"To think even Vice Hall Master Li was no match for him."

His eyes held both admiration and a trace of unconscious jealousy.

He turned his head to look at the noisy crowd in the bar’s booths and the flashing, multicolored neon lights.

’Lu Chao... are you really still Lu Chao?’

...

CLICK!

The office door on the bar’s second floor closed.

Zhou Qiang, following close behind, had a grin on his face. He couldn’t help but go up and drape an arm over Lu Chao’s shoulder.

"Damn, that was nicely done!"

His tone was excited, as if he’d finally gotten something off his chest. "That bastard Li Yacheng—I’ve hated the sight of him for a long time."

"Vice Hall Master, my ass. It’s obvious he wanted to fight Brother Hao for his position. And that Young Master is no saint either... If I were strong enough, I’d have dealt with him myself long ago..."

He went on, cursing and ranting until one’s head spun.

Chen Junhao shook his head helplessly. He walked over to the red, solid wood desk and took out a pack of Fulan Flowers from a drawer.

"Don’t overthink what happened today."

Worried Lu Chao was reading too much into it, he habitually lit a cigarette and said, "The Young Master was targeting me."

"Besides... now that Li Yacheng is gone, a Zhou Yacheng or a Xu Yacheng is sure to follow..."

He shook his head, as if giving a warning.

Hearing this, Zhou Qiang stopped talking. He roughly understood the meaning—this thorn would reappear.

Lu Chao grew pensive, becoming more and more aware of the undercurrents swirling within the Hongyi Society.

But soon, before he could think on it further, Chen Junhao spoke.

"Take a look."

He pointed at the desk with a smile.

Lu Chao paused, startled, and turned his head. A black case sat on the desk. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

As Chen Junhao lifted the black lid, a pair of black leather gloves, as thin as a cicada’s wings, came into view.

They looked ordinary, with a matte finish, but a faint brown light seemed to flow across their surface, as if the backs were fused with the scales of some Mutant Beast, giving them a solid feel.

"This is..."

"Brother Hao had them specially prepared for you."

Zhou Qiang walked closer from the side, his tone envious. "They’re made from the scales of an Elite Level Horned Python, and they’re even fused with some silver steel."

"This thing, tsk tsk, it’s really something else."

Hearing this, Lu Chao’s gaze sharpened, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.

The Horned Python, a ferocious Mutant Beast from the wilds. Some adults could reach the Elite Level and were extremely difficult to deal with.

Its scales could even withstand small-caliber bullets, and the so-called "silver steel" was a special metallic material of a similar tier.

Both were extremely valuable, especially for crafting Fighting Weapons for brawlers.

"What, you don’t like them?"

Seeing his silence, Chen Junhao asked with a deliberate frown.

Lu Chao was silent for a moment, then shook his head gently.

"Brother Hao, this is too valuable."

"Heh."

But, unexpectedly, Chen Junhao just chuckled. "This thing didn’t cost me much."

"The extermination squads have been busy outside lately, and a lot of Mutant Beast corpses have been brought back into the city circle. It just so happens that someone owed me a favor, so I had these gloves made."

"I have no use for them, and Ah Qiang can’t use them either."

He said casually. At his side, Zhou Qiang looked sheepish and a bit embarrassed.

A Fighting Level practitioner would find it difficult to unleash the true power of such a weapon; only a Professional Level, or even an Elite Level expert, could.

Lu Chao thought for a moment. He knew these were just words of consolation.

No matter how useless they were to them, they were still precious Fighting Weapons that could be sold for a considerable sum of money.

But...

"Take them."

Chen Junhao’s tone grew heavy as he took a drag from his cigarette.

Seeing this, Lu Chao scratched his head.

"Then, thank you, Brother Hao."

No longer hesitant, he smiled and chose to accept them.

’It’s better to owe a favor than to have no favors to owe.’

Besides, after the incident with Qiu Shan’s group, he had realized just how important it was to have a suitable weapon.

"You kid..."

Chuckling, Chen Junhao raised the hand holding his cigarette and pointed at him. "Alright, go on. Try them on."

"Okay."

Lu Chao nodded and immediately took the gloves in his hands.

Putting them on was effortless. The inside of the gloves felt quite soft, as if lined with some kind of shock-absorbing material.

The back and sides of the hands shimmered with a flowing brown light. Each scale was tightly interlinked, forming a single piece, fused together with sturdy silver steel, leaving no gaps.

The palms, meanwhile, were made of tough Mutant Beast leather.

At Brother Hao’s suggestion, he took a fruit knife and slashed at them with force, but it didn’t even leave a white mark.

Clearly, the gloves’ defense was very high.

"Try something else."

Chen Junhao said, exhaling smoke as he stood by the desk. Zhou Qiang watched him fiddle with the gloves, his face full of envy.

An idea struck Lu Chao. He clenched and unclenched his fists; all his movements were fluid.

And then...

SWISH!

As he activated some kind of switch inside the gloves, half-inch-long silver steel spikes shot out from the fingertips, making them look like steel claws.

"Your entire Martial Skill is focused in your fists and palms."

"If you wear these gloves, your power will increase by at least twenty percent."

Chen Junhao patiently instructed him, "The steel claws aren’t just for killing enemies. If you encounter a dangerous situation, you can also use them to climb steep surfaces and escape."

"It’s the same for the scales and silver steel on the back of the hand. They aren’t just for killing, they can also block a bullet at a critical moment and save your life."

He said a lot all at once.

At first, Lu Chao listened and mimicked the actions, trying them out.

But gradually...

"Brother Hao?"

Lu Chao’s movements paused as he looked at the other man.

This much instruction was clearly different from usual.

He had a strange feeling that the man was getting his affairs in order, as if he were about to leave, or...

"What are you thinking about?"

Chen Junhao tapped him on the head, shook his own with a smile, and turned to stub out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"That business with Qiu Shan’s group, you think I didn’t know?"

"So reckless. Did you really think you were some kind of hero? The Patrol Department has so many people, was it your place to charge into the fray?"

He put on a stern face, as if scolding him. Lu Chao gave a helpless smile, suspecting he had been overthinking things.

In the end, Chen Junhao shot him an annoyed look, then walked over to the sofa area, picked up a golden-yellow orange, and tossed it to him.

"Alright, I don’t have anything else good for you here."

"Go on. Be more careful next time."

"Okay."

Lu Chao nodded with a smile, caught the orange, and took off the python-skin gloves, placing them back in the case to take with him.

A short while later, he walked out of the office and left the bar.

Witnessing this, Zhou Qiang walked to the window and watched his back gradually disappear into the crowd on North Street.

With a complex look in his eyes, he couldn’t help but turn to Chen Junhao. "Brother Hao, even Xiaochao can feel that something is wrong."

"Are you really planning to do something?"

He asked earnestly, a hint of pleading in his voice, hoping for an answer.

Over the past few days, he too had gradually sensed that something was amiss.

Hearing this, Chen Junhao fell into a brief silence.

CLICK.

The metal lighter flipped open. He took out another cigarette, lit the tip, and stared out the window, watching until Lu Chao had completely disappeared from the street below.

"Me? I originally just wanted to live a quiet life..."

He exhaled a plume of smoke, the knife scar at the corner of his left eye flickering in and out of sight.

"But unfortunately, some people always want to force my hand."

...

Carbon-Based Human

Life Energy: 89 (Healthy)

Consumption Effect: This human contains a special gene, suspected to be a high-heat flame elemental factor. Consuming their entire flesh and blood essence provides a slight chance to awaken a Flame Superpower.

On the way back, Lu Chao sat by the window on the tram and looked at the panel before him again.

Brother Hao’s Life Energy had actually increased again. Not only had the rate of increase not slowed, but it was actually getting faster.

’Is Brother Hao really a Flame Superpower User? Or is he about to awaken?’

A startling guess popped into Lu Chao’s mind.

He also thought about how the man had always seemed to be hiding his true strength, and their recent meetings.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Brother Hao was planning something.

His thoughts scattering, Lu Chao gradually dismissed the panel.

He then looked out at the night scenery, thinking about the encounter at the bar entrance earlier that evening.

He had actually harbored a sliver of suspicion. Was Brother Hao trying to use him to get rid of that Li Yacheng, or perhaps to give the Young Master, Peng Zhao Hui, a warning?

But as his gaze returned to the black case he was carrying, he vividly recalled the many times Brother Hao had helped and supported him in the past.

So, whether it was true or not, it no longer mattered.