Chapter 5: The Golden-Tier Armament

The first thing Lin Huang did when he brought Li Lang home was to head straight for the first-floor bathroom and knock on the door. “Xin’er, it’s safe now. You can come out.”

Meanwhile, Li Lang was observing the damage throughout the house, growing more and more astonished as he surveyed the traces left behind. From these marks, he could roughly piece together the ferocity of the attacks unleashed by the bloodthirsty creature, but what truly baffled him was how Lin Huang had managed to emerge without a scratch under such circumstances.

After a moment, the bathroom door opened, and Lin Xin rushed straight into Lin Huang’s arms. Seeing the tear stains at the corners of her eyes, clear evidence she’d just been crying, Lin Huang said nothing more. He simply raised his hand and gently ruffled her silky hair. “It’s all right now. Everything’s fine.”

After a while, Lin Xin quietly rubbed her face against Lin Huang’s chest a few times, and when she felt her tears had dried, she finally let go and looked up at him, asking, “Brother, what happened to that monster?”

“It’s been taken care of,” Lin Huang replied with a faint smile.

At that moment, Li Lang came over. “Your brother single-handedly dealt with a bronze-tier level-three bloodthirsty beast.”

As he spoke, he watched Lin Xin’s reaction, hoping to spot a clue on her face that would suggest Lin Huang had some hidden method for defeating enemies of higher rank. But he was disappointed.

Lin Xin’s eyes were filled with adoration as she stared at her brother, as if flowers had bloomed on his face. She understood the general classification of monsters by hunting level, but had no real sense of the power gap between the tiers. All she knew was that a bronze-tier level-three bloodthirsty beast was formidable, but her brother was even more so!

“Brother, who is this uncle?” Lin Xin finally noticed the extra person who had come home with Lin Huang.

“Uncle…” The title made Li Lang’s mouth twitch. “I’m only eighteen…”

Li Lang’s age came as a surprise to Lin Huang. He looked far more mature—at least twenty-four or five—and the fact that someone so young had already reached the rank of Silver Hunter made him a shining talent even in the entire Seventh Safe Zone.

Seeing Lin Xin’s skeptical gaze, Li Lang was left speechless.

Lin Xin turned to Lin Huang, her eyes asking for confirmation, clearly doubting the truth of Li Lang’s age.

“It’s true. You’d better call him ‘brother’ instead,” Lin Huang replied, nodding.

“Oh.” Lin Xin turned back and called out sweetly, “Hello, brother!”

“Uh… hello…” Li Lang’s expression was a little awkward. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a life crystal from his storage space and handed it to Lin Xin. “Since you’ve called me brother, let me give you a meeting gift.”

“Brother…” Lin Xin looked to Lin Huang for help.

She recognized the life crystal immediately, and this one was a three-year crystal, worth three hundred thousand credit points in the Imperial Bank. She didn’t dare accept something so valuable.

“That’s too expensive. We can’t take it,” Lin Huang said, though he was clearly tempted. But Li Lang’s unsolicited generosity made him wary of ulterior motives.

“Life crystals are the least valuable thing I have. Take it. Besides, I’ve never taken back a gift I’ve given,” Li Lang insisted, making no move to withdraw his hand.

Looks like this guy’s loaded, Lin Huang thought, silently slapping a “fool with too much money” label on Li Lang. He gave him a score of ninety-nine for putting on such a show. He nodded to Lin Xin. “Go ahead and take it.”

Still, his suspicion toward Li Lang’s motives only grew. No one gives without reason; there’s always a catch.

Seeing Lin Huang’s nod, Lin Xin accepted the life crystal, but immediately handed it to Lin Huang. “Brother, you keep it.”

Lin Huang took the crystal without hesitation and stored it away. When he noticed Li Lang’s gaze sizing up Lin Xin, his face darkened and he pulled Li Lang aside.

“Don’t even think about my sister. Not even three life crystals would be enough—”

But before he could finish, Li Lang raised a hand to stop him. “You’re overthinking things. I have no interest in little girls. I just noticed she has potential, so I looked a bit longer.”

When Li Lang turned and stared at him instead, Lin Huang took a nervous step back. “Hey, I don’t like men! Let me be clear, not in this life, or the next, or the one after that—I’ll only ever like women!”

Seeing Lin Huang’s increasingly wary expression, Li Lang could only explain helplessly, “Honestly, I came to your house just to find out how you managed to kill that bloodthirsty beast. No matter how weak it was, it was still a bronze-tier monster, and you’re just an ordinary person not even at iron-tier. So I figured you must have some kind of special battle technique or equipment. If you’re willing to sell it, I can pay a high price.”

“I’m just a poor kid. What special technique or equipment could I possibly have?” Lin Huang realized he’d misunderstood and laughed it off. “But I can show you the bloodthirsty beast’s attack route and explain the whole fight if you want.”

He led Li Lang upstairs to Lin Xin’s ruined bedroom. As they entered the mess, Lin Huang began to recount the attack in detail.

Li Lang listened intently, carefully examining every trace of destruction. The more he saw, the more incredulous he became. By the time he’d inspected every damaged area, Lin Huang had finished his story. In his heart, Li Lang couldn’t help but admire Lin Huang. He knew full well that if he were in Lin Huang’s place, his own chances of surviving—let alone fighting back—would be slim.

“I didn’t expect you really did manage to kill that bloodthirsty beast all on your own. I underestimated you,” Li Lang said, his eyes filled with newfound respect. He clapped Lin Huang on the shoulder and added, “A flawed Fate Wheel isn’t an insurmountable obstacle. If you can find a way to compensate for its shortcomings, I believe you’ll someday become a force to be reckoned with.”

“Unfortunately, I’m short on time…” Lin Huang shook his head and smiled, not wishing to discuss such personal matters. “So, have you finished your damage assessment?”

“Yes, it’s all done. I just need to take a panoramic shot of the house,” Li Lang replied, taking a finely patterned golden coin from his storage space. He flicked it into the air, where it spun rapidly and transformed into a thumb-sized golden sphere that hovered in midair.

Lin Huang couldn’t help but stare at the sphere.

In midair, the golden orb suddenly split down the middle into two identical hemispheres, between which a layer of white crystal appeared. This crystal emitted a ring of white light, rippling outward like waves across water.

A moment later, the golden sphere shrank back into its original coin form, fell from the air, and was caught by Li Lang, who put it away.

“A gold-tier artifact?!” Lin Huang couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, just a little trinket I picked up at a medium-sized stronghold.” Seeing Lin Huang’s curiosity, Li Lang couldn’t help but show off a bit, his real personality coming out as they grew more familiar.

“This must be a reconnaissance-type artifact, right? I’ve never seen a gold-tier artifact before.”

“That’s right. Among non-combat artifacts, these are considered valuable. But I got it for just a one-year life crystal. The street vendor thought it was just an old coin and ran off with his stall as soon as he sold it, afraid I’d change my mind,” Li Lang said, grinning with pride.

“You really lucked out. Even a basic iron-tier artifact would cost several life crystals, let alone a gold-tier one,” Lin Huang remarked.

As the two chatted, Lin Huang glanced over and saw Lin Xin yawning in the distance—clearly exhausted. He finally couldn’t help but hint at his guest to leave. “Mr. Li Lang, since the damage assessment is complete, I won’t keep you any longer. As you can see, our house doesn’t even have a bed left. My sister and I will be sleeping on the floor tonight.”

“All right, I won’t bother you any further. I’ve already submitted my findings. You should get a reply within twenty-four hours. If the government approves, they’ll send a repair crew within three days and arrange temporary accommodation for you while they fix the house. Until then, you’ll just have to make do,” Li Lang explained.

After Li Lang left, Lin Huang looked around the devastated house with a sense of helplessness. Both his and Lin Xin’s bedrooms upstairs were wrecked beyond recognition, the beds reduced to splinters. Downstairs, a gaping pit in the small living room made it impossible to lay out bedding. The kitchen was mostly taken up by cabinets, and the floor could only accommodate one person at best.

“Brother, um… where are we going to sleep?” Lin Xin asked pitifully.

“We’ll have to tidy up my room. It’s in slightly better shape than yours.”

The two of them worked for over an hour before they finally managed to prepare a place to sleep.

Lin Xin, exhausted, soon drifted off into a deep slumber. Lin Huang lay with his hands behind his head, gazing at the scarred room, unable to sleep for a long time. He glanced at his sister, sleeping so soundly, and a smile touched the corners of his mouth. “Carefree little girl…”

The thought that his uncertain future might affect this adorable child’s entire life made Lin Huang sigh inwardly. “It seems being a responsible brother truly isn’t an easy task!”