Chapter 129: Little Mo [Third Update! Please Subscribe and Cast Your Monthly Vote!]

At night, Lin Huang was settled into a guest room. He also learned the name of the middle-aged transcendent: Lu Xuan.

He originally intended to look for an opportunity to escape, but upon discovering that his guest room was less than five hundred meters away from Lu Xuan’s, he had to abandon that thought. Even if he could transform into a ghost and burrow underground, Lu Xuan would sense the disappearance of his aura the very moment he transformed. Escaping right under his nose was nearly impossible.

Although Lu Xuan was courteous, he seemed to be on guard against any attempt by Lin Huang to run away. Not only was Lin Huang forbidden from leaving the entire compound, but the network and communication signals for his Emperor’s Heart Ring were also jammed. He didn't even know which stronghold he was currently in.

After dinner, Lin Huang simply went to sleep early.

The next morning, Lu Xuan had a servant bring Lin Huang to the room where they had met the day before.

"Where is that rookie training camp? How are we getting there?" Lin Huang asked, trying to extract his current coordinates from the man.

"No rush. I'll take you there right now," Lu Xuan said, summoning a large rosewood door.

Clearly, this was also a spatial teleportation treasure. In fact, such spatial teleportation artifacts were extremely rare, and their prices were dozens of times higher than other treasures of the same rank. However, over the past few days, Lin Huang had become accustomed to seeing such rare artifacts.

Lu Xuan performed several hand seals, and the rosewood door opened automatically. He nodded at Lin Huang, "Let's go."

The two of them stepped through one after another.

Passing through the door, Lin Huang found himself on a plaza. Looking around, it appeared to be a small stronghold.

"Stop spacing out, follow me." Lu Xuan retrieved the rosewood door and gestured to Lin Huang.

Lin Huang followed him all the way to the foot of a giant tower in the center of the "small stronghold." They entered the tower and took a floating lift to the top floor. The top floor was a spacious room.

In front of a massive conference table, a man with a scar on his face had his feet propped up on the table, leisurely smoking a cigar.

"Oh? What brings you here?" the scarred man greeted upon seeing Lu Xuan.

"Dropping off a little one," Lu Xuan nodded back at him.

The scarred man's gaze fell on Lin Huang standing to the side. After looking him over, he asked with a smile, "What’s his background?"

"Lady Hongzhuang selected him; we're preparing to recommend him as a reserve member," Lu Xuan explained.

"Only at the Bronze level? You brought him to me—does it not matter if he dies?" the scarred man continued.

"Lady Hongzhuang said as long as he doesn't end up dead, it's fine," Lu Xuan answered with a smile.

"Troublesome..." The scarred man shook his head helplessly. "You should know full well that some things are beyond my control. This kid is too weak. If I want to keep him from getting into trouble, I’ll have to keep an eye on him constantly—be his babysitter." He was clearly not satisfied with this arrangement.

"Can't be helped. Lady Hongzhuang gave specific instructions. It would be a hassle if he weren't here when they come to collect him in three months," Lu Xuan said, appearing somewhat helpless himself.

"Nothing I can do then, I'll do my best," the scarred man sighed, looking frustrated.

"I've handed him over to you; you handle it from here. I'm leaving." With that, Lu Xuan patted Lin Huang on the shoulder, summoned the rosewood door, and stepped through.

Watching the rosewood door vanish, the scarred man took a deep puff of his cigar, then put his feet down and set the cigar aside.

Leaning his arms on the desk, he stared intently at Lin Huang, looking him up and down before speaking. "Listen here, kid. I don’t care who your backers are; there are no special privileges here. Lady Hongzhuang only ordered me to keep you alive. If you don’t follow the rules here, I have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead."

Lin Huang nodded expressionlessly.

The scarred man looked away and dialed a number. "Send someone up. Take this kid to the residential area."

After hanging up, the scarred man glared at Lin Huang with ill intent for a long moment, until a man in a black uniform arrived to take Lin Huang away.

Lin Huang followed the uniformed man down the floating lift to the ground floor, exited the giant tower, and headed north toward a courtyard enclosed by a large iron gate. After registering his identity at the entrance, he was led through the courtyard and into a building.

In a small room on the ground floor, the uniformed man tossed him two sets of greenish, dingy-looking clothes. "Change into these."

After speaking, he stood there expressionlessly, showing no intention of turning away.

Lin Huang couldn't be bothered to argue. He stripped down to his underwear and changed into the greenish clothes. They fit well enough, but they were ugly. As he stowed his own clothes into his storage space, the uniformed man added, "Here, you are only allowed to wear the green uniform. Wearing anything else is strictly forbidden. That is the rule."

With that, he led Lin Huang up to the eleventh floor.

Walking down the corridor, Lin Huang frowned; the rooms were constructed like a prison. The doors were anti-riot gates made of some unknown metal, with only metal bars allowing a clear view inside. Each room was only about ten square meters, furnished with bunk beds. The sink and toilet were tucked into the very back of the room.

Seeing the new arrival, many people peered out from behind their anti-riot gates.

The uniformed man stopped at a door. "1121 is your room number. The instructions for the rules here have been sent to your Emperor’s Heart Ring via the local network. Read them carefully, line by line."

Lin Huang saw a boy on the top bunk, huddled in the corner of the bed, looking at him with great vigilance. The boy looked to be fifteen or sixteen, with dark skin and a frame so thin he was nothing but skin and bones.

"Go in," the uniformed man said, opening the gate.

After Lin Huang stepped inside, the uniformed man closed the door and turned to leave.

Lin Huang looked up at his roommate and gave a slight smile. "Hi, my name is Lin Huang."

The boy hesitated for a while before nodding back at Lin Huang. "Xiao Mo."

After greeting his roommate, Lin Huang was about to sit down when a bell rang outside. The sound was similar to the school bells from his time on Earth, only louder and sharper.

"What's going on?" Lin Huang felt confused.

"Breakfast," Xiao Mo said, rolling off the bed.

A moment later, the anti-riot gate opened automatically. Xiao Mo gestured to Lin Huang and rushed out. Lin Huang followed, seeing many people jogging toward the stairs.

He followed them down at a leisurely pace. By the time he reached the cafeteria, it was nearly full. He picked up a silver metal tray and joined the back of the line. By the time it was his turn, there was almost nothing left. The staff only ladled a scoop of gloopy, porridge-like substance onto his tray; the color and the little specks inside made it look more like vomit that had been regurgitated.

Lin Huang lost his appetite just looking at it. He was about to put the tray down and leave when he saw Xiao Mo waving at him. He carried the tray over to Xiao Mo.

Just as he reached Xiao Mo and was about to sit down, a youth with a crew cut approached with his own tray.

"Hey, kid. You were pretty quick today; you actually managed to snag some meat." The crew-cut youth poked his fork into the single thumb-sized piece of meat on Xiao Mo’s tray and shoved it into his mouth.

Lin Huang frowned.

"One piece of meat—how am I supposed to be full?" The crew-cut youth swallowed the meat and spoke again, "Since I’m not full, you shouldn't eat either."

With that, he flipped Xiao Mo’s tray over, spilling the food all over him. Everyone around them wore expressions of anticipation, and no one stepped in.

"Hey, isn't that going a bit too far?" Lin Huang put down his own tray and spoke to the youth.

"What, kid? You want to stick your nose in other people's business?" The youth didn't take Lin Huang seriously at all.

"Pick up the tray and apologize to him," Lin Huang said, his gaze icy.

Lin Huang’s intervention made the onlookers even more interested, and they watched with amused smiles.

"Who do you think you are!" the crew-cut youth glared at Lin Huang.

"I’ll say it one more time: pick up the tray and apologize to him!" Lin Huang did not budge an inch.

"Forget it..." Xiao Mo stood up and tugged at Lin Huang’s sleeve.

"Kid, before you try to act like a hero, I suggest you weigh whether you have the ability—" Before the youth could finish his sentence, he felt a blur before his eyes. The next instant, Lin Huang had grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the table. The silver fork he had been holding was now in Lin Huang’s hand, hovering less than a centimeter from his eyeball.

"I'll say it one last time: apologize!" Lin Huang looked ready to plunge the fork into the youth's eye at the slightest provocation.

"S-sorry..." The crew-cut youth, thoroughly frightened, stammered out an apology.

Just then, the bell rang again; breakfast time was over. Seeing everyone else begin to get up to return their trays, Lin Huang released the youth and picked up his own tray, calling Xiao Mo to leave. The crew-cut youth also picked up his tray and scurried away. Those who had seen the scene were now looking at him with mocking smiles.

After returning the trays, Xiao Mo followed Lin Huang out of the cafeteria and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. How did you end up provoking him?" Lin Huang asked casually.

"I accidentally stepped on his foot once while heading downstairs..." Xiao Mo explained the reason. "I apologized right then, but he wouldn't let it go, and he’s been giving me trouble ever since..."

"People like that are sick. The more you indulge them, the worse they get. You shouldn't have let him push you around!" Lin Huang thought Xiao Mo was indeed too easy to bully.

"But... I can't beat him..." Xiao Mo said, sounding aggrieved.

"Then do your best to get stronger. One day, you'll be able to beat him." Lin Huang patted Xiao Mo’s shoulder. He suddenly remembered he still had the dried vegetables the fatty had given him in his storage space. "Come on, let's go back. I’ve got some good food in my storage space..."