Wang Xiangxiang

When Lu Yuan stepped out of the Land of Origin, daylight was already filling the window. He glanced at the time — ten in the morning.

He stretched and climbed out of bed.

His phone was loaded with notifications. The bulk of them were group chats — his class channel and the Future War Gods Group. Scattered in between were private messages from Zhuo Ming, Wang Xiangxiang, and a few others: memes, goofy banter, the usual. And separate from all of that, a message from Li Qinghe.

Sent at seven in the morning.

*"Yuan, breakfast is on the living room table. Don't forget to eat~"*

He smiled.

Over the past several days, his sessions inside the Land of Origin had been running later and later. At his current strength, he could sustain a stay of up to six days — a solid improvement from before. The trade-off was that he'd been emerging well into the morning each time. He hadn't crossed paths with Li Qinghe in days. She still left breakfast on the table for him anyway, without fail.

He went to the living room and found a few steamed buns and a cup of soy milk waiting. He bit into one and headed out.

He went to the Jiuhu Shopping District first.

In the days prior he'd been stopping by regularly — restocking necessities, picking up extras when his finances allowed. Today he started at Wild Wolf Materials, unloading the materials he'd accumulated.

He'd been selling steadily. After all the serum and supply expenses, he'd still managed to save up over four million. Not bad. And that was separate from his Moonstone reserves — over two hundred drops of Moonstone Spirit Essence plus some Moonstone Spirit Dew, which at market rates worked out to roughly six or seven hundred thousand Spirit Crystals. He wasn't touching those. They were his path to First-Rank. But knowing the figure gave him a certain solidity.

After selling his materials, he browsed. He bought new clothes.

He'd been poor before, genuinely poor — his old wardrobe had been worn for years, washed to a pale, faded nothing. Still clean. Still wearable. He bought new ones anyway.

Xili City's hierarchy was stricter than anything from his previous life. What you wore and how you carried yourself was the clearest signal of where you stood. He wasn't going to walk around looking ragged and invite every passerby with a chip on their shoulder to test him. And he wasn't the type who got a kick out of playing the underdog to sucker people in.

He also picked up some clothes and cosmetics as a gift for Li Qinghe.

She'd taken them with a mischievous grin — and then delivered a line that brought him back to earth.

*"Yuan, I'm really touched. But this is the slum district. If I wore something like this outside, wouldn't you be worried about me getting robbed? I'm not a Gene Warrior."*

She had a point. Li Qinghe wandering through the slums in expensive clothes, with no means to protect herself — that was just asking for trouble. Out here, law and morality had all the weight of suggestions. Strength was the only real currency. He'd have to wait until she moved out of the district before the gifts were of any use.

After restocking his Land of Origin supplies, he found there was nothing left worth buying. Everything was covered.

He pulled up the Future War Gods Group.

Wang Xiangxiang had sent a tag at seven that morning too:

**Wang Xiangxiang:** @Lu Yuan Hey hey, Mr. Busy finally shows up? How was the haul today? Did you die?

He typed back:

**Lu Yuan:** Pretty good haul. Didn't die.

Wang Xiangxiang replied immediately.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** Tsk. Disappointing. You haven't died even once.

**Lu Yuan:** Don't be jealous. I'm just strong.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** Who's jealous?! I'm stronger than you!

**Cao Yan:** Lu Yuan, what's your tempering at now?

Lu Yuan considered.

Before coming out that morning, he'd absorbed another round of Moonstone Spirit Essence. His tempering had hit eighty percent. Saying eighty felt a little excessive — a bit over the top. He dialed it back, just a touch.

**Lu Yuan:** 50%.

**Gu Yu:** WHAT THE HELL??? Yuan-bro, are you serious?! How are you leveling this fast?!

The chat detonated. Question marks flooded in from every direction. Cao Yan, Wang Xiangxiang — and then everyone else, even the lurkers who hadn't said a word all morning got dragged out into the open.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** ???

**Cao Yan:** ???

**Moli:** ???

**Wenni:** ???

**Gu Yu:** ???

Lu Yuan read the cascade and bit back a grin. Chat pile-ons — practically a law of human nature.

**Lu Yuan:** Got lucky this time. Ran into a ruin. Small haul.

**Cao Yan:** A RUIN?! Sandy Rock City actually has a ruin?! How does Stormwind City not have one?!

**Wang Xiangxiang:** @Zhuo Ming Xiao Mingzi, get out here and take your beating! Your side has a ruin too?!

**Moli:** We don't have one in Bone City either, I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS

**Wenni:** Zhuo Ming probably hasn't come out yet, right?

Zhuo Ming said nothing.

**Gu Yu:** Wait — Zhuo Ming isn't about to rocket up too, is he? Am I just the weakling in this group?

**Moli:** Gu Yu, check yourself.

Wang Xiangxiang circled back to the dinner question.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** @Lu Yuan Everyone's free tonight! Dinner? You said you were treating!

**Wang Xiangxiang:** I want to go to Jiuhu Grand Restaurant!!!

**Lu Yuan:** Keep dreaming.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** I don't care!! I WANT JIUHU GRAND RESTAURANT

Lu Yuan ignored her.

**Cao Yan:** Grand Restaurant is asking too much, fine — but at least don't drag us to a roadside stall. With a haul like yours, don't you want to celebrate properly?

Lu Yuan thought about it. That was a fair point.

**Lu Yuan:** Fair enough. Wherever you all want to go.

**Wang Xiangxiang:** JIUHU GRAND RESTAURANT

**Wenni:** I know a good place — Nine Walnuts. Tons of creative dishes, really good. And it's close, right next to the Jiuhu Shopping District.

**Moli:** Out of all of us, Wenni knows food best. I'm with Wenni.

**Wenni:** ? I choose to feel offended. Thanks.

**Gu Yu:** So that's where we're going?

Lu Yuan checked the location. Near Jiuhu Shopping District — he was heading there anyway.

**Lu Yuan:** Let's go there.

They locked in a meeting time of five in the afternoon. Lu Yuan closed the chat.

He wandered for a while after that and eventually settled into a coffee shop, taking a seat.

A server in a black uniform came over. Her eyes caught the Gene Battle Mark on his wrist, and her pupils contracted — a brief, involuntary flicker — before she bowed with practiced deference.

"Respected sir, what may I get for you?"

"A latte."

"Of course. Please don't hesitate to call on me if there's anything you need."

She withdrew. It didn't take long.

"Sir, your latte."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Anything else?"

"I'm fine for now."

"Certainly. Please feel free to call on us anytime."

She bowed and left.

He sipped his coffee and let his mind settle on Black Steel Force — specifically, the mechanics of its force application.

Worth reviewing the fundamentals: human core force groups operated somewhat differently from those of the Shiman race, but the underlying principles ran along the same lines. Once the principles clicked, working out the actual technique wasn't the hard part. He had Military Body Fist and Military Body Killing Sword as a foundation; his force control was already solid.

Just yesterday's practice had gotten him to the door. He'd found the approach. Keep at it for a while longer, and Level One mastery was within reach. Once there, he could amplify his raw strength by fifty percent on demand — a meaningful jump in combat power.

He was still turning this over when a clear, bright voice rang out behind him.

"Lu Yuan!"

He turned.

A girl with straight black hair was making her way over — pure white T-shirt, blue denim shorts, a luminous smile. Her features were delicate and striking, her figure tall and eye-catching. Especially those long, fair legs.

Most of the café turned to look. The men in particular seemed to have suddenly developed exceptional situational awareness.

In one corner, a bald man with a black alloy prosthetic arm and a handsome blond-haired young man had both noticed her at once, eyes brightening.

"Not bad at all," the bald man remarked.

The blond-haired young man smiled. "Like what you see? Go say hello. You've been out in the wilderness — made over a million on this trip, right? One girl can't be that hard to handle."

The bald man raised his prosthetic arm and ran it slowly across his jaw with a grin.

Then his gaze dropped to her wrist.

The golden Gene Battle Mark glinted there, unmistakable.

His smile went rigid.

He wasn't the only one. Patron by patron, the café registered it. Expressions shifted. Eyes dropped. Gazes turned carefully away.

The bald man's expression changed. He looked back at his coffee.

"Huh. Didn't expect she's a Gene Warrior," the blond-haired young man muttered. "Better leave that alone."

Both of them lowered their heads and went back to their drinks.

The girl walked straight to Lu Yuan's table, pulled out a chair without ceremony, dropped into it, and looked him over with that bright smile.

"Oh — waitress, a cappuccino."

"Of course. Please give us just a moment."

Lu Yuan nearly choked on his latte.

The girl tilted her head, studying him. "Lu Yuan, you've completely changed from before. My impression of you was way darker."

Lu Yuan smiled. "We're all Gene Warriors now. A bit of change is normal, isn't it? Speaking of which — *you*, Wang Xiangxiang, haven't changed at all."

Wang Xiangxiang puffed out her chest and fixed him with a sideways look. "Maybe donate those eyes to someone who actually needs them. Who says I haven't changed? Hasn't this young lady's figure gotten better?"

He gave up. "I meant your *personality*."

**Wang Xiangxiang:** ???