Chapter 73: Chapter 70: Brother Hao’s Gift

"Haha, Brother Shen, it’s going to be a blast when we go out of the city together."

"That’s right, Senior Brother Shen. You’ll definitely think it’s fun once you’re there."

In the locker room, near the old tin lockers.

Hearing Guo Yun and the others, Shen Tianchen frowned as he changed into his training uniform, a confused look in his eyes.

’It’s just joining a hunting party to leave the city and hunt Mutant Beasts. What could be so fun about that?’

"Heh heh, Brother Shen, I’m not talking about hunting beasts."

Seemingly noticing his confusion, Guo Yun glanced around. Once he was sure the locker room was empty, he lowered his voice. "No, we hunt *people*."

He stressed the word, and Shen Tianchen’s gaze sharpened.

Guo Yun then stepped forward, slung an arm around his shoulder, and whispered, "In those small settlements, especially the ones run by wilderness nomads, they’ll do anything for a bite to eat. Their leaders are the worst—they’ll agree to any condition for a bit of food and money."

"Last time we went out into the wilderness, we brought a few of our family security guards. It only cost us tens of thousands, and the settlement prepared several ’prey’ for us. Heh heh, now *that’s* a real thrill. You can’t do that stuff in Ring City, of course, but out in the wilderness... heh, you know how it is out there."

Guo Yun shot him a knowing look, his face smug. The other young men around them looked the same, their faces alight with the thrill of the chase.

Shen Tianchen’s brow furrowed at his words, and he fell silent.

’So this was the "fun" he was talking about.’

’Hunting people? Treating them like Mutant Beasts to be slaughtered?’

"Won’t you get in trouble?" he asked instinctively. Guo Yun just chuckled.

"Brother Shen, do you have any idea who taught us this little ’game’?"

Their eyes met. He smiled. "It was Ruan Hui."

"With him involved, even if we do get investigated, all it takes is a word from him to make it go away."

"Besides, nobody gives a damn about what happens in the wilderness. No one will ever know."

As they spoke, Shen Tianchen’s brow gradually relaxed.

He didn’t say anything more, but he found that he wasn’t as opposed to the idea as he thought.

’Hunting people... Sounds kind of interesting, actually.’

"Anyway, Brother Shen, Ruan Hui invited us all to dinner tonight. You have to be there."

"Heh heh, if you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself..."

The group chatted as they finished changing, then walked out of the locker room together.

Lu Chao was standing by the door, his expression impassive as they brushed past him.

"Hm?"

Glancing at him, Guo Yun frowned slightly.

The other Fighting Level youths also paused, exchanging glances and narrowing their eyes.

In the end, they watched from the corner of their eyes as Lu Chao walked into the locker room, went to the old tin lockers, and began to change in silence, making no other moves.

They shook their heads inwardly, pretended nothing was amiss, and left with mocking smirks.

***

’Hunting people...’

As he recalled the conversation he had just overheard, Lu Chao, now dressed in his gray and white training uniform, narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

A strange emotion welled up inside him. He couldn’t believe some people actually took pleasure in slaughtering their own kind.

On top of that...

’Ruan Hui?’

’Is it just someone with the same name, or is it *the* same person?’

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind. Lu Chao finally unclenched his fist and left the locker room, his face impassive as he headed for the training hall.

In his line of sight, Fang Jingyi, Guo Yun, and the others were still gathered around Shen Tianchen, laughing and chatting in between their training.

Their Life Energy levels were all nearly at 39 points. It looked as if they could break through to the Professional Level at any moment and reach a whole new level.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lu Chao then walked to a corner of the training area.

He pushed all other distractions from his mind and focused his full attention back on his own training.

***

「A few days later, late December.」

A biting wind swept by. On the North Street platform, most pedestrians wore wool hats and earmuffs, rubbing their hands together and breathing on them for warmth.

He walked in silence, brushing past one person after another.

Dressed in a black padded jacket, Lu Chao blended into the crowd, heading straight for Dreamfire Bar.

At this hour, drunks were passed out on the roadside, and puddles of vomit were a common sight in trash cans and alley corners.

After a night of revelry, the dance halls and bars were as quiet as a receding tide. The neon signs were dark, and the open-air stalls on either side of the street stood empty.

North Street’s vibrancy only came alive at night, so Lu Chao wasn’t surprised by the scene before him.

In contrast...

’Professional Level...’

Lu Chao’s gaze was heavy as he looked at the Life Energy stats on his panel. He was just one step away from the 40-point threshold.

His smart watch buzzed intermittently with push notifications—ongoing reports about the warlord wars.

The God-Worshiping Church remained deeply hidden, with no new discoveries.

And while the Superpower Bureau had intervened with the Rebels and Qiu Shan’s faction, no new orders had been issued yet.

As his thoughts drifted, Lu Chao’s desire for the Professional Level grew even stronger. It felt as if the gray clouds overhead were thickening, threatening to press down and suffocate him.

He quickened his pace, finally arriving at Dreamfire Bar.

Only two young waiters were at the door, dozing. When they saw him arrive, they jolted awake and scrambled to their feet, greeting him with ingratiating smiles. "Brother Lu!"

"Xiaochao!"

Everyone in the bar had witnessed his fight in the octagonal cage in the main hall that day.

The fighter from the Iron Blood Gang had been beaten half to death, and the name "Lu Chao" had been seared into everyone’s memory.

"Where are Brother Hao and Brother Qiang?"

Lu Chao offered a faint smile, pushing his thoughts aside. He nodded in acknowledgment before asking his question.

He was at the bar today because Zhou Qiang had called him first thing in the morning, insisting that he come over.

"Brother Hao isn’t here at the moment, but Brother Qiang told us to have you go to the second floor when you arrived."

"He’s in his office right now."

The young, unfamiliar waiter said with a smile and began to lead the way.

Lu Chao gave a slight nod and followed, taking a moment to scan the bar as he walked.

"Where’s Xiaoyang?"

"Xiaoyang... Xiaoyang has a day off today."

The young man leading the way replied in a low voice, a conflicted look in his eyes.

Lu Chao’s eyebrow twitched. Sensing something was off, he pressed the issue.

"Sigh... Just don’t tell anyone I told you, Brother Lu."

With a sigh, the young man—who knew of his friendship with Xiaoyang—took advantage of the empty hall to lower his voice. "For some reason, Xiaoyang’s been really out of it lately. He’s messed up a few times on the night shift and pissed off a bunch of customers."

"Brother Qiang told him to go home and rest for a while, and come back when he’s cleared his head."

"Oh?"

His gaze flickered. Lu Chao thought of the previous times he had seen Xiaoyang.

He was usually pale, with prominent dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious something wasn’t right.

As he was pondering this, and before he could ask more,

a noise came from the second floor. Zhou Qiang, dressed in a black suit, opened the gold-trimmed door to his office and appeared at the end of the hall.

"Haha, you’re finally here, kid!"

"Hurry, I’ve got something good for you!"

Grinning, Zhou Qiang waved him over. His left arm, once wrapped in a gauze sling, had clearly recovered from its injury.

Lu Chao pushed the thought aside and, a moment later, walked down the corridor and into the office.

An exquisite crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a brown leather sofa was placed to one side.

A large, solid mahogany desk sat by the window. Everything was just as it had been, with no changes.

"Brother Qiang, where’s Brother Hao?"

Lu Chao asked curiously. Zhou Qiang paused at his words, then waved his hand with a smile.

"Ah, he’s busy."

"What else? Our Young Master went and made another mess..."

He stopped mid-sentence and quickly changed the subject, pointing to the black circular lid on the marble coffee table.

"Here, let’s get to business. Open it and take a look."

"What’s this?"

Lu Chao was confused but walked over to the sofa anyway.

"You’ll know when you open it."

Zhou Qiang’s face was full of anticipation, his thick brows raised over his wide eyes. Lu Chao didn’t press further.

He lifted the black lid, revealing a palm-sized jade tray beneath it.

In the center of the tray sat an oval-shaped object, about the size of an egg.

It was a deep, dark color, like an uncut, inky gemstone.

But on closer inspection, one could see faint streaks of a pale green, viscous liquid oozing from its surface, much like some kind of bile.

The object as a whole radiated an unnatural luster, and a strange odor soon filled the air, wafting into Lu Chao’s nose.

[Snake Gallbladder — Ink Python Beast]

[Quality: Inferior (Excellence)]

[Effect: Contains a portion of the Ink Python Beast’s Life Essence. Consuming it will increase Life Energy. For those below the Elite Level, it increases the chance of breaking through a bottleneck by ten percent.]

His intuition activated instantly, and a series of prompts appeared before his eyes.

A sudden, intense craving welled up inside Lu Chao.

Yet even so, he restrained the urge.

He turned to look at Zhou Qiang, who was grinning from ear to ear. Zhou Qiang pointed to his own suit. "Brother Hao said that since you got us a gift..."

"...we couldn’t be stingy either, right?"