Chapter 43: Cooperation

Wu Nian indeed held great disdain for Ying Li and Xiang Ye.

Those two looked far too filthy!

And Ying Li was carrying a bunch of junk on top of it!

Sentinels from the Central District didn’t look like that. Take Yu Mingwei, for example. The collar of his shirt was always crisp and sharp, his hair deliberately styled. He also wore small accessories that showed his taste, presenting an image of immaculate grooming and elegant bearing.

And Ying Li? Putting aside his current state, even after he became an A-Rank Sentinel, he was exactly the same.

Ying Li carried a “poverty vibe” that was ingrained in his very bones. He was always fussing about money, lacking the slightest bit of sentiment or romance.

He still remembered a time in his past life, shortly after he became a B-Rank Guide, when a new traditional-style restaurant opened in the Central District.

Yu Mingwei invited him to dinner, telling him about the restaurant’s decor, arranging for someone to play the guzheng for him, and even giving him some classical-style ornaments… After a meal like that, he was incredibly happy.

The next day, he had Ying Li take him there, but the experience was completely different.

Ying Li knew nothing about the restaurant’s decor, hadn’t prepared any surprises for him, and when he asked Ying Li for his thoughts after the meal, Ying Li only felt the food was too expensive and not worth the price.

And so, they had another fight.

In this life, he had finally escaped Ying Li!

What had he ever seen in Ying Li back then, anyway?

As for Xiang Ye… that person had simply never seen the world, which was why he treated Ying Li like a treasure.

“Darling, let’s hurry and leave,” Wu Nian tugged at Yu Mingwei, intending to lead him away.

He was afraid Ying Li would greet him. If that happened, not only would he lose face, but he would also have a hard time explaining things to Yu Mingwei.

Right now, Yu Mingwei treated Wu Nian like a precious jewel, so he naturally wouldn’t disregard Wu Nian’s wishes.

He smiled at Wu Nian and led him away.

He hadn’t expected to run into Ying Li here.

Yu Mingwei had initially felt some wariness toward Ying Li, Wu Nian’s past-life Guardian. But after seeing the man in person, that wariness vanished completely.

A person who carried pots, pans, and bedding when going out to hunt—that was really hard to be wary of.

Such a person was not worthy to be his opponent.

But Wu Nian would be his Guide in the future. This Sentinel who had once been Wu Nian’s Guardian was still somewhat annoying and might even cause unforeseen complications… Once he returned to the Central District, he would find someone to cripple Ying Li.

Seeing the two of them leave, Ying Li said to Xiang Ye: “Let’s walk faster. I want to get home, shower, and rest.”

Xiang Ye responded with a sound of agreement, then secretly glanced at Ying Li several times.

Seeing this, Ying Li laughed and asked: “What are you looking at me for?”

Xiang Ye said: “Big Brother Ying, aren’t you angry?”

“Nothing to be angry about,” Ying Li replied.

In his past life in the Central District, he had often encountered such naked disdain.

But he never felt inferior because of it.

He had always worked hard for a better life; there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Xiang Ye carefully observed Ying Li and found that after seeing Wu Nian, he showed no significant emotional fluctuation. He asked again: “Big Brother Ying, that Wu Nian…”

Ying Li said: “I used to like him, but I don’t like him anymore now.”

Good, he didn’t like him anymore! Xiang Ye was instantly full of energy. After returning home and showering, he started cooking.

They had brought back dozens of jin of dried meat and over ten jin of lard today. With those ingredients at hand, whatever they made would be delicious!

They ate and drank their fill, then slept. The next day, Ying Li rested at home while Xiang Ye went to the Guide Academy.

The teachers at the Guide Academy felt quite helpless about Xiang Ye, this student who had never even attended classes at their academy.

This Xiang Ye had actually gone out of the city to hunt with a Sentinel again!

But just like last time, not only had Xiang Ye’s physical condition not worsened, but he was actually healthier than before and his weight had increased a little.

Faced with Xiang Ye’s physical data, they had no way to advise him against going outside the city, nor could they accuse Ying Li of mistreating a Guide. They even had to listen to Xiang Ye’s boasting.

How annoying!

Right now, Xiang Ye was holding a few C-Rank energy crystal cores to show them, saying they were gifts from Ying Li.

The several teachers kept their faces expressionless and didn’t want to speak.

They were all Guides with good jobs; they didn’t lack money.

But Xiang Ye had known Ying Li for such a short time, and Ying Li had already given him this many C-Rank crystal cores!

Xiang Ye also got to eat meat every day…

For a D-Rank Guide, Xiang Ye was living quite well indeed.

Xiang Ye’s mental power level was very high, and he was also perceptive about people’s emotions, so he could sense the feelings of those around him.

An unconscious smile appeared on his face. When he saw his physical examination report, his mood became even better!

After his awakening, his body had begun to develop rapidly.

He would soon become a fully grown eighteen-year-old adult!

When Xiang Ye got home, the first thing he did was show his physical exam report to Ying Li and tell him this good news.

After Ying Li looked over the report, he smiled and said: “Congratulations!”

Xiang Ye said: “Big Brother Ying, I’ll make a table full of good food later, and we can celebrate!”

“Alright,” Ying Li nodded and ordered some ingredients online.

There were rather tasty mushrooms and fresh potatoes. He also bought some meat.

He wasn’t going to eat this meat himself; he planned to pan-fry it and send it to his teacher.

Pan-fry the mushrooms in oil, coat the potatoes in oil and roast them in the oven alongside the fresh Mutant Beast meat, and make a soup…

Working together, the two quickly prepared the meal. As they were eating, Ying Li received a message from Boss Lin, asking to meet him at the auto repair shop the next day.

Ying Li happily agreed. He knew that Boss Lin must have already investigated the matter of Yang Lifei.

Boss Lin had indeed already thoroughly investigated Yang Lifei’s situation.

After his talk with Ying Li yesterday, he immediately returned to the Upper City District and went to the Guide Academy to find his daughter, asking if she knew Yang Lifei.

Lin Xinghai had been raised like a precious jewel by Boss Lin and his wife and trusted her parents completely.

The reason she hadn’t told Boss Lin about dating Yang Lifei earlier was that her parents had repeatedly told her to wait until she was an adult before dating.

She feared her parents would be unhappy, so she had planned to wait until she came of age before telling them about her relationship with Yang Lifei.

But now that her father was asking directly, she wouldn’t hide it and quickly told him everything about her and Yang Lifei.

First came the heroic rescue, then gifts, dinner invitations, and a confession of love…

Yang Lifei had dated many girlfriends. Growing up in the Central District without want for food or clothing, he was also far better at sweet-talking than the Sentinels of the Upper City District.

Lin Xinghai had already fallen deeply for Yang Lifei.

Boss Lin knew his daughter very well. Seeing her like this, what was there not to understand?

It was at this moment that his friend sent him Yang Lifei’s background file.

Yang Lifei’s talent was terrible. Given his situation, if he’d been born in the Upper City District, he might never have reached C-Rank in his entire life.

But he was still a member of the Yang Family and had received some resources, eventually becoming a C-Rank Sentinel in his twenties.

Boss Lin didn’t care about Yang Lifei’s rank. What infuriated him were the things Yang Lifei had done!

From his youth, Yang Lifei had acted recklessly and willfully. Together with several other wastrels, he bullied classmates without any powerful backing. Some of those students ended up with psychological problems, some transferred schools, and the most severe case chose to end their own life.

He also started dating girlfriends from around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Now, at age thirty, he had more than one illegitimate child, the oldest already over ten.

Drinking, causing trouble, group gambling, street brawls… The list of things Yang Lifei had done was countless. Not a single Guide in the Central District thought well of him.

Many Sentinels in the Central District like Yang Lifei would go to the Upper City District to find a Guide, but Boss Lin never expected that Yang Lifei would set his sights on his daughter!

Boss Lin was so furious he couldn’t breathe. He brought his daughter home that very day.

He was, indeed, very wealthy.

His technique for modifying vehicles was unmatched in Starlight City, and vehicles were a necessity for Sentinels who hunted outside the city.

He received a lot of work every month.

The vehicles used for hunting outside the city were all very expensive. Even Ying Li’s motorcycle cost three hundred thousand credits.

Those trucks were even more expensive.

If the vehicles themselves were that expensive, the modification fees couldn’t be cheap.

Modifications used materials harvested from Mutant Beasts, sometimes provided by the Sentinels themselves. When there was leftover material from those, Boss Lin could keep some.

He also repaired scrapped vehicles and sold them. The truck he had sold to Ying Li earlier was one he had rebuilt using discarded vehicles and leftover materials from customers’ modification jobs.

Selling that truck to Ying Li netted him several hundred thousand credits in pure profit.

Boss Lin didn’t work alone either; he had many apprentices…

In short, after deducting all operating expenses, his auto repair shop easily earned over one million credits a month. In good months, making several million wasn’t impossible.

Some in the Central District might find this money insufficient, but not Boss Lin.

He was usually very frugal with his spending, only spending a bit more on his daughter.

This had allowed him to accumulate considerable wealth over the past sixty years, purchasing twenty apartments in the Upper City District to collect rent.

Now, he collected nearly a million credits a month just from rent alone.

Boss Lin had always kept a low profile. Very few people knew just how much money he actually had.

The fact that Yang Lifei had targeted him meant he must have used special methods to investigate his assets.

As the rulers of Starlight City, it was incredibly easy for those great families to look into the finances of anyone living in the city.

Boss Lin ground his teeth in hatred, but he couldn’t do anything to Yang Lifei.

And even if it wasn’t Yang Lifei, there could be someone else who would covet his money and, because of it, target his daughter.

He had skills and value; while he was alive, he could protect his auto repair shop and his property. But what if, one day, he died?

Could his daughter protect this wealth?

Having not slept all night and debating with himself for a long time today, Boss Lin contacted Ying Li.

When Ying Li met Boss Lin for the second time, Boss Lin’s attitude toward him was very good. “For the matter concerning my daughter, I must thank you. If there’s anything you need my help with, I will certainly help. As for your truck, I will modify it to the highest standard.”

“Boss Lin, I do have something I need your help with. I need some supplies.” Ying Li didn’t stand on ceremony and took out the material list Ding Hua had given him.

Many of the items needed on this list were mechanical in nature. Ding Hua wanted to repair Freedom City’s air purification and water purification systems.

These items were difficult to obtain, but not exceptionally so.

Starlight City’s purification systems required annual maintenance and replacement parts, and the old parts that were swapped out would be disposed of.

Getting new parts was impossible, but getting those old parts was doable.

Some of the items, Boss Lin could even manufacture himself.

He could build an entire vehicle by hand from scratch, so naturally, he could produce other components.

Ying Li trusted Boss Lin.