Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

About twenty minutes before getting off work, the three from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association took their leave from the other party.

The other company probably offered to host a meal. Imperial's booze culture isn't as profound as that of the Divine Land, but business banquets are not uncommon.

However, these three declined, presumably because the current situation was unfavorable, and they wanted to avoid unnecessary complications.

Just as the three were about to leave the commercial building, the B-level Stone Attribute guy frowned slightly, "Hold on, I need a quick break."

The A-level and C-level weren't surprised. The discussion had lasted for two hours, and going to the restroom during it was clearly not polite.

If they left and came back to use the restroom, it would require someone to escort them back inside again.

Immediately, the C-level also indicated, "I might as well take a quick pee, it's a twenty-kilometer return trip."

The roads in Jiuchuan City are quite wide, but during rush hour in such a populated city, traffic moves slowly.

The A-level wasn't concerned, shaking his head and heading straight for the SUV.

The Modified Warrior was only seventy to eighty meters away in a direct line, the rain wasn't heavy, and he could see the other party walking towards him.

However, the next moment, his mind became a bit hazy, pondering something unknown.

When he snapped back to reality, he found the A-level boss had reached the rear of the SUV.

In fact, building surveillance captured footage of the A-level Warrior staggering and falling in the mud while walking.

Just then, a shadowy figure approached, helped him up, and walked to the rear of the SUV.

If you looked closely, you could see the shadow's wrist twitch briefly, and the person's face twisted eerily backward as they were helped up.

However, this footage didn't remain for long. It mysteriously disappeared after a few seconds.

Replaced by a static image of the parking lot... as if no one had passed through during that time.

Qu Jianlei changed into the other person's clothes at the rear of the SUV, leaving behind a watch, identity token, and other items.

The A-level's body, of course, was directly taken care of.

The Modified Warrior pondered, then rolled down the window, leaned out, and asked, "Anything you need me to do?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, lifted his hand for a point, and indistinctly spoke, "Turn around that way and get ready to leave."

He had observed the other for several days but wasn't confident in mimicking the voice, so he spoke as little as possible.

However, the Modified Warrior didn't notice anything unusual, as the other was originally an A-level boss, and the slight rain would also affect the sound.

He started busying himself with turning the car around, while Qu Jianlei headed back to the building to wait for the other two to come out.

The two came out one after another. The C-level only needed a quick break, while the B-level was occupied with something bigger.

However, it didn't matter. Qu Jianlei supported the weak-legged C-level to the corner, and when he appeared again, he was alone.

Then the same was done with the B-level.

Small Lake wasn't idle either, busy handling the monitoring content in the building's terminal, striving for a perfect, seamless connection.

After the Modified Warrior had parked the vehicle, he didn't bother about the three from his team—there was a boss taking the lead.

Mainly due to his position, it wasn't convenient for him to observe, so he just waited patiently to return.

Then he was surprised to find the A-level boss returned alone, "Where are the other two?"

Qu Jianlei opened the door, got in, and replied with drooping eyes, "The other party offered a meal... they felt it necessary to socialize a bit."

The more he talked, the more flaws appeared in his voice.

But since he was only facing a Modified Warrior, and slightly influencing the other's perception wasn't much of an issue.

The Modified Warrior felt a bit dissatisfied upon hearing this, "Didn't we repeatedly emphasize not staying around longer than necessary?"

"Hmph," Qu Jianlei snorted, "They felt it was necessary; I couldn't have the other party laughing at us."

"Let's head back first, go to 'Delicious Fresh' for dinner, and wait for them."

Delicious Fresh Restaurant isn't far from the commerce association's gathering point, just over a kilometer away, hinting at protective intent.

"How troublesome," the Modified Warrior genuinely felt like complaining.

But with the boss calling the shots, he could only shake his head, start the car, and drive onto the street.

It proved that when an A-level's spiritual power focuses on influencing a Modified Warrior, the latter would hardly detect anything amiss.

While driving, the driver reported upwards, saying the task was somewhat delayed and they might return late, so no need to set aside a meal.

To substantiate his claim, Qu Jianlei also added a couple of affirmative grunts, indicating his awareness.

And there really wasn't much to speak of during their meal at Delicious Fresh.

After they ate and drank their fill, Qu Jianlei pretended to send a message to the B-level,

and later, with a dark face, remarked, "Hmph, they have to continue entertaining, let's not wait, we'll head back."

The Modified Warrior glanced down at his watch, "Why not a quick call, to rush them a bit?"

Qu Jianlei helplessly cast him a glance, "Do you even know what they're doing? Randomly disturbing others, what would that do to our image?"

"You're right," the Modified Warrior commented with exasperation, "So we head back?"

The two rode back to the work location, and with the Modified Warrior's facial recognition, the vehicle was promptly let through.

Qu Jianlei spared him for precisely the access needed once for the gate.

Now that the mission was relatively successful, he couldn't be bothered with the person anymore.

After getting out of the car, he walked leisurely in the drizzle, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket to light it.

——He was wearing that A-level's clothes, and quite a few people in the Cyan Blade Commerce Association smoked.

He wasn't in a hurry to go inside; he was quietly waiting for the data system here to be invaded and taken over by the small lake.

But before he could finish his cigarette, someone approached from a distance, "Johnny, we can't contact those two."

The visitor had a rather obscure aura, but Qu Jianlei knew this was a Gold Attribute A-level.

He took another drag on his cigarette, replying weakly, "I advised them, it's none of my business."

The Gold Attribute A-level looked at his back. It was night, so nothing seemed amiss, yet there was a sense of something off.

"Why aren't you going inside? What are you doing here?"

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Qu Jianlei remained silent, giving a vague reply after a few seconds, "Feeling the Water Element."

Of course, the Gold Attribute knew this one was Water Attribute, pondered for a moment, then turned and left.

They were all Superpower Warriors and naturally understood the importance of contemplating elements.

Despite the ambiguous words, it might just be an epiphany. After all, people these days are unpredictable; one must always be cautious.

Disturbing someone at such a time might unknowingly turn into enmity if the other person takes it the wrong way.

However, he was still puzzled... It often rained in Jiuchuan City, but it was rare to see this guy like this.

After finishing one cigarette, Qu Jianlei lit another one and then returned to his place.

The door security at his place only required an Identity Token to enter, no need for iris or fingerprint scanning.

Qu Jianlei glanced around the house; it wasn't very large, just about sixty square meters.

But it had a complete bedroom, living room, dining room, and bathroom, and there was exercise equipment in the living room.

Interestingly, he found quite a bit of stored alcohol in the dining room—Johnny must be a drunkard.

Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment, grabbed two bottles of liquor, tucked a pack of dried fruits, and went out to drink again.

Five minutes later, a burly woman came to his door, flamboyantly dressed and barely clothed.

She knocked on the door for a while, receiving no response, then sent a message, "Not in the room?"

Looking at the message, Qu Jianlei was a bit speechless because the original owner labeled this person as "Short and Tight."

After thinking a bit, he replied, "In the midst of feeling the Water Element, don't disturb me."

The woman exited the building, looked around, and indeed found someone sitting leisurely on a bench, sipping alcohol.

After considering, she didn't dare to disturb him. Getting into his bed wasn't easy; how could she risk it?

Qu Jianlei instinctively sensed her—after all, he was now A-level, having some perception wasn't odd.

Then he couldn't help but twitch his mouth; damn, that taste... Good thing I left the room fast!

An hour later, after finishing the two bottles of alcohol, he got up to find that Gold Attribute A-level.

He knew the guy's name was Baike'er, but wasn't sure how to address him, so he simply knocked on the door, "Open up!"

Baike'er opened the door, eyeing the drunken man in front of him, still feeling something off.

He knew there were many drinkers in the commerce association, but he was quite disdainful of such excess.

So he impatiently remarked, "Those two haven't returned yet, shouldn't we be a bit more cautious?"

You're A-level, you clearly could expel the alcohol, yet you end up like this, is it entertaining?

"I... I just tried calling them," Qu Jianlei answered with a slurred tongue, "Couldn't get through!"

"Should we go look for them?"

"You go if you want..." Baike'er replied with a frown, but midway, he felt a sudden jolt in his head.

His final thought was: Indeed... a Spiritual Attack?

Qu Jianlei hadn't initially planned on being so aggressive; raising Baike'er's suspicion could easily spoil things.

However, that "Short and Tight" was truly disgusting, and to prevent her from latching on, he had to take a gamble.

Fortunately, it turned out well; although he sensed the other's suspicion, the gamble ultimately succeeded.

After dealing with Baike'er, he expelled the alcohol scent and changed his identity once more.

He then loudly announced, "You've drunk so much, rest here for a bit!"

Qu Jianlei wasn't sure if Johnny had a habit of sleeping in other people's rooms.

But in general, even though Superpower Warriors were prestigious, they often encountered harsh environments during combat.

How to better adapt to harsh environments and maintain adequate combat strength is something an Awakened has to adapt to.

So sleeping in someone else's room shouldn't be a big deal, right?

And, even if there's a cleanliness obsession, so what? Do others have the right to comment on decisions made by two A-levels?

Another important aspect was that he listened to Baike'er enough to mimic his voice quite well.

After tidying up everything, he stayed about ten more minutes, checked a lot of internal messages, and then got up to leave the room.

However, just as he went out the door, a B-level Warrior hurried past nearby.

"Lord Buick, Karens and the others have not returned yet and can't be located. I suggest sending people to search."

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