Lin Yu walked into the shop.
The shop wasn't large, with various weapons hanging on the walls, including firearms and cold weapons.
This era had inherited the technological advancements of the previous one, combined with the unique characteristics of Awakened individuals, and developed a distinct energy technology.
The types of weapons had also changed significantly. For instance, there were firearms used by Awakened individuals called Awakener Guns.
These guns did not use metal bullets. Instead, they had internal energy conversion formations that could condense the user's own energy into bullets for firing.
They could be considered guns with infinite ammunition, but the drawback was equally obvious: they consumed the user's energy.
Lin Yu glanced at the price and decisively gave up.
One hundred thousand! He could afford it, but he was unwilling to buy it.
Normally, he let his clones fight while he hid.
Furthermore, these guns were only effective before reaching the first tier of Awakening. After reaching the second tier, their perception would greatly enhance, allowing them to easily evade gunshots.
The later the stage, the more important individual combat power became, and technology's role tended towards defense and support.
Therefore, cold weapons were truly divine!
Lin Yu picked up a Tang dao and said, "I'll take three of these Tang daos!"
The old man chuckled, "That will be thirty thousand star coins in total. Will you pay in cash or online?"
Lin Yu replied, "Cash payment!"
Lin Yu took out thirty thousand star coins and gave them to the owner.
The owner casually placed the money in a box and said, "Young man, reaching the first tier of combat power at such a young age, your talent level must be quite high!"
Lin Yu was instantly startled.
To be able to discern his combat power level, the other party had to be at least two levels higher.
This meant the old man in front of him was at least a third-tier Awakened.
The old man laughed heartily, "Don't be nervous. You youngsters, why are you all so cautious?"
This reminded him of the little girl he met the day before yesterday. Her reactions were similar to this kid's. Really, he wasn't a monster, was he?
Now that he thought about the youngsters, he shook his head and muttered to himself.
Lin Yu grumbled internally, "How can I not be cautious? So many careless people die every year!"
Lin Yu said, "Senior, please forgive me, but I cannot disclose that information!"
The old man replied, "It's alright. I was just curious. Looking at your age, you must be a high school senior! To cultivate to the first tier of combat power in just three days!"
"Your talent should be no weaker than S-class, perhaps even superior!"
The old man appeared lost in thought, "In Ji City, among the three high schools, there are forty-six individuals with S-class talent. Which one are you?"
Lin Yu broke out in a cold sweat. He clasped his hands and said, "I implore senior not to make things difficult for this junior. This junior will take his leave!"
With that, he grabbed his items and hastily departed!
The old man, seeing Lin Yu leave, quickly called out, "Kid, don't go! Tell me your name. I can arrange something for you and even give you a fortunate encounter. Consider it my way of nurturing a junior!"
However, Lin Yu had long since vanished, so he naturally didn't hear this.
The old man looked in the direction Lin Yu had gone and smiled, "Interesting. I've met all the Awakened individuals with S-class talent or above in Ji City this year. An Awakened individual who isn't S-class cultivating so rapidly. It seems this kid has good cultivation talent! Perhaps his comprehension isn't bad either!"
Lin Yu didn't know that the old man in front of him wasn't just an equipment shop owner; he held a much higher position.
"We will meet again!" The old man turned, closed the shop, and walked away into the distance.
...
Lin Yu returned home, panting.
He was filled with both shock and fear, his heart pounding in his chest.
Thanks to Zhao Ke's constant instillation of the principle of "playing it safe," his subconscious had become very cautious. When encountering strangers, his first instinct was distrust!
Secondly, he often concealed his strength. He never expected that just by going to an equipment shop to buy something, someone would see through him.
"No, I must quickly improve my strength and leave the city now!"
After tidying up, he immediately headed for the city gate.
It was still a little past ten o'clock, and it was far from dark, perfect for hunting outside.
He arrived at the city gate again and presented his identification card.
[Beep, authentication successful. Identity: Lin Yu, student of Third High School!]
With a click, the blue energy disappeared, and Lin Yu quickly walked out.
Outside the city, Lin Yu summoned two clones. He handed one Tang dao to each clone and then, without delay, headed towards the Death Canyon.
Now that he was a first-tier Awakened, his speed while running at full capacity was faster than before. He reached his destination in just five minutes.
He arrived at the Death Canyon again. There were still no adventurers here.
"This place is full of skeleton monsters, and there's not much profit. Adventurers don't like coming here, which is convenient for me!"
As usual, Lin Yu directed his clones to fight while he found a place to hide.
This time, both clones were equipped with sharp metal Tang daos, and their combat power had greatly increased.
Lin Yu, using his clones' perspectives, observed that their fighting styles hadn't changed.
The two clones would first pick off isolated enemies. With one on the left and one on the right, or one in front and one behind, one would feign an attack to draw fire while the other launched a surprise attack.
In a flash, skeleton monsters fell one by one.
"Killed Silver Skeleton Warrior, upgrade points +20!"
"Killed Skeleton Mage, upgrade points +2!"
"Killed Black Iron Skeleton Warrior, upgrade points +4!"
"..."
The clones' proficiency with the weapons grew, and they became more adept at killing monsters.
They discovered the monsters were too weak and quickly adjusted their tactics, shifting from their initial stealthy approach.
Now, the two clones acted independently, specifically targeting the weaker monsters.
Clone Number One headed east, while Clone Number Two went west. Upon encountering weak skeleton monsters, both clones would unleash a flurry of attacks, and the monsters fell to their blades one after another.
In Lin Yu's mind, system notifications continued to chime, and his upgrade points rapidly increased. In just a few hours, his upgrade points had exceeded one thousand, which almost made him jump for joy.
He was confident he could accumulate ten thousand upgrade points today!
The slaughter continued. Lin Yu stopped paying attention to his clones and instead opened his wristband to browse the internet and pass the time.
"Who says clones are weak? Others fight monsters with effort and strain, while I just go AFK!" Lin Yu thought gleefully.
"Huh!"
"Big news!"
[Large-scale Beast Tide Erupts in Yuan City, Adventurers Outside the City Suffer Heavy Casualties!]
Lin Yu quickly clicked on it.
"It is reported that this morning, Yuan City experienced a Flame Locust Beast Tide. The number of locusts reached hundreds of millions!"
"Adventurers outside the city were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses under the locust attack. According to statistics, over three hundred people died!"
"However, despite their vast numbers, the Flame Locusts have low combat power and have not posed a threat to the city!"
"Currently, the Flame Locusts have changed direction and are heading towards Ji City. Adventurers in Ji City are advised not to go out today! Remember!"
After reading this, Lin Yu's heart sank!
He cursed, "Damn it, is it still too late for me to go back now?"
Lin Yu looked up at the sky. The sky was clear blue, without a single cloud.
Such a clear sky made everything seem peaceful, but often, the greater the peace, the greater the hidden danger.
"No more fighting. I'm going back to the city!"
"My life is more important!"
Lin Yu quickly recalled his clones and ran towards the city.
Five minutes later.
He finally saw the towering city walls of Ji City, and a sigh of relief escaped him. Just as he was about to enter the city.
Suddenly, a loud alarm blared from the direction of Ji City.
[Beep beep beep, detecting Flame Locust swarm. Closing city gates, activating defense system!]
[Adventurers outside the city, please seek cover immediately and protect yourselves!]
[Please seek cover immediately and protect yourselves!]