463: 45

Ning Yuan stood up immediately, gripping the dagger in his hand, ready to respond to any sudden situation at any time.

Upon seeing the source of the noise, his tense body relaxed slightly.

It wasn't an Aberration, just someone who had accidentally sliced open the acid sac of a Pollution Beast. He was splashed all over with highly corrosive acid, and now large chunks of flesh were falling off his body; he likely wouldn't survive.

This person had been here for two months, and it was only about a dozen days until he reached the three-month mark.

Those around them felt a sense of sorrow upon seeing this, as no one knew who would be next.

"What are you doing! What are you all doing! Go back to your own business!"

Several people stepped forward from behind the security uncle, loaded the corpse onto a cart, and headed towards the incinerator.

Everyone continued with their own work, as if nothing had happened.

Things like this happened every few days, and their hearts had long since become numb.

Ning Yuan had naturally seen even more of this. He merely glanced over twice, confirmed there was no danger, and turned his head back to continue with his own tasks.

By evening, after finishing a day's work, another hundred-plus yuan was in his hands. Yes, just one hundred and twenty-three yuan: one silver coin, two ten-yuan coins, and three one-yuan coins.

This was already considered a lot; even in the entire cremation plant, those who burned corpses and other veteran collectors didn't earn as much as he did.

Three months ago, he had only been making around forty or fifty a day.

It didn't seem like much, but after saving for three or four months, he could exchange it for a bottle of Level One Gene serum.

Ten thousand yuan was not easy to cough up. Over ninety percent of families had less than one thousand in cash, and those with over five thousand were considered relatively well-off. Ten thousand made one a "ten-thousand-yuan household," even rarer than a Gene Warrior.

Gene Warriors earned money, but they also spent it like water—equipment repairs, medical check-ups, and after saving some money, they had to buy houses and cars, or send their children to good schools. It was rare for their households to have ten thousand saved up.

But now, Ning Yuan had over ten thousand yuan in his hands. Moreover, because he was currently equivalent to an unregistered person and lacked anyone to introduce him, he wasn't qualified to purchase Gene serum. That was why he had inquired about it, intending to buy it on the black market, and had saved up a full thirteen thousand-plus yuan.

It was all lying inside his shelter item.

Saying he didn't have the money on him was just an excuse.

Dragging his somewhat sore body back, he walked in front of a restaurant and decided to have a good meal tonight; after all, he had saved fifteen hundred yuan.

"Boss, one bowl of braised pork, one hot and sour fish, one plate of cold dish, and five mixed-grain steamed buns."

"Braised pork is two-fifty, hot and sour fish is one-eighty, cold dish is eighty cents, mixed-grain buns are fifty cents. That's five-sixty in total."

The waiter looked at the young man, surprised that he was being so extravagant. However, seeing the clothes he was wearing, he suddenly realized—it was someone from the cremation plant. His eyes filled with fear, and he hurriedly headed inside.

Although these people earned a lot of money, just like normal people were afraid of bad luck, they didn't want to spend much time with them.

Ning Yuan was also accustomed to this.

"Master Ning, you've actually come here to eat today!"

"Yeah, just here for a good meal."

"Hey, if you ask me, Master Ning, you should have done this long ago. In our line of work, you never know when you'll die. Look, Old Lame died today, and the corpse was carted off and burned on the spot. What else is there? For us, we should just eat and drink when we can."

Ning Yuan smiled: "My younger sister is studying in the Inner City. The tuition alone is five hundred a month, plus two hundred for miscellaneous fees and living expenses. I have no choice but to save up."

This was the identity he had given himself; after all, earning money without spending it easily attracted unwanted attention.

"Studying in the Inner City, huh? She'll have a bright future when she grows up." However, the man was only saying it out of courtesy; deep down, he didn't care and even thought the other person was a fool. Spending tens of thousands over three years just for a chance at awakening—with that much money, one could easily find a good family to marry into.

Most of these people also made thirty or forty, forty or fifty a day, but they spent money even more extravagantly than Ning Yuan. Seven or eight yuan for a single meal, over twenty yuan for three meals a day, and the remaining ten-plus yuan they brought home was enough to easily support their whole family.

Only those who wanted to buy Gene serum wouldn't spend money recklessly.

The portion of braised pork was very generous, glistening with oil. The hot and sour fish was cooked in thin slices with pickled vegetables, and the bowl of cold dish included peanuts, bean curd skin, and lotus root slices.

Ning Yuan rarely ate like this; he usually just went to another noodle shop down the street.

His appetite was huge. He was at an age where he was still growing, and collecting was a very physically demanding job. Five fist-sized steamed buns, along with these dishes, only left him feeling about eighty percent full.

There was still an hour left until dark. After dark, every household would turn off their lights because the light would attract Aberrations and Pollution Beasts.

Without lights on, the probability of encountering these things coming to one's door was less than one percent.

If you turned on the lights and they didn't come, you could consider yourself lucky.

Walking on the small path he often took home, Ning Yuan stopped in his tracks.

His keen senses allowed him to detect a hint of crisis ahead.

There was someone.

His heart immediately sank.

Who was it, what did they want, and why were they targeting him? The Guard Army? Impossible. How could those people investigate someone for half a year over such a trivial matter?

Then there was only one possibility left: someone had set their sights on the money in his pocket.

Ning Yuan's gaze turned cold, but he didn't stop walking. He was no longer the same person he had been half a year ago. Now, not only was his Talent User ability more powerful, but the energy inside his body had grown several times over, and his physical body far exceeded what it had been before.

A cold glint swung toward him.

It was a steel pipe.

Seeing this, Ning Yuan felt greatly reassured.

A few street thugs.

Shifting his feet, he quickly sidestepped, and the dagger in his hand thrust out, stabbing toward the person's throat without a shred of mercy.

"Aaaaah!"

A scream rang out, and the thug clutched his neck, falling to the ground in terror.

The others around were also startled, but soon their faces turned ruthless.

"Attack together! This kid has worked at the cremation plant for half a year; he definitely has a lot of money on him! I've investigated—this kid hasn't left his house for two months, he definitely doesn't have a younger sister! So he must have at least ten thousand on him!"

Ten thousand—the eyes of those people instantly turned red.

Ning Yuan sneered: "Your analysis is pretty good, but unfortunately, you're too weak."

The thugs swung their steel pipes at him, but Ning Yuan was faster. Like a nimble cat, moving and shifting, his dagger stabbed in and out of the thugs' throats. This time, he found the exact spots, and the men couldn't even scream, only able to make a gurgling sound in their throats.

With the bodies lying on the ground, Ning Yuan observed his surroundings. There was no one around, so a wisp of purple fire emerged from his fingertips, and the seven corpses instantly turned to ash.

He disappeared from the scene.

He made his decision: tomorrow, after buying the Gene serum, he would leave this place and prepare to go outside to hunt Pollution Beasts.

His talent was improving too slowly, but Gene serum was different. With his current body, he could fully withstand a Level Three Gene serum.

However, a Level Three Gene serum cost over two hundred thousand, which was as difficult as ascending to heaven for an ordinary person.

But as a Talent User, after taking the Level One Gene serum, as long as he didn't go to places that were too dangerous, it shouldn't take him half a year to save up the fifty thousand needed for the second level.

By then, his talent would have just reached the second level, and he would be able to purchase another portion of second level Gene serum.

But once he reached Level Three, it would probably be very slow to advance further.

At night, Ning Yuan continued his meditation practice, when suddenly, in the darkness, he opened his eyes.

A faint scent of blood drifted into the room through the crack in the door.