Chapter 183: A Trip to Fucheng, Immense Pressure

"Merge Thousand Mile Mist Wave Step, Basic Lightness Skill lv8→lv10."

"Trial Project (Four-Star): Perfecting Basic Lightness Skill completed, Experience Points +5000."

"Your current Basic Lightness Skill is lv4/Lv10."

Through the panel fusion, Basic Lightness Skill absorbed the bizarre footwork of 'Injury for Speed', raising the cap to the lv10 level.

This technique was finally finalized, and it also allowed Zhou You to complete his first four-star task.

With 5000 Experience Points received, it could be said that Zhou You had instantly struck it rich.

Although the Lightness Skill was still lv4 and appeared not to have improved, the addition of the 'Injury for Speed' feature was like adding wings to a tiger, making it even more effective in actual combat.

"Father, Mother, I am going to go keep Great-Grandfather company for a while longer."

At the construction site, Zhou You found his father and explained that he would be leaving for a while.

That was right, he was going out again; he wanted to go to Fucheng to scout out the path.

If Gongliang City were to follow in the footsteps of Su Cheng, the only place for the family to go would be the larger and safer Fucheng.

Recently, the prominent figures of Gongliang City had all been secretly buying houses and shops in Fucheng to establish their family foundations.

Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang was always absent from the martial arts hall, frequently going out, precisely to handle these matters for Wang Laohu.

Before a great disaster, animals and insects have a sense of it, let alone humans, the most intelligent of all creatures.

Given her situation, when the martial arts hall evacuated, they would likely not take her; she could only find a way out on her own.

"Alright, go ahead, don't forget to bring two catties of pears for Great-Grandfather."

Zhou You left Great-Grandfather's house and hurried toward Fucheng without stopping.

There was no water in the wells, no grain in the fields, and the livestock had all died out, while wild dogs and wolf packs were eating until their bellies were round.

Regardless of whether the commoners were rich or poor, they were going bankrupt and dying on a massive scale; it was truly equality for all living beings under a natural disaster! The world was becoming increasingly turbulent, and when passing through a village, he saw all the villagers, old and young, gathered at the village entrance.

They led out their skin-and-bone livestock to slaughter for meat, then set fire to their houses and fields, and all of them raised their hoes and shovels... they had gone off to be bandits!

A few days later, Zhou You arrived 20 li outside of Fucheng, where the heads of these villagers were hung on rows of wooden poles displayed to the public.

Under the wooden poles, wild dogs gathered in groups of three or five, lowering their heads to lick the dripping blood! From the wilderness to Fucheng, the chaos vanished, and order returned to the ground.

Fucheng had 8 large gates, each 20 meters high, enough to accommodate 100 people passing through shoulder-to-shoulder and hand-in-hand.

The city gates were wide open, and the ground was swept clean; let alone gravel, one couldn't even see a single speck of dust.

Zhou You entered the city, feeling as if he were in another lifetime, as if he had arrived in another world.

Behind him, the city gate separated the hellish Hunger, Plague, and slaughter, while all around him was an atmosphere of peace and ease.

Zhou You was currently in the likeness of Lu Zhigang, carrying Money Notes from Tianxia Bank on his person, and wearing a precious sword at his waist.

The precious sword was a Qi-Blood Divine Weapon, originally a family heirloom of the Qu Head Constable, extremely sharp, though the Charm Core on it had been pried out and used.

As a martial artist wearing a Qi-Blood Divine Weapon, he looked like someone not to be trifled with.

When asking about Tianxia Bank, not a single passerby didn't know of it, and they quickly pointed out the way for Zhou You.

Tianxia Bank...

Standing before the tall storefront, Zhou You took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Depositing or withdrawing?"

"Withdrawing!"

"Name, proof, and deposit slip!"

Zhou You reported the name of Lu Zhigang and took out the token deposit slip, his whole body nearly tensed up.

The place where he stood was not far from the main entrance; if there was anything wrong, he could immediately fight his way out in a bloody path.

The wealth he had deposited in the account totaled 27,408 taels, solid, real gold and silver. Even though he was currently at the mid-stage of Qi-Blood, carrying so much precious metal in one go was quite a strain!

If he were to encounter an ambush, the only way to escape with his life would be to abandon the wealth, which was the last thing he wanted to happen.

The person receiving him was a counter clerk, in his early forties, shrewd and capable, who confirmed there were no errors after checking the information.

"Does the guest want to withdraw it all, or exchange it for Money Notes!"

"Withdraw it all."

A moment later, a large chest was placed before him, with silver ingots arranged neatly inside, the weight marked on the bottom with a steel stamp.

There were 50-tael large ingots, 10-tael small ingots, and some scattered silver pieces.

Zhou You took out the 408-tael remainder and waved his hand, "Exchange the rest into Money Notes for me."

The Money Notes issued by Tianxia Bank were universal throughout the world; as long as there was a city, there was a bank, and they could be cashed anywhere.

Moreover, there was another advantage: they were easy to Zang and convenient to transport.

Of course, these were not the reasons why Zhou You exchanged the real gold and silver for Money Notes.

Because he had decided that this trip to Fucheng would be used to spend all this money, not leaving a single Money Note behind.

With the current turbulent times, holding real gold and silver in his hands gave him peace of mind; he exchanged them for Money Notes only to make spending them convenient.

The 27,000 taels of Money Notes, clutched in his hand as a stack, only caused a slight bulge when stuffed into his chest.

Listening to the bustling sounds in the bank, Zhou You suddenly realized that his worries were superfluous.

There was no difficulty, no conspiracy; the whole process was as smooth as flowing clouds and water.

A transaction of 20,000 to 30,000 taels was, to Tianxia Bank, merely a drop in the bucket.

Before leaving Tianxia Bank, Zhou You even saw a pot-bellied fatty with dozens of strong men carrying away a silver chest containing 200,000 taels.

His heart settled slightly; digesting the treasures from Mowun Stronghold in Fucheng would be no problem.

With money, what should he buy?

Zhou You had originally thought about buying a house so that he would have a place to stay when he moved to Fucheng in the future.

But when he went to the market and looked, he shook his head repeatedly; he couldn't afford it, he really couldn't afford it.

Small and medium-sized cities everywhere were falling one after another, and the surviving population was flooding into more fortified large cities, such as Fucheng, directly driving the real estate market to explode, with land and housing prices rising in a straight line.

Thirty thousand taels would be enough to buy a villa in the city center of Gongliang City, but in Fucheng...

Aside from old, dilapidated, and small places, or those in fringe areas where all sorts of people live, one really cannot buy any satisfactory housing.

Zhou You had no choice but to temporarily abandon this idea and just walk around to familiarize himself with the environment of Fucheng.

The atmosphere of martial arts practice is even more intense in Fucheng; almost every street has a martial arts hall, and every household has the sound of shouting while practicing punches.

The martial arts halls are larger, their entrances are taller, and the masters presiding inside are even more formidable; each one is battle-hardened, and their reputations alone are enough to scare people to death! Names like Iron Spine Golden Pupil, Hating Overlord, Pulling Earth Three Feet...

Some masters of these martial arts halls are Intermediate Martial Masters, or even Advanced Martial Masters.

Sigh, if Wang Laohu really wants to move to Fucheng, I fear it won't be easy to get by in such a fiercely competitive environment!

Wang Jianxiong is a Primary Martial Master and is getting on in years; he could still be a big fish in a small pond in Gongliang City, but once he reaches Fucheng, with its completely different circles and abundance of strong and ruthless people, the competition is so intense that he probably wouldn't even rank among the lowest tier.

In small places, you rely on connections; in big places, you rely on ability! With so many martial arts halls, there are many people practicing martial arts and boxing, and even those collecting protection fees on the street are gang members who have achieved success in their internal strength.

Establishments open for business, such as taverns and tea shops, all have Qi-Blood Warriors guarding the premises to a greater or lesser extent.

Zhou You counted on his fingers, calculating what kind of work he could find after coming to Fucheng? Hmm, he probably wouldn't be able to find work at all! Fucheng seems more inclusive, but the xenophobia in its bones is exactly the same as in Gongliang City.

Truly good jobs come with invisible thresholds; without a recommendation from an acquaintance, don't even think about it.

(End of this chapter)