Chapter 34: Shi Ji’s Carefree Day

After parting ways with the boss, Shi Ji wandered aimlessly through the streets, his mood lifted by the paycheck.

For Shi Ji, money was of utmost importance. If someone were to claim they didn’t care about money, Shi Ji would likely beat them up for their hypocrisy. He despised such pretense and embraced his own materialistic nature. 

The saying “money isn’t everything, but without it, you have nothing” resonated deeply with him.

He wandered for quite some time without paying attention to his surroundings. Along the way, he noticed many people around his age helping others. While he couldn’t be sure, it seemed likely that they were also from Yinshuang Academy.

Among these people, Shi Ji saw some who appeared friendly and enthusiastic while helping others, but once they received their proof of assistance, their demeanor completely changed. Such people were truly detestable. However, Shi Ji chose not to concern himself with them. There were countless individuals like this in the world, and it wasn’t worth wasting his time on them.

Tired from walking, Shi Ji sat on a bench by the roadside, picking up a nearby public magazine to pass the time.

Unfortunately, most of these magazines were about heroes. Shi Ji picked one up, glanced at the first page, and quickly put it down again. These topics held no interest for him. The only things that could capture his attention were food and money.

As he put down the magazine, his eyes caught sight of a prominently displayed magazine on the rack.

This was also a hero magazine, but what drew Shi Ji’s attention was the familiar face on the cover.

He reached for the magazine and examined the cover image and the accompanying captions.

“Indeed, she’s a beauty. She looks even better in this picture.”

The person he was admiring was none other than Lin Xinyan.

The cover story was about the recent incident with Gesila. Shi Ji flipped through the content, chuckling as he read. 

He was surprised to see that Lin Xinyan didn’t take full credit for defeating the quasi-spirit-level Gesila. In the interview, she mentioned that she had helped, but the real credit belonged to someone else, whose identity she didn’t reveal. This made sense to Shi Ji. After all, they hadn’t known each other at the time. He believed that even if they had known each other, Lin Xinyan wouldn’t have disclosed his name casually.

The magazine also chronicled Lin Xinyan’s recent activities, noting her efforts in dealing with human-level and monster-level exotic species. Her involvement in the spirit-level Gssila incident, combined with these smaller tasks, had significantly boosted her points. As a newly minted B-level hero, Lin Xinyan’s points were rapidly approaching the threshold for A-level hero status.

“Huh? They even have a point system for heroes. How complicated.”

Given Shi Ji’s unfamiliarity with hero affairs, his confusion was understandable.

“Warning! Warning! A spirit-level exotic species has appeared in District Six and is moving towards the city center. Citizens in District Five and District Four, please evacuate immediately. Repeating… District Six…”

Suddenly, the alarm system blared with this urgent announcement.

People froze in shock before someone shouted for everyone to run, prompting a mass exodus.

“A spirit-level… Run, run for your lives!”

In no time, the area was deserted, leaving Shi Ji alone.

Shi Ji remained unperturbed, lounging on the bench with his legs crossed, flipping through the magazine about Lin Xinyan.

As he set the magazine aside, a series of explosions echoed from a distance.

The sounds were immense, and their intensity could be inferred just from the noise.

Shi Ji scratched his head nonchalantly and muttered, “What a hassle. Who’s causing trouble now? My hard-earned vacation is ruined.”