After explaining everything, Luo Lan returned to the apartment building as quickly as possible, only to find that he had underestimated Garcia's vigilance.

A familiar figure leaned against the corridor outside of 0825, talking on the phone while overlooking the busy street below. She was wearing a gray and white T-shirt, paired with loose black pants and high-top sneakers, looking youthful and energetic. If he didn't know her true identity, Luo Lan would have thought she was the kind of lively and cheerful girl next door often seen on TV.

Although there was a hint of anger on her face at the moment, the cold and mean feeling from her memories was gone. It has to be said that after taking off that gorgeous brocade robe, this casual and simple sporty outfit unexpectedly matched the Third Princess of Wimbledon, the former Azure Water Queen.

As he approached the door, Garcia also noticed Luo Lan, "Okay, I have something else to do, I'll hang up now. If you just want to persuade me in the future, please don't call again."

"The Sanye family came to talk about demolition again?" Luo Lan asked, pretending to be nonchalant.

"None of your business," she put away her phone, looking suspicious, "Where did you go? Didn't you say you were going to take a shower?"

"Do you know what ways there are to eliminate odors? One is washing, and the other is covering it up with another scent," he said without changing his expression, "That little girl staying at my house needed the bathroom urgently to study, and I couldn't possibly argue with her, right? So I thought I might as well go downstairs and run a few laps to work up a sweat. But I didn't expect this body to hardly sweat at all. No wonder martial artists always look so clean—well, none of that is important. What's important is that I didn't sneak off, but I'm standing right in front of you, aren't I?"

"..." Garcia stared at him for a while before speaking, "I don't want to interfere with your personal life, but being too indulgent is not a good thing. Besides... there's also the issue of education involved."

"Huh?" Luo Lan couldn't help but be stunned.

"Those girls," Garcia frowned, "Those who come out of your house... can't you handle it outside? Do you have to bring them home? I thought you forgot there's a minor living in the house."

Luo Lan almost choked on these words—in order to hide it from Jie Luo, he deliberately staggered the time, waiting for the little girl to go to school before letting the Taqila witches disconnect their consciousness and enter the dream. As for whether others saw it, it didn't matter. But when Garcia said it, it completely changed the meaning.

"Indeed, some martial artists become less disciplined after becoming famous—money and fame always easily make people lose themselves. But don't forget, we are people fighting for this world, and we must always maintain a high fighting spirit and never slack off. And indulging in lust will only dull your skills..."

"Cough, cough, I understand," Luo Lan quickly interrupted her, seeing that she was about to start a moral education speech, "We can talk about these later, can you let me change my clothes first? Don't delay the departure time."

Garcia shut her mouth unhappily, glared at him, "...Go quickly."

...

After tidying up, Luo Lan specially wore a newly purchased suit and walked out the door under Jie Luo's surprised gaze. Before leaving, he didn't forget to pack the fried eggs made by the little girl into a plastic bag, ready to enjoy on the way.

"You are..." Garcia, who was guarding the door, blinked.

"It's the first time going to headquarters, so it's naturally better to be more formal," Luo Lan shrugged, "This can be considered entering the system, and being too casual seems a bit disrespectful, don't you think?"

"Ha... whatever you want," she shook her head, "But I didn't expect you to look... quite good when you dress like this."

Of course, you get what you pay for, Luo Lan thought to himself. This custom-made suit cost him a lot of "robbery fees." After all, clothes make the man. As long as you're not hopelessly ugly, a little grooming and a neat suit will instantly make you look stylish, not to mention that this body's frame is already very well-proportioned, plus a head of gray hair. If he were to go back to his original world, some people would believe he was an elven prince.

The two went downstairs, walked out of the community, and waited for a moment on the street before a large bus stopped in front of them. Luo Lan noticed that this car did not have a license plate, and the windows were all covered with black curtains, completely blocking the view inside.

"Get in the car," Garcia said in a low voice. Maybe it was just his imagination, but her expression seemed much more serious.

When Luo Lan boarded the car, he pretended to be casual and glanced at the side of the long street. He saw Phyllis had already stopped a taxi.

After the door closed, the bus was not as dark as he had imagined. The light strips on both sides of the aisle were all lit, and there were quite a few people scattered in the seats.

Their styles were mostly bizarre, looking like a group of performance artists. The few who looked normal were all engrossed in their own things, and no one greeted Garcia. However, Luo Lan keenly noticed that after he got on the bus, several guys fixed their eyes on him, and the ill intentions in their eyes were quite obvious.

Garcia didn't say much, but unusually took Luo Lan's hand and led him directly to the back row.

"These people aren't your colleagues?" he asked softly after sitting down.

"The Martial Artist Association isn't a company," Garcia rolled her eyes, "Most of the people in the car are like you, newly awakened ones. It's also my first time seeing them."

"So many?" Luo Lan was slightly surprised. He roughly counted, and there were about twenty people in the car.

"There are indeed quite a few. The last time I went to the association, there were only five or six people... but that's not surprising," Garcia replied, "Although ordinary people are completely unaware of the changes in the world, awakened ones who possess the power of nature can always perceive some anomalies. Remember what I said before? Not all awakened ones will stand on our side. The number of independents is not less than the number of martial artists in the association. And now that the erosion is intensifying and more and more Fallen Demons are appearing, their situation is becoming increasingly dangerous, and more people will inevitably lean towards the association in the future."

"So most of the people in the car are wild martial artists, or scattered cultivators?"

"A very apt description," Garcia raised the corner of her mouth, "I guess it's mostly right. But you can say that to me in private, just don't say it in front of them. The reason why these people don't want to join the association is precisely because they don't want to be restrained—after an ordinary person possesses power, if their mentality is not correct, it's easy for them to develop a vain sense of pride, thinking that they are the extraordinary ones. This not only hinders their progress, but also makes their temperaments very strange."

"I've already felt the latter," Luo Lan said indifferently.

"In the past, there was such a conflict. A wild... martial artist who had joined the association killed several fellow association members in a hunting mission, which had an extremely bad impact. In the end, it was 'Town Guardian' who came forward to eliminate him. So if they provoke you, just pretend you didn't see it—the association punishes this kind of behavior severely."

"Are wild awakened ones that strong?"

"These people often encounter attacks from Fallen Demons, so their combat experience and emergency judgment are much stronger than newly awakened ones. But as long as you practice diligently and indulge less in lust, your growth rate will be much faster than theirs—after all, they are distracted by too many mundane matters."

Speaking of this, Garcia sighed softly, "The power of nature is a means of self-preservation given to us by the gods, not a tool to plunder others. If we can't stop the erosion, the whole world may cease to exist. Many people, while enjoying the pleasure brought by power, have forgotten their responsibilities."

This sentence sounded somewhat familiar... Luo Lan thought to himself, perhaps more than a hundred years ago, the witches who realized the dangers of demons also established the Union with such a mindset, right?

After an unknown amount of time, the outside of the window suddenly became quiet. The friction between the wheels and the ground became deep and monotonous, as if driving alone in an empty tunnel.

After another half an hour, the bus finally stopped.

Just as Luo Lan thought they had arrived at their destination, the car body shook slightly, followed by a clear sense of weightlessness rising in his heart.

The vehicle seemed to sink underground.