Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Human Heart Defies Words
Inside the Lin family manor villa.
Several somewhat stiff young people stood where they were, clearly awed by just how extravagantly luxurious the estate was.
Lin Tianhao strode ahead with great energy, while Su Wan walked right behind him with her arm linked through Lin Mo’s.
“Hahaha, welcome, welcome! Don’t be shy. Make yourselves at home!”
Lin Tianhao’s hearty laughter broke the silence.
At the front of the group stood a young girl in a pale blue mage’s robe.
Her long hair flowed like a waterfall, her skin was fair as snow, and her delicate features made her look like a porcelain doll. Yet her eyes carried a cool aloofness that kept others at a distance.
Behind her stood two young men and one young woman.
One was a lanky boy with a longbow on his back, another was a broad-shouldered brute carrying a giant shield, and the last was a timid little priest girl with twin tails.
“Hello, Uncle Lin. Hello, Aunt Su.”
The cool and aloof girl at the front gave a slight nod and greeted them politely.
“Oh my, this must be the Xia family’s daughter, right?”
Su Wan released Lin Mo and walked forward with a gentle, kindly smile, taking the girl’s hand.
“You’ve grown prettier and prettier. I heard from your father that you awakened as a water mage with A-rank affinity. That’s wonderful.”
“You flatter me, Auntie.”
The girl replied with calm composure.
With a sweep of his hand, Lin Tianhao introduced her to Lin Mo.
“Mo’er, come. Get to know her. This is Xia Qingyue, the captain of this team and a very powerful water mage.”
Xia Qingyue extended a fair hand, her voice crisp and clear. “Hello, classmate Lin Mo.”
“Hello, School Belle Xia.”
Lin Mo shook her hand politely.
The two of them had never really crossed paths, but Lin Mo had long heard her name like thunder in his ears.
She was the cold school beauty of the neighboring No. 1 High School. Rumor had it her admirers could line up from the south of the city to the north. She was the dream girl of countless boys.
But Lin Mo felt no particular ripple in his heart.
He had never been the type to chase after girls with that cold and distant air. It was too exhausting.
Besides, today was just a dungeon run with a temporary team.
When Xia Qingyue saw that Lin Mo’s gaze was clear and that he was not sizing her up the way other boys did, she found herself feeling a trace more favorably toward him.
Turning slightly to the side, she began introducing the teammates behind her.
“Since we’re teaming up, let me introduce the rest of the members.”
“This is Wang Meng, our frontline shield warrior. His defense is very strong, and he’ll be taking the hits.”
“That one is Zhang Kai, a Ranger. He specializes in long-range physical damage.”
“And this is Liu Weiwei, a Light Priest. She’ll be responsible for healing and buffs.”
“The four of us are all level 4 right now, and our equipment is excellent. We work well together, so clearing this dungeon should not be a problem.”
Hearing that, Lin Tianhao smiled and added from the side,
“Mo’er, don’t worry.”
“These kids’ fathers are all old subordinates of mine from the army. I know them well.”
“They received proper military-style combat training from childhood. Although they only just changed classes, their combat qualities and awareness are far beyond those of ordinary students.”
“Got it, Dad.” As he spoke, Lin Mo glanced back at the four of them and replied politely, “Then I’ll be troubling all of you.”
Just then,
the sound of footsteps came from the side hall.
“Young Master, I’ve brought the equipment.”
Ye Hongyu walked out carrying a pile of gear that gave off a faint orange glow.
At the same time,
the eyes of all four young people went wide.
“Th-This is the legendary ‘Purple Cloud Set’? The god-tier gear for mages below level 5?”
Zhang Kai, the one carrying the longbow, could not help swallowing hard.
Even Xia Qingyue, who had remained expressionless the whole time, had a flicker of surprise flash across her beautiful eyes.
So this was the foundation of a top-tier wealthy family?
In this world, equipment was divided into 【Bronze-grade】, 【Silver-grade】, 【Gold-grade】, 【Diamond-grade】, 【Legendary】, 【Mythic】...
And for a Blank-Slate Mage who had only awakened two days ago, they were directly giving him a Legendary set like this just to get him through the early levels?
It was simply... a complete waste of heaven’s gifts!
Lin Mo, however, did not feel much at all. With Ye Hongyu attending to him, he got fully dressed in the equipment like some useless invalid who only needed to hold out his arms when it was time to put on clothes.
“Mm, it fits pretty well. Thanks, Sister Ye.”
Lin Mo moved his arms slightly. The dazzling mage’s robe, flowing with radiant light, turned into specks of starlight and instantly sank into his body, disappearing from sight, while his outward appearance returned to the same casual clothes as before.
This was also one of the special functions shared by equipment in this world.
Unless one entered combat or activated it manually, once worn, the gear would automatically hide its appearance in daily life and would not affect normal movement in the slightest.
Lin Mo impatiently opened his panel and glanced at the attributes of the “Purple Cloud Set,” then immediately sucked in a cold breath.
This was brutally overpowered.
This set had no flashy effects at all. Its whole style was simple and violent: cooldown reduction!
The robe reduced it by 10%, the boots by 10%, the necklace by 15%... and with the additional attributes activated by the full set bonus,
the total cooldown reduction actually reached a staggering 60%!
What did that mean?
Originally, 【Fireball】 had a cooldown of 3 seconds. Now, it could explode once every 1.2 seconds.
And 【Multi-Burst Fireball】, which originally had a painfully long cooldown of 15 seconds, now needed only 6 seconds before he could fire off another one!
As expected of top-tier equipment. It was unbelievably good.
Not far away, Zhang Kai and Wang Meng exchanged a glance, and envy surged in their hearts.
So this was what people meant by the skill of being born well?
Some people were born in Rome. If gear like this was put on a Blank-Slate Mage, what use was it besides looking good?
None of those subtle changes in expression escaped Lin Tianhao’s eyes.
As a war god who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his insight into human nature had long since sunk into his bones.
He saw the jealousy in Zhang Kai’s eyes, the envy in Wang Meng’s, and the faint contempt for Lin Mo hidden deep in their hearts.
The smile at the corner of Lin Tianhao’s mouth faded slightly, and a trace of cold sharpness flashed through his eyes.
He pulled Lin Mo to the side, deliberately lowering his voice. His tone was more serious than ever before.
“Son, remember this.”
“Our family paid for this dungeon scroll, and we also gave them a fair amount of money. You’re the boss. They’re the hired help!”
Lin Tianhao placed a large hand on Lin Mo’s shoulder and spoke earnestly,
“Mo’er, you need to understand this. In this world, whether it’s outside the city or inside a dungeon, both are killing grounds where people die.”
“Human nature cannot withstand being tested. In the face of extreme danger, a person’s instinct will always be to protect himself first. They might even... because they envy the equipment on you, start entertaining thoughts they never should.”
At this point, Lin Tianhao turned back to glance at the four young people, and his voice rose a little without him even noticing.
“Once you’re inside the dungeon, if anyone dares point fingers at you, or talks in that snide, passive-aggressive way and makes you feel wronged... tell your dad when you get back! I’ll tear their mouths apart myself!”
Even though they were the children of Lin Tianhao’s old subordinates, human nature was just like that, impossible to put into words, impossible to fully study, impossible to truly test.
Only if their fear of Lin Tianhao exceeded their fear of the monsters would Lin Mo be absolutely safe.
“Got it, Dad.”
Lin Mo did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Why did this sound like some kind of mafia setup?
Then Lin Tianhao turned to Ye Hongyu again.
“Hongyu, after you escort them to the dungeon entrance, stay outside and stand guard. If they show Mo’er any disrespect on the way, you may deal with it as you see fit.”
“Understood.”
A cold gleam flashed through Ye Hongyu’s eyes as her gaze swept across Zhang Kai and the others like a blade.
“...”
Zhang Kai and Wang Meng both felt a chill run across the backs of their necks.
Even Xia Qingyue’s expression tightened.
“All right, Sister Ye, stop scaring them.”
Lin Mo waved a hand and took the lead in walking outside. “Let’s go, everyone. Don’t waste any more time.”
“Y-Yes, Young Master Lin.”
Zhang Kai and Wang Meng immediately took a quick step forward and fell in right behind Lin Mo, looking exactly like two fiercely loyal lackeys.
Lin Mo walked at the very front, leading the group toward the villa gates.
On both sides of the villa, the two rows of maids who had been waiting for a long time suddenly bowed in unison at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Safe travels, Young Master! Please stay safe, Young Master! May Young Master claim victory at the first stroke!”
The neat, unified cry startled all four of them.
So this was what a wealthy family looked like...?
This kind of display...
It was scary as hell!