"Don’t tell anyone that I told you this. Although the Substitute Life Seed of the Vile Marionette doesn’t seem that powerful, once I’m level up to a transcendent, this skill from this Life Seed will evolve into a secret skill that can save your life. I suggest you choose the same Life Seed as I do when you are leveling up to bronze-level in the future. I heard this from my bro who comes from royalty; it’s a solid piece of information!" Fatty intentionally lowered his voice as he said this to Lin Huang.
Lin Huang figured if he went to Fog Canyon with Fatty and leveled to bronze-level, Fatty would definitely feel weird because he could not hide his tremendous level-up speed.
"Nevermind, I’ll wait for him to level up and convince him to leave me while I stay in Fog Canyon to level up…" Lin Huang thought.
"This piece of information did not come by easily, I’m telling you because you’re my bro. Aren’t I the best?" Fatty boasted.
"Alright, I’ll help you to finish your task. Once it’s completed, you can leave while I stay on to settle some stuff." Lin Huang suggested.
"That sounds like a plan! Send me your contact details. I’ll book the spaceship ticket to Baqi City for you. We will meet in Baqi City a day before." Fatty paid for Lin Huang’s ticket since he asked for his help.
"It’s alright, I’ll book the ticket on my own, even if I’m not helping you, I would have to go there in a couple of days anyway." Lin Huang declined Fatty’s generosity.
"I’ll take you to a good meal once we’re there then." Fatty wanted to repay Lin Huang’s kindness.
"Sure, I’ll see you next week." Lin Huang hung up the call.
"Brother, who is that whom you were talking to just now?" Lin Xin was picking up a parcel downstairs and saw Lin Huang on a video-call.
"He’s a friend, he’s asking me to join him in Fog Canyon next week."
"Is it far?" Lin Xin had never heard of the place before.
"It would take more than 20 days. He’s leveling up to bronze-level and needs my help. I have something to settle in the same area as well so I agreed."
"Oh…" Lin Xin seemed upset.
"I’ll send you the money for food and daily necessities; I will be back end of September. Whatever you need to buy, don’t worry about the money." Lin Huang then transferred a million credit points to her.
"One million?!" Lin Xin shrieked, "That’s too much!"
"Not at all. I’m a hunter now, an iron-level monster carcass is selling for more than 10,000 credits and I can get at least 100,000 credits for a bronze-level monster carcass. I can make one million within minutes strolling through the wild zone." Credit points were no longer a concern to Lin Huang ever since he became a hunter. His concern was now Life Crystals, one million credit points were equivalent to 10 years’ worth of Life Crystals.
"Is it a lucrative job to be a hunter?!" Although Lin Xin knew hunters made good money, she was not too clear about the occupation itself. Now, she finally understood why all hunters were so rich. "I want to be a hunter too when I grow up!"
"Why are you so competitive? You should focus on your studies for now. If you graduate from a prestigious school, you could have a better life than me." Lin Huang patted her head.
"I’m going back to my room to train my gun skills!"
"Go then. Rest up when you need to. Do everything in moderation for the best efficiency." Lin Huang reminded her.
"Okay!" Lin Xin shouted while she made her way upstairs.
Three days passed and Lin Xin’s summer break came to an end. She had officially joined the graduation class of Hunter Reserve College. As planned, Lin Huang headed to Baqi City a day earlier before venturing into Fog Canyon. He checked into a hotel near the central plaza and called Yin Hangyi.
"I’m here, where are you?" He called Fatty.
"I’ve arrived since yesterday!" Fatty sounded lazy, "I just woke up from a nap. Was just thinking of calling to check and see when you'll be arriving. Come to my hotel, I still have an empty room in my suite."
"I just checked into a hotel." Lin Huang did not want to sleep in the same room with the chatterbox.
"So fast? Which hotel are you staying in?" Fatty asked.
"I’m at Yun Man Hotel, what about you?"
"Oh that’s such a coincidence; I’m staying at Yun Man Hotel too!" Fatty was excited.
"There are only three hotels around the central plaza that hunters would usually opt for." Lin Huang was not surprised at all.
"Which floor are you on?" Fatty asked.
"I'm o the 17th floor, what are you trying to do?"
"I’m going to visit you of course! I’m still on the 29th floor. Wait for me, I’m coming to you!" Fatty then asked, "Which room number?"
"Room 1721…" Lin Huang knew very well that if he did not tell him his room number, Fatty would definitely knock on each room to look for him.
Fatty rang his doorbell not long after he hung up. He tried to hug Lin Huang but Lin Huang dodged him.
"Wow! Great movement skill! Which level exactly are you on now?"
"Iron-level rank-2." Lin Huang lied.
"So fast?!" Fatty thought Lin Huang had just entered iron-level not long ago and would need some time to get to iron-level rank-2.
"I've got great qualities, there’s nothing you can do about it." Lin Huang boasted.
"Which Life Skill are you training now?" Fatty was curious.
"Army Attack Tactics." Lin Huang admitted.
"That’s expensive; didn’t you tell me that you’re poor?" Fatty remembered that Lin Huang could not even afford a portable tent.
"I got it from the Union Government as a reward during the last monster horde invasion." Lin Huang smiled.
"Damn, what a steal!" Fatty thought about it and shook his head, "It would be useless if I got that Life Skill. I'm not as qualified as you and the effect of me training Army Attack Tactics would be worse than other Life Skills. For you, it’s different. If you trained until level six, you would be comparable to an ultimate Life Skill."
"The possibilities of it being comparable to an Ultimate Life Skill is the reason I’m training Army Attack Tactics." Lin Huang did not want to tell Fatty that he had trained Army Attack Tactics to level eight.
After chatting for awhile, Fatty said, "I shall head back to my room now, I’ll drop by your room around five. Let’s go to dinner together! My treat!"
It was two o’clock in the afternoon after Fatty left. Lin Huang read some news about the monsters in Fog Canyon. Soon, it was five and Fatty arrived for dinner.
"What would you like to eat?
"Anything will do, as long as it’s delicious." Lin Huang was not fussy.
"Since you’re not expecting something like fine-dining, I shall bring you to this one then." Fatty waved his hand, "Come with me!"
After walking for 10 minutes, they arrived at a hotel called Guest Hotel. Lin Huang had heard about this hotel chain before. They were huge and were headquartered in Baqi City.
As Lin Huang followed behind Fatty as they entered the hotel, the staff greeted Fatty. Lin Huang figured he was probably a regular customer. They headed to a private room. Lin Huang drank tea while Fatty ordered the dishes.
A while later, Lin Huang asked to be excused to the restroom.
On the way to the restroom, Lin Huang saw a man in a chef uniform walk out of the restroom. He looked so much like Fatty but was much bigger and taller. He looked like he was in his 40s, Lin Huang found that strange.
When he returned, Lin Huang could not help but ask, "Fatty, is the hotel chef your relative?"
"What’s wrong?" Fatty lifted his head and asked. Lin Huang then told him about the middle-aged chef that he saw earlier.
"So you saw my dad? I thought he was not around today, it’s your lucky day!" Fatty blurted.
"Your dad is the chef?" Lin Huang knew nothing about Fatty’s family.
"He's also the hotel owner." Fatty explained.
"Ahh is that so." Lin Huang thought that no matter how much a chef earned, it would still not be enough to upgrade to iron-level but since his dad was the chain hotel’s owner, everything made sense.
"Have a seat, I’ll go to the kitchen and ask my dad to make his best dishes. You'll love them!" Lin Huang had tried Fatty’s cooking before, it was good. He must have learned it from his dad. Lin Huang was excited to try the food Fatty's dad was going to prepare.
Fatty left to the kitchen and came back 10 minutes later. He smiled while saying to Lin Huang, "My dad has something to settle in Baqi City today, that’s why he dropped by the hotel. He saw that the hotel was crowded so he decided to help. You’re lucky to have bumped into him."
"Although my dad owns this place, I have to pay whenever I eat here. There’s no discount for me, it’s a rule my dad set. But since you’re here today, he made this meal complimentary."
Lin Huang was embarrassed to hear that, "It’s not good that I broke the rules…"
"No you didn’t, he put the bill on his own tab. I know him very well." Fatty explained.
The food was served after awhile. The food portion was simple and small. There were three dishes and a bowl of soup but Lin Huang could tell that his dad put a lot of effort to prepare them. Every bite was unforgettable, Lin Huang had only tasted food this good back at the Stable Residence. Lin Huang was impressed with his cooking skills!
After dinner, Fatty’s dad met with them. Lin Huang knew that his dad had given them the best. It was a thank you dinner for taking care of Fatty.
"Don’t worry, I will bring Fatty back in one piece." Lin Huang thought.