Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

Chapter 132 Preparatory Class

Tietu City, Technology Development Zone, Third High School Preparatory Class.

In stark contrast to the wilderness outside, even within the Midtown area, this place is comparable to the metropolis Fang Jin remembers. It not only has steel and concrete skyscrapers, but also bustling activity and vibrancy throughout the streets and alleys.

And every so often, you can see technological creations that are clearly out of touch with the environment, as if they were taken directly from the technology side and placed in the city of the century.

The campus layout, however, is quite the opposite, leaning towards a classical and elegant style. It's unclear whether this was intentionally designed by the Third High School, but the fallen sycamore leaves form a carpet that is either crisp or soft.

Furthermore, the number of people with abnormal auras was far greater than outside. Fang Jin could sense that some of the students were radiating powerful auras, and some had even transcended the first rank.

Hmm... he's probably much stronger than Guo Shi.

Players are no longer surprised by the existence of the Midtown area, where they can freely plunder the treasures of the four factions. However, many of these treasures exceed the average level of the Overworld, so when they are fused together, they appear rather incongruous.

The preparatory classes in each high school are institutions that train and recruit prospective players who have obtained evolution stones in advance, and at the very least, they are presided over by a full member of the Bronze Hall.

After all, the main star system's distribution of stone coins is not random; it is selective. Only those who are strong and have potential are likely to receive their own stone coins one day without realizing it.

Therefore, most prospective players are concentrated in the 16-25 age range. Even those selected before or after this age range mostly have their own special characteristics, which is why they were exceptionally selected to become players.

"But without a doubt, basically all those who have obtained player status are either graduates of the preparatory class or have already completed registration in advance at the institution, and are considered official players who have completed registration in the Bronze Hall."

"What about those of us with questionable backgrounds, or those burdened with crimes and debts, who find it inconvenient to register with the authorities..."

"Wild! Typical wild players. You can find tons of them outside of Nightless City in the wilderness. Their backgrounds are generally not clean, and some have even been stripped of their status due to serious crimes."

"They may be free, and most of them won't even be directly wanted by the Bronze Arena, but wild players have no human rights. At least in the Bronze Arena, the official authorities won't protect any of your basic rights."

"Now that you mention it... I have this feeling that I've actually been living in pretty much danger for the past two weeks?"

"More than that, if Xu Hao finds out you're an unregistered bastard, do you believe he could break into our house and chop us up that very night? His excuse would be that you used supernatural powers to cause trouble for no reason."

"A black market outlaw...does his mother also have an official position?"

"Of course, we are a legal black market. The leaders of the three major cities can even concurrently serve as consuls of the Bronze Pavilion. Do you think subordinates can act like bastards? They all have uniforms at the bottom of their trunks at home."

Fang Jin's lips twitched. He knew the black market had the backing of a major region, but he didn't expect it to be so blatant. Who would have thought that those guys who went out on the street with knives to sell drugs and kill people were all civil servants?

"Those who don't pass the direct recruitment or preparatory class tests are just holding a nice-sounding title. Only those who truly become members of the Bronze Hall can enjoy official positions, rights, and preferential treatment in resources."

Guo Shi comforted her, but her words were quite heartfelt. In fact, she hadn't looked at Fang Jin since the beginning of the conversation. Instead, she focused on touching up her makeup and applying eyeshadow, while making exaggerated expressions in front of the mirror.

Then, when they arrived at the main gate of the Third High School, five guys dressed in gangster attire surrounded Fang Jin, intimidating the surrounding students with their expressions, words, and speech.

"Huh? What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out and sell them!"

"Hey you two over there, squatting and smoking, come here! Did you pay your protection money today?"

"No such rule? It's in place from now on! One more time I see you, and I'll fine you 30,000!"

"Ha...te!"

……

Okay... Damn it, it's not talking, it's spitting. Fang Jin slapped himself on the forehead. What made him speechless was that he had actually gotten used to this kind of atmosphere. After all, this was just an everyday occurrence in the City That Never Sleeps.

For example, the parade I experienced the first night I arrived at the Red Sentinel Gang. It was the same people and the same steps, but the style was different, which made it seem so incongruous and strange.

"...What are you doing?"

"This is our Red Sentinel Gang's new territory. How can we operate a gang here if nobody's afraid of us? What if they bully the vice leader? Let's establish a deterrent first before worrying about anything else."

For some reason, once gangs and freedom are involved, Guo Shi's IQ begins to plummet, and he becomes almost on par with the four idiots around him, blending in without looking out of place at all.

It was initially thought that Guo Shi was able to conceal her identity as a player because of her excellent temperament and acting skills, but now it seems that there was an element of her playing herself to the role, and she really enjoyed the process.

But Fang Jin suffered the most, as he was surrounded by the five people in the "crowded" crowd as he moved forward. Along the way, he even grabbed a female classmate who was carrying books and asked her, trying to appear calm:

"Hey classmate, do you know where to go for the preparatory course...?"

"I don't taste good! Don't eat me!"

Watching the quiet girl throw down her book and run away, Fang Jin felt a little dead. He knew that Wu Sha meant well, but this good intention had already torn his skin off.

Passersby instinctively ducked and made way, which emboldened the five idiots who had entered a marching state. However, this did not stop them from attracting more attention, and a crowd had already begun to surround them...

"Hey, over here!"

Just as Fang Jin was about to throw caution to the wind and join in, a refreshingly handsome guy who looked like he had just come off the basketball court waved his arms and walked towards them. His fiery red short hair made Fang Jin look at him somewhat unfamiliar.

But he was all smiles and swaying as he squeezed through the crowd. Whether it was because of his good looks or because he was covered in sticky sweat, people made way for him.

"Sister Jiang asked me to pick you up so I could at least help you with the paperwork. Black hair, gray eyes, white shorts and shirts... that must be you. Come with me."

After saying that, he reached out and prepared to grab Fang Jin's wrist. The latter took a step back without making a sound and pushed Guo Shi forward... The little girl had never experienced such a salty handshake in her life.

"Huh—"

"Haha, you're so enthusiastic! You must be the investor Sister Jiang has her eye on, right? Welcome to our money bag! Come on, let's give each other a hug!"

"Aaaaaah—!"

...For some reason, Fang Jin felt a strange sense of pleasure at this moment.

Well, he obviously knows why.