《The Urban Leveling Life From Zero》 Chapter 1 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The drowsiness! The dizziness! The blurry vision! An indescribable sense of discomfort filled the depths of Lu Jin¡¯s mind. It was as if the world was spinning continuously. With the throbbing pain, Lu Jin, who had just opened his eyes, would rather pass out. Unfortunately, the constant pain and dizziness would not change because of Lu Jin¡¯s thoughts. Thirty seconds¡­ Ten minutes¡­ One hour passed¡­ As time passed, Lu Jin¡¯s pain slowly began to ease. ¡°What an uncomfortable feeling. Could there be a fault in the AR machine?¡± Lu Jin, who had barely regained his thoughts and consciousness, thought of the world¡¯s first ARMMORPG machine, which he had received that day. It was April 1st, 2054! The first AR (Enhanced Reality) technology in the world was fully utilized in the MMORPG. This could be said to be a huge change in the gaming industry. At the same time, as it could completely virtualize people¡¯s lives, it was the greatest invention that rewrote history. Lu Jin was a lucky person, being fortunate enough to be globally selected as one of the hundred internal beta testers. After three years of internal beta testing, it was finally the debut of ¡°Fantasy World¡±. However, to Lu Jin¡¯s surprise, just as he put on his AR glasses and was about to start the journey to ¡°Fantasy World¡±, the situation suddenly changed¡­ After an indeterminate period of drowsiness and fogginess, a small and unfamiliar room entered Lu Jin¡¯s sight. The room was only five square meters. Apart from a creaky wooden bed and a small wardrobe, there was nothing else. Oh, there were also a few garbage bags thrown on the ground. Besides those, there were many pictures on the wall and a mirror hanging near the window. ¡°Who¡­ Who is this person?¡± Lu Jin¡¯s hair stood on end as he fixed his gaze on the mirror that had the dimensions of 30 to 40 centimeters. The person in the mirror seemed to be around 20 years old. Although his face was extremely pale and his bloodshot eyes made it seem like he had not slept for more than 10 days, one could tell that he was a handsome young man. Furthermore, judging from the T-shirt that he was wearing, one could tell that his body was well-defined. He simply looked like a sports star. Compared to Lu Jin, who was already in his thirties, they were worlds apart. Barely a few seconds after Lu Jin saw himself in the mirror, it was as if his mind was triggered. Memories, in the form of images, flooded his mind uncontrollably. ¡°How¡­ How can¡­ How can this be?¡± ¡°There must be something wrong with my mind. How can it be four hundred years later?¡± After the flood of memories, Lu Jin was dumbfounded. Looking at the handsome young man in the mirror, Lu Jin could not believe that it was real. February 10th, 2455 ¨C that was a completely impossible date that should not have occurred. However, even if Lu Jin was unwilling to believe it, he had no choice. In the mirror, he was wearing a pair of high-tech AR glasses. These glasses were completely different from the first-generation AR glasses, which were bulky and complicated, making it look as though one was wearing a headgear. The AR glasses that he was currently donning looked like an ordinary pair of anti-dust glasses. With just a click of the frame, everything in front of him changed drastically. The beach, the waves, the sea breeze¡­ It was as if he had arrived at a deserted island. The faint salty smell from the sea and the coolness of the sea breeze made it feel extremely real, as if he was really on a beach by the sea. In terms of taste, smell, touch and hearing, it has completely surpassed the first-generation AR prototype. The first-generation AR prototype was just the size of a room¡­ That level of technology could not have been achieved in mere decades. Without hundreds of years of progress, it was impossible to achieve such a realistic virtualization and super-miniaturization. However, it was precisely because of that that the AR glasses, or rather, Fantasy World, had replaced all social tools and electronic devices, such as cell phones, computers, entertainment games and the like, becoming the only thing in people¡¯s lives. Even people¡¯s work ¨C production and manufacturing ¨C had become completely inseparable from Fantasy World, or had become a part of it. After Lu Jin¡¯s momentary experience with the AR glasses, a video he saw from the corner of his eye caused him to fall into a state of panic suddenly. ¡°He¡¯s already¡­ dead?¡± After opening the video, Lu Jin quickly noticed a video that was recorded by a young man, who was dead. The video was recorded on February 6th by the young man. That was three days ago. The young man in the video was also sitting in this small room. The difference was that he seemed to be in an excellent state. One could say that he was very healthy and his body seemed a lot stronger, unlike now, where it seemed like he had not eaten for ten days. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why, I can feel that they are close by. Recently, with this feeling getting stronger, my body is starting to get weaker. I¡¯ve visited the doctor, but the doctor said that it was all an illusion. Although physical tests of my body have proven that everything is normal, I still want to record this.¡± ¡°I hope this is just an illusion. After all, I was the chosen one. My bright future is just about to start¡­¡± The young man in the video had an indescribable look of excitement and joy in his eyes. Then, the recording stopped. ¡°It¡¯s only been three or four days. How can a person change so much?¡± Lu Jin looked at the young man in the video and then helplessly looked at his extremely weak and frail self in the mirror. They looked completely different. ¡°What exactly¡­ did he experience in the past three to four days?¡± In general, even if he did not eat for three or four days, a strong young man like him would not have lost more than 10 kilograms like the man in the video did. Not to mention, there was a lot of fast food in the garbage bags, which proved that the young man had been eating normally for the past three to four days. ¡°¡®They are close by?¡¯ What does that mean exactly?¡± Lu Jin thought of the strange illusion that the young man had mentioned at the end of the video. After all, when nearing death, some people could notice things, or notice some signs from their self-preservation instinct that ordinary people would not have discovered. However, after pondering for a moment, Lu Jin shook his head and gave up. According to the young man¡¯s memory, the past three to four days were completely empty, as if they had been removed by something. The other possibility was that the young man died shortly after recording the video, so Lu Jin was not able to access his memories for the past three to four days. ¡°Forget it, I shall not think about it anymore.¡± Lu Jin immediately deactivated the virtual beach and rubbed his stomach. He was starving. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the feeling that the young man was describing, but my hunger is getting stronger. If I don¡¯t eat now, I¡¯m afraid that I might starve to death. I have to eat promptly.¡± Having abruptly arrived at the world 400 years into the future, Lu Jin was predictably puzzled. However, since he was already here, surviving is what he needed to do the most right now. Just as Lu Jin stood up and the virtual beach disappeared, the room became dark all of a sudden, completely unlike a room that was awash with rays from a bright afternoon sun. Then, Lu Jin suddenly heard a jarring, mechanical voice, which made his hair stand on end. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ hungry¡­¡± It was unsure when, but a huge shadow with countless mouths and eyes stood in front of Lu Jin now. Ten pairs of its eyes were fixated on him as its speech became clearer and its voice became louder. ¡°Can¡­ you¡­ let me¡­ eat you?¡± Chapter 2 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Is this an image?¡± ¡°No¡­ No! This is definitely not an image. I¡¯ve already turned off the AR glasses.¡± ¡°What is going on in this world? Why is there such a monster?¡± Lu Jin shrank in fear as he watched the Shadowraze inch closer, completely disregarding physical space and time. Helplessly, Lu Jin took a step back. But the step he took seemed to make the Shadowraze come even closer¡­ It was so close that it was only half an inch away. Lu Jin could even hear the sound of it salivating, as clear as a bell. ¡°Is there no way to escape?¡± Lu Jin scanned his surroundings and immediately made a decision. The feebleness of his body and his hunger made it difficult for him to make even a single move, let alone take multiple steps to navigate to the door of that tiny room, which he had to open in order to escape. Yet, the time needed to execute that series of actions was probably enough for the Shadowraze, which had already occupied most of the room, to attack him multiple times. However, just as Lu Jin thought that he was done for, the Shadowraze surprisingly stopped advancing. Instead, countless pairs of its eyes were staring at him as it circled around, muttering something. ¡°Just observing?¡± Lu Jin looked at the Shadowraze, which was barely 10 centimeters away from his face. He could even smell the stench of the Shadowraze¡¯s breath clearly. However, Lu Jin knew very well that he absolutely should not make any moves at this point. Otherwise, the Shadowraze might react and break that delicate balance in the process. After that brief moment of balance, the door of the small bedroom suddenly opened. A pretty girl who was wearing a casual short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and who had beautiful short hair, strode in charmingly. She stared fixedly at Lu Jin. ¡°Shixue?¡± That pretty girl was none other than the dead young Lu Jin¡¯s biological sister, Lu Shixue. She was also the closest person to the younger Lu Jin, who had come to this city, and they relied on each other for more than 10 years! ¡°Brother! You haven¡¯t been out for the past few days. Your room probably stinks!¡± Lu Shixue covered her nose and looked at Lu Jin, who was low-spirited, had messy hair and who seemed like he had not showered in more than 10 days. She frowned slightly, expressing her dissatisfaction. ¡°Today is your big day ¨C the day you were chosen. How long are you going to stay in your room?¡± Lu Jin looked at Lu Shixue, who appeared like a hero in front of him. Even though that hero looked at him with disdain, he still felt an indescribable sense of warmth and comfort. Now that the door was open, he only needed to think of a way to get out. However, what happened next made Lu Jin¡¯s heart sink. The second after Lu Shixue entered the room, the Shadowraze, which was initially by the door, instantly sealed the door shut¡­ ¡°D*mn it!¡± Lu Jin looked at the Shadowraze, which was standing in front of Lu Shixue with its mouth opened widely. With his weak body, he was powerless to stop it and could only watch helplessly¡­ ¡°Brother, what are you standing there in a daze for? Hurry up and pack up. They¡¯re here!¡± Lu Shixue stared at Lu Jin in bewilderment as he was still standing in a daze. She wondered if he had lost his mind. ¡°You?¡± Lu Jin looked at Lu Shixue, who had a strange look on her face, and suddenly realized that she did not seem to notice the Shadowraze¡¯s existence. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you can¡¯t¡­ see¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lu Jin suddenly felt the atmosphere in the room change. An indescribable chill invaded his body! The bloodthirsty eyes of the Shadowraze, which had initially occupied the entire room, were now filled with agitation and excitement, as if it had seen something that made it excited. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Now, Lu Jin instantly understood what was happening. Not everyone could see the Shadowraze, which also explained why the Shadowraze did not attack him previously. It was just observing him as a form of a test. A test to know if he could see it¡­ And he fell for it! Although Lu Jin did not know what the Shadowraze was, he knew that it was definitely not a good thing. Or rather, it was simply an extremely dangerous being. If the Shadowraze knew that he could see it, the consequences would be unimaginable¡­ Lu Jin¡¯s innate fear sparked an idea in his mind. As he spoke, Lu Jin forcefully changed the topic. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you can¡¯t¡­ see¡­ that I¡¯m going to change?¡± With his words, the atmosphere in the room shifted again. However, the Shadowraze seemed unfazed by it. It continued to stare at Lu Jin with its huge mouths close to Lu Jin¡¯s face. It started whispering and even revealed a bright smile. ¡°You¡­ can¡­ see¡­ right?¡± His question was as rhetorical as it was literal. It was impossible to tell if the Shadowraze had discovered it. ¡°You¡¯re changing your clothes?¡± Lu Shixue could not help but scrutinize Lu Jin, whose outfit was tight-fitting. Looking at his surroundings, he didn¡¯t even have a change of clothes. No matter how she looked at it, it did not seem like he was changing his clothes. He was just in a daze. No doubt, her brother must be senile! ¡°Of course I¡¯m changing!¡± Lu Jin glanced at the Shadowraze, which had fixed its sight on him. Then, he looked at Lu Shixue and said, with certainty, ¡°Why don¡¯t I change for you to see?¡± With that, Lu Jin took off his T-shirt without hesitation, revealing a set of abs, something that he hardly had a lifetime ago. ¡°D*mn pervert!¡± Upon looking at Lu Jin, Lu Shixue turned around and left, ignoring him completely. As Lu Shixue left, Lu Jin could not help wanting to stop her. He silently wished that she would stand by his side, even if she looked at him with disdain. Otherwise, he would be alone in the room, facing the Shadowraze with countless pairs of eyes. He would even have to change his clothes less than 10 centimeters away from the Shadowraze. Who knew what that feeling was like¡­ Since he had already said it, he had to change his clothes. Otherwise, it would surely arouse the suspicion of the Shadowraze. ¡°I¡¯ll risk it! I¡¯ll change!¡± Lu Jin had no choice but to persist in spite of his trembling hands. As he swiftly changed his clothes in the view of the countless eyes of the Shadowraze, he acted as if he was relaxed, and as if no one was watching him change. However, Lu Jin¡¯s brave act did not dispel the Shadowraze¡¯s suspicion. It continued to observe quietly from the side. ¡°Was it completely unfazed?¡± Lu Jin did not know what to think as he watched the Shadowraze follow him persistently. He felt that the death of the younger Lu Jin must have something to do with that Shadowraze. If he could not get rid of that Shadowraze, he might end up in the same plight as the young man. After Lu Jin had changed and arrived at the living room, he saw Lu Shixue entertaining two female guests. One of the two women was wearing a black suit and a pair of AR glasses that resembled a pair of sunglasses. She held a small leather bag that seemed like a bag for documents. At a glance, one could tell that she was obviously a capable secretary. The other woman was dressed in a long, lavender dress. She had jet-black hair and looked astoundingly elegant. When he saw the beautiful women, each with their own style, he suddenly felt the cold and gloomy atmosphere disappear. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Lu Jin could not help but carefully survey the room with his peripheral vision to check if the Shadowraze was around. After surveying for a while, Lu Jin still did not see the Shadowraze. It was as if the Shadowraze had completely lost interest in him and disappeared without a trace. Lu Jin could not help but look at the two beautiful women in the living room. Recalling the Shadowraze¡¯s repeated probing, he did not think that it would suddenly give up. If it did, there must have been a reason. ¡°Could it be the two of them?¡± After giving it some thought, Lu Jin concluded that the only possibility was those two women. After all, when Lu Shixue had appeared earlier, the Shadowraze had not disappeared. Instead, it probed to check if Lu Shixue could see it. Although he did not know why, the Shadowraze definitely chose to disappear because of those two women. ¡°Hello! You must be Lu Jin.¡± The woman in the lavender dress stood up and smiled elegantly at Lu Jin. ¡°I am Xia Qingyao, the new CEO of Fantasy Light Group. From today, you¡¯ll be my fianc¨¦!¡± Chapter 3 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Hi.¡± Her graceful actions and undeniably gorgeous figure were fully captured by Lu Jin¡¯s eyes. Despite the scene before him, Lu Jin¡¯s gaze was focused on the metal earrings that were partially covered by Xia Qingyao¡¯s long hair. That pair of dull, golden earrings seemed like an unremarkable accessory. It was just a small embellishment that brought out the beauty of Xia Qingyao¡¯s maturity and intelligence. But Lu Jin knew very well that the pair of earrings was not just an accessory. It was an extra-cerebral inferential device that was designed 400 years ago for Fantasy World. It was a theoretical technology that the Fantasy Light Group had revealed publicly back then. Who would have thought that now, the Fantasy Light Group had already actualized that theoretical technology. Unlike the AR glasses, which mostly had to be controlled by players, the extra-cerebral inferential device did not require manual control. Instead, the AR component is directly controlled by the bioelectronic signals in the brain. Any thought in the brain could be rapidly performed, more than 10 times faster. In battles of Fantasy World and the creation process of items, it was literally like magic! ¡°Lianyue has already made it very clear in the video. I believe that you should have come to your senses by now, Mr Lu Jin.¡± Xia Qingyao gestured at Qin Lianyue, the female secretary beside her. Looking at Lu Jin with a serious expression, Xia Qingyao said, ¡°We¡¯re here today to sign the final document. If there are no issues, you¡¯ll just need to sign the document. Once you¡¯ve signed it, the contract cannot be amended. You¡¯ll also become my one and only fianc¨¦.¡± As Xia Qingyao finished speaking, Lu Jin suddenly saw that a stack of documents had appeared in his AR glasses. Without even giving his permission, these documents were directly displayed before him. ¡°Is this the technological prowess of the Fantasy Light Group?¡± Lu Jin was secretly amazed as he looked at the extra-cerebral inferential device on Xia Qingyao¡¯s ear. Inferring from the younger Lu Jin¡¯s memory, the world had changed drastically. It could be said that people all over the world were now living and working in Fantasy World. Their lives and work had been completely virtualized and systematized. One could consider them humans of the new era, and their standards in all aspects had far surpassed those of the humans who lived 400 years ago. The simplest example was physical training. Through scanning and testing, the AR system could directly reveal specific body data and growth rates, which allowed players who trained their body to know if they had grown. Even if the growth was just a small change, the system was able to detect it. It allowed the players to train their body with greater precision, thereby maximizing the growth from their training. For example, taking an ordinary person¡¯s muscle strength to be 100, through training, it could grow to 101 in a day. Using another method, on the other hand, it could grow to 102 in a day. When the two training methods were clearly compared, it was easy to see which was better. That way, the players could choose the training method that was more effective. Also, in terms of culinary practices, the doneness of food could be determined using the scan feature of the system. Whether it was training, cooking, or anything else, as long as there was growth, players could gain corresponding EXP. Also, in terms of the level of enhancement of the system, once the EXP bar has reached a certain level, the enhancement level of the system would increase. In addition, the collection of data would allow the AR system to upgrade and optimize itself, which would enable it to cater to the growing needs of the players. That would form a two-way upgrade mechanism, where both the player and the system software would go through self-upgrade and self-evolution respectively. It had become real ¨C the players¡¯ level was their power. Due to that, in the current world, a person¡¯s level was everything! If a person was to look for a job and had not reached Level 10 in a certain domain, he would probably not be able to find a job. For example, if he was a housekeeper, he would only have qualified for the job if he had reached Level 10 in housekeeping. For a chef in a restaurant, if he had not reached Level 10 as a chef, no one would even want him as an apprentice. According to the initial settings of Fantasy World 400 years ago, the maximum level of each domain was 30. However, as 400 years have passed, the maximum level had already surpassed the initial maximum level of 30, echoing the evolution of Fantasy World. As far as the late young Lu Jin had known, 200 years ago, the maximum level was at 40. That was because there was a person who had reached Level 39 in the domain of item-crafting, surpassing the maximum level, 200 years ago. That person was also the greatest craftsman in centuries. No one knew what the maximum level was now. Two hundred years ago, the global climate had changed abruptly. Apart from a few regions, the entire world was shrouded in mist. That mist was extremely mysterious as it could block all electronic transmission signals. Moreover, visibility in the mist was barely 10 meters. It caused traffic to be completely obstructed, and in an instant, it broke the connections between all the cities in the world. But that was not the most important thing. The thing that rendered everyone helpless was the problem with the mist. It was unsure why, but as long as people stayed in the mist for an extended period of time, their lifespan or vitality would be compromised. Even though they had used various methods to isolate the mist, the effectiveness had been very limited. Therefore, all the major cities in the world had their own governing bodies. The City of Light, which young Lu Jin was in, was governed by three major groups. Those three groups were the Sun and Moon Group, the Daytime Group and the Fantasy Light Group. Xia Qingyao was the newly appointed CEO of the Fantasy Light Group. She was the youngest CEO in the group¡¯s history. Humans were not completely helpless regarding the mist. The AR Five-Senses Enhancement and Virtualization technology of Fantasy World transformed the low visibility mist into an imaginary world where the visibility exceeded 100 meters. Furthermore, after activating the AR system, people¡¯s immunity against the mist¡¯s vitality-destroying force seemed to have been greatly enhanced. That paved the way for interaction between the major cities. Despite the wonders of Fantasy World, the journey was riddled with monsters and computerized dungeons. In the settings of Fantasy World, if a player was defeated, it was equivalent to the destruction of his AR system. Before the system has gone through either a tedious process of regeneration or an automatic reparation, there would be no way to re-activate it. Even if it was replaced immediately by a new AR device, the player¡¯s level would remain at zero if his player data was not downloaded into the new AR system. In the past 200 years, people have tried to crack the mystery behind Fantasy World. Some had also tried to extract the Five-Senses Enhancement Program for personal use so that people would not have to live within the limits of Fantasy World. However, all their attempts had failed. They did not even know how to shut down Fantasy World because it was simply activated by importing the instrument to its system¡¯s program. There was no mainframe at all. It was as if the instrument was completely independent¡­ Defeating monsters in Fantasy World was not without its benefits. As long as those monsters were defeated, they might leave memory fragments and various materials behind. Those memory fragments had many purposes. Not only could they be used to repair AR systems, but they could also be used to fully upgrade and enhance AR systems. It would not be just another routine upgrade based on the player¡¯s increase in level. And because of this¡­ A vocation that was unimaginable in the past has emerged! The Adventurers! Some could be guardians of vehicles that shuttled between cities; some could be explorers who would search for new residential areas; some could be scavengers who hunted monsters and resold materials and memory fragments. The main reason why the newly appointed President of the Fantasy Light Group, Xia Qingyao, had chosen Lu Jin to be her fianc¨¦ was because he was purely a commoner who knew nothing about the current situation. As Fantasy World had been engineered into an ARMMO game, the physical fitness of all players were taken into account for all battles. In the OL world, the players¡¯ physical fitness was categorized into four main stats: Strength, Agility, Endurance and Neural Reaction. Strength: The robustness of a person¡¯s muscles. Agility: The flexibility and speed of a person. Endurance: The stamina and adaptability of a person. Neural Reaction: The speed of neural response in a person¡¯s brain. Currently, after the players have been examined by the Adventurers Association¡¯s scan and detection instrument, they could obtain the most accurate evaluation of their maximum fitness potential. The four basic stats were rated in the following seven ranks, in ascending order of potential: ¡®F¡¯, ¡®E¡¯, ¡®D¡¯, ¡®C¡¯, ¡®B¡¯, ¡®A¡¯, ¡®S¡¯. As long as a player had two out of the four basic stats that were ranked ¡®A¡¯, they could be considered a rare prodigy. The younger Lu Jin, on the other hand, had received an evaluation that surpassed that of a prodigy. He was the most gifted person in the entire population of the City of Light in the past decade or so. Chapter 4 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Rank ¡®S¡¯! That¡¯s right, an ¡®S¡¯-rank potential! Among the four stats, other than Neural Reaction which was ranked ¡®S¡¯, his Strength and Agility were ranked ¡®A¡¯, and his Endurance was ranked ¡®B¡¯. His potential was comparable to Xia Qingyao¡¯s potential. Xia Qingyao was known as the most gifted person in the City of Light in recent decades. Two of her stats were ranked ¡®S¡¯, while the remaining two were ranked ¡®A¡¯. ¡°Mr Lu Jin, let me repeat myself before you sign the document.¡± Qin Lianyue gently adjusted her AR sunglasses and said in a serious tone, ¡°After you become the CEO¡¯s husband, you will not receive any shares and cannot interfere with the group¡¯s decisions. All you need to do is to fulfill your duty as a husband. And of course, the CEO will try her best to satisfy the rest of your requests, including the fees and resources required for your sister¡¯s further studies in the prestigious Light Academy.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Lu Jin nodded his head and signed the contract. Based on young Lu Jin¡¯s memory, Lu Jin understood the situation clearly. The conditions that were presented by Xia Qingyao could be said to be any man¡¯s dream. They could enjoy the various resources provided by the Fantasy Light Group without having to work. Now, after 400 years of development in AR technology, as long as they had the resources, everything could be materialized. Delicacies, beautiful scenery, beautiful women, and so on. They could absolutely live a life more comfortable than even the gods. As for fulfilling the duties of a husband, who could refuse that? One could say that it was the main reason Xia Qingyao sought him. In the 200 years that the mist had appeared, for reasons that were unknown, people generally did not live past 60 years old. As for men, their lifespans were even shorter. Most of them did not live past 45 years old. Furthermore, the birth rate of males was constantly dropping. In just 200 years, the ratio of men to women in a city had reached an astonishing 1:4. Therefore, a young man with great potential was definitely a very scarce resource, especially for the Fantasy Light Group. The Fantasy Light Group had existed for hundreds of years. Originally, the family was very large and prosperous, but due to an upheaval a few years ago, only Xia Qingyao was left in the Xia family of the Fantasy Light Group. Xia Qingyao took over the group, which had turned into a mess, when she was barely 20 years old. She steadily became the manager of the Fantasy Light Group. In the City of Light, she was one of the rare few experts whose AR system had reached level 25. However, after Xia Qingyao had become the official manager of the Fantasy Light Group, she was no longer young. She looked to be in her early twenties, but in reality, she was almost 24 years old. In this world, she was considered very old. In order to protect the grand Fantasy Light Group, Xia Qingyao had no choice but to find an excellent man, especially one who could increase the potential of her next generation of children, as soon as possible. A young man with great potential like Lu Jin, who had no background and a clean record, was undoubtedly the best choice. To the young Lu Jin, who had led a life of poverty, that was a chance to turn his life around. It would save them decades of hard work. They would no longer have to live in a rented apartment that was only around 30 square meters. They would also no longer have to live in a suburb that was less than three kilometers away from the misty zone every day. They would even be able to help the talented Lu Shixue get ahead in life. Other than being criticized, it was the perfect life. Despite the fact that she was a gifted craftswoman, Lu Shixue¡¯s daily income was just close to 200 credits. Yet, the monthly rent in the suburbs required 2,000 credits. The two of them would have to spend 2,000 to 3,000 credits a month on their daily synthetic nutritional meals. Although Lu Jin hunted once in a while, he could usually only earn about 3,000 to 4,000 credits in a month. When he had higher earnings, it was around 5,000 to 6,000 credits a month. However, that was barely enough for the two of them to live in the suburbs. It was basically a pipe dream for them to move to the city center to lead better lives. Without having sufficient resources and training, fitness potential would remain as potential and would never turn into strength. However, it was different for Lu Shixue. She was a truly gifted craftswoman. She was able to reach Level 10 in item-crafting without having any resources or guidance. That level was only attained by most in their thirties. Lu Shixue¡¯s item-crafting potential was comparable to Lu Jin¡¯s fitness potential. Furthermore, item-crafting was more profitable and craftsmen had a higher social status. After reaching Level 10 in item-crafting, the difficulty of advancing was completely different from the first 10 levels. It required a huge accumulation of knowledge on items and precious materials such as memory fragments for crafting experiments. One could not simply level up by desire. Currently, in the City of Light, the only way for a craftsman to advance beyond Level 10 was to enroll in Light Academy. Most importantly, according to the younger Lu Jin¡¯s memory, the higher the level of the AR system, the longer one¡¯s lifespan would be in this world. Those who could live beyond 60 years old had AR systems which were Level 20 and above. On the other hand, those whose AR systems were Level 10 or lower generally did not live past 45 years old¡­ The only way for Lu Shixue to upgrade her AR system beyond Level 10 was to enroll in Light Academy and become a craftswoman of Level 10 and above. Otherwise, she would always be crafting items in a mere workshop. Unlike the Adventurers who would only need to fight battles to upgrade their AR system, Lu Shixue might never get her AR system to be Level 10 and above. It was a pity that younger Lu Jin had died in his own home, before that day even came¡­ Lu Jin, who was currently alive, was an internal beta tester of Fantasy World who had reached Level 27, which was a level that other testers could not achieve. Subsequently, he participated in the core testing of Fantasy World, a world where it was difficult to survive in. The current world was completely different from the world that Lu Jin was familiar with. Lu Jin was powerless, especially when he was targeted by the Shadowraze. His only choice was to become Xia Qingyao¡¯s fianc¨¦. He hoped that the Shadowraze had left because it was afraid of XIa Qingyao and her subordinates. ¡°Mr Lu Jin, since you¡¯re my fianc¨¦ now, I can tell you about some of the issues that I have been hiding from you.¡± Xia Qingyao looked at Lu Jin, who had already signed the contract, and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, it was a secret of Fantasy Light Group, I couldn¡¯t reveal it before you signed the contract. Although I¡¯m the CEO of the Group now, there are a few young men from influential families in the group who have been eying the position of my fianc¨¦. I¡¯m afraid that they have not given up yet. They might contact you privately. You may ignore them. With your current status in the Xia family, they wouldn¡¯t dare to cause trouble.¡± ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Miss Qingyao.¡± Lu Jin nodded with a smile. He was not surprised. Within each of the three groups that had been governing the City of Light for hundreds of years, most of the families had already been well-established. If they had been unable to sabotage the Xia family of the Fantasy Light Group, they would have thought of ways to improve the relationship between their families. If they were related by blood, it would be extremely beneficial to those families. In future, they would have a chance to completely take over. Among the descendants of those large families which had bountiful resources, there was definitely no lack of promising young men that Xia Qingyao could have chosen from. In Light Academy, the most prestigious institution in the City of Light, more than 90% of the students were descendants of distinguished families from well-known groups. Ordinary people who wanted to enroll for further studies would have been discouraged, even if they were gifted, because of the exorbitant tuition fees that they could never afford. Due to that, more than 90% of the outstanding youth in the City of Light, including the gifted ones, came from well-known families. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Xia Qingyao had wanted to protect the Xia family from being controlled by others, she probably wouldn¡¯t have chosen him. ¡°I¡¯ll get Lianyue to bring you all to the engagement banquet in three days, Mr Lu Jin. I won¡¯t disturb you further now, Mr Lu Jin.¡± Xia Qingyao glanced at Lu Jin, who seemed weak, with an air of concern. She bade them farewell and left without another word, with Qin Lianyue trailing behind her. Soon, they entered a maglev limousine that had been parked at the entrance and slowly disappeared from Lu Jin¡¯s and Lu Shixue¡¯s sight. ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s so unfair!¡± Lu Shixue couldn¡¯t help but stare at Lu Jin who was beside her. Filled with jealousy, she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Sister Qingyao to be so charming and beautiful. I can¡¯t believe that you got away with that! I¡¯m not having it! You¡¯ll cook for the next few days!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at Lu Shixue, who had a look of pity and jealousy. All of a sudden, he began to wonder if she was indeed the biological sister of the younger Lu Jin¡­ After Lu Shixue left in a huff, Lu Jin gazed off into the distance where Xia Qingyao and others had gone and let out a deep sigh. Although Xia Qingyao had laid everything out well, there was only one thing that he could do to move forward now. That was to upgrade his AR level. Without an AR level that was sufficiently high, he would barely have any social standing, let alone safety. Then, Lu Jin drew out his AR data. Previously, he had not had the time to check. His memory of the AR data was also extremely vague. Now, he finally had the time to take a good look at his stats. Chapter 5 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ID: Lu Jin AR System: Level 10 (Progress: 36%. 1,000 units of memory fragments required to level up once the progress has reached 100%.) Adventurer: Level 10 (0 EXP needed to level up. To unlock Level 11, Level 11 AR System is required.) Basic Stats: Strength: 43 (Currently at Rank ¡®B¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®A¡¯.) Agility: 33 (Currently at Rank ¡®C¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®A¡¯.) Endurance: 31 (Currently at Rank ¡®C¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®B¡¯.) Neural Reaction: 46 (Currently at Rank ¡®B¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Chef: Level 7 (Progress: 83%) Housekeeper: Level 4 (Progress: 41%) Restorer: Level 8 (Progress: 59%) Appraiser: Level 8 (Progress: 12%) Custodian of Electronics: Level 9 (Progress: 71%) Skills: None System Management Rights: Rank ¡®B¡¯ ¡°Rank ¡®B¡¯ rights?¡± Lu Jin was stunned when he saw the data that had been displayed on the panel. Young Lu Jin¡¯s basic stats were pretty decent. He was one of the rare experts who had achieved Rank ¡®B¡¯ in Strength and Neural Reaction when he was only a Level 10 Adventurer. Once he had achieved Rank ¡®B¡¯ in Agility and Endurance, and had upgraded his AR system to Level 11, he could advance to Level 11 as an Adventurer, which was a whole new stage. However, the merits of his basic stats were not worth mentioning when he took his system management rights into account. The ¡®B¡¯ rank in system management rights had been commissioned by the Advanced Internal Testing Authority of Fantasy World. It was not something that ordinary people could obtain. Normally, after becoming a player of Fantasy World, a player would have a system management rights rank of ¡®D¡¯, which was the lowest rank. Those who were chosen to be internal beta testers would have a system management rights rank of ¡®C¡¯ during the internal testing. Only those who participated in the core testing had their system management rights rank upgraded to ¡®B¡¯. Initially, the system management rights ranks of ¡®B¡¯ and ¡®C¡¯ were specially introduced to speed up the internal beta testers¡¯ progress so that they could adapt to Fantasy World better. Once the public beta was released, the system management rights would be automatically withdrawn by the system. ¡°Could it be that after I transmigrated 400 years into the future, the system automatically allowed me to retain my system management rights from the past?¡± Lu Jin was deep in thought. It was impossible for the advanced internal testing rights to have existed in the current world because it was originally a temporary setup. Once the public beta was released, it would have been voided. As long as players logged into Fantasy World, their internal testing data would have been cleared. The reason that he still could have his internal testing rights now could only be that he had retained them from 400 years ago. After all, he had not even had the chance to join the public beta before he had arrived here. Even the mastermind of Fantasy World would not have thought of such a miraculous occurrence. ¡°This is going to be interesting.¡± Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly. ¡°The ID is Lu Jin. Permission to activate the system management rights!¡± System: Permission granted. Welcome to the administrator system, internal beta tester Lu Jin. ¡°D*mn! It works!¡± Lu Jin almost exclaimed when he saw the notification from the system. Advanced internal testing rights! Although the internal testing rights were insignificant to an actual AI manager, to a public beta player, it was like unlocking a plug-in. The internal testing rights were specially initiated to allow players to progress quickly and experience Fantasy World. The advanced internal testing rights had three main functions. The first function was the Item Lottery. One could randomly get an item. There was a wide range of items that could be obtained, including all types of tools, potions, blueprints, special accessories, and even Fantasy World¡¯s rare Book of Skills. The rarity of the item would be determined by the amount of memory fragments that the player had given up for exchange. There were three types of Item Lotteries. The Normal Item Lottery required an exchange of 100 units of memory fragments. The Rare Item Lottery required an exchange of 500 units of memory fragments. The Special Item Lottery required an exchange of 1,000 units of memory fragments. The Item Lottery function was accessible to all internal beta testers. As long as they continued to defeat monsters, they would continue to obtain various power-up items. One of the remaining two functions was the Map Exploration function, while the other was the Data Scanning function. Those two functions were only accessible to senior internal beta testers. The Map Exploration function allowed players to know the coordinates of all monsters within a radius of one kilometer. The Data Scanning function allowed players to know the detailed stats of monsters. With those two functions, players would have a greater ability to survive when they entered dangerous regions. ¡°Initially, I thought that I would have to wait until I¡¯ve entered the Fantasy Light Group before my AR system can be upgraded from Level 10. Now, I can save myself the trouble.¡± After Lu Jin had read all the data, he closed the data bar. He had a look of anticipation in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t have the chance today, but tomorrow, I can challenge the depths of the misty zone.¡± Fantasy World had been developing for 400 years. Due to the mist, more than 90% of players were unable to progress beyond Level 10. AR level was everything now. People whose AR level was above 10 were worlds apart from others who were at AR Level 10. If a player went to the city to look for a job, he would find that there was a significant difference in treatment between a Level 10 player and a Level 11 player. However, the biggest difference between an AR Level 10 player and an AR Level 11 player was neither the treatment nor the income. It was the ability to travel between major cities. As long as the players had achieved Level 10 as Adventurers, they would have the ability to traverse the barriers that blocked the prominent areas of each of the major cities. Such a talent was rare in any city and could be considered a person who was truly free. Even without the Xia family¡¯s status and resources, he could still lead a good life. ¡­ In the maglev limousine that was returning to the city area of the City of Light: ¡°Lianyue, what do you think of Lu Jin?¡± Xia Qingyao asked softly as she studied the latest news about influential families, in the back seat. ¡°Miss, what are you asking about?¡± In the front seat, Lianyue, who had a straight face, said plainly, ¡°Are you asking about the good points or the bad points?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the good points first.¡± Xia Qingyao gently shrugged her shoulders and stretched her body. It was as if she could only relax when she was alone with Qin Lianyue. Qin Lianyue looked at the domineering Xia Qingyao, who seemed as though she was the ruler of the world, and said slowly, ¡°The good point is that Mr Lu Jin is actually interested in you, Miss.¡± Xia Qingyao was stunned for a moment. She couldn¡¯t help but look at herself and primped herself lightly. Xia Qingyao was actually very confident about her figure and appearance. ¡°Miss, you should have some self-awareness too.¡± Qin Lianyue saw the puzzled look on Xia Qingyao¡¯s face and sighed. ¡°Usually, when you¡¯re in the office, the male employees would avoid you like the plague. When they saw you, it was like mice seeing a cat. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been only three people from those influential families who applied to be the Xia family¡¯s son-in-law¡­¡± Xia Qingyao did not mind Qin Lianyue¡¯s provocative evaluation at all. She simply shifted in her seat and said calmly, ¡°Is that so? It seems like it¡¯s indeed good news for me. What about the bad news?¡± Qin Lianyue said without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Mr Lu Jin could be used by the aggressive Jiang Haoyuan!¡± ¡°Jiang Haoyuan? He is trouble indeed. He has many tricks up his sleeve and is very powerful. Moreover, he doesn¡¯t hide his huge ambition at all. It¡¯s all thanks to him that the group could develop so quickly in the past few years.¡± Xia Qingyao shifted unconsciously and frowned slightly. ¡°With Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s methods, it¡¯s indeed possible that he could make Lu Jin his chess piece and stir up the entire group. It looks like we need you to constantly monitor Lu Jin.¡± Jiang Haoyuan! The most notorious young man in the Fantasy Light Group. Back then, she worked with Jiang Haoyuan to build the Fantasy Light Group. However, Jiang Haoyuan was too ambitious and should never be allowed to enter the Xia family. ¡°I understand. I will keep an eye on him.¡± Qin Lianyue nodded. ¡­ The next morning, just as the morning light illuminated the City of Light, Lu Jin left the house with a sports bag on his back. After a night of recovery, Lu Jin¡¯s exhaustion had completely vanished. His body had recovered by 70% to 80% and he no longer felt weak and hungry like when he had first woken up. ¡°In the past, I¡¯ve always been active within a five-kilometer range of the heavy mist, which had been crowded. Today, I¡¯ll take a look at the 10-kilometers area.¡± Lu Jin turned on his AR glasses and studied the map of the area around the city. After confirming a direction, he sped off on his bicycle. Chapter 6 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After Lu Jin sped on his bicycle for nearly half an hour, a barbed wire fence that surrounded the entire city and a steel gate that was about five to six meters tall appeared before his eyes. In order to protect the City of Light from Fantasy World¡¯s electronic monsters and mist, a protective barrier had been specially set up. That was unlike the world before the mist. Although that protective barrier was not very effective against the mist and was only positioned at the intersection between the misty zone and the city, it was excellent at blocking the electronic monsters which were completely unruly. In addition, as the original design of Fantasy World was to prevent people¡¯s jobs and lives in the cities from being affected, they had planned for the electronic monsters to be active solely outside the city. As 400 years had passed, some cities that had not been shrouded in mist had kept expanding. However, as more and more people entered the cities that were not shrouded in mist, the City of Light, which was small to begin with, had to expand rapidly. The current city area had already exceeded the safety limit that had been set 400 years ago. Fortunately, the city area was not significantly over the safety limit. The electronic monsters near the city were relatively weak and were easily affected by electric currents. Typically, they would not venture near cities with powerful electric currents. Therefore, for many years, there were very few electronic monsters near the barrier. Furthermore, after the barrier had been virtualized, it had become a sky-scraping wall of fire. Regardless of whether they were electronic monsters or humans, they would have felt threatened. Even if there were electronic monsters that had respawned within the barrier, the city¡¯s patrolling guardians would specially deal with them to prevent them from entering the city. As he got closer to the steel gate, Lu Jin saw that there were thousands of people on both sides of the road. They were all like Lu Jin, either riding bicycles or electric scooters, and were carrying different types of bags. Some of them even had large suitcases, as if they were going on a trip. It was very lively. A middle-aged man, who was close to 40 years old, was carrying a backpack and was followed by an electric hound. He saw Lu Jin approaching on his bicycle and could not help but greet him. ¡°Young Lu, I haven¡¯t seen you these past few days. I thought that you had gone to another area. How about you come with us to the Mid-Zone to hunt?¡± Lu Jin looked at the middle-aged man and his memories instantly surfaced. He shook his head with a smile. ¡°Thank you, Uncle Li. However, I plan to experiment with my newly-bought equipment alone today, so I won¡¯t be going to the Mid-Mist Zone to hunt with you all.¡± Li Jianyuan was a warm and friendly man. Although he had not gotten past Level 10, he was a renowned Scavenger from the West Gate and had his own team. When Lu Jin first became an Adventurer and ventured into the misty zone, he received Li Jianyuan¡¯s care and guidance, thus avoiding many unnecessary deaths and losses. ¡°Impressive, you actually changed your equipment!¡± Li Jianyuan could not help but size up Lu Jin¡¯s gloves and the 60 to 70 centimeters long metal sword that was hanging on his side. ¡°The A3 sensory gloves and the A3 electronic sword! Did you strike gold?¡± ¡°I wish I did. I¡¯ve saved up two years¡¯ worth of money for these two pieces of equipment.¡± Lu Jin smiled wryly. AR games were different from VR games. In VR games, players only needed a helmet for their spirits to be fully immersed in the world. AR games required a lot of equipment, and AR glasses were just the most fundamental ones. During battles, specialized equipment was required. For example, sensory gloves and simulation weapons were essential items that allowed players to better simulate the build, texture and effectiveness of the weapons of Fantasy World. Furthermore, the higher the quality of the weapon, the better the simulation equipment that was required. Otherwise, they would not be able to produce the effects that they actually should have had, which would make their performance in battles weaker. For example, the most fundamental A1 simulation equipment could only bring out 100% of the effects of Normal-type items and weapons in Fantasy World. Its effectiveness was significantly worse when used on Rare and Magical weapons which were better. Scavengers were generally Adventurers who had not surpassed Level 10. As Rare-type equipment was mainstream in Fantasy World, A2-model simulation equipment was good enough for the Scavengers. Scavengers were typically unwilling to buy expensive A3-model simulation equipment as they were electronic products that could wear and tear over prolonged usage. They were completely consumables. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that young Lu Jin had planned to venture into the Heavy-Mist Zone with the elite Scavenger team to collect more memory fragments and materials in order to advance to Level 11, he would not have bought the expensive simulation equipment which had cost 40,000 credits. Otherwise, he would not even have had 100 units of memory fragments¡­ ¡°Alright, but you have to be careful when you go in. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with the monsters these few days. They are very restless. If you encounter too many monsters alone, escape quickly.¡± Li Jianyuan nodded his head and reminded him, ¡°At our level, the price of recovery after losing a life is very high. You don¡¯t want to have worked for nothing for a week.¡± With that said, Li Jianyuan took his electronic hound back to his team and prepared to enter the misty zone. At that moment, the guard who was stationed by the steel gate had also come to the entrance. He said loudly, ¡°All of you, remember! The closing time of the gate is 9pm. After that time, you can only wait until 7am tomorrow morning to enter the city. Pay attention to the time!¡± Experienced Scavengers were accustomed to the guard¡¯s reminder. On the other hand, the rookies had a look of disdain on their faces, as if they had not known about it at all. ¡°These rookies definitely wouldn¡¯t make it.¡± The captain of the guards looked at those rookies, who were in their early twenties, with complete disdain. ¡°Whatever, open the door!¡± The misty zone had been enhanced by the AR Five-Senses Enhancement and Virtualization technology, which had increased visibility to 100 meters. It was as if time never passed in the misty zone. In the misty zone, it was difficult for a person to find their bearings. They could also be attacked by monsters at any time. They would enter a state of high alert even if they did not intend to. If they were too focused, with the narrow field of vision, it was easy for them to forget the passage of time, never mind the fact that they were only navigating within a range of a few kilometers¡¯ from the borders of the city. It was not easy to travel through the rugged road and the vast forest that had been formed over the course of 400 years, let alone fight against monsters. Even if it was just a one-kilometer journey, it was not unusual to have spent one hour to complete it. Rookies often misjudged the distance and lost track of time. They only realized that they did not have enough time when they were on their way back, and had no choice but to spend the night outside the city. It could be said that the night was when the monsters were the most active. Powerful monsters would start to move about. Even if the rookies spent the night beside the barrier, they would not feel good. If they were not careful, they could lose their life, which would lead them to suffer heavy losses. That was also why the Scavengers rarely changed locations when they hunted outside the city. Normally, without familiarizing themselves with the area outside the city for a few years, they wouldn¡¯t think of roaming around freely in the area. As the gate slowly opened, the Scavengers swarmed out of the gate. ¡°Hurry! The monsters in the Low-Zone should have just respawned! Before entering the Mid-Zone, clear out the areas where the monsters are gathered!¡± ¡°Follow me and don¡¯t fall behind. My electronic hound can sense monsters within 200 meters. We have to enter the Mid-Zone before the other teams!¡± ¡­ Lu Jin, who had just entered the gate, marveled at the scene that was before him. A scene like that would definitely not be seen in the city. It was as lively as a market. Although Lu Jin, who had just arrived in this world, had seen such a scene in young Lu Jin¡¯s memory, he felt an indescribable sense of novelty when he witnessed it with his own eyes. After a moment of amazement, Lu Jin did not dare to waste any more time. He immediately rode his bicycle towards the Heavy-Mist Zone that was five kilometers away from the city. As he had internal testing rights, he could find out the locations of monsters within a one-kilometer range with the map exploration function. That way, it would be a lot easier to avoid monsters and head straight to the Heavy-Mist Zone. In less than an hour, Lu Jin arrived at the Heavy-Mist Zone, which was deserted and was filled with powerful electronic monsters. Even his visibility had decreased to 70 to 80 meters. ¡°Is this the Heavy-Mist Zone?¡± Lu Jin scanned his surroundings. Compared to the Mid-Zone, it was even darker after virtualization. It was as if he had arrived at a forest maze with different types of thorns surrounding him. It was difficult to detect the surrounding monsters through vision, which made the level of danger significantly higher. However, that was no danger to Lu Jin. Soon, he spotted a lone monster on the map. ¡°I¡¯ll use you as a gauge!¡± Lu Jin looked at the Level 10 Two-Headed Horned Serpent that was slithering around an ancient tree not far away. He instinctively drew out the simulated sword that was hanging on his side. As soon as the simulated sword was in his hand, it instantly transformed into a Rare-type flaming lightsaber. He parked his bicycle at the side and walked over slowly. Chapter 7 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In the younger Lu Jin¡¯s memory, the Two-Headed Horned Serpent was a very difficult monster to deal with. Although it was just a Level 10 normal monster, it had two skills. One of them was the Corrosive Venom skill. It could spit out extremely corrosive venom. Even if a player had come into contact with a little of it, their electronic body would suffer a lot of damage. It could even be poisoned, which would cause the electronic body to be depleted constantly. It could cause a Level 10 player to lose more than half of their electronic body. In Fantasy World, a player¡¯s electronic body was like their Health Points. It was a virtual body that the AR system used to remodel the player¡¯s appearance. If the virtual body was damaged, it was equivalent to the collapse of the AR system. If a Level Six or Seven player came into contact with the corrosive venom, without the antidote or memory fragment booster, they would definitely die. The second skill of the Two-Headed Horned Serpent, the Poisonous Fog, was even more powerful. Once it was used, it could form a poisonous fog region with a very wide range. It could easily cover an area with a radius of 20 meters. Players would sustain damage to their electronic bodies in the poisonous fog, and there was a definite chance that their bodies became paralyzed. Normally, in order to deal with the Two-Headed Horned Serpent, ranged players would have to work together to defeat it. If there was only one person, and it was a melee player, they would have chosen to take a detour. However, to Lu Jin, who was an internal beta tester, such a low-level monster was not an issue. It only had two skills. The truly powerful monsters had five or six skills and multiple passive skills. Some even knew magic. In order to defeat a low-level monster like the Two-Headed Horned Serpent, it was actually very simple. All one had to do was pay close attention to its two heads. Before the monsters in Fantasy World unleashed their skill, they would exhibit a preparatory motion. As long as one paid attention to that preparatory motion, they could preemptively dodge it if they knew what the skill was. Experts could even block the release of the skill. After the Two-Headed Horned Serpent noticed Lu Jin, it lunged forward to bite him immediately. ¡°After 400 years, the offensive strategy of the low-level monsters is still the same.¡± Lu Jin was already very familiar with such a head-on attack, so he raised his lightsaber to meet it directly. With Strength stats of 43, it was rare for Level 10 monsters to be considered opponents, let alone serpentes which were not Strength-based. Clang! The sound of metals clashing echoed in the surroundings. The two serpent heads, which were originally biting at Lu Jin, collided with each other. The status of their electronic body reduced by 3% upon collision, and they instinctively roared at Lu Jin. Lu Jin looked at the Two-Headed Horned Serpent, which was baring its teeth menacingly, but there was not the slightest ripple in his heart. Instead, he quietly reflected. ¡°The accuracy was a little off. That strike didn¡¯t hit the critical spot that would have triggered the stun effect. Otherwise, I would have been able to finish it off in one move.¡± The Two-Headed Horned Serpent seemed to be very dissatisfied with Lu Jin¡¯s calmness. It instinctively started tearing at Lu Jin again. The two heads attacked fiercely at an extremely fast speed. Ordinary people would not have been able to keep up with that speed. However, that kind of simple head-on attack had no effect on Lu Jin. All he had to do was to change the trajectory of one of the heads to collide with the other. Then, the high-speed attack would not be orchestrated. One hit¡­ Two hits¡­ Three hits¡­ Every time Lu Jin swung his sword, the Two-Headed Horned Serpent was not able to retaliate. Furthermore, the damage to its electronic body was also increasing. It was obvious that Lu Jin¡¯s slashes were getting increasingly accurate. Just as the status of the Two-Headed Horned Serpent¡¯s electronic body had reduced by more than 70%, the two heads suddenly took a deep breath and were about to lean back. ¡°This is it!¡± Lu Jin immediately stabbed one of the heads in the jaw with his sword. In that instant, the Two-Headed Horned Serpent shuddered and its movements came to a halt. ¡°Die! Aurora!¡± Lu Jin clenched his sword tightly and swung it twice spontaneously. Lu Jin¡¯s two consecutive strikes were so fast that they formed two streaks of light. Then the streaks of light intertwined with each other and directly hit the Two-Headed Horned Serpent¡¯s weakest spot, at its heart, instantly reducing the remaining 20% status of its electronic body to zero. Looking at the fallen Two-Headed Horned Serpent, Lu Jin shook his body. ¡°This body is not bad indeed. It¡¯s a pity that the Adventurer level is too low and that the five-senses enhancement is too weak. It couldn¡¯t even execute a basic Sword Aurora well¡­¡± Weapon technique! In Fantasy World, weapon level was different from skill. Players did not need to learn them through books of skill. Instead, they needed to learn combo techniques through trial-and-error in order to enhance their destructive power. Among them, Sword Aurora was a technique invented by Lu Jin. At its maximum, it could be used five times in a row with increasing destructive power. Lu Jin then shifted his gaze to the point where a pillar and the Two-Headed Horned Serpent had fallen. ID: Lu Jin AR System: Level 10 (Progress: 37%. 1,000 units of memory fragments required to level up once the progress has reached 100%.) Adventurer: Level 10 (0 EXP needed to level up. To unlock Level 11, Level 11 AR System is required.) Basic Stats: Strength: 43 (Currently at Rank ¡®B¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®A¡¯.) Agility: 34 (Currently at Rank ¡®C¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®A¡¯.) Endurance: 31 (Currently at Rank ¡®C¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®B¡¯.) Neural Reaction: 47 (Currently at Rank ¡®B¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) ¡°Weak monsters indeed have little effect on my progress.¡± Lu Jin briefly noted his stats. The AR system had only progressed by 1%, while his Agility and Neural Reaction had both only increased by 1% as well. ¡°It seems that I¡¯ll have to find some powerful monsters to train with in order to break through my current limit.¡± Lu Jin then walked to the spot where the Two-Headed Horned Serpent had dematerialized and picked up a piece of white crystal that had fallen. ¡°Level 10 monsters are indeed much better than Level Six or Seven monsters.¡± Lu Jin studied the white crystal in his hand. They were memory fragments, and there were two whole units of them. Compared to a Level Six or Seven monster in the Mid-Zone which had a low chance of leaving behind a single unit of white crystal, the rewards were much greater. Furthermore, fewer people fought for Level 10 monsters. Lu Jin then stored the memory fragment in his electronic backpack and started searching for his next target. Time passed by quickly. For nine hours, Lu Jin searched continuously for powerful monsters to defeat. The progress of the AR system slowed down progressively. Even after defeating more than 200 monsters, it only rose from 37% to 62%. It was the same for the basic stats. Strength had progressed to 46%, Agility had progressed to 39%, Endurance had progressed to 35%, Neural Reaction had progressed to 49%, missing Rank ¡®A¡¯ by 1%. On the other hand, he had collected 162 units of memory fragments, which was equivalent to what he used to collect in half a month. If other players knew about that increase in speed and rewards, they would be mad with jealousy. It had to be said that the Map Exploration function was simply unbelievable. The speed at which it detected monsters was not something that ordinary players could compare to. As the sun set, a dark gray stone emerged suddenly, after Lu Jin had defeated a Level Nine Rock Bear. Lu Jin looked at the dark gray stone with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s just a crystal residue. Two pieces of that is only worth one memory fragment. How can he be so excited? He must have been driven crazy by poverty.¡± A young Scavenger who was preparing to return to the city tutted in disdain as he looked at Lu Jin, who seemed as though he had found a treasure. ¡°Two pieces of crystal residue are only worth one unit of memory fragment?¡± Lu Jin was stunned instead of angry at the young Scavenger¡¯s words. ¡°You must have just come to the Heavy-Mist Zone.¡± The young Scavenger observed the surprised Lu Jin and couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°This crystal residue can only be used to make basic Anti-Insanity Potions. It has no other use at all. Furthermore, a bottle of basic Anti-Insanity Potion is only worth three units of memory fragments. Many other materials can be used in place of crystal residues. There are very few people who would collect crystal residues in the market. You would be lucky to even sell two pieces of crystal residue for one unit of memory fragment, yet you still treat it like a treasure.¡± With that, the young Scavenger left Lu Jin and rode his electric scooter back to the city. After the young Scavenger left Lu Jin fell into deep thought. ¡°Four hundred years have passed in this world and people don¡¯t even know the true usage of crystal residues anymore?¡± During the internal beta testing of Fantasy World, many internal testers were fighting to buy crystal residues. There were no reasons other than that the crystal residues could cause electronic monsters to become stronger if they were fed to them. If they were lucky, the monsters could even be mutated. Those mutated electronic monsters were a huge treasure trove. As long as they were defeated, the rewards would be so amazing that it could be compared to the rewards from defeating a Regional Overlord. Regional Overlords were not easy to find. Not only were each of them extremely powerful, but it also took a very long time for them to be generated. After defeating the Regional Overlord, there was a chance that a Crystal of Awakening could be obtained. The Crystal of Awakening would greatly increase the adaptability of the player¡¯s AR system. It would significantly decrease the difficulty of upgrading the player¡¯s AR system. Back then, internal testers farmed Crystals of Awakening by defeating mutated monsters. Furthermore, even if the monsters had only become stronger and had not mutated, the rewards from defeating them would also have been very good. In particular, powerful monsters in Fantasy World were very rare. Usually, it was rare to encounter one in any given week. Most of the time, they would appear as a group of monsters. Even a small team would find it difficult to attack them. At the thought of that, Lu Jin decided not to look for monsters anymore. Instead, he packed up and rode his bicycle back to the City of Light. By the time Lu Jin returned to the West Gate of the City of Light, he could already see that many Scavengers had set up stalls on both sides of the street, selling some of the materials and weapons that they had collected that day. Meanwhile, Lu Jin found a spot near the gate and used the AR system to make a billboard. ¡°Buying crystal residues at a high price. One unit of memory fragment in exchange for two pieces of crystal residue. Acquiring a limited amount of residues, first-come, first-served.¡± Chapter 8 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The moment Lu Jin¡¯s virtual billboard appeared, it attracted a lot of attention. While crystal residues were of little value to Scavengers who roamed the Heavy-Mist Zone, they still felt like it was a waste to have to throw them away. After the AR system was activated, all items in Fantasy World would exist like real items and would require an electronic space to store them. That was why everyone had to carry a backpack while they were out. That backpack was actually an electronic storage bag. Otherwise, players would have to carry the different items in their hands. If they accidentally switched off the AR system, their electronic body would be deactivated and they would no longer be able to come into contact with electronic items. The items that they had been holding in their hands would fall and others could pick them up for free¡­ Due to that, people all over the world would keep their AR systems on except for when they slept. Otherwise, they would not be able to see or touch any electronic items and it would be as if they were blind and handicapped. There was a limit to the capacity of an electronic storage bag. Although it was different from actual backpacks, which could not store items larger than its size, electronic storage bags had a limit on the number of storage slots. An ordinary electronic storage bag had only 50 slots. A slot could only contain one material or item. Apart from memory fragments, of which 100 units of it could be stored in a slot, other items like a small crystal residue would occupy one slot. As a precaution, players had to have various tools and items within their reach while they traveled, hence the number of empty slots they had left was limited. Compared to materials that were left behind by defeated monsters, crystal residues were worthless. Some people would even discard them when they ran out of slots in their bags¡­ ¡°Brother, are you really collecting crystal residues?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Alright. I have two pieces here.¡± ¡­ In an instant, many Scavengers came to Lu Jin to trade crystal residues. Although the appearance rate of crystal residues was extremely low, it could not be compared to the large number of Scavengers. In less than an hour, Lu Jin had collected 32 pieces of crystal residues. Lu Jin had not even managed to collect that amount of crystal residue during the internal beta test. At most, he had gotten 10 pieces of them at one go. However, he had expended more than 6,000 units of memory fragments for that. That¡¯s right, during the internal beta test, a piece of crystal residue could have been sold for more than 6,000 units of memory fragments. Unfortunately, those 10 pieces of crystal residue did not create a mutated monster. They had only represented a significant loss of memory fragments. ¡°Young Lu, why are you suddenly collecting crystal residues?¡± Li Jianyuan, who had just returned from outside the gate, noticed Lu Jin who had set up a stall and was curious. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you want to make basic Anti-Insanity Potions?¡± Li Jianyuan¡¯s familiar voice made Lu Jin, who was organizing his backpack, to lift his head to respond. At that moment, Lu Jin¡¯s pupils instantly constricted and he nearly dropped his backpack. A monster that measured more than one meter and that had dozens of hands was crouching quietly on Li Jianyuan¡¯s head. Every hand of that monster had an eye, and its entire body emitted a cold aura. It was exactly like the Shadowraze that Lu Jin had encountered at home. After Li Jianyuan¡¯s question, that monster¡¯s hands instantly appeared in front of Lu Jin¡¯s eyes. Its fist-sized eyes were less than 10 centimeters away from Lu Jin¡¯s face. They were completely staring at Lu Jin, which made him too afraid to move¡­ Li Jianyuan looked at Lu Jin, whose hands were a little unsteady. He could not help but walk forward and asked with concern, ¡°Young Lu, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine¡­ My legs are just numb from squatting.¡± Lu hurriedly explained when he saw Li Jianyuan approaching. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re fine.¡± Li Jianyuan nodded and said slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s been going on with the misty zone recently. Whenever I go there, I feel like my head gets heavier and I feel dizzy.¡± Lu Jin looked at Li Jianyuan speechlessly. With such a huge monster on his head, it would be weird if it didn¡¯t feel heavy¡­ Lu Jin also quickly noticed that something was amiss. At some point in time, dozens of Shadowrazes had gathered on both sides of the street. Those Shadowrazes were of varying sizes and shapes. The largest one of them came to the stalls on the street and bit down on the vendors¡¯ heads, one after another. After chewing on a vendor¡¯s head for a moment, as if dissatisfied, it swiped its claws at the vendor¡¯s body. At that point, the vendor shook slightly and his body flickered faintly. No one noticed it unfold. Then, the monster proceeded to bite down on another vendor. It was as though it wanted to chew on all the vendors¡­ ¡°Young Lu, I have two pieces of crystal residue here. Do you still want them?¡± Li Jianyuan couldn¡¯t help but ask Lu Jin, who seemed to be in a daze. ¡°Yes! Of course I do!¡± Lu Jin hastily nodded his head. He tried his best to calm his nerves as he watched the gigantic monster get closer and closer to him. Pretending to be happy, he said, ¡°After receiving these two pieces of crystal residues from you, Uncle Li, I¡¯m done with collecting them.¡± Then, Lu Jin quickly completed the transaction with Li Jianyuan and closed the stall hurriedly. He did not want to stay there any longer¡­ A real person! A real person had actually flickered, as if they had turned into a translucent person. Although it was only for a short moment, Lu Jin did not think that it was a good sign. ¡°Looks like I shouldn¡¯t come here so often in the future.¡± Lu Jin cast a glance at the dozens of Shadowrazes on the street in the distance and spontaneously gave up on the idea of coming to the West Gate to scavenge. Although it was a pity to have given up on scavenging at the West Gate, he was already the fianc¨¦ of the CEO of the Fantasy Light Group. There would always be a way to level up in the future. He then calmed himself down and looked at the crystal residues in his backpack. He had a fruitful trip that day. The sun was setting. When Lu Jin returned to his rented apartment, the sky had already turned dark. When he arrived at the porch of his rented apartment, there was a luxurious maglev car that was never before seen in the suburbs. It attracted the attention of many neighbors. ¡°Hello, Mr Lu Jin.¡± Qin Lianyue, who was dressed in black work attire, got out of the car. She was flanked by two bodyguards, a man and a woman. The man was about 30 years old. He had a burly frame and an air of intensity that was almost as sharp as a blade. It could be seen that that man had absolutely extraordinary strength. As for the woman, she was in her early twenties. Although she looked a bit shy, the fact that she was dispatched together with the man proved that she was of comparable standards. ¡°Miss Qin, why are you here?¡± Lu Jin looked at Qin Lianyue strangely. There were still two days left until the engagement banquet. Besides, only Qin Lianyue had come with the two bodyguards and Xia Qingyao was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Mr Lu Jin, after you signed the contract, you are already the Deputy CEO of our Fantasy Light Group.¡± Qin Lianyue said slowly, ¡°As Deputy CEO, you will naturally receive special treatment accordingly. This car and two bodyguards will be your unit. These two people will always protect you. If you need anything, you can give them orders.¡± ¡°Oh right, here¡¯s a Fantasy Gold Card for you. There are 1,000,000 credits and 10,000 memory fragment units stored in it. In the future, the Group will deposit 500,000 credits into it monthly. As for the memory fragments, there won¡¯t be further increments. After all, even the Group is in dire need of it.¡± ¡°500,000 credits per month?¡± Lu Jin was secretly speechless when he heard that. With regard to the memory fragments, he could look past it as he could tell from the younger Lu Jin¡¯s memory that all the major groups and influential families had lacked memory fragments. There were only so many memory fragments that were harvested in the City of Light every day. It was not something that could be manufactured. It could only be obtained from the defeat of monsters or from the discovery of hidden treasure chests in the wild. Therefore, most of the memory fragments came from purchases from Scavengers. A small portion of them came from the hunting teams of various groups and families. However, such a high income of 500,000 credits per month was something that he had never even achieved in his previous life. With so many credits, he could even buy a B3-model simulation suit and a higher-level electronic storage bag every month. He could even go to the legendary Arena of the City of Light, which was also the Shrine of Ascension that all players dreamed of going to. He would be able to live extravagantly there. Qin Lianyue could not help but let out a small sigh when she saw Lu Jin whose eyes were glimmering. Never mind the credits, but Miss had instructed her to give 10,000 units of memory fragments. That was a huge expense for Miss. Miss only had 30,000 units of memory fragments in her personal inventory. Miss would have to scrimp for a long period of time after dispensing 10,000 units like that. After all, she had to support her trusted aides. Those resources couldn¡¯t have come from the Group. She had to use her own. The two bodyguards that Qin Lianyue had brought with her were Miss¡¯s trusted aides. ¡°Mr Lu Jin, I won¡¯t disturb you any further. The two of them will officially start work here tomorrow.¡± Qin Lianyue turned around and left with the two bodyguards. That scene stunned the neighbors. They were silently envious and jealous of Lu Jin. Lu Jin decided to splurge and ordered two sets of Rank ¡®B¡¯ nutritional meals that were worth 2,000 credits for dinner. Compared to the synthetic food, they were much more delicious. It even made Lu Shixue a little excited. At night, in Lu Jin¡¯s bedroom: ¡°Ten thousand units of memory fragments?¡± Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but look at his lottery system. ¡°Since there are so many memory fragments, let¡¯s splurge.¡± Chapter 9 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Lu Jin had not been very interested in the Item Lottery function. It was because he was poor. Furthermore, in a world shrouded by mist, it was significantly more difficult to obtain memory fragments than in the internal beta test. Even if he could earn more than 100 units of memory fragments in a day, he would not be able to afford to play the Item Lottery. In addition, the Normal Item Lottery rewards were mediocre. More than 90% of the time, one could only obtain a Normal-type item or potion. For example, Trap Cards, Guardian Cards, Weapon Runes, Basic Anti-Insanity Potions, Basic Restoration Potions, Basic Antidotes, et cetera. A total of 100 units of memory fragments were needed for a chance at the Item Lottery. Yet, those Normal-type items and potions were sold in item shops in the city. Their prices were also very cheap. They were generally sold between a few units of memory fragments and a dozen units of memory fragments. There were rarely any items worth 100 units of memory fragments. Items such as the mini-electronic storage bag, which had 30 slots, were usually sold at 120 units to 150 units of memory fragments. But actually, the cost of production was at most 20 units to 30 units of memory fragments. It was considered an extremely lucrative business. However, even if ordinary players had memory fragments, they would not create those items. That was because it was like coding. Or rather, it was a form of manifestation of coding. Memory fragments were the craftsmen¡¯s code. Without systematic learning, even if they had blueprints, players would not be able to craft them. It was a real skill. Furthermore, even if players did not have memory fragments, those items could be bought directly with credits. The price ranged from 100 credits to a few hundred credits. The only issue was that there was a limit to the number of the items that players could buy. With 100 units of memory fragments, in this world, one could purchase a decent Rare-type equipment from popular weapon shops in the City of Light. If they were lucky, they could even get multiple decent Rare-type equipment. If one really wanted to benefit from Item Lotteries, one would have to draw from the Rare Item Lottery and the Special Item Lottery. Through the Rare Item Lottery, although players still had a 50% chance of getting a Normal-type item or potion, they had a 30% chance of getting a Rare-type item and even a 10% chance of getting a Rare accessory. There was a 5% chance of getting a Rare-type item blueprint, a 3% chance of getting a Scroll of Restoration and a 2% chance of getting a Magic-type item. Not to mention, the incomparably precious Magic-type items and the simply Rare accessories could not even be exchanged for 10,000 units of memory fragments. In Fantasy World, accessories were different from weapons and equipment. Weapons and equipment could only increase Attack and Defense, but accessories could enhance the basic stats of players. That¡¯s right! Due to the fact that the potential of a player¡¯s basic stats was fixed by the player¡¯s body, accessories were the only things that could increase a player¡¯s basic stats. A player could equip a total of three items, namely a ring, a pendant and a wristband. Back then, even the internal beta testers rarely managed to gather three Rare-type accessories. The rewards from the Special Item Lottery were even more astonishing. There was a 50% chance of obtaining a Rare-type item or potion, a 20% chance of obtaining a Scroll of Restoration, a 10% chance of obtaining a Magic-type item, a 5% chance of obtaining a Magic-type item blueprint, a 5% chance of obtaining an Everlasting Stats Enhancement Potion, a 2% chance of obtaining a Key to the Mystic Realm, a 2% chance of obtaining a Book of Skill, and a 1% chance of obtaining a Magic-type accessory. ¡°Other than the crystal residues that I acquired, there are also some memory fragments stored in the house. I have a total of 10,104 units of memory fragments now.¡± Lu Jin could not help but take out the Fantasy Gold Card that Qin Lianyue had given him. After pondering for a moment, he thought, ¡°The AR progress has been much slower than I expected. I¡¯m afraid that it will take quite some time for me to break through level 10. In the short term, I don¡¯t really have much of a need for memory fragments. If the number of times I drew from the Item Lottery was too few, I won¡¯t be able to get anything good at all. I might as well use all 10,000 units of memory fragments on the Special Item Lottery. This way, I might even be able to land a windfall.¡± It could be said that Lu Jin was very experienced when it came to the Item Lottery. If he drew the lottery once in a long time, there was an 80% chance or more that it would be one of the rewards that he would have typically gotten 50% of the time. On the contrary, if he drew the lottery a few times in a row, the chances of getting other rewards would be higher. ¡°Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As long as I get a Magic-type item, I might be able to earn it all back!¡± Lu Jin made up his mind and emptied 10,000 units of memory fragments from the Fantasy Gold Card into the Special Item Lottery, planning to draw 10 times in a row. After Lu Jin deposited the memory fragments, a huge wheel appeared in front of his eyes. The needle on the wheel started to spin rapidly. ¡°Stop!¡± Lu Jin shouted as he looked at the spinning needle. In that instant, the needle started to slow down. Lu Jin was anxious about the sector of the wheel that the needle would stop at as it slowed down. Finally, after four to five seconds, the needle stopped at the Rare item sector. System: Congratulations, Player! You¡¯ve obtained a Lockdown Card. When used, the target would be unable to move for at most 20 seconds. It can be used three times. Cooldown duration is one minute. Lu Jin consoled himself after he had seen the result. ¡°Luckily this Lockdown Card is very practical. It¡¯s not a loss to have gotten it. Let¡¯s continue!¡± With that, the needle started spinning again. System: Congratulations, player! You¡¯ve obtained a Growth Potion. When used, your speed of growth would increase by 200%. It would last for 12 hours. ¡°Again!¡± System: Congratulations, player! You¡¯ve obtained a Growth Potion. When used, your speed of growth would increase by 200%. It would last for 12 hours. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it! Again!¡± System: Congratulations, player! You¡¯ve obtained a Growth Potion. When used, your speed of growth would increase by 200%. It would last for 12 hours. ¡°Again!¡± System: Congratulations, player! You¡¯ve obtained a Growth Potion. When used, your speed of growth would increase by 200%. It would last for 12 hours. ¡­ After nine consecutive times, Lu Jin felt a little empty. Out of the nine times, eight of them resulted in Rare items and potions. He had obtained six bottles of Growth Potion alone. He felt that that wasn¡¯t like a lottery at all. He was just spending 1,000 units of memory fragments to buy Growth Potions. As for the two Rare items, they were acceptable. One was a Lockdown Card and the other was a Medium-Sized Electronic Backpack Card. After using it on a physical backpack, the physical backpack could accommodate up to 100 slots. As for the remaining draw, he had obtained a Scroll of Restoration. The Scroll of Restoration could completely restore damaged AR systems that were Level 30 and below in five seconds. It was like the Scroll of Revival in the game. The higher the level of the player¡¯s AR, the more valuable it was. ¡°This is the last time! I won¡¯t fall for your tricks again, you Growth Potion shop!¡± Lu Jin watched the huge wheel in front of him and felt the urge to curse. After spending those 10,000 units of memory fragments, he finally understood why people used to curse at the game producers. They were real b*stards! The rates were all lies! It was a pity that he did not see it coming¡­ Lu Jin did not even bother to look. The moment the needle started spinning, he shouted for it to stop. One second¡­ Two seconds¡­ Three seconds¡­ System: Congratulations, player! You¡¯ve obtained a Book of Magical Skills. Chapter 10 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As the sound of the system¡¯s notification echoed throughout the room, Lu Jin was stunned for a moment. He looked at the notification bar in disbelief. ¡°The Book of Magical Skills?¡± Lu Jin looked at the thick and heavy ancient book that had appeared. Even though it was wholly in his hands, Lu Jin still could not believe that it was real. In Fantasy World¡¯s settings, skills were divided into types. The types were Normal, Rare, Magical, Supernatural, and Fantasy. Accordingly, they had different effects. Back then, almost all the internal beta testers had mastered a few Normal skills. The effect of a Normal skill was equivalent to that of a single player¡¯s move. It was rare that an internal beta tester had mastered a Rare skill or two. The effect of a Rare skill was equivalent to a combined attack from multiple players. Usually, a single Rare skill move could end the battle. A Magical skill was a skill that Lu Jin had never mastered during the internal beta test. The effect was like magic and it had the power to wipe out a small team in an instant. As for the higher-level Supernatural skills and the theoretical Fantasy skills, even Lu Jin, who was an internal beta tester, did not know the exact effect. ¡°Absolute Nihility?¡± Lu Jin was secretly amazed by the detailed introduction of the book. The name of the book was ¡°Absolute Nihility¡±. Players could instantly master the skills after tapping on ¡°Learn¡±. And the technique Absolute Nihility was just like its name¡ªreducing all life to absolute nihility. After using the skill, the player would enter a charging state. Strength would be continuously accumulated in the hands. The longer the time, the greater the accumulation of strength. However, it could only be released in one attack. The maximum duration of accumulation was one minute and the strength achieved could be up to 10 times the original strength. The cooldown time was three minutes. Ten times the strength! Even during the internal beta test, he would not have been able to achieve 10 times his original strength. It had to be said that a Magical skill was indeed a Magical skill. Rare skills could not be compared to it at all. Even when he had mastered three Rare skills during the internal beta test, he would definitely not dare to face that move head-on. It could be said that that move was an extremely suitable trump card. ¡°The Magical type is already so terrifying. How powerful are the Supernatural and Fantasy types?¡± Lu Jin thought that if he mastered that skill at his peak, at least in terms of destroying the virtual world, it would really be destructive and no one would be able to stop him. It was hard to imagine that there was such a skill. As for the six bottles of Growth Potion that he had spent 9,000 units of memory fragments on, Lu Jin had long forgotten about it. That was because even if someone had wanted to trade the book of Absolute Nihility for 100,000 units or even 1,000,000 units of memory fragments, he would never trade it. Although it was only one strike, it could reach the peak! After that brief moment of awe, Lu Jin reached out to tap on the cover of the ancient book in his hand, and a notification popped up. Do you want to learn the Magical skill: Absolute Nihility? ¡°I¡¯ll learn it.¡± Lu Jin tapped ¡®Learn¡¯ with certainty. Instantly, the thick and heavy ancient book in Lu Jin¡¯s hands transformed into countless lines of code that fused into Lu Jin¡¯s electronic body. After a full minute had passed, he received a new message in his character¡¯s system. In the Skills section, which was originally empty, there were now two words. Absolute Nihility! As long as Lu Jin wanted to, he only needed to recite it and he would be able to activate Absolute Nihility. ¡°With this skill, it¡¯s no longer impossible for me to reach Level 30 in the future.¡± Lu Jin¡¯s eyes burned with excitement as he looked at the Skills section. Lu Jin originally thought that it was unlikely for him to reach Level 30 in the future. It would be good enough if he could recover to his peak. After all, the advancement of the AR level would get progressively difficult. Even breaking through bottlenecks required the completion of a series of extremely difficult challenges. Weapons, simulation equipment, accessories and skills were essential. Now that he had a Magical skill, the difficulty of breaking through was undoubtedly much lower. ¡­ The next morning: The pleasant chirping of birds outside the window made Lu Jin, who had been excited all night, stretch reluctantly. Then, he changed his posture and continued sleeping. However, just as he changed his posture, the bedroom door opened with a loud bang. A beautiful figure rushed in. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re not awake yet?¡± Lu Shixue looked at Lu Jin, who was lying on his bed, with a dissatisfied face. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Arena downtown today. Your two bodyguards came really early!¡± ¡°Give me five minutes.¡± Lu Jin rubbed his eyes. ¡°Five minutes¡­ Is that enough?¡± A low voice suddenly replied. Just as Lu Jin was about to respond: ¡°Yeah?¡± He suddenly realized that the voice was different from Lu Shixue¡¯s. He slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Is this a¡­ head?¡± A head had appeared at the head of the bed. That head was as big as a table. Apart from a large mouth, there were also more than 10 eyes. At that moment, that head was less than 30 centimeters away from him. More than 10 eyes were silently staring at him, and there was a strange smile in the corner of their eyes¡­ As though it thought that Lu Jin had not heard it, it repeated softly, ¡°Is five minutes enough?¡± That voice and that smile made Lu Jin spring up like a spring¡­ ¡°I thought you needed five minutes?¡± Lu Shixue saw Lu Jin spring up and asked in surprise. ¡°Did you think that I¡¯m that kind of lazy person?¡± Lu Jin asked righteously. ¡°Then pack up.¡± Lu Shixue couldn¡¯t help but cast a disdainful look at him. ¡°Let¡¯s leave soon.¡± As he saw Lu Shixue leave the bedroom, Lu Jin took his pants and jacket from the small closet wordlessly and followed her. He did not dare to stay any longer in that small bedroom. Lu Jin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the head did not follow him, but at the same time, a chill ran down his spine. That was because Lu Jin realized something when he compared it to the Shadowraze he first saw. The Shadowraze he had just seen seemed to be more¡­ intelligent¡­ Its speech was no longer broken, and there was no longer that cold mechanical feeling. It was as if he was talking to a real person. Even its form began to change! If he had not instinctively sensed that something was amiss, he would have been exposed. ¡°No way, these monsters are getting more and more cunning. I must find a safe place or a way to deal with them. Otherwise, something will eventually happen.¡± Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but feel numb at the thought of that scene just now. Although he did not know why those monsters kept testing him, he dared not imagine what would happen if he was exposed, especially when he thought of the shocking changes that happened to the younger Lu Jin in those three days. According to his conversation with Lu Shixue the day before, he understood something. It was that during those three days, the younger Lu Jin was still alive. The fast food in the garbage bags in the bedroom was the food that Lu Shixue had sent over. Young Lu Jin was clearly still alive during those three days, but he did not have any memory of those days. It was as if those three days had never existed. What exactly did the younger Lu Jin go through in those three days to become like that? Furthermore, according to Lu Shixue¡¯s information, the younger Lu Jin must have discovered something. He even seemed to have known about his impending death and had informed Lu Shixue not to disturb him the day before. ¡°Three missing days?¡± Lu Jin smiled wryly. ¡°It seems like we need to know what I did during those three days before I deal with those monsters.¡± According to Lu Shixue, during those three days¡­ Young Lu Jin had only been to one place! Chapter 11 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In the area outside the rented apartment: With Lu Shixue pestering, Lu Jin was dragged out of the apartment building before he could pack his sports bag. At that moment, a black maglev car was quietly parked in the front of the building. Beside the car, there were a man and a woman wearing black suits and black AR glasses. Their solemn looks made the neighbors downstairs tread carefully. They did not dare to linger around. ¡°Young Lu is really rich now. He actually has two bodyguards following him when he goes out.¡± ¡°Not just rich! Do you see the metal wristbands on their wrists? Those are Nano-Weapon Wristbands. They can transform into any kind of cold weapon or shield in a second. They can even be used as simulators. Unfortunately, the simulation level is only B3. However, this thing is five times harder than titanium alloy. It¡¯s also very light. It¡¯s worth 6,000,000 credits.¡± ¡°So cool! If only I had one of these!¡± ¡°You? Don¡¯t even think about it. This is a precious guard equipment that can only be purchased by a certified First-Class Bodyguard in the City of Light. In order to become a First-Class Bodyguard, one must become a Combat Master. At the same time, one must have reached the Master Level for at least one weapon. This level of skill is only comparable to that of many Senior Adventurers in the City of Light.¡± ¡­ Many people who were shopping in the area could not help but feel envious when they saw the bodyguards in front of the car. As someone who lived in a rented house in the suburbs, their biggest dream in life was to break through Level 10 and become a Junior Adventurer that was recognized by the Adventurers¡¯ Association of the City of Light. From then on, they would live in the city and live far away from the misty zone. They would not have synthetic food for three meals a day. Senior Adventurers? That was something they did not even dare to imagine. More than 70% of the Junior Adventurers could not even become Intermediate Adventurers of the Adventurers¡¯ Association, let alone become Senior Adventurers who were more proficient. And now, people who were as skilled as Senior Adventurers had become Lu Jin¡¯s personal bodyguards. Furthermore, there were two of them¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, Deputy CEO Lu. I¡¯m Xu Xiaotian. From today, I¡¯ll be your direct bodyguard and personal butler. If you need anything in the future, feel free to let me know.¡± Xu Xiaotian walked up to Lu Jin with a serious look and a sharp aura. He said respectfully, ¡°This is Tang Yan, a First-Class Bodyguard, like myself.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Deputy CEO Lu.¡± Tang Yan nodded shyly, but her tone was filled with confidence and pride. ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± Lu Jin looked at the two who introduced themselves and felt as though he had gained a new understanding of the Fantasy Light Group. He had also heard some of the comments from the passers-by. He did not know the level of a First-Class Bodyguard, but he knew very well what kind of person a Senior Adventurer was. In the entire City of Light, those who could become Senior Adventurers were people who ranked in the upper echelons of the city. That was also why Tang Yan sounded so confident and proud. After all, Tang Yan was about the same age as Lu Shixue, but she was comparable to the Senior Adventurers of the city. Even among the influential families in the city, she was an absolute genius with a bright future. Now, two people who were comparable to Senior Adventurers had become his bodyguards. That was too shocking. Xu Xiaotian opened the car door and said, ¡°Deputy CEO Lu, please get in the car. Everything has been arranged at the Bestial Battle Arena. We are estimated to reach there in one hour and six minutes.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lu Jin got into the car without any reservations. As an advanced internal beta tester from 400 years ago, Lu Jin was already used to seeing various big shots. Coupled with the many trials that he had gone through during the internal beta test, he could now be calm and composed in the face of such matters. On the other hand, Lu Shixue was different from the calm Lu Jin. When she got into the car, she was no longer as arrogant and casual as when she was at home. She was more reserved and obedient. That made Lu Jin feel very amused. He never thought that there could be a day where she behaved like that. However, after an hour¡¯s drive, Lu Shixue and Tang Yan got to know each other, and her true nature was slowly revealed¡­ When they arrived at the Bestial Battle Arena in the city center, Lu Shixue was even more lively. She looked around and saw that the building was about the size of four stadiums and more than 300 meters tall. Even though it was still early in the morning, people were already moving in and out of the arena, which was filled with luxurious cars. ¡°Is this the Bestial Battle Arena?¡± Lu Jin, who had alighted from the car, could not help but look up at the magnificent building before him. Through his casual chat with Lu Shixue, Lu Jin had already learned about the only place that the younger Lu Jin had come to before his death: The Bestial Battle Arena! It was the largest gold mine in the entire City of Light. The entry fee alone cost 3,000 credits. It was supposed to be a place that the younger Lu Jin should not have had any interactions with, yet he had come and had spent an entire day there. It was only when the sun had set that he returned home. That was indeed very strange. However, Lu Jin did not feel anything special about the Bestial Battle Arena before him now. After Lu Jin had observed for a while, a refined lady in an elegant evening gown with a figure that was comparable to Xia Qingyao came to Lu Jin and the rest with two female receptionists. ¡°Hello, CEO Lu! I¡¯m Chen Kemeng, the Reception General Manager of this Bestial Battle Arena. Welcome CEO Lu to our Bestial Battle Arena!¡± Chen Kemeng introduced herself to Lu Jin amiably. ¡°I heard that CEO Lu wants to find a suitable monster to practice with. Yesterday, we had a good intake. I believe that we will definitely be able to find a monster that you are satisfied with.¡± Chen Kemeng was mature and elegant, and her voice was magnetic. Even Lu Shixue, who had seen many beauties beside Lu Jin, was mesmerized by her¡­ Meanwhile, a message from Xu Xiaotian appeared before Lu Jin¡¯s eyes. The message was simple. It was an introduction of Chen Kemeng. Chen Kemeng was the third-in-line successor of the Sun and Moon Group and was also the second daughter of the current head of the Chen Family, Chen Yuren. Currently, she was in contact with many influential families of the Fantasy Light Group and was quite close to the aggressive Jiang Haoyuan. She even openly roped Jiang Haoyuan into becoming the Senior Deputy CEO of the Sun and Moon Group and to take charge of the Marketing department of the group. ¡°Miss Chen said so.¡± After he had read the message, Lu Jin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to it!¡± He didn¡¯t expect that other groups would investigate him before he had even officially joined the Fantasy Light Group. Moreover, the second daughter of the Sun and Moon Group had done so personally. ¡°CEO Lu, although it¡¯s your first time here, I can guarantee that you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled and took the initiative to invite Lu Jin into the Bestial Battle Arena. She introduced the entire arena without the arrogance and haughtiness of a Highness. Lu Jin gradually acquired a general understanding of the Bestial Battle Arena after Chen Kemeng¡¯s introduction. The Bestial Battle Arena was a large-scale comprehensive arena. Not only could it allow players to PK in various settings, but it also had specialized coaches that could help players improve their AR system. However, the various electronic monsters that were introduced from outside the city were the true selling point of the Bestial Battle Arena. That allowed the players to choose the most suitable monsters according to their own situation so that their AR level could grow faster. That was the reason why the descendants of the major families of the City of Light, the management of the major groups, and even many Adventurers wanted to come to the Bestial Battle Arena. ¡°CEO Lu, we have specially selected three levels of monsters for players whose AR levels have reached Level 10. They are Rare, Elite and Boss-level monsters.¡± Chen Kemeng pointed at the three types of monsters locked in the Battle Hall. She glanced at Lu Jin out of the corner of her eye and said with a faint smile, ¡°Rare-level monsters require players to have a rich combat experience. Among the four basic stats, two must have reached Rank ¡®B¡¯ in order for a player to be able to defeat them.¡± ¡°Elite-level monsters require more. Among the four basic stats, three must have reached Rank ¡®B¡¯ in order for the player to be able to defeat them.¡± ¡°The Boss-level is completely different from the previous two. Among the four basic stats, at least one of them has to be Rank ¡®A¡¯, while the other stats have to be Rank ¡®B¡¯, in order for the player to be able to defeat them.¡± ¡°Which one do you pick, CEO Lu?¡± Chapter 12 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Your company is really impressive!¡± After listening, Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng and smiled. ¡°Rare, Elite and Boss-level. This kind of division that is specifically targeted at the players¡¯ basic stats saves them a lot of trouble. As long as they choose appropriate monsters according to their stats, they can maximize the progress of their AR system without being exposed to excessive danger.¡± Lu Jin¡¯s words made Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan, who had been following behind him, frown. They could not help but take a few more glances at Chen Kemeng. Chen Kemeng seemed to be thinking of a suitable monster for Lu Jin, but in fact, she was trying to gather information about Lu Jin, the husband of the CEO of the Fantasy Light Group. The four basic stats were the standard embodiment of a player¡¯s strength. Although that kind of information did not mean much to people who had yet to progress to Level 10, it could still reflect a player¡¯s growth rate to a certain extent. After all, there was a huge difference between spending a year to reach Rank ¡®B¡¯ in all aspects and spending three years to reach Rank ¡®B¡¯ in all aspects. Although the potential of a player¡¯s body might be very important as it was the upper limit of the player, the increase in AR level depended on the player¡¯s growth. The faster a player grew, the faster their AR level would increase. In this era, AR level was everything. Not only could it prolong the player¡¯s lifespan, but it could also increase the upper limit of the player in all aspects. The simplest example was an Adventurer¡¯s level. If the Adventurer¡¯s AR level did not surpass Level 10, they would never break through Level 10 in the Adventurer domain. Only if their AR level broke through Level 10 would the upper limit of their Adventurer level reach Level 20. The difference between a Level 20 Adventurer and a Level 10 Adventurer was like the distance between heaven and earth. That was not just a difference in strength, but more so a difference in resources. One could travel to an area with more resources and could obtain more resources and advantages for the development of their group and their family. The other could only stay close to the city and would have no choice but to fight with a large crowd every day for the extremely scarce resources. Could the two be the same? Lu Jin¡¯s potential was known to all the major families and groups in the City of Light. However, potential was only potential. The most important thing was still the speed of growth! Lu Jin¡¯s growth rate was different. He posed a completely different level of threat to all the groups and families in the City of Light. If they knew Lu Jin¡¯s conditions earlier, they would be able to make a precise judgment for the future. ¡°Big Brother Xu, Chen Family¡¯s second daughter is too astute. Should we stop her?¡± Tang Yan could not help but send a message to Xu Xiaotian. CEO Xia Qingyao had asked them to follow Lu Jin in order to prevent such incidents from occurring. They didn¡¯t expect that to happen so quickly. They didn¡¯t even have time to react. That was despite them knowing that the successors of the three major groups were not simple. They were all extraordinary people. Chen Kemeng¡¯s behavior that day gave Tang Yan a new understanding and fear of the successors of those three major groups. In the midst of the dialog, the conversation was forcefully killed¡­ ¡°There¡¯s no need. We¡¯ll just observe first.¡± Xu Xiaotian replied calmly and turned to Lu Jin. He suddenly felt that CEO Xia¡¯s fianc¨¦ was also not a simple character. Lu Jin¡¯s earlier words were clearly to emphasize Chen Kemeng¡¯s intentions and also to remind them. ¡°CEO Lu, you must be joking. This is just a summary of the experiences of our predecessors. We have only been using it all along.¡± Chen Kemeng seemed to have sensed it too. She smiled casually and said, ¡°In addition, we also accept private customization from VIPs. What kind of stats do you need the monsters to have? We can capture them for you, CEO Lu. We guarantee that your speed of growth will be beyond imagination.¡± Lu Jin could not help but glance at Chen Kemeng. He had to admit that that woman was really quick-witted. It was as if she was saying, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t tell me. But don¡¯t you want to grow faster?¡± However, those tricks were meaningless to him. After all, he was not the real Lu Jin. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Lu Jin shook his head and smiled. ¡°I wonder if there are any weaker Level 10 monsters in the Bestial Battle Arena?¡± The purpose for which he had come now was to investigate why the younger Lu Jin had come here. However, after Chen Kemeng¡¯s introduction, he understood very well that the younger Lu Jin could not afford to spend anything in the Bestial Battle Arena. All he could have done was watch or wait for something. Was he waiting for someone? Or was he waiting for something else? Even though he did not know whether the younger Lu Jin had managed to see or receive whoever or whatever he was waiting for, something had happened. Hence, what he needed to do now was very simple. He needed to wait in the Bestial Battle Arena. However, it would be too boring to keep waiting. He might as well defeat some monsters. ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin in surprise. ¡°But those Level 10 monsters are prepared for Adventurers who have just reached Level 10. Are you sure you need them, CEO Lu?¡± In Fantasy World, growth of the players¡¯ AR levels was very demanding. If they could not improve themselves to the point of a breakthrough, they would not level up at all. Therefore, if the Adventurers wanted to upgrade their AR level, they had to continuously deal with stronger monsters. As Lu Jin was an Adventurer who had reached Level 10 long ago, normal Level 10 monsters did not have much of an effect on him at all. Typically, Level 10 Adventurers would only hunt those normal Level 10 monsters for memory fragments. Chen Kemeng felt that Lu Jin had gone all out in order to hide his basic stats. He actually wanted to use Level 10 monsters as a cover. Xu Xiaotian, who was standing behind Lu Jin, sighed softly as he looked at Lu Jin. He realized that Lu Jin was still a bit too naive. An elaborate cover like that would actually reveal some problems. That was his overly-cautious personality. Although that revelation was not detrimental to Lu Jin, it would be of great help to a woman like Chen Kemeng when she analyzed and made a judgment of his behavior in the future. However, it was not up to him, the bodyguard, to say anything about matters like those. Otherwise, outsiders would look down on the Fantasy Light Group because of the lack of restraint displayed by the subordinates. ¡°Mhm, I¡¯ll go with those monsters.¡± Lu Jin nodded his head. He was completely unaware of Chen Kemeng¡¯s and Xu Xiaotian¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Please send me one first.¡± Lu Jin really did not dare to accept monsters that were too powerful. After all, the crystal residues would make a powerful monster even stronger. If he could not deal with it, he would be in deep trouble. ¡°No problem.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled faintly and swiftly said, ¡°A Level 10 monster costs 1,000 credits and 10 units of memory fragments.¡± ¡°Ten units of memory fragments for just one?¡± Lu Jin was taken aback when he heard that. He felt that the Bestial Battle Arena was earning credits and memory fragments too easily. Normal Level 10 monsters did not necessarily leave behind memory fragments, Even if they did, they would only leave behind one or two units of them. Even if capturing the monsters was more time-consuming, in all likelihood, it would not have required 10 units of memory fragments. ¡°After all, we have to earn money.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at the speechless Lu Jin and explained, ¡°CEO Lu should also know, it¡¯s not easy to find monsters in the wild. But here, we provide them directly, saving our customers a lot of time.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s have one first.¡± Lu Jin nodded his head and took out his Fantasy Gold Card to pay 1,000 credits and 10 units of memory fragments. He was secretly glad that he did not spend all the remaining memory fragments on the Item Lottery. Chapter 13 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The Bestial Battle Arena, Battle Hall: The entire hall was the size of two basketball courts. With the AR equipment, the hall instantly turned into an ancient Roman arena. Countless spectators were shouting and cheering, making people feel as if they were in ancient Rome. In the gravel-filled arena, a steel cage slowly opened, and a huge wolf that was over two meters walked out. However, its four limbs were locked by steel chains, so its movements were restricted to a two-meter radius. It could only stare at Lu Jin and the others in the area. It could not help but roar angrily. The impact of the sound could be clearly felt even 10 meters away. Chen Kemeng pointed at the trapped wolf and smiled at Lu Jin. ¡°CEO Lu, are you satisfied with this Gale Wolf?¡± The Gale Wolf was at Level 10. Although it was just a normal monster, its speed was at the same level as Rank ¡®B¡¯. If the player¡¯s Agility had not reached Rank ¡®B¡¯, it would not be easy to defeat the Gale Wolf. ¡°This woman is really difficult to deal with¡­¡± Lu Jin could not help but glance at Chen Kemeng, who was carefully observing his expression. He then calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, just a little lacking.¡± It was obvious that Chen Kemeng had not given up on the opportunity to find out his basic stats. Although he could understand that as the husband of the leader of the Fantasy Light Group, he might not have much power in the company in the future, who could guarantee that he would not affect the leader of the Group, Xia Qingyao? ¡°Still lacking a little?¡± Chen Kemeng could not help but laugh. ¡°Then, does CEO Lu need to exchange it for another one?¡± ¡°No need. I have a plan.¡± Lu Jin shook his head gently and walked toward the Gale Wolf. Lu Jin¡¯s unusual words and actions made Chen Kemeng curious. In fact, it was not only Chen Kemeng who was curious. Even Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan, who had been watching quietly from the back, were also curious about what Lu Jin was planning to do in order to prevent his stats from being revealed. After all, Chen Kemeng was really formidable. She had so many tricks up her sleeve that one might unknowingly fall into her trap if one was not careful. Lu Jin slowly walked to a spot about two meters away from the Gale Wolf, which was about the maximum range that the wolf could attack. When the Gale Wolf saw Lu Jin in front of it, it glared at him fiercely and bared its sharp teeth as if it was ready to attack him at any moment. However, Lu Jin had no reaction to that. He casually took out a piece of crystal residue from his sports bag and held it in his hand. He raised his head to meet the clueless Gale Wolf and said sympathetically, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame that woman behind me.¡± ¡°?¡± The Gale Wolf seemed to understand what Lu Jin was saying. It tilted its head slightly, as if it was saying, ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± While the Gale Wolf was at a loss, Lu Jin took action. With a single step, he covered a distance of two meters in the blink of an eye. He jumped right in front of the Gale Wolf¡¯s head and accurately punched the eye of the chained Gale Wolf. The Gale Wolf could not resist but cry out in pain. After the Gale Wolf opened its mouth, Lu Jin sent the crystal residues that were in his hand into it. He then took a step back and stopped attacking. He stood four to five meters away from the Gale Wolf and quietly watched the Gale Wolf howl continuously. That scene stunned Chen Kemeng and the rest who were watching from afar. Was that something a human could do? The Gale Wolf was merely a test subject that was Level 10. When he dealt with it, he actually trapped and attacked it at the same time. He simply tormented the Gale Wolf, which was specialized in speed, by preventing it from leaving the two-meter radius of the cage. The pitiful Gale Wolf could only look at Lu Jin in anguish and there was nothing it could do¡­ However, just as Chen Kemeng and the rest were feeling speechless about Lu Jin¡¯s actions, the trapped wolf suddenly trembled and started tugging at the chains madly while whining. ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve tormented the wolf too much. Look, the wolf is even crying because of you¡­¡± Lu Shixue looked at the howling Gale Wolf with sympathy in her eyes. On the other hand, Lu Shixue¡¯s sympathy was not recognized by the others who were present. The expressions on their faces suddenly turned solemn instead. ¡°What has he done?¡± Chen Kemeng stared at the Gale Wolf, which was trembling continuously and seemed to be in increasing danger. Her eyes were filled with confusion. As a Level-16 Intermediate Adventurer who had been in charge of the Bestial Battle Arena for many years and had experienced hundreds of battles, Chen Kemeng had seen too many monsters. The Gale Wolf could be said to be a very common type of monster. However, it was simply impossible for one or two punches to cause the Gale Wolf to howl in pain. Not to mention, the Gale Wolf seemed to be increasing danger. Even Chen Kemeng, who was an Intermediate Adventurer, could not help but want to retreat. ¡°Evo¡­ lution!¡± ¡°This wolf is¡­ evolving!¡± The experienced and knowledgeable Xu Xiaotian stared fixedly at the Gale Wolf, whose fur had spiked up. Even its silver-gray fur had started to turn green. Its body had started to grow from two meters tall to four meters tall. It was exactly like monster evolutions in the legend. ¡°Evolution?¡± Chen Kemeng seemed to recall something. ¡°How is that possible!¡± In Fantasy World, the monsters would constantly respawn. However, the Regional Bosses were not spawned. It was rumored that through accumulating and fighting for a long time, the basic stats of normal monsters in a region would continuously increase, which would finally cause them to evolve into the Regional Boss and become a completely different type of monster. ¡°Miss Chen, Xiaotian¡¯s guess is right.¡± Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng, who was bewildered, and smiled. ¡°This is indeed evolution!¡± Crystal residues could be said to be the crystallization of a monster¡¯s power. By letting a monster consume it, the monster could absorb that power and greatly increase its stats. If one was lucky, the increase in stats would break through the limit, causing the monster to evolve. It would surpass the original limits of the species, reaching a whole new level. The evolution of the monsters in Fantasy World was actually based on this principle. People thought that monsters were just monsters that were set up by the system for players to level up. They did not know that those monsters could fight and devour each other to improve themselves and evolve. Chen Kemeng had kept wanting to find out his stats and had even set traps for him. Hence, Lu Jin had thought it through. Since Chen Kemeng wanted to know so badly, he did not mind sharing with her more! As a commoner from the suburbs who had just arrived in that world, if he wanted to live a better life in the future, just being the husband of the CEO of the Fantasy Light Group was far from enough. He had to show sufficient means and abilities. Since Lu Jin had wanted to know why the younger Lu Jin had come to the arena before his death, Chen Kemeng, who was the manager of the Bestial Battle Arena, was undoubtedly the best candidate. Therefore, he had to attract Chen Kemeng¡¯s attention so that she would feel the need to win him over, and not just treat him as a tool! After Lu Jin confirmed the Gale Wolf¡¯s evolution with the others, the chained Gale Wolf suddenly roared. Its entire body emitted a dazzling light as it completed its evolution. Chapter 14 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As the dazzling light in the Battle Hall gradually dissipated, a four-meter-tall greenish-gray wolf that was as big as a house appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°A Level-10 Regional Boss?¡± Chen Kemeng and the rest looked at the gigantic greenish-gray wolf that seemed like it was about to break free from the chains. Their expressions were extremely grave. Even Xu Xiaotian, who had been calm all that while, felt immense pressure. Regional Boss! That kind of monster could be said to be completely different from ordinary monsters. Their strength could not be evaluated by levels. Even if it was only a Level 10 Regional Boss, it would still require more than 20 Junior Adventurers to be defeated. Although Xu Xiaotian was a Level 17 Intermediate Adventurer, he did not dare to face a Level 10 Regional Boss. Even if Tang Yan, who was a Level 15 Adventurer, joined in, they were no match for it¡­ Everyone fell into silence. Lu Jin was the only one who knew that the gigantic greenish-gray wolf before them was not a Regional Boss, but just a truly mutated monster. As Lu Jin had access to the Data Scanning function that was only available to advanced internal beta testers, he had already scanned the wolf. Gale Wolf, mutated, Level 10. ¡°Once was enough?¡± Lu Jin looked at the Gale Wolf that was ready to attack and could not help but feel amused. When he was just an internal beta tester in his previous life, he had expended so many crystal residues but had not succeeded in generating a mutated monster. Now, it was so easy¡­ Although mutated monsters were not as strong as Regional Overlords, they were still stronger than normal Regional Bosses. It was just that their health points were relatively low, about one-third of Regional Bosses of the same level. A Level 10 mutated monster would normally require 30 Level 11 to 14 Junior Adventurers to defeat it. Even if they were Adventurers who were Level 15 and above, they would need a team of six to defeat it. ¡°CEO Lu!¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin and asked hurriedly, ¡°Can I discuss something with you?¡± ¡°Discuss something?¡± Lu Jin could not help having a guess when he saw the excitement in Chen Kemeng¡¯s eyes. He smiled faintly and asked, ¡°Miss Chen, you¡¯re not planning to keep this monster, are you?¡± Although the Gale Wolf was strong, they were in the Bestial Battle Arena after all. There was no lack of experts there. Chen Kemeng only needed to send a message and she would be able to find a group of people. ¡°That¡¯s right, I do want this Regional Boss.¡± Chen Kemeng did not hide anything and went straight to the point. ¡°If CEO Lu is willing to give up this Regional Boss, I can give you 3,000 units of memory fragments. I can also give you three superior Rare weapons or equipment!¡± When Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan heard that, they couldn¡¯t help but look at Chen Kemeng. They didn¡¯t expect her to be willing to pay such a high price. That was equivalent to three months of their income. It was difficult to find a Regional Boss. Even the hunting teams of the three major groups of the City of Light would usually only encounter one in half a month. Even so, a Level 10 Regional Boss would only leave behind 500 to 600 units of memory fragments at most. Other than that, there would definitely be equipment and materials that were Rare-type or better. However, there would definitely not be more than four of them. Top-grade Rare-type equipment was very rare. OL World¡¯s weapons and equipment system was different from ordinary games. There was no grade, only type distinctions. The types were Normal, Rare, Magical and Supernatural. Different types only had different effects and quantities on weapons and equipment. Their Attack and Defense were the same. The difference was also in their grade. The seven grades were ¡®F¡¯, ¡®E¡¯, ¡®D¡¯, ¡®C¡¯, ¡®B¡¯, ¡®A¡¯ and ¡®S¡¯. Grade ¡®F¡¯ and Grade ¡®E¡¯ were the most common grades. Superior weapons were Grade ¡®D¡¯ or ¡®C¡¯, while top-grade weapons were Grade ¡®B¡¯ and above. Normally, the Rare equipment left behind by Regional Bosses would be rated as Grade ¡®E¡¯ or ¡®D¡¯, with few reaching Grade ¡®C¡¯. As for Grade ¡®B¡¯ equipment, there might not even be one in a thousand. Therefore, it was definitely very rare for three superior Rare-type weapons and equipment to be given out. Chen Kemeng was willing to pay such a high price because she wanted to bet on the possibility of obtaining a Magical equipment. After all, there was a chance that a Level 10 Regional Boss would leave behind a Magical equipment. It was just very, very low. Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng and shook his head. ¡°Your price is too low.¡± ¡°How much do you want, CEO Lu?¡± Chen Kemeng asked. ¡°Ten thousand units of memory fragments and two items left behind by the monster.¡± Lu Jin answered without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Chen Kemeng could not help but widen her eyes in anger when she heard that. ¡°No one in the entire City of Light would pay this price!¡± A Level 10 Regional Boss would leave behind four items at most. If Lu Jin chose two items, there would be nothing left. No one in the entire City of Light would offer such a price. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were speechless. Lu Jin¡¯s offer could be said to be comparable to that of the Bestial Battle Arena. ¡°Miss Chen, if you can¡¯t afford it, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡± Lu Jin shrugged before he turned to Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan. ¡°Get ready. The chains won¡¯t hold for long.¡± Although the Bestial Battle Arena used chains to lock the monsters, those chains were normal items and could not withstand the toss of monsters like the Regional Boss. ¡°CEO Lu.¡± Xu Xiaotian looked at Lu Jin, who was preparing to fight, and whispered, ¡°Even Tang Yan and I won¡¯t be able to kill this Boss. At most, we can stall for time. The only way out would be to inform the Group to send more experts over.¡± Although Xu Xiaotian spoke softly, Chen Kemeng heard him clearly. ¡°CEO Lu, although there are many experts in the Fantasy Light Group, I¡¯m afraid it will take a long time for them to come here.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin and smiled. ¡°If you all are defeated during this period, our arena would benefit from this Boss. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to cooperate?¡± If she had not seen Lu Jin¡¯s amazing skills, she would never have cooperated with him. Furthermore, it was not easy to meet a Regional Boss. ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, Miss Chen.¡± Lu Jin shook his head and smiled. ¡°But we are good enough to deal with this monster.¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t wish to work with us, then forget it.¡± Chen Kemeng took another glance at Lu Jin. She did not understand where he got his confidence from and how he could feel that he could deal with that Regional Boss. She then added, ¡°But if you all are defeated, don¡¯t say that we took advantage of you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Miss Chen. I know the rules.¡± Lu Jin smiled. He knew the rules of the Bestial Battle Arena. If the player was defeated by the monster that they bought, that monster would recover and regain its freedom. If the player wanted to battle the monster again after they recovered, they would have to spend money. Hence, the Bestial Battle Arena had always been known as a scam. ¡°It¡¯s good that CEO Lu knows. I¡¯ll wait and see then.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled as well. She turned around and walked straight to the side of the Battle Hall. She wanted to see what Lu Jin was capable of and how he could defeat a Level 10 Regional Boss together with Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan who were Intermediate Adventurers. ¡°Let¡¯s start! You all just stall for time and think of a way to deplete its Health Points. I¡¯ll handle the rest!¡± Lu Jin ordered as he looked at Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan who were already prepared. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan had no choice but to charge at the Gale Wolf while they felt doubtful. While Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were charging toward the Gale Wolf, Lu Jin had already activated Absolute Nihility. An invisible force slowly gathered in Lu Jin¡¯s hands, which made him feel an indescribable warmth and strength. Ten seconds¡­ Twenty seconds¡­ Thirty seconds¡­ Lu Jin could feel that the force was getting stronger and stronger, to the extent that his hands were starting to emit a faint burning glow. In that 30 seconds or so, the Gale Wolf had already broken free from the chains. It used its absolute strength and forced Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan to retreat. It could be said that every strike of the Gale Wolf could easily cause Xu Xiaotian, who was holding a Rare shield, to retreat. That caused Xu Xiaotian¡¯s memory fragments to continuously decrease. He could only use the Basic Restoration Potion to recover his memory fragments when Tang Yan blocked an attack with her spear. It was the same for Tang Yan. It should be mentioned that the two of them were indeed very strong. They were comparable to Senior Adventurers. With their superb combat skills and Rare-type equipment, they managed to escape from the attacks of the Gale Wolf many times. They could even cause considerable damage to the Gale Wolf, causing its Health Points to decrease continuously. 90%¡­ 80%¡­ 70%¡­ In just a short 40 seconds, the two of them had reduced the Health Points of the Gale Wolf to less than 60%. However, it was obvious that they had also reached their limit. Their memory fragments had depleted by more than 80%. Even if they continuously used Basic Restoration Potions, they would not be able to recover sufficiently. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated by the Gale Wolf. ¡°The two of them are comparable to Senior Adventurers, yet Xia Qingyao was really willing to let them be Lu Jin¡¯s bodyguards.¡± Chen Kemeng was also slightly surprised by their capabilities as she watched them fight. She did not expect Xia Qingyao to value Lu Jin so much. As he saw that Xu Xiaotian couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and that the Gale Wolf was about to strike again, Lu Jin, who had been watching from the side, finally acted. He dashed behind the Gale Wolf like an experienced assassin. He was completely silent. Even the Gale Wolf did not notice his approach. Just as the sharp claws of the Gale Wolf was going to land on Xu Xiaotian¡¯s shield, Lu Jin arrived at the side of the Gale Wolf. The Light Sword in his hand shone like a full moon. Sword Aurora! In an instant, the 10-fold strength split the virtual space in half, directly slashing across the back of the Gale Wolf. The Gale Wolf didn¡¯t even have time to cry out before it was instantly split into two, and it crashed onto the ground of the Battle Hall. Its body also started to slowly collapse. It was completely dead¡­ Chapter 15 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°It¡¯s dead!¡± Chen Kemeng¡¯s eyes were filled with astonishment and shock as she watched the Gale Wolf slowly collapse in the Great Hall. Normally, it would have required more than 20 Junior Adventurers who were Level 10 and above to defeat a Level 10 Regional Boss. But now, it was actually defeated by three people¡­ And what the hell was that last move of his? The slash of the sword took away half of the Gale Wolf¡¯s Health Points in an instant. Even if the Gale Wolf was hit at its weak point, it should not be something that an Adventurer who had not even broken through Level 10 could do. But Lu Jin managed to do it. It was simply baffling! ¡°CEO Lu?¡± Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan¡¯s remaining memory fragments were critically low. They looked at Lu Jin, who was standing in front of the Gale Wolf, with their mouths agape. That was especially so for Tang Yan. For the first time, she felt that Lu Jin was not a simple man. He was definitely not a poor lad who lived in the suburbs. Compared to bystanders, Tang Yan, who had personally fought the Gale Wolf, had a better understanding of how powerful the wolf was. His speed and reaction were comparable to that of an Intermediate Adventurer. In addition, his strength was greater than that of a Senior Adventurer. Not to mention, he seemed to move with a flash-movement technique from time to time. Even though she was a Master of weapons, she could barely find a chance to inflict damage on the Gale Wolf. She had no way to attack the back of the Gale Wolf, which was its weakest point. Lu Jin was like a seasoned hunter who had a perfect sense of timing. During battles, the Gale Wolf would not move or defend when it was attacking someone. It was just that that duration was too short. If one did not have a precise prediction of the Gale Wolf¡¯s movement, it was impossible to hit the back of the Gale Wolf. Even if she were to do it, she might not be able to do it better than Lu Jin. However, compared to Lu Jin¡¯s expertise, what was truly inconceivable was that last strike. Although it was only for a moment, Tang Yan saw it clearly. The virtual space was split into two, and there was even an instantaneous sense of intersection. It was hard to imagine how much strength was needed to achieve such an effect. ¡°Such a terrifying slash.¡± The knowledgeable Xu Xiaotian looked at the Gale Wolf that was split into two and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is this a legendary skill?¡± ¡°Skill?¡± Chen Kemeng heard Xu Xiaotian mumble to himself from afar. She was shocked as she looked at Lu Jin. ¡°He has mastered a skill?¡± There was indeed a Skill setting in Fantasy World, which was an OL world. However, that only existed in a world that was not shrouded by mist 200 years ago. Skills were very rare in Fantasy World in the first place. They were even rarer than Magical weapons and equipment and usually existed in high-level Regional Dungeons far away from cities. In the current world where all major cities did not interact much, it was too difficult to challenge a high-level Regional Dungeon. It was so difficult that not a single hunting team in the City of Light could do it, including the three major groups. Of course, the three major groups had never given up on challenging high-level Regional Dungeons. It has been 200 years! The world has been shrouded in mist for 200 years. Even though technology was constantly improving, in that city that seemed like a cage, all kinds of resources had already reached their limit. Food, minerals, various raw materials, and almost everything that could be developed around the city, had all been developed. Although people¡¯s lifespan had decreased by a lot, the city¡¯s population had increased. Thus, there was a need for people to go to further places to mine for resources. However, high-level Regional Dungeons were impassable. For some unknown reason, all places that were rich with resources were high-level Regional Dungeons. In order to mine the resources in the mist, they would have to face the powerful monsters within the high-level Regional Dungeons. In other words, they would have to fight against the monsters while they protected a large number of people who mined the resources. That required the team to have a very high level of strength. Not only did they need more Intermediate and Senior Adventurers, but they also needed better equipment and resources. Otherwise, they would not be able to fight against the monsters in the high-level Regional Dungeons, let alone protect the miners who were not of a high level. If they were not careful and were defeated, they would lose the support of the AR system. Even if that happened for just a few seconds, their lifespan would be greatly reduced. No one would dare to take the risk if they were not confident in that kind of dangerous situation. Therefore, the major groups of the City of Light had been secretly accumulating their strength to prepare for the expedition to the high-level Regional Dungeons. And yet, Lu Jin actually had a skill, which made Chen Kemeng wonder. Did Lu Jin have a special method to break into high-level Regional Dungeons? ¡°No¡­ That¡¯s not possible. I¡¯ve always wanted to explore high-level Regional Dungeons. I¡¯m a little obsessed. Those are actually high-level Regional Dungeons. How can there be any special way to explore them?¡± Chen Kemeng shook her head and rejected that unrealistic thought. It has been 200 years! In those 200 years, the surrounding cities had no way of dealing with high-level Regional Dungeons. How could a Scavenger living in the suburbs have one? However, just as Chen Kemeng shook her head in denial, the Gale Wolf in the Battle Hall suddenly glowed with green light. Then, it left behind more than 10 items and a large amount of memory fragments. ¡°How is this possible!¡± Chen Kemeng looked at the items that fell to the ground and was stunned. At that time, not only Chen Kemeng, but Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were also dumbfounded. They thought they were seeing things. Based on hundreds of years of experience, a normal Level 10 Regional Boss would at most leave four items behind. However, now that experience was inapplicable¡­ Even Lu Shixue, who did not know much about what Regional Bosses could leave behind, was speechless. That was because among the items that were left behind, there was no lack of glow that could only be emitted from Magical items! Magical items! In that day and age, even people who never participated in battles understood their value. It could be said that the major groups of the City of Light could fight madly for any Magical item. ¡°As expected of a mutated monster. The rewards are truly astonishing.¡± Lu Jin swept a glance at the 12 items and the white crystals on the ground and could not help feeling surprised. It could be said that having obtained 12 items was extraordinary. Coincidentally, there was a dark gold crystal as well. That was the Crystal of Awakening that Lu Jin wanted. As for the remaining 11 items, apart from Wolf Fang, Wolf Skin, Wolf Claw and seven other materials that emitted a Rare-type glow, there was also a metal ore that emitted a Magical-type glow. The remaining three items were weapons and equipment. They were a set of Rare-type clothes and two weapons that emitted a Magical-type glow. Of the two Magical weapons, one was a round shield made entirely of green scales, and the other was a longsword that was faintly emitting electric arcs. They were extremely eye-catching and dazzling in the Battle Hall. Chapter 16 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°These two Magical weapons are not bad indeed.¡± A rare smile appeared on Lu Jin¡¯s face after he was done putting away the items. Lu Jin¡¯s words made Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan curious. However, as they were Lu Jin¡¯s bodyguards, it was not good for them to ask him about it. Hence, they could only watch from the side. On the other hand, Lu Shixue did not have such reservations. She looked at Lu Jin, who was sizing up the weapon in his hand, and asked curiously, ¡°Is the quality very high?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad. It¡¯s Grade ¡®C¡¯.¡± Lu Jin looked at Lu Shixue and Tang Yan, who could not help but step forward. He smiled and said, ¡°Take a look and you¡¯ll know.¡± Lu Jin then sent the data of the three weapons to Lu Shixue, Tang Yan and Xu Xiaotian. He had no intention of hiding anything. The Coat of Silver Moon: Rare Defense: Grade ¡®B¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®C¡¯ Effects: Basic Shadowmeld (One¡¯s aura would be hidden and would not be easily detected.) The Shield of Wind Scales: Magical Defense: Grade ¡®C¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®D¡¯ Effects: Intermediate Hardiness (Impact would be weakened.) Intermediate Iron Wall (Defense would be enhanced.) The Sword of Lake Light: Magical-type Attack: Grade ¡®C¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®C¡¯ Effects: Intermediate Sharpness (Attack would be increased.) Basic Lightning (Lightning attribute would be added to Attack, with a small chance of paralyzing the target.) ¡°These two Magical weapons are too powerful!¡± After Tang Yan had finished reading, she could not help but click her tongue. ¡°It¡¯s fine if their Grade is ¡®C¡¯, but their effects are actually intermediate. The Magical weapon that was auctioned at the City of Light Auction House had only two basic effects.¡± Magical weapons and equipment were different from Rare ones. They could have two effects, and there was a certain chance of having intermediate effects. However, the chances of having intermediate effects were very low. More than 90% of them were basic effects. In fact, those basic effects were the most ordinary ones. It was rare to have an attribute effect like Lightning. ¡°This Rare-type coat isn¡¯t bad either. Although it¡¯s Rare-type, its Defense is Grade ¡®B¡¯. It also has the Rare effect of Shadowmeld. It¡¯s considered superior among top-grade equipment,¡± commented Xu Xiaotian. As a First-Class Bodyguard of Fantasy Light Group, the Rare-type attire that he wore were only of Grade ¡®C¡¯, and the effect was only the most ordinary Basic Hardiness. It could only reduce the damage slightly. Compared to the Rare effect of Shadowmeld, it was far inferior in combat. Tang Yan nodded in agreement. She had to admit that the Coat of Silver Moon was much better than their attire. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan¡¯s words made Chen Kemeng, who was watching from afar, envious. Magical equipment was extremely rare in the City of Light. Even in the hunting teams of the three major groups, there were less than 50 pieces of Magical equipment. Those were accumulated over many years. More than 90% of the Magical equipment was ordinary, and less than 10% was of superior quality. Moreover, the weapons and equipment in Fantasy World were not eternal. Sometimes, due to intense battles, the weapons and equipment would be damaged. There was no way to repair them. Hence, from time to time, they would be destroyed in battle¡­ Just as Chen Kemeng was feeling envious, Lu Jin gave Xu Xiaotian the Shield of Wind Scales and gave Tang Yan the Coat of Silver Moon. He put away the Sword of Lake Light. ¡°CEO Lu?¡± Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan looked at Lu Jin in confusion. ¡°You two deserve these.¡± Lu Jin said directly. ¡°The two of you spent a huge amount of Basic Restoration Potion to stall the monster. These two pieces of equipment will be your compensation.¡± ¡°CEO Lu, these two pieces of equipment are too precious. They have far exceeded the price of the potions.¡± Xu Xiaotian rejected Lu Jin¡¯s offer. ¡°Besides, we are your bodyguards. It was our duty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Please take back these weapons,¡± Tang Yan said. Lu Jin shook his head as he did not accept their refusal. He looked at the two of them and smiled. ¡°Listen to me. You said that you two are my bodyguards, so it¡¯s good for me if you become stronger. I might encounter such a battle again in the future, so just keep them for now. If you feel apologetic, you can treat them as a loan from me.¡± As an advanced internal beta tester, Lu Jin knew very well about Fantasy World. Fantasy World was not a single-player game, but a team game. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were both rare experts. It would be a pity he didn¡¯t rope them in. The most important thing was that when the two of them are stronger, it would be more convenient for his endeavors. After all, he still had a lot of crystal residues. If Xu XIaotian and Tang Yan had that same strength when a stronger mutated monster appeared, he would be the one in trouble. ¡°Then, we will borrow these two pieces of equipment from you, CEO Lu. When we are no longer your bodyguards, we will return them to you.¡± Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan understood what Lu Jin meant and did not reject him. After all, they did not want to get embroiled in Lu Jin¡¯s battle and be defeated easily. ¡°He¡¯s giving away those weapons just like that?¡± Chen Kemeng was impressed by Lu Jin¡¯s actions. If it were her, she would definitely not have given them to anyone other than her trusted aides. She then walked up to Lu Jin and congratulated him. ¡°Congratulations, CEO Lu. It¡¯s rare to get two Magical weapons at once in the City of Light. Your strength has increased considerably.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just lucky this time.¡± Lu Jin smiled. With the Sword of Lake Light, his strength had indeed increased greatly. At least in terms of Attack, he was comparable to a Junior Adventurer. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled faintly. She did not believe a single word of Lu Jin¡¯s. Then, she immediately changed the topic. ¡°I wonder if CEO Lu intends to sell those materials. If you¡¯re willing to sell them, our arena is willing to offer a price that will satisfy you.¡± Magical weapons and equipment were the foundation of every major group. As the fianc¨¦ of Xia Qingyao, the CEO of the Fantasy Light Group, Lu Jin could not sell them, so Chen Kemeng did not harbor any hopes for that. However, it was different for materials. Each of the three major groups of the City of Light had their own strengths. Among them, the Sun and Moon Group specialized in crafting items and could create many Rare or even Magical items. There was a shortage of items in the City of Light. Although many groups and families were trying to develop that area, they could not compete with the Sun and Moon Group. The major groups in the City of Light and even the Fantasy Light Group had no choice but to buy from the Sun and Moon Group. The condition of purchase was that the Fantasy Light Group sold the various materials obtained to the Sun and Moon Group. According to the quantity and quality of the materials sold, the quantity and quality of items that the Fantasy Light Group could buy would be different. Therefore, the Fantasy Light Group never stopped their people from selling materials to the Sun and Moon Group. In fact, they even welcomed them. ¡°Selling materials?¡± Lu Jin hesitated. He might not be able to use those materials, especially the Magical ones, for now, but with the Special Item Lottery, he might obtain a formula or an item blueprint. It would be difficult to purchase Magical materials then. ¡°CEO Lu, don¡¯t be in a hurry to reject me.¡± Chen Kemeng seemed as if she had read Lu Jin¡¯s mind. She said confidently, ¡°The price I¡¯m offering is a price that no major group in the City of Light can offer.¡± ¡°A price that no other group can offer?¡± Lu Jin was instantly curious. ¡°This is also a secret of our Bestial Battle Arena.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled plainly. ¡°CEO Lu, do you know why all the Senior Adventurers in the City of Light, and even the managers of the major groups, keep coming to our arena?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not for rapid advancement?¡± Lu Jin shook his head. ¡°No, the monsters that Senior Adventurers need can¡¯t be provided by the Bestial Battle Arena. They must be here for something else.¡± ¡°CEO Lu is right.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled. ¡°They are indeed here for something else. To be exact, they are here for the Sacred Grounds of our Bestial Battle Arena!¡± ¡°Sacred Grounds?¡± Lu Jin thought of the younger Lu Jin when he heard that. He could not help but ask, ¡°Is there anything special about that place?¡± In the Bestial Battle Arena, he did not see anything special nor did he feel anything special. However, the younger Lu Jin had stayed there for an entire day, which was really strange. The Sacred Grounds that Chen Kemeng mentioned might really have something to do with it. Chapter 17 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°It is very special. As long as one enters the Sacred Grounds, their mental state will become very good, making it easier for them to break through their limits. Moreover, even if they leave the Sacred Grounds, their good mental state can last for quite a long time. Due to this, many big shots in the City of Light want to enter the Sacred Grounds.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who was very interested, and smiled faintly. ¡°But because the sacred grounds¡¯ quota is limited, there are many people in the queue, and they have even made appointments half a year in advance.¡± ¡°But if CEO Lu is willing to sell those materials, especially that Magical metal ore, I can make arrangements to let CEO Lu enter right now without charging any fees. What do you think, CEO Lu?¡± Breaking through one¡¯s limits was extremely difficult, and the more one progressed, the more difficult it became. The growth of the AR system followed the progress of the players. If players progressed faster and reached a higher AR level, they could have a longer lifespan. Chen Kemeng believed that no one would reject her offer. ¡°Alright, I can sell it to you.¡± Lu Jin gave it some thought and did not reject the offer. Besides, he also wanted to take a look at the sacred grounds. ¡°But I don¡¯t want memory fragments. I want to trade those materials for a blueprint of a high-level item.¡± ¡°A blueprint of a high-level item?¡± Chen Kemeng frowned. A blueprint of a high-level item could not be compared to a blueprint for a Rare item. It was only a more complicated blueprint for ordinary items. However, it was not sold on the market. Firstly, that was because the supply of high-level item blueprints was very low. Usually, it would only be obtained by hunting teams from the major groups of the City of Light or by teams of Senior Adventurers who headed to normal Regional Dungeons outside the city. Secondly, blueprints of high-level items could help the craftsmen advance, especially to break through to Level 10. After reaching Level 10, it was difficult to progress by making ordinary items. Furthermore, Apprentices could not create Rare items. They could only progress by making high-level items that were more difficult to create. In the entire City of Light, the craftsmen who had broken through to Level 10 were talents that all the major groups would vie for. Even so, how could those talents compete with the craftsmen that were groomed by the groups? Therefore, in the City of Light, high-level item blueprints were properties of the major groups. They would not be sold. ¡°Miss Chen, this Magical metal ore of mine is not simple. It¡¯s a truly superior item. Not only is it an important material for making Magical-type weapons and equipment, but it can also perfectly repair them.¡± Lu Jin drew out the metal ore from his backpack. Fire Silver Ore, Magical-type material, superior grade. ¡°It¡¯s really a superior item.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at it and her eyes were filled with excitement. In the settings of Fantasy World, all kinds of materials were not only categorized into different types, but also different grades. They were the common grade and the superior grade. There were also the exquisite grade and the priceless grade above them. However, under normal circumstances, ordinary people would never see those in their entire lives. The highest grade that they could see was the superior grade. ¡°How about it? Aren¡¯t you going to consider it, Miss Chen?¡± Lu Jin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to come across superior-grade Magical items.¡± After defeating the Gale Wolf, the Gale Wolf had left behind a total of 1,164 units of memory fragments, which were enough for him to use. As for the Rare materials and the Magical metal ore, because of the scarcity of memory fragments, according to market price, it would be good enough to sell them for 3,000 units of memory fragments. Those 3,000 units of memory fragments were of no use to him at all. Even if he wanted to draw from the Special Item Lottery, he would have to prepare 10,000 units of memory fragments. A chance at the Rare Item Lottery would also cost 5,000 units of memory fragments. He might as well trade it with a blueprint of a high-level item to help Lu Shixue advance. After all, Lu Shixue had been stuck at AR Level 10 for too long. The blueprint of a high-level item would be of help. Chen Kemeng gritted her teeth slightly and let out a deep breath. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll agree to your conditions.¡± She was helpless as Lu Jin was right. Magical materials were like Magical weapons. They were not easy to obtain. Moreover, she had witnessed Lu Jin transform an ordinary monster into a Regional Boss. Chen Kemeng had already made up her mind to get closer to Lu Jin. After all, the benefits and resources that she could gain from that were unimaginable. Trading was the first step of cooperation! After that, Lu Jin traded all the materials he had with Chen Kemeng and received a blueprint for a high-level item. ¡°Shixue, I¡¯ll give this to you. Use it well when you go to Light Academy.¡± Lu Jin handed the high-level item blueprint to Lu Shixue. ¡°A blueprint for a small electronic backpack?¡± Lu Shixue received the blueprint and her eyes lit up with joy. ¡°Thank you, Brother! I¡¯m finally confident of breaking through to Level 10!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you can break through.¡± Lu Jin looked at Lu Shixue who was excited. That way, he could at least account for the younger Lu Jin. As long as Lu Shixue could become a craftswoman, she would not have to worry about her future. Furthermore, she could help him as a craftswoman. After all, any Adventurer¡¯s AR level upgrade would require an excellent craftsman. Furthermore, if he really obtained many precious item blueprints, he would not give them to others so easily. Then, Chen Kemeng guided Lu Jin to an elevator that led to the basement of the Bestial Battle Arena. The entire elevator was very narrow. It could only accommodate two or three people, and that was the only elevator that could lead to the depths of the underground. It was obvious that the Sacred Grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena was highly-valued by the Sun and Moon Group. There were even at least four guards, who were comparable to First-Class Bodyguards, at the entrance of the elevator. After the elevator had descended for more than 10 minutes, the door slowly opened. A cave that was the size of a stadium appeared before Lu Jin¡¯s eyes. In that empty cave, he could vaguely see some thick mist around the walls. However, the mist only remained at the walls and did not spread further. That cave was filled with all kinds of fruit trees, and under artificial cultivation, many fruits had been cultivated. However, what was truly shocking was the giant black rock that was 10 meters tall. In Lu Jin¡¯s eyes, that was not just a giant black rock. He could see pulses of light surging around it like a river. He had only stepped out of the elevator, but his entire body had been washed by the pulses of light. That feeling of being washed by the pulses of light was the complete opposite of the feeling that those Shadowrazes gave him. There was no sense of coldness or gloominess. Instead, it gave him an indescribable sense of comfort. In just a moment, Lu Jin saw black mist flow out of his body. The black mist seemed to have a life of its own and it formed a shadow with countless eyes. Lu Jin was extremely familiar with that shadow. Although there was a huge difference in size, with that aura and appearance, it had to be the Shadowraze that he met when he first woke up. Now, that tiny Shadowraze seemed to be burned by a flame. It roared and shouted in the pulses of light and was finally burnt into oblivion¡­ ¡°These flames¡­ are really gorgeous!¡± Chen Kemeng suddenly sighed at the side. ¡°Yeah!¡± Lu Jin could not help but marvel at the fading flames. The Shadowraze, which was a complete disregard of the laws of physics, had no power to resist the pulses of light and had been burnt into oblivion. That made Lu Jin have a newfound sense of excitement. The unknown was undoubtedly the scariest. Previously, he could not do anything about Shadowrazes. He could only think of ways to hide and pretend that he was unaware. He did not even know that he had a small Shadowraze attached to him. But now, he finally knew the Shadowrazes¡¯ weakness! At that moment, Chen Kemeng, who was leading the way, suddenly became blurry. Her single figure turned into two. One of them turned to look at Lu Jin. It was a completely distorted face. Although it had Chen Kemeng¡¯s face, there were countless mouths on it. At that moment, those mouths revealed strange and excited smiles. ¡°You can really¡­ see¡­¡± Chapter 18 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Lu Jin¡¯s hair stood on end as he looked at that distorted face. His back was drenched in cold sweat. Although he knew that those monsters would test him relentlessly, he did not expect that other than pretending to be him, it would even pretend to be Chen Kemeng¡­ ¡°Found it! Found it! Finally¡­ found it!¡± ¡°You are mine! You will definitely be¡­ mine¡­¡± That distorted face was filled with indescribable excitement. It looked at Lu Jin with more excitement than a hungry wolf would look at a delicious piece of meat. It was so happy that even its words started to become twisted and manic. Amidst that madness, flames suddenly appeared and they burnt the disguise of Chen Kemeng. However, the burning flames did not cause any pain to the disguise of Chen Kemeng. It laughed maniacally instead. Before it was burnt out, it had continuously stared at Lu Jin, as if it was telling him that they would meet soon¡­ ¡°D*mn it!¡± Lu Jin saw that the Shadowraze had completely vanished and felt an unprecedented pressure. At that point, Lu Jin could already imagine what would happen to him if he were to leave that place. He would probably end up like the younger Lu Jin, or even worse¡­ ¡°CEO Lu, are you feeling unwell? You don¡¯t look very well.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who suddenly seemed upset, and couldn¡¯t resist but ask curiously. After everyone came to the Sacred Grounds, all of them felt refreshed, as if their entire bodies had come alive. However, Lu Jin did not seem to have come alive at all. He actually looked half-dead. Lu Jin could only smile wryly when he heard that. He envied people who couldn¡¯t see Shadowrazes. ¡°Miss Chen, how many years can I stay here?¡± Lu Jin asked. Chen Kemeng almost lost her balance when she heard his words. Years? Even as the successor of the Group, she did not dare to think that way. ¡°CEO Lu, don¡¯t joke with me.¡± Chen Kemeng took a glance at Lu Jin and explained seriously, ¡°It¡¯s true that the effect of the Sacred Grounds is great, but the number of people that it can accommodate every day is very limited. Each day it can only accommodate five people, and each person can only stay for a day. If there were more people, the effectiveness would be significantly reduced. Therefore, even the higher-ups of the Group can only come once every two to three months. By coming here this time, you actually used up the quota that I had saved previously.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I stay here permanently?¡± Lu Jin could not help asking. ¡°Permanent residence?¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin in astonishment. She did not understand how much Lu Jin liked that dark and damp place. She then shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The Group will never allow it. If you¡¯re worried that the effects here won¡¯t be retained after you leave, you don¡¯t have to. As long as you stay in the Sacred Grounds for a few hours, you can usually retain it for up to a month.¡± ¡°A month?¡± Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but frown. He could tell that his body was constantly absorbing the light when he was in the pulses of light. His spirit was getting better and the effect did not disappear immediately after leaving the pulses of light. However, he did not think that that light would be able to stop those crazy Shadowrazes for a month. Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who was frowning, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. ¡°If CEO Lu really wants to retain this kind of spirit, there¡¯s actually another way.¡± ¡°What way?¡± Lu Jin was curious. ¡°We plant many fruits in the Sacred Grounds all year around. These fruits are affected by the Sacred Grounds, so after eating them, a person can retain their good spirit for five to six hours. The effect is not very different from coming to the Sacred Grounds.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled slightly and said, ¡°Regarding these fruits, our Group usually doesn¡¯t sell them because the supply within the Group is already insufficient. CEO Lu is an exception, of course. If CEO Lu is interested, I can sell some to you.¡± Lu Jin instantly understood what was going on and could not help but marvel at Chen Kemeng¡¯s tactics. It was really one after another. That thing about selling his materials to come to the Sacred Grounds for free¡­ That was just a trap that Chen Kemeng had set up for the real deal. After all, after experiencing the benefits of the Sacred Grounds, even ordinary people would find it extremely difficult to reject such a proposal, let alone those big shots who wanted to rapidly increase their AR level. It was just that Chen Kemeng did not know the real purpose of the Sacred Grounds and the Sacred Fruits for him. ¡°How do you plan to sell them, Miss Chen?¡± Lu Jin asked calmly. Other than that d*mned Shadowraze, everything else was actually part of Lu Jin¡¯s plan, which Chen Kemeng did not know about. After all, he had displayed the means to generate a Regional Boss. With such means, any ambitious person would probably not miss such an opportunity. ¡°Let¡¯s work together.¡± Chen Kemeng smiled at Lu Jin. ¡°I can provide you with the monsters. Then, you can turn them into Bosses. We¡¯ll defeat them and split the items left behind by the Boss equally. I¡¯ll use the fruits from the Sacred Grounds to pay for my half. How about 100 units of memory fragments for one fruit?¡± ¡°Miss Chen, your suggestion is not bad, but I refuse.¡± Lu Jin shook his head. ¡°You refuse? Why?¡± Chen Kemeng was puzzled. ¡°Are you not satisfied with my suggestion?¡± Her suggestion was already quite generous. She offered to provide monsters, defeat the monsters, and then pay for her half of the items with fruits from the Sacred Grounds. It was impossible to find someone offering the same in the entire City of Light. ¡°No! It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not satisfied.¡± Lu Jin looked around at the Sacred Grounds and said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s just that I have a better suggestion.¡± ¡°A better suggestion?¡± Chen Kemeng smiled. ¡°Then, please tell me, CEO Lu.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t your Sun and Moon Group always wanted to explore that mine 60 kilometers to the south?¡± Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng with a faint smile. ¡°I can help you to raid the Regional Dungeons there!¡± ¡°You can really do it?¡± Chen Kemeng said in disbelief. ¡°Although it¡¯s just a Level 14 normal Regional Dungeon, there are more than 10 Regional Bosses inside. Moreover, there¡¯s a Regional Overlord guarding it. Only 50 combatants are allowed, and the level limit is 14. Even if we gather all the Magical equipment in the City of Light, it might not be enough, let alone our Group.¡± In the City of Light, there was no group that did not want the mine that was 60 kilometers to the south. Right now, the entire City of Light was lacking in resources, especially metal resources. Whether it was for the production of AR equipment or simulation equipment, a large amount of metal ores was needed. That was especially true for the Grade ¡®C¡¯ simulation equipment that had already been constructed in theory. That thing required a large amount of silver ore. In a world where there was no mist, it was not too easy to obtain silver ores. However, now that all kinds of resources were almost used up, silver ores were extremely scarce. According to the information left behind, silver ores could be obtained from the mine in the south. When those silver ores have been obtained, not only would they be able to create Grade ¡®C¡¯ simulation equipment, but they would also be able to trade resources with other cities. After all, Grade ¡®C¡¯ simulation equipment was rarely seen in the surrounding cities. It¡¯s just that none of the hunting teams had succeeded in raiding. If they could unlock the upper limit of their individual domain level, they would be able to conquer and easily guard a large number of miners. ¡°I can!¡± Lu Jin was very certain. ¡°But I have one condition!¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°CEO Lu, you might be very confident, but this isn¡¯t something that can be decided with just a sentence and just a promise. If you¡¯re not careful, our Sun and Moon Group¡¯s years of accumulation will go down the drain.¡± Chen Kemeng shook her head. She seemed slightly angry as she said, ¡°We¡¯re a Group. Our achievements and status today were accumulated one step at a time. We can¡¯t be gamblers, especially when we¡¯re gambling with our lives!¡± In that world, going to Regional Dungeons was like how players went on expeditions 400 years ago. When they arrived at the destination, they would activate the AR system. In the world shrouded by mist, as soon as one entered the misty zone, they would have to keep the AR system activated for 24 hours a day. Therefore, even if it was just a short 60 kilometers journey with maglev cars and other fast-moving means of transportation, it would still take more than two days to travel. Along the way, they would have to face all kinds of monsters and had to be ready to fight at any time. Additionally, in order to ensure that everyone who entered the Regional Dungeon would be in their best state, a large number of logistics personnel would have to follow them. Before they entered the Regional Dungeon, they would also need to maintain and repair their weapons and simulation equipment. It looked like the Regional Dungeon only required the mobilization of 50 people, but the number of people involved was actually more than 100. It could be said that the amount of memory fragments used to replenish the supplies along the way was not a small number. It was a long process to raid Regional Dungeons. It was not something that could be done in one go. Moreover, once the AR system was destroyed by the monsters, the player¡¯s lifespan would be shortened by the mist. That was not something that Lu Jin could simply test out with a word. ¡°I understand that Miss Chen doesn¡¯t believe me and won¡¯t simply risk the Sun and Moon Group¡¯s hunting team.¡± Lu Jin nodded his head and smiled. ¡°But what if I¡¯m willing to use the monster¡¯s evolution method as collateral?¡± ¡°You¡¯re willing to reveal the monster¡¯s evolution method?¡± Chen Kemeng was a little shocked when she heard that. She almost could not react in time. From Chen Kemeng¡¯s point of view, Lu Jin had only chosen to use the strategy of collaborating on the Regional Dungeon to prevent others from knowing how the monsters evolved. He was revealing the monster¡¯s evolution method in order to make them believe that the Regional Dungeon could be successfully raided. That was completely putting the cart before the horse. One had to know that as long as an ordinary monster was transformed into a Regional Boss, they could farm that Regional Boss indefinitely and obtain large amounts of high-quality weapons and materials. With those weapons and materials, wouldn¡¯t it be easy to clear those Regional Dungeons? ¡°Miss Chen, can we talk about our cooperation in the Regional Dungeon in the mining area now?¡± Lu Jin smiled faintly. He was clear about Chen Kemeng¡¯s thoughts. Actually, if it was possible, he really wanted to use the monster¡¯s evolution method to cooperate. However, crystal residues were too rare. Firstly, the rate of appearance of crystal residues was too low. Even if the monster ate it, there was only a small chance that it would become a mutated monster. Most of the time, it would only become a powerful Rare monster. If the Sun and Moon Group really found out about it, it might be beneficial. However, a large-scale operation would definitely cause the secret to be disclosed to others. At that time, the price of crystal residues would soar, and the benefits would be reduced drastically. Compared to the long-term gain of resources from the Regional Dungeon in the mining area, the difference was too great. After all, natural resources were the real deal. As long as they could successfully raid that Regional Dungeon, the players who participated in the raid would be able to unlock their level cap. The entire Regional Dungeon would become their own backyard. Others who did not succeed in raiding could only be envious. ¡°Since CEO Lu is so sincere, on behalf of the Sun and Moon Group, I am officially willing to cooperate with you.¡± Chen Kemeng took a deep breath. Her attitude towards Lu Jin had changed slightly. She said seriously, ¡°What are your conditions, CEO Lu?¡± No one could reject the knowledge of the monster¡¯s evolution method. It would be a piece of cake to convince the board of directors of the Group. There was a chance that Lu Jin would fool her by refusing to share the monster¡¯s evolution method despite failing the raid. However, because the contract had to be signed, if Lu Jin did not fulfill the conditions, he would have to pay a terrible price. Even Xia Qingyao would not be able to protect him. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Give me half of the Sacred Grounds.¡± Lu Jin said with certainty. The supply of fruits from the Sacred Grounds could be broken with just a single thought from the Sun and Moon Group. Even the entry quota for the Sacred Grounds was completely dependent on the Sun and Moon Group. He did not dare to bet his life on that. Therefore, he had to own the Sacred Grounds, even if it was just a small portion. That way, he was mostly in control of his life. ¡°Half of the Sacred Grounds?¡± Chen Kemeng¡¯s eyes widened. Chen Kemeng had already mentally prepared herself and even thought that Lu Jin wanted to enter the Sacred Grounds once a month. However, she did not expect that Lu Jin would actually want the Sacred Grounds. He even asked for half of it¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t we talk about it?¡± Lu Jin asked flatly. ¡°CEO Lu, don¡¯t dream about it. I can tell you surely that you shouldn¡¯t even think about it. No one in the board of directors will agree to it.¡± Chen Kemeng said with certainty. The Sacred Grounds in the Bestial Battle Arena were the core of Sun and Moon Group. Many leaders of groups in the city, and even the upper echelons of the Fantasy Light Group and the Daytime Group, were clients of the Sacred Grounds. The Sun and Moon Group had gained a lot of benefits from that. If Lu Jin was allowed to have the Sacred Grounds, even if it was only half, the Sun and Moon Group would lose their advantage in the City of Light. Moreover, the directors and management of the Sun and Moon Group needed the Sacred Grounds as well. If they lost half of it, there would not be enough benefits for them. ¡°One-third, then,¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that it¡¯s impossible!¡± Chen Kemeng rolled her eyes at Lu Jin. ¡°That is the core of our Group and we will never hand it over to outsiders. It¡¯s better if you change your condition.¡± ¡°How about a quarter?¡± Lu Jin asked softly. ¡°¡­¡± Chen Kemeng suddenly realized that Lu Jin had lowered the price a little too quickly. Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng, who was speechless and expressionless. He smiled and said, ¡°One-fifth. I¡¯ll add in the evolution method of ordinary monsters. If it¡¯s not a deal, I¡¯ll have no choice but to give up.¡± ¡­ At night, the moon was bright but the stars were sparse. In a five-storey villa that was the size of a football field and that was in the center of the City of Light, a beautiful woman wearing a silk nightdress slowly walked out of the bathroom. Her beautiful hair was hanging down to her waist and her body had faint traces of water droplets. At that moment, in that large bedroom that was more than 50 square meters, there was a cool lady who was dressed as a secretary standing by the side. That beautiful woman was not bothered at all and sat down on the sofa. She crossed her legs gently and calmly looked at the secretary. ¡°Tell me, what happened today?¡± ¡°The preparations for the trip to the City of Thousand Stars have basically been completed.¡± The female secretary, Qin Lianyue, presented the relevant information to Xia Qingyao. ¡°When Miss¡¯s engagement banquet ends, I believe that everything will be ready.¡± Xia Qingyao looked at the information and nodded slightly. ¡°Alright, it looks like Jiang Haoyuan isn¡¯t sloppy in this aspect.¡± ¡°This trip to the City of Thousand Stars is very important to both us and Jiang Haoyuan. I believe he won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± Qin Lianyue flipped through the information that she had gathered today and said slowly, ¡°Other than that, Mr Lu Jin went to the Bestial Battle Arena today.¡± ¡°The Bestial Battle Arena? It looks like he¡¯s eager to improve himself. This is a good thing.¡± Xia Qingyao wiped her wet hair. ¡°However, the expenses at the Bestial Battle Arena are not low. Especially the expense of memory fragments. Lianyue, from now on, give a portion of my resources to him every month. The earlier he breaks through to Level 10, the less gossip the groups¡¯ families will have about either of us.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Qin Lianyue nodded. Xia Qingyao glanced at Qin Lianyue who hadn¡¯t left and asked curiously, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Qin Lianyue continued, ¡°There¡¯s another piece of news regarding Mr Lu Jin. Today, he made an ordinary Level 10 monster evolve into a Level 10 Regional Boss in the Bestial Battle Arena.¡± ¡°?¡± Chapter 20 - The Crystal of Awakening Chapter 20 The Crystal of Awakening ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡± Qin Lianyue looked at the stunned Xia Qingyao and couldn¡¯t help but wave her hand in front of her. ¡°Stop fooling around.¡± Xia Qingyao gently slapped Qin Lianyue¡¯s hand away. Her gaze was filled with seriousness. ¡°Is this news accurate?¡± ¡°This is what Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan said themselves. I believe it¡¯s true. Moreover, after defeating the Regional Boss, two Magical weapons were left behind. Mr Lu Jin gave one of them to Xu Xiaotian.¡± Qin Lianyue nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that Magical weapon. It¡¯s a superior Magical round shield with astonishing attributes. It¡¯s definitely not something that can be bought on the market.¡± Xia Qingyao pondered for a moment before she asked, ¡°Do many people know about this?¡± It was unheard of for ordinary monsters to evolve into Regional Bosses in the City of Light, and even in the surrounding cities. If it was true that ordinary monsters could be transformed into Regional Bosses and if that were to spread, the consequences would be unimaginable. It might even cause a change in the structure of the City of Light. Why was there so little exchange and trade between major cities around the world? The main reason was the lack of weapons and equipment. More than 90% of the weapons and equipment on the market were Normal-type. Only 10% were Rare-type, and 70% of them were made from Rare materials. Typically, only Scavengers who had been working for many years could be fully-equipped with Rare weapons which were normal-grade. Superior weapons were impossible to obtain. That was because superior Rare weapons were mostly left behind by Regional Bosses. However, there were too few Regional Bosses near the city, and the risk of going further away from the city was too high. Hence, there were very few high-quality weapons and equipment in the major cities. For example, the reason why the three major groups in the City of Light had Magical weapons was because they often had expeditions to faraway places. It was not easy to collect those weapons. The price and hardship involved were only understood by the expedition teams. If there was really a way to easily find a Regional Boss, its influence could be imagined With regard to such a method to evolve ordinary monsters, all the major groups in the City of Light would probably go mad. Even if the Fantasy Light Group withheld the method and the other groups and families did not dare to do anything openly, they could not control what the others might do in private. ¡°Currently only Xu Xiaotian, Tang Yan, Lu Shixue and Chen Kemeng know about this.¡± Qin Lianyue said. ¡°That vixen from the Chen family?¡± Xia Qingyao felt slightly relieved when she heard that. ¡°That vixen is very smart. I don¡¯t think she will spread this matter out. However, tell Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan that this matter must not be leaked out. Also, tell them to remind Lu Jin and Lu Shixue. Otherwise, there will be a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed them about this. After they left the Bestial Battle Arena, I even asked Xu Xiaotian and the others to book a few rooms at the Light Hotel next to the arena. I¡¯ll let them rest there for the next two days. I think the people from other groups won¡¯t dare to do anything to them there.¡± A rare smile appeared on Qin Lianyue¡¯s serious face. ¡°However, Miss¡¯s husband doesn¡¯t seem to be someone who knows his place. He entered the Sacred Grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena with Chen Kemeng. Due to the fact that it was the Sacred Grounds, Xu Xiaotian and the others couldn¡¯t enter either.¡± ¡°As for the conversation between Miss¡¯s husband and Chen Kemeng, I¡¯m afraid only the two of them know. However, according to the information I received, Chen Kemeng looked very anxious and flustered. She didn¡¯t even stop at the Bestial Battle Arena and went straight home. I think the two of them must have talked about something very important.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hard to guess. The two of them probably talked about the evolution of monsters.¡± Xia Qingyao shrugged her shoulders and smiled faintly. ¡°But Mr Lu Jin has really exceeded my expectations. He actually hid such a surprise.¡± ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult for him to become your ideal husband.¡± Qin Lianyue said bluntly. The Xia family and the other families had finally settled down in the Group. If they were to have such a son-in-law from the Xia family, the other families would definitely be pleased. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Xia Qingyao said nonchalantly. ¡°My initial goal was to find a person with a clean record. It¡¯s not important if he doesn¡¯t know his place. I even hope that he could share some of my pressure. After all, the Xia family has too many things to do now. I can¡¯t handle it alone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. However, the prerequisite is that Miss¡¯s husband breaks through to Level 10. Otherwise, those influential families would have plenty of methods to make your husband settle down.¡± Qin Lianyue smiled and said. The Xia family only needed someone to carry on the family line. Furthermore, as long as that person did not carry the blood of the other influential families and groups in the City of Light, it was fine. It was not easy to assimilate into the huge Fantasy Light Group. It was not easy regardless of whether one knew one¡¯s place or not. Fifty-fifth storey of the Light Hotel, presidential suite: As the largest and most luxurious hotel in the City of Light, the price of a night¡¯s stay was equivalent to a month¡¯s salary for the employees of a large group in the city. The presidential suite was a place that ordinary people would not dare to go to in their entire lives. Even those who dared to be extravagant would keep taking photos to show off to their friends and family after they checked into the presidential suite. After all, the presidential suite of the Light Hotel was specially built. When the AR system was activated, one could taste delicacies that couldn¡¯t be tasted in real life. Those delicacies were all made by chefs using various ingredients from Fantasy World. Not only was it extremely delicious, but it could also allow players to enter a special state where their growth rate was increased by 20% for an entire day. Some of the Senior Adventurers of the City of Light would come here to stay and enjoy delicious food on the night before an expedition. Due to that, the presidential suites of the Light Hotel never lacked customers. Sometimes, they were even fully-booked. However, in that presidential suite which was more than a hundred square meters, Lu Jin was not tasting the delicacies. Instead, he was playing with an apple in his hand and staring at it as though he wanted to see through it. ¡°This fruit from the Sacred Grounds is special indeed. It¡¯s different from normal fruits. There¡¯s actually a tiny pulse of light. If I didn¡¯t look carefully, I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to detect it. No wonder eating these would scare off those Shadowrazes.¡± Lu Jin could not help but feel excited when he saw the faint glow that that apple emitted. After he conversed with Chen Kemeng in the Sacred Grounds, she could not agree immediately. She had to discuss it after she returned. However, that was within Lu Jin¡¯s expectations. After all, the Sacred Grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena were the Sun and Moon Group¡¯s foundation. They wouldn¡¯t hand them over to outsiders easily, even if it was just a small portion. Although Lu Jin was not sure what the outcome would be, he was certain that the Chen family would act as time passed. That was because in that world, no secret could be kept. The news of the monster¡¯s evolution would eventually spread throughout the City of Light. After their conversation ended, Lu Jin also spent 200 units of memory fragments to buy two apples from the Sacred Grounds for emergencies. It had to be mentioned that that apple was really expensive. The Sacred Grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena could really make money. Of course, after he had spent an amount of memory fragments that would have taken him more than half a month to earn previously, he still had some gains. Although Lu Jin did not know how a pulse of light was formed in the Sacred Apple, he saw a possibility. That was, pulses of light could be formed through other means. After the pulses of light have been formed, that power could be preserved for a long time, and it could also leave the sacred grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena. It would be unlike how the power would dissipate slowly in humans. What if people could form those pulses of light? Did that mean that one would have the ability to counter the Shadowrazes? Questions kept echoing in Lu Jin¡¯s mind, which made his imagination run wild. ¡°Forget it. If I want to try something like this, I¡¯m afraid I can only try it on the Sacred Grounds. Experimenting now is just a waste of my stored energy.¡± Lu Jin shook his head and put the sacred apple down. He then took a dark gold crystal from his electronic backpack. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll see how much my adaptability can be improved.¡± Level was everything in that world. In the wild, where players were gambling with their lives, it was impossible for players to fight without any worries. Hence, it was significantly more difficult for them to increase their AR level. For the AR system to be upgraded quickly, the adaptability of the players and their AR system was very important. In Fantasy World, the Crystal of Awakening was the only item that could increase the player¡¯s AR system¡¯s adaptability. After using it, the player would awaken a type of Blood Pulse which would make it easier for them to break through their limits. Or rather, their fault-tolerance rate would be greatly improved. For example, if the player could not achieve 100% on an extremely difficult move, there would not be any progress on their AR system. However, after their adaptability has increased, the player would only need to achieve 90% for their AR system to progress. The difficulty of the progress was obvious. The extent to which the Crystal of Awakening could increase adaptability would depend on the extent of the player¡¯s awakened Blood Pulse. In the settings of Fantasy World, Blood Awakening was divided into four levels: Normal, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. The higher the level was, the higher the adaptability of the AR system could be. However, that kind of awakening was completely based on the player¡¯s genes, personality, willpower, and many other factors. The level the player could reach would all depend on luck¡­ System: Do you want to use the Crystal of Awakening? ¡°Use it!¡± Lu Jin took a deep breath and tapped on the Crystal of Awakening. Chapter 21 - Innate Talent Chapter 21 Innate Talent In the magnificent bedroom, after Lu Jin had tapped on the dark gold crystal, the entire crystal seemed to come to life instantly. The sound of heartbeats reverberated throughout the entire bedroom like an ancient beast had awakened. ¡°This is¡­ the Crystal of Awakening?¡± Lu Jin¡¯s eyes were filled with confusion and astonishment as he looked at the dark gold crystal that seemed to be alive. The Crystal of Awakening that was in front of him was completely different from the one that he used 400 years ago. In Lu Jin¡¯s memory, the Crystal of Awakening was a highly concentrated piece of memory fragments. It was a completely non-living thing. It was just a simple upgrade of data through the player¡¯s AR system to improve the software performance and increase the player¡¯s adaptability. It had no heartbeat at all, let alone seem like a living thing As the sound of the heartbeats in the room became increasingly intense, the dark gold crystal slowly melted and turned into liquid metal threads that poured into Lu Jin¡¯s electronic body. After that, Lu Jin saw the system updates appearing one after another. The system was loading. 1%¡­ 5%¡­ 9%¡­ The system data was upgrading. 1%¡­ 5%¡­ 9%¡­ There were dozens of updates in a row. It was as if it had been attacked by a virus. Lu Jin could even faintly hear the electric current from the AR glasses. The speed of data transfer in all aspects had obviously reached an extremely high level. After a few minutes, Lu Jin¡¯s vision turned dark and the simulated bedroom returned to its original state. However, a system bar soon appeared, and the progress bar slowly rose. 1%¡­ 3%¡­ 5%¡­ ¡°Just how much data has been updated?¡± Lu Jin was stunned when he saw the progress bar slowly rising. In the current world, AR technology has been developing for 400 years. Although they were still unable to replace or decipher the core system, the upgrade of the hardware was no longer comparable to 400 years ago. The performance of the hardware had increased more than 100 times. In the past, even with the upgrade of data with the Crystal of Awakening, it was completed very quickly. From the beginning to the end, it didn¡¯t even take 20 seconds. Now, after more than 10 minutes, the progress bar was still crawling like a tortoise¡­ Lu Jin did not dare to take off his AR glasses when it came to system updates that were for the player¡¯s adaptability. He could only sit next to the sofa by the French windows and observe the scenery outside while waiting for the AR system to be activated. Twenty minutes¡­ Forty minutes¡­ After waiting for more than an hour, the AR system was finally updated. The indicator light slowly lit up. ¡°Activate!¡± Lu Jin, who had finished updating his AR system, could hardly wait to quickly activate it. As he activated the AR system, he could not help looking at everything before him in astonishment. It was clear! He felt as if he could see the world very clearly. It was as if everything he saw before was covered by a veil, but now, that veil was gone. ¡°How much has the system¡¯s adaptability increased this time?¡± As he felt everything around him, he felt as though he had arrived at a strange yet familiar world. It was familiar because everything in front of him was still the same. It was strange because his five senses were completely different. His grasp of space, the flow of air, his own faint breathing¡­ Things that had never been noticed before seemed to have been magnified. It was hard not to notice. Lu Jin casually picked up the Sword of Lake Light that was stored in his electronic backpack and waved it twice. It was heavy and slightly cool. It felt completely different from before. ¡°The improvement this time is too impressive! Even someone who had a Blood Awakening in these 400 years probably couldn¡¯t improve more than this.¡± Almost all the internal beta testers from 400 years ago had awakened their blood. Their communication from time to time allowed them to roughly understand the extent of upgrade of Blood Awakening. For example, Lu Jin had only a high-grade Rare Blood Pulse 400 years ago. He was considered to have a decent blood pulse among the dozens of internal beta testers. However, in terms of the enhancement of his five senses, it was incomparable to what he had now. That made Lu Jin open his data bar curiously. ID: Lu Jin AR System: Level 10 (Progress: 84%. 1,000 units of memory fragments required to level up once the progress has reached 100%.) Adventurer: Level 10 (O EXP needed to level up. To unlock Level 11, Level 11 AR System is required.) Strength: 65 (Rank ¡®S¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Agility: 58 (Rank ¡®A¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Endurance: 55 (Rank ¡®A¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Neural Reaction: 68 (Rank ¡®S¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®SS¡¯.) Chef: Level 7 (Progress: 85%) Housekeeper: Level 4 (Progress: 43%) Restorer: Level 8 (Progress: 59%) Appraiser: Level 8 (Progress: 16%) Custodian of Electronics: Level 9 (Progress: 84%) Skill: Absolute Nihility (Magical) Blood Pulse: Top-grade Rare-level (Compatibility: 96%) Innate Talent: Myriad Wishes (The more people in the team, the greater the improvement of adaptability the entire team¡¯s AR system would have.) Heart of Destruction (Through continuous honing of one¡¯s own skills, one could constantly grow.) System Management Rights: Rank ¡®B¡¯ Lu Jin was stunned by what he saw. ¡°Can a Crystal of Awakening cause so much improvement?¡± Although his Blood Pulse was not at the Epic level as he imagined and was only at the Rare level, his compatibility was at 96%. Even the internal beta testers from 400 years ago did not dare to imagine that figure. Normal players would only have a compatibility score of around 80%. As long as the compatibility reached 90%, all the effects of the Blood Pulse could be activated. After 90%, every 1% increase could allow the system¡¯s adaptability to increase significantly. A compatibility score of 96% was unheard of. The other improvements brought about by the Crystal of Awakening could not even be described as terrifying. Originally, the progress of the AR system was only 62%. Now, it had grown to 84%. Originally, the maximum potential of his Neural Reaction was Rank ¡®S¡¯. However, now it had reached a Rank of ¡®SS¡¯, which was unheard of. Even the potential of his Strength, Agility and Endurance had reached Rank ¡®S¡¯. That was the highest basic stats potential that Lu Jin had ever seen. ¡°What¡¯s with this world¡¯s awakening?¡± Lu Jin could not help but click his tongue at the sight of his two innate talents, Myriad Wishes and Heart of Destruction. ¡°There was only a small chance of getting an innate talent according to legends, but I¡¯ve actually gotten two?¡± Innate talents were much rarer than skills. Even though it could not directly improve the players, it could allow them to obtain different abilities. Typically, only talented players could obtain it during their growth. The innate talents that they obtained were also different because the players¡¯ personalities and experiences were different. In order to adapt to the players, the AR system naturally created different innate talents. There was a very small chance of obtaining it when a player had awakened, but the probability was less than 0.1%. Normally, a player would get only one innate talent, but he had two! Those two innate talents were extremely extraordinary. One could improve the adaptability of the entire team just by forming a team, while the other could allow growth by simply honing one¡¯s own skills. Those innate talents were unheard of. ¡°But what does this innate talent of Heart of Destruction mean?¡± Lu Jin was perplexed by the explanation. Generally, the innate talents created by the system were meaningful, and the explanations were also very specific and precise. ¡°Growth could be achieved through the honing of one¡¯s skills¡± ¨C generally, ¡°growth¡± should be referring to the growth of the AR system. However, there was no mention of the AR system. It was just using the word ¡°growth¡±. It could be said that it was not accurate. Normally, the AR system would not make such a low-level mistake. Just as Lu Jin was at a loss for an explanation, he suddenly realized that a layer of faint light that was difficult to detect with the naked eye had appeared on his body. The light was slowly flowing from his body, a phenomenon that had never happened before. That light seemed familiar to Lu Jin. He took off his AR glasses. At that moment, the layer of faint light on his body disappeared completely. Even the warmth that he had felt earlier vanished instantly. ¡°Could it be that because of the upgrade of the system, my five senses have been enhanced, and I can see and feel things that I originally couldn¡¯t detect?¡± The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to be the case. Hence, he tried a few more times. The difference in his ability to discern the faint light with the activation of the AR system and without the activation of the AR system was huge. Moreover, the more he used his sword techniques and the more he challenged his own limits, the more he could feel that the energy of the light pulses had become stronger. The dissipating light rays were even faintly gathering towards the sword. ¡°This is great! It really is like this! It really is like this!¡± After Lu Jin attempted his sword techniques several times in a row, he felt enlightened. Initially, he had thought that he would not be able to control the energy of the light pulses. However, due to the awakening, the AR system had received a comprehensive upgrade. The control of the energy of the light pulses had even become part of the growth of the AR system. Now, he only needed to constantly think of ways to upgrade the AR system. Then, grasping the energy of the light pulses would not be a distant matter. As long as he could control the energy of the light pulses, he would be able to fight back against those Shadowrazes that were staring at him! Since Lu Jin left the Sacred Grounds, he had been feeling uneasy because he was unsure when the Shadowraze would make its move. He did not know if it was due to the fear of the energy of the light pulses in his body or if it was due to some other purpose that it had not appeared. Regardless, he really did not have much time. At the thought of that, Lu Jin did not dare to waste another second. He ran straight to the door of Lu Shixue¡¯s room and knocked loudly. After a while, Lu Shixue opened the door impatiently. ¡°Shixue, are you still studying the blueprint of the small electronic backpack?¡± ¡°Hmm, this blueprint is very precise in the usage of memory fragments. It¡¯s really useful for me!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s form a team.¡± Chapter 22 - Grade A Adventurers Chapter 22 Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurers In the corridor of Light Hotel: After Lu Shixue inexplicably accepted Lu Jin¡¯s invitation to team up, Lu Jin immediately ran back to his room, leaving Lu Shixue with a blank look on her face, completely unsure of what had happened¡­ ¡°I wonder what compounded effect could these two innate talents achieve.¡± When he returned to the living room, Lu Jin used his A3-model sensory gloves and simulation equipment to practice his sword technique, Sword Aurora. In Fantasy World, players could form teams. From a small team of six to a large team of 100 people, it was possible. As long as the players formed a team, they would not be able to harm each other, which would help them avoid accidental injuries in battle. At the same time, after defeating the monsters, the EXP gained would be split equally, allowing both of them to gain EXP. Usually, the greatest function was to be able to check the state of their companion¡¯s memory fragments at any time, which was the state of the loss of memory fragments. It could allow the companion to make the best judgment and assistance in battle. Other than that, there were no other functions from the formation of teams. According to the explanations of the innate talents, the adaptability of the players¡¯ systems could be improved with the formation of teams and growth could be achieved by the honing of one¡¯s skills. In that case, it would not be a problem for him to quickly break through Level 10 and master the energy of the light pulses. Time gradually passed. Unknowingly, more than two hours had passed. Lu Jin was madly practicing Sword Aurora, over and over again. That caused his body, which was initially not used to it, to have a small breakthrough. Two slashes became three slashes, interweaving into one! In that instant, the progress of the AR system increased from 84% to 86%. Compared to the speed of growth brought about by fighting suitable monsters, it was not much slower. Furthermore, the light pulses that were dissipating seemed to be gathering towards the Sword of Lake Light. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t form a team with Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan. Otherwise, the speed of growth would be faster.¡± Lu Jin looked at the system¡¯s progress bar and couldn¡¯t help but feel a little regretful. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were both very vigilant people. If he were to team up with the two of them for no reason, it would definitely arouse some suspicion and confusion. In addition, his innate talents were simply too astonishing. If they were to be discovered, the effects would probably be even more terrifying than that of the monster¡¯s evolution. The evolution of monsters only allowed them to obtain more equipment and materials. As long as they investigated carefully, they would be able to find some clues eventually. By then, all the major groups and families would be able to evolve monsters. It was just that the pioneer would have gotten some advantage. But it was different for his innate talents. They could not be duplicated. It was impossible to split him into dozens of pieces. At that time, it would not be impossible for the entire city to become his enemy. After all, in the City of Light, no one wanted a force that could control the entire city. If those groups and families knew about it, they would definitely team up against him before he could grow. The only person that he could trust now was Lu Shixue. Even if Lu Shixue was aware of the upgrade of his system¡¯s adaptability, she would not tell anyone. Furthermore, he only teamed up with one person. The upgrade of the system¡¯s adaptability was not that obvious. It would not be easy to detect it. After Lu Jin rested, he continued to perfect his sword technique. In the middle of the night, at the Chen family¡¯s Sunset Palace: On the second floor of the basement, in a secret room that was only about 20 square meters, a man and a woman sat facing each other. On the wooden table in front of them was a pile of documents. If Lu Jin were to see those documents now, he would probably be shocked. That was because the information contained the younger Lu Jin¡¯s life history. Even the date of purchase of his first A2-model simulation equipment when he was 13 and the day he first scavenged around the city were recorded in detail. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve finished reading all the information.¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Chen Yuren, who was sitting quietly and sipping his tea, and said seriously, ¡°I already know Lu Jin very well. The collaboration that Lu Jin proposed this time should not be a trap.¡± After leaving the Sacred Grounds of the Bestial Battle Arena, Chen Kemeng had rushed home to report about the collaboration that Lu Jin had proposed. However, to Chen Kemeng¡¯s surprise, her father did not give her an answer. He only took a pile of information for her to read. In the information, Lu Jin could be said to be an extremely simple person who had no connections with all the power in the City of Light. He was a complete suburban resident. That was also the reason why Xia Qingyao had chosen him, apart from the fact that he had great potential. Chen Yuren, who already had a few strands of white hair on his head, took a sip of tea and glanced at Chen Kemeng with a faint smile. ¡°Of course, I know that Lu Jin¡¯s proposal this time is not a trap. That¡¯s not why I¡¯m showing you this.¡± ¡°Not why you¡¯re showing me this? What does that mean?¡± Chen Kemeng was slightly stunned. Lu Jin¡¯s offer was very tempting, and she did not think that the Sun and Moon Group would reject it. The only problem was whether that was a trap. After all, there were too many people eying the Sun and Moon Group, so she had to be wary of them. Chen Yuren looked at Chen Kemeng, who was confused, and said slowly, ¡°I just wanted to tell you that this Lu Jin isn¡¯t simple.¡± Chen Kemeng almost rolled her eyes when she heard that. Didn¡¯t she know about this? How could a person who had mastered a skill and could turn ordinary monsters into Regional Bosses be simple? ¡°Meng Meng, you still don¡¯t understand this information.¡± Chen Yuren shook his head and said slowly, ¡°You have to know that that Lu Jin and his sister, Lu Shixue, are not locals of our City of Light.¡± ¡°Of course I know. The information is very clear. They came to the City of Light with their parents when they were young, but for some reason, their parents left the city. After that, there was no information about his parents.¡± Chen Kemeng nodded. ¡°But this kind of thing is very normal for people living in the suburbs.¡± Every year, in the City of Light, there would be refugees who came from other residences. Those refugees could no longer live in their own residences, hence they would pay a huge price to follow some teams of Adventurers on their expedition to the city in order to live there. That was the case for Lu Jin¡¯s family. ¡°Do you know where Lu Jin and his family came from ?¡± Chen Yuren asked. ¡°There was no information about that.¡± Chen Kemeng shook her head. ¡°However, I think that the place they used to live in wasn¡¯t bad. The Adventurer team that brought them here was a Grade ¡®B¡¯ Adventurer team, which was rare. An Adventurer team of this grade would usually only travel between major cities. Even in our City of Light, there haven¡¯t been many of them.¡± The Adventurer teams of the Adventurers¡¯ Association were categorized into five grades: Grade ¡®D¡¯, Grade ¡®C¡¯, Grade ¡®B¡¯, Grade ¡®A¡¯, and Grade ¡®S¡¯. The grade was determined by the strength of the Adventurer team. Usually, only teams with one Senior Adventurer and five Intermediate Adventurers would be evaluated as Grade ¡®D¡¯ by the Adventurers¡¯ Association. A Grade ¡®C¡¯ Adventurer team had to have five Senior Adventurers. An Adventurer team had to have two Master Adventurers who were Level 20 and above to be evaluated as Grade ¡®B¡¯ by the Adventurers¡¯ Association. They had the ability to travel between cities. There were less than 30 Master Adventurers who were Level 20 and above in the City of Light. There were even fewer of them who were willing to form their own Adventurer team for expeditions. As for a Grade ¡®A¡¯ team, there was not a single one in the entire City of Light. Even the hunting teams of the three major groups couldn¡¯t reach the level of a Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurer team. A Grade ¡®A¡¯ team was like a legend. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Chen Yuren nodded in satisfaction. ¡°And I can tell you another piece of news. The Adventurer team that brought them here was already a Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurer team a few years ago.¡± ¡°A Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurer team?¡± Chen Kemeng¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°How is that possible? If it was really a Grade ¡®A¡¯ team, doesn¡¯t that mean that Lu Jin and his family are from the City of Thousand Stars?¡± Chapter 23 - Sword Completion Chapter 23 Sword Completion In the secret room on the second floor of the basement, Chen Kemeng could not believe what she had just heard. Within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, there was only one city with a Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurer team ¨C the City of Thousand Stars. The City of Thousand Stars! It was a big city that had already had a population of tens of millions 200 years ago. As the mist appeared, the City of Thousand Stars was the first city to break the trade barrier between the major cities. At the same time, it was also the first city to have an Adventurers¡¯ Association. Currently, the dozen or so cities that the City of Light was familiar with, including the City of Light itself, had been imitating the City of Thousand Stars for hundreds of years. In fact, more than one-third of the resources in the major cities were obtained from trading with the merchants of the City of Thousand Stars. Even the lifespan of the residents of the City of Thousand Stars was much longer than that of the residents of other cities, and they could generally reach 60 years old. Moreover, it seemed like the lifespan of the residents there had been increasing over the past 100 years. In the eyes of the major cities, the City of Thousand Stars was the light of that caged world. It illuminated the surrounding major cities and gave them warmth and hope. It was the place of true hope in their hearts. It was hard to imagine that residents of the City of Thousand Stars would seek refuge in other cities. It had to be known that in the surrounding major cities, there were many people who wanted to live in the City of Thousand Stars. Every year, there were even many elites and executives of the City of Light who wanted to follow the merchant groups of the City of Thousand Stars. They wanted to live in the City of Thousand Stars, but they were all rejected by the merchant groups¡¯ leaders. The reason was very simple ¨C they didn¡¯t have the qualifications! If a resident of the City of Thousand Stars were to live in another city, the people of the major cities would definitely think that that was a joke. ¡°Your guess is right.¡± Chen Yuren drank the black tea in his hand and could not help but feel a little emotional. ¡°I was wondering why that lass from the Xia family had organized a team and insisted on heading to the City of Thousand Stars to fight for her life and death. Now, this Lu Jin has given me an answer.¡± The Fantasy Light Group seemed to be at the peak of its power currently, and Xia Qingyao was in control of the entire group. She could finally display her prowess. However, due to the long-term internal strife of the Fantasy Light Group, a large number of technicians had already gone to other groups, allowing the other groups to develop rapidly in the past few years. They had seized a lot of the Fantasy Light Group¡¯s market share in technological products, especially the market for B-model simulation equipment. Other groups in the City of Light had even snatched away the large clients of the Fantasy Light Group who were from other cities. That made the Fantasy Light Group, which had the advantage in simulation equipment, fall day by day. In less than half a year, they could lose the status of the three major groups in the City of Light and be replaced by other groups. It was also because of that that Xia Qingyao decided to risk lives with an expedition to the City of Thousand Stars! However, it wasn¡¯t easy to survive in the City of Thousand Stars. There were countless large families and large groups there. Compared to the three major groups, there were even more powerful groups and families. Even if Xia Qingyao went to do business, it would be useless without connections. However, if she had connections with someone from the City of Thousand Stars, that would be another matter. ¡°I was wondering why Xia Qingyao was so crazy. She actually dared to go to the City of Thousand Stars. It¡¯s clearly a journey of more than 300 kilometers, and she had to pass through several high-level Regional Dungeons along the way. The memory fragments and equipment that she would have to consume would probably deplete all of the Fantasy Light Group¡¯s accumulated resources. So that¡¯s what happened.¡± Chen Kemeng suddenly understood. The sacrifices that had to be made for the journey to the City of Thousand Stars was a huge burden to the three major groups of the City of Light, especially the loss of equipment. However, with Lu Jin¡¯s ability to turn ordinary monsters into Regional Bosses, the problem with the equipment would be solved. After that was the issue of trading in the City of Thousand Stars. Every year, there would be several waves of merchant groups coming to the City of Light from the City of Thousand Stars to purchase large amounts of salt. The City of Light was a salt-lake city, and the production of salt was astonishing. Therefore, salt was not worth much in the City of Light. However, it was different in the City of Thousand Stars. There was no salt production area near the City of Thousand Stars, and yet salt was an essential condiment. Therefore, the price of salt in the City of Thousand Stars was generally very high. It was so high that the price was more than 20 times that of the City of Light. The profits from that could no longer be described as extreme. It was simply easier than robbing. It was because of that that the major groups and families of the City of Light, and even the Adventurer teams, wanted to go to the City of Thousand Stars to do business. The resources of the City of Thousand Stars could not be compared to that of the City of Light. The computer chip of the extra-cerebral inferential device was already a splendid thing that the City of Light could not imagine, let alone the most advanced simulation equipment. Yet, such computer chips were not very rare in the City of Thousand Stars. It was just very inconvenient to transport them. It required specialized transport vehicles, and the amount that could be transported at once was not much. Therefore, the few merchant groups in the City of Thousand Stars generally did not sell the computer chips. They would only be willing to carry a small amount if their customer was willing to pay 10 times or more of the price. If the Fantasy Light Group could acquire some of those computer chips, they would be able to manufacture their own extra-cerebral inferential devices, which would allow the AR system¡¯s support abilities to rise to a level that ordinary people could not reach. The demand for that in the City of Light was not low. In the entire City of Light, only the executives of the three major groups and the elites of the hunting teams were equipped with extra-cerebral inferential devices. If the Fantasy Light Group could produce a batch of extra-cerebral inferential devices, they would have a huge advantage whether it was for their own group or when they were doing business with other large groups and cities in the future. ¡°Dad, do you mean that we should work with Lu Jin as soon as possible?¡± Chen Kemeng asked. Although they did not know why Lu Jin was so interested in the Sacred Grounds and was even willing to reveal the evolution method of monsters, if it was really as they had guessed, it would definitely be profitable to befriend Lu Jin, who had connections in the City of Thousand Stars. ¡°No! We¡¯ll wait!¡± Chen Yuren shook his head and laughed lightly. ¡°Firstly, we don¡¯t know what kind of person Lu Jin has a connection with in the City of Thousand Stars. Secondly, the Sacred Grounds are the foundation of our Sun and Moon Group. This move might be a backup plan of the Xia family. In the case that they were unable to trade in the City of Thousand Stars, if they owned our Sacred Grounds, even if it¡¯s only one-fifth, they can at least stabilize the current situation. So we¡¯ll wait. However, that method for evolving monsters is also very useful to us. We still have to rein him in.¡± ¡°Rein him in?¡± Chen Kemeng suddenly thought of something. ¡°Dad, do you want me to help him at the critical moment?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chen Yuren nodded and said with relief, ¡°For our Sun and Moon Group to be able to secure the position of one of the three major groups in the City of Light for 400 years, it¡¯s all thanks to the word ¡°stable¡±. If the families of the Fantasy Light Group knew about this, they would definitely take action at the Xia family¡¯s engagement banquet. After all, the Xia family¡¯s lass announced her marriage with the intention of seizing power!¡± ¡°Previously, because the Xia family had no one but Xia Qingyao, there were too many things to do and yet her trusted subordinates could not take over the core departments. However, if the Xia family¡¯s son-in-law took over the core departments openly, those influential families would not dare to have any objections. After all, previously, they used the lack of a Xia family member as an excuse and did not simply allow outsiders to manage the core departments. Now that the Xia family has someone who even has a close relationship with the Xia lass, it¡¯s impossible for them to be roped in for collaboration. Those influential families will definitely think of ways to target Lu Jin.¡± ¡°Those influential families are not easy to deal with. Even that Xia lass is having a headache over them, not to mention that Lu Jin. You can help him when he¡¯s struggling. Naturally, he¡¯ll be grateful and won¡¯t look for other groups to collaborate with.¡± ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± Chen Kemeng could already imagine Lu Jin¡¯s troubled look when he was dealing with those families. ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to attend Xia Qingyao¡¯s engagement banquet at first, but now I have to prepare well.¡± February 13th, 2455. In the morning, in Light Hotel: As one of the three major groups in the City of Light, the Fantasy Light Group booked the entire Light Hotel for CEO Xia Qingyao¡¯s engagement banquet and invited all the CEOs of the major groups and the leaders of the influential families to attend. Although it was still early in the morning, the entrance of Light Hotel was already crowded. Those who were famous in the City of Light and had received invitations could not help but rush over early. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that CEO Xia to marry a man. I wonder what that man looks like. Is he as tall as a gorilla?¡± ¡°Impossible! Do you know how scary that CEO Xia is? A gorilla can¡¯t resist that kind of terror. I¡¯m guessing it must be a middle-aged expert who¡¯s as strong as a bear and has experienced countless hardships in the wild!¡± ¡­ Many of the descendants of the families who had come to the hall to wait quietly could not help but be curious about the kind of man that the figure who was like a goddess of war would find. All of them began to discuss quietly. Meanwhile, in the presidential suite of Light Hotel, Lu Jin was standing quietly in the living room with the Sword of Lake Light in his hand. He was in his sports attire and his eyes were tightly shut. His body was drenched in sweat, but his breathing was getting slower and gentler. He felt inexplicably relaxed. Just as Lu Jin felt that his entire body was calm, his eyes suddenly opened and the Sword of Lake Light in his hand swung out. Sword Aurora! Instantly, five sword lights fused into one, causing a ripping sound in the air. ¡°I did it!¡± Chapter 24 - The Value of The Limit Chapter 24 The Value of The Limit Lu Jin¡¯s eyes were filled with excitement as he watched the faint light slowly dissipate in the air. Although it was only for a moment, after more than a day of training at Light Hotel, he really did it. He channeled the energy that was dissipating from the light pulses in his body onto the Sword of Lake Light! As he looked at the fading light, Lu Jin could not help but smile wryly. ¡°However, the energy channeled from the light pulses seems to be too weak. I¡¯m afraid that it won¡¯t be effective against the Shadowraze.¡± The energy from the light pulses in the Sacred Grounds was more than a hundred times stronger than the energy from the light pulses that he was slashing out now. Even under that kind of light-pulse energy, the Shadowraze, which was like a clone, could last for quite a long period of time. His little bit of light-pulse energy could barely scratch the surface¡­ However, Lu Jin was not dissatisfied with that. After all, he already had the power to face the Shadowraze. Compared to being completely powerless to resist them, he was much stronger. He then shifted his gaze to his stats bars. ID: Lu Jin AR System: Level 10 (Progress: 100%. 1,000 units of memory fragments required to level up once the progress has reached 100%.) Adventurer: Level 10 (O EXP needed to level up. To unlock Level 11, Level 11 AR System is required.) Strength: 67 (Rank ¡®S¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Agility: 61 (Rank ¡®S¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Endurance: 60 (Rank ¡®S¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Neural Reaction: 72 (Rank ¡®SS¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®SS¡¯.) ¡°I¡¯ve finally broken through.¡± Lu Jin looked at his stats and took a deep breath. He was starting to get excited. After more than a day of intense training, not only did he master the basic sword technique ¡®Sword Aurora¡¯, but he also managed to form a slash with his dissipating light-pulse energy. His innate talents, the Heart of Destruction and Myriad Wishes, had allowed a significant improvement in both his AR system and his basic stats. However, Lu Jin did not expect that after mastering the basic sword technique ¡®Sword Aurora¡¯, the progress of the AR system had finally reached 100%. Now, as long as he spent 1,000 units of memory fragments, the AR system would reach Level 11. From then on, he would be free to travel between cities. He could also officially join the Adventurers¡¯ Association and become a distinguished Junior Adventurer, and enjoy middle-class life in the city. Even so, Lu Jin had no intention of upgrading his AR system to Level 11. Compared to the AR system, Lu Jin was more concerned about his four basic stats. It could be said that there was a qualitative change when an Adventurer went from Level 10 to Level 11. That was not only because of the upgrade of the AR system¡¯s software data, but also because the four basic stats would be sublimated. In the situation where the original basic stats were retained, the four basic stats would all be restored to the initial value of the players and reach a new stage. For example, when a player first became an Adventurer, their body would have an initial value. The ranks of the four basic stats were usually between ¡®F¡¯ and ¡®E¡¯. The initial stats would increase with the player¡¯s continuous battle and training until the player reached Level 10. All stats would progress to a very high value. After a player had reached Level 11, the four basic stats that the player had raised by the time they reached Level 10 would be retained as the hidden basic stats of the player. The class of the Adventurer would be raised from Rookie to Soldier. Then, the four basic stats would be restored to their initial value and the player would have to raise his stats from scratch. If an Adventurer wanted to go further in the future and have stronger stats at the equivalent class, they would usually think of ways to raise their four basic stats to the theoretical limit. That limit was the evaluation of the potential of the player. Although his basic stats had reached the corresponding rank due to his continuous practice of sword technique, Lu Jin knew very well that they had yet to reach the theoretical limit. The maximum score of Rank ¡®S¡¯ was 69, but generally speaking, it was impossible to achieve. For example, many people¡¯s potential value was Rank ¡®A¡¯, which maximum score was 59, but after reaching a score of 55, they would not be able to progress further. However, it was obvious that he was still quite far from those values, especially his Agility, Endurance and Neural Reaction. If he was anxious to upgrade his AR system to Level 11, it would only forcibly raise his Adventurer level from Level 10 to Level 11. Then, his class would be changed to Soldier, and all his basic stats would be restored to their initial value. He would no longer have the chance to squeeze out his maximum potential. ¡°Now that my progress has reached 100%, there¡¯s no need for me to rush to break through. I should spend some time raising my basic stats to the maximum.¡± Lu Jin was very satisfied as he looked at his four basic stats. With his basic stats, he was no longer inferior to a player who had just become a Junior Adventurer. Those were values that he had never seen 400 years ago. If he had such values 400 years ago, he would probably be able to beat himself. Just as Lu Jin was about to continue practicing his sword technique, there was a series of hurried knocks on the door of the suite. When he opened the door, he saw Lu Shixue, who was dressed in a light blue sleeveless evening gown with her hair tied up in a bun. She looked like a noble fairy, but her eyes were fixed on Lu Jin with resentment. ¡°Brother! Do you know what time it is now?¡± Lu Shixue shouted angrily. ¡°Isn¡¯t it only 2pm?¡± Lu Jin looked at the time displayed in the corner of his eyes and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it mentioned that the engagement banquet would officially start at 5pm? It should still be early now.¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re simply¡­ an idiot!¡± Lu Shixue looked at the confused Lu Jin and was speechless. ¡°You¡¯re the main character of the day. The guests have already arrived. Some of them even came early in the morning. You¡¯re good. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been doing alone in the room. Do you know that Sister Xia Qingyao and the rest are already here? Now everyone is curious why you, the male lead of the day, have not appeared. Those who don¡¯t know better would even think that you¡¯re getting married today!¡± ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll prepare now.¡± Lu Jin felt rather awkward when he heard that. That was the first time he had to deal with something like that. He had been so focused on honing his sword technique and directing the flow of his light-pulse energy that he had completely forgotten that he was the male lead of the banquet today. He had to meet those people downstairs at least. At that moment, a deep and calm voice came from outside the door. ¡°Mr Lu, you don¡¯t have to be anxious. This is because Miss intentionally didn¡¯t inform you in advance.¡± Qin Lianyue walked in slowly and explained unhurriedly, ¡°Miss thought that you might not be used to such a scene, so she wanted to reduce the time for you to deal with the guests as much as possible, especially since there might be some guests with ill intentions today, who might cause trouble for you. You just need to enter the venue with me on time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble Miss Qin then.¡± Lu Jin could not help but admire Xia Qingyao. She had even thought of a solution to the troubles and problems that he was possibly going to face. As Xia Qingyao¡¯s right-hand man, Qin Lianyue had an extremely high status in the Fantasy Light Group. As long as Qin Lianyue was by his side, the ordinary employees and descendants of the group wouldn¡¯t dare to trouble him. At the same time, she was also telling all the groups and families in the City of Light that he, the son-in-law of the Xia family, was highly valued. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble.¡± Qin Lianyue looked at Lu Jin and shook her head slightly. She said seriously, ¡°In the future, Mr Lu, no, CEO LU will be Miss¡¯s husband. This is what I should do.¡± He then went to the bathroom to wash up before entering the banquet hall under Qin Lianyue¡¯s lead just before 5pm. Just as Lu Jin appeared, all eyes in the banquet hall turned to him. They sized him up curiously, as if they wanted to see through him. In a corner of the venue: A tall and muscular young man who was almost two meters tall and less than 20 years old stared at Lu Jin coldly. ¡°Is he that Lu Jin?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s that Lu Jin.¡± The middle-aged man with a small mustache next to the young man nodded and said, ¡°His physical potential is extremely high. According to the news we received, this Young Master Lu seems to have a close relationship with Xia Qingyao. Moreover, he¡¯s extremely interested in this goddess of war, Xia Qingyao. The original plan to rope him in is not possible anymore. I reckon that Xia Qingyao will use this opportunity to announce to everyone today that Young Master Lu will be taking over the core logistics department of the group. I¡¯m afraid the rest is up to you.¡± That burly young man was the genius, Wang Zhonghu, who was chosen by the four families. He had broken through the Level 10 limit at a young age, and his physical potential was also very high. His Strength and Endurance were both at Rank ¡®A¡¯, and his Adventurer level had reached Level 14. His strength was close to that of an Intermediate Adventurer. He was the manager of the logistics department of the group and was in charge of the logistics of the hunting team. He was originally one of the candidates for Xia Qingyao¡¯s fianc¨¦. However, because of Lu Jin, all the candidates including Wang Zhonghu were eliminated. Wang Zhonghu was indignant about that, but since the four major families wanted to win Lu Jin over, they did not let him cause trouble. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Wang Zhonghu grinned. ¡°He won¡¯t have the face to take over the logistics department of the group. Today, I will show him the wrath of the world!¡± Chapter 25 - Strong Shot Chapter 25 Strong Shot Light Hotel, banquet hall on the 50th floor: The hall was the size of a football field and was specially built. Even with AR glasses, one could still be immersed in the AR system¡¯s virtual reality. It was also the largest and most extravagant banquet hall of Light Hotel ¨C the Ocean Sky Pavilion. As people entered the hall, the scene in front of them would quickly turn into a beach, where it was truly at the end of the earth. The surrounding waves surged, the sea breeze blew, and the sky was clear for thousands of miles. The sun shone on the beach, giving one a warm feeling In the middle of the vast beach, there was a bright red soft velvet carpet, and banquet tables were set up on both sides of it. The tables were filled with exquisite cuisines. Those cuisines were different from ordinary cuisines. They were completely a combination of reality and virtuality. Not only did they have the delicacy of real food, but they could also increase the player¡¯s growth for a whole day. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to afford such a dish even if they saved a year¡¯s worth of money. That was because such a dish had to be cooked by a Master Chef who was Level 20 or above. At the same time, it also required a lot of Rare-type ingredients to be completed. However, now there were more than 30 banquet tables filled with such high-class cuisines. The spread of fruits were also very special. They were all Sacred Fruits that could not be found in the outside world. It could be said that the cost of such a banquet was enough to bankrupt some medium-sized companies in the City of Light. Even if it was an ordinary large group, they would not be able to recover for an entire year. It was an utter display of the financial resources of the Fantasy Light Group, which was one of the three major groups in the City of Light. That made many of the well-known people and CEOs of the City of Light who had been invited click their tongues. ¡°Prodigal! What a prodigal!¡± ¡°She actually spent a year¡¯s worth of our group¡¯s profits on just a banquet. How perverse!¡± ¡°Is this the prowess of the Fantasy Light Group?¡± However, while some people in the banquet hall were quietly discussing the banquet, more of them were focused on Lu Jin, who had just entered. At that moment, Lu Jin was dressed in a silver-gray suit. Due to his frequent exercise, he had a strong physique, like a cheetah. Coupled with his handsome and sunny face, many young ladies from the influential families swooned over him. ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that he¡¯s actually so handsome. I heard that he has great physical potential. Even if he didn¡¯t find Xia Qingyao, he could totally marry a virtuous lady from an influential family and slowly blossom.¡± ¡°Lu Jin¡¯s AR level is only Level 10. He hasn¡¯t even broken through Level 10 at this age. I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll be difficult for him to break through Level 10 in the future. He must have surrendered to Xia Qingyao¡¯s power and wealth and agreed to become her fianc¨¦. Otherwise, who would find such a terrifying woman?¡± ¡°Shh, lower your voice. That Xia Qingyao¡¯s AR level has already reached Level 25. After activating, her five-senses perception can even hear the rustling of leaves 50 meters away clearly. Although there are many people here, if you are heard, you are all dead. Also, didn¡¯t you see Qin Lianyue beside Lu Jin?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. She actually let Qin Lianyue follow by his side. That Xia Qingyao really values this fianc¨¦.¡± ¡°How can she not? After all, where can she find such a convenient fianc¨¦?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. After this, the Xia family might really rise up. That Lu Jin¡¯s physical potential is one of the highest in all these years in the City of Light, and Xia Qingyao is like a monster. Their child will definitely have extraordinary potential.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t think the four major families of the Fantasy Light Group will let go of power so easily right?¡± ¡°Then do you think Xia Qingyao will just leave it alone? That¡¯s the logistics department that¡¯s in charge of the security of the resources of the entire Fantasy Light Group. There¡¯s a lot of profit involved and it might even be tied closely to the hunting team. In the past, Xia Qingyao didn¡¯t have the chance or time. Now, I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t be soft-hearted.¡± Everyone looked at Lu Jin, who was walking along the red carpet not far away. They could not help but whisper amongst themselves. Everyone present was a well-known figure in the City of Light and every one of them was an influential figure beyond the city. No one present cared about the kind of person Lu Jin was, but Lu Jin himself was an existence that broke the balance of the Fantasy Light Group. He created waves in the group that was stagnant. As one of the three largest groups in the City of Light, the changes in the Fantasy Light Group would cause a change in the entire city. That was also the reason why the CEOs of those large groups and the leaders of the influential families wasted their precious time and came here early, staying for an entire day. That was because that day¡¯s banquet was very likely to be the start of the Fantasy Light Group¡¯s huge transformation! Just as Lu Jin walked along the soft red carpet all the way to the center of the hall, Xia Qingyao, who was wearing a deep red, luxurious evening gown with her long black hair scattered around her waist, walked up slowly. Her gaze was completely devoid of worldly aura. She naturally held Lu Jin¡¯s arm and led Lu Jin to the podium in the hall with a smile. Lu Jin froze. He did not expect Xia Qingyao, who could make everyone around her feel pressured with just her presence, to have such a gentle side. Even Lu Jin, who had seen many beautiful women, could not help but sink into it. All of a sudden, Lu Jin felt that coming to that world was not as bad as he had imagined. Otherwise, could he be in that situation now? Unknowingly, Lu Jin and Xia Qingyao arrived at the podium with everyone watching. ¡°Thank you all for attending my engagement banquet with Lu Jin today.¡± XIa Qingyao, who was holding onto Lu Jin¡¯s arm with a blissful smile on her fair and flawless face, announced, ¡°From today onwards, Lu Jin will be the Senior Deputy CEO of our Fantasy Light Group. He will officially become the General Manager of the logistics department of our Fantasy Light Group and will be in charge of all the matters in the logistics department!¡± As Xia Qingyao spoke, everyone fell silent. ¡°Are they actually going to mess up the logistics department?¡± ¡°This woman is really scary. Her words are obviously so cruel, but she¡¯s still smiling. Luckily, my family didn¡¯t ask me to sign up for the selection¡­¡± Everyone had already guessed that Xia Qingyao wanted to take back the power of the logistics department. However, when they actually heard her say that, they still couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. Those words seemed calm, but behind them was a declaration of war ¨C a declaration of war against the four major families of the Fantasy Light Group! The reason why the four major families of the Fantasy Light Group had their current status was largely because they controlled the logistics department of the group. Many groups and influential families in the City of Light could only sell their resources and items to the logistics department at a high price by sending benefits to those four major families. At the same time, many groups and influential families in the City of Light purchased materials and resources that they could not otherwise obtain from the logistics department of the Fantasy Light Group. Due to that, the status of the four major families in the logistics department far exceeded that of the other influential families in the City of Light. Sometimes, even the hunting teams of the Fantasy Light Group had to be attuned to the attitudes of those four families. If they were not careful, they would lose their supplies or experience deliberate delays, and their tasks would not be done well. It wasn¡¯t that Xia Qingyao had not thought of dealing with that matter before. The four major families were deeply rooted in the logistics department. The managers of many departments were from the four major families and there was no lack of trusted aides in the foundation. If they got rid of them, or if the four major families quit, the logistics department that had close to 10,000 people would be scrapped. If that was the case, the Fantasy Light Group, which was in a dynamic equilibrium, would be paralyzed in an instant and would be dissolved by other groups and families in a matter of minutes. Therefore, both sides had always stayed in their own lane and minded their own business. But that day, Xia Qingyao made her move! After Xia Qingyao finished her announcement, a middle-aged man with a small mustache stood up. He looked at Xia Qingyao on the podium and laughed. ¡°CEO Xia, your actions are disregarding the thoughts of the employees of the logistics department. As the Chairman of the company, I object!¡± Chapter 26 - Level Hierarchy Chapter 26 Level Hierarchy ¡°Meng Junjie is here.¡± ¡°It would be strange if he didn¡¯t come. He¡¯s the representative of the four major families and also a member of the board of directors of the Fantasy Light Group. He has a strong relationship with most of the board members, and the only one who is qualified to challenge the leader, Xia Qingyao!¡± No one was surprised when they saw the mustached middle-aged man. It was highly likely that Xia Qingyao could announce to the public that the logistics department of the group would be taken over, during the banquet. It was not impossible to catch the four major families off guard. After all, Xia Qingyao was the CEO of the group. Once she made such a statement to the public and no one stood up to object immediately, the board of directors would consider the group¡¯s reputation and influence and could only grit their teeth and agree to that matter. Xia Qingyao, who was smiling on the stage, exchanged looks with Meng Junjie. Instantly, everyone present became nervous. Although Xia Qingyao only took a glance, her cold gaze made everyone feel a chill ¨C a bone-piercing chill that could make one tremble uncontrollably. The AR system would be upgraded as the player¡¯s level increased. It would enhance the player¡¯s five senses, which would allow them to be more sensitive to things that they originally could not detect. After breaking through Level 10, one could vaguely sense if someone had an intention to kill, or rather, a sense of danger. The sharper one¡¯s five senses were, the stronger their ability to sense danger. Ordinary people didn¡¯t think much of Xia Qingyao. From her appearance, she was simply a peerless beauty. However, someone who had surpassed Level 10 in the AR system would have five senses sharp enough to clearly understand the difference between the two parties and how terrifying the other party was. She was essentially a beast in the form of a human! ¡°Such terrifying power! Is this what a person with a Level 25 AR system is like?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that in the entire Fantasy Light Group, only Meng Junjie and the aggressive Jiang Haoyuan are able to remain calm in the face of such power.¡± ¡°Meng Junjie didn¡¯t even care about such a terrifying threat. It seems like he has improved again in the past two years. His AR level should have reached Level 23. No wonder he was so confident in facing Xia Qingyao.¡± The CEOs and family leaders in the audience looked at Meng Junjie in surprise. The emergence of Fantasy World was not just a game for humans. It was also a tool for humans to constantly improve themselves. As the players continued to improve and break through their limits, they would be able to improve from quantity to quality. The first threshold was Level 10 of the AR system, and the second threshold was Level 20 of the AR system. As long as one could successfully break through, it would not be an exaggeration to call them a new human being. However, after the AR level reached Level 21, every level upgrade was much harder than to break through Level 20. There were only three people in the entire City of Light who had reached Level 25. Other than Xia Qingyao, one of the other two was the current president of the City of Light¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ Association. The other was the old man from Daytime Group, who was the former CEO of the group. That old man was already 58 years old, and based on his age, he didn¡¯t have many years left to live. W That was also why many people in the City of Light believed that the Fantasy Light Group was in full swing in the city. ¡°What is Meng Junjie trying to say?¡± Looking at the unmoved Meng Junjie, Xia Qingyao¡¯s voice turned stern. ¡°As my legal husband, a member of the Xia family and the Senior Deputy CEO of the group, isn¡¯t it only right for Lu Jin to take over the position of the General Manager of the logistics department, that has been vacant for many years?¡± Xia Qingyao¡¯s voice became increasingly cold. Even the young girls who had been joking about Xia Qingyao from afar felt that the atmosphere had become more and more oppressive. Even breathing became difficult. ¡°This atmosphere! Is Xia Qingyao about to break through Level 26?¡± Chen Kemeng, who was sitting in a corner of the hall, looked at Xia Qingyao in disbelief. There was a huge divide between AR Level 25 and AR Level 26. In the history of the City of Light, less than 10 people had broken through that threshold. Every single one of them was someone whom the three major groups tried their best to curry favor with. That was because after reaching AR Level 26, one would be qualified to form a Grade ¡®S¡¯. Adventurer team and travel between cities. It was even possible to gain a foothold in the City of Thousand Stars! At that moment, even Meng Junjie felt the pressure. He couldn¡¯t help but stroke his beard to ease the pressure in his heart. He never expected Xia Qingyao to be stronger than before! lile ¡°CEO Xia, please don¡¯t misunderstand.¡± Meng Junjie added a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not against CEO LU becoming the General Manager of the logistics department. I¡¯m afraid that all the employees in the logistics department will be dissatisfied and resentful if CEO Lu becomes the General Manager of the department. After all, CEO Lu¡¯s AR level is only at Level 10 now, and CEO Xia should be very clear about the employees in the logistics department. All of them are people who have broken through Level 10. They usually fight in the wild and collect all kinds of materials. The promotion of positions is all based on personal merits and strength.¡± ¡°Even when the old CEO was around, that position in the Xia family¡¯s logistics department also depended on merits and strength. It¡¯s really hard to convince everyone to let CEO Lu directly become the General Manager of the logistics department.¡± ¡°What I mean is to let CEO Lu start from the basic level to train the newcomers. This way, he can get used to the work in the logistics department. When he breaks through the Level 10 limit and has enough merits and strength, it won¡¯t be too late to take over the logistics department.¡± Meng Junjie¡¯s words impressed all the CEOs and family leaders. Although Xia Qingyao was very powerful, she couldn¡¯t ignore her employees. After all, level hierarchy was highly regarded by the entire world, let alone the group. Level hierarchy was the rule of the world. Even the previous CEO had done things that way. If Xia Qingyao¡¯s generation objected to it, the employees of the logistics department would be disappointed. In the short term, there might not be any visible impact, but as time passed, those employees would slowly leave. After all, all the major groups needed talents in the logistics field. Newcomers were people who had yet to break through Level 10. Lu Jin, who had yet to break through Level 10, was the most suitable person to manage them. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± At that moment, Wang Zhonghu, who was almost two meters tall and looked like a giant, suddenly walked up. He stared fixedly at Lu Jin, who was standing beside Xia Qingyao, and smiled disdainfully. The logistics department of the group has always valued strength. I worked hard as a newcomer all the way to become a manager now. If CEO Xia really wants CEO Lu to directly become the General Manager of the logistics department, please let CEO Lu defeat me first. If CEO Lu can¡¯t even defeat me, a manager, what right does he have to become the General Manager?¡± Wang Zhonghu¡¯s words made many high-ranking employees of the Fantasy Light Group nod in agreement. Although Lu Jin was the son-in-law of the Xia family, the Xia family still had to be fair. Even if Lu Jin was no match for Wang Zhonghu, he should at least have broken through the Level 10 limit. Otherwise, who would be convinced? Just as Xia Qingyao was about to speak, a deep voice suddenly echoed throughout the banquet hall. ¡°As long as I defeat you, I¡¯ll be qualified, right?¡± Chapter 27 - Sword Drawn Chapter 27 Sword Drawn As the deep voice echoed in the hall, everyone could not help but look in the direction of the voice. ¡°Lu Jin!¡± ¡°He actually intends to accept Wang Zhonghu¡¯s challenge?¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes widened as they looked at the handsome young man standing beside Xia Qingyao on the podium. The current situation could be said to be a confrontation between Xia Qingyao and the four major families. In everyone¡¯s eyes, Lu Jin was merely an opportunity for Xia Qingyao to regain control the logistics department. Even though Xia Qingyao valued Lu Jin highly, he was still just a commoner living in the suburbs. All he could do was watch from the side. He could not possibly interfere in such a battle. Wang Zhonghu¡¯s words were only meant for Xia Qingyao. The bottom line that the four major families could currently accept was that Xia Qingyao could only take over the training of newcomers in the logistics department. If she wanted to take over more, then she shouldn¡¯t blame the four major families for putting up a fight. In the end, Lu Jin, that blockhead, actually took those words to be Wang Zhonghu¡¯s provocation and even wanted to fight him¡­ ¡°Is he crazy?¡± Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who had a calm expression on the stage. She covered her forehead with her hand as she felt a headache. She had originally come to do Lu Jin and Xia Qingyao a favor at the critical moment. After all, with the Chen family¡¯s help, the four major families would have no choice but to compromise. Now, Lu Jin actually accepted Wang Zhonghu¡¯s challenge like a madman, as though his pride as a man had been provoked. It was impossible for her to save him even if she wanted to¡­ The people present were all influential figures in the City of Light. It could be said that they represented the entire city. Since Lu Jin had already spoken, it was impossible for him to retreat. If someone were to stand up for him now, be it her or Xia Qingyao, everyone would look down on Lu Jin and he would become the laughing stock of the entire City of Light. ¡°Brother! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Lu Shixue glared at Lu Jin, who had taken the initiative to step forward, and jumped in anxiety. Although she knew that Lu Jin was extraordinary and was definitely an expert in Level 10, there was a definite gap between Level 10 and the levels above. It was impossible to cross it easily. However, Lu Shixue was unaware that Lu Jin had chosen to step forward not because of his pride. It was because he was a swordsman. Furthermore, he was once a swordsman who had reached AR Level 27. That swordsman¡¯s courage had increased, and he could only advance and not retreat. He could not be humiliated. Since Wang Zhonghu wanted to fight, then they should fight! On the other hand, it was to respond to Xia Qingyao. Based on her arrangements, Xia Qingyao didn¡¯t want her husband to be looked down upon. Qin Lianyue, who was standing below the stage, also had a slight change in her expression as she looked on. She couldn¡¯t help but look at Xia Qingyao hurriedly as though she was asking Xia Qingyao if she should step forward. ¡°Miss?¡± Initially, Xia Qingyao¡¯s plan was to put pressure on the four major families. At the same time, she also thought of how the four major families would use the fact that Lu Jin¡¯s AR level had not broken through Level 10 as an excuse to retain the power of the families. Hence, she would step forward and take over the logistics department under the guise of assisting Lu Jin. With her strength at AR Level 21, apart from the board members of the four major families, she would be able to dominate everyone else in the logistics department. Of course, the four major families wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. However, if they just took over the logistics department of the hunting teams, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems. The logistics department of the hunting teams had always been managed by the Xia family. That had always been the case for the major groups. Previously, the Xia family had no choice but to let the four major families manage it. If the four major families still refused to let go, their intention to rebel would be clear. Xia Qingyao would be able to start getting rid of the four major families justifiably and the other directors on the board would not stop her. The outcome of both sides¡¯ suffering was not what the board of directors wanted to see, especially since Xia Qingyao¡¯s AR level had reached Level 25 and she was very likely to break through to Level 26 in the future. Even if the Fantasy Light Group would withdraw from the position of one of the three major groups in the City of Light now, they would still be able to enjoy such glory in the future. It was only that they would not be directors on the board then. Qin Lianyue¡¯s worried gaze did not gain much attention from Xia Qingyao. Instead, a rare smile appeared at the corner of Xia Qingyao¡¯s lips, as if she had suddenly realized that Lu Jin, her fianc¨¦, was also a man. TIE Before Xia Qingyao could respond, Wang Zhonghu, who seemed to have discovered an opportunity, looked directly at her and sneered. ¡°CEO Xia, it¡¯s rare that CEO Lu wants to prove himself. CEO Xia won¡¯t stop it right? Since I¡¯ve already broken through Level 10, this battle would be unfair to Lu Jin. Hence, I won¡¯t use any weapons in this battle.¡± Meng Junjie nodded in satisfaction as he thought that Wang Zhonghu had done a good job. If Xia Qingyao were to stop him now, Lu Jin would be looked down upon by everyone in the City of Light. Even if he managed to break through the Level 10 limit in the future, it would be very embarrassing for him to be of much use. The group still valued their pride. ¡°Lu Jin is my lawful husband, so his words naturally represent mine as well.¡± Xia Qingyao pulled Lu Jin over and looked at Wang Zhonghu with a blissful smile. ¡°But if Lu Jin really defeats you, then no one in the logistics department will object to Lu Jin being the General Manager anymore, right?¡± Xia Qingyao¡¯s words made Wang Zhonghu look at Meng Junjie. Although Wang Zhonghu was confident that he could easily defeat Lu Jin without using a weapon, he could not represent the four major families. ¡°Of course!¡± Meng Junjie smiled and said without hesitation, ¡°If CEO Lu really defeated Wang Zhonghu, I don¡¯t think the entire logistics department will have any objections.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin then. Everyone from the City of Light is here as well. We can use this as entertainment for the engagement banquet.¡± Xia Qingyao snapped her fingers. In that instant, the scene in the banquet hall changed. In the blink of an eye, everyone was standing in an ancient arena. The podium had also become a battle stage. After everything was done, Xia Qingyao walked off the stage without asking Lu Jin anything. It was as if she had a tacit understanding with Lu Jin. She sat at the side and watched the battle quietly. ¡°Miss, the risk of you doing this is a little too high,¡± whispered Qin Lianyue, who was standing at the side. ¡°Although Young Master Lu has mastered a skill, Wang Zhonghu is not easy to deal with. Even if Wang Zhonghu does not use any weapons, his basic stats are not something that Young Master Lu can compare to.¡± The weapons in Fantasy World were purely to increase the players¡¯ Attack. If the player missed, there was no threat at all. ¡°Of course I know.¡± Xia Qingyao looked at the two parties who were already standing on the battle stage and could not help but laugh. ¡°But I don¡¯t think Lu Jin will lose. Lianyue, you might find it strange but when I stood beside Lu Jin, I actually felt a little threatened.¡± ¡°Miss, you? Threatened?¡± Qin Lianyue was stunned when she heard that. With an AR level of 25 and an Adventurer level of 30, she could already compare to a team leader of a Grade ¡®A¡¯ Adventurer team. In the entire City of Light, the only people who could pose a threat to Miss were the other two people who had reached AR Level 25. On the battle stage, Lu Jin and Wang Zhonghu exchanged glances. ¡°CEO Lu, since you¡¯ve agreed to my challenge, I won¡¯t hold back!¡± Wang Zhonghu looked at Lu Jin and swapped in his superior Rare equipment. In an instant, he turned into a steel giant in dark blue armor. His entire body was covered in steel. Even if one had weapons, they would feel helpless. Immediately, Wang Zhonghu leaped up and arrived in front of Lu Jin. He punched Lu Jin¡¯s face without any intention to dodge or defend any attack from Lu Jin. His AR level was 13 and Adventurer level was 14. Among the four basic stats, his Agility, Endurance, and Neural Reaction had reached Rank ¡®E¡¯, and his Strength had reached 19, which was close to Rank ¡®D¡¯. He was an expert among the Junior Adventurers and close to being an Intermediate Adventurer. There was no need for him to dodge or defend against someone who had yet to break through AR Level 10. He could finish them off with a few punches. Meng Junjie couldn¡¯t help but shake his head as he watched. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhonghu didn¡¯t spare Lu Jin at all and directly used his strength to attack him. Just as Wang Zhonghu¡¯s punch was about to land on Lu Jin, Lu Jin whipped out the Sword of Lake Light Sword Aurora! The five blades of sword-light struck Wang Zhonghu¡¯s fist one after another. The power of the sword-lights grew stronger and stronger. When the fifth sword-light landed on Wang Zhonghu¡¯s fist, he had to take three steps back before he could stabilize himself. Then, Wang Zhonghu¡¯s electronic body immediately disintegrated, and the fist that he swung out trembled uncontrollably. It was obvious that he was badly injured. ¡°You were right. There¡¯s no need for you to hold back!¡± Lu Jin took a glance at Wang Zhonghu on the stage before he put away the Sword of Lake Light and walked off the stage. Chapter 28 - Level 10? Chapter 28 Level 10? ¡°Defeated?¡± ¡°Wang Zhonghu, whose AR level was 13, was defeated?¡± ¡°Can somebody tell me what just happened!!!¡± As Lu Jin slowly walked down the stage, everyone¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. As for Meng Junjie, who was watching from below the stage, he nearly tore off his mustache¡­ The battle between Lu Jin and Wang Zhonghu had only one exchange from the beginning to the end. Could that be called a battle? Wasn¡¯t a battle supposed to be a spectacular show of offense and defense? A show where both sides fought back and forth as their electronic bodies wore down continuously? A show where the last person standing won by a hair? Moreover, shouldn¡¯t the person who ultimately won be Wang Zhonghu? After a brief moment of silence and shock, the entire banquet hall exploded into sound. ¡°Defeated in one move, could that Wang Zhonghu be acting?¡± ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. Wang Zhonghu is a direct descendant of the Wang family. There¡¯s no way he would betray the family.¡± ¡°Then tell me, how could an AR Level 13 and Adventurer Level 14 person who had superior Rare equipment be defeated by someone who hasn¡¯t even broken through Level 10?¡± ¡°It is indeed unexplainable. After breaking through AR Level 10, one¡¯s five senses will be enhanced. Even if both parties have the same basic stats, those who have broken through Level 10 will not lose. After all, after the five senses are upgraded, the ability to observe and the grasp of the attack range is not something that those who have not broken through Level 10 could compare with. They could completely treat those who have not broken through Level 10 as monkeys.¡± ¡°Could it be that Lu Jin¡¯s AR level isn¡¯t even at Level 10?¡± Everyone in the hall looked at Wang Zhonghu, who was still in a daze on the battle stage, and Lu Jin, who had already walked off the battle stage and was completely unconcerned. All of them felt disbelief and were unable to understand what had happened. Compared to Wang Zhonghu¡¯s defeat, which caused the major four families to lose the management rights of the logistics department, Lu Jin¡¯s unexplainable actions were even more shocking and difficult to accept. It could be said that it completely broke everyone¡¯s understanding of AR levels. One¡¯s AR level was almost a manifestation of their abilities. With every increase in AR level, not only would the AR system upgrade to become more suitable for the player, but it could also improve the player¡¯s five senses. Every 10 levels was a chasm, and the enhancement of the five senses would change from quantity to quality. That was especially so for Adventurers. If the increase in basic stats was akin to the methods of addition and subtraction, then the increase in AR level was akin to the methods of multiplication and division. ¡°According to Wang Zhonghu¡¯s data, his Strength and Endurance are both Rank ¡®A¡¯, and his Agility and Neural Reaction are both Rank ¡®B¡¯. Although he has not fully trained to the limit of 59 and 49, he has attained Rank ¡®E¡¯ after reaching Soldier Class. He should have completely surpassed Lu Jin, who was at Rank ¡®A¡¯ for Strength and Agility and Rank ¡®S¡¯ for Neural Reaction.¡± Chen Kemeng, who was watching from afar, looked at Lu Jin who was below the stage. Her beautiful eyes were filled with confusion. ¡°Could it be that he used a skill in that move just now?¡± However, Chen Kemeng quickly shook her head and rejected the idea. Compared to others, Chen Kemeng, who had personally witnessed the power of Absolute Nihility, knew very well that that sharp slash had cut through the virtual scene. However, Lu Jin¡¯s slashes just now did not have such a terrifying effect. The five consecutive strikes were indeed astonishing, but it was only a basic weapon technique. There were not many people who had mastered it, and the increase in power was very limited. It was impossible to unleash the powerful force that could repel Wang Zhonghu. Most importantly, Lu Jin¡¯s speed and reflexes were clearly not inferior to Wang Zhonghu¡¯s. ¡°Could it be that his AR level has actually surpassed Level 10?¡± Chen Kemeng could not resist that thought. That was the only possibility that Lu Jin could defeat Wang Zhonghu with one move. Lu Jin¡¯s physical potential was astounding. If he were to achieve a breakthrough after he trained to reach his limits, his basic stats would not be much inferior to Wang Zhonghu¡¯s. Coupled with the Magical Sword of Lake Light, it was indeed possible for him to defeat the defenseless Wang Zhonghu in one move. At the same time, many people at the scene thought of that possibility. They casted their gazes at Lu Jin as though they wanted to see him clearly. ¡°D*mn it! I forgot to bring a data-monitoring card today!¡± ¡°Does anyone have a data-monitoring card to sell me?¡± ¡°I have one here. It costs 500 units of memory fragments!¡± ¡°Get lost! A data-monitoring card is just the most ordinary tool. It¡¯s only sold for 5 units of memory fragments outside. Why don¡¯t you rob if you want 500 units!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t buy. I¡¯m selling it at 500 units regardless.¡± ¡°If that person doesn¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll buy it!¡± All of a sudden, the banquet turned into a data-monitoring card trade fair. Everyone wanted to check Lu Jin¡¯s current AR level. ¡°Brother, did you break through your AR level?¡± Lu Shixue asked curiously as she watched Lu Jin walk down the stage. It was impossible to defeat Wang Zhonghu in one move even if one had a superior Magical weapon. After all, the AR system¡¯s Five-Senses Enhancement was not comparable to basic stats. ¡°Not yet.¡± Lu Jin shook his head. ¡°You defeated Wang Zhonghu without breaking through?¡± Lu Shixue¡¯s small mouth formed an ¡®O¡¯ and her eyes were filled with disbelief. ¡°Brother! Don¡¯t lie to me, I¡¯m your sister!¡± Even Qin Lianyue looked at Lu Jin in disbelief. She did not think that he was lying, but she also did not think that he was telling the truth. Was it really possible for someone who had yet to break through Level 10 to defeat Wang Zhonghu, who had broken through Level 10? Even with her extraordinary physical talent and terrifying combat talent, Miss Xia Qingyao could only fight Level 11 Junior Adventurers with her Magical weapons when she was Level 10. Victory? That did not happen at all. At that time, just the fact that they could fight to a draw had already shocked the elderly leader of the family. Lu Jin was a person who lived in the suburbs and had never received any training since he was young. How could he be compared to a young lady who had received elite education from a young age, had numerous combat masters teaching her every day, and had a large number of suitable monsters to train with? ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡± Lu Jin could not help but laugh at Lu Shixue¡¯s persistence. ¡°A PK between players is not a PK between levels. Basic stats, weapons, combat skills, skill tools, the five senses and the usage of the five senses will affect the outcome of a battle.¡± ¡°Of course I know that.¡± Lu Shixue rolled her eyes at Lu Jin and snapped, ¡°But brother, your basic stats and your five senses are far behind Wang Zhonghu¡¯s. Even if your weapon could break through his defense, it¡¯s impossible for you to defeat him in one move with the difference in your basic stats!¡± ¡°Who said that my basic stats are worse than his?¡± Lu Jin chuckled. ¡°Not worse than his?¡± Lu Shixue looked at Lu Jin with a strange expression. ¡°But I heard from others that Wang Zhonghu has already reached Rank ¡®E¡¯ in the Soldier Class, and he¡¯s already an expert among the Junior Adventurers.¡± Not only was Lu Shixue curious, even Qin Lianyue wanted to take two steps forward to listen. ¡°Lianyue!¡± Xia Qingyao suddenly glanced at Qin Lianyue. Xia Qingyao¡¯s words made Qin Lianyue realize that she had crossed the line. After all, everyone had their own secrets. She immediately retreated to the side. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lu Jin¡¯s heart warmed at Xia Qingyao¡¯s actions. He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a secret, and I don¡¯t intend to keep it a secret. Some high-level tools can even detect it. You¡¯ll understand once you see it.¡± Lu Jin then sent his four basic stats to Lu Shixue, Qin Lianyue and Xia Qingyao. Chapter 29 - Monster Stats Chapter 29 Monster Stats In Fantasy World, the players¡¯ AR level, the players¡¯ various class levels, the players¡¯ four basic stats, and even the players¡¯ greatest physical potential and skills could be scanned with some tools. Unless the players had special equipment or items that could prevent the scanning, the players¡¯ data was not a secret. As Lu Jin sent his four basic stats to the three of them, they fell silent. Lu Shixue looked at Lu Jin as though she was looking at a monster. Strength: 67 Agility: 61 Endurance: 60 Neural Reaction: 72 His Strength, Agility and Endurance had all reached Rank ¡®S¡¯. His Neural Reaction had even reached Rank ¡®SS¡¯, which was unheard of. Those basic stats were simply heaven-defying. Moreover, it seemed that his Agility, Endurance and Neural Reaction could be further improved. His Agility and Endurance had the potential to reach 65, while his Neural Reaction had the potential to reach 75. It should be known that normally, when players entered Soldier Class, their basic stats would be Rank ¡®F¡¯, with their stats ranging from six to nine. Those with exceptional talent would be able to reach Rank ¡®E¡¯ at the start, and their stats would only range from 11 to 13. Normal players would only break through to Soldier Class when they reached Rank ¡®B¡¯, and Rank ¡®B¡¯ stats would usually be around 45. With Rank ¡®F¡¯ stats added on, the basic stats of one in the Soldier Class would not exceed 55. That was right, the average player¡¯s stats would not exceed 55! Even for a few gifted people like Wang Zhonghu, some of their stats, like Strength and Agility, could break through to Rank ¡®A¡¯. After reaching Rank ¡®E¡¯ as a Soldier, their stats would be around 70. However, Lu Jin¡¯s Neural Reaction was currently already 72. ¡°No wonder Wang Zhonghu was unable to block that move. Wang Zhonghu¡¯s loss is not unjustified given these basic stats.¡± Qin Lianyue could not help but look at Wang Zhonghu, who was on the battle stage, with some sympathy. In a situation where the basic stats of both parties were similar, Wang Zhonghu was definitely stronger as his five senses were better. But in a head-on clash, Lu Jin, who had a superior Magical weapon, was simply overpowering Moreover, Wang Zhonghu¡¯s advantage in Adventurer level had become meaningless in that situation. The upgrade of the Adventurer¡¯s level was mainly targeted at the monsters in Fantasy World. One could suppress the monsters¡¯ level and could cause more damage, or one could be suppressed by the monsters¡¯ level and could be dealt more damage by the monsters while they dealt less damage to the monsters at the same time. The greatest advantage of an Adventurer¡¯s level to a player in a PK was that the upper limit of their Health Points was higher and that they could withstand more damage. However, under the continuous attacks of a superior Magical weapon, without any weapon to defend or buffer, it was impossible to block them with just the defense of the equipment itself. That was like the reality for those two people. Their physical fitness was about the same. One held a weapon while the other had no weapon. The outcome of a head-on clash was obvious. Previously, Wang Zhonghu wanted to leverage on his basic stats to clash head-on with Lu Jin. Although Lu Jin would have been able to injure Wang Zhonghu, he could have easily defeated Lu Jin when there was a significant disparity between their Strengths. Moreover, he could also have inflicted considerable damage to Lu Jin and could have finished him off in one go. Wang Zhonghu¡¯s idea was not wrong, but it was a pity that Wang Zhonghu did not expect Lu Jin to be a monster in terms of stats. Even without having broken through AR Level 10, his basic stats were already comparable to a Rank ¡®E¡¯ Soldier¡­ At that moment, Qin Lianyue was not the only one who sympathized with Wang Zhonghu. The people in the banquet hall who had scanned Lu Jin using the data monitoring card also sympathized with Wang Zhonghu. ¡°Monster!¡± ¡°This Lu Jin is a monster!¡± ¡°Three stats in Rank ¡®S¡¯ and one in Rank ¡®SS¡¯. What is going on? Didn¡¯t the Adventurers¡¯ Association test data show that Neural Reaction could only reach Rank ¡®s¡¯? Could it be a mistake?¡± ¡°It must have been a mistake, or the Xia family must have hidden it on purpose. This body data is probably the best body data in the history of the City of Light. Just based on this physical potential, who in all the groups and families in the entire City of Light would miss it? I would even be willing to provide for him daily!¡± Everyone gasped when they looked at Lu Jin¡¯s basic stats. In the City of Light, one was considered gifted when one of their four basic stats had reached Rank ¡®A¡¯. Anyone who could reach Rank ¡®S¡¯ for any of their basic stats would be the cream of the crop, and their talent could be ranked among the top few among the younger generation of the city. Basic stats of which three were ¡®S¡¯-ranked and one was ¡®SS¡¯-ranked, which was a rank that no one had ever heard of, was simply unheard of. ¡°The Xia family has really struck it rich this time. With such physical potential, they¡¯re practically invincible among their peers.¡± ¡°This is not just invincibility on the same level. With such physical potential, he can definitely fight across levels. Looks like it won¡¯t be long before the Xia family can produce another top-notch Adventurer who is comparable to AR Level 21¡­¡± ¡°No, no, no! That¡¯s not Lu Jin¡¯s true strength. If his children inherited part of his physical potential, this family would probably become the strongest family in the City of Light in less than 20 years!¡± All the leaders of families at the scene looked at Lu Jin with fiery eyes. What was lacking in that world for the major families? Talent! To be precise, it was talent within the family! If the children of any family in the City of Light had the potential to reach Rank ¡®A¡¯, they would devote all their efforts to nurturing those children. They did not hope to break through AR Level 20 in the future because it was too difficult. There were less than 30 top-notch experts like those in the entire City of Light. When those who were reclusive and who hid in the shadows were added, there would definitely not be more than 50 people. One had to know that there were more than six million people in the entire City of Light. However, there were less than 50 people who had broken through AR Level 20. On average, it was not even enough for a large group, let alone the major families in the city. Therefore, the major families did not place their hopes on that. Instead, they placed their hopes on reaching AR Level 20. Usually, they only needed to break through AR Level 10. Then, they had to slowly work through it. After a few decades, they would be able to reach AR Level 20. That way, with the potential to achieve Rank ¡®A¡¯, it would be enough to dominate in AR Level 20. Currently, all the influential families were judged based on that. Generally, a family that was considered an influential family in the City of Light had at least two Rank ¡®A¡¯ Senior Adventurers who were at AR Level 20. However, it was too difficult for a family to give birth to a child with Rank ¡®A¡¯ aptitude, let alone one who had Rank ¡®S¡¯ aptitude. Lu Jin¡¯s physical potential was heaven-defying. Even if his children could only inherit a small portion of his potential, they could easily reach Rank ¡®A¡¯ aptitude. If they were lucky, they could even reach Rank ¡®s¡¯ aptitude. With so many family geniuses, why would they need to worry about their family not flourishing in the City of Light? After the battle between Lu Jin and Wang Zhonghu ended, Xia Qingyao officially announced to everyone that Lu Jin would be the General Manager of the Fantasy Light Group¡¯s logistics department. However, considering that Lu Jin wasn¡¯t familiar with the logistics department yet, Qin Lianyue would be the Deputy General Manager of the logistics department temporarily. No one, including Meng Junjie, was surprised by Xia Qingyao¡¯s announcement. Although Lu Jin was the Xia family¡¯s son-in-law and was already considered a part of the Xia family now, he was still someone who had not broken through AR Level 10. Even if he was the General Manager, no one in the logistics department would be convinced by him. Furthermore, Lu Jin was not familiar with the Fantasy Light Group, so it would be even more difficult for him to manage the employees in the logistics department. That way, it was naturally best for Qin Lianyue, the right-hand man, to manage it. After all, Qin Lianyue was a top-notch Adventurer whose AR Level had broken through Level 20. For such a strong person who was not a member of the logistics department of the four major families, she would naturally be convincing and it would be much easier for her to manage. As the people at the engagement banquet dispersed, everything that happened at the banquet spread to the entire City of Light. For a moment, the entire city was in an uproar. They did not expect Xia Qingyao to successfully take over the entire logistics department. Lu Jin, who was her husband, was also extraordinary. The entire Fantasy Light Group would probably change in the future. ¡°Uncle Meng, I failed this time.¡± Wang Zhonghu looked at Meng Junjie, who was sitting quietly in the car, and said apologetically, ¡°Because of me, the four families lost control of the logistics department¡­¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault. Who would have thought that Lu Jin was hiding so well?¡± Meng Junjie, who was sitting in the back of the car, glanced at Wang Zhonghu and smiled nonchalantly. ¡°Although this outcome was not within my expectations, Xia Qingyao will soon realize that without the help of the four families, she won¡¯t be able to do anything even if she takes over the logistics department. When the time comes, she will return the management rights of the logistics department to us. As for what you should do next, you should be clear, right?¡± SLICS ¡°Understood!¡± Wang Zhonghu nodded as a cold smile appeared on his face. The logistics department was too big. It involved all sorts of matters. Even if Lu Jin and Qin Lianyue took over the logistics department, they would not be able to do anything. They would only be able to watch plainly. Time passed quickly. It was now seven days after the engagement banquet ended. In the City of Light, the Xia family¡¯s Daylight Residence: In an underground training room that was the size of a football field, Lu Jin, who was drenched in sweat, put away the sword in his hand. He watched as the Level 10 monster that had eaten the last remnants of the crystal residues during that day¡¯s training slowly dissipated. He let out a deep breath. ¡°The chances of a monster mutating are really low. I¡¯ve used up all the crystal residues, but there wasn¡¯t a single mutation.¡± Lu Jin looked at the Level 10 monster that had turned into ashes and felt slightly regretful. For seven consecutive days, ever since the engagement banquet ended, Lu Jin and Lu Shixue moved to the Xia family¡¯s Daylight Residence. As for the official wedding, because the Fantasy Light Group was facing too many problems now, they had to wait for a year. Xia Qingyao was very sorry about that, but Lu Jin felt that it was just right. That was because he had problems that he needed to solve too. If he couldn¡¯t solve them, he might not even live past a year¡­ In the Daylight Residence, Lu Jin understood what luxury and training meant. There was no need to go to the Bestial Battle Arena at all. The Daylight Residence of the Xia family had a large number of powerful Level 10 monsters that the hunting teams had captured from the wild. There were even Level 20 monsters. Thanks to Lu Jin, they had caught quite a number of Level 10 monsters recently. He could train however he wanted without worrying about his growth data being exposed. As for the simulation equipment, they were also upgraded to the B3 model. Compared to the A3 model simulation equipment, the feel and realism had increased by about 30%. They could unleash 100% of the effects of the superior Magical weapon, the Sword of Lake Light. After seven consecutive days of intense training, Lu Jin¡¯s basic stats had improved quite a bit. ¡°My basic stats haven¡¯t improved at all in the past two days. It seems that I¡¯ve reached my limit.¡± Lu Jin looked at his stats window. Currently, his Strength had reached 69, his Agility had reached 67, his Endurance had reached 65, and his Neural Reaction had reached 78. After two days of intense training and even honing his basic Sword Aurora, with the support of the Heart of Destruction, to the point where he could use it as he wished, his four basic stats still hadn¡¯t improved at all. The only possibility was that his physical potential had already reached the limit, so there could not be any more improvement. ¡°Since I can¡¯t advance any further, it¡¯s time to break through Level 10.¡± Chapter 30 - Level 10 Breakthrough Chapter 30 Level 10 Breakthrough In fact, Lu Jin could not wait to break through Level 10. In a situation where he did not know when the Shadowraze would appear, the light-pulse energy, which he could control, could not hurt the Shadowraze at all. According to Lu Jin¡¯s analysis, after the light-pulse energy was integrated into the AR system, the stronger the AR system, the stronger his control over the light-pulse energy would be. The breakthrough of Level 10 was a huge watershed. It could allow the AR system to undergo a qualitative change, which would definitely improve his control of the light-pulse energy greatly. However, when he considered the possibility of having better breakthroughs in the future, it would be best to develop his physical potential to the limit. That way, the AR system would be more well-suited for him, which would make it easier for him to level up his AR system in the future. Otherwise, the road ahead would only become more and more difficult. Hence, Lu Jin had been enduring and trying to find a way to fully develop his potential. In the lounge of the Daylight Residence, Lu Jin took a deep breath after he had had enough rest. Then, he sent 1,000 units of memory fragments into his system. System: Player¡¯s AR Level is already at 100%. System upgrade activated. Before the completion of the upgrade, please do not remove the AR device. As the system notification sounded, Lu Jin saw the upgrade progress bars appear one after another. Hundreds of progress bars appeared at once, which was even more exaggerated than when he used the Crystal of Awakening 1%¡­ 3%¡­ 9%¡­ Each of the progress bars slowly increased, and time passed quickly. After three hours of upgrading, the AR glasses¡¯ system indicator light finally lit up, which indicated that the system had been completely upgraded. Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but activate the AR system in excitement. The moment Lu Jin activated the AR system, he felt the warmth, like the warmth from the light-pulses, intensify. He did not even need to take a close look to see the light rays that were emitted from his body. Compared to before, the light rays were much clearer. Lu Jin casually performed his sword technique, Sword Aurora. Instantly, the light that emanated from his entire body, under the guidance of the Sword of Lake Light, transformed into a thread-like sword beam that streaked through the air. It only dissipated after a long while. ¡°It¡¯s just as I guessed. As long as the AR system is upgraded, my control over the light-pulse energy will become stronger.¡± Lu Jin looked at the dissipating light-pulse energy in the air and was extremely excited. Although the light-pulse energy that the sword brought out could not be compared to the masses of light-pulse energy from the Sacred Grounds, the light-pulse energy that was brought out now was more than 10 times stronger than before the breakthrough. Even if he couldn¡¯t defeat the Shadowraze with that energy, he could at least wound it. He then opened his data panel. ID: Lu Jin AR System: Level 11 (Progress: 0%. 3,000 units of memory fragments required to level up once the progress has reached 100%.) Adventurer: Level 11 (10,000 EXP needed to level up. To unlock Level 21, Level 21 AR System is required.) Adventurer Class: Soldier Strength: 12 (Rank ¡®E¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Agility: 9 (Rank ¡®F¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Endurance: 8 (Rank ¡®F¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®S¡¯.) Neural Reaction: 16 (Rank ¡®E¡¯, maximum potential detected is Rank ¡®SS¡¯.) Chef: Level 7 (Progress: 85%) Housekeeper: Level 4 (Progress: 43%) Restorer: Level 8 (Progress: 59%) Appraiser: Level 8 (Progress: 21%) Custodian of Electronics: Level 9 (Progress: 87%) Skill: Absolute Nihility (Magical) Blood Pulse: Top-grade Rare-level (Compatibility: 96%) Sword Proficiency: Junior Master (Progress: 32%) Footwork Proficiency: Junior Master (Progress: 26%) Weapon Technique: Basic Sword Aurora (Progress: 89%) Innate Talent: Myriad Wishes (The more people in the team, the greater the improvement of adaptability the entire team¡¯s AR system would have.) Heart of Destruction (Through continuous honing of one¡¯s own skills, one could constantly grow.) Own System Management Rights: Rank ¡®B¡¯ ¡°This physical potential is truly astonishing. I¡¯ve clearly just reached the Soldier class, yet two of my initial stats have already reached Rank ¡®E¡¯. In addition to my original stats, I¡¯m probably comparable to those Intermediate Adventurers who have just reached Level 15 and above.¡± Lu Jin was secretly speechless as he looked at his basic stats. In Fantasy World, after entering the Soldier class, they were divided into Junior Adventurers, Intermediate Adventurers, and Senior Adventurers. The Junior Adventurers were players who were AR Level 15 and below. The limit of their four basic stats was Rank ¡®D¡¯, but it was very difficult to reach such a limit when they were only at AR Level 14. Usually, they would become Intermediate Adventurers after reaching AR Level 15. Meanwhile, the Intermediate Adventurers were players who were AR Level 19 and below. The limit of their basic stats was only Rank ¡®B¡¯. Most of them had Rank ¡®C¡¯ stats. In order to break through further, the AR system level had to be upgraded further. Otherwise, it would be difficult to realize the areas in which they needed to improve and upgrade. As for the Senior Adventurers, they were AR Level 19 and AR Level 20 players. Their basic stats would have typically reached the limit of their physical potential, and they were only one step away from breaking through Level 20. However, that step was very difficult to break through. Even half of the talented internal beta testers, who had been chosen previously, were stuck at that step. That was also why there were very few people among the six million people in the entire City of Light who could break through the Level 20 limit. Those who could break through were all influential figures in the City of Light. When Lu Jin continued to look at his own data, he was shocked. ¡°The system actually updated the Weapon Technique this time?¡± Lu Jin could not believe his eyes when he saw the Weapon Technique data. After a player¡¯s AR system underwent its first major upgrade, some of the combat skills that the player had learned would appear and become a proficiency in the system, or rather, it could be said that the AR system had finally perfected the player¡¯s proficiency. For example, Xu Xiaotian was proficient in machete skills while Tang Yan was proficient as a marksman. According to the AR system, they were both at Master level and could make their weapons part of their bodies. With that proficiency system, players would be able to judge their level through the data and improve themselves more suitably. However, even though weapon techniques existed in Fantasy World, they had never been displayed 400 years ago. They had always been regarded as a hidden combat skill. The AR system would not provide guidance, and players could only explore it themselves. But now, it was available! Although it might not mean much to others, it was extremely important to Lu Jin. That was because with the data displayed by the system, he had guidance. He knew if he was improving and if there was room for improvement. As Lu Jin wanted to better control the light-pulse energy, improving his Weapon Technique was very important. It was more important than improving the AR system itself. Just as Lu Jin had practiced Sword Aurora for a while, someone knocked on the door of the training room. ¡°Old Xu, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Jin stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Xu Xiaotian, who had just walked in. Xu Xiaotian looked at Lu Jin and hesitated for a moment before he said, ¡°CEO Lu, someone is looking for you. I¡¯m not sure if I should let him see you.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Lu Jin asked curiously. Xu XIaotian said with some trepidation, ¡°The aggressive Jiang Haoyuan!¡± Chapter 31 - Evolution Chapter 31 Evolution ¡°Why is he here to find me?¡± Lu Jin was surprised to hear that name. The aggressive Jiang Haoyuan! There was probably no one in the entire City of Light who did not know that name. The well-known figure in the Fantasy Light Group was second only to Xia Qingyao. He led the marketing department of the Fantasy Light Group to sweep through thousands of troops and conquer the surrounding cities and towns, and had opened up many markets for the Fantasy Light Group. His talent was also very impressive. His Endurance was Rank ¡®S¡¯, and his Strength, Agility, and Neural Reaction were Rank ¡®A¡¯. Although he was slightly older than Xia Qingyao and was already 25 years old, he was one of the few top-notch Adventurers in the entire City of Light. His AR Level was currently 23, and he was second only to Xia Qingyao in the entire city. He tore and devoured every opponent he defeated and tried to find ways to use them. It was precisely because of that method that he earned the ¡°aggressive¡± label that intimidated people. Although Lu Jin had heard from Xia Qingyao that Jiang Haoyuan was one of the candidates who had taken the initiative to apply to become Xia Qingyao¡¯s fianc¨¦, he did not seem to have any plans after that matter was settled. ¡°CEO Lu, do you want to see him?¡± Xu Xiaotian asked worriedly. Although Jiang Haoyuan was one of CEO Xia¡¯s right-hand men like Qin Lianyue, he was an extremely ambitious man. Back then, although Jiang Haoyuan was highly regarded and placed in an important position by CEO Xia, he was an extremely unstable factor. In the entire Fantasy Light Group, only CEO Xia could barely suppress him. Now that CEO Xia had been busy preparing for the expedition to the City of Thousand Stars and had not been in the City of Light for a long time, no one in the entire city could hold Jiang Haoyuan back anymore¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll see him. Let him in.¡± Lu Jin tidied up his attire. He was pretty curious as to why Jiang Haoyuan had come to look for him. He could not hide from him as it was impossible for him to stay at the Daylight Residence forever. After all, he had many things to do. Over the past few days, Lu Jin realized that the number of Shadowrazes he saw outside had decreased. To him, that was not exactly a good thing. It was probably the calm before the storm. Therefore, he had to have better preparation. After all, no one could help him with that. The only way was to obtain the Sacred Grounds as soon as possible. During that period of time, Chen Kemeng did not give him a clear reply. She only said that the board of directors was still in discussion. However, the evolution method of ordinary monsters had already been spread. From time to time, he even let the maids and servants in the Daylight Residence witness the ordinary monsters suddenly become abnormally powerful in the training hall. That could make the outside world believe that the rumors about the evolution method of ordinary monsters were true. Of course, he also told Xia Qingyao about that evolution method. After all, Xia Qingyao was already his wife. Even though they had yet to hold an official wedding, they had already registered their marriage legally, so there was no need to hide that little secret. Regarding that, Xia Qingyao was also very supportive of him obtaining the Sun and Moon Group¡¯s Sacred Grounds. Many of the rumors about the evolution method were arranged by Xia Qingyao. After all, with a portion of the Chen family¡¯s Sacred Grounds, they would not have to spend large amounts of money to purchase Sacred Fruits in the future. During that period of time, Xia Qingyao suddenly left the City of Light. She said that she was preparing for the expedition to the City of Thousand Stars, but in fact, she was going outside to collect a large amount of crystal residues. After all, that evolution method could only earn a wave of money and was not sustainable. Before she sold it for a good price, she naturally had to stock up properly. Only then could she make a huge profit. Before Lu Jin could finish a sip of tea in the lounge, a tall and burly young man, who was like a tiger, walked in. After looking at the young man, Lu Jin finally understood why everyone called Jiang Haoyuan ¡°aggressive¡±. Disregarding his mighty tiger-like aura, just the dazzling light emitted from his entire body was like a small light pulse. Lu Jin couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. ¡°This light-pulse energy is probably 10 times that of mine.¡± Lu Jin looked at Jiang Haoyuan, who was already in front of him, and could clearly feel the heat that emanated from the light pulse. ¡°Nice to meet you, CEO Lu. It¡¯s really not easy to meet you.¡± Jiang Haoyuan was almost 190 centimeters tall, but he had a kind smile on his face. ¡°Mr Jiang, you must be joking. I¡¯m just a person who has nothing to do at home. On the other hand, Mr Jiang is a busy man. I¡¯m really puzzled that you¡¯re here to see me now.¡± Lu Jin laughed and replied. ¡°No, no, no. Previously, I had something urgent to attend to, so I didn¡¯t have time to rush over to your engagement banquet. Therefore, I¡¯m here today to apologize and give you my blessings.¡± Jiang Haoyuan shook his head gently, and his expression suddenly became serious. ¡°At the same time, I also want to have a good chat with CEO Lu.¡± ¡°Thank you for your blessings, Mr Jiang. May I know what you¡¯re here to talk about?¡± Lu Jin asked curiously. ¡°Of course, we¡¯re talking about the Fantasy Light Group and your future.¡± Jiang Haoyuan smiled faintly and waved his hand. Instantly, a holographic map appeared in front of Lu Jin. ¡°CEO Lu, do you know how many cities, including our City of Light, depend on the City of Thousand Stars to survive?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, it seems to be 14 cities.¡± Lu Jin was full of surprise when he heard Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s sudden question. ¡°The number that CEO Lu mentioned is indeed the data that the City of Light disclosed to the public.¡± Jiang Haoyuan snapped his fingers. Instantly, the map changed. Cities appeared on the map. ¡°But the truth is 22 cities!¡± ¡°22?¡± Lu Jin was shocked. According to his memory from 400 years ago, there were only 11 cities within a radius of a few hundred kilometers of the City of Light. It was normal that a few more cities had emerged after 400 years. Moreover, according to the memory of the dead younger Lu Jin, there should be a total of 15 cities, including the City of Thousand Stars, with the City of Thousand Stars at the center. There were quite a few towns along the way. There were dozens of them, but because the area without mist was too small, each and every one of them was a gathering place that had appeared in the past two hundred years. Moreover, there were no safe zones set up 400 years ago, so those towns had never developed and could not be considered a city at all. It was hard to imagine that there were eight cities that were not documented¡­ ¡°CEO Lu, it¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t know, because the remaining cities are on the other side of the City of Thousand Stars, close to the inland. There are much more resources there than the barren lands on our side, but they are too far away from our cities.¡± Jiang Haoyuan slowly explained, ¡°Furthermore, these cities are different from our cities. They are all cities that truly belong to the City of Thousand Stars. You can treat these cities as part of the City of Thousand Stars, so there are only 14 cities on the surface. CEO Lu, do you understand this?¡±. ¡°Mr Jiang, what are you trying to say?¡± Lu Jin had some vague guesses and could roughly understand why Xia Qingyao. Qin Lianyue and the rest said that Jiang Haoyuan was extremely ambitious. Jiang Haoyuan waved his hand again and put away the holographic map. He looked at Lu Jin and said with a smile, ¡°The City of Thousand Stars never had the time to deal with our 14 cities in the past. Now, a few large financial groups in the City of Thousand Stars have time, so they want to take over these cities. One of them, the Sage Star Financial Group, is very interested in CEO Xia. They even wanted to recruit CEO Xia to be their daughter-in-law.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity that CEO Xia rejected it, so I could only settle for second best and apply to be CEO Xia¡¯s fianc¨¦. When the time came, I could still enter the Sage Star Financial Group. However, I didn¡¯t expect you to appear, CEO Lu.¡± ¡°So you want to persuade me to bring Qingyao along to join the Sage Star Financial Group?¡± Lu Jin laughed and said. ¡°No, no, no!¡± Jiang Haoyuan shook his head again and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve already given up on CEO Xia. I want you to divorce CEO Xia and join the Sage Star Financial Group with me!¡± Chapter 32 - The Battle of the Titans Chapter 32 The Battle of the Titans Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s words shocked Xu Xiaotian, who was waiting outside. Mr Jiang actually wanted Lu Jin to get a divorce and join the Sage Star Financial Group together? What was going on? Right at that moment, a low and clear voice suddenly resounded in the corridor and the lounge. ¡°Jiang Haoyuan! You¡¯re too much!¡± The voice was filled with anger and familiarity. Before Xu Xiaotian could react, he saw a tall and mature woman dressed in work attire and black-framed AR glasses walking over. It was Xia Qingyao¡¯s secretary, Qin Lianyue. ¡°Secretary Qin.¡± Xu Xiaotian immediately bowed and greeted her. ¡°You may leave.¡± Qin Lianyue did not even look at him. She only instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone else approach this place.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaotian replied with a bow. Xu Xiaotian felt relieved because he knew that what Jiang Haoyuan was talking about today was definitely a secret of the Fantasy Light Group. It was no longer a secret that bodyguards like him should know. If he was not careful, he might disappear from the City of Light¡­ However, considering that Jiang Haoyuan was here, he had to protect Lu Jin. That gave him a dilemma. Now that he had Qin Lianyue¡¯s order, he could leave that tricky situation without a doubt. Xu Xiaotian left quickly without stopping. As Qin Lianyue arrived, Lu Jin was also astonished. Previously, perhaps because his AR system had not broken through Level 10, he could not sense many things clearly. But now that he had broken through Level 10, he saw that Qin Lianyue looked completely different. The light-pulse energy that emanated from her body could be said to be not much inferior to Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s. Moreover, it was different from Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s dazzling light. Those light rays were very sharp, and were like blades. When he looked at Qin Lianyue now, Lu Jin finally understood. Back then when Xia Qingyao and Qin Lianyue came to his house, the Shadowraze had disappeared for some reason. Now that he thought about it, the Shadowraze probably did not dare to approach Qin Lianyue, who was standing there like a small-scale source of light pulses. If it was not careful, it might be injured, let alone try to approach her. ¡°Secretary Qin, you¡¯re really fast.¡± Jiang Haoyuan looked at Qin Lianyue, who walked in with a very bad expression. He smiled slightly and said, ¡°There are so many things that you need to handle, yet you can still come here so quickly. I¡¯m really impressed. Also, I¡¯m only here to wish CEO Lu a happy marriage and also to chat about life. You rushed over so hurriedly, making it seem like I¡¯m going to eat CEO Lu up. This would leave CEO Lu a bad impression of me.¡± ¡°Jiang Haoyuan, do you think I don¡¯t know you? If I were a little slower, you might really have been able to do it.¡± Qin Lianyue glared at Jiang Haoyuan. ¡°And isn¡¯t it all thanks to you that I¡¯m so busy?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Jin did not know what to say for a moment. It was as if the two¡¯s existence had already taken over everything and there was no room for his presence. ¡°Secretary Qin, don¡¯t make it sound so scary.¡± Jiang Haoyuan seemed to acquiesce. He smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just giving CEO LU another life choice.¡± ¡°Another life choice?¡± Qin Lianyue cackled. ¡°You want to use CEO Lu as a gift, right?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Jiang Haoyuan looked at Lu Jin disapprovingly and said, ¡°CEO Lu, you may think that it¡¯s very good to be CEO Xia¡¯s husband, but your potential should not be buried here. Your Strength, Agility, and Endurance have reached Rank ¡®S¡¯, and your Neural Reaction has reached an unprecedented Rank ¡®SS¡¯. You can absolutely become the son-in-law of the Sage Star Financial Group. The Sage Star Financial Group¡¯s strength is not something that the mere Fantasy Light Group can compare to. It controls three large cities with a population of over eight million. Furthermore, the second daughter of the Sage Star Financial Group is also as beautiful as a flower, not inferior to CEO Xia at all, and she¡¯s only 19 years old. CEO Lu, aren¡¯t you going to consider it?¡± Lu Jin finally understood. Jiang Haoyuan was really coveting his body¡­ Although he could understand, he was still a man who made a name for himself through his skills. After he came to the current world, why were those people coveting his body? After Jiang Haoyuan finished speaking, Qin Lianyue looked at Lu Jin. Although Lu Jin and Xia Qingyao had signed a contract, it was meaningless to the Sage Star Financial Group. Besides, it was indeed much better to go to the City of Thousand Stars than stay in the City of Light. ¡°Mr Jiang, I won¡¯t consider your option. I think my current life is pretty good. I can live my life peacefully without worrying about sustenance.¡± Lu Jin shook his head and rejected Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s option. ¡°Sigh, what a pity.¡± Jiang Haoyuan looked at Lu Jin who rejected him and sighed deeply. ¡°I thought you would choose a different path from CEO Xia.¡± Qin Lianyue, who was at the side, heaved a sigh of relief. She could not help but look at Lu Jin in admiration. At the same time, a question arose in her heart. Was Miss so charming? After Jiang Haoyuan sighed, his facial expression suddenly turned serious. ¡°Since CEO Lu has made up his mind, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be enemies the next time we meet.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Jin turned to look at Jiang Haoyuan at once and realized that his aura had completely changed. It was as if he had turned into a fierce tiger that had just woken up from its sleep. One would feel as though they were sitting on pins and needles when they faced Jiang Haoyuan. ¡°He¡¯s no longer an employee of our Fantasy Light Group.¡± Qin Lianyue took the initiative to explain. ¡°Just an hour ago, he resigned from his position as the General Manager of the marketing department¡­¡± ¡°He resigned?¡± Lu Jin looked at Jiang Haoyuan in disbelief. The marketing department was the core department of the Fantasy Light Group. Countless people in the City of Light wanted to be in that position, and Jiang Haoyuan had also spent a long time to earn that position. Now, he has resigned? ¡°It was because he suddenly resigned that the entire marketing department of the Fantasy Light Group is in a mess now.¡± Qin Lianyue glared at Jiang Haoyuan angrily and questioned coldly, ¡°Is this the repayment you are giving Miss?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! CEO Xia chose the wrong path.¡± Jiang Haoyuan said nonchalantly, ¡°Let me introduce myself. I am now the Senior Manager of the marketing department of the Sage Star Financial Group. In the future, I will be in charge of paving the way from the City of Thousand Stars to the City of Light, and the entire market of the City of Light.¡± ¡°You!¡± Qin Lianyue looked at Jiang Haoyuan in disbelief. She did not expect Jiang Haoyuan to really succeed. ¡°Secretary Qin, now is not the time for you to criticize me.¡± Jiang Haoyuan said with a faint smile, ¡°As for the expedition to the City of Thousand Stars, don¡¯t worry. My men and I will still go with CEO Xia. On the contrary, the marketing department currently needs you to take charge of the situation. As for the salt in the logistics department, I¡¯m afraid that you have to worry about it too, Secretary Qin.¡± ¡°You really planned it!¡± Qin Lianyue looked at Jiang Haoyuan with fury. That day was the big day for the logistics department to transport the salt to Stream Town, which was more than 50 kilometers away. The round trip for the journey would take four days. The salt was meant to be transported to the City of Thousand Stars in four days to be traded with the Sage Star Financial Group. Time was tight, and the salt could not be delayed for even half a day. Originally, she should be the one to personally lead the logistics department¡¯s transport team on the journey. However, the marketing department was in a mess now and Xia Qingyao wasn¡¯t in the City of Light. There was no way she could leave the marketing department because she had to handle many things before she could be at ease. As for the delivery of salt to Stream Town, the procedure had to be personally endorsed by the Deputy General Manager of the logistics department of the Fantasy Light Group, or someone who ranked higher. That was agreed beforehand to prevent anyone from taking away the salt. After all, it was only a few days before the merchant group of the City of Thousand Stars came. All the major groups in the City of Light wanted the salt to be able to exchange for valuable goods from the merchant group of the City of Thousand Stars. On the other hand, the people in Stream Town were eager for someone to break the contract so that they could then sell it for a better price. There were two Deputy General Managers and one General Manager in the logistics department. One of the Deputy General Managers was from the four major families. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I owed the four major families a big favor in my early years.¡± Jiang Haoyuan laughed. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve returned the favor. As for what you do now, I don¡¯t care.¡± At that moment, Qin Lianyue¡¯s face was ashen. For a moment, she did not know what to do. Should she go alone? Or should she look for someone from the four major families? ¡°Miss Qin, is the road to Stream Town very dangerous?¡± Lu Jin asked. Xia Qingyao had told him about the matter about the salt, and he knew a little about it. He knew that that batch of salt was an important resource to exchange for computer chips in the City of Thousand Stars. ¡°It¡¯s not that dangerous. The normal Regional Dungeons along the way are Level 17 and below. Just relying on the strength of the transport team and staying vigilant, it¡¯s enough to deal with most situations.¡± Qin Lianyue explained, ¡°However, the transport team has quite a number of people from the four families. If they deliberately delayed the time while fighting the monsters, the original two-day journey could easily turn into three days¡­¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you let me lead the team?¡± Lu Jin suggested. He did not know much about the marketing department, but it was not a problem for him to deal with Regional Dungeons below Level 20. After all, he was an experienced player. He had conquered many abyssal Regional Dungeons above Level 20, let alone normal Regional Dungeons below Level 20. ¡°You¡¯ll go, CEO Lu?¡± Qin Lianyue looked at Lu Jin with worry. Although Lu Jin was physically gifted and had the capability of a Junior Adventurer, he could not help much with such a transport mission, let alone command the unruly people in the transport team. Lu Jin looked at the worried Qin Lianyue and broke into laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already broken through Level 10.¡± Chapter 33 - To Stream Town Chapter 33 To Stream Town At the southern gate outside the City of Light: As the main transportation route of the City of Light, the transport of goods and resources from the surrounding major cities were all transported into the city through that place. Therefore, compared to the other gates of the City of Light, it was much grander. The two gates that were completely made of alloy were eight meters tall and could easily accommodate it if three large trucks passed through at the same time. At that moment, there were a total of 10 medium-sized trucks parked in front of the huge alloy gates. Those trucks had been specially modified and could accommodate up to six people at most. They were equipped with an electronic armor that made it difficult for the electronic monsters to break through the truck¡¯s defense and enter the truck to attack the players. ¡°The B9 Electronic Armor. The Fantasy Light Group is indeed rich. It¡¯ll be great if our Adventurer team¡¯s bus could be equipped with this electronic armor!¡± ¡°What are you dreaming about? The B9 Electronic Armor can easily defend against monsters below Level 20 hundreds of times. To equip such a heavy truck, it would require at least 400,000 units of memory fragments.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s good for our Adventurer team to use the Bo Electronic Armor. Although it can only defend against almost 50 attacks from monsters below Level 11, the cost of maintenance is low. The memory fragments required for the B9-model armor is enough for us to equip 10 times.¡± Those trucks stopped in the middle of the road and made the merchants and Adventurers from various cities and towns envious. All of them were drooling. Transportation vehicles were absolute necessities in a field expedition, and they were also the most important. Although the normal transportation vehicles were made of virtual electronics generated by Fantasy World after they were activated to virtualize, they were probably made of steel. The physical surface of the vehicles was indeed incomparably tough. However, in the face of a virtual electronic monster, physical defense was unable to stop it. Only virtual electronics could block it. However, the virtual environment generated by Fantasy World was very fragile. Even if it was just a few punches from a Level 1 player, it would still cause damage. If it was completely destroyed, the player¡¯s real body might not be able to pass through, but the virtual electronic body could easily pass through without any obstruction. Of course, after the electronic body of such a virtual environment was destroyed, the Fantasy World would automatically repair it. However, the repair time varied from 10 minutes to an hour. With so much time, it would be unknown how many battles had ended between the players and the monsters. In the wilderness filled with electronic monsters, it would be very disadvantageous for the players to be restricted to the physical level. Thus, the electronic armor for transportation vehicles was very important. When they encountered a monster¡¯s ambush, that layer of electronic armor would give the players enough time to prepare for battle. They would not be in a situation where they could not even get a chance to perform and were instantly defeated by the electronic monsters that rushed into the vehicle. At the same time, when they were surrounded by a group of monsters, they could also forcefully break through using the electronic armor. It was quite good for their survival. The only disadvantage was maintenance. Unlike the automatic repair of the virtual environment, if the electronic armor was damaged, the player would have to repair it. The electronic armor was a type of electronic tool and would not automatically repair itself. ¡°Sister Su, it¡¯s time to leave. Isn¡¯t Miss Qin coming?¡± A petite woman wearing a leather outfit and a pair of AR glasses that looked like sunglasses walked to the front row of the trucks and asked curiously, ¡°If we don¡¯t leave now, I¡¯m afraid that we won¡¯t be able to reach our designated rest house today.¡± The transportation of resources in the surrounding cities and towns of the City of Light had been planned, and it was also a result of hundreds of years of experience. Only by following the original plan would it be the safest to transport resources along the way. They would reduce the losses in all aspects to the minimum and would encounter fewer monsters. The most important thing was the rest house. The rest houses along the way were the few safe areas where people would not be attacked by monsters. It allowed people to rest at ease. After all, after a series of battles, people would also be tired. They were not robots. If they could not get a certain amount of rest, their combat efficiency would decrease. A decrease in combat efficiency would naturally cause them to spend more time in battles and it would easily affect their scheduled arrival time. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I heard that there¡¯s a big problem at the marketing department of the group, and Miss Qin is dealing with it.¡± The delicate woman, whose name was Su Tongwei, shook her head slightly. ¡°But this logistics transportation of ours is very important. I think Miss Qin will be here soon.¡± As the captain of that logistics transportation team, Su Tongwei rarely knew that that transportation was related to the future of the Fantasy Light Group. In order to ensure that the salt in Stream Town could be transported back to the City of Light as soon as possible, they even specially got 10 medium-sized trucks with the B9 Electronic Armor. It was obvious how much the group valued that transportation. As Su Tongwei was chatting with the petite woman, a lean young man in the last row of the convoy suddenly ran in front of a burly man who was two meters tall. ¡°Brother Wang, the family has already sent news. This time, Qin Lianyue will definitely not be able to follow the convoy to Stream Town. When the time comes, she will definitely go and ask Uncle Lei, who is the Deputy General Manager of the logistics department, to come over.¡± The lean young man smiled smugly and said, ¡°After this journey, Brother Wang, you will definitely be promoted again to Department Manager, and you will lead a transportation team independently.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Zhonghu¡¯s eyes burned with desire. Previously, as the four major families were managing the logistics department, although he had not become an Intermediate Adventurer, he was still appointed as the Department Manager because he was the genius of the families. He could lead a transportation team independently. However, now that Qin Lianyue was in charge of the logistics department, he naturally wasn¡¯t able to keep his position as a Department Manager anymore. Currently, he could only be the team leader of a five-man team in the transportation team. That was only possible because he was a genius of the four major families. Otherwise, he would only be a mere vice-captain. Compared to being a team leader who could lead 40 people alone in the past, it was a far cry. Naturally, although he was only a team leader now, in the entire transportation team, other than Su Tongwei, the team captain, who didn¡¯t listen to him, the other two vice-captains listened to him. After all, that transportation team was originally an elite logistics team formed for the hunting team. Most of them were members of the four major families. Now that Qin Lianyue managed the logistics department, she gave the position of the team captain to Su Tongwei. Although he was very resentful and dissatisfied with Su Tongwei, he couldn¡¯t help but admire her strength. She was only 21 years old, yet she was already an Intermediate Adventurer at AR Level 16. In the future, she might not even need to wait until she was 25 years old to become a Senior Adventurer at AR Level 20. While Wang Zhonghu and the lean young man were chatting happily, a luxurious black maglev limousine arrived before the convoy and four people alighted. As the four people from the vehicle appeared in front of the convoy, Wang Zhonghu¡¯s expression changed abruptly and his eyes were filled with astonishment. ¡°Lu Jin! Why is he here?¡± Wang Zhonghu was surprised to see Lu Jin alight from the car. Wang Zhonghu was filled with resentment toward Lu Jin. If he had not been careless that time, he would have been able to defeat Lu Jin with the advantage of his five senses. However, because of his carelessness, Lu Jin¡¯s status in the City of Light was established. Actually, Wang Zhonghu wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. The rest of the team was also shocked. As the son-in-law of the Xia family, shouldn¡¯t he be enjoying his life and improving himself comfortably in the Bestial Battle Arena downtown? Why would he come to that dangerous place? ¡°Little Su, CEO Lu will be heading to Stream Town with you guys. I won¡¯t be going.¡± Qin Lianyue looked at Su Tongwei, who was still in a daze, and said, ¡°CEO Lu will be the leader of the entire convoy. Are you all okay with that?¡± When Su Tongwei heard that, she hurriedly replied, ¡°No problem!¡± Su Tongwei was well aware of Qin Lianyue¡¯s words. Although Lu Jin was the leader of the convoy that time, she, as the team captain, had to take good care of him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble all of you then.¡± Lu Jin smiled at Su Tongwei. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all. Since CEO Lu is going, why don¡¯t you take the car in the front with us?¡± Su Tongwei did not dare to be careless. Since Qin Lianyue had handed Lu Jin over to her, she had to be responsible for Lu Jin¡¯s safety. After all, Lu Jin was the most precious person in the Xia family now. Countless influential families in the City of Light had designs on that son-in-law of the Xia family. Lu Jin, Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan got into Su Tongwei¡¯s vehicle together. ¡°Brother Wang, what should we do now?¡± The lean young man looked at Lu Jin, who was joining them, and couldn¡¯t help but say anxiously, ¡°That Lu Jin is the General Manager of the logistics department. He can also authorize the handover of the goods at Stream Town.¡± Wang Zhonghu also stared fixedly at Lu Jin, who had boarded the leading truck. The corner of his mouth revealed a hint of a cold smile as he said, ¡°Qin Lianyue is really ruthless. She actually made Lu Jin personally take this trip. Pass this message to the rest: ¡®Slow down the pace along the way.¡¯ I want to see how Lu Jin will complete the mission!¡± ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll inform the brothers in the convoy now.¡± The lean young man nodded and walked quickly to the other trucks. Chapter 34 - Gray Valley Regional Dungeon Chapter 34 Gray Valley Regional Dungeon At the southern gate outside the City of Light: With the low hum of the leading truck, a total of ten trucks in the B9 Electronic Armor advanced into the mist under everyone¡¯s gaze. In a short while, they completely disappeared into the mist. In the leading truck, Lu Jin had also experienced for the first time how powerful an electronic-armored truck was. The road from the City of Light to Stream Town could be said to be flat. Although the road was extremely old, it had not been maintained at all. Many places were full of potholes and gravel, but for a medium-sized truck that was almost two meters in size, it was like walking on flat ground. However, the truly powerful aspect of a truck that was in a B9 Electronic Armor was that it could directly crash into the surrounding electronic monsters. Those electronic monsters were instantly sent flying and were unable to enter the truck at all. Normally, it would take an hour or two for the Scavengers for that journey. For that B9 truck, it only took 10 minutes. In less than 20 minutes, the convoy had already left more than five kilometers away from the City of Light and entered the area where monsters above Level 10 were active. ¡°CEO Lu, we will enter a Level 12 Regional Dungeon in a while. There are many monsters there. We have to get out of the truck and clear the monsters as we move forward. Otherwise, the electronic armor of the truck will easily be completely destroyed by those monsters.¡± Su Tongwei looked at the heavy mist in front of her and said to Lu Jin behind her, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to look after you then. Please stay in the truck.¡± The B9 Electronic Armor was indeed powerful, but it was a consumable item that was used to save one¡¯s life at critical moments. If there were too many monsters, the durability of the electronic armor would be depleted in just a few waves of attacks. At that time, there would be no effect of defense against the electronic monsters. People who sat in the truck could be said to have their hands and feet completely tied, and would still be defeated by the electronic monsters. Thus, when they reached Regional Dungeons where there were many monsters, they would have to get out of the vehicle and fight their way forward. ¡°Sure.¡± Lu Jin nodded. He did not intend to interfere with Su Tongwei¡¯s commands. He was only good at clearing Regional Dungeons. He was a complete layman when it came to transportation battles that did not exist 400 years ago. If he were to forcefully command them, it would only bring about the opposite effect. Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin, who seemed to have no intention of taking over the command, and was a little surprised. She said gratefully, ¡°Thank you for your understanding, CEO Lu.¡± In the transportation team, there were too many descendants of the major families. Although they all had some power, when there were many missions, they always liked to show off. From time to time, they would want to seize command and use that opportunity to show off their abilities to make others admire them or look at them in a different light. Those issues gave Su Tongwei and the others a headache. They had to put in more effort and time to make up for the negative effects brought about by those people. After a while, the truck entered a translucent wall of light. As the truck entered, a system notification appeared before everyone. System: Player has entered the Gray Valley Regional Dungeon. Regional Dungeon Level: 12 Players who have not cleared Regional Dungeons will have their AR System level and Adventurer level limited to Level 12 and below. ¡°Everyone get off the truck and prepare for battle! Archers, get on the roof!¡± Su Tongwei shouted on the truck¡¯s loudspeaker. Due to the mist, the transmission of signals from ordinary electronic devices was extremely weak. It was impossible to use electronic communication methods. One could only use an old-fashioned loudspeaker to transmit messages. Fortunately, the AR system had improved the player¡¯s five senses considerably. Even the voices of ordinary people could be heard clearly from 30 meters away. Hence, the loudspeaker could be heard clearly from hundreds of meters away. All of the trucks stopped, and the members of the transportation team alighted from the trucks, leaving only one person who drove the truck slowly. The others stayed by the side of the truck. On the roof of every truck stood a member holding a longbow. They took the arrows from their backpack and placed them aside while they kept an eye on their surroundings. ¡°Little Kui, our truck will depend on you in a while.¡± Su Tongwei specially instructed the petite woman, Lin Xiaokui, who stood on the roof of the car. ¡°Sister Su, do you still not understand my strength?¡± Lin Xiaokui took out an ancient crystal longbow and said confidently, ¡°I will definitely not let those monsters get within 10 meters of here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m relieved to hear you say that.¡± Su Tongwei nodded and acknowledged Lin Xiaokui¡¯s strength. In Fantasy World, most mainstream jobs were close combat. Only a small number of players would choose weapons like bows and arrows. One reason was that it was difficult to train, and the second reason was that it was resource-intensive. Every arrow amounted to some memory fragments. A unit of memory fragments was equivalent to three ordinary arrows. Of course, the role of an Archer was also extremely important. Firstly, in terms of the damage it could inflict, it ranked first among all weapons. Coupled with the long-range attack method, most of the monsters in Fantasy World would be restrained. Furthermore, there was no dispute that when they were compared with other melee players, their speed of clearing monsters was definitely the fastest. It was also because of that that Archers were extremely useful in a team. As long as it was a powerful team, there would definitely be powerful Archers. Among them, Lin Xiaokui was a rare AR Level 15 Archer. Among her basic stats, her Agility and Neural Reaction had reached Rank ¡®A¡¯. It could be said that she was the number one damage-dealer in the entire transportation team. In less than three minutes, a group of Goblins appeared on both sides of the road. Though they were only a meter tall and were wearing simple and tattered equipment with worn-out weapons in their hands, they had surrounded the convoy. There were more than 200 of them. ¡°Archers, kill those Goblins in the distance first. Guardians, follow me to attract their attention. Everyone else, protect the truck!¡± Su Tongwei instinctively picked up the tower shield that she carried on her back and led seven shield-bearers to charge into the mass of Goblins. They frantically used their shields to attack the Goblins, which caused them to scatter. All the Goblins¡¯ attention was turned to Su Tongwei and the shield bearers, which gave the Archers a chance to attack the Goblins that were holding bows. Lu Jin, who was resting in the truck, quietly watched Su Tongwei and the rest clear the Goblins. He was surprised by Su Tongwei¡¯s ability. Although Su Tongwei¡¯s level was suppressed to Level 12, she could easily suppress five to six Level 12 Goblins by herself. When faced with the siege of those Level 12 Goblins, Su Tongwei¡¯s shield seemed to be alive. No matter how the Goblins attacked, they could not hurt Su Tongwei. Whenever they were about to hit her, her shield would block them. ¡°This Su Tongwei is so strong. Purely in terms of shield mastery, she has probably already reached the level of an Intermediate Master.¡± Xu Xiaotian, who was in the truck, couldn¡¯t help but exclaim as he looked at the unharmed Su Tongwei. As an expert who also used a shield, Xu Xiaotian was well aware of the situation when one faced five or six monsters at once. Even if he was facing a monster of the same level, it was impossible for him to be as powerful as Su Tongwei. Only an Intermediate Master who was more skillful than a Junior Master could completely turn that situation around. Moreover, because Su Tongwei had diverted a lot of the Goblins¡¯ attention, Lin Xiaokui, who was on the roof of the truck, could attack frantically. Arrows shot out like bullets from a machine gun. Each arrow accurately hit the head of the Goblins without helmet protection and instantly killed them. In less than a minute of the battle, more than 20 Goblins were killed by Lin Xiaokui, causing the number of Goblins to decrease. As the battle continued, Su Tongwei and the rest attacked in all directions. However, the speed of the convoy did not increase. Before the group of Goblins was defeated, new Goblins noticed the commotion and rushed over. ¡°Sister Su, Wang Zhonghu and the rest aren¡¯t contributing at all. With our current speed, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to reach the rest house even after dark.¡± Lin Xiaokui, who had a thorough view of the situation from the roof of the truck, observed the members of the four families who were still fighting beside the convoy. Those people had to fight for a long time to defeat one Goblin when they were facing just one or two Goblins. They hadn¡¯t even displayed half of their usual abilities. ¡°D*mn it! As expected, they want to stall for time!¡± Su Tongwei glanced at the two vice-captains who did not contribute much, her eyes filled with anger. The vice-captains of the transportation team were experts among Intermediate Adventurers. They were also equipped with superior Rare equipment. Even if their levels were suppressed to Level 12, they could defeat three or four Goblins by themselves. After all, Goblins were very weak among monsters of the same level. However, the two of them were flustered when facing two of three Goblins. They were clearly stalling for time and did not want to exert their strength. Su Tongwei had no choice but to quickly kill those Goblins and leave the area before more Goblins arrived. ¡°Our captain is really hardworking.¡± ¡°Kill, kill, kill. With their clearing speed, they can¡¯t match the speed of the Goblins. If more time passes, the Regional Boss might even arrive.¡± Wang Zhonghu and the others couldn¡¯t help but laugh as they watched Su Tongwei speed up the killing. Battles between players and monsters were different from battles between players. Whether the players could deal more damage to monsters depended partly on their level and partly on their weapons. If players had a level suppression on monsters, the damage that they could cause would be increased. It was the same for weapons. The higher the level of the player, the higher the power of the weapons. That was because the power of the weapons was based on the power of the player¡¯s attacks. However, in the Regional Dungeon, Su Tongwei, who was Level 16, could not use her level advantage. Pure individual skills had little impact on the speed of killing monsters. In the leading truck: ¡°It seems that Wang Zhonghu and his men are really trying to stall for time.¡± Lu Jin glanced out the window at Wang Zhonghu and his men, who were fighting, and was not surprised. He then turned to Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan, who were beside him. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go as well!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan transformed their wristbands into weapons that they were good at and followed Lu Jin out of the car. Chapter 35 - The First-Try Edge Chapter 35 The First-Try Edge ¡°Why did they come down?¡± On the roof of the truck, Lin Xiaokui, who was constantly assisting with her shooting, could not help but frown when she saw Lu Jin and the others get off the truck. Currently, there were close to 300 Goblins. Although that number was still within the tolerance range of the convoy, they had no time to care about anything else. In order to prevent the Goblins from approaching the truck, she had given up on shooting accurately at the Goblins¡¯ weak spot on their heads. She switched to rapid-fire-shooting to deal damage. The monsters in Fantasy World were very similar to real creatures. If their bodies were heavily injured, it would affect their mobility and would greatly reduce their combat power. The ancient bow she used was an extremely rare top-grade Rare weapon. Its attack rating had reached Rank ¡®B¡¯, and it also had the ability to damage and worsen the damage of the injured target. As long as it hit the target, even if it was just an arm, it could easily cripple that monster¡¯s arm. With a Rank ¡®B¡¯ attack power, it only needed two arrows to kill a Level 12 Goblin. Now that Lu Jin had come down, he was definitely causing trouble for them. The monsters of Fantasy World instinctively liked to attack players. As long as the players appeared, they would definitely attack. Su Tongwei and the Guardians had attracted many Goblins, but there would still be other Goblins who would attack other players. The appearance of Lu Jin and his bodyguards would definitely attract the attention of many Goblins, which would force Su Tongwei and the rest to divert their attention to protect them. That would definitely cause the speed of clearing the Goblins to decrease further. ¡°Brother Wang, Lu Jin is coming down.¡± The lean youth was excited as he fought against two Goblins. After Wang Zhonghu killed a Goblin with one slash, he glanced at Lu Jin and the rest who got out of the truck from the corner of his eyes. He sneered. ¡°Finally, they couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. But even if they came down to fight together, nothing will change. This time, we will let Xia Qingyao know that without the support of the four families, she can¡¯t achieve anything!¡± Wang Zhonghu was well aware of Lu Jin¡¯s strength. In terms of his combat skills and physical potential, he was indeed strong. However, it was a pity that when facing monsters, the player¡¯s level was most important. Moreover, Level 10 was also a huge barrier to the monsters of Fantasy World. It was just like how the players increased their levels. After a monster broke through Level 10, its basic stats would also undergo a qualitative change. If a Level 10 player wanted to fight a Level 12 monster, it was no different from fighting a Boss. The only useful ones were the two bodyguards, but they only increased their combat power by two. They were not worth mentioning given that there were less than 20 people fighting desperately. Su Tongwei, who was among the mass of Goblins, noticed Lu Jin and the rest. She was anxious. That was simply causing trouble! After Lu Jin and the two bodyguards got off the truck, more than 10 Goblins, who were originally surrounding Su Tongwei and the rest, charged at Lu Jin and the bodyguards with swords. Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan rushed forward at that sight. Xu Xiaotian held the superior Magical Shield of Wind Scales and charged at the dozen Goblins. He knocked six Goblins away. Then, he swept the Shield of Wind Scales and the three Goblins that were slashing at him flew three meters away, like giant bears. Tang Yan appeared behind two Goblins with her rifle in hand. The two Goblins had no idea that she was behind them. They were about to ambush Xu Xiaotian, but Tang Yan swept her rifle across their necks and defeated them. ¡°The stats of those two people are so strong!¡± Lin Xiaokui, who was on the roof of the truck, was shocked when she saw more than 10 Goblins being scattered. In Regional Dungeons, not only were the players¡¯ AR and Adventurer levels suppressed, but the players¡¯ basic stats were also suppressed to Rank ¡®E¡¯. Of course, that kind of suppression was only reflected in the damage dealt to the electronic monsters. The strength of the body itself would not decrease at all, so the sensitivity and the Neural Reaction of the body would still be preserved. It could also be considered a hidden benefit for high-level players. However, the fact that Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan were able to defeat the Goblins so easily meant that they had great physical potential. The power of the Rank ¡®E¡¯ Soldier Class was especially strong because they had not broken through the Soldier Class. However, there were too many Goblins. The dozens of Goblins might not be able to overthrow Xu Xiaotian and Tang Yan, but soon, another twenty-odd Goblins surrounded them and held them back. Then, seven Goblins bypassed them and sneered as they charged at Lu Jin, who was standing at the back. ¡°This is not good! Seven of them attacking together!¡± When Lin Xiaokui saw that, she immediately shot three arrows. It had to be said that Lin Xiaokui¡¯s Triple-Star Moon Chasing Archery Skill was very powerful. She accurately hit three Goblins, causing them to stop in their tracks. However, there were still four Goblins who were aiming their daggers and swords at Lu Jin. ¡°Run back to the truck!¡± Lin Xiaokui shouted anxiously. With four Level 12 Goblins ganging up on him, Lu Jin, a Level 10 player, would definitely be taken down in one go. That was regardless of the fact that he had previously defeated Wang Zhonghu at the banquet. With the stats-suppression brought by his level, even though Lu Jin had the basic stats of a Junior Adventurer, he still could not fight head-on with a Level 12 Goblin, let alone four. However, Lu Jin seemed to have turned a deaf ear to Lin Xiaokui¡¯s loud reminder. He drew out the Sword of Lake Light from his waist and slowly walked toward the four Goblins that were charging at him. When the four Goblins were less than a meter away from Lu Jin, he suddenly swung the Sword of Lake Light. Basic Sword Aurora! In the blink of an eye, four sword gleams spread out from the front of Lu Jin¡¯s body and slowly dissipated in mid-air. The four Goblins seemed to have been rooted to the ground. ¡°This¡­¡± Lin Xiaokui looked at the four motionless Goblins and was puzzled. Two seconds later, the four Goblins¡¯ bodies split in the middle, and their memory fragments were completely depleted. Two memory crystals appeared. That scene made Su Tongwei, who was being pestered by the Goblins, widen her eyes in disbelief. She could not believe that it was real. ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°How could he have such power!¡± Naturally, Wang Zhonghu had been watching all of that. He was dumbfounded as he watched Lu Jin defeat the four Goblins. Goblins were very weak and had a very low reserve of memory fragments. As long as a player of the same level had a superior Rare weapon, they could kill the Goblin in one move. However, the prerequisite was that the player had to be Level 12. It was impossible for a Level 10 player to do that, and not to mention, Lu Jin had not even hit the Goblins¡¯ vital spot¡­ After defeating the four Goblins, a system notification appeared in the corner of Lu Jin¡¯s eyes. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. ¡°Goblins are indeed weak. Defeating those above your level only gives you two EXP.¡± Lu Jin looked at the total amount of EXP he needed to level up, which was 10,000 EXP. He was still 9,992 points short. He could not help but sigh and shifted his gaze to the distant army of Goblins. Soon, he saw a Goblin who was dressed in tattered clothes and was shouting from time to time. ¡°Is that it?¡± The Goblins¡¯ Regional Dungeons were famous for their numbers. The endless armies of Goblins was enough to tire any team to death before they saw the final Regional Boss. In order to break through the Goblin army, they had to find the Goblin army commander. Only by defeating the commander would the Goblin army be in chaos. The efficiency of besieging the players would also decrease greatly. It would even be difficult for them to form a siege formation, which would make it easier for the players to defeat the Goblins. However, that commander was extremely difficult to find. Without a lot of experience in clearing Goblins¡¯ Regional Dungeons, it was impossible to judge. After Lu Jin used his Data Scanning feature, he confirmed the Goblin commander who was mixed in the army. He got into his stance and attacked with the Sword of Lake Light. Lu Jin seemed to have turned into a gust of wind that blew all the Goblins in his path to the side, forcing the army of hundreds of Goblins into two groups. By the time everyone realized what was going on, Lu Jin had already pierced through a Goblin that was in tattered clothes with the Sword of Lake Light. The Goblin slowly dissipated as it struggled, and the entire Goblin army¡¯s movements stopped at that moment as they all looked at Lu Jin. ¡°Who exactly is he?¡± Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin, who was standing in the middle of the Goblin army. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and confusion. It was just a slash. How much strength and agility did it require to create such a shocking scene? Chapter 36 - Goblin King Chapter 36 Goblin King ¡°Brother Wang, are you sure he¡¯s only Level 10?¡± The lean young man looked at Lu Jin, who was in the center of the field, and he was almost unable to close his mouth. The storm-like slashing was unheard of. With just one slash, more than 20 Goblins were sent flying, and all of them were severely injured. Such strength and speed were comparable to an Intermediate Adventurer who was not suppressed. At that moment, Wang Zhonghu was looking at Lu Jin with an unprecedented seriousness. That strength, that speed and that terrifying destructive power ¨C even if he was not suppressed, he would not be able to achieve it¡­ ¡°Could he have broken through?¡± Wang Zhonghu gazed at Lu Jin. Although he did not believe it, there was only one possibility after much thought. Otherwise, he could not explain how Lu Jin could be so powerful. Lu Jin, who was in the center of the scene, looked at Su Tongwei and the rest who were dumbfounded. He could not help but laugh. ¡°You are all daydreaming. The truck has to follow me and move forward slowly. We can¡¯t just stop here.¡± Although he was only Level 11 now, his basic stats were comparable to a Level 15 Intermediate Adventurer team whose basic stats had reached Rank ¡®D¡¯, especially his Neural Reaction, which was probably close to a normal Intermediate Adventurer¡¯s Rank ¡®C¡¯. It was naturally easy to deal with a group of Rank ¡®F¡¯ Goblins. Though it was easy to deal with, he would still be exhausted to death if he faced an endless army of Goblins. According to Lu Jin¡¯s map-scan, within a radius of one kilometer, there were already four Goblin colonies surrounding them. Given the speed of the Goblin armies, they would probably have to face six to seven hundred Goblins in about five to six minutes. With so many Goblins, even if Wang Zhonghu and the rest went all out, they would still be defeated. It was only when Lu Jin spoke that everyone reacted. Lin Xiaokui and the rest looked at Su Tongwei, clearly seeking her opinion. ¡°Everyone, listen to CEO Lu! The convoy should follow in his direction!¡± Su Tongwei took a deep breath. That was all that she could do now. Although it was unsure why, after Lu Jin defeated that Goblin, the surrounding Goblins obviously became a mess. Some Goblins even turned around and fled. Even if they had the power to attack, they did not cooperate. That was something that had never happened before. It was obvious that Lu Jin was responsible for the Goblins¡¯ chaos. That meant that Lu Jin was rather familiar with the Goblins¡¯ Regional Dungeons. He had no reason not to take the risk. After Su Tongwei¡¯s command, the convoy began to move slowly in Lu Jin¡¯s direction. Without the Goblin commander, the combat power of the 200 Goblins decreased by half. Initially, Su Tongwei and the Guardians felt pressured when they were facing the combined attacks of six to seven Goblins. However, now they were very relaxed when facing the siege of 10 Goblins. As for Lu Jin, who was leading the way, he blended into the crowd. There was no need to deliberately attack the vital points of the Goblins. They were like a child with a sword. With just one move of Sword Aurora, he could instantly defeat five surrounding Goblins, like a reaper. The siege of the Goblins had become a complete joke. Lu Jin¡¯s EXP bar was also increasing rapidly. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +2. Due to Lu Jin¡¯s lead, the convoy sped up in an instant. The journey was supposed to take an hour, but because Lu Jin could see all the monsters within a one-kilometer radius, he was able to choose the best direction to advance and they were completely unaffected by the Goblins. Even if there were two to three hundred Goblins, Lu Jin would still finish off the Goblin commander in time so that the entire team could deal with the rest of the Goblins easily. ¡°Sister Su, CEO Lu is too awesome! It¡¯s like we¡¯re being carried by an Intermediate Adventurer who isn¡¯t suppressed by his level!¡± On the roof of the truck, Lin Xiaokui looked at the Goblins that fell at Lu Jin¡¯s feet one by one. Her eyes were filled with excitement. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Wang Zhonghu and the rest are going to be dumbfounded.¡± According to their original estimations, they would definitely not be able to reach the rest house at night. However, with their current speed, even if Wang Zhonghu and the others didn¡¯t contribute, they could easily reach the rest house on time. ¡°Indeed, the speed of advancement is too shocking. With this speed, we can even reach the rest house two to three hours earlier, let alone reaching there at night.¡± Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin who was leading the way in front and was enlightened. ¡°No wonder Miss Qin got CEO Lu to lead the team. The others had always said that CEO Lu had not broken through Level 10, but his talent is extremely shocking. At Level 10, he can match a Junior Adventurer. Now it seems that he should have broken through Level 10.¡± Despite that, Level 11 Adventurers were not worth mentioning in the entire transportation team, because in their team, the weakest was an AR Level 14 Junior Adventurer, and the team leader was an Intermediate Adventurer at AR Level 15. However, in a Level 12 low-level Regional Dungeon, a genius like Lu Jin was like a bug. While Su Tongwei and Lin Xiaokui were chatting, the sound of a horn suddenly came from the gravel forest not far away. Immediately after, a two-meter tall Goblin riding a giant wolf and wearing exquisite armor suddenly appeared. It stunned everyone in the convoy, and their expressions became unprecedentedly solemn. ¡°How could this be!¡± ¡°I must be dreaming!¡± ¡°A Regional Overlord! Why would such a monster appear in a low-level normal Regional Dungeon?¡± At that moment, not only did the people in the convoy feel extremely oppressed, even the Intermediate Adventurers like Su Tongwei and Lin Xiaokui, who had been through many battles, had stiff expressions on their faces. Although there were only a hundred Goblins in front of them, the huge Goblin that was riding the giant snow-white wolf and leading the team was enough to wipe out any team of 50¡­ That¡¯s right, a Regional Overlord was such a terrifying existence! ¡°Our luck this time is really shocking.¡± Lu Jin felt quite pressured when he saw the huge Goblin. In a normal Regional Dungeon, there was not even a 2% chance that a Regional Overlord would appear. It was almost impossible to find one usually. The chance of coincidentally encountering one was equivalent to that of getting a Magical accessory. Goblin King, Regional Overlord, Level 12. Basic stats Strength: Rank ¡®A¡¯ Agility: Rank ¡®B¡¯ Endurance: Rank ¡®A¡¯ Neural Reaction: Rank ¡®B¡¯ In the Goblin King¡¯s internal data scan, the data in all aspects had completely exceeded that of Intermediate Adventurers, and was even stronger than some Senior Adventurers. Under normal circumstances, if there were less than 50 Junior Adventurers whose basic stats had reached the peak of Level 12, it could be said that there was basically no chance, let alone a team that did not even have 50 people. ¡°CEO Lu, let¡¯s drive straight there!¡± Su Tongwei couldn¡¯t help but suggest as she looked at the slowly approaching Goblin. If it was just a Regional Boss, with the strength of their team, they could still fight. However, facing a Regional Overlord, they were simply courting death. The only way was to get rid of the Regional Overlord through the electronic armor. ¡°No! Given the Regional Overlord¡¯s speed, I¡¯m afraid that the electronic armor will be destroyed before we can even run a kilometer away. At that time, we¡¯ll be facing the Regional Overlord¡¯s attack in the truck. It¡¯s simply a dead end.¡± Lu Jin shook his head. The speed of the Regional Overlord was astonishing. Even if one drove a sports car, they might not even be able to escape, let alone a truck. ¡°Hahaha, let¡¯s see what else you all can do to arrive on time.¡± Wang Zhonghu looked at the Regional Overlord which was getting closer and closer. Although he had mixed feelings, he was still happy overall. After all, Xia Qingyao¡¯s batch of salt would definitely not make it in time. They would complete the mission, but the price of that mission would have been a little high. ¡°Looks like I can only risk my life!¡± After observing the Goblin King for a while, Lu Jin gritted his teeth and invited Xu Xiaotian, Tang Yan, Su Tongwei, Lin Xiaokui and other non-members of the four major families. There were a total of 21 people. ¡°CEO Lu?¡± Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin, who suddenly sent her a team invitation, and was puzzled. Although transportation teams would sometimes form a team when traveling far away, at their level, they basically wouldn¡¯t accidentally injure others. Furthermore, because they had a team, they would tend to have a companion status bar in their view, which would affect their individual vision. Therefore, most transportation teams rarely formed teams when traveling. Moreover, even if they formed a team now, it was impossible to change the current unfavorable situation. Instead it would cause some negative effects in their battle. ¡°You all just have to agree to it. I have a skill that can improve your strength.¡± Lu Jin did not explain further and merely gave a perfunctory reply. His innate talent of Myriad Wishes could be said to be his greatest secret. Originally, he wanted to nurture a group of trusted subordinates before he used his innate talent. However, now that he was facing a Regional Overlord, he had to save lives and couldn¡¯t care too much. ¡°Improve our strength?¡± Although Su Tongwei found it strange, there were all kinds of strange skills in Fantasy World. Skills that could improve the combat power of battle companions were not nonexistent. Besides, it was rumored that Lu Jin had mastered a skill and might really have such a powerful skill. Hence, Su Tongwei got everyone to agree to Lu Jin¡¯s team invitation. Chapter 37 - Extraordinary Improvement Chapter 37 Extraordinary Improvement ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°This feeling¡­¡± After accepting Lu Jin¡¯s invitation, Su Tongwei and the others were all shocked and excited. ¡°Brother Wang, what do you think Lu Jin is trying to do? He suddenly invited Su Tongwei and the others to form a team. After forming the team, Su Tongwei and the others seem very excited?¡± The lean young man looked at the changes in the expressions of Su Tongwei and the others and was filled with curiosity. The most useful thing for players in a team was that they could not harm each other. However, to experts, those were just basic operations. Compared to the obstruction in their vision, the effects of teaming up were basically negative. Moreover, the more people in a team, the more severe the obstruction in their vision. But now, Su Tongwei and the others seemed to have taken stimulants. Or perhaps it was more exaggerated than taking stimulants. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wang Zhonghu shook his head and said with certainty, ¡°But no matter what Lu Jin does now, it¡¯s useless. A Regional Overlord is not something a transportation team like us can fight against. Even if the group¡¯s hunting team comes over, if they were to defeat this Regional Overlord, they will probably suffer heavy losses.¡± Currently, Lu Jin was like a bug in the Level 12 Regional Dungeon, equivalent to an Intermediate Adventurer who was fighting in a Junior Adventurer¡¯s dungeon, but the Regional Overlord was an existence that surpassed his level. He could only use the advantage of numbers to forcefully exhaust the Regional Overlord to death. It was not a monster that could be fought alone. The lean young man nodded in agreement. No matter what, it was impossible for them to complete the transportation mission. They could only return to the City of Light and their only hope was that the decrease in their lifespan would be reduced. However, while Wang Zhonghu and the rest were indifferent to Lu Jin¡¯s actions, Su Tongwei and the others were indescribably excited. ¡°Sister Su, CEO Lu¡¯s skill is too powerful! I feel like my five senses are even more powerful than when I wasn¡¯t suppressed.¡± Lin Xiaokui felt the familiar control around her, as if she had come alive. ¡°This skill is indeed too amazing. My five senses have actually completely recovered to their peak.¡± Su Tongwei clenched her hands. She was boiling with a fighting spirit. ¡°Now, even if we faced a Level 12 Regional Overlord, we won¡¯t be completely helpless.¡± Although there was no improvement in their basic stats, the strength of the players was not only reflected in their basic stats. The reason why people valued the AR level was because the increase in the AR level could allow the player¡¯s five senses to improve further, which increased the player¡¯s control of themselves so that they could reach a new level in their control over the battle. The strength of a Regional Overlord was only in its basic stats, not its control and skill in battle. No matter how strong an attack was, if it didn¡¯t hit, it didn¡¯t matter. At that moment, not only were Su Tongwei and the others shocked by the changes in their body, but Lu Jin was also stunned by the effect of Myriad Wishes. ¡°Is the effect on a team of more than 20 people actually so strong?¡± Lu Jin could feel his five senses improve by leaps and bounds. Compared to when he teamed up with Lu Shixue, the difference was like heaven and earth. The current effect of teaming up was no longer just a huge increase in the players¡¯ adaptability. It actually allowed the players¡¯ AR systems to be linked together. The processing abilities of the AR systems were greatly increased, causing the five senses to improve tremendously. In his current state, he could be said to be a genuine Intermediate Adventurer. While Lu Jin and the others were surprised, the Goblin King let out an angry roar and charged forward with hundreds of well-armored Goblin soldiers. ¡°I¡¯ll restrain the boss. All of you, clear out all the small Goblins around the Goblin King first!¡± Lu Jin immediately commanded when he saw the Goblin King charge at them. A Regional Overlord like the Goblin King was different from other Regional Overlords. He only had three skills. Ripper Slash could completely break through any defense. Shockwave could deal tremendous damage to the fan-shaped area in front of him. Frenzied Sword could greatly increase his attack speed and attack power. It could be said that the Goblin King was completely a specialized single-target Boss. Players could not fight it head-on at all. It was basically an instant kill to the players. The only thing that they could do was to restrain it and let the long-range players attack frantically. Of course, it was not easy for the players to restrain it. The bottom line was that their Strength had to be nearly Rank ¡®B¡¯. Otherwise, the Goblin King could stun the player in one hit, and then defeat the player in a single blow. Only if the player¡¯s Strength was nearly Rank ¡®B¡¯, could they avoid being stunned when hit. His Strength was currently at Rank ¡®D¡¯. Normally, it would be impossible for him to fight it. However, if he coupled it with the power of the basic Sword Aurora, he could also reach the level of Rank ¡®B¡¯. At his command, Su Tongwei and the others started moving as well. The Goblins in front of them were elite Goblins. They were much stronger than the normal Goblins. Furthermore, with the Goblin King¡¯s command, their coordination was much better. However, with Su Tongwei and the rest¡¯s five senses at the level of Intermediate Adventurers, those elite Goblins were no different from normal Goblins. Su Tongwei was still able to easily hold back five or six Goblins. The arrows of Lin Xiaokui and the rest became even more accurate. Although they needed three arrows to hit the vital spot to kill an elite Goblin, Lin Xiaokui¡¯s attack speed was much faster than before. In the past, she needed almost a second to aim, but now she shot an arrow in 0.5 seconds, and her shot was even more accurate. In the face of the Goblin army, Lin Xiaokui and the four other Archers had killed more than 10 elite Goblins. They were like Intermediate Adventurers whose levels were not suppressed. Other than the fact that they had lower damage, they were not inferior to Intermediate Adventurers. As for the Goblin King who was wielding a large knife, Lu Jin took a step forward and dashed over. As he dashed over, he could not help but want to shout. That feeling of control over his body and his surroundings was simply too satisfying. At that moment, not only had Lu Jin¡¯s charging speed reach a new height, but his movement technique had also become more agile. He easily avoided the other elite Goblins on the way and directly arrived beside the giant snow-white wolf. He had already accumulated his power for Absolute Nihility. Then, he slashed at the giant snow-white wolf¡¯s waist. Sizzle! Although the accumulation of power had not reached the peak, the giant snow-white wolf was split into two with just one strike. The Goblin King fell to the ground. Then, he got up and looked at Lu Jin angrily. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +100. System: Player¡¯s AR Level progressed by 2%. System: Strength +1. System: Agility +1. System: Endurance +1. System: Neural Reaction +1. ¡°D*mn! The effect of Myriad Wishes is too awesome!¡± Lu Jin gasped when he saw the system notifications. It was just a swing of his sword, but all his stats had progressed. The speed of progress was even faster than half a day of intense training Lu Jin wasn¡¯t the only one who felt the rapid improvement. It could be said that everyone present could feel the rapid improvement of their stats and AR systems. Originally, their stats and AR system barely progressed, but now, after defeating just a few elite Goblins, they had all grown¡­ However, before Lu Jin had time to fully grasp that improvement, the Goblin King raised his long saber that was as tall as a man and swung it at Lu Jin. Lu Jin, who could have dodged the attack, suddenly had an idea. He brandished the Sword of Lake Light to meet the attack. Sword Aurora! Chapter 38 - Basic Sword Aurora: 100% Chapter 38 Basic Sword Aurora: 100% Boom! The clash of the sword echoed throughout the wilderness. All of a sudden, the Sword of Lake Light in Lu Jin¡¯s hand bounced off and he took two steps back. He lost at least 10% of his memory fragments, and at the same time, he heard a system notification. System: Basic Sword Aurora progressed by 1%. System: Player¡¯s AR Level progressed by 1%. When Lu Jin heard that sound, he could not help but feel surprised. His sword-technique practice with the Goblin King, where he felt pressured, was a success. His basic Sword Aurora technique, which had been stuck at that level for a few days, had finally progressed. Although the progress of the AR level was important, Lu Jin personally found that the progress of sword technique was more useful. That was because the sword technique allowed him to better control the power of the light pulses. Only when his sword technique grew could he control more power. Previously, he had been stuck at 89%. Now, he had only used Sword Aurora once, and it had reached 90%. The power of the light pulses that he had controlled had obviously increased by 10%. If he could reach 100%, then he would really have the ability to fight against the Shadowrazes in the future. Before the Goblin King finished his attack, he slashed again. The sound of the air whistling could be heard from 30 meters away. ¡°Good timing!¡± Lu Jin did not show any signs of weakness. He completely relaxed his body and once again brandished the Sword of Lake Light in his hand. Sword Aurora! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The five consecutive strikes landed on the long saber, which caused it to stop abruptly once again. The strong impact shocked Su Tongwei and the others, but that time, Lu Jin only took a step back and lost 5% of his memory fragments. System: Basic Sword Aurora progressed by 1%. System: Player¡¯s AR Level progressed by 1%. System: Neural Reaction +1. Lu Jin¡¯s amazing performance stunned Wang Zhonghu and the rest. ¡°He blocked it?¡±. ¡°Is he a monster?¡± Previously, the battle between the elite Goblins and Su Tongwei and the others was already unbelievable. If they faced two or three of such elite Goblins, they would have probably died. However, Su Tongwei and the others faced four or seven of them. Over a hundred elite Goblins were taken down by just the 21 of them. Moreover, they were excited to deal with those elite Goblins. It seemed like it was even more satisfying than the high-class cuisines at the Light Hotel. Now, Lu Jin was fighting the Regional Overlord alone. Although he could not cause any harm to the Regional Overlord, just the fact that he could block the Regional Overlord alone was enough to make all the large hunting teams in the City of Light blush with shame. It should be known that the large hunting teams could rely on their high level to deal with the Regional Overlords that they hunted. They were not subjected to level suppression. Even under those circumstances, they were barely able to deal with the low-level Regional Overlords. If it was a Regional Overlord of the same level, those large hunting teams would definitely not be able to withstand it. ¡°Everyone, speed up. After clearing these elite Goblins, hurry up and help CEO Lu!¡± Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin, who was fighting head-on with the Goblin King, and urged everyone. Lu Jin might seem to be able to restrain the Goblin King, but every time he fought, he would lose memory fragments. Even if he could use Restoration Potions to recover the memory fragments that he lost, the amount of Restoration Potions was limited, and he needed time to drink them. As Lu Jin was constantly fighting, there was no time for him to drink any Restoration Potion, so they had to end the battle quickly. Everyone understood and increased their speed of defeating the elite Goblins. In less than 20 seconds, Su Tongwei and the others quickly wiped out more than a hundred elite Goblins. Due to Myriad Wishes, their AR progressed. For Lin Xiaokui, she was now only 5% away from reaching AR Level 16. With a few more waves of elite Goblins, she would reach 100% of AR Level 15. Su Tongwei looked at her own progress and felt a surge of excitement in her heart. After just a battle, it had actually increased by 4%. That speed was simply faster than her own efforts to fight those powerful Level 17 and 18 monsters frantically. The increase was more than what she gained when she had farmed for more than a month. ¡°Let¡¯s go help CEO Lu!¡± Su Tongwei didn¡¯t dare to relax. She lifted her shield and charged towards the Goblin King. At that point in time, Lu Jin had lost more than 80% of his memory fragments. On the other hand, the Goblin King was completely unharmed. Lu Jin¡¯s situation could be said to be extremely bad. However, Lu Jin was enjoying it. The repeated intense battles and extreme challenges had allowed his basic sword technique to reach 98%. Furthermore, due to the improvement in his sword technique, the damage that Lu Jin suffered was also decreasing. Now, he lost only 1% of his memory fragments with each hit. The remaining 19% of his memory fragments was enough for him to last for more than 10 seconds. ¡°All Guardians, follow my lead to keep restraining the Boss. Let CEO Lu recover first. The others use long-range items to assist in the attack!¡± Su Tongwei looked at the Goblin King¡¯s fighting style and immediately made a judgment. After Su Tongwei¡¯s orders, the members of the transportation team took out various long-range items from their backpacks. They were either flame projectiles or explosive darts. Each one of them was much more powerful than an arrow, but they were all consumable items. Each one was worth dozens of units of memory. Normally, unless it was absolutely necessary, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to use them. However, now that they were facing the Regional Overlord, they couldn¡¯t care less. After Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian used their shields to block the Goblin King¡¯s attack, Lu Jin quickly took out a bottle of Basic Restoration Potion from his small backpack and gulped it down, which allowed his depleting memory fragments to recover. When Lu Jin regained 100% of his memory fragments, he rejoined the battle. Although Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian had good shields, the Goblin King¡¯s attacks caused them to lose a lot of memory fragments. Each slash caused them to lose about a quarter of their memory fragments. The two of them took turns to block the attacks and drink Basic Restoration Potions. In Fantasy World, players relied on various recovery items to recover. However, because the storage in their backpacks was limited, the number of recovery items they held became very limited. It was almost impossible to go on a mission to exhaust a Regional Overlord. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the Boss, you all go and recover!¡± After Lu Jin blocked the Goblin King¡¯s attack with Sword Aurora, Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian distanced themselves from the Goblin King without any hesitation. It had only been less than three to four seconds of the battle. Even with the help of the Basic Restoration Potion, both of their memory fragments had been reduced to less than 50%. The recovery speed of the Basic Restoration Potion simply could not keep up with the speed of their losses. That made the two of them deeply feel the terror of the Goblin King who was the Regional Overlord. It was not as easy to deal with as Lu Jin had demonstrated during the battle. If Lu Jin had arrived three or four seconds later, they would have been defeated. As Lu Jin, Xu Xiaotian, and Su Tongwei kept the Goblin King busy, the transportation team in the distance had ample time to attack and could deal some damage to the Goblin King from time to time. 99%¡­ 98%¡­ 97%¡­ As the Goblin King¡¯s Health Points decreased, everyone became more anxious. That was because it was very easy to attract more monsters in Regional Dungeons. The longer the battle dragged on, the more monsters there would be. Although they had confidence to defeat the Regional Overlord, as time went on, the chances of that happening would decrease. In the end, it was even possible that they would be defeated by the monsters in the Regional Dungeons without any action taken by the Regional Overlord. One minute¡­ Two minutes¡­ Three minutes¡­ As the battle continued, it attracted the first wave of Goblins. Su Tongwei had no choice but to let the others deal with the Goblins, and left only the Archers to deal with the Goblin King. As the damage output decreased, the depletion of the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments reduced significantly. ¡°Sister Su, if this goes on, we¡¯ll be exhausted to death!¡± Lin Xiaokui was shooting wildly while observing her surroundings. Her expression was indescribably gloomy. In the previous three minutes, they had managed to wipe out 30% of the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments. When only the Archers were left, the Goblin King lost only 10% of its memory fragments after three minutes. The Goblin King still had 60% of its memory fragments, but the second wave of Goblins had appeared¡­ It was foreseeable that in less than 10 minutes, the number of Goblins would exceed their limits. Su Tongwei was anxious. Should they give up everything and retreat quickly? Or should they continue resisting? Regardless of which of those two, their final outcome would probably be the loss of their lifespan in the mist. It was only a matter of whether they lost more or less of their lifespan. While Su Tongwei was at a loss, Lu Jin, who had been fighting the Goblin King, heard a pleasant notification sound. System: Basic Sword Aurora progressed by 1%. Basic Sword Aurora:100%. Progress Completed. System: Player¡¯s AR Level progressed by 20%. System: Player¡¯s Basic Stats +4. System: Player¡¯s Strength has reached Rank ¡®D¡¯ (22 points). System: Player¡¯s Agility has reached Rank ¡®D¡¯ (21 points). System: Player¡¯s Endurance has reached Rank ¡®D¡¯ (20 points). System: Player¡¯s Neural Reaction has reached Rank ¡®C¡¯ (30 points.) Chapter 39 - First Kill in 100 Years! Chapter 39 First Kill in 100 Years! ¡°I¡¯ve broken through!¡± Lu Jin was pleasantly surprised when he saw the system notification. Previously, he had been using dozens of moves, but he had been stuck at 99% and was unable to advance further. Unexpectedly, just as the team was about to collapse and the anxiety in this heart made him think that he had to move faster, the heat in his body actually made him feel indescribably refreshed when he swung his sword, as if he was venting out all five strikes in one go. One slash after another, there was no sense of pause or unnaturalness. The power of that Sword Aurora had actually completely blocked the Goblin King¡¯s attack. Even the Goblin King looked at Lu Jin in astonishment. He had not expected Lu Jin to be evenly matched. Su Tongwei and the others noticed that change as well. ¡°He blocked it completely?¡± Su Tongwei looked at the unharmed Lu Jin in disbelief. The Goblin King¡¯s strength was obvious to all. It was already incredible that Lu Jin could barely resist him previously, but now, he was evenly matched with the Goblin King in a head-on clash. If news of that were to spread back to the City of Light, no one would believe it. Dungeons were definitely nightmare-like existences. It could even be said that they were more troublesome than the Regional Dungeons themselves. Two hundred years ago, when the world was not shrouded in mist, it was not a big deal when people were defeated in Regional Dungeons. They could defeat the Regional Overlords in the Regional Dungeons by replenishing their lives. They could think of ways to raid the Regional Dungeons and unlock the level restrictions. Hence, many players unlocked the level restrictions of Regional Dungeons 200 years ago. At the beginning of the mist, everyone could travel freely to and from major cities. However, 200 years later, the mist had enveloped the entire world. The first batch of people had long since died. Furthermore, no one dared to deal with the Regional Overlords using the method of replenishing their lives, because no one dared to risk their lives. If there was really someone who could fight against the Regional Overlord of the Regional Dungeons, then it would no longer be a problem to unlock the level restrictions of the various Regional Dungeons around the city in the future. It would no longer be a dream to recreate the brilliance of the mist. Thanks to Lu Jin, the Fantasy Light Group would be able to travel freely to the surrounding cities in the future, and they would no longer have to worry about anything. They would also not have to consume large amounts of memory fragments and manpower for each transportation, which would greatly reduce the cost of transportation. At that time, the entire City of Light, be it the major groups, or the Sun and Moon Group, or the Daytime Group, would not be able to compete with them. That way, in the future, just relying on transportation alone, the Fantasy Light Group would probably be able to sit firmly on the throne of the top three groups in the City of Light, and it would definitely be the top group that could not be shaken. After Lu Jin¡¯s breakthrough, he turned to look at Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian and said, ¡°You all assist me at the critical moment later. I¡¯ll be the main attacker!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian nodded with unprecedented seriousness. Previously, the three of them were barely able to withstand the Goblin King¡¯s attack. Now, Lu Jin was able to fight equally. What they needed was to break the balance and give Lu Jin a chance to attack so that he could gain the upper hand in that battle. After confirming that the two of them had understood his intention, Lu Jin turned his gaze toward the Goblin King. He took a deep breath and dashed forward abruptly. Aurora! The moment he reached the Goblin King, he executed a five-hit combo that forced the Goblin King to block with his blade. Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian naturally wouldn¡¯t let that opportunity slip by. They attacked the Goblin King from both sides. One of them slashed the Goblin King¡¯s arm while the other slashed its leg, causing some damage to it. ¡°Roar! Roar! Roar!¡± The Goblin King was enraged. It had actually been attacked at close range. Then, it was about to swing its blade at the two of them. However, Lu Jin did not give the Goblin King a chance at all. He used the five-hit Aurora combo again to block the Goblin King¡¯s sweeping attack, which allowed Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian to narrowly avoid the Goblin King¡¯s further pursuit. When the Goblin King was about to chase after Lu Jin, Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian took turns to defend Lu Jin, which gave him a chance to hit the Goblin King with the Aurora. For a moment, the Goblin King was completely suppressed by Lu Jin and the two. Moreover, with the damage that Lu Jin had dealt, the speed of depletion of the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments was greatly increased. In less than a minute, less than 30% of the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments remained. At that moment, the Goblin King suddenly roared. Its skin turned dark red, and the long blade in its hand turned blood red. ¡°This is not good! The Overlord is going into Boss Mode!¡± Su Tongwei looked at the Goblin King, who had suddenly changed form, and her expression turned solemn. ¡°Everyone, leave quickly!¡± In Fantasy World, any Boss would go into Boss Mode when their memory fragments were about to be completely depleted. Once they went into Boss Mode, they would start to use their Boss skills frantically. However, all skills had a duration of usage and a cooldown time. Usually, as long as the Boss¡¯ skills were used up, players could continue fighting ¡°No! Everyone, go all-out!¡± Lu Jin suddenly shouted. If it was any other Regional Overlord, it would be best to wait until the skill was used up before they continued to fight. However, the Goblin King was different. The Goblin King¡¯s single-target killing ability was extremely powerful. There was no point in dispersing. They would only be killed one by one. ¡°Continue fighting?¡± Su Tongwei looked at Lu Jin in confusion. However, Lu Jin did not bother to explain further. Instead, he took out an item card from this backpack, which was also the only Rare item card he had obtained from the Item Lottery ¨C the Lockdown Card. It could restrain the target for up to 20 seconds. The cooldown time was one minute and it could only be used three times. ¡°Bind!¡± Lu Jin immediately activated the Lockdown card. As the Goblin King was preparing to brandish its longsword, dark chains appeared under its feet. The Goblin King was bound in place and could not move. ¡°What a powerful binding tool!¡± Su Tongwei looked at the Goblin King, who could not move, and could not help but click her tongue. Normal binding tools could not bind Regional Overlords. Or rather, they could be broken instantly. However, the chains that appeared could immobilize the Goblin King. There was probably no such binding tool in the entire City of Light. ¡°Go!¡± Lu Jin saw that the Goblin King could not move and rushed forward. Aurora! The five sword rays struck the Goblin King¡¯s vital point, which caused the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments to deplete significantly. Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian followed closely behind. They did not hold anything back and used their trump cards. The Thunder Enchantment Scroll and the Intermediate Weapon-Strengthening Card increased their attack power by a large margin, and they were not much weaker than Lu Jin. Three seconds¡­ Five seconds¡­ Ten seconds¡­ Time passed by one second after another. Lu Jin and the rest attacked the Goblin King¡¯s vital point frantically to maximize the damage. 23%¡­ 15%¡­ 8%¡­ When there was only 2% left, the Goblin King broke free from the chains and used its Frenzied Sword. It planned to slash the ground to send a shockwave that would kill Lu Jin and the two. ¡°Die!¡± Lu Jin did not dare to hold anything back and immediately used this Magical skill, Absolute Nihility, which sliced across the Goblin King¡¯s neck. Sizzle! Blood suddenly dyed the sky, and the last 2% of the Goblin King¡¯s memory fragments were completely depleted. Countless stars appeared as its body dissipated before everyone¡¯s eyes. Chapter 40 - Extraordinary Materials Chapter 40 Extraordinary Materials ¡°Success!¡± ¡°We did it!¡± Regional Overlord! We have successfully defeated the Regional Overlord!¡± Everyone watched as the Goblin King slowly dissipated. Although the battle had not ended, they could not help but cheer. The Regional Overlord had been defeated! That was a battle record that had not ever appeared in the entire City of Light for more than a hundred years! Based on that battle alone, they would be able to make a name for themselves in the entire City of Light and show off their achievements. Lu Jin, who stood next to the Goblin King, heaved a sigh of relief. It could be said that he was not prepared at all for the battle with the Regional Overlord. Fortunately, his innate talent of Myriad Wishes was extremely shocking and allowed his stats to continuously increase. Otherwise, they would definitely be wiped out in that battle. However, it had to be said that the results of that battle were astonishing. Lu Jin could not help but click his tongue when he saw the system notification. System: Player¡¯s EXP bar +12,000. System: Player¡¯s Adventurer Level has reached Level 12. System: Player¡¯s AR Level progressed by 10%. After giving the Goblin King the final blow, his level increased by one. He had now reached Adventurer Level 12. Furthermore, due to the battle with the Goblin King, his AR Level 11 Progress was at 42%. His progress was faster than a rocket. Before he came, his AR Level had only just reached Level 11, but now it had reached 42%. If he fought a few more battles, he would probably reach Level 12. That level required a Junior Adventurer to spend a year to reach¡­ However, despite the progress brought about by that battle, everyone present, including Lu Jin, had their eyes fixed on the items left behind by the Goblin King. Regional Overlords were not common, especially the ones in Regional Dungeons. The items left behind by Regional Overlords were significantly greater than those left behind by Regional Bosses. They only had a small chance of getting Magical items from Regional Bosses. On the contrary, they would definitely obtain a Magical item from Regional Overlords. That was also why the wild Regional Overlords were the objectives of all the large groups. The Goblin King left behind a total of six items. The number of items was much less than what they had expected. However, everyone, especially Wang Zhonghu and the rest who did not participate in the battle, stared with their eyes wide-opened. ¡°I must be dreaming!¡± ¡°Four Magical items! Can a Regional Overlord leave behind so many Magical items?¡± ¡°No! Extraordinary! There are Extraordinary materials!¡± Wang Zhonghu looked at the items left behind by the Goblin King and his eyes turned red with jealousy. There were not many Magical items in the entire City of Light. Every time one appeared, it would be fought over by the large groups. But the Goblin King had left behind four pieces! However, the four Magical items were nothing compared to the Extraordinary materials. Extraordinary materials! That was something that had never appeared in the City of Light before. Just the news of the Extraordinary materials would probably cause a commotion in the City of Light. However, according to the transportation team¡¯s rules, the items left behind by the monsters they defeated along the way belonged to those who contributed during the battle. If one didn¡¯t contribute, then they could forget about obtaining anything. As they hadn¡¯t joined the Goblin King¡¯s battle, the items in front of them had nothing to do with them. Lu Jin was also secretly surprised when he saw the six items. Among the four Magical items, there were three Magical equipment. They were a longsword, which was the one used by the Goblin King, a Magical long coat and a Magical armor. The Bloodseeker¡¯s Blade: Magical Attack: Grade ¡®B¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®C¡¯ Effects: Intermediate Heavy Strike (Destructive power would be increased.) Basic Bloodseeker (The more serious the damage to the wielder¡¯s memory fragments, the higher the damage it could cause.) The Starry Night Robe: Magical Defense: Grade ¡®B¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®B¡¯ Effects: Intermediate Iron Wall (Defense would be enhanced.) Basic Offset (Users would be less easily hit by long-range attacks.) Crimson Dragon Heavy Armor: Magical Defense: Grade ¡®A¡¯ Endurance: Grade ¡®B¡¯ Effects: Intermediate Protection (Defense would be enhanced, damage taken at weak points would be reduced.) re Those three pieces of Magical equipment were definitely top-grade. There were probably not many of them in the entire City of Light. Compared to the three Magical equipment, Lu Jin was more interested in the Magical item. Thunder Rock: Magical item. It could deal a large dose of thunder damage to a range of 50 by 50 meters. It could be used five times and had a cooldown time of three minutes. That Thunder Rock was a strategic item. If used well, it could completely change the outcome of a battle. As for the other two items left behind by the Goblin King, one was a high-level Rare item blueprint, and the other was an Extraordinary material that everyone valued greatly. The blueprint for the Roar of Thunder was no stranger to Lu Jin as there was a high chance that a Regional Overlord like the Goblin King would leave it behind. The Roar of Thunder could be said to be a long-range attack item that the internal beta players loved to use 400 years ago. Firstly, it was easy to make. The materials were only 100 units of memory fragments. There was no need for anything else. After it was completed, it was a card that could be used three times. The cooldown time was 10 seconds, and it could deal moderate thunder damage to a single target. Many internal beta players treated the Roar of Thunder as a common skill. In terms of raiding Regional Dungeons, it was like a small divine weapon. Origin Star Stone: Extraordinary material, normal grade. It could be integrated into any weapon or equipment that was below the Extraordinary grade and would allow the weapon or equipment to be upgraded. Each of the six items could be said to be the best of the best. ¡°Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian, you two have put in a lot of effort, so I¡¯ll give you the Crimson Dragon Heavy Armor and the Bloodseeker¡¯s Blade. As for the others who were fighting together, each of you will be rewarded with 500 units of memory fragments when you return. I¡¯ll take the remaining four items. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem for you all, right?¡± Lu Jin announced loudly as he looked at the people staring at him. No one objected when they heard that. On the contrary, Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian felt a little guilty. That was because in the entire battle, they produced very little effect. They mainly relied on Lu Jin alone and managed to obtain top-grade Magical equipment. If it was in other groups or Adventurer teams, it would have been impossible. Normally, they would collect all the items left behind by the Boss and at most compensate them with some memory fragments. When he saw that no one objected, Lu Jin immediately distributed the equipment to Su Tongwei and Xu Xiaotian. As for himself, he changed into the Starry Night Robe and started clearing the surrounding Goblins. By the time the sun went down, Lu Jin and the rest finally arrived at the rest house, where there were no monsters, ahead of time and ended their first day of transportation. At night, the moon was bright but the stars were sparse. In the Daylight Residence in the City of Light, Xia Qingyao dragged her tired body to a secret room. During the day, because of Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s sudden departure, Qin Lianyue had sent someone to inform Xia Qingyao immediately. Xia Qingyao had rushed back to the City of Light with great difficulty to manage the situation so that the Fantasy Light Group could be stabilized. Xia Qingyao looked at Qin Lianyue who had been waiting for a long time and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the four major families?¡± ¡°There are no more problems with the four major families. Through this, we have identified many spies from the four major families in the logistics department. We can get rid of all of them in one go.¡± Qin Lianyue¡¯s expression also had a hint of excitement as she said, ¡°This time, it can be said that it¡¯s all thanks for CEO Lu¡¯s help. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal with Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s sudden departure.¡± ¡°Jiang Haoyuan¡¯s situation is also within expectations. After all, he¡¯s one of the few who knows that there¡¯s no future to stay in the City of Light. The best choice is to head over to the City of Thousand Stars to develop. ¡°Xia Qingyao nodded before she asked softly, ¡°How are the people you¡¯ve been secretly recruiting?¡± ¡°We should be able to barely finish training before those monsters arrive.¡± Qin Lianyue¡¯s expression also revealed a trace of bitterness as she said, ¡°However, we are currently lacking in memory fragments and weapons. Even if we were to fight in the future, the effects we can unleash will probably be greatly reduced¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about memory fragments and weapons. Thanks to Lu Jin, we should be able to get a large amount of memory fragments in a short period of time.¡± Xia Qingyao smiled blissfully when she thought of the crystal residues that Lu Jin had mentioned ¡°If the memory fragments can be secured, then everything will be ready as planned.¡± QIn Lianyue said with certainty. ¡°Alright!¡± Xia Qingyao¡¯s eyes lit up with fighting spirit when she heard that. ¡°We failed the last time, but this time, I will definitely protect this place!¡±