Chapter 14

Li Yao stood at the classroom door, dazed for a long time before he recalled the promise he made to Si Jiaxue yesterday. Checking the time, he realized it was already 5 PM, and he had slept for a whole day and night.

No matter how powerful he was in his dreams, in the real world, he was still a poor guy with an empty wallet. He had just eaten up all the food he had saved for months, and 100,000 yuan was a huge sum of money to him, something he wished he could hold in his hands right away.

Li Yao hurriedly typed a response on the virtual rune keyboard: "Where are you? I'll bring it to you within two hours, no, one and a half hours!"

He clicked "send," and the characters condensed into a small virtual paper crane, which flew to the bottom right corner of the screen and disappeared.

After a full three minutes, Si Jiaxue finally sent an address: "I'm here. Someone will be waiting for you at the door in one and a half hours. Just hand over the item to them."

It seemed that she had a very poor impression of Li Yao and didn't even want to see him in person.

Li Yao had no problem with that; as long as he got the money, it was fine. He replied with a "good," closed the screen, and took out Si Jiaxue's old crystal brain. He cracked his knuckles, "click, click," and began the repair.

"Huh?"

When he used a screwdriver to remove the outer shell of the crystal brain, he immediately noticed something different.

His state today was exceptionally good, and his mind was particularly clear. Facing the complex and mysterious internal structure of the crystal brain, he only needed to take a careful look to seemingly understand the deepest layers.

Closing his eyes lightly, a semi-transparent image of the old crystal brain slowly appeared before him. Each tiny component separated and slowly danced in the air, allowing him to see every detail from all angles.

Li Yao had a feeling that even if it wasn't a simple task like replacing a heat sink, but a high-difficulty job like repairing a core crystal tube, he could give it a try.

"It seems that peeping at Ouyezi's hundreds of years of magical treasure forging in the dream wasn't in vain. Although I've forgotten all the details, my 'eye' has greatly improved!"

With this, the repair speed increased significantly. What he originally estimated would take at least an hour was completed in just thirty minutes. He even subconsciously modified the heat dissipation structure, adopting a new type of heat dissipation design that only appeared thirty years ago in a crystal brain from over a hundred years ago. This was expected to improve the heat dissipation efficiency by 17% and the reboot speed in high temperatures by at least 9%.

"Perfect, 100,000 yuan is really worth it, not at all expensive!"

Looking at his work, Li Yao was very satisfied. He felt this was his best performance ever.

Just as he was feeling proud, a sour smell hit his nose. Li Yao realized he was covered in sweat from his sleep. Checking the time, it wasn't too late, so he took a shower, scrubbed himself thoroughly, changed his clothes, and then left the house feeling refreshed.

The address Si Jiaxue gave was a self-service restaurant in the Upper East District. The Upper East District was a wealthy area filled with the elite. Li Yao rarely came here before. Whenever he passed by, he always felt a bit inferior, as if he were a beggar who had wandered into a luxurious banquet of the upper class.

But today, he walked with his head held high, chest puffed out, and a swagger in his step, as if he owned the place. Even though his wrinkled coat was washed white, his knees were patched, and his shoes were worn out, his demeanor was that of a powerful patriarch with a fortune in his pocket, ready to sign a billion-dollar contract.

This was the aura he had cultivated subconsciously among countless high-level cultivators in his dream, a pure sense of superiority that had nothing to do with power, status, or wealth.

It was like a person who had lived with thousands of dinosaurs for decades would only see a fat cat when they encountered a tiger.

The Upper East District was located in the center of Fuguo City, surrounded by seven large artificial lakes that subtly isolated this area from the surroundings. The address Si Jiaxue gave was by one of these lakes, "Yindong Lake," at a self-service restaurant called "Yinhu Xiaojing."

The restaurant was surrounded by bamboo forests and had a weather rune array set up to make it snow within a hundred meters. The light snow added a touch of ethereal Zen to the restaurant.

This place wasn't the most luxurious restaurant in Fuguo City, but it was relatively affordable with a nice and stylish environment, suitable for wealthy heirs who hadn't yet taken control of their family's finances and relied on pocket money from their parents.

At the entrance of Yinhu Xiaojing, a beautiful ancient-style waitress in a simple dress and holding a paper fan saw Li Yao swagger in, his appearance and demeanor completely at odds. She was stunned for a moment before she politely bowed and asked, "Hello, are you Li Yao from Chixiao High School?"

"That's right, Si Jiaxue asked you to wait here, right? Here's the item. Do you need to test it?" Li Yao didn't waste words and handed over the crystal brain.

The ancient-style waitress smiled and said, "No need. Miss Si said if there's a problem, she'll come back to you. For now, please keep this card."

She bent slightly and respectfully handed over a semi-transparent frosted card inscribed with runes.

This was an anonymous Golden Spirit Card. The runes on the card could be input into a crystal brain to transfer the money to an account, or it could be used directly for purchases in most shops, making it very convenient.

Li Yao took the Golden Spirit Card and lightly touched a pale purple rune entwined with silver threads in the upper left corner. The card trembled slightly, and a string of numbers appeared on the card—100,000.

Si Jiaxue had even rounded it up. Li Yao's eyes lit up, and he whistled in surprise, "Thanks, miss. Oh, and please thank Si Jiaxue for me. Tell her to remember me for future business; I'll give her rock-bottom prices!"

He carefully tucked the Golden Spirit Card into his inner pocket and turned to leave, planning to buy a few hundred cans of star beast meat and some braised beef sandwiches from a supermarket in the civilian district for a hearty midnight snack.

Just then, a "sizzle" came from inside Yinhu Xiaojing, the sound of tender and juicy beef hitting a hot iron plate.

A faint aroma of meat, mixed with dozens of rare spices, wafted out on the gentle breeze.

Li Yao's stomach growled, as if pulled by an invisible rope, and he suddenly stopped.

"Damn, I'm hungry again so soon!"

In his dream, he had engaged in a battle of wits and strength with Ouyezi, consuming both his soul and physical energy, almost exhausting his life force. A few hundred cans of star beast meat couldn't make up for it. The smell of the meat brought back the feeling of a drug craving, his stomach becoming a bottomless pit, and his limbs burning with hunger. His face twisted, and he almost drooled.

Li Yao couldn't help but step back and charge inside.

The ancient-style waitress was terrified by his fierce demeanor and instinctively blocked his path.

"Hmm?"

Li Yao squinted his eyes, his molars grinding, "click, click," like a raptor that had eaten grass for three days.

The waitress was on the verge of tears, thinking, "Where did this savage come from? Does he look like he's going to eat me too?"

She took a step back, composed herself, and forced a smile, "Sir, you came at the right time. We're having a store anniversary today, with a 15% discount and no service fee. The self-service dinner is 1,280 yuan per person, and it comes with a 30-year-old daughter red wine, which our owner buried at the bottom of 'Yindong Lake' himself."

In the wealthy district, waiters and waitresses were specially trained and had high standards. They wouldn't discriminate based on appearance or prevent poorly dressed people from dining.

Especially in the cultivation world, there were some psychologically twisted individuals who liked to disguise themselves and catch people off guard. Offending such people could lead to immediate closure and all employees being sent to the ICU on unpaid leave.

So, in the wealthy district, as long as someone wasn't wearing only underwear, even the most luxurious places treated all guests equally.

The ancient-style waitress didn't know who Li Yao was but politely explained the price and stepped aside.

"1,280 yuan?"

Li Yao's eyes went wide. The number instantly converted in his mind to a mountain of star beast meat cans, and his only thought was to turn and leave.

But his body was more honest than his mind. The aroma of the grilled meat seemed to transform into a voluptuous beauty before him, licking her lips, batting her eyes, and smiling seductively.

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, his mind torn between his conscience and his hunger.

After a tense... half-second, his mental defenses crumbled. Li Yao's eyes blazed, his hunger lines appeared on his face, and he loosened his belt, charging in like a tiger descending a mountain or a hungry dog out of a cage.

"Is it just 1,280 yuan? I just got 100,000. One meal can't make me broke. I'm going for it today!"

The interior of Yinhu Xiaojing was designed ingeniously, with the dining area divided into several private sections by corridors, lanterns, and gardens. Long tables filled with food were scattered throughout, ensuring guests could dine in a relatively private environment.

As for the variety of delicacies, let's put it this way: here, Li Yao felt his biology class was taught by a martial arts teacher. More than half of the mountain and sea delicacies were not only unknown to him but had never been seen before!

Finding a relatively quiet corridor, Li Yao grabbed a twenty-pound roasted lamb leg, skin and all, and bit into it with a fierce crunch.

"Twelve full powers, complete realm, ultimate state—Whale Swallowing Technique!"