Hill glanced at An Minyi. When he said An Ran had already gone back, the man showed no concern at all. He even flashed a provocative smile, as though he believed his people could finish An Ran off.
Apparently, they had no idea that Fatty An was a high-level artificer who could operate flying machines.
An Ran's talent must be publicly known to be poor, so most people underestimated him.
Hill figured these people failed to understand one thing: given enough money and time, becoming something beyond Legendary might be difficult, but reaching the high levels was achievable through hard work.
Not everyone could afford the expense, but as the head of the An Family Merchant Guild, An Ran had the resources.
Few people had that much perseverance, though. Even at a high level, their life would not be fundamentally transformed. They would gain only a few extra years, at the cost of effort most ordinary people could scarcely bear.
When life held no real pressures and was even comfortable, many people eventually chose to drift along.
Hill looked again at Fatty An, who stood behind the An Family head, pale-faced and in a wretched state. Suddenly, Hill understood why he liked the man.
He must have sensed that relentless drive in him.
Back in the world before Hill became Hill, most people would admire someone like An Ran, who never gave up on himself or blamed the world, even if they could not manage the same themselves.
Hill glanced upward with his mental power. The An Family head wore a resolute yet anxious expression, just like the visibly agitated An Ran beside him. Both were fine actors.
If Hill had not just received the message they sent him through a puppet, asking him not to let anyone into the