Upon entering the basement, Yang Bo frowned slightly. This basement looked like a Third-Level Training Room. It had sandbags, wooden dummies similar to those used for martial arts on Earth, some fitness equipment, and a few Cold Weapons.
FWEET!
Yang Bo whistled first. The previous incident had left him with some lingering fear. If he hadn't noticed that bizarre fish, he might have lost his life in a single bite. After whistling, his Sound Waves didn't detect any anomalies. He took out a trash bag and began cleaning up, dismantling everything here and throwing it into the bag.
The most conspicuous items were a few meditation futons. He had no idea what kind of fur they were made of, but just by looking at their beautiful pelts, he knew they weren't from Ordinary animals. In addition, the practice wood was incredibly dense and heavy, presumably not made from common timber either.
Yang Bo didn't know how this trash would ultimately be handled, but since the company dared to take the order, they definitely had their own channels.
The reason they hired Ordinary residents to do these tasks was twofold. On one hand, regular people couldn't identify all the protected animal furs and plant species. On the other hand, even if the residents went out and blabbed about it, they wouldn't have any proof. Furthermore, Evolver judges equipped with Biological Chips could use certain instruments to verify the chip's fluctuations, easily determining whether someone was lying.
He shattered all the Cold Weapons—Long Spears, axes, Two-Handed Greatswords, and the like—into lengths that could fit into the trash bag. Their materials looked quite Ordinary. Next was the carpet on the floor. At a glance, it wasn't an Ordinary good either, so he cut it up. The wooden training racks were smashed and bagged, and the futons made of unknown fur were also tossed into the trash bag.
After a thorough cleanup, he didn't find anything of value. There was likely something on the walls originally, but it had been taken away—perhaps Ancient Martial Arts Cultivation methods or something similar. Any displayed items were gone as well.
Once the cleanup was done, he still had to transport the trash to a designated location. Looking at the empty basement, Yang Bo considered his task complete. He didn't know exactly where this basement was located. When he arrived, he had stepped out of the vehicle directly into an underground garage, and when he left, he departed from the underground garage as well.
Back at the company, Liu Zhijie rubbed his head and asked Yang Bo, "How did it feel doing a mission alone for the first time?"
"No problem." Yang Bo looked at Liu Zhijie's thinning hair, finding it rather strange. There were more than enough Genetic Potions to treat baldness. Also, the boss was named Liu Zhijie, while the company was named Anzhijie. It was unclear if there was any connection between the two.
"Is there an issue?" Liu Zhijie asked, seeing that Yang Bo had no intention of leaving.
"Boss, what are the requirements to access more Advanced training beyond the onboarding E-level training?" Yang Bo still felt that grinding the training sessions was the safest bet.
"You need points. A single E-level simulated training costs three thousand points, while a D-level session costs ten thousand. Anything beyond that costs even more. Based on your current level, you can at most skip a tier to participate in D-level training. Of course, if your personal capabilities reach the corresponding tier, the company will provide free onboarding training," Liu Zhijie replied.
Yang Bo asked again, "Thank you, Boss. I think I can take on higher-value missions."
"Keep an eye on the mission platform. It updates every morning at eight o'clock. High-value missions on the platform are highly sought after." Liu Zhijie now treated Yang Bo like an Ordinary employee.
"Understood." Yang Bo got the gist, but the chances of relying on missions to grind Skills were too low, especially since he was currently at the lowest rank.
Yang Bo left the company. To be honest, the salary was quite high, and the workload wasn't very intense. But it made sense. In such a technologically advanced, civilized world, if they oppressed workers any further, the workers would simply quit and go home to live a lazy, pig-like lifestyle.
After returning home, Yang Bo first checked the local news. Soon, one particular article caught his attention.
A C-level citizen had been involved in an unexpected incident at a certain location. There were photos of the scene. Seeing the person lying in front of a bus, Yang Bo's pupils shrank.
"Isn't this the guy I suspected of Tracking me a month ago?" he thought, staring at the man. Just last month, when he was heading to the company, this person seemed to have been tailing him.
Yang Bo scrutinized the man's outfit, nearly breaking into a cold sweat. This person had been right behind him that very morning! However, he had been wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, so Yang Bo hadn't noticed him.
"Damn it, who is it?" A heavy sense of oppression weighed on Yang Bo's chest. Who was this guy? He had been watching him since last month, and now he was at it again.
A C-level citizen—this kind of person was an Elite.
Yang Bo then did a search on Biological Chips. According to the chip companies, Biological Chips were extremely safe and capable of seamlessly integrating with brain tissue.
"Damn it, I don't know how this guy actually died. Did I really electrocute him?" Yang Bo cursed in his head. The whole situation felt shrouded in a thick fog.
He then took out his Virtual Helmet and took a look. Right now, a simulated training session would cost him 3,000 points. If he wanted to customize the environment and include venomous creatures, it would cost an additional 1,000 points per session.
Yang Bo checked his balance; he had over twenty thousand points. The base salary at Anzhijie was fifteen thousand Credit Points. Coupled with the tasks completed daily, making thirty to fifty thousand a month was a sure thing. Solo missions paid a baseline minimum of one thousand each. Furthermore, the workday was only six hours, with overtime compensated at a rate of 150 Credit Points per hour. It was a five-day workweek, and working on Saturdays and Sundays paid double.
The benefits were so good that Yang Bo felt he would be doing himself a disservice by not working. However, when compared to those who never had to worry about food or drink, it didn't seem all that impressive. Buying groceries on his own was very expensive. Between vegetables and meat, cooking for himself cost at least over a hundred a day. Fortunately, he didn't have to pay property management or utility fees.
The salary seemed decent on paper, but if he were to actually own a house, the costs would be staggering. Just think about the annual property management fees amounting to 10% of the property's value, along with trash collection fees and taxes. That meant if Yang Bo bought a house worth one million right now, he would have to pay one hundred thousand in various taxes and fees every year—and that was entirely separate from his personal living expenses. Shopping here was just like in the United States back on Earth; there were all sorts of taxes. The listed price didn't include tax, which was added at checkout.
"Time to grind," Yang Bo muttered, looking at his points. He had enough to run several E-level simulated training sessions, so he decisively started grinding.
He also specifically selected the electric eel, instantly draining 4,000 points for a single simulation. To Yang Bo, points meant absolutely nothing; power was what truly mattered.
Five hours later.
Yang Bo lay in his bathtub. This bathtub wasn't as comfortable as the free government-provided ones. Those automatically filled with water and maintained a constant temperature, whereas here, he had to adjust the temperature and draw the water himself.
Yang Bo extended his hand. Streaks of blue Electric Energy slowly materialized in his palm. Electric Energy was inherently invisible and formless; it only appeared blue because of its interaction with the air.
"Is this the ability brought by Intermediate Electric Energy Control? Once it reaches the Intermediate stage, it can leave the body," he thought. Feeling the scalding temperature of the bathwater, Yang Bo was utterly thrilled.
After going through two simulated evaluations just now, his Electric Energy Control had reached the Intermediate level (11/100). Within half an hour, he had gained a rudimentary grasp of how to release Electric Energy.
"I just don't know how powerful this Electric Energy is. Anzhijie really seems to have massive resources. They actually dare to use real electric eels for their employees to practice on. But that's fine—it's good to have a powerful backer." With a thought, the electricity in his palm slowly retreated back into his body.
"I wonder if the electricity inside my body is the same as the electricity used for power. If it's the same, can I recharge myself?" Yang Bo abruptly sat up.