Chapter 27: Excuse Me

"Really ate it?"

Li Le's vision darkened, and fury surged within him. Yet, looking at Tao Yu's smile and recalling his behavior within the team, he forcibly suppressed his anger.

His own family had left the Inner City in disarray; now he too belonged to the muddy rank and file of the outer city. He could no longer act as carefree and impulsive as the scions of the Inner City.

Rage solved nothing and brought no benefits.

If it were just some trashy little Karami, it wouldn't matter, but a grade B Dynamic Vision, after consuming so much Blood Orchid, probably meant his physical fitness wasn't weak either—a ready-made, rapid-combat force.

In the era of pioneering new territories, this could be a considerable source of strength.

He had been unfriendly toward Tao Yu in the team and hadn't given face to Tao Hu, mainly because Wino didn't like Tao Yu.

Now that Jose was dead and Wino was severely injured, this fellow was not without value!

This made Li Le reluctantly muster a forced smile and say,

"Alright then, investing in one's own strength isn't a loss. You have good talent."

It pained him to say such words while holding back his anger, but he had no choice but to speak.

"Is that so? I think so too. You've got quite an eye for talent."

Tao Yu's casual remark nearly broke Li Le's composure, who then took a moment to don a feigned hearty expression before saying,

"With talent like yours, you should be able to claim two skills for free. What's all this you're carrying? It's packed to the brim."

Still hopeful but constrained by the rules of this place, he couldn't just rob someone in broad daylight.

Initially, taking advantage of a torn bag to peek inside was feasible, but now there was no excuse.

Regardless of the darkness here, the public rules had to be followed—at least for Li Le, a fellow Outsider.

Unless Tao Yu initiated, there was nothing he could do right now.

Tao Yu, not wanting others to continually covet his belongings, slightly opened the gap for a peek,

"Serpent Fangs, a whole skill set."

Though this skill set was quite a significant haul, it wasn't too conspicuous compared to a bag of Blood Orchid. With Uncle Hu's support and Tao Yu's own talent, they were more than enough to suppress the visibility of such wealth.

"You went back there?"

It was a casual inquiry, but upon seeing those Serpent Fangs, Li Le's eyes widened.

Fuck, all the Inner City folks are dead, and you're still kicking! Tough as a tiger!

"Why shouldn't I go back? You're not thinking of robbing me, are you?"

"Of course not. Our Starshine City has its rules."

Li Le silently scoffed. What a country bumpkin, unaware of the world's ways. If it had been the bag of Blood Orchid, he might have been tempted afterward to make a move, but a mere common skill worth around three thousand units of Yuan Force? Not worth the risk or effort.

"Well, actually, I went back afterward too, just a step too late," said Zhang Wei, lugging a large sack of snake meat.

With his D+ grade Endurance and now armed with a gun, this kid was also lucky enough to survive.

Li Le thought if they had really encountered an alien, he would have been done for just like both of them. They were just as lucky as the rest of the folks who survived in the square today.

After Wino had shown his suppression of Tao Yu, Zhang Wei changed his attitude, but Tao Yu didn't hold any grudge against him. Everyone had their own stance and interests to consider, which was fair enough.

Such a stance could be understood but didn't need to be accepted.

Their relationship thus remained that of casual acquaintances, willing to team up temporarily, but without the need for closer bonds.

Oh, and given the gap in their strengths, even temporary team-ups were unnecessary. It was unlikely they would cross paths again in the future.

Of course, there was no need for harsh words either. Why make unnecessary enemies?

Even small fry had plenty of nasty tricks up their sleeves to irritate others.

"It's a rare occasion, that members of the same team can meet again. Perhaps in the new settlement, we can find opportunities to cooperate more," Tao Yu said, his words brimming with insincere politeness, but neither Zhang Wei nor Li Le found anything amiss.

Looking around again, they realized that among their former team, only the three of them with combat talents and weapons had survived. The loss of life on this Awakening Day had indeed been horrendous...

...

"Grade B Dynamic Vision? Good lad! Haha, I knew you had it in you. You've bulked up quite a bit, and you're much easier on the eyes now," said Uncle Hu, who had been waiting with Tao Yu's parents. He brightened up at the inquiry from Tao Yu.

Seeing Tao Yu's sturdy build and increased height, he guessed the boy had done well.

Yet, he hadn't expected a grade B talent.

Dynamic Vision was a common combat talent, but it was still a combat talent!

With a grade B, he might even have the chance to enter the Inner City if he tried hard enough.

The key was the timing coincided with the development of a new settlement. It was a risk and an opportunity all in one!

"Although the space-time anomalies are troublesome, they are also your chance. The higher your talent, the better, and the more valuable you are, the more likely you are to be recognized. Now, when there's a shortage of manpower, you might even get the chance to be listed under Young Master Sun and Miss Sun after your talent is reported!"

Speaking of the two from the Floating City, Uncle Hu's face naturally took on a respectful hue.

Both Tao's parents were so overjoyed that they wept, their eyes red.

"My old Tao family has produced a B-level combat talent!"

Once their status improved, they too would rise with the tide, and even the scores for the cannon fodder series could be raised.

In all respects, this was great news!

As for the dangers of reclaiming land...

What isn't dangerous in this godforsaken world?

Out of eight kids in the family, four had already perished!

Compared to that, having an opportunity and a channel to enter the Inner City was stronger than anything else!

Thinking about what the head of the security team had said, Tao Long said through gritted teeth with a bit of a rough breath,

"Seventh kid, go for it. We'll sell the pot and iron if we have to, just to arm you up. You must learn those half-priced skills."

Then he looked at Uncle Hu with a bit of a plea,

"Uncle Hu, our family only knows you. You have to help out with this, give your big nephew a hand."

"Haha, I would have given him a hand without you asking. A B-level combat talent shouldn't be wasted."

A glint flashed in Uncle Hu's eyes as he readily agreed.

Tao Yu's talent was a very nice return on investment for him.

Tao Long had helped him when he was down and out, but favors diminish the more they're used, and ever since he got the mechanical arm, the gap between their families had grown even wider!

But Tao Yu's timely B-level combat talent solved all problems anew.

A give and take ensured a stronger relationship!

"Let's go back and think carefully about the kid's future plans. First, test the talent. Ah Yu, you can't bluff your Uncle Hu with your talent, ha."

Uncle Hu joked.

Even though the head of the security team, Ze Chuan, spouted a bunch of words, there was no actual talent registration or testing on-site.

Such things were always personal knowledge; you cannot just claim anything to be true.

Actual talent tests are typically administered when one proactively signs up for a job, with experiences over the years dictating different tests and classifications based on different talents.

So the talent levels claimed by outsiders often had various degrees of truth and falsehood...

"Hehe, only stronger, never weaker. Uncle Hu, rest assured."

And so, Tao Hu with a mechanical arm took the three back to his home first.

Tao Hu's status wasn't bad before the injury. His home was in a much better location than Tao Yu's, already close to the Inner City wall, within the protective reach of wall-mounted firepower.

This was a benefit for the members of the security team, being close and safe to their workplace.

It was impossible for Tao Hu to be driven out while he was injured on duty.

There were many residences nearby, most cobbled together in a style typical of refuse, with limited items brought back from each Abyss trip. Haphazard construction had become the norm, and no one found it odd.

In terms of living conditions alone, these 'family areas' for the security team were much better than the fortresses in the Outer City.

"Just right to work on these two good legs, let my wife show you a thing or two today."

Arriving at their abode, resembling a tin shack, Tao Hu took the wolf legs from Tao Yu's hand and shouted for his wife to prepare dinner as he entered.

Tao Hu was dark-skinned and stocky himself, but the appearance of his wife was quite decent for an Outsider.

Having been bombarded by the beauties of the internet in his past life, Tao Yu could rate her a six, and that was her bare face; a tall, good-looking woman whose only flaw was skin roughened by housework and exposure to the elements.

At least next to Tao Hu, the aesthetic contrast was notable, intuitively reminding one of the mismatched couple of Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian.

But in reality, due to his status and position, even during his lowest point with the disability, the good-looking but talentless Aunt Hu was definitely dominated by him.

Just the omission of her name from the cannon fodder list for his on-duty injury was enough to make many women envious.

Uncle Hu had two sons and a daughter who were still alive, but they weren't home today.

While Aunt Hu efficiently prepared the ingredients in the kitchen, Uncle Hu sat with the others in the living room on a genuine leather sofa.

Genuine leather!

It seemed to be stitched together from the pelts of three brown bears, stuffed with unknown filling apart from the supporting framework inside.

Tao Yu, dirty as he was, left several marks on the sofa as he sat down, but for Outsiders, such tidiness was never much of a concern.

"The specific standards of a B-level 'Dynamic Vision' are only vaguely known to me since I don't handle testing, but let's give it a rough test first."

He got straight to the point as soon as he sat down, as this needed to be clarified. It was all well and good to boast in front of relatives, but if deception came to light during the official test, it would be over.

While speaking, Tao Hu rubbed his mechanical arm, seemingly adjusting the speed with his eyes closed. In the next instant, he moved swiftly in front of Tao Yu.

"Uh, sorry, I think I turned it up too fast."

"Punch, three, two, punch, four."

Tao Yu's voice synchronized with Tao Hu's, and then both fell silent simultaneously. The same thought unwittingly flashed through their minds.

Are you playing me?