...
After the morning's events, Li Qingping and Zhang Dafan naturally didn't insist on Gao Neng going to school. They both suggested he go home and rest for the day.
Gao Neng thought about it for a moment and didn't refuse.
After all, the theoretical courses for his senior year were already finished. The rest of the time was mostly for review. As a top student, he was never worried about his academic scores.
As for practical combat...
His physical fitness had doubled, and he had even broken through the first human limit. Barring any surprises, securing a spot in the top five among the high schools in the Forgotten Land wouldn't be a problem.
The main problem right now was still money!
As the saying goes, a problem that can be solved with money isn't really a problem. The key issue, however... was that he had no money!
Gao Neng had already decided to go "farm for cash" at the Dream Toy Factory tonight. It was always a good idea to spend the remaining time making thorough preparations.
"Gao Neng, your home isn't too far from the school, and we're both heading back. Why don't you ride with me and Teacher Zhang?" Li Qingping had a car—not a great one, but not a jalopy either.
"Thank you, Principal, but I'll be fine walking back on my own." Gao Neng shook his head. He had already brought everything he could prepare from home when he left. He needed to get the other things while he was out.
"Alright then, be careful." Li Qingping didn't insist. Watching Gao Neng's departing figure, he let out a soft sigh. "Sigh... If our Third Senior High School had a few more students like Gao Neng, we wouldn't be so thoroughly crushed by First High School that we can't even hold our heads up."
"Indeed," Zhang Dafan nodded.
The scoring standard for the college entrance exam was 30% theory and 70% practical combat.
In their minds, although Gao Neng's practical combat scores were average, his theory scores were more than good enough. He had at least a thirty percent chance of getting into the lowest-ranked Military University in the City of Hope. For this reason, Gao Neng had always been one of the students Third Senior High School focused on cultivating.
It was just that diligent, intelligent, and well-behaved students like Gao Neng were becoming rarer and rarer. The corrupting influence of the Forgotten Land was too severe to be changed in a short time.
Sighing again, Li Qingping drove away with Zhang Dafan.
...
「Inside the Golden Grand Hotel.」
Shen Ning'Er had already returned to her room. She had moved to a room on the 9th floor, and through the window, she could clearly see Gao Neng leaving alone.
However, she had no intention of following him immediately.
Because in her hand, she was holding a small tracking screen that emitted a faint glow. On it, a small red dot was moving slowly.
'I wonder if he can find the tracker in his phone?' Shen Ning'Er pondered for a moment, then felt she was overthinking it. 'How could an ordinary high school student possibly think about a tracker being installed in his phone?' Shaking her head, a smile crept onto her lips. 'Now then... how should I test him?'
...
"Achoo!"
Walking down the street, Gao Neng suddenly shivered. 'Is someone plotting against Us?'
After a moment's thought, he shook his head again. Gao Neng had never believed in feudal superstitions about ghosts and monsters.
'If they do exist, then let's fight for three hundred rounds!'
...
Time passed quickly, and in a flash, it was night.
The Forgotten Land welcomed its daily darkness. All sorts of people and affairs began to stir. On the red-lit streets and in the music-thumping Underworld, the gray zones never lacked for unbridled indulgence.
"Come on, handsome... Come have some fun!" Seductive eyes shimmered with desire, and a waist swaying like a water snake stirred one's lust, making it hard to walk away.
"Got any shredded dudes with eight-pack abs, weighing around two hundred pounds?" Gao Neng asked with a deadpan expression.
"..." Silence.
"None? How boring!" Gao Neng shouldered his large black backpack, which was half as tall as he was, and strode away, leaving two worldly figures disheveled in the wind.
In the span of a few hours, Gao Neng had finished preparing everything he could. He also brought some rations to eat in case he got hungry at night.
He checked the time: 9:03 PM. There were still nearly five hours until the mission's indicated time of 2:00 AM. He planned to head over early to scout the area.
The Dream Toy Factory was located in the North Suburb of the Forgotten Land.
It was over 40 kilometers from Gao Neng's current location.
If he walked, it would probably take until the next morning. So, after careful consideration, Gao Neng decided to bite the bullet and hail a cab.
'This hurts!'
'I haven't even earned a single Alliance Coin, and I'm already shelling out a dozen or so for a taxi!'
Gao Neng's heart ached so much he could barely breathe.
However, when he thought about how this trip could potentially net him an easy ten thousand Alliance Coins, his mood finally improved. 'One can't be too stingy. Sometimes you have to be generous.'
"To the North Suburban Mental Hospital." Because of what had happened today, Gao Neng was becoming more cautious. He didn't have the driver take him directly to the Dream Toy Factory. Instead, he chose a mental hospital near the factory as his destination to avoid leaving any clues.
"Twenty-five Alliance Coins," the driver said, quoting an exorbitant price.
"Fifteen."
"You can walk there yourself."
"Sixteen."
"..."
"Seventeen. Can't go any higher."
"Twenty, minimum!"
"Eighteen. I'll add one more. If you don't take it, I'll find another car."
"Fine, fine, forget it. Get in." The driver nodded, gesturing for Gao Neng to get in the car.
Gao Neng didn't stand on ceremony. He squeezed into the passenger seat with his large black backpack, then placed the big black bag in front of him and hugged it with both hands.
"Little brother, heading to the mental hospital so late with such a big bag? Visiting a patient?" the driver asked curiously as he started the car.
"Nope, I'm going sightseeing," Gao Neng shook his head.
"Sightseeing?" The driver was baffled. "As far as I know, the North Suburb is a desolate wasteland. Besides the mental hospital you're going to, there's just an abandoned factory. Where exactly are you going sightseeing, little brother?"
"I'm sightseeing *at* the mental hospital!"
"..." The driver glanced at Gao Neng again and, for some reason, saw him break into a wide grin, revealing a mouthful of pearly white teeth.
HISS!
The driver's mind went blank, buzzing as if it were about to explode.
He focused on driving and didn't say another word.
Gao Neng, enjoying the peace and quiet, closed his eyes to rest. He actually wanted to do some calisthenics, but unfortunately, the car didn't have a sunroof, so he couldn't perform the movements.
However, while his mind was on calisthenics and his body couldn't move, his mouth was very honest.
Before he knew it...
a rhythmic chant began to mutter from Gao Neng's lips.
"One, two, three, four... two, two, three, four... three, two, three, four... four, two, three, four... one more time..."
"..."
The driver's face grew paler and paler, and the car sped up continuously. A trip that should have taken an hour was forcefully completed in just forty minutes.
"Little brother, I can see you have an extraordinary air about you. You must be a dragon among men. I'd like to form a good connection today. For the eighteen-Alliance Coin fare, I'll just charge you fifteen," the driver said with a benevolent expression.
"Thanks, uncle." Gao Neng hadn't expected such good fortune and was very happy. He reached into his pocket, but his large black bag was too big, making it difficult to move.
CLANG!
A soft sound rang out.
A hammer had fallen to the floor.
"!!!" The driver's eyes went wide.
"Oh, this is for road repair. I saw a rock jutting out at the entrance of the mental hospital and was afraid someone might trip. I plan to use this hammer to flatten it," Gao Neng explained casually, noticing the driver's expression.
"Oh..." The driver nodded, his face pale.
CLANG!
Another soft sound rang out.
A wrench successfully fell out.
"This... is also for road repair?!" One of the driver's hands was on the door handle, while the other fumbled nervously behind his back. He felt around and around, but found nothing.
"Yep. If the hammer can't flatten it, I'll use the wrench to pry it up," Gao Neng nodded, then continued to search his pockets for money.
"Little brother, it's a bit cramped in the car. You... you can actually get out first and then pay." Sweat beaded on the driver's forehead. Unable to find what he was looking for, his legs began to tremble.
"Oh, you're right, uncle. I'll get out first then." Gao Neng came to a realization. He picked up the hammer and wrench, then pushed the door open and got out.
SLAM!
The moment he stepped out, the car door slammed shut.
Before Gao Neng could react, the driver had already sped off.
"Uncle, your fare!"
"..."
There was no reply.
Gao Neng was a little speechless. 'What just happened? Could it be that the driver uncle is a good person? Right, he did say something about forming a good connection. He really is a Buddhist-minded driver.'
He'd saved eighteen Alliance Coins.
Gao Neng was in a pretty good mood. However, he didn't notice a black steel motorcycle parked in the shadows on the roadside behind him.
A girl with upturned eyes sat on the motorcycle.
"The North Suburban Mental Hospital?" The girl glanced at the eerie, old building not far away, the corners of her mouth twitching into a slight smile. 'Could it be fate, wanting me to pretend to be a mental patient too? Alright, if that's the case, then let me show you what a textbook-level psycho looks like!'