Chapter 20: The Evolver's Association, An Encounter

Shuiyue Residential Complex, Residence Number Thirty-Two.

Underground training room.

"Now, there isn't any sense of oppression..."

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, with deep eyes, quietly thinking to himself.

In the Martial World, after he stepped into the Free and Unfettered Realm,

he could feel the oppression coming from the unknown.

As if a whale was stranded, his entire body felt uncomfortable.

But now, he didn't feel that way.

"Is it the difference in the world's limit?"

Lin Yuan speculated in his heart.

The limit of the Martial World was clearly far lower than that of the Main World.

This fact could be seen from the huge difference in the flow of time.

Lin Yuan, at the unprecedented Free and Unfettered Realm,

for the Martial World, might be close to the real limit,

and was subjected to the world's suppression and rejection.

But in the Main World... even if it wasn't a beginning,

he was still far away from the real world limit.

At the very least, Lin Yuan knew that in the Cosmic Human Alliance, those truly powerful evolvers,

could easily traverse the starry skies with their physical bodies and shatter stars with a snap of their fingers.

Over more than two million years in the Starry Sea Era, the human civilization managed to venture from their mother planet, sweep across the various alien species, and occupy a vast and boundless Star Domain,

partly because of the unified coordination of the three ultimate Goddesses of Wisdom,

and the incredibly strong individual evolvers also made indelible contributions.

...

Having regained all his strength, Lin Yuan took a while to adapt, then connected his consciousness to the Virtual World.

These past few days, while refining 'high-grade nutrient solution',

Lin Yuan would occasionally enter the Virtual World to explore.

Cang Lan Star Virtual World, residential area.

Lin Yuan's figure appeared on a street.

People passed by from time to time.

In the corner, a few figures would occasionally gather on the seats to chat and converse.

At a glance, there were at least dozens of figures on this living street.

Lin Yuan was no longer surprised by this.

Although ordinary people did not have the authority to connect to the Virtual World,

Canglan Star had a population base of fifty billion.

Even if only one in fifty thousand citizens were a second-class citizen, the total number of second-class citizens on Canglan Star would still exceed one hundred thousand.

In reality, one second-class citizen would emerge out of every two or three hundred thousand people, and the actual number of second-class citizens on Canglan Star was close to three hundred thousand.

And that was just second-class citizens; evolvers also had the authority to connect to the Virtual World.

And the number of evolvers would be far greater than that of second-class citizens.

After all, there were many paths to becoming an evolver: normal, abnormal, mutated, inherited, and so on.

Of course, when we say there are many evolvers, it's relative to second-class citizens.

Compared to regular citizens, evolvers were still extremely rare, with one appearing out of every few thousand people.

Lin Yuan casually walked into a pub in the living area, sat in a corner and ordered a mixed drink.

"This sensation..."

Lin Yuan took a sip, his expression slightly astonished.

If he wasn't acutely aware of his external body, Lin Yuan might have almost believed he had arrived in the real world.

"No wonder the Goddess of Wisdom restricts access to the Virtual World."

"Such vivid sensory simulation must be built upon a colossal server, and if everyone could connect, the cost would indeed be terrifying..."

Lin Yuan sat in the pub for a while, then exited the Virtual World.

"Now that I've regained my strength, I should go to the Evolver's Association as soon as possible, register on the record, and get the evolver certificate."

The Cosmic Human Alliance exercised strict control over evolvers, and even if one was an unranked evolver, they had to register as soon as possible.

With that thought, Lin Yuan immediately contacted the Evolver's Association in the city and scheduled a registration appointment for the next day.

For official organizations like the Evolver's Association, it's best to book in advance.

...

The next day.

Lin Yuan returned home.

In the past few days, Lin Yuan had used the excuse of becoming an evolver who needed to undergo official training and had not stayed at home.

At the dinner table, mother Lu Qiong seemed to remember something and began to speak, "Xiaoyuan, didn't you become an evolver? Your father loves to show off; he mentioned this in the family chat group."

"After hearing about it, several relatives want to hold a family banquet, so everyone can get together, celebrate a bit, and by the way, see you..."

"That family chat group..."

Lin Yuan glanced at his father, Lin Shoucheng.

In the interstellar era, the concept of clans had long become diluted, but social niceties still remained.

Becoming an evolver was a major event that could change one's class status, much more reliable than getting into some higher education institution.

Getting into a higher education institution didn't guarantee you could make something of yourself. Every year, millions graduate from such institutions, but how many actually find satisfying jobs?

But for evolvers, it was different. Even if one was an unranked evolver, many companies and conglomerates were willing to offer high salaries for recruitment.

If one day, by luck, you became a ranked evolver, that would really be like a carp transforming into a dragon.

Originally, Lin Yuan's family was just an ordinary one, holding a negligible position among relatives. But now that Lin Yuan had become an evolver, everything had changed.

No one could guarantee that there wouldn't come a time when they needed the help of Lin Yuan, the evolver.

Sometimes, asking for help wasn't shameful. What's shameful is having no one to ask for help.

"Mr. Nian helped me before; he wants everyone to gather, and I couldn't refuse..."

Father Lin Shoucheng said with a wry smile on his face.

He had only boasted a few words in the chat group; who would have thought someone would actually take him up on it.

"It's fine, I will be there for the family banquet."

Lin Yuan knew what his parents meant; they were just worried he'd have something else on and couldn't attend.

If Lin Yuan, the guest of honor, wasn't there, what would be the point of holding the family banquet?

"A family banquet?"

"What family banquet?"

"Will there be delicious food?"

Sister Lin Yi immediately perked up, her big eyes blinking as she asked.

...

After finishing the meal and leaving home,

Lin Yuan intended to go to the Evolver's Association to collect his certificate.

He hadn't gone far when he received a phone call.

"May I speak with Mr. Lin Yuan?"

The voice on the other end was a woman's, somewhat tentative in her questioning.

"I am him."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"I'm from the Evolver's Association. Yesterday Mr. Lin Yuan applied to register today..."

"At the time, I was unaware that Mr. Lin Yuan was a second-level citizen, so I didn't make it clear. According to the association's rules, any second-level citizen who comes to handle affairs must be provided with special transport..."

The woman's voice on the phone was nearly frantic.

In Dongning City, there were only so many second-level citizens, all of whom knew the president of the Evolver's Association. They conducted their affairs directly through the president.

This low-level employee had never dealt with a second-level citizen before.

When she received Lin Yuan's application the previous day, she had been busy with other things and hadn't paid it much mind. Only when she entered Lin Yuan's citizen number in the morning did she realize he was a second-level citizen.

Because of this, she had caught her supervisor's attention. They had inquired if the second-level citizen had any special needs, emphasizing the importance of accommodating him to the best of their ability.

"It's not a problem,"

Lin Yuan shook his head.

He hadn't lost anything, after all.

"Where is Mr. Lin now? I'll immediately send someone to pick you up..."

The woman's voice on the phone finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Lin Yuan had taken issue with her service, there was no doubt that she would be fired the next day, with the reason entered into her record.

After that, no company or business group would be willing to employ her, for the offense of slighting a high-ranking citizen was considered crossing a line, no matter where.

"I'm currently at..."

Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment but then decided to tell her his current location.

Having someone come to pick him up was convenient and would also save him the cost of a cab.

After hanging up, Lin Yuan found a random coffee shop on the roadside to wait.

However,

It wasn't long before

a voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Lin Yuan, what are you doing here?"