Chapter 104: A Great Gift

There was no morning training today, so there was naturally no rush. Lin Qiye leisurely soaked in the medicinal bath for a while before changing clothes and heading to the cafeteria.

Cao Yuan was right. Today's cafeteria food was finally not the nauseating steamed buns and raw meat, but rather a fragrant Chinese breakfast: soy milk, fried dough sticks, buns, flatbread, and congee…

The cafeteria was packed with new recruits, who were all starving after the nightmarish extreme training. They were eating like they hadn't seen food in days, stuffing their faces like hungry ghosts.

Lin Qiye glanced at Bai Li Pangpang, who had already finished two baskets of buns, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Qiye, these buns are really delicious. I wonder if that old man Sun has finally found his conscience... Want one?" Bai Li Pangpang, with his mouth full, handed a bun to Lin Qiye.

Lin Qiye didn't refuse and took the bun, slowly drinking his soy milk and eating.

"By the way, Qiye, how did you get out of the mountain last night? Did you faint or were you shot?" Bai Li Pangpang seemed to recall something and asked.

Since Lin Qiye had taken so long last night, the other recruits had already been sent back to the training camp. Naturally, no one knew that Lin Qiye had crossed the Jin Nan Mountain alone.

"I walked out." Lin Qiye answered indifferently.

Bai Li Pangpang froze, not immediately understanding what Lin Qiye meant, then exclaimed in shock:

"You mean... you really crossed the entire Jin Nan Mountain?"

"Yeah."

"...What kind of freak are you?"

"..."

"You really did it." Cao Yuan silently moved over from the next table and placed a big meat bun into Lin Qiye's bowl. "Good thing, you didn't embarrass us freaks."

Bai Li Pangpang scratched his head in confusion. "Wait, you said 'we freaks,' besides you two, who else?"

Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan both stared at Bai Li Pangpang.

Bai Li Pangpang: ….

"I'm just an ordinary…"

"Shut up."

"Oh."

After eating and drinking to his fill, Lin Qiye put down the bowl and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"You guys eat, I have something to do."

With that, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

Bai Li Pangpang raised an eyebrow and nudged Cao Yuan. "What do you think? Why is he acting all mysterious today? What's he up to?"

"Who knows." Cao Yuan said expressionlessly. "It's not like he's meeting with a lover."

"Why not?"

"With his personality, do you think that's possible?"

"...True."

...

After leaving the cafeteria, Lin Qiye walked directly to the instructor's office.

"Report!"

"Come in."

Lin Qiye entered the office, and Instructor Hong glanced at him, feeling a headache coming on.

"I say, kid, you're really eager, huh? I told you to come today, and you actually showed up so early?"

"I just happened to have time." Lin Qiye shrugged.

"Sit down."

Instructor Hong stood up and took out an envelope and a small black box from the cabinet behind him, placing them in front of Lin Qiye.

"Yesterday, Wang Mian already told us. Although there are some conditions, they're not unacceptable.

The envelope on the left contains a bank card with 500,000, and the password is written inside. You can go to any bank to withdraw it.

The box on the right contains a superpower object we're rewarding you with."

Instructor Hong sat back down in his chair and sighed:

"You really are something. There aren't many people who can fleece General Yuan like you."

Lin Qiye froze for a moment. "Did these come from Instructor Yuan?"

"Yeah." Instructor Hong leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly, "It was General Yuan's idea to let the Masked Squad compete with you. Who would have thought they'd lose so badly… He took the responsibility on himself and arranged these conditions for you. We wanted to help him out a bit, but he wouldn't let us."

Lin Qiye looked down at the envelope and box in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and then pushed the envelope back.

"I'll pass on this."

Instructor Hong was taken aback. "This was what you agreed on before. Now you don't want it?"

"I don't want it."

"You really don't need to do this. He's our General, and also the vice-captain of the Night Watch squad in the capital, with a senior position in the Night Watch. Do you think he needs this 500,000?"

"It's not about whether he needs it or not." Lin Qiye spoke calmly. "I don't accept money from soldiers."

Instructor Hong looked at Lin Qiye in surprise, then, after a long pause, spoke up: "Are you sure about this? If you don't take it now, you won't get another chance next time."

"I'm sure."

"Alright, you've got guts." Instructor Hong nodded and took back the envelope, then reached for the box on the desk again…

Bang!

Lin Qiye quickly placed his hand on the box.

"This is mine." Lin Qiye looked at Instructor Hong seriously and spoke firmly.

"…But you said you didn't want it…" Instructor Hong grinned.

"I don't want the money, but this is useful to me."

"Heh, I was just joking with you." Instructor Hong let go of the box, chuckling. "You have no idea how reluctant General Yuan was when he had to give this up."

"What's inside?"

"Open it and you'll know."

Lin Qiye opened the box, revealing a blue diamond-shaped crystal, about the size of a fingernail, with a faint spiritual aura emanating from it. It was clear it was no ordinary item.

"This is…"

"[Heart of the Blue], a superpower object salvaged from the East Sea over twenty years ago. Within a one-meter radius around it, the [Blue Guardian] from the Forbidden Domain Sequence 278 constantly activates, capable of blocking most mental attacks.

Of course, it has its limits. If the attacker's spiritual power is higher than yours, it can only weaken the effect."

Lin Qiye's eyes brightened.

Although he currently had two superpower domains protecting him, neither of them was focused on mental abilities. In a straightforward battle, it was fine, but if someone used mental attacks against him, unless he used the Seraphim's Divine Power, he had no way to defend.

The Seraphim's Divine Power consumed a lot of spiritual energy and was more focused on offense than defense, so the [Heart of the Blue] perfectly complemented his weakness.

"Good stuff." Lin Qiye nodded.

"Anything in General Yuan's hands can't be bad." Instructor Hong laughed. "Go back and tie it to a string to wear around your neck. For the areas below Chuanjing, it'll be more than enough."

Lin Qiye carefully put the [Heart of the Blue] away. "Please thank Instructor Yuan for me."

Instructor Hong waved his hand. "Stop with the formalities. Hurry back. The training's about to start."

Lin Qiye quickly bid Instructor Hong farewell and left the office in a hurry.

After he left, Yuan Gang's figure appeared almost ghost-like in the office, looking at the envelope on the desk with a slight smile.

"General, what do you think of him?" Instructor Hong, unfazed by Yuan Gang's appearance, asked.

"Very good. Actually, even if Wang Mian hadn't made the deal with him, I would have found a way to give him the [Heart of the Blue]. After all, he's the Seraphim's agent. We can't let him perish too early."

Yuan Gang looked up at the direction Lin Qiye had left.

"So, now what?"

"Now, I think he truly deserves this great gift I gave him."