Limit Martial Arts Hall, head instructor's office.
In front of the spacious, bright floor-to-ceiling windows, head instructor Wu Tong personally poured Lin Fan a glass of water. For a Quasi-Martial Artist who hadn't yet officially passed the combat assessment, this was an exceptionally rare courtesy.
The instructor Jiang Nian sitting nearby was practically glowing. He stared at Lin Fan with such burning intensity that Lin Fan was getting goosebumps.
"Lin Fan, according to procedure, you'll have to wait until you pass the combat assessment on August 1 before you can officially become a martial artist."
Wu Tong sat on the leather sofa, lightly tapping his fingers on the table as he got straight to the point.
"But rules are dead, and people are alive. At eighteen years old, with a punching force of 1,350 kilograms and an excellent score in neural response, you already meet the standards for the martial arts hall's 'early recruitment' program. In fact... you even meet the standards for its 'genius special recruitment' program."
As he spoke, he pushed a prepared electronic contract toward Lin Fan.
"This is a special recruitment contract from Limit Martial Arts Hall. Once you sign and join us, in addition to the basic privileges granted to martial artists, you'll immediately receive the following benefits."
"First, a detached villa in Bright Moon Residential Quarter, with permanent residency rights."
"Second, twenty million Huaxia Currency in startup funds."
"Third, a complete set of your choice of Guidance Technique, movement technique, and attack technique. As long as the price is under fifty million, the martial arts hall will cover it."
When Wu Tong finished, he gazed at Lin Fan expectantly, waiting for the young man to break into a look of delight.
To his surprise, however, Lin Fan's expression remained calm.
He didn't jump around with excitement, nor did he look overwhelmed.
He simply skimmed through the contract, checked the clauses that mattered most to him—his "legal identity" and the "time the funds would arrive"—then picked up the electronic pen and signed his name without hesitation.
"Deal."
Lin Fan set down the pen and looked up at Wu Tong, his gaze clear.
"Thank you, Instructor. This is exactly what I need."
Wu Tong and Jiang Nian exchanged a glance. Their opinion of the young man rose even higher.
He was neither arrogant nor impatient, and he remained composed whether favored or slighted.
His character was even more formidable than his talent.
"Good!" Wu Tong laughed loudly, rose to his feet, and extended a hand. "Welcome to the Limit Martial Arts Hall family. I'll send your paperwork to headquarters right away. At the earliest, your citizen information will be updated to 'Quasi-Martial Artist' tonight. Jiang Nian will bring you the villa key shortly."
After finishing the paperwork, Lin Fan politely declined the instructors' invitation to lunch. He also chose neither a Guidance Technique nor a movement technique.
After all, whether it was the system-provided Basic Warrior 36 Forms or Basic Spiritual Master 18 Forms, both included movement techniques and combat techniques. Their Force Application Technique was also near-perfect, and could even take him all the way to the Planetary Level.
So he had no need to waste time on anything else.
Lin Fan walked out through the martial arts hall's heavy glass doors. The midday sun was almost blinding, pouring down without obstruction onto his faded school uniform.
The streets were full of traffic, and hurried pedestrians continued to struggle to make a living.
But to Lin Fan, the world had changed.
The moment he signed that contract, it was like a key had opened the door to another social class.
He had connections, a recognized identity, and no more worries holding him back.
He touched the Space Ring on his finger, disguised as a cheap trinket from a street stall.
Before, the "spoils" left behind by the Vulture Squad had been a hot potato—illicit goods he needed to keep hidden.
Now, with the two labels of "Quasi-Martial Artist" and "genius" backing him, they were legitimate spoils of war.
"First, I'll sell these things and turn them into cash, then buy advanced alloys."
Lin Fan lowered the brim of his hat, the faintest curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He needed to empty the ring and make room for more "feed."
Jiangnan Base City, HR Alliance Mall.
Lin Fan stood in front of the eighty-eight-story skyscraper, its entire facade gleaming with gold and splendor.
The building was one of the most luxurious landmarks in all of Jiangnan Base City. Huge holographic advertisements cycled across its surface, displaying all kinds of high-priced combat uniforms and cold weapons.
Set against the low buildings around it, it looked like a tower reaching for the heavens, built from money and towering over the masses below.
Lin Fan raised his head and squinted at the dazzling reflections in the glass.
"Wow, money really does make a place look impressive."
Then he reached back and gave the oversized camouflage canvas backpack a shake.
The pack bulged with everything he had brought to sell.
To avoid drawing attention and exposing the Space Ring, he had stuffed the items he planned to sell into this cheap backpack from a street stall before coming here.
The bag was holding together well enough. It hadn't burst.
"Hello, sir. Welcome."
As Lin Fan entered the building, two tall hostesses in uniforms bowed to greet him.
They had received the most professional training, and wore the standard professional smile.
But when their eyes swept over his faded school uniform, still speckled with dust, and the cheap canvas backpack that looked so out of place, their professional smiles visibly faltered for an instant.
A trace of surprise and disdain flickered in their eyes before they looked away as if nothing had happened.
They didn't stop him, but they didn't offer any particular warmth, either.
It was the standard cool indifference reserved for a poor student who had come in to browse without buying anything, or just to enjoy the air-conditioning.
Lin Fan paid them no mind and calmly walked into the lobby.
The lobby was cool and refreshing, a welcome relief to anyone coming in from the sweltering summer heat.
The air carried the faint scent of expensive perfume, mixed with the gentle strains of piano music. It felt like a completely different world from the street outside, with its dust, sweat, and clamor.
"Tsk, what a luxurious place."
Lin Fan didn't linger in the dazzling luxury goods section on the first floor. He crossed the polished marble floor and headed straight for the elevators, pressing the button for the thirty-sixth floor.
As the elevator shot upward, the feeling of weightlessness passed in an instant.
Ding.
The doors opened.
A clamor tinged with the smell of blood, tobacco, and sweat rushed at him.
There was none of the first floor's elegance or restraint here. The atmosphere was upscale, yet wild.
Huge holographic screens floated in midair, displaying the latest purchase prices for all kinds of monster materials. Red and green numbers flashed across them.
The spacious lobby was crowded with martial artists in combat uniforms, carrying War Blades and lugging bags. They haggled with buyers at the various counters.
Lin Fan lowered the brim of his hat, avoided a few hulking men radiating menace, and scanned the room.
He found a relatively quiet counter in a corner and walked over.
"Sir, are you selling materials?"
Behind the counter sat an old appraiser with white hair and gold-rimmed glasses.
He wore a finely tailored gray vest and was carefully polishing a monocle with a piece of deerskin.
Hearing footsteps, he barely lifted his eyelids, peering over the top of his glasses.
When he saw Lin Fan dressed like an "underage student," then noticed the shabby canvas backpack on the counter, the appraiser's polishing slowed noticeably.
Disappointment flickered in his eyes, along with a hint of perfunctory indifference.
"Young man, this is the HR Alliance's purchasing area, not a secondhand market or a recycling center."
The appraiser lowered his head again, his tone flat, tinged with a condescending note of advice.
"If you've picked up some scrap metal or dried-out low-grade animal hides, turn left when you leave and take the freight elevator to the basement."
"They have a place down there that buys scrap. The prices are low, but at least you can get enough for a meal."
In his view, someone this young, with no combat uniform, no decent weapon, and no martial artist badge, was most likely a scavenger picking through the edges of the Wilderness Zone.
Or perhaps an impulsive fool who had run to the edge of a dangerous area, picked up some rubbish a martial artist had abandoned, and assumed he'd struck gold by coming here to test his luck.
He had seen plenty of people like that. Their bags were usually full of worthless junk, and they wasted his time.
Lin Fan didn't get angry or explain.
He simply set the bulging backpack down on the counter, which was made of high-strength bulletproof glass.
Zzzip...
As the zipper opened, a mixture of the distinctive stench of monsters and the smell of blood drifted out of the bag.
Rattle, clatter.
Lin Fan grabbed the handle at the bottom of the backpack and lifted it.
A heap of items spilled out, piling up across the counter.
Alongside several bloodstained Shadow Cat claws and a large pile of Iron-Bristled Wild Boar tusks, the most eye-catching items were several neatly folded combat vests, all showing clear signs of damage.
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