From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 6

Hao's real name was Chen Junhao. He was one of the three who had left the welfare home in earlier years and made the best of themselves.

He currently worked for the Hongyi Society, a major gang in the Iron Ring District with the best reputation, and his status there was not low.

He would occasionally return to the welfare home to visit. He was very loyal, and even looked after quite a few people in the nearby area.

The reason the original owner and Zhao Yuanqing had been able to rent this place at a low price was also because they owed him a favor.

"Speaking of which, I still haven't had the chance to formally thank Hao."

"Let's make time another day and go together."

Thinking of the past, Lu Chao said it seriously.

Zhao Yuanqing understood what he meant. He had always had the same thought too.

"Let's do the weekend. I'll ask Old Dong for time off. Shouldn't be a problem."

"And Lin Ze and the others seem to be planning the same thing. We can set something up with them."

"Okay."

The two chatted back and forth, also gossiping a little about the repair shop and the neighbors nearby.

Until finally—

"Have you eaten?"

"I heated up a serving of synthetic fast food for you. It's on the table."

Lu Chao suddenly asked, pointing at the dining table.

Zhao Yuanqing followed his finger and looked over. Sure enough, there was a lunchbox on the table, steaming hot.

Instead of showing any joy, a wary look appeared on his face, and he quickly took two steps back.

"You brat, being nice for no reason..." He looked Lu Chao up and down, then asked suspiciously, "You're not after something, are you?"

"Heh."

Lu Chao lightly rubbed his hands together and gave an embarrassed smile. "Your brother's been a little tight on money lately."

"Lend me some."

The next day, seven in the morning.

The red sun had just risen, cutting across the city skyline.

A trace of light appeared in the gray sky as Lu Chao, dressed in a clean black short-sleeved shirt and loose casual pants, walked into the familiar breakfast shop below the apartment complex.

"Boss, one basket of buns and two bowls of hot noodle soup."

"And please add extra beef."

His voice rang out in the somewhat noisy shop. Many office workers were crowded by the entrance, moving between the tables.

"Coming right up."

The owner answered without raising his head, busy lifting the lid of a steamer. A cloud of white steam immediately billowed up.

After ordering breakfast, Lu Chao walked straight to an empty seat by the wall near the entrance.

The brownish-yellow wooden table was a little old, with a layer of transparent plastic film stuck over the surface. It felt somewhat greasy and sticky to the touch, and a silver stainless-steel chopstick holder stood on one side.

"Fine, at least you've still got some conscience."

"I thought you were planning to treat me to a synthetic meal."

Zhao Yuanqing, sitting across from him, clicked his tongue, then waved at the busy owner and ordered two bottles of soda.

Synthetic food had long since spread through every corner of Prism Ring City, and even the entire Alliance State.

Not only was it bland, but its nutrition was low as well. Its only advantage was that it was very cheap, half the price of an equal amount of normal food.

But since he had decided to treat him, Lu Chao naturally would not be stingy.

Because he now had a full five thousand yuan extra. It was money he had borrowed from Zhao Yuanqing.

For that, he was sincerely grateful, and he kept it in his heart.

Zhao Yuanqing's situation was not much better than his. He was also burdened by the pressure of welfare loans, and this sum was no small amount for him either.

"I'll pay you back after a while."

Lu Chao's smile faded, and his tone became serious and solemn.

Right now, he truly needed this money to scrape together the martial arts school's tuition, as well as to support enough nutritional supplements for the short term ahead.

And after thinking it over, only Zhao Yuanqing, his best friend, could truly help him.

"Use it for now. I still have a little money on hand, and Old Dong is still paying me wages."

Zhao Yuanqing waved it off. He had changed into a clean black work uniform, though there was still a faint smell of machine oil on him.

The look he gave Lu Chao was somewhat serious, while also mixed with a trace of concern and questioning.

"But you—practicing martial arts costs a lot. Have you really thought this through?"

Meeting his gaze, Lu Chao nodded lightly, without the slightest hesitation.

"You still need talent to practice martial arts. You won't see results for months, and if it doesn't work out... sigh, forget it."

"It's fine to give it a try."

Zhao Yuanqing opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not try to persuade him any further.

Hadn't he had similar thoughts himself?

But just as he had considered earlier, on the path of martial arts, talent and resources were both indispensable. For most people in Iron Ring District, they were heavy shackles and daunting hurdles.

Not wanting to dampen his friend's determination, he took the soda the shop owner handed him and tactfully changed the subject.

"Which martial arts hall are you planning to go to?"

"I heard Brother Yuntao has already become a core disciple at Leiji Martial Arts Hall. Do you want to give it a try? Maybe he'll look after you a bit."

Wu Yuntao, the person he was talking about, was one of the three alongside Chen Junhao, and in private, many people from the welfare home called them the Three Heroes of Iron Ring.

But.

"I'll pass."

Lu Chao shook his head lightly and had no intention of choosing that place.

Leiji Martial Arts Hall was a famous large martial arts hall throughout Prism Ring City. It had many disciples, and the tuition was extremely expensive—at least twenty thousand yuan.

Although Wu Yuntao was remarkably talented, ever since he had gained a foothold there, he had rarely come back to visit. It seemed as if he were deliberately distancing himself, and Lu Chao did not think he would receive much care if he went.

"All right."

Zhao Yuanqing more or less understood as well and said no more.

The noodles were soon brought over, and steaming buns were set down in front of them too.

By tacit agreement, the two stopped bringing up martial arts halls. As they ate, they chatted about trivial matters at the repair shop.

During that time, there was some commotion. A blue-and-white-painted security vehicle drove into Factory Street and stopped beneath the low-rent building opposite.

Three or four patrol officers in blue uniforms got out. Some had bulging waists with pistols holstered there, while others carried metal batons. They entered several street-facing shops one after another to investigate and ask questions.

"What happened?"

"You don't know? Someone from Building Seven got robbed last night. Sounds like it was around two or three in the morning, when he was coming home from work."

"I heard about it too. Seems it was Old Wang's boy. They say even his kidneys are gone, and he's still being resuscitated now."

"No idea who did it. There are too few surveillance cameras around here, and with it being pitch-black at night... sigh, I'm afraid this case'll be hard to solve."

Low voices rose from other diners inside the breakfast shop, their tones gloomy.

Beneath Building Seven opposite, more onlookers gradually gathered, along with several tattooed men who were stopped and questioned, suspected of being gang members.

"Something happened again."

Lu Chao paused in the middle of eating his noodles and exchanged a glance with Zhao Yuanqing. Both of them looked somewhat grave.

Although the rent on Factory Street was cheap, public security there had never been very good.

It clearly covered nearly a kilometer, but most of the infrastructure here was left over from the old era. Surveillance cameras could be counted on one hand, and with water and power outages from time to time, order naturally fell short by a margin.

In the year they had lived here, they had already seen many vicious incidents such as theft, extortion, and organ robbery. They had even heard the shouts, curses, and gunshots of gang fights late at night.

"Strength..."

"As expected, only strength is the foundation for gaining a foothold."

Lu Chao thought silently, the desire to practice martial arts growing even stronger in his heart.

Immediately afterward, he quietly glanced at the panel.

The progress of his potential had not changed at all, confirming his guess from last night.

The difficulty of accumulating potential had sharply increased. Ordinary food had limited nutritional energy and was probably no longer of much use.

Without becoming overly anxious, Lu Chao merely set a goal in silence.