The sequence is too involutional, luckily I am too.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap rang out, and Gao Qiang, who was lost in thought, shrank back to his senses.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch, so don't jump on every bandwagon."

Gao Qiang's body trembled, and most of the expectation in his eyes disappeared, replaced by endless fear.

As a member of the Black Dog Gang and having personally witnessed the "drug residue," he knew better than most vagrants the fate of those who tested the drugs.

It was only because the intense desire for the extraordinary overwhelmed reason that such a thought arose.

"I'm sorry, Brother Yan, I did something stupid just now."

Lu Yan nodded. He had just tried using the Teacher Sequence trait, "Preaching," and the effect seemed to be quite good.

As for whether Gao Qiang will go again in the future, that's none of his business.

It's hard to reason with a damned devil, and he had no interest in playing the saint; this reminder was already more than enough.

He turned his gaze to the few superhumans who had successfully awakened on the high platform, his brows furrowing slightly.

Although these people looked energetic and imposing, he felt they were incredibly weak.

If I had to compare them, they're about the same as the thugs who raided the area a few nights ago.

In short, for him now, it's just a matter of a slap.

"Why is there such a huge difference in strength between two people who are both Sequence 9?"

Lu Yan pondered to himself that breathing techniques were definitely an important factor, but he couldn't explain why he possessed power far exceeding that of these people right after awakening.

"Could it be... that the level of awakening varies from person to person?"

With too little information, Lu Yan had no way of making a judgment and could only give up for the time being.

"I don't need anyone to watch over me. You go about your business. I'll come find you again in a few days."

Lu Yan dismissed Gao Qiang, then bypassed the noisy central square and headed towards the gate of the shelter.

Outside the town, a thick, impenetrable gray fog hung in the air, and no one knew where the fog's boundary lay.

The closer you get to the city wall, the thinner the fog becomes, and the cleaner and tidier the environment becomes. You can even see neat brick and tile houses!

The people who live here all have some connection with the shelter.

But no matter what, these displaced people "polluted" by the gray fog are unable to move into the shelter.

Unless... the awakening sequence!

Lu Yan walked into one of the rooms, where the words "grocery store" were written on the door.

The shop has everything: clothes, ironware, and food, but the prices are all outrageously high.

Think it's too expensive? Then go find it in the gray fog yourself; you can find anything there.

Mutated beasts, twisted and bizarre... there's nothing "clean".

The boundless gray fog isolated and polluted everything; only the shelter could produce "clean" supplies.

Their monopoly on resources is what gives them the confidence to set high prices.

Of course, this confidence only applies to ordinary migrants.

When the obese man inside saw Lu Yan enter, he immediately greeted him with a broad smile.

"Brother Yan, what would you like to order?"

He does have some connections in the shelter, otherwise he wouldn't be able to open this grocery store, but it's still not as powerful as the Black Dog Gang's backing.

Although Lu Yan was just a minor leader, who knew when he might rise to power, so he naturally dared not be negligent.

Lu Yan nodded slightly as a greeting, then tossed the bag of gold coins onto the counter: "Replace them all with exotic beast meat, and make sure it's clean."

Beasts are the product of mutated wild beasts. Through generations of reproduction, they have acquired extraordinary powers. Their flesh and blood are not only a great tonic, but can also cleanse the pollution of the gray fog and inhibit physical mutations.

When Lu Yan was promoted to a junior leader, he ate a small piece of it at a banquet hosted by the leader. He almost choked on it due to the turbulent blood and qi. He knew the effects of this stuff all too well.

"Brother Yan, you've come at the perfect time. I just received a batch of fresh exotic beast meat. Please wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang's eyes lit up, and his smile became much more obsequious. He quickly ran back to the back room and searched the place.

Before long, Fatty Wang came out carrying a large piece of fresh exotic beast meat and placed it on the scale.

"It's a little over fifteen catties, I'll give you a discount and charge you 13 gold coins."

Lu Yan was somewhat surprised. Beast meat was a rare commodity in this town, usually costing at least one gold coin per pound. Wang Pangzi's price this time was so honest that he was not used to it.

"Don't worry, Brother Yan, the quality is absolutely guaranteed."

Wang Pangzi noticed Lu Yan's doubts and patted his chest to assure him.

"My brother-in-law works in the logistics department, and these are all from him. They're top-quality stuff."

"It would have cost much more in the past, but recently the city's cleanup teams have been going out on more missions, which has caused the price of meat to drop a bit."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan suddenly understood. The shelter regularly sends out extermination teams to clear out the surrounding alien beasts to prevent them from being surrounded by them.

However, they used to clear out the area only once every six months. Why are they suddenly being so diligent?

Normally, these people would avoid the gray fog more than anyone else.

Carrying the packaged beast meat, Lu Yan turned and left.

On the streets, people from Muyun Technology were still passionately giving speeches, while the shouts of the displaced people rose and fell.

Lu Yan looked up and scanned his surroundings: the pervasive gray fog, the dilapidated shacks, and the occasional frenzied roars of refugees.

Faced with the threat of smog pollution, the fervent pursuit of the "extraordinary" has taken deep root in the blood of every migrant, even to the point of fanaticism and near-distortion.

The powerful indulge in a life of luxury and extravagance, while the poor indulge in daydreams.

This is daily life in the market town: chaotic and hopeless.

……

As soon as he returned to the shed, Lu Yan couldn't wait to set up a fire and cut off a piece of the strange beast meat to roast over the fire.

Before long, the rich aroma of meat wafted out, attracting the prying eyes of many refugees around the shack.

However, after recognizing that the fragrance originated from Lu Yan's residence, most of the refugees reluctantly abandoned their wicked intentions and left dejectedly.

"Damn, what kind of meat is this guy grilling? It smells so good!"

In the shadows, a stalker greedily sniffed the aroma of meat, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

He only realized something was wrong when a cold hand pressed against the back of his neck.

Just as he was about to call for help, his neck bone cracked with a sharp sound, and he collapsed to the ground, completely silent.

Lu Yan withdrew his hand without the slightest hesitation.

He had no interest in interrogation tactics; he'd rather spend that time cultivating himself.

[Stealer Promotion Requirement 1: Successfully achieve 50 street fight victories (39/50 not completed)]

"Does this count?"

Lu Yan's eyes lit up. He had originally planned to cultivate for a while longer before actively seeking an opportunity to fulfill this condition, but he hadn't expected that such a battle would also count.

Does that mean any fight that takes place on the street counts as a "street fight victory"?

His gaze swept across the surrounding shadows, and his figure quickly disappeared into the shadows.

In a short while, he had cleared out the people who were keeping watch around him.

[Staff Promotion Requirement 1: Successfully achieve 50 street fight victories (42/50)]

Upon confirming the count was valid, Lu Yan was overjoyed. He hurriedly returned to the shed, picked up the nearly burnt meat of the strange beast, and took a big bite.

After eating a piece of meat, the hunger in my stomach completely disappeared, and I even felt a little full.

More noticeably, the flow of qi and blood in his body became more active.

[The Crimson Blood Breathing Technique senses a large influx of Qi and blood into the body, causing inner joy and increasing cultivation progress by 10%]

【Red Blood Breathing Technique (Proficient): 25%】

"Today is a day of double happiness!"

Lu Yan perked up immediately. He had such benefits from eating just one piece of exotic beast meat. If he ate more, wouldn't he be able to achieve mastery very quickly?

Without further delay, he immediately began cultivating using the Crimson Blood Breathing Technique.

As dusk fell, hunger struck again, and Lu Yan stopped, roasted another piece of meat, and then continued to immerse himself in cultivation.

Before we knew it, night had fallen, and a nauseating, fishy stench permeated the swirling gray fog.

Lu Yan stopped cultivating, leaned against the edge of the simple bed, closed his eyes to rest, but his spiritual power had already quietly spread out, silently covering a range of several meters around the shed.

"No new surveillance has been assigned?"

He muttered to himself, feeling a little regretful.

I thought I could just fulfill condition one like that, but it seems that won't work.

Even though nothing was happening around him, he remained vigilant, focusing only on restoring his strength while ensuring he could react immediately.

Just then, "Street Fighting Intuition" suddenly warned him, and a sense of crisis swept over him, causing him to subconsciously grip the short knife at his side.

However, the source of the crisis detected by the Street Fight Intuition is very strange; it doesn't come from the surroundings, but from...

underground!

Before he could get up, the ground suddenly cracked open, and amidst the flying debris, a dark green carnivorous flower, half the height of a person, burst out of the soil. Its huge flower head was covered with barbs and sharp teeth, as if it wanted to devour him!

A mutant?

No, the aura doesn't match; it lacks the twisted feel of a mutant.

More like... an extraordinary being!