Growth Armor

"Interested in my left hand, are you, my boy?"

"Hahaha, never seen anything like it before, have you?"

"This is the Growth Armor that Armored Warriors possess. That's right, your Uncle Ma is an Armored Warrior too."

Seeing Lu Zhan's gaze linger on his left arm, Ma Yancheng immediately understood what he was thinking.

Click, click.

With a hint of pride, Ma Yancheng showed off his Growth Armor.

Under his control, the metal covering his left arm actually transformed into a beast's claw studded with scales.

Holy shit, isn't this a little too high-tech?

Ma Yancheng's little demonstration genuinely blew Lu Zhan away.

Lu Zhan saw it clearly: the metal arm's transformation was incredibly smooth.

The layers of metal plates rippled like waves for an instant, completing the change in form.

It was so efficient that Lu Zhan almost felt the metal plates had come "alive."

"Incredible, isn't it, my boy?"

"But this is nothing more than the most basic operation!"

"Once you become an Armored Warrior, you'll be able to do the same."

"But first, you'll have to join the Armor Warrior Training Class and awaken your [life ripple]."

"Otherwise, you won't be able to control Growth Armor!"

Watching the eagerness in Lu Zhan's eyes, Ma Yancheng's face took on a smug look.

Why else would he put so much effort into performing for a junior, if not to get the fish to bite?

"The Armor Warrior Training Class?"

"Life ripple?"

"Uncle Ma, how do I become a real Armored Warrior?"

"Unable to wait," Lu Zhan anxiously asked Ma Yancheng for guidance.

Ma Yancheng nodded in satisfaction. The boy could be taught.

"Lu, my boy, the most important thing you need to become an Armored Warrior is talent."

"You're lucky. You've already passed that hurdle."

"But talent alone is far from enough."

"Only by joining the Armor Warrior Training Class and fully activating your talent can you become an Armored Warrior."

"That step will be a little difficult for you."

"Even if I recommend you for admission, you'll have to pay the training fee of a hundred thousand yourself."

When he mentioned the staggering hundred-thousand training fee, Ma Yancheng wore a look of "regret."

Activating one's talent required an injection of [Life Essence].

The stuff was outrageously expensive, but indispensable.

Not a cent of the hundred-thousand training fee could be spared.

"What?"

"A hundred thousand for training?"

"You couldn't raise that much even if you sold me!"

Hearing that he could get a recommendation from the gang, Lu Zhan's face lit up with joy.

But the hundred-thousand training fee instantly deflated him.

"Don't lose heart, my boy. Don't be discouraged!"

"After all, the gang watched you grow up. Since you have the talent to become an Armored Warrior, how could we stand by and let it go to waste just because you lack money?"

"This is the student loan the gang has prepared for you. Just sign this contract, and becoming an Armored Warrior will no longer be a pipe dream."

Seeing that the moment was ripe, Ma Yancheng took out the contract he had prepared long ago.

He had drawn it up as soon as he learned that Lu Zhan had tested positive for talent.

He wasn't the least bit worried that Lu Zhan would refuse, because the boy had no choice.

"A student loan?"

"The gang really does remember its own!"

His emotions having gone through "dramatic highs and lows," Lu Zhan immediately took the contract from Ma Yancheng.

Then he spotted the clauses stipulating one percent daily compound interest and another twenty years of unpaid work for the Wutu Gang after the loan was repaid.

This contract really is every bit the trap I expected!

Interest so high I can never pay it off is one thing, but twenty years of unpaid work is going too far.

How many twenty-year stretches does a person get in a lifetime?

Although Lu Zhan had already braced himself for the Wutu Gang's ruthlessness,

actually seeing such vile terms still made his blood pressure rise.

The Wutu Gang intended to make him a slave for life!

"What's wrong, my boy?"

"Do you have an issue with the contract?"

"If there's anything you're unhappy with, tell me directly. For your late parents' sake, I can make some adjustments as I see fit."

Seeing that Lu Zhan hadn't signed immediately and was instead staring blankly at the contract,

the smile on Ma Yancheng's face instantly froze.

He hated haggling more than anything!

"Uncle Ma, I'm very grateful for the gang's financial support!"

"But isn't twenty years of unpaid work a little too long?"

As though oblivious to the change in Ma Yancheng's attitude, Lu Zhan bluntly pointed out the unreasonable part of the contract.

At that moment, they were only an arm's length apart.

Ma Yancheng could touch him just by raising his hand.

"Huh? What?"

"You think twenty years is too long?"

"Ah, you young people just aren't willing to give anything back to the gang."

"Fine. For your father's sake, I'll make an exception."

"We'll shorten the unpaid work period to ten years."

Lu Zhan's haggling left Ma Yancheng completely baffled.

Ma Yancheng had expected Lu Zhan to "fail to know his place" over the interest, not over that largely meaningless period of employment.

The contract Ma Yancheng offered had been carefully designed by the gang.

It had only one purpose: to ensure that Lu Zhan could never repay the loan.

That way, Lu Zhan could forget about escaping the gang's control.

Of course, nothing in life was absolute.

The twenty-year term had been added as a precaution, in case Lu Zhan actually managed to repay the loan.

Ma Yancheng genuinely didn't mind Lu Zhan bargaining over that clause.

It was the perfect opportunity to show the gang's "warmth."

Did this Lu Zhan not understand the contract?

Or was he bad at arithmetic?

That was certainly possible.

I remember that, to make these orphans easier to control, we never taught them much mathematics beyond basic literacy.

The gang really has done an excellent job with education. We should keep expanding it.

Seeing Lu Zhan begin to waver upon hearing that the work term could be halved,

Ma Yancheng couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. He truly was an expert at making deals.

"Uncle Ma, you're far too good to me."

"Since the gang is treating me with such sincerity, I can't let it down either."

"As you know, I'm currently involved in the Mutant Beast case."

"That won't have any negative impact on the gang or my admission to the training class, will it?"

"Commissioner Xin, the woman in charge of interrogating me, seems to be paying quite a bit of attention to me."

Having made up his mind to sign the contract, Lu Zhan finally had a pang of conscience at the very last moment, just before pressing down his fingerprint.

He looked anxiously at Ma Yancheng, afraid that Uncle Ma might change his mind and tear up the contract.

"A Mutant Beast?"

"Lu, my boy, ordinarily this matter should have nothing to do with you, so it shouldn't have any negative impact."

"But since Commissioner Xin is still keeping an eye on you, let's postpone signing for a few days!"

"Rest assured, my boy. I'll find someone to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

Lu Zhan's "kind intentions" nearly shattered Ma Yancheng's composure.

He truly hadn't expected something that should have been so easy to run into one complication after another.

Was this Lu Zhan really an idiot, or was he only pretending?