At the time when Qi Yuan and Cheng Yizhou were talking, three people in the distance were watching them.
"Brother Xiong, should we go over?"
Song Jing looked around and mumbled: "We should at least take some credit. We did a lot tonight."
Wu Xiong glanced around. No one went to bother Qi Yuan, and finally made a decision after hesitating for a moment.
"No, we can't go."
"Why?"
Song Jing and Kong Anzhi were about to jump up. They wondered if the beauty had bewitched their boss.
"The Qi family will tell him about our contribution. Qi Young Master is also tired today. If we go now, won't we be asking for trouble?"
Tired?
Song Jing and the other guy were puzzled. How could moving your fingers make you tired?
But since the boss had spoken, they could only obey. If it wasn't for Brother Xiong's careful planning tonight, they would have missed the last chance to remedy the situation.
The Qi family's Young Master himself had S-level ability. If they had chosen to flee, next year's today would probably be their death anniversary.
While being watched by the three, Qi Yuan was racking his brains about where to stay tonight.
He had hoped to stay at the law enforcement office for a while by working with the patrol team.
Unfortunately, Captain Cheng said there was nothing else to do. They would write the report themselves, so he didn't need to worry.
Public transportation was out of the question now. Qi Yuan looked at the shared bikes again.
Did he really have to ride back?
That would be too shabby.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he looked at Xue Shizong.
This Young Master came with him tonight. He knew where Xue Shizong's luxury car was parked.
He walked over to Xue Shizong quickly, trying to get close to him.
"You are Miss Xue's brother, right? Thanks for your sister's help."
Xue Shizong's eyes were half-closed as he spoke in his unique, steady tone: "No, you helped little Yun a lot too. I should be thanking you instead. Why don't I give you a ride and we can chat on the way?"
He had rushed over in the middle of the night but ended up doing nothing. Xue Shizong felt very tired and just wanted to lie down somewhere.
But he couldn't ignore the words of an S-level ability user either. Chatting while standing would drag on indefinitely. Giving the other person a ride could limit the time.
These words were like music to Qi Yuan's ears. He unilaterally labeled Xue Shizong as a good guy.
He readily agreed and got into Xue Young Master's luxury car.
Xue Shizong asked for his address and told the driver.
After getting in the car, the two fell silent for a while.
Finally, Qi Yuan, the one getting a free ride, took the initiative to start a conversation: "Have you been to Shen City before? I'll be going to Shen City University soon. Come to think of it, I haven't thanked you for helping me get a spot."
"It's nothing. Shen City has a large population with many high-level ability users, so it's safer than Qipan City. But the influence of families is also greater."
I see. He meant that humans could be more terrifying than monsters.
It was difficult to obtain evidence when high-level ability users secretly harmed others.
Without evidence, the authorities could not intervene either. They could not just take action and cause more casualties in the city.
Therefore, many ordinary people who were harmed by ability users would choose to join anti-ability organizations and work with monsters or worship monsters - in short, they opposed ability users throwing their weight around.
In fact, most ordinary people acknowledged that heroes should receive more benefits, but this was limited to not infringing on their personal dignity.
Some ability users wanted to cross this red line.
The authorities could still control low and mid-level ability users, but high-level ones understood how to push the boundaries of the law better than them.
This was Xue Shizong's subtle way of reminding him to be wary of the major families.
"But you must know this already. I've said too much."
"No, I didn't."
Qi Yuan believed he was just a half-baked wild card. Apart from some common knowledge ordinary people also knew, the rest was sketchy to him.
Without Xue Shizong's reminder, his impression of Shen City would still be limited to it being a big city with many ability users and safer than other cities.
Suddenly, Xue Shizong's phone screen lit up briefly. He glanced at it casually before putting the phone away again.
"Little Yun asked me to ask if you plan to change your ability certificate."
"Change my ability certificate?"
Why was this worth discussing separately?
Qi Yuan was puzzled. Were there some hidden rules he didn't know about?
"Yes. The gap between your C-level certificate and your actual ability is too big. The Ability Association has suggested it, and the law enforcement office can't keep declining either."
Moreover, if Qi Yuan's ability certificate was updated, he wouldn't have rushed over for nothing today.
Whether it was the Ability Association or law enforcement office, they had to rush to the scene immediately when a high-level monster appeared in the city.
This was an obligation.
"Although I don't know why you're hiding your identity, and I know you may not care for the allowances and housing the Ability Association provides, this is the Dragon Country's policy, so please cooperate."
Now that Qi Yuan's identity had been exposed, the enemies or monsters he was hiding from would be able to detect him anyway.
So there was no need to keep a low profile anymore.
As an official member, Xue Shizong also didn't want to see such a waste of combat strength happen again.
If the previous words were conveying Xue Shiyun's message, then the following words came from his heart.
Upon hearing there would be allowances and housing, Qi Yuan didn't hesitate for even a second - that would be letting money down. He immediately agreed.
"Then let's change it."
Why make it sound so grave when giving out money?
Qi Yuan had specifically asked the Qipan City branch of the Ability Association whether he could apply for residency in Shen City.
The lady who answered was very patient in explaining to him.
Each place had different policies.
In Shen City, he could move in immediately after applying and renovate as he wished. But if his contributions after leaving Shen City were insufficient to purchase the house, it would be taken back and redistributed.
The number of residency applications was unlimited, contributions could accumulate, but there was a limit on house purchases. In other words, there would always be a place to stay after applying, but he still needed to work hard to buy a house.
Learning that he was about to leave Qipan City, the lady recommended exchanging his Qipan City contributions for cash.
"Your house will be kept for you. Qipan City welcomes you to come back and visit anytime."
The lady from the Ability Association added with a smile in the end.
So the Ability Association had purchased their house.
After receiving the one million allowance, Qi Yuan had suggested to his mother not to sell the house. But Mother Qi insisted on selling it. She said their house was very close to the Qipan City Second Primary School Shelter, so selling it would not only earn them a sum, it might also save a family's lives.
"It's okay. Let's give it to someone in need after we move."
This was what Qi Yuan said.
...
One month later,
At the airport of Qipan City,
Qi Ao was running around the spacious hall curiously.
At his age, he was full of energy and the wide-open hall gave him ample space to vent it.
Qi Yuan had exchanged his C-level certificate for an A-level one and successfully received this year's one million allowance.
He had specifically asked the Qipan City branch of the Ability Association whether he could apply for housing in Shen City.
The lady who answered patiently explained the policies to him.
Each place had different policies.
For somewhere like Shen City, he could move in immediately after applying and renovate as he wished. But if his contributions after leaving Shen City were insufficient to purchase the house, it would be taken back and redistributed.
The number of residency applications was unlimited, contributions could accumulate, but there was a limit on house purchases. In other words, there would always be a place to stay after applying, but he still needed to work hard to buy a house.
Learning that he was about to leave Qipan City, the lady at the Ability Association recommended exchanging his Qipan City contributions for cash.
"Your house will be kept for you. Qipan City welcomes you to come back and visit anytime."
The lady from the Ability Association added with a smile at the end.
So the Ability Association had purchased their house.
After receiving the million allowance, Qi Yuan had suggested to his mother not to sell the house. But Mother Qi insisted on selling it. She said their house was very close to the Qipan City Second Primary School Shelter. Selling it would not only earn them a sum, it might also save a family's lives.
"It's okay. Let's give it to someone in need after we move."
This was what Qi Yuan said.