He walked into the café.
The interior was quite beautifully decorated, with many areas lit by warm yellow floor lamps even in the morning.
A faint scent of perfume filled the air, and an unidentified blues tune flowed quietly throughout the large space.
Seems like it’s a piece by a well-known musician from the Distant Star Federation... Lu Yuan casually thought as he wandered through the hall.
The Distant Star Federation was the first nation in the world to venture beyond its planet and extend its influence into the stars.
In terms of technology, military, and the arts, they were superior to Sum Country.
Anything that became popular in the Distant Star Federation would soon set a trend worldwide. He was indifferent, though. His mind used to be consumed by studies; now it was Martial Arts.
At eight in the morning, the café was quite empty. Almost all the customers were white-collar elites who had ordered coffee and were working on their laptops.
In a corner, two people were playing online games on their phones.
However, Lu Yuan, dressed in a sporty jacket, shorts, and sneakers, still seemed out of place. He didn’t care.
After a quick tour of the first floor, he didn’t see any familiar faces.
He then headed up to the second floor.
Just as he stepped out of the stairwell, he saw a woman with neat short hair sitting by an inner window on the second floor, engrossed in her phone.
Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly. It was indeed Gao Qing.
Zhou Ling had just "died" once. He guessed Zhou Ling wouldn’t come to see him so soon. From his own perspective, if he were to suddenly lose all his Martial Arts prowess, he probably wouldn’t casually leave the "safe zone" before fully regaining it.
Lu Yuan walked straight toward Gao Qing.
Today, Gao Qing wasn’t wearing her combat uniform. Her overall style was cool and predominantly black.
Her fair, well-proportioned arms and thighs were exposed, and she wore purple star-shaped earrings.
Lu Yuan couldn’t tell if she was wearing makeup; he just found her exceptionally beautiful.
Particularly in this casual attire, the domineering aura emanating from Gao Qing had weakened considerably. However, Lu Yuan still didn’t have a very good impression of this woman. Who could blame him? She had intentionally "scared" him before.
Lu Yuan approached Gao Qing, greeted her casually, and sat down opposite her.
The coffee was already ordered, still warm. Gao Qing clearly knew when he would arrive.
"What brings you here today, Chief Gao?" Lu Yuan asked politely, without touching the coffee on the table.
Gao Qing wasted no words. She put down her phone, her eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "I’m mainly here to inform you how the previous rule violation was handled."
"Alright, please tell me, Chief Gao." Lu Yuan sat up a little straighter, adopting an attentive posture.
"Special circumstances call for special treatment. Considering your young age and lack of understanding about many things, this incident won’t be considered a violation, so no punishment will be imposed," Gao Qing stated.
"Thank you for your fairness and understanding, Chief Gao, and thank the organization for its understanding." Lu Yuan expressed his "gratitude" with a "sincere attitude," then asked, "Can I leave now, Chief Gao? My mom asked me to buy groceries, and I still need to rush to the market."
Lu Yuan noticed a slight twitch at the corner of Gao Qing’s icy, pretty face.
Then, as if taking a breath, she suddenly said, "There’s one more thing. It’s about your application to join Yellow Bear."
With that, she pulled out a form from the black suede bag on the seat beside her and slid it across the table to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan feigned confusion.
"What application? I’ve never applied for anything ."
A faint twitch appeared at the corner of Gao Qing’s eye, as if crow’s feet were about to form.
"Alright, stop playing dumb with me. Didn’t Zhou Ling already mention this to you? He’s currently undergoing a second modification and doesn’t have time to come. So, he entrusted me to handle the application process for you."
Looking at Lu Yuan, Gao Qing huffed softly and said, "Do you really think I want to do this? You probably have no idea how busy we usually are."
"Fine," Lu Yuan said noncommittally. He reached out, pulled the form closer, and lowered his head to examine it.
The top of the form simply had those three words, making it even simpler than a college club’s recruitment form.
"I just printed this out randomly. Take a look first, and then you can fill out the electronic version later," Gao Qing said, her tone hinting at urgency, as if she were genuinely busy and wanted to get this over with quickly so she could leave.
Lu Yuan just hummed in acknowledgment, ignoring her, and continued to look at the form.
He wasn’t particularly interested in joining Yellow Bear, nor was he resistant to it.
When one was weak, relying on a powerful entity for survival, to provide a better environment for growth and life for oneself and those around—Lu Yuan saw nothing wrong with that.
It was just like what had happened at home that morning. To Yellow Bear, it might have been a matter of a single word, yet it could make his whole family beam with joy for a long time.
"Name, gender, date of birth, ID number, home address, education level..."
The beginning of the form wasn’t much different from most forms. The latter sections, however, began to differ.
"Strength assessment?"
Lu Yuan instinctively looked up at Gao Qing, but she reached out, snatched the form back, and said, "The latter parts are for us to fill; you don’t need to."
Lu Yuan said nothing, waiting as Gao Qing took out a tablet from her bag, similar to the one Zhou Ling had sent him before.
She lit up the screen and handed it to him.
"Hurry up and fill it out. I have other things to do; I don’t have much time to waste here with you," Gao Qing urged, glancing at her phone.
Lu Yuan took the tablet and began filling it out unhurriedly. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked Gao Qing, "Zhou Ling told me last time that joining Yellow Bear doesn’t necessarily require body modification. Is that true?"
"Who has the time to fool a child like you? Of course, it’s true," Gao Qing replied. "There are quite a few Pure Martial Artists in Yellow Bear. It’s just that the higher one goes in the ranks, the harder it is for Pure Martial practitioners to get by. I haven’t undergone any modifications either. Want to feel and see?"
With that, she actually extended a hand toward Lu Yuan.
"Huh?" Lu Yuan looked up abruptly, staring at Gao Qing in astonishment.
He was truly taken aback. Gao Qing said she’d never had any body modifications? He had assumed she, like Zhou Ling, was a Modified Human. Thinking back, because she was a woman, he realized he had indeed never entered her body in the Consciousness Space and thus hadn’t noticed this. The source of this content ɪs NoveIꜰire.net
This time, Gao Qing patiently continued to explain, "Even if one wants to undergo modification, it’s not something that can be completed overnight. The combat habits Pure Martial Artists accumulate through years of training often prove unsuitable when they first undergo modification, frequently causing a decrease in their strength. This is unless you haven’t trained deeply in Martial Arts and opted for the modification route from the very beginning. Hmm, Zhou Ling is such a case..."
"In the early stages, Pure Martial Artists have no less of an advantage than Modified Humans. Modification materials that can truly create a significant physical disparity—like Rainbow Iron, Star Pattern Steel, and Blood Pattern Steel—are exorbitantly expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people. Conversely, Pure Martial Artists, if equipped with a new-material weapon and with slight adjustments to their combat style, can unleash combat power far exceeding that of an average Modified Human of the same level in a short period."
Gao Qing frowned and said bluntly to Lu Yuan, "Joining Yellow Bear would indeed benefit you. Right now, you’re just a frog at the bottom of a well in the Old City Circle! You have a chance to leap out of that well and see the real new world. To not seize such an opportunity would be utterly foolish!"
"Then answer another question for this frog at the bottom of the well, Chief Gao," Lu Yuan said calmly, not at all angered. "What are the Old City Circle and the New World then?"
Gao Qing was momentarily taken aback by Lu Yuan’s emotionless, self-deprecating response. She seemed to realize her words had been a bit too harsh.
A flicker of unease crossed her face, and her voice immediately softened slightly.
"In Sum Country, everything outside Sum Nation belongs to the Old City Circle. There are many things you can’t even begin to imagine unless you truly step into that world."
Gao Qing saw Lu Yuan’s phone on the table and asked, "When did you buy this phone?"
Lu Yuan replied, "Half a year ago."
"When you bought it, it was the latest model from this brand, right?"
"Yes, it was expensive. My sister spent a month’s salary on it for me."
Gao Qing smiled. "Then, did you know that this phone model was already ubiquitous in Sum Nation two years ago?"
Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
"You don’t believe me?" Gao Qing shook her head and continued.
"...The internet is indeed very developed now, and information exchange is very convenient. But the networks of the Old City Circle and the New World aren’t interconnected. News, entertainment, arts, popular trends... they are all separate and distinct in each. Actually, it’s not necessarily about deliberately isolating you; Burnt Rock City is just too remote. If you venture out, the closer you get to Sum Nation, the more you’ll discover that this world is constantly being updated and is progressing..."
"I think I understand," Lu Yuan said slowly, exhaling lightly.
This vast disconnect in the world’s backdrop gave Lu Yuan a strange feeling. Yet, Burnt Rock’s geographical location wasn’t actually bad; it was just a bit far from Sum Nation. He didn’t quite understand why such a division into ’new’ and ’old’ circles had occurred.
It was as if technological development in every nation was advancing so incredibly rapidly that even the speed of network propagation couldn’t keep up. Ordinary people didn’t even have time to accept and adapt, ultimately being cut off from the new civilization.
But... why would steadily developing technology suddenly explode in growth? And why would it be an explosive, all-encompassing growth across every aspect? Could it be that they’d stumbled upon the crystallized legacy of an alien civilization?
While Lu Yuan was lost in his wild thoughts, Gao Qing spoke again.
"It’s the same with Martial Arts. Take the Crane Sect martial arts you’re currently learning, for example."
Gao Qing commented bluntly, "The Heaven Water Sect might have been considered first-rate a dozen years ago. However, with the vigorous development of New Martial in the past decade or so, many top-tier Martial Arts schools from that era have declined. Let alone a mere branch of the Heaven Water Sect like your Crane Sect."
"What is New Martial then?" Lu Yuan frowned and asked. Gao Qing kept uttering new terms that he couldn’t immediately comprehend.
"It’s a new form of Martial Arts that combines Ancient Martial Arts with cutting-edge technology. It can also be called Future Martial Arts."
Gao Qing looked at him and said, "That’s the path I plan to take. Zhou Ling isn’t. He’s following the pure modification route. That’s a different path entirely, and like Pure Martial, I find both to be rather extreme."
"Interesting," Lu Yuan nodded.
He then handed the tablet back to Gao Qing.
"I’ve filled it out. You can take a look."