The Creatures That We Are

Qing Ling nodded and took the pen and menu, asking casually, “Yin yang hot pot[1]?”

“Sure.”

Gao Yang remembered that Qing Ling loved spicy food, but she didn’t just order a spicy pot.

Good girl. You’ve learned to consider other people.

Qing Ling drew a check mark after the ying yang hot pot before looking over the menu seriously, her pretty face arranged into a look of devotion. She marked every order after careful thinking.

Gao Yang quietly accessed the system to make sure that no bonus applied. Then he pushed his six senses to confirm that there was no threat around them before finally allowing himself to relax.

He leaned over to glance at the menu in Qing Ling’s hand. She had ordered a portion each of premium beef, cumin lamb, layered omasum tripes, shrimp balls, basa filets, citron daylilies, baby chinese cabbage, yam, thousand layer tofu, corn, and wide mung bean noodles.

They were all food Gao Yang liked.

Afterward, Qing Ling went over the order again with a slight frown, like she was debating something.

A few seconds later, she removed the check mark after basa filets with the eraser on the pencil, marking the spam instead.

Gao Yang was moved. She’s come so far. She remembers that I love spam.

“There’s no need to erase it. We can order both.”

Qing Ling looked up at him and shook her head. “No need.”

Gao Yang paused before remembering something.

Since Little Qing Ling was the one arranging the meal, she would be paying.

And Qing Ling was always tight with money, which had been the case when she was in high school. Now that she had entered college as a student athlete, she got discounted tuition, but still didn’t have a lot of money to spare.

Gao Yang was even more touched by her gesture, but also felt a pang of sympathy.

“Qing Ling.” Gao Yang lowered his voice. “Do you know that the Black Gold coins can be exchanged for real money?”

Qing Ling was now an outstanding member of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, meaning she received a monthly pay of 8 jinwu. She could very well use 1 jinwu to support herself financially.

After all, 5 jinwu could be exchanged for two million yuan, which meant she would get four hundred thousand yuan with 1 jinwu.

While it wasn’t easy to make the trade, she could turn to a broker for help. Even if the broker charged a commision of fifty percent, she would still get two hundred thousand with 1 jinwu.

That was enough for Qing Ling to live in abundance for the next four years in college—according to Alcoholic, the Mist World would only last another two years though.

“I know,” Qing Ling answered. “I’m saving money. I still need a lot more.”

“Why?”

“I need weapons,” Qing Ling said in a much lower voice. “The more the better.”

Realization dawned on Gao Yang. With level 6 God of Blades and level 4 Metal, Qing Ling would be stronger the more Black Metal weapons she had.

Think about it. If she can use multiple Black Metal blades—even a dozen of them—her power will be terrifying. Not only will the enemy have to face her head-on, but they will also have to watch out for attacks from the other blades.

And Qing Ling would be able to switch between various weapons as she fought, making her moves much more flexible and varied; she would be the actual God of Blades!

Although regular weapons could be manipulated with Metal, too. They were too fragile in a real fight for awakeners.

Moreover, Black Gold weapons could resonate with their wielder through prolonged contact, doubling their power. Case in point, Qing Ling couldn’t use blade aura with regular weapons like she did with her Tang Dao.

Black Gold weapons, however, were incredibly expensive. It cost a fortune to gather raw material and have awakeners with Blacksmith and Enchantment manufacture the weapons!

Take Qing Ling’s Tang Dao as an example, it would cost at least 300 jinwu in the market—that was excluding the cost of manufacturing. Given Qing Ling’s current salary, she would have to work two and a half years at the Twelve Zodiac Signs to be able to afford it.

The world would’ve long ended.

However, Qing Ling was no longer the girl who would do anything to become stronger, so robbery wasn’t an option.

To Qing Ling, every coin was precious.

Gao Yang was lucky in that regard. His current Talents didn’t really rely on Black Gold weapons or items.

“Can’t you apply to the organization for weapons?”

“I did. The three Black Gold darts were given to me by the organization. The material cost 150 jinwu, and the manufacturing and enchantment cost 30 jinwu.”

A total of 180 jinwu wasn’t a small number.

The stingy Twelve Zodiac Signs was generous for once.

The organization couldn’t be blamed, though. They didn’t have any source of income, and it cost a fortune to loan Rune Circuits, create one-use items, and buy intel; moreover, there were the daily expenses and maintenance cost.

With Wu Dahai killed in action, the Twelve Zodiac Signs lost a benefactor. The loss was significant.

He heard that Wu Dahai had transferred the secret base on the underground sixth floor to the organization properly, though, so at least they wouldn’t be left on the street.

Moreover, Wu Dahai had generously gifted the race car to Wang Zikai, as detailed in the will he drafted before the Crimson Tide.

Wu Dahai had considered leaving all his wealth to the Twelve Zodiac Signs, but he thought better of it since it would attract too much suspicion.

It was said that when he found the note, War Tiger had lamented, The boy was a real man.

As an Elder at the Qilin Guild, Gao Yang had a monthly salary of 50 jinwu and was given bonuses when he successfully completed a mission. In total, he had a saving of more than 200 jinwu.

The Guild had continued to pay him the usual salary even during the three months he was unconscious. The employee benefits were incredible. freewe(b)novel

“Ahem.” Gao Yang turned to Qing Ling nonchalantly. “Come to me tomorrow. I’ll give you your pay.”

“What pay?” asked Qing Ling.

“Don’t you know?” Gao Yang pretended to be surprised. “Since Operation: Heavenbreaker was organized by the Qilin Guild, every member on the team receives pay.”

“Officer Huang didn’t tell me.”

“Everyone’s paid according to their strength. As for you...” Gao Yang mused. “You’re getting an annual salary of 200 jinwu.”

“200 jinwu?” Qing Ling’s eyes glinted.

“Yes,” Gao Yang said in a serious tone. “Everyone receives a different amount, so do keep it a secret from others, and don’t compare pay with them.”

“Okay.” Qing Ling nodded.

She was happy. Although her expression was as impassive as ever, joy was dancing in her eyes.

“Congrats. You’re getting another good blade.” Gao Yang smiled. “Come on. Order a portion of basa. I like it.”

Qing Ling nodded and put a checkmark after basa filets, but then she turned the pencil around and erased the checkmark after shrimp balls.

“Don’t.”

Gao Yang was ready to pop a vessel from how obstinate she was being.

He grabbed the menu and pencil from her and continued to order while saying, “I forgot to tell you. For ease of the operation, each member is granted a monthly subsidy of 1000 yuan.”

Gao Yang gave a moderate number lest she got suspicious.

“Oh.” Qing Ling acquiesced.

Gao Yang ordered five more dishes before he was satisfied. He raised his hand and made a gesture.

“Waiter.”

1. Yuan yang hot pot, also known as yin yang hot pot, is hot pot with different broths on each of the two sides. Usually, one would be spicy, and the other a milder broth. ☜

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