. He was strong himself—stronger than some E-Class ability users who weren't known for their strength.

Yet the strength he was so proud of seemed useless here, leaving him helpless.

"Get lost!"

Yang Chen's voice exploded in the burly man's ears.

Yang Chen lifted the man as easily as if he weighed nothing, swung him around, and hurled him aside!

Thud!

A loud crash rang out.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the sound.

The leader's pupils contracted sharply.

He'd spent plenty of time in the underworld. He knew he'd run into someone tough.

The other man was probably an ability user!

Otherwise, there was no way he could have handled the burly man so easily.

The leader slowly walked over, then forced a smile.

"Young man, I work for Young Master Wang from Number 98. I hope you'll do us a favor. We'll make it worth your while!"

A trace of arrogance showed in the leader's eyes.

Clearly, this so-called Young Master Wang from Number 98 was powerful, with plenty of influence. Otherwise, even his subordinate wouldn't be so cocky!

Still, he wasn't an ability user, so he remained fairly polite to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen brushed the dust off his clothes and replied flatly,

"I don't know any Young Master Wang. I came here to eat. Since there's nothing going on now, I'll be on my way."

Yang Chen wasn't afraid of this so-called Young Master Wang, but he didn't really want to cause trouble, either.

After all, he couldn't yet be considered an official member of Number 98. If things got out of hand, it might be difficult to clean up the mess.

Even so, Yang Chen wasn't afraid of them!

"How about this? There's ten thousand yuan on this bank card. Take it as an apology!"

The leader laughed, then pulled a bank card from his pocket and held it out to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile appearing on his lips.

The leader saw Yang Chen's smile and thought less of him.

He figured Yang Chen had only just become an ability user. Otherwise, he wouldn't be bought off with a mere ten thousand yuan.

Only newly awakened ability users who were desperately short of money—people from poor families—would act like this.

And in the leader's eyes, Yang Chen was clearly one of them!

Even if an ability user like him was beyond the leader's own reach, the people he worked for had nothing to fear!

After all, the people behind him had a say even within Number 98!

Yang Chen accepted the bank card with a smile and was just about to leave when he heard someone call out.

"I'll pay a hundred thousand! Please do me the honor of lending a hand!"