Professionals (Please Bookmark)

Although it was a rip-off, laundering the source of a large sum of Star Dollars was still necessary.

After leaving the little money-laundering shop, Fang Xing let out a long breath. "So shady... Maybe I can just use cash for all my living expenses in the future?"

He wanted to launder some money only so he would have records of buying large quantities of Nutrient Fluid, proving the source of his rapid progress.

But Xia Long Teacher and the school might not investigate me at all...

Even Federation detectives mostly keep an eye on deals worth tens or hundreds of millions... I don't even count as a small fry...

As he pondered, Fang Xing began searching for the shops he had been thinking about.

His main purpose in coming to the Black Market had already been accomplished.

What remained was to browse around and see whether there were any A-Rank Martial Arts suited to him, or anything else that could advance his martial path.

To put it bluntly, aside from all sorts of special resources, Chuying Star was certainly superior to Green Forest Market when it came to instruction and secret techniques.

"Hm?"

Before long, Fang Xing stopped in front of what appeared to be an abandoned Gymnasium.

The Gymnasium had long since been condemned, its dome shattered, yet it seemed to have undergone some repairs and was mostly intact.

The original name of the Gymnasium had been smeared over with bloodstains. In its place stood a huge line of words—Blood Cage Arena!

"An underground Fighting Arena? Underground Boxing?"

After seeing it clearly, Fang Xing could not help but sigh.

All those Biochemical Human students who practiced martial arts knew about underground boxing.

Some of the part-time jobs Liu Wei had looked for before had even involved it.

After all, Biochemical Humans' lives were cheap. For those who wanted to make money and advance rapidly in martial arts, joining underground fights was actually an excellent choice—as long as they did not die! They would definitely become experts!

Of course, Liu Wei and Fang Xing had both been clear-headed at the time. They knew that many senior Biochemical Human students who had taken this path either died in the ring, ended up severely injured and crippled, or accumulated enormous debts and could not afford medical expenses. Therefore, neither of them had considered it at all.

"Underground boxing definitely has experts, and the rewards must be plentiful too! A-Rank Martial Arts would be easy enough to get..."

Fang Xing entered the Blood Cage Arena and found the venue very quiet at the moment.

At the reception desk sat a girl in a cute Bunny Girl outfit. She stared at him with wide eyes. "Sir, the Blood Cage Arena only opens after eight in the evening..."

"Mm..."

Of course, Fang Xing knew that underground boxing matches in the Black Market were among the favorite pastimes of many office workers in the New City District.

After a hard day's work, watching a bloody, flesh-pounding boxing match and venting their misery and exhaustion through shouting was a favorite way for many male and female office workers to relieve stress.

"I'm just looking around. I was wondering what the fighters' benefits and pay are like these days?"

After thinking it over, Fang Xing asked anyway.

He was only asking. It was not as though he would step into the ring himself.

"Our arena's fighters..." The Bunny Girl smiled. "As long as you win one match, you'll earn at least ten thousand Star Dollars. Winning streaks double the payout—the more you win, the more you make... We can even help turn your income into legitimate legal earnings, with no processing fee... Besides that, there are all kinds of prohibited drugs, A-Rank and S-Rank Martial Arts, and even martial arts beyond S-Rank that you might obtain as rewards..."

At this point, the Bunny Girl blinked, looking somewhat playful. "I heard—just heard—that students from the elite senior classes at nearby high schools, the ones hoping to get into university, secretly come here to box and train. Earning resources is only secondary. The main thing is to see blood and gain real combat experience!"

There was a "martial" in martial arts. Clearly, one could not improve merely by shutting oneself away.

Those who went into seclusion to cultivate at every turn and then saw their strength soar were Cultivators!

Martial artists had to temper their bodies through constant battles, forge invincible spirits, and cultivate an imposing momentum!

It looks like the Blood Cage Arena has quite a powerful backer...

Fang Xing pondered this, then said, "Very good. I'll consider it..."

"Sir, my codename is Roubao. This is my business card. Please keep it..." Before Fang Xing left, the Bunny Girl smiled and handed him a business card. "Whether you want to be a spectator or a fighter, you can come to me..."

"Thank you. I'll remember that."

Looking at her distinctive purple eyes and tall, voluptuous figure, Fang Xing could not help smiling and nodding.

"Getting into the Black Market is easy. Getting out is the real problem..."

At the border of the Old City District, Fang Xing still had not removed his mask, his eyes cautiously scanning the surroundings.

Generally speaking, no one would target customers who merely came to the Black Market to watch boxing matches and did not spend much.

As for wealthy patrons who spent lavishly, businesses such as the Fighting Arena would protect them.

Even the Black Market had to maintain some credibility. Otherwise, no one would come, and there would be no business to do!

But someone like him was clearly not under protection. He looked like a first-time fat sheep and had revealed a certain amount of wealth.

"A few hundred thousand Star Dollars definitely won't attract Courage Realm martial artists. It would even be rather embarrassing for someone from the Uncut Jade Realm..."

"Ability Users and Mecha Pilots are even less likely..."

"I should... be able to handle it, right?"

Fang Xing quietly encouraged himself.

In a life-or-death fight in the Black Market, it was obviously impossible to use weapons bought openly and legitimately. Was he not afraid of data leaks?

That was one reason why weapons sold in Black Market shops were so expensive.

But against someone like him, expensive weapons were like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. The chances of encountering them were extremely low.

The most likely threat was still a gang of thieves made up of ordinary low-level martial artists!

No, the most likely outcome is that nobody will bother with me...

Only after reaching the New City District, seeing its clean and orderly roads and the streetlights and surveillance cameras standing on both sides, did Fang Xing finally relax.

Luckily, my luck was pretty good this time...

The Talismans I prepared in advance went unused...

For the Black Market, Talismans from the Other World had only average destructive power, but they had many effects.

Among them, the Concealment and acceleration types were the Life-saving Trump Cards Fang Xing had prepared for himself!

Of course, a trump card was best left unused.

You can't use weapons from legitimate manufacturers in the Black Market, while all kinds of illegal weapons are too expensive. Strictly speaking, my Talismans are more cost-effective...

They definitely won't leak information, so there's no question about their safety. But I obviously can't set up a stall in the Black Market to sell Talismans...

Fang Xing changed his appearance and calmly boarded a Magnetic Levitation Train.

Although everything had gone smoothly today, he still felt somewhat displeased.

I'm living far too cautiously... At the root of it, I'm just not strong enough.

Once I break through to the Fourth Realm of martial arts—the Courage Realm—I'll immediately undergo Professional verification and register as a true Professional!

Professionals were the true citizens of the Blue Star Federation and possessed many privileges.

For one thing, ordinary Chuying Star residents were not qualified to buy tickets for a Spaceship, but true Professionals could!

Many military-grade pieces of equipment were not available to ordinary citizens at all, but Professionals could purchase them too!

The lifelong aspiration of many Biochemical Humans was to become Professionals and complete the leap to a higher social class!

—Whether Biochemical Human or Natural Human, once they became Professionals, they were part of the upper class!

Of course, to the Federation's true upper echelons, Professional was only the starting point. But to many people at the bottom, it was a ticket into high society—it was everything!

If I were a true Professional, the Federation wouldn't care about such a small amount of extra income, much less investigate it. What a joke...

At the same time, I'd have more channels and resources to gather the things I want...

How about setting a small goal first—complete Professional certification before the College Entrance Exam?

Fang Xing's eyes shone brightly.

This was also for self-protection.

Liu Wei's changes, along with various other signs, made Fang Xing feel that something bad was going to happen.

But if he were a Professional, even if he faced accusations involving Heretics, he would have more room to maneuver and defend himself.

Several days later.

Ding, your account has received 159,736 Star Dollars. Current balance: 160,072 Star Dollars...

A notification appeared, and Fang Xing could not help nodding slightly. "That was pretty fast..."

Just yesterday, he had casually bought a lottery ticket whose results were announced today.

Then he won!

Although it was only a small prize of over a hundred thousand, luck was simply that plain and unpretentious!

"Still, a fifty-percent processing fee is such a rip-off. The key is that this money still has to be taxed..."

Fang Xing let out a long breath, then opened the marketplace and looked over D3 Nutrient Solution and other martial arts supplements before quickly placing his orders.

As long as he had these purchase records, there would be a reasonable explanation for his rapid martial progress after school started.

Though... perhaps no one would care about such things anyway.

"The Federation's martial arts supplements seem rather mediocre..."

"Even D9 Nutrient Solution, which is better than D3 Nutrient Solution, merely has richer nutrition... As for anything that helps one break through realms, there's actually nothing?"

Fang Xing thought about it and felt that his standing was simply too low.

Or rather... he lacked sufficient clearance!

If he were a Professional, he should be able to see more products available for purchase.

"But this also shows how scarce the Federation's resources are... Or perhaps we, even all of Chuying Star, are the type not worth investing in? After all, we're just a cannon fodder production planet..."

"No, perhaps deliberately controlling resources for breaking through realms is part of some grand plan... Only martial artists who can stand out under the harshest conditions will have the potential to advance to higher levels in the future?"

"But that's too cruel for people of ordinary talent like us. I'd better stick to my own plan."

By combining the resources of the two worlds, his martial arts realm would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

As for the issue of future potential?

If he could not get into university, he would practically have no future anyway. Why the hell would he worry about that?