A Man’s Needs...

In Merritt's world, there was no such thing as "helping others." He came from a past life where only power and personal gain mattered, not some idealistic idea of justice.

He didn't step in because he was a hero, or even because she was pretty. At first, he hadn't even known if she was a man or a woman.

He helped because he needed emotions to restore his life force using the Celestial Desire Pearl.

Since his reason wasn't kindness, he didn't feel the need to accept any thanks.

To Merritt, this was just a deal.

He solved Yasmine's problem, and in return, he got emotional energy to heal himself. A win-win.

If anything, he gained more.

He left...

Without even looking back?

Yasmine suddenly felt kind of awkward.

She had genuinely thanked him, and he just said "Goodbye" and walked off? Seriously?

But that wasn't even the main thing!

The real problem was... she knew she was beautiful.

For someone like her—a full-on beauty—to go out of her way to thank a guy, and for that guy to act like she didn't even exist? Unbelievable.

Still, she didn't want to get mad. No matter how cold he was, he did help her a lot.

"Sir, wait!"

Since he was acting all distant, she didn't want to owe him anything. She caught up to him, opened her purse, and pulled out the $1,000 Evan had just given her.

"Huh?" Merritt looked confused.

"Thanks for helping me. This is what you deserve."

"No need."

"I don't want to owe anyone, so... I hope you'll accept it."

Didn't want to owe anyone?

Merritt paused, then said, "You want to thank me?"

"Yes!"

Yasmine nodded, but then noticed the weird look in his eyes. Her thankfulness quickly turned into suspicion. Was he about to say something creepy?

He looked all cold and distant, but wasn't this just a tactic? Was he trying to act hard-to-get to get something shady out of her?

Men are all the same, no good at all!

At first, Yasmine had felt grateful to him, but Merritt's cold attitude was starting to annoy her.

And now, she was getting a little angry. If he dared to ask for something inappropriate, she would...

"Can you help me find a job that doesn't require an ID?" Merritt interrupted her thoughts.

"That's your request... just that?"

Yasmine stared at him, stunned.

"What did you think it was?"

"I... I didn't..."

Looking at his handsome face, with a bit of a sly grin, she suddenly felt flustered, turns out she had misunderstood him.

Even though she mentally took him off her blacklist of creeps, her impression of him wasn't really much better.

No need for thanks? Yeah, right.

In the end, he had an agenda, it just wasn't the one she thought. Was finding a job even his real goal?

Well, either way, he had helped her a lot.

Merritt asking for job help did kind of lower her opinion of him, but it wasn't an unreasonable request.

"You don't have an ID?" she asked cautiously.

"No."

"Every citizen of Ancient Splendor has an ID. You know what that means, right?"

Her message was clear: if someone didn't have an ID, there were usually only two reasons. One, they were born completely off the grid, which was rare.

Two, they had an ID but couldn't use it, meaning they were hiding something, probably with a shady past.

Merritt let out a quiet sigh and turned around, ready to walk away without another word.

Watching him leave, Yasmine suddenly felt kind of guilty. He did help her just now, and honestly, he didn't seem like a bad person.

Besides, not having an ID didn't automatically mean he was a criminal. Maybe she was just overthinking it.

"What can you do?" she called out to him.

"A lot of things, hard to explain."

"You..."

She had met plenty of smooth talkers before, but none as shameless as Merritt. She didn't even want to ask any more.

"What's your salary expectation?"

Merritt paused to think. He just needed enough to survive, so he said, "Just enough for basic needs... maybe four thousand?"

Four thousand just for basic needs?

Yasmine mentally rolled her eyes and already marked him as a bragger with no actual skills. Guys like this weren't worth even two thousand.

Good-looking men always thought too highly of themselves. Honestly, the way he had dealt with Evan earlier was probably just dumb luck.

But still...

If Merritt hadn't helped her, Evan's stunt could've cost her twenty grand. That money was basically saved thanks to him.

"Trial period will be three months at $3,500 per month. After that, $4,000. Housing included, no meals. If that's fine with you, you can start at my company."

"Deal."

Merritt agreed without hesitation. He had already overheard during her argument with Evan that Yasmine was starting her own business.

Fairy Grace Clothing Co.

Chief Designer: Yasmine.

He glanced at the simple business card in his hand and looked a little confused.

Wasn't she starting her own company?

Then why was she listed as a designer and not the boss?

And if she wasn't the boss, how could she offer him a job without asking anyone?

Whatever.

That was a problem for tomorrow.

After memorizing the address and slipping the card into his pocket, Merritt couldn't help but smile. Right then, even the sunlight felt extra warm.

Everything was real!

In just a short amount of time, his completely drained life force had fully recovered. His body was now as healthy as a normal person's. It felt like a dream.

This proved that both the secret techniques from the remnant soul and the mysterious powers of the Heavenly Desire Pearl were real and actually worked.

So...

Would he go back to practicing those old skills?

Only an idiot would do that!

The secret techniques left by the remnant soul were already burned into his memory, practically part of him now. But mastering them through normal means would take years.

But with the Heavenly Desire Pearl, it was way easier. He just had to collect emotional energy seeds to grow stronger.

Could anything be more convenient?

He even thought he could finish the first technique, "Chapter of Wind," in just one day. He had already harvested a bunch of emotional seeds from such a minor event.

Basic emotional seeds: joy, anger, sorrow, fear.

Advanced ones: love and hate.

Most people wouldn't even know where to begin.

But Merritt was different. He was experienced, smart, and had already figured it out.

Where could he find the most intense emotions?

The hospital!