Chapter 45

Amidst the laughter and joy, the one-day tour of the garden district began.

In the morning, the three girls shopped on the busiest pedestrian street in the garden district, thoroughly captivated by the dazzling array of goods. Even the most rational Bai Tingxuan bought a lot of things in a daze. As for Sun Ran, he naturally became the unpaid porter, carrying at least ten bags, exhausted like a dead dog.

At noon, the four of them spent a large sum of money at a famous revolving restaurant, enjoying a sumptuous meal.

In the afternoon, they visited historical museums, ocean pavilions, space exploration pavilions, and other attractions, broadening their horizons and having a great time.

By evening, the four of them had not only spent all 8,000 credit points given by Jing Ke but also each contributed an additional 2,000 credit points. However, no one felt regretful; they all felt that the money was well spent.

After a day of touring, the four of them became even more harmonious and close. As Ke'er put it, they felt the warmth of a family.

Another gain from the day was that after lunch, the four members of the Thorn Rose team established a joint account. Apart from keeping 10,000 credit points each for daily expenses, they deposited the rest into the joint account, saving together to reach the garden district's minimum standard of 3.5 million credit points.

In other words, from an economic standpoint, the four of them were indeed a family. Of course, no one explicitly mentioned this.

Currently, the joint account had 270,000 credit points.

At 8 PM, the four of them reluctantly returned to the tour bus and set off for home.

"Wow, what a great day," Ke'er said, lying on the soft seat, feeling her legs sore from the day's activities.

"I'm a bit reluctant to leave," Bai Tingxuan smiled. It was already night, and the air outside the car window was incredibly clear, with excellent visibility. The entire garden district was brilliantly lit, like a shining sea of stars, beautiful beyond measure.

Lan Xin, who tended to be more rational, summed up her observations of the day and calculated the expenses in the garden district, sighing, "No wonder the minimum requirement to move into the garden district is one million credit points. The consumption here is really too high."

The midday meal, though delicious, cost 1,500 credit points. Buying clothes and accessories on the street, and souvenirs at various attractions, all had a minimum price of 100 credit points. The expenses were staggering, and without a certain level of assets, it was hard to bear.

"It's just for fun today. We won't spend like this every day," Ke'er argued.

Lan Xin shook her head, "No, if you really live here, you have to pay a large annual residence tax for air purification, maintaining greenery, and weather system maintenance. There's no way to avoid it."

In other words, you have to pay high property fees.

Sun Ran, looking at the items scattered all over the tour bus, added, "The garden district, like where we live, has different social classes. One million credit points is just the starting point, enough for a small, cramped apartment. The four of us would probably have an average of 20 square meters. We'd have to live frugally, unable to travel to other cities or own our own transportation. But the upper-class wealthy in the garden district have their own starships and can travel to outer space at will. To live comfortably in the garden district, we need to become at least Silver-level Enforcers."

The consumption in the garden district is too high. One million is just the base. Without a stable income, we would eventually have to move back to the slums, which would be no fun.

Ke'er automatically ignored the issue of fees and was suddenly captivated by the idea of starships: "I've never been to space in my life. I feel like a primitive cave dweller, always hiding underground."

"We need to work harder," Bai Tingxuan said, already feeling the pressure of living in the garden district.

Lan Xin became excited, "Let's go to the Enforcer headquarters as soon as we get back, buy new skills to enhance our strength, and take on missions to earn money!"

Her suggestion was met with unanimous agreement from the other three.

At this point, the tour bus arrived at the entrance to the slums. Compared to the brilliance of the garden district, the entrance to the slums, located deeper underground, was dark and gloomy, looking like the gate to hell.

The four people on the bus were silent, feeling a bit down but also hopeful about the future.

Finally, the tour bus silently entered the tunnel, returned to 'hell,' and dropped off each of the four at their respective homes.

Back home, Sun Ran and Lan Xin both felt as if they had entered a different world.

"This house is so small," Lan Xin sighed. The garden district gave her a feeling of spaciousness, brightness, cleanliness, and tidiness, making her feel very comfortable. In comparison, her small room felt extremely cramped.

Sun Ran agreed, nodding, "Once we reach the Bronze level, we can apply for a larger house. Let's work hard and move out of here as soon as possible."

"Okay," Lan Xin nodded.

Sun Ran started to undress, preparing to enter the nutrient tank and connect to the Enforcer headquarters as previously agreed.

"Sun Ran," Lan Xin suddenly called out to him.

"What is it?" Sun Ran stopped and turned to ask.

"Do you... really like Ke'er and Tingxuan?" Lan Xin asked, looking down.

Sun Ran was surprised, then laughed, "I was just joking. Why bring this up now?"

Lan Xin bit her lip, silent for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind, "Because I can tell that Ke'er and Tingxuan also like you. You lucky dog."

Sun Ran was a bit surprised that Lan Xin would say this, then said seriously, "Xin'er, don't think too much. Let's just go with the flow. Things are good as they are."

He himself wasn't sure what the future would hold, but he felt very comfortable and at ease with the three girls. Their hearts were very close.

"Alright," Lan Xin smiled, waving her hand, "See you at the Enforcer headquarters."

With that, she went into the bedroom and connected to the headquarters.

Sun Ran did the same, lying in the nutrient tank. The familiar blue sky and white clouds appeared before his eyes, and a moment later, Lan Xin appeared beside him.

The two smiled at each other and walked into the Order Cube, arriving at the Thorn Rose office. After a short wait, Ke'er and Bai Tingxuan also arrived.

The four of them didn't waste any time and immediately began discussing skill upgrades.

On the surface, the Thorn Rose team had only two Level 2 skills: Sun Ran's Ice Spiral Blade and Lan Xin's Eagle Eye. Ke'er and Bai Tingxuan were both at Level 1 and Level 0, which was a significant waste of the Black Iron Enforcer's Level 2 skill privileges.

Ke'er suggested, "Since we all made money this time, why don't we all buy a Level 2 skill?"

"No, that's not cost-effective," Sun Ran shook his head and explained, "We're about to reach the Bronze level, where we can learn Level 3 skills. A Level 3 skill costs 50,000 credit points, and we need to save money."

Because of the different scales of data involved, Level 3 skills are nearly ten times more powerful than Level 2 skills, but the price only increases by five times, making them much more cost-effective.

Seeing that the girls agreed, Sun Ran continued, "My idea is for Ke'er to buy one Level 2 skill."

Before he could finish, Ke'er said, "Husband, you can't favor Tingxuan. I won't have it."

"Let me finish," Sun Ran laughed. "Ke'er, you are a close-combat class, which is more dangerous, so you need a powerful Level 2 skill. As for Tingxuan, I have a highly cost-effective skill prepared for you, so don't worry."

He then pulled up a Level 2 skill from the virtual network.

Poison Brewing: Immortal Down, a Level 2 anesthetic poison, colorless, odorless, and tasteless, capable of affecting even a Primordial Daoist Lord if they're not careful.

Sun Ran didn't like close combat, finding it too risky and a matter of life and death. He preferred to control the situation.

"How powerful! How is that possible!" The exclamation came not from Ke'er but from Bai Tingxuan.

As a Daoist, she knew very well what a Primordial Daoist Lord was—a being with the authority to destroy the world. For a mere Level 2 poison to affect a saint seemed exaggerated.

Sun Ran laughed, "It is indeed an exaggeration. A Primordial Daoist Lord can be affected but won't be affected. However, the advantage of poison is that it can work across levels. Even a Level 3 biological structure can be knocked out if exposed to enough of it. After all, most of our opponents are mere mortals."

This skill suited Ke'er's personality. Imagining the scene of her enemies falling to her poison, she smiled and nodded without hesitation.

So, Sun Ran bought the Poison Brewing skill and transmitted the data to Ke'er.

When it was Bai Tingxuan's turn, she didn't say anything but looked at Sun Ran with hopeful eyes, clearly curious about what skill he would choose for her.

Sun Ran smiled and pulled out a skill, which was Level 0 and cost only 500 credit points.

Elixir of Immortality, a genuine Daoist cultivation technique, with only one line of description: "Enlightened to the Heavenly Dao under the Primordial Tree."

Ke'er immediately said, "Husband, you're being too biased."

Lan Xin also couldn't stand it, "Sun Ran, are you just giving Tingxuan a Level 0 skill to敷衍her?"

"What is this?" Bai Tingxuan didn't have any extra thoughts, just looked at Sun Ran in confusion.

She was familiar with Daoist techniques, knowing that all authentic Daoist cultivation methods originated from the Three Pure Ones. The most authentic were the Upper, Jade, and Great Purity Techniques. She had heard of the Elixir of Immortality, but it had no specific lineage and was unknown. Some people practiced it, but it was said to be very difficult, producing mediocre magical power, far inferior to the Three Pure Techniques. Therefore, it was considered a Level 0 skill and rarely used.

Bai Tingxuan didn't understand why Sun Ran chose this.

Sun Ran's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia. Back then, he had enlightened to the Heavenly Dao under the Primordial Tree, forged a golden body, and achieved the status of a Primordial Being, becoming a master of creation. Unfortunately, the past was too painful to recall. He had been too showy, liking to stand out, and was ultimately blown down by the wind.

He slowly said, "Others have taken the wrong path, so they have become weak. You practice, and I will guide you."

The skills he passed down contained many traps, emphasizing the mysterious 'enlightenment.' Without enlightenment, the technique was worthless. If practiced correctly, it would lead to the path of Primordial Enlightenment.

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(End of the chapter)