Chapter 99: Encountering Vivian, again
Those words were enough for Lin Fang to be tempted to work hard to mine the elemental crystals. At the moment, the thing he desires the most is power. It doesn’t matter how he gets it. Since he doesn’t have enough money to boost his monster companions’ levels, he had to make it up with the weapons.
He glanced deeper into the crystal vein, hand already tightening on his pickaxe to work himself to death, but Alpha’s voice came firm and measured in his mind.
"Don’t even think about it. It’s almost dawn outside. You won’t finish this job even if you work nonstop for a week. Just go back and rest. While your body might be resting, your mind isn’t. If you don’t let it recover, you won’t think straight tomorrow."
Lin Fang exhaled through his nose, half-frustrated but half-accepting. "You’re starting to sound like a strict teacher, Alpha."
"If you’re acting like a reckless student, I’ll have to become a strict teacher to guide you properly..." it replied dryly.
A wry smile tugged at his lips. "Fine. Tomorrow then."
He stowed away the pickaxe, cast one last glance at the glowing vein, and exited the habitat, returning to the material world.
He didn’t open his eyes when his senses returned to his body, but continued to shut his eyes to sleep.
But only a couple of hours later, two hours later, the quiet of dawn was broken by a soft knock at Lin Fang’s door.
He opened his eyes briefly at the sound, then shut them again, intending to ignore her.
The knock came again, firmer this time, followed by Zhi Yan’s voice. "Fang-Ge?" She twisted the knob, only to find it locked. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and called him.
It rang twice before he finally picked up, his tone lazy and groggy. "What is it...?"
"It’s already dawn," she said crisply. "We need to go to the gym."
"I think I will skip today," Lin Fang replied flatly. "And sleep a bit more."
There was a pause from the other side. Then her voice sharpened, tinged with stubbornness. "Your exam is in three days. You sure you want to skip training now?"
That hit the mark. Lin Fang’s eyes snapped open at once. He swung his legs off the bed and muttered under his breath, "I can rest my mind some other time... training comes first."
He lifted the phone again and sighed. "Alright. Give me a minute."
True to his word, a few minutes later, the door clicked open. Lin Fang stepped out dressed in track pants and a simple t-shirt, his hair still messy but his posture firm. Zhi Yan was already waiting in her own workout gear, stretching casually in the hallway.
She gave him a quick once-over, a small smile playing at her lips. "Thought you’d chicken out."
Lin Fang rolled his shoulders and smirked faintly. "Not a chance. Let’s go."
As they stepped out into the cool morning air, Zhi Yan paused mid-step and tilted her head, studying him closely. "You look... different somehow," she said, brows furrowed in curiosity.
Lin Fang blinked, feigning innocence as he knew that it could be the abrupt rise of his mana particles. "Did I become more handsome overnight?"
Zhi Yan gave a small laugh, shaking her head. "You do look a little more charming, I’ll give you that... but that’s not the point. There’s something different about you today."
Before he could answer, Alpha’s voice echoed in his mind, calm and matter-of-fact. "Lin Fang, I think there is no use in keeping it a secret. Your reserves are high enough that the Amulet you wore might no longer be able to completely erase their presence, not with this girl with such keen senses."
Lin Fang frowned inwardly. "Is Zhi Yan’s sense that great?"
"She isn’t a spirit master, but she has trained well enough," Alpha replied. As an afterthought, it further said. "However, compared to her reserves, yours are still considered minuscule. She has almost twelve times the reserves as you. Even in the event of exposure, she won’t be overwhelmed. So, there is nothing to worry about."
Lin Fang’s heart skipped, but he kept his expression smooth. Out loud, he said lightly, "Perhaps... It’s because I finally have mana now."
Zhi Yan blinked, her eyes widening. "You have?"
Wordlessly, Lin Fang pulled the amulet from around his neck, revealing his mana capacity,
Recognition flickered across her face, and she nodded slowly. "I can feel it. I must say, around Tier-5, which will easily put you into the top 10%. When did this happen? And why didn’t you tell me earlier?"
As her voice trailed off, Lin Fang gave a nod. "I suppose... it started with Xuan Hei. The change came after Nemesis merged with the direwolf."
For a moment, Zhi Yan simply stared at him, stunned. Then her eyes widened fully, lighting up with excitement. "This... this is such good news!"
Before he could react, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a sudden, tight hug.
"You finally changed," she whispered, her voice trembling with relief and joy. "That’s good... that’s very good. Who would have expected...?"
Lin Fang stood there stiff for a moment, taken off guard by her warmth. Alpha chuckled in his head. "Looks like there is more than one trouble left for you, boy..."
After a while, they reached the gym, located nearly ten kilometers away.
Zhi Yan glanced sideways at him, noticing how his breathing was steady and not a single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. With a smile, she remarked, "When we first jogged together, you could barely keep up without collapsing. And now look at you... You didn’t just gain mana, did you? Even your entire physique seems improved."
Lin Fang only smiled faintly at her words, saying nothing else.
They pushed open the glass doors and stepped inside.
But this time, instead of seeing Adam alone waiting at the front as usual, there was someone else standing with him — a blonde-haired woman in training gear, throwing clumsy punches at the sandbag while Adam corrected her stance.
Lin Fang froze. His eyes widened slightly in recognition. "That woman... yesterday..."
His body stiffened before he quickly turned on his heel, intent on leaving immediately.
"Fang-Ge?" Zhi Yan called after him, her hand catching his wrist. "What happened?"
Lin Fang remained silent, awkwardness written on his face.
Adam noticed the commotion, turned his head, and smiled. "Oh, Hey Bro, you’re here! Heard you were hospitalized. Everything okay now?"
Before Lin Fang could even form a reply, the blonde woman suddenly stopped mid-punch, spun around, and her eyes locked on him.
Her expression twisted in instant recognition.
"It’s you...!" she shouted, pointing at him angrily. "Pervert! What a small world!"
The air around them froze. A few other gym members paused their workouts to glance over curiously.
Zhi Yan’s brows furrowed, her gaze flicking between Lin Fang and the woman. "Pervert?"
Lin Fang’s lips twitched as he sighed inwardly, muttering in his head, "Great... just what I needed today."
Taking a breath, Lin Fang blinked, feigning confusion on his face. "Uhhh... what? Who are you? Why are you calling me a pervert?"
The blonde woman yanked off her gloves and marched forward with her face twisted in anger. "You dare say you don’t know me? After doing that to me?"
Zhi Yan’s brows shot up as she turned toward him. "Lin Fang... what is she talking about?"