Orphanage

The cars were all packed full to the brim.

Squeezing with all those people, and having to put his belongings on the car roof, Qin Feng could not help but think to himself, "If I want to come out to the wilderness again, I would have to buy a combat vehicle. But then, for that, I would have to set up a team!"

Unless he had a huge space receptacle, he might lose a car if he left it out in the wilderness.

But only the nouveau riche have the capacity for luxuries like that!

Qin Feng glanced at the weak and inadequate Lu Meng.

Of course, Wang Kai, having been ostracized by the group, did not get on the same car.

Maybe it was because of the stuffy and stale air in the car that made Qin Feng feel the squirm of the supposedly sound asleep little guy wrapped in his chest.

Qin Feng's chest pocket was quite spacious, allowing the palm-sized Xiaobai to move around inside it.

"Keep still!" Qin Feng patted his pocket. There were too many prying eyes here for its own good.

Xiaobai's mom looked like she was pretty powerful, and if the good genes had been passed right, little Xiaobai could be nurtured and trained, obviously troublesome if someone their eyes on it.

To Qin Feng's relief, Xiaobei stopped shifting soon after.

He lifted his hand from his pocket, thoughts immediately shifting to the person whom he added to his contacts yesterday—Xue Xingfu!

[I have some things here. Do you want them?]

Qin Feng compiled a list of his haul and sent it to the guy.

Xue Xingfu was still stirring in his bed at six in the morning. The loud notification alerted him, and when he saw the message on his communicator, he sprung up from his bed, eyes wide open.

[Yes!]

Xue Xingfu had a feeling that this young man was not going to be just some ordinary run-of-the-mill guy.

It had only been a day, and there he was, hauling in a mountain of items.

Yesterday, he found just out that Qin Feng had received his awakening injection only recently.

From the looks of how things had panned out, Xue Xingfu ran a silent thought through his mind. This young man was extraordinary.

Qing Feng texted:

[I'll exchange them for 80 strengthening potions!]

[You want more strengthening potions? And what? You mean to exchange for 80 vials? Even if I get them at half price, I can't afford so many with my salary!]

Qin Feng smiled. These potions were not very useful to him; just hard currency that held its value.

Even if the federal government did issue paper money, most people in this era still believed in the ancient trade of bartering.

These things were real, after all!

[Then, just give me F-grade ones!]

Many hours later...

It took Xue Xingfu nearly half a day of ruminating before agreeing reluctantly.

Qin Feng took the opportunity and tried his luck, saying:

[Also, I have the materials of a beast general. Can I exchange it for an energy gun?]

[…]

How much more incredible could this young man be?

In the end, however, Xue Xingfu suppressed his curiosity and agreed to the exchange.

Qin Feng nodded in happy approval. Since he had only just been reborn, it was advantageous for him to have a combat partner like that!

After half an hour, he alighted the vehicle at the Chengbei colony's wilderness terminal, walked up to an ordinary car, opened the back door, and entered. By the time Lu Meng and Li Yaoyao alighted, Qin Feng was nowhere to be seen.

"What in the world? He just left like that? I was going to treat him to a meal?!" Lu Meng complained, arms crossed.

"He's from the Chengbei colony. We will run into him soon enough!" Li Yaoyao said softly, hurt by the fact that they were just nobodies in Qin Feng's eyes.

...

Qin Feng was utterly clueless as to what the girls were thinking. They had only met each other by chance, and he risked his life saving them—already an act of kindness in itself. There was no need for him to watch over the rookies like a nanny.

In the car, Xue Xingfu was calculating how much merit he had that could be exchanged for all the fresh materials.

Qin Feng also got what he needed—three vials of F-tier strengthening potions, twenty G-tier strengthening potions, and an energy gun.

The strengthening potions were worth 400,000—the equivalent of the ultra beast he killed; whereas, the energy gun was worth 200,000—the price of one Neapolitan Mastiff.

To be able to earn such money, the average person would have to work their arse off for at least half a lifetime.

Most of the young and strong who desired to become stinking rich were willing to spend their lives hunting and killing ultra beasts, in turn, enabling them to procure strengthening potions to heighten their performance. The only thing was, they often never returned from their trips into the treacherous wilderness. 

"Alright. You can just drop me off at the junction!" Qin Feng said.

"Okay. If you require more good things, remember to come find me!" Xue Xingfu grinned. He, too, was satisfied with this transaction.

Qin Feng got out of the car. When he saw the crowd hurrying about, he suddenly stopped walking.

He was at a loss, not knowing where he should be going.

Thankfully, a few minutes later, he suddenly recollected that he was supposed to return to the orphanage.

He was not going to be a long-term resident, of course. One month after receiving the awakening injection, he would have to move out of the place when he had reached the full age of sixteen to make room for new younger orphans. 

The orphanage was where he lived for now, and it had been a long time since he last saw the old principal.

Qin Feng's hand curled into a tight first at that thought, his footsteps growing heavier by the second.

Less than ten minutes later, Qin Feng spotted the densely packed overpopulated buildings with almost no living space between them. 

The entire atmosphere was stiffening, giving off the ominous feeling of suffocating congestion. 

But there was indeed not enough living space in Beicheng colony. Only the wealthy could afford to live in the executive neighborhoods and the high-end villas. The closer the place to the center of the district was, the bigger it would be. Vice-versa, real estate cramped down by the square foot with the ever-increasing distance.

In all honesty, most people quietly knew that this was a sort of protective strategy.

Those living further around the edge were the ones who were almost always at risk of dangers—they were the cannon fodders.

Qin Feng walked into the neighborhood, hearing the high-pitched squeals of children playing. Even in a place with insufficient sunlight, kids be kids, and they were still lively and active.

Such was the nature of young offspring.

But when the kids saw Qin Feng, they stopped laughing and scattered into hiding, observing Qin Feng from afar. 

Qin Feng had just slaughtered an ultra beast and reeked of blood. That was not even mentioning his imposing and intimidating outfit.

After he swiped his card at the scanner and entered the building, the kids began to whisper amongst themselves:

"Is he an orphan?"

"He looks really cool!"

"He's so well dressed. Is he here to deliver something?"

"Do you think we get to eat meat tonight?"

The prospect of a new stranger had the children drooling at the thought.

Qin Feng had already reached a G2 tier, so with his sharper senses, he was able to hear the children's conversation. 

'Dang! I forgot. I'll bring something back when I'm free next time,' Qin Feng thought to himself as he ascended the stairs to a bedroom on the eighth floor.

There were four bunk beds inside, the residence of eight people. They were not here right now.

One of them was actually Chen Ming.

Qin Feng looked at the time. It was already seven.

They were all probably out training already. After all, the awakening would be one of the biggest moments in their lives.