Chapter 52: Chapter 52: No One to Team Up With? Then I’ll Solo!
"Try upgrading to purple quality."
After refining this mechanical puppet rat to blue quality, Lin Ye was still somewhat dissatisfied.
He could currently control puppets of purple quality, so this rat indeed had room for improvement.
Once at blue quality, it still required three Spiritual Essences per refinement. After three refinements, it could be upgraded to purple quality.
After using nine Spiritual Essences, Lin Ye finally upgraded the rat to purple quality.
...
Name: Treasure-hunting Puppet Rat (Refinable, Distance to Quality Upgrade: 0/5)
Type: Mechanical (Purple, Bound)
Durability: 1000/1000
Damage: 35~40 (Melee)
Attribute 1: Gnaw, attack target
Attribute 2: Scout, shares vision with the controller
Attribute 3: Seek Item, your mechanical rat can now equip a spatial bag and automatically pick up items within a 1-meter radius (Wide Area Spellcasting: pickup range extended to 10 meters)
Attribute 4: Sneak, greatly reduces the chance of being discovered
Attribute 5: Swift, greatly increases speed
Description: The special agent rat among mechanical rats
...
Looking at these attributes, Lin Ye was very satisfied.
points of durability is equivalent to 1000 Life Value for a Professional, and the damage is acceptable for a novice Professional.
If placed among combat puppets, such values would be mediocre at best.
But Lin Ye intended this rat for scouting and treasure hunting, so these panel values were quite overpowered.
One rat like this is enough.
The occasions for treasure hunting aren’t actually that frequent.
No need to waste Spiritual Essences on such limited-use items.
Having tinkered out a purple mechanical rat, Lin Ye went to bed early.
...
The next day, Lin Ye arrived early at the Professional Center.
He had already contacted Chen Daosheng to meet with Zhang Ruiqi to discuss work matters.
Arranged by Zhang Ruiqi, Chen Daosheng smoothly joined the Professional Center, directly assisting Zhang Ruiqi with official duties—in short, becoming his assistant.
For Chen Daosheng, all of this felt like a dream.
At the entrance of the Professional Center, when Chen Daosheng saw Lin Ye out, he still couldn’t quite believe it.
"I must have underestimated you, never thought you had such a connection..." Chen Daosheng said, somewhat speechless, to Lin Ye.
Honestly, if he had known about this, he wouldn’t have worried about Lin Ye yesterday.
Just based on Lin Ye’s relationship with Zhang Ruiqi, the Gao Family wouldn’t dare to touch Lin Ye.
It should be known that the Professional Center belongs directly to the Professional Alliance, and although it does not participate in settlement management, it handles Professional-related affairs. In theory, Zhang Ruiqi’s position is on par with the City Lord’s.
The Professional Center manages the non-military Professionals of the entire Shan City settlement, responsible for welfare, subsidies, and other matters.
The City Lord’s Mansion, under the City Lord, handles the operation and stability of the whole settlement.
In front of a Professional Family like the Gao Family, Zhang Ruiqi’s word could even be more effective than the City Lord’s.
"It’s not really any connection, Brother Zhang just agreed to offer an interview opportunity; everything is based on your own merit!" Lin Ye said naturally.
This was partly to reassure Chen Daosheng, and partly because Zhang Ruiqi was genuinely pleased with Chen Daosheng’s performance, otherwise, he wouldn’t have made him his assistant.
"Are you still going to continue leveling up today?"
Chen Daosheng asked with some concern.
Although he didn’t say it directly, Lin Ye understood that Chen Daosheng was worried about him finding team partners after yesterday’s events.
"No worries, teammates will be there." Lin Ye said calmly.
Actually, he wanted to say that it didn’t matter if there weren’t any teammates; he could just solo the Secret Realm!
This might even be easier for Lin Ye.
If it wasn’t for boosting attributes and talents, Lin Ye preferred to be by himself.
"Assistant General Manager Chen, there are still some onboarding procedures that need your attention!"
At that moment, someone called for Chen Daosheng, clearly indicating there were still things he needed to handle for his new position.
"Alright! I’ll be right there!"
Chen Daosheng replied casually and turned to see Lin Ye already heading towards the bustling square.
"This kid..."
Chen Daosheng shook his head slightly and turned back inside the Professional Center.
...
Lin Ye posted recruitment information for teammates, but this time it was much quieter.
Though occasionally he received messages, most were haggling or wanting a free run-through.
Lin Ye ignored these.
Such situations were normal, since yesterday Lin Ye had teamed up with Gao Wei, yet only he came out of the Secret Realm alive, which was no secret.
In Shan City, any Professional with normal social connections would know about it.
No one was willing to team up with Lin Ye, mostly out of fear of the Gao Family’s reprisal.
They were afraid that associating with Lin Ye might lead to revenge from the Gao Family...
Of course, there were always those who feared nothing or those who were quite oblivious.
Those still daring to haggle now belonged to this category.
These people clearly had no sense of the potential threat, hoping to take advantage of Lin Ye’s lack of teammates.
But they were mistaken, Lin Ye’s need for teammates wasn’t as high as they thought.
However, there was another type of person who made Lin Ye extra cautious.
"Liu Zhengjie?"
Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.
This person... wasn’t he one of Su Yaoyao’s many admirers?
Only because of his wealthy background, did Su Yaoyao have closer ties to him.
Now this guy approached wanting to team up?
Lin Ye smelled a conspiracy...
It was obvious this guy had ulterior motives, possibly egged on by the ever-haunting Su Yaoyao.
"Forget it, no more teaming up."
After some back-and-forth, Lin Ye felt annoyed and directly rejected all team-up requests.
He chose to go solo!
As for Li Fei, she had family issues and couldn’t make it to the Secret Realm today.
Just as Lin Ye decided to go it alone, another team-up request popped up...
Lin Ye was slightly taken aback.
"Her?"
...
Ke Jue, for some reason, was a bit nervous.
However, the other party quickly responded to her team-up request...
"Lin Ye rejected me."
Ke Jue felt somewhat disappointed.
"Forget it, you are already Level 8, and he’s only Level 7. Rejecting you is his loss!"
Lu Yunsheng, beside her, tried to console her.
He couldn’t quite understand why his granddaughter insisted on teaming up with Lin Ye.