Coming out of his rented house, Ryan made his way toward the Evo Association.
It had been more than two weeks since he left the slums and began living in Buka City.
Compared to the ever-gloomy atmosphere of the slums, the environment within the city was lively.
Especially inside the city park, where he could see children playing, adults taking walks, and elderly people sitting on benches with carefree expressions on their faces.
For some reason, whenever Ryan saw these scenes, a faint sense of emptiness couldn't help but rise within his heart.
Even though he didn't want to, he still couldn't help but compare himself to these people, and he realized that although his life had improved since leaving the slums, his situation remained the same.
When he had been in the slums, he was always trying his best to stay alive in that hellish place—constantly making sure that he wouldn't be killed by some psycho while walking outside or beaten to death during a gang fight.
If it wasn't that, then he would be thinking about how to earn a few more pennies to make sure he had something to eat the next day and wouldn't have to go hungry.
In short, he had been living a life full of shackles, where a single mistake could cost him his life.
Now that he was in Buka City, he didn't have to worry about getting killed while taking a walk outside or getting involved in gang fights.
Nor did he have to worry about going hungry. As long as he worked hard, it wasn't difficult for him to earn enough money to fill his stomach.
But then again, even after coming to Buka City, all he had been doing this entire time was trying to survive with nothing else in his life.
He was either reading books to fill the gaps in his knowledge or trying to improve his strength for a better chance of survival in this world.
What was even more ridiculous was that he couldn't even use that improved strength freely.
If he did so and something unexpected happened, then because of his status as a former slum resident, he would either be thrown into prison, sent back to the slums, or in the worst-case scenario, killed on the spot.
This life was still similar to that of the slums and he still had to live under restraints, just like before.
Ryan himself did not realize it, but because he had no friends or anyone he could talk to, this desolate and empty living environment made his mind somewhat unstable, giving rise to negative emotions.
In the slums, even though he didn't have any friends, he still had to interact with people like Peter and other gang members.
While meeting them, even though he didn't want to, he would often pour out some of his thoughts, which made him feel less burdened by his negative emotions.
But since leaving the slums, he had been living alone with no one to talk to. Living an empty life like a puppet, which gave birth to many negative thoughts.
These negative emotions became even stronger whenever he saw the free and happy people of Buka City.
They were all living in the same city, and in some sense, Ryan even felt that he was superior to these carefree people as if he were far stronger than them.
But... Why did they look so happy while he felt this emptiness in his heart?
These kinds of troubling questions often arose in his mind whenever he saw these happy people.
As Ryan walked past the city park, he saw many children playing on slides and seesaws, while their mothers stood nearby, chatting with each other and watching their children with smiles on their faces.
'Everything would have been different if Ma had been with me at this moment.'
This thought suddenly surfaced in his mind as he looked at the pairs of mothers and children.
But he soon shook his head and looked away, because he knew that something like that was impossible.
"Maybe this is just how my life will always be, moving forward, yet never arriving anywhere."
****
Ryan soon arrived at the familiar building of the Evo Association.
By this point, he had already regained control over his emotions and his mood had returned to normal.
'The number of people here is quite high today,' Ryan thought inwardly as even before entering the building, he could see many people going in and out and every single one of them was an Evolver.
Ryan observed the heavy flow of people for a moment before walking inside.
He approached one of the reception counters, and upon seeing him, a middle-aged man greeted him politely.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
Ryan nodded at the man and without wasting any time, directly inquired about the Monster Cave mission.
"It will take a few more days before the hunt starts," The man answered without even checking for information as if he already knew about it.
"The Monster Cave is still in the process of forming. Once it fully forms, you will be notified through your Evo Card. If nothing goes wrong, the hunt should begin within seven to ten days."
"Seven to ten days," Ryan nodded upon hearing this and after thanking the man, he turned and walked away.
'The cooldown time of my talent will end in ten days. It would be best if the hunt starts after my talent's cooldown ends,' Ryan's eyes flashed as he thought to himself.
He then walked toward the resource counter to inquire if there were any unranked Life Crystals in stock.
Unfortunately, there were none this time, so he could only leave with disappointment.
Once outside the Evo Association building, Ryan pondered what he should do for the next few days until the hunt began.
He did not consider going out of the city as after what happened last time, he decided not to go out alone until he began cultivating and his strength increased.
He couldn't practice the Force Fist Primal Art any further as it required the use of primal energy if he wanted to advance beyond his current level and he still couldn't use primal energy.
'Should I try to learn some new fighting techniques?' Ryan thought inwardly.
However, as he recalled the negative thoughts that had been flooding his mind these past few days, he lowered his head slightly and after thinking for a moment, he finally made up his mind.
"I wonder if this method will really be useful in solving my problem."