Chapter Thirty-Four: Unpromising?!

Lin Yi, who had been as timid as a mouse just moments before, now wore a smile that suggested he had just succeeded in some cunning scheme. Was there something fishy going on here? Shaking his head, Xu Lianyou dismissed the thought as overthinking.

After all, with the constant nourishment of special medications, his physical abilities had improved immensely—he was now almost an A-rank martial artist, a master of the first class! As for Lin Yi, just yesterday he had still been a B-rank, a mere second-rate fighter. It seemed that defeating Lin Yi would be effortless, a trivial task.

“Two million… you’ll have to pay me back sooner or later!” Xu Lianyou sneered, resentment curling at his lips. With dark circles under his eyes, the mark of an expert in time management, he gave off a slightly wild and uninhibited air.

Thanks to this little episode, it was now widely known that Lin Yi and Xu Lianyou were at odds. Xu Lianyou, with his menacing aura, was clearly someone either backed by a powerful family or dangerous in his own right. Everyone had come here to the Paranormal Investigation Bureau to participate in the test, and except for those without connections, most people knew how things worked behind the scenes.

At this moment, a young man—plain-looking, neither tall nor strong, dressed ordinarily and wearing a mask—cast occasional glances at Lin Yi. Had he taken off his mask, everyone would have seen him sneering coldly at Lin Yi. This man, as someone had mentioned earlier, was named Tu Honglie.

Many looked at Lin Yi with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes. There was no other reason—Xu Lianyou’s presence was intimidating! The clatter of his armor and the way he gripped his steel blade exuded a pressure that seemed to suppress everyone around him.

Without true strength, one wouldn’t dare climb Mount Liangshan. This man was a formidable opponent. That Lin Yi was in for a rough time.

“So that’s Lin Yi? The one with F-rank potential? No wonder he’s dressed in a suit—looks like a total rookie, just an ordinary person!”

“You don’t know the half of it. Even if his potential is trash, just F-rank, he’s got a powerful mentor behind him, and he’s no slouch himself—almost a B-rank fighter. He’s the one who beat Xu Liuxiang, that official employee from the Xu family!”

“No way, seriously? No wonder Xu Lianyou is targeting him! Tell me more…”

Before long, most people had figured out why Xu Lianyou was gunning for Lin Yi. Some couldn’t help but click their tongues in envy, silently lamenting their own lack of luck. If even an F-rank nobody could, with the right backing, reach the level of a second-rate fighter, what would happen if that mentor took them under their wing? Wouldn’t they skyrocket?

Just then, a series of vehicles appeared at the alley entrance. All eyes turned as the car doors opened in sequence, and An Miaoyi and her group stepped out. As the recommenders and official employees for Lin Yi and the others, An Miaoyi and her team were treated as minor leaders and enjoyed better privileges.

An Miaoyi exchanged a glance with Lin Yi, her expression somewhat exasperated, quietly blaming herself for forgetting to remind him to bring weapons. Still, Lin Yi, you knew there’d be a test—why dress so outlandishly, complete with those big leather shoes? Don’t you realize how inconvenient that’ll be?

Misreading her meaningful gaze, Lin Yi assumed she was encouraging him. With so many strong contenders, An Miaoyi, feeling at a disadvantage, might well want to give him some encouragement.

With Xu Lianyou newly arrived, there were now seventeen participants in total, none of them weaklings. Among them, Song Ziyang, a twelve or thirteen-year-old prodigy with S-rank potential and the skills of a B-rank fighter; a formidable woman whose aura was nearly A-rank; and several others whose presence rivaled Song Ziyang’s, all eager to jump in when Xu Lianyou wagered his bet.

Every face in the crowd, whether expressionless or masked, exuded an air of being not to be trifled with. On closer inspection, not a single person could be underestimated.

An Miaoyi and her group entered the World Trade Center first. The guards, who had kept the doors shut till now, only opened them when An Miaoyi arrived. These doormen were all elderly men, each with an air of arrogance, nostrils perpetually in the air. Yet their sinewy muscles would have won any senior bodybuilding competition. The way they moved, like dragons and tigers, radiated a deep and unfathomable strength. That was why no one had dared cause trouble earlier; everyone had quietly waited outside.

What struck Lin Yi as odd was that after An Miaoyi looked away from him, she kept glaring fiercely at a stunning beauty walking shoulder to shoulder beside her. This woman, dressed in a white lotus skirt and adorned with a butterfly hairpin, looked just like a little princess. Her slightly chubby cheeks only added to her playful charm. She kept smiling at Lin Yi, leaving him baffled—why was this stranger staring at him for no reason? Sure, he knew he was good-looking, but there was no need for her to be so smitten…

Lin Yi’s instincts told him something was off between these two women.

Stepping into the first-floor lobby of the World Trade Center, Lin Yi couldn’t help but marvel at its luxury, a stark contrast to the shabby exterior. But what really piqued his curiosity was a staircase guarded by a group of men—six in total, more than at the main entrance! The guards, all elderly but muscular to the point of bursting out of their clothes, were clearly even stronger than the others.

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Lin Yi felt an inexplicable pull toward whatever lay beyond that staircase.

As Lin Yi stood lost in thought, someone spoke up impatiently. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll take the elevator to the testing rooms. Each of you will go in one at a time. Listen up, I’m going to explain the procedure once—after that, you’re on your own. And you, the one in the suit—why aren’t you carrying any weapons? Without a weapon, the second stage of the test will be tough. You’ll probably drag your score down.”

The speaker was a middle-aged man, impeccably dressed in a suit. Having just seen An Miaoyi and her group off, he now approached Lin Yi and the others from the elevator, frowning as he looked at Lin Yi.

Xu Lianyou sneered at this, and a few others exchanged mocking glances.

“Well… can I go back and get one now?” Lin Yi replied helplessly.

His words only made the laughter around him louder. Was he kidding?

“Hmph, if you wanted to get a weapon, you should have done it earlier. Coming to the test this unprepared—it’s obvious you don’t want to join. I say don’t even give him a chance to test!” Xu Lianyou, armor rattling, scoffed as he stroked his steel blade.

“You have the least right to object, Xu Lianyou. If I don’t take the test, how will we settle our bet? Fine, if you don’t let me test, I’ll just keep the two million and forget about the other eight million. I’ll drop out—are you willing?” Lin Yi shot back.

Xu Lianyou fell silent, his face turning an even deeper shade of purple. If he kept pushing, not only would he lose the chance to humiliate Lin Yi, but he’d also be out two million.

Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but chuckle at Xu Lianyou’s expense.

It became clear to everyone that Lin Yi was a sharp-tongued adversary—best not to provoke him with words.

The middle-aged man found himself both amused and exasperated. He hadn’t meant to mock Lin Yi, just felt sorry for his situation. “Alright, enough chatter. There are three stages to this test, each on a different floor: the third, fourth, and fifth. Clear one stage, and you’ll find an exit to the next. I won’t go into details—you’ll find out when you reach the third floor. The clock starts as soon as you step through the door.”

“And this time, the rewards are generous! Of you seventeen, whoever finishes all three stages the fastest will receive a Body Tempering Elixir—and the first choice of internship, a leadership position! Second and third place will also get a slightly lesser elixir and excellent leadership posts. Only the top three will earn these privileges; the rest will be assigned ordinary jobs. So don’t miss your chance!”

At these words, almost everyone’s eyes blazed with the conviction that “all of this will be mine.” A Body Tempering Elixir! A leadership post! All within reach for the top three. Who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want to stroll into the system, become an official, and strengthen themselves at the same time?

Xu Lianyou and several others smiled, as if those rewards were already as good as in their hands.

Only Lin Yi remained unmoved. To him, his favorite thing was grinding for experience! What did he care for leadership or elixirs? What he wanted was to slay monsters and reap the rewards for his “God-Slaying Sutra”!

With their own thoughts in mind, everyone was led to the third floor. Once the elevator doors opened, the middle-aged man left.

“Lin Yi turned up in a suit, no weapons, such low potential, not even as strong as Xu Lianyou, and he dares to bet with him—how is this going to end? I’d better inform An Miaoyi.” The man had overheard the bet between Xu Lianyou and Lin Yi in the lobby, and now was worried. He was close to An Miaoyi, part of her faction. In his view, if Lin Yi lost face, so did An Miaoyi.

He hurried upstairs to relay the news. When An Miaoyi heard, her expression changed dramatically. Soon the news spread further, helped along by others.

Wang Changshan, the very man who had escorted Xu Liuxiang from Shengjing Academy last time, had just made his rounds and now passed on the message before slipping away.

A few overly dramatic retellings later, the pretty girl who had been giving Lin Yi playful glances couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Impressive—without doing anything, he’s already pocketed two million. An Miaoyi, this F-rank talent you recommended is pretty cunning and resourceful. I just wonder whether, once the test is over, he’ll manage to collect the other eight million.”