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Chen Yiming did not shake Zhao Yuanfeng's hand. He glanced at Zheng Xiaoli.

"I have something else to do, so I'll be going."

With that, Chen Yiming turned and continued browsing the store.

He had no desire to get tangled up in someone else's relationship. He was not about to steal another man's girlfriend.

Besides, Zheng Xiaoli had only been someone the original Chen Yiming had daydreamed about as a teenager. Strictly speaking, she had been the original Chen Yiming's classmate, not his.

The store carried a full range of common weapons.

Rows of shelves were packed with all kinds of weapons, shields, armor, boots, and more.

They had everything from wooden equipment for practice to metal equipment for real combat.

Chen Yiming looked over every sword on the shelves and found that most did not quite meet his needs.

Nearly all the equipment sold here was aimed at people who had yet to enter the Apprentice Realm, with practice gear making up the majority.

After comparing several options, Chen Yiming found a pitch-black iron sword.

According to its description, the sword had been made with a common ore from the Otherworld.

The ore did nothing to improve the blade's sharpness. It merely made the sword much sturdier, while also making it far heavier, so it was hardly a rare find.

His true level was now three body transformations. The extra weight was no problem for him; as long as the sword was durable, it met his needs.

He checked the price tag: thirteen thousand yuan.

It was a mid-priced item in the store, well within what Chen Yiming could afford.

When Chen Yiming returned to the counter to pay, Zhao Yuanfeng was gone. Zheng Xiaoli sat behind the counter alone.

"Where's your boyfriend, Zhao Yuanfeng?"

Chen Yiming set the black iron sword on the counter as he asked.

He had been thinking of stepping away for a while to let the two of them talk things through and avoid any misunderstanding.

"I told him to head back first."

Zheng Xiaoli forced a smile as she spoke. She took out a scabbard and sheathed the sword, then placed both in a sword box.

Finally, she packed the box into a carrying bag and handed it to Chen Yiming. In a low voice, she said,

"Zhao Yuanfeng gets a little jealous, that's all. Don't take it personally."

She was not pleased with how Zhao Yuanfeng had acted today. She had finally run into a classmate with a bright future and was about to have a proper chat with him, maybe exchange contact information too, when Zhao Yuanfeng interrupted them.

Chen Yiming took the sword box, pulled a bank card from his pocket, and smiled.

"It's fine. As long as you've talked it through. I didn't bring cash, so just charge my card."

A moment later, Chen Yiming entered his PIN, and a receipt printed automatically. He signed his name on it.

With the purchase complete, Chen Yiming did not linger. Zheng Xiaoli walked him to the store entrance and watched him leave.

Only after Chen Yiming had disappeared from sight did she remember that she had forgotten to ask for his contact information.

"Honestly! How did I forget the most important thing?"

Zheng Xiaoli stamped her foot, annoyed at her own carelessness.

They did not know each other well. They had barely spoken even when they were in the same class, so naturally she had no idea where Chen Yiming lived or what his phone number was.

Chen Yiming came out to the entrance of the Aegean Shopping Center.

He checked the time and saw that there was still a while before his afternoon training class.

At his current cycling speed, he could get anywhere in East Lake City in under half an hour. He hung the carrying bag from his handlebars and headed home first.

"Yiming, you're finally back. Good news!"

As soon as Chen Yiming came through the door, he saw Chen Shaojie waiting for him at home.

"Your captain agreed to your proposal?"

Chen Yiming parked his bicycle in a corner of the courtyard and turned to ask.

Judging by his cousin's excitement, he could already guess the answer. He had looked exactly the same when he received his advance pay from the Libei Martial Arts Training Center.

"That's right. It took a lot of work. I spent two days running around before I finally convinced the captain."

A proud smile spread across Chen Shaojie's face.

It was finally settled. He would no longer be limited to a fixed monthly salary; the more assignments they completed, the more bonus money they would earn.

"Here. This is the phone we'll use to keep in touch."

Chen Shaojie remembered what else he had prepared and pulled a rectangular device, a little bigger than a palm, from his pocket.

"This is a phone?"

Chen Yiming took it and stared, his eyes widening in surprise.

Wasn't this one of those brick phones that had become obsolete in his previous life?

Several months had passed since he came to this world, and this was the first mobile phone he had seen. At home, they always used a landline to contact people.

"Yeah. It's the latest high-tech equipment. You can't buy one on the market. They're issued for internal use only, and we have to return it after the household registration checks are done. Don't lose it, Yiming."

Chen Shaojie warned him carefully, afraid his cousin would not take it seriously.

In this world, factors such as the limited territory humanity controlled, tight electricity supplies, and shortages of raw materials had kept mobile phones from developing as quickly as they had in Chen Yiming's previous life. They had not become entertainment devices that most people could not put down.

For ordinary households, landlines were still the main way to keep in touch.

Chen Yiming had no interest in the brick phone. He turned it over, gave it a quick inspection, and slipped it into his pocket.

"There's one more thing. The captain and I worked out how to split the assignment bonuses. You'd get fifty percent, the captain thirty, and the rest of us would share the remaining twenty. Would that work for you, Yiming?"

Chen Shaojie laid out the arrangement the City Patrol had agreed on and asked for Chen Yiming's opinion.

"You'll be taking quite a risk, but all of you together only get twenty percent? Are the others willing to accept that?"

After hearing the proposed split, Chen Yiming found it unreasonable.

He had once been stopped by robbers in broad daylight while passing through an urban village in the north of the city. He knew that checking household registrations would not be a simple task for the City Patrol officers.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do. Even without you, Yiming, the captain and the team would split it seventy-thirty. With outside help brought in, giving up only ten percent of our share is already about as good as we could get."

Chen Shaojie sighed. Clearly, he was unhappy with it too.

But if they refused that split, the captain would not agree, and they could not carry out the assignment.

Their captain did not mind much. He would earn a little less for now, but he could focus on recovering from his injuries. For the team members, though, it meant suddenly losing a source of extra income and having only their base salaries to live on.

"If the rest of the team is fine with it, I have no problem either."

Chen Yiming nodded and gave his answer.

He was already satisfied with a fifty-percent share. The assignment carried considerable risk for the team members, but for someone who had undergone three body transformations, it would be like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

Besides, the household registration checks would let him see how badly the situation in the city had deteriorated, which would help him plan his next move.