Chapter 162: 155, 95 million in the account! Make! (Please subscribe for monthly tickets)
"DING, your account has received 95 million Federal Coins. Please check."
As Lu Lin was speaking, he heard this notification and jumped up from the sofa.
"Mr. Lu, what’s wrong?" Xiao Ru and Bai Buyi also looked at him curiously.
Lu Lin’s lips trembled slightly as he tried to suppress the overwhelming excitement in his heart.
"I completed a mission earlier, and the reward just came through."
"Oh? How much?" Zhou Ziqiang asked, intrigued.
Bai Buyi lowered his head; for him, money no longer held any meaning.
"Not much. Ninety-five million," Lu Lin said, trying to appear nonchalant, but his trembling hands gave him away.
"What?"
"Ninety-five million?"
"Lu... Mr. Lu, you weren’t... kept by a rich woman, were you?" Zhou Ziqiang hinted.
Lu Lin’s face darkened. "Get lost!"
"Let’s go, let’s go! We’re not eating at home tonight; we’re eating out!"
"Xiao Ru, didn’t you want to go to the amusement park? Come on! Today, tomorrow, your brother will take you out to play and shop! Whatever you want, we’ll buy it! Wherever you want to go, we’ll go!"
"GO! GO! GO, friends! Let’s get wild!"
Suddenly flush with 95 million, Lu Lin found it impossible to control his elation.
Xiao Ru was just as excited as he was, while Zhou Ziqiang looked a bit resigned, and Bai Buyi merely smiled.
The four of them drove out. Lu Lin, thinking that Bai Buyi, having just arrived, wouldn’t have much fun alone, decided to call Chen Xiran and Fang Gang to join them.
The six of them played from morning until noon. After a grand meal, they continued their fun late into the evening.
To make up for Xiao Ru’s regret of never having seen fireworks on Blue Star, Lu Lin even chartered the entire amusement park for them to put on a splendid fireworks show just for her.
Watching the beautiful fireworks bloom in the sky, Xiao Ru, exhausted from excitement, fell asleep.
It couldn’t be helped. Although Xiao Ru had awakened, her Star Power wasn’t abundant. After a whole day of excitement and constant walking, she definitely couldn’t compare to the other five Star Core Warriors.
After Lu Lin asked Zhou Ziqiang to take Xiao Ru back to sleep, only the four members of Lu Lin’s team remained in the amusement park.
"Bai Buyi, our team was just formed, so everyone needs to introduce themselves."
"Please begin."
"Alright."
Bai Buyi nodded, coughed lightly, and stood up to face the three people before him.
"Hello everyone. I am Bai Buyi, a Level 6 Star Core Warrior, Summoning System."
"I graduated from the Hua Xia Zoological and Botanical Research Center, majoring in exotic beast language and culture. I’m skilled in dissection, suturing, internal organ removal, and other surgical procedures."
"The Star Martial Art I cultivate is the ’Baiyu Seven Mountain Formula.’ It was specifically created to help surgeons remain calm, maintain steady hands, and enhance their vision and perception during operations."
"In addition to the Baiyu Seven Mountain Formula, I also cultivate the Broken Finger Knife Method."
"Currently, the Star Skills I have comprehended are Excitement, Rage, Sleep, Summon White Rat, Summon Dread Lion, Summon Storm Bird, Summon Earth Python, Summon Black-striped White Tiger, Summon Qiqiao Bird, and Summon Tree Man—a total of ten Star Skills."
"Um, team leader, is there anything else I need to introduce?"
Bai Buyi glanced at Lu Lin and continued, "Oh, right. I’m currently staying temporarily at the team leader’s house."
"What? You actually get to live at the team leader’s house?" Fang Gang suddenly exclaimed.
Lu Lin didn’t understand Fang Gang’s train of thought. Shouldn’t he be shocked by Bai Buyi’s strength? Why would Fang Gang ask *that* question?
"Yes, the team leader’s house is large, with many rooms, and the entire second floor is vacant. You can come and live there too if you want," Bai Buyi said this as if it were a matter of course, acting like the master of the house, which left Lu Lin speechless.
"Great! Mr. Lu, can I move into your house? I’m still renting in Chongnuo City. This morning, my landlord said his son is getting married and told me to find a new place as soon as possible. I was just stressing about finding a house," Fang Gang said.
Lu Lin’s mouth twitched. "Fine, you can move over when you’re ready."
"Team leader, what about me? My place isn’t big enough, and my little brother is growing up," Chen Xiran chimed in. "Can I live at your house too?"
Are you kidding me? The guys wanting to move in is one thing, but you’re a girl! Don’t you know you shouldn’t casually live with people you barely know? Lu Lin thought, speechless again.
However, considering Chen Xiran possessed a fire attribute Talent, and neither Fang Gang nor Bai Buyi seemed like bad sorts, Lu Lin nodded in agreement.
"Alright. It’ll be more convenient for us as a team to communicate if we all live together anyway."
"Yes! The team leader is the coolest!" Chen Xiran cheered.
With that, the day’s team meeting concluded. Lu Lin and Bai Buyi returned home and went to their respective rooms to sleep.
Bai Buyi lay in bed, took a black-covered hardcover notebook from his backpack, and began to write.
Research Subject: Lu Lin
Age: 18
Strength: Unknown (Third Level)
Star Skills: Unknown
Star Martial Art: Unknown
Characteristics:
Immense strength, possibly cultivates a Body Refinement Star Martial Art.
Can extract Life Force and Star Power from exotic beasts (?).
A Star Guide with a 100% success rate in Guiding Star Skills (?).
Holds a grudge against the Black Shark Society (?).
Personality: Childish (?), Composed (?), Ruthless (?)
Bai Buyi closed the notebook, his gaze fixed on the description of Lu Lin. He frowned, a thoughtful line appearing between his brows.
He had come to Chongnuo City from headquarters primarily because he was intrigued by the Kongming White Ape’s claim that Lu Lin could extract its Star Power and Life Force using a knife. As far as Bai Buyi knew, no weapon with similar functions had ever appeared in the human world or on the Exotic Battlefield. Even the many legends circulating on the Exotic Battlefield contained no such descriptions. Bai Buyi was puzzled. How could Lu Lin do this? Was it his weapon? Or his special Star Power? Bai Buyi had examined Lu Lin’s broken knife. It was merely a bit tougher than ordinary weapons, with no other discernible special properties. As for Star Power, Lu Lin had publicly demonstrated that he possessed an Earth Attribute Talent. Could his line of reasoning be wrong? Bai Buyi didn’t know. He could only stay by Lu Lin’s side and continue to observe. He felt Lu Lin was like a vast treasure trove, constantly drawing his attention. If he could one day thoroughly understand Lu Lin’s secrets, he might even advance to the Seventh Level Golden Body Realm. Although, Bai Buyi himself didn’t particularly aspire to the Golden Body Realm. Still, advancing meant a longer life, and a longer life meant witnessing more interesting things and uncovering more secrets.
With these thoughts, Bai Buyi drifted off to sleep.
Lu Lin, snoring in the adjacent room, sensed Bai Buyi’s breathing even out. He opened his eyes, which shone with a startling brightness in the dark.
「...」
Beautiful times always pass unknowingly.
「On June 28th」
Lu Lin spent the entire day with his group at the Jinlong Shopping Center in Chongnuo City, not leaving until much later. They had a big meal, drank milk tea, played video games, and went on a shopping spree. It seemed like a lot, but it didn’t actually cost Lu Lin much. After all, Lu Lin was now a wealthy man with 95 million Federal Coins to his name; such minor expenses were a mere drop in the bucket.
「On June 29th」
Lu Lin and Chen Xiran drove everyone living at their house, including Xiao Ru, to school.
At the entrance of Mingli Academy, Xiao Ru, who was usually as sensible as a little adult, burst into tears for the first time. This prompted all the small animals in the car—Xiao Bai, Da Bai, and Mr. Bai—to start wailing along with her.
Lu Lin and the others took turns hugging Xiao Ru, reassuring her that they would pick her up on Friday. Helped by Han Ya from Mingli Academy and a teacher who came to greet them, Xiao Ru eventually managed to stop crying and followed the teacher into the school with her little pets.
"Lu Lin, let’s have a meal together," Han Ya said.
"No, Brother Han. I have some things to take care of back home, and school starts tomorrow..."
"Come on, Lu Lin! Aren’t you going to give your big brother this little bit of face?" Han Ya slung an arm around Lu Lin’s shoulder and, without giving him a chance to refuse, led him off school grounds.
「Hongxing Restaurant.」
It was a restaurant with some history, its interior lavishly decorated. The greeters at the door were mostly middle-aged and older women. The food, however, was genuinely excellent. Delicious.
Unlike younger people who favored beer, Han Ya directly ordered two bottles of Dream Blue.
As they ate and chatted, Han Ya eventually said, "Lu Lin, can I ask you for a favor?"
Lu Lin responded, "Brother Han, if you need something, just say it. We’re brothers; using words like ’ask for a favor’ makes us sound like strangers. You should drink a cup for that first, then tell me what’s on your mind."
"Alright," Han Ya didn’t hesitate. After downing a cup of white wine, he said, "My younger brother, Han Fei, is about to reach Zero Level Peak. Could you guide a Star Skill for him?"
"No problem. Where is he now? I’ll go right away." Lu Lin put down his chopsticks and was about to get up, but Han Ya stopped him.
"Hold on, hold on, there’s no rush," Han Ya said. "He’s practicing boxing with Teacher Guan in the school’s training room right now. Let’s finish eating first, then we can discuss it."
Lu Lin didn’t decline and continued to eat and drink heartily.
Except for Zhou Ziqiang, everyone else with Lu Lin was from Team 19. Seizing the rare opportunity, they eagerly poured Han Ya more drinks, seeking his advice and asking about his mission experiences. Han Ya didn’t hold back, answering every question thoroughly. He even proactively shared some mission tips with Lu Lin and the others, including methods for self-preservation when facing criminal Star Core Warriors. These were valuable experiences Han Ya had accumulated through actual combat, and Chen Xiran, always humble and eager to learn, even took notes while listening.
After their meal, Lu Lin told the others to head back first; he would go with Han Ya alone to guide Han Fei’s Star Skill.
However, Bai Buyi mentioned he was also curious. Consequently, Fang Gang, Zhou Ziqiang, and Chen Xiran all expressed their desire to watch. Lu Lin was speechless but could only agree.
Han Fei had a Fire System attribute. After understanding which Star Skills he had already comprehended, Lu Lin guided him to acquire the Fire Wall skill, and that was that.
It wasn’t that Lu Lin was being stingy and unwilling to help Han Fei comprehend Double Star Skills; Han Fei’s talent was simply too limited. His initial tempering aptitude was only 0.71%, not even reaching Lu Lin’s own 0.78%.
While Lu Lin was Guiding the Star Skill, Guan Kuang watched intently from the side.
When Lu Lin finished, Guan Kuang coughed twice. "Lu Lin, I heard you guided Star Skills for those three brothers from the Three Talents Wilderness Team?"
"Yes. Grandpa Guan, do you want me to guide a Star Skill for you too?"
The moment Lu Lin used the address "Grandpa Guan," he was met with Guan Kuang’s disdain.
"Grandpa Guan? Who are you calling Grandpa Guan, huh?" Guan Kuang snorted. "Never mind, I won’t bicker with you about that. I’m the deputy leader of the Jinchao Pioneering Team. I’d like to invite you to guide a Star Skill for our team leader."
"No problem! Big Brother Guan, just give the word, and I guarantee I’ll be there whenever you call."
Guan Kuang’s mouth twitched. This Lu Lin was truly a handful. Tell him not to call you Grandpa, and he calls you Big Brother. Whatever, no point getting hung up on titles. Since humans began cultivation, such unconventional forms of address weren’t uncommon; people generally just went with whatever terms felt right for their individual relationships.
"Alright. Add my contact information. Call me after you’ve finished your school registration."
"Okay," Lu Lin agreed, then added, "But, Big Brother Guan, you might have to wait an extra day. I still need to deal with a challenge."
"No problem." Guan Kuang naturally knew about the annual battles between Challenge College and Iron Blood University. It was normal for Lu Lin, as a genius of Iron Blood University, to need time to prepare for such challenges.