Chapter 96: What Has Entered?

"No need, my running speed isn't slow," Bai Zhenzhen said, waving her hand. She began to warm up, her long legs tensing and relaxing, displaying the curves of a well-trained physique.

"My 'Car-Legs' skill is already Level 10."

Then, to Bai Zhenzhen's astonishment, Zhang Yu's body suddenly rumbled with internal energy. The next moment, he shot dozens of meters away, only to return in a gust of wind, stopping right in front of her.

"My Qinggong has now reached the level of a top-tier delivery person."

What was it like to see her good friend suddenly achieve Level 10 in 'Car-Legs' and run faster than an electric scooter?

Bai Zhenzhen's first reaction was, naturally, surprise.

"I've never seen Yu practice 'Car-Legs'! Is he secretly delivering food every night?"

Her second thought was similar to seeing a friend buy a car: "Brother, you run so fast, can I catch a ride?"

Bai Zhenzhen suddenly leaped onto Zhang Yu's back, wrapped her arms around his neck, clasped her legs around his waist, and said, "Yu, take me for a spin!"

The very next moment, Zhang Yu, with Bai Zhenzhen on his back, shot forward like lightning, rushing towards the Dark Scholar Gang campus amidst the whistling wind.

Bai Zhenzhen leaned her face against Zhang Yu's back, watching the streetscape rapidly recede. She exclaimed excitedly, "Ah Yu, you're so fast!"

"Am I?"

Although Zhang Yu had mastered many Level 10 cultivation techniques, he had always been cautious about revealing them.

Now, having a rare chance to show off his Level 10 'Car-Legs' skill in front of Ah Zhen, Zhang Yu felt an unusual surge of excitement.

Amidst the rushing wind, Zhang Yu chuckled, "This isn't even my full speed yet."

Bai Zhenzhen: "Really? Ah Yu, you're amazing!"

Zhang Yu: "Heh heh, see, aren't we faster now?"

Bai Zhenzhen exclaimed, "So fast! So fast! Ah Yu, can you go even faster?"

Zhang Yu: "Haha, watch me accelerate again!"

With a loud bang, Zhang Yu unleashed his 'Elevator Leap' skill, soaring over the traffic lights ahead in a single bound.

Bai Zhenzhen brushed aside her golden wig, which was flapping wildly in the wind. As she watched Zhang Yu run faster and faster, fueled by her admiration, she thought to herself, "Riding my brother is truly exhilarating. No wonder so many people choose to fight others instead of hailing a taxi."

Leaning on Zhang Yu's back, feeling the surge of vital energy and warmth emanating from him, Bai Zhenzhen mused, "It's like the heating can't be turned off; I feel like my whole body is being warmed up..."

The next moment, with a soft splash, water erupted from under Zhang Yu's foot, drenching Bai Zhenzhen's leg.

"Zhang Yu, are you trying to kill me?! Why did you step in a stinky ditch?!"

Zhang Yu replied helplessly, "There are often no streetlights on this section of the road in the outer suburbs, so I can't see clearly. Could you shine your phone light for me?"

Bai Zhenzhen took out her phone, turned on the light, and illuminated the path ahead for Zhang Yu.

Along the dark path, the two continued forward under the faint light, moving further and further away from the neon city behind them.

Zhang Yu suddenly exclaimed, "Why is there something hard poking me from below?"

Bai Zhenzhen, blushing uncharacteristically, snapped, "That's a spirit root!"

"It's because you wanted to borrow it to play with. I've been trying it out recently, and it keeps poking my stomach."

Zhang Yu suddenly remembered something: "Oh, right, don't forget to ask for a Concealment Talisman."

Looking at Bai Zhenzhen, who was bouncing up and down on the screen, her face covered in tattoos, Zhang Pianpian asked confusedly, "What are you doing?"

Bai Zhenzhen replied, "Godmother, Zhang Yu is carrying me to the Dark Scholar Gang campus. We'd like to ask you to activate a Concealment Talisman for me."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Pianpian said, "It's good that you can go to the gang to tutor and earn money, working part-time while studying."

"But... do you plan to come to me every day from now on to have me cast Concealment Talismans for both of you?"

Then, Zhang Pianpian asked again, "Doesn't Zhang Yu have a Talisman Tome? Hasn't he learned the Concealment Talisman yet?"

Zhang Yu took the phone and said while running, "I just started earning money from tutoring, so funds are a bit tight. I'll be able to afford to learn the Concealment Talisman in a while."

"However, I also haven't learned how to draw talismans remotely. Ah Zhen will still need your help, Sister."

Zhang Pianpian said calmly, "I think it would be better if you two lived together and commuted to and from work every day, wouldn't it?"

"Find a place to rent together between the Dark Scholar Gang and Songyang High School. That way, you'll save on rent, it'll be convenient for school and work, and you two can share the Talisman Tome to create talismans."

Zhang Yu immediately began calculating the time and cost in his mind. Then his eyes lit up; he realized this was indeed a very cost-effective solution that would save a lot of money.

There was only one question. Zhang Yu asked Bai Zhenzhen, "Ah Zhen, are you renting your place?"

Bai Zhenzhen nodded. "Of course. If my family bought a house, how would they afford to support my cultivation?"

Bai Zhenzhen continued, "Godmother makes a good point. If I can take classes at the Dark Scholar Gang, then renting together would indeed be more cost-effective. Anyway, my parents went to work in another city, and I've been living alone."

In the blink of an eye, the two arrived at the Dark Scholar Gang campus.

Bai Zhenzhen was introduced by Zhang Yu to Black Crow for an interview, while Zhang Yu himself went to class.

Entering the classroom, Zhang Yu saw rows of burly, muscular men. They were stout, dark-skinned, and their faces showed the weathered signs of age.

These were the students taking the 'Excavation Palm' course. Almost all of them came from construction sites, seeking to be more competitive in job hunting, which is why they were learning and improving their 'Excavation Palm' skills.

Zhang Yu heard that with the increasing number of high school graduates each year, competition for jobs on construction sites was becoming fiercer. The recruitment requirements for 'Excavation Palm'-related positions had risen to Level 6 or above just to get an interview.

Through a few days of teaching and casual conversations during breaks, Zhang Yu had gained some understanding of his students, who averaged over 2 meters in height and over 300 catties (150 kg) in weight.

Some students had very large, bulging bellies, round like large leather balls. Zhang Yu knew this was due to gastrointestinal modification surgery, allowing them to survive by eating only grass daily.

Some students had large, dark, perfectly round pupils. This was the result of night vision surgery, performed to compete for night-shift jobs on construction sites.

Most of them had flushed cheeks, rapid breathing, optimistic personalities, but low intelligence. These were side effects of consuming low-quality stimulants for years at work.

It was said that after learning about this, Ziyun Company initially wanted to improve the stimulant's flaws but kept it unchanged because of its immense popularity in the market.

Some construction sites even secretly added this stimulant to employees' drinking water, claiming it could boost work efficiency and effectively prevent employees from running away or being owed wages. Although the supervisor involved was fired and lost everything, this case was still cited by many companies as a classic example in corporate management studies.

At that moment, as Zhang Yu entered the classroom, many students were still loudly chattering.

Some complained about the rising price of synthetic food, noting that while the synthetic food they used to eat was unpalatable, it was at least cheap enough.

Others were discussing going to work in other cities. It was said that the corporate wars in the North had triggered a new wave of infrastructure development, described as a land of opportunities where everything was awaiting reconstruction, jobs were easy to find, overtime was readily approved, and rent was free—a good place where everyone could find work and housing.

Still others animatedly spoke of the high salaries at the Oasis Tower construction site, mentioning that the Oasis Tower was to be built to 1111 floors, becoming Songyang City's new tallest building, which captured the attention of a group of students nearby.

However, with a single cough from Zhang Yu, most of the students in the classroom fell silent. Zhang Yu paid no mind to the few who were still foolishly talking.

Zhang Yu didn't blame them; they weren't stupid, their intelligence had simply been dulled by their work.

"Alright, no more talking. Class is about to begin. Otherwise, I'll wait until you're quiet to start, and any missed time won't be refunded from your tuition fees."

Zhang Yu knew that for these students from construction sites, mentioning money was the most effective approach, as most of them were extremely frugal, aside from their expenses on 'Dao Heart Buffer'.

Indeed, as soon as he brought it up, the room immediately fell silent, with only Zhang Yu's lecturing voice resonating in the air.

Zhang Yu's teaching quality was, of course, beyond doubt. Especially considering that these students' intelligence had been dulled by their work, he made his explanations increasingly simple and easy to understand. Combined with his deep understanding of muscles and physique, his lectures ensured that students gained significant insights from every class.

After class, Zhang Yu went outside the building and saw Bai Zhenzhen practicing her cultivation while waiting for him.

Seeing Zhang Yu appear, Bai Zhenzhen said with a smile, "All the teachers who can give trial lessons happened to be here today, so I had my trial lesson. I can start taking classes tomorrow, and they'll pay me 2000 per class!"

Although the pay was much less than Zhang Yu's, Bai Zhenzhen was still very excited. After all, this was a long-term part-time job, and it was the highest-paying long-term gig she had ever secured in her life.

Hearing this, Zhang Yu was also delighted. With Ah Zhen earning more money, her chances of improving her physical strength and participating in athletic competitions would also increase.

On the way back, Zhang Yu continued to carry Bai Zhenzhen, running all the way.

Bai Zhenzhen had one arm around Zhang Yu's neck and the other holding her phone, leaning on his back as she searched for rental information.

Frowning, she said, "It's hard to find a suitable place."

Zhang Yu asked curiously, "What are your requirements?"

Bai Zhenzhen listed them one by one: "First, it needs to be small and cheap. After all, a house is just for storing things, and we won't be spending much time there."

"Second, it must have electricity and internet, otherwise it's too inconvenient."

"Preferably a basement. That would be convenient for training, no worries about disturbing people downstairs..."

"Damn, good places like that are too sought after, really hard to find."

Just then, dawn imperceptibly broke. The sun gradually rose from the direction of Songyang City center, illuminating the path ahead for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

"It's already dawn, unexpectedly... Our tutoring session today was quite late."

Along the roadside in the outer suburbs, ordinary people began to appear one after another.

Zhang Yu saw the long lines in front of the stalls distributing synthetic food, and memories from this body's past flooded his mind.

His and Bai Zhenzhen's figures flashed past like a gust of wind in the eyes of these mortals, eliciting a hint of envy.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "If Zhang Yu hadn't gotten into high school, he would probably be like these people now, or like his former middle school classmates, receiving relief food every day, doing low-income jobs for mortals, just living aimlessly, waiting to die?"

However, as images of the mortals queuing for food flashed through his mind, he suddenly recalled the students in class today. For a moment, he couldn't say whether these middle schoolers in front of him or the high school graduates in his class today... were happier or more content.

Bai Zhenzhen, meanwhile, remained focused on finding a place to rent, pondering what kind of house they would need if she and Zhang Yu were to live together, eat together, attend school together, and work together in the future.

As she was deep in thought, she suddenly felt an emptiness in her lower abdomen.

Bai Zhenzhen was instantly shocked: "Holy crap! My spirit root is gone!"

At the same time, Zhang Yu, who was speeding along with Bai Zhenzhen on his back, was also startled: "Holy crap! What just poked me from behind?"