Chapter 3: The First Pot of Gold in Life
Xu Chao looked at his remaining source points; he didn't add them to his constitution again, planning to save them to see if they had other uses.
Clenching both fists and feeling the explosive power in his body, Xu Chao felt that if he faced that Shadow Rat again now, it would be much easier.
He felt that this Shadow Rat might not be as simple as a First-Tier Monster; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so hard to deal with while heavily injured. It was very likely a Second-Tier... He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear!
A moment later, he grinned; compared to the harvest, this risk was worth it.
Sure enough, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
Thinking of the Supernatural Ability he just acquired, he gave it a try; using the Supernatural Ability increased his speed by nearly 50%.
Not bad!
Xu Chao made up his mind never to expose the existence of the panel; it was his biggest secret... After his emotions calmed down, Xu Chao wiped the rain from his face; he had to quickly pack up and leave.
Although few people usually walked through this alley, even fewer came now that it was raining.
However, the commotion from his fight with the monster might have attracted others, and he didn't want any complications.
Looking at the mess around the trash pile, he rummaged through it for a large torn bag and put the monster's corpse inside.
Then he quickly cleaned up the traces of the battle and conveniently replaced the sewer manhole cover.
Carrying the bag, he walked back to pick up his backpack and umbrella, took out a spare set of clothes from the bag, and changed out of the torn ones.
Because his physical quality had improved upon advancing to a martial artist, the wounds had already scabbed over.
After finishing, he turned and left the alley... What Xu Chao didn't know was that in another alley just two streets away from where he fought the monster,
two middle-aged men around 35 years old were holding something like a compass, searching along the sewers as if looking for something.
Both men carried weapons; they appeared to be martial artists.
One man with a scar on his face spat impatiently,
"Damn it! That cursed beast runs fast."
"We've been searching for two hours and still haven't found it. These sewers go everywhere; how are we supposed to find it?"
"Enough! Stop complaining and keep looking! It's your fault for not blocking it at the end, letting it escape into the sewers."
The other man holding the compass replied without looking back.
"We finally managed to wound it heavily, only for it to escape. If we don't find it, the loss will be huge. That was a Second-Tier Shadow Rat; it's worth a lot!"
"Block it? How... who would have thought it would desperately use Shadow Evasion at the last moment to charge into the sewers."
"Stop talking and keep searching. It's too heavily injured; it shouldn't be far from here!"
"If it hadn't suddenly started raining and washed away the scent, we would have found it by now."
...For Xu Chao, who was already a First-Rank Martial Artist, carrying one or two hundred pounds was no burden.
After more than thirty minutes of walking, he appeared at the entrance of a five-story building in District 25. The building occupied a very large area.
Looking up, he saw several large characters on the lintel: 'Hunter Association'.
That's right, he intended to dispose of the monster corpse here.
The Hunter Association is a non-governmental organization jointly founded by several top human families in China. It has headquarters and many branch halls in every Base City in China.
Most districts in Star Sea Base City have branch halls, with the headquarters located in District 1, making it convenient for martial artists to conduct various transactions.
Naturally, they purchase monster corpses and materials, and also provide various services for martial artists.
For example, martial artists can stay and rest there, buy various weapons, and there are even martial skills for sale.
Furthermore, it's rumored that high-level members can enjoy some special services!
Xu Chao walked into the hall and found it very large, divided into several sections.
There was a leisure area, a transaction area... There weren't many people today, so Xu Chao quickly walked to one of the counters in the transaction area.
"Sir, how can I help you?"
A beautiful female staff member, about 25 years old, looked at him with a smile.
"Can you check how much this is worth?"
Xu Chao placed the bag he was carrying on the table. On the way there, he had specifically found a place to buy a bag to replace the old torn one.
"Certainly, please wait a moment!"
The staff member opened the bag on the table and inspected it for a while.
"Sir, this is a Second-Tier Shadow Rat. Since the body materials are complete, we can offer 180,000. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes."
Xu Chao had looked into this before.
Generally, a complete First-Tier Monster corpse is worth about 100,000 or less, a Second-Tier Monster no more than 200,000, and a Third-Tier can sell for up to 500,000... This Second-Tier Shadow Rat wasn't the most valuable among Second-Tier Monsters, so the 180,000 price was likely due to it having awakened a Supernatural Ability.
Promptly, after the staff member's operations, 180,000 was added to Xu Chao's card.
He looked at the balance displayed on the card: 180,552 yuan.
He was dazed for a moment; this was the first pot of gold in his life!
One must know that nowadays, an ordinary person only earns a few thousand yuan a month from working.
Xu Chao's mother was a non-Awakener and an elementary school teacher, earning only a bit over five thousand a month.
After the transaction was completed, Xu Chao browsed other counters in the transaction area for a while, wanting to see if there was anything suitable for him.
As it turned out, the more he browsed, the more discouraged he became. He couldn't afford many of the items; a decent e-grade alloy weapon in the equipment area cost hundreds of thousands, and he felt F-grade alloy weapons were unnecessary—he might as well just use his dagger.
Weapons and equipment are crafted from alloy materials researched by combining monster body materials with metals. They are ranked from low to high as F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS grade alloy weapons. The higher the grade, the stronger and sharper they are, and they won't be easily damaged in battle.
In the martial skill area, he saw that the martial skills for sale were even more expensive. He couldn't afford several good Elementary Martial Skills, which were priced at seven or eight hundred thousand, let alone a Mid-level Martial Skill.
According to his understanding, martial skills are divided into four levels: Elementary, Mid-level, High-level, and Top-level.
The highest level he saw here was only Mid-level Martial Skill.
After comprehensive consideration, Xu Chao bought an Elementary Martial Skill called 'Shadow Stab', which cost him 150,000.
This martial skill, combined with his Supernatural Ability 'Shadow Evasion', could maximize his strength.
When purchasing the martial skill, he was informed by the staff that the purchased skill could only be practiced by himself, as they had it on record.
It could not be resold or privately taught to others; otherwise, the consequences of being discovered would be severe!
Looking at the remaining 30,000-plus yuan on his card, Xu Chao gritted his teeth and left.
Leaving the hall, Xu Chao checked the time; it was almost 11:00 AM.
Turning his head, he happened to see a nearby building, the Ability Administration Bureau. Seeing that there was still time, Xu Chao thought for a moment and walked over.
Every Base City in China requires newly awakened Supernatural Ability users to register their information at the local Ability Administration Bureau.
Coming out of the Ability Administration Bureau, he had a breathing cultivation technique in his hand. This was something every registered Awakener could receive for free.
Of course, this was just a basic Breathing Technique. He heard there was also an advanced version of the High-level Breathing Technique with better cultivation effects, but it required merit points to exchange!
It was now almost 12:00 PM; he had to hurry and catch the bus to the martial arts hall.
Sparring partner duties started at 3:00 PM. Although he had awakened now and wouldn't need to go in the future,
he still had to go in person to say something. Over the past few years, the martial arts hall had solved his monthly living expense problems.