Ye Feng was unaware of the shockwave he had caused in Mech City when he accidentally disabled Zheng Huzi's testing rod during his examination, which had the City Lord and the Dean of the Secret Armor Institute discussing it late into the night.
Shen Bai, who had personally witnessed Ye Feng during the day, lay in bed tossing and turning, his mind filled with excitement and Ye Feng's image.
Of course, Shen Bai was not the only one losing sleep because of Ye Feng.
In a villa within the inner city of Mech City, Wang Shao, who was lying in bed completely swathed in bandages and resembling a mummy, also couldn't sleep.
Unlike the others, he couldn't sleep because of the pain. He had multiple fractures all over his body, his eyes were so swollen he couldn't open them, and he couldn't even shed tears. He could only let out pained whimpers.
"Young Master, what exactly happened? Who beat him up like this?"
Beside Wang Shao, a middle-aged woman, plump and adorned with gold and silver, roared loudly, the picture of a shrew.
Several middle-aged men standing nearby lowered their heads, trembling, daring not to make a sound.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
"Hurry up and investigate! Whoever dared to beat Young Master to this state in Mech City, I will tear them to pieces to quell my hatred!"
"Scram! Scram..."
...
The next day,
After sleeping soundly all night, Ye Feng woke up refreshed.
After breakfast, he checked the weapons and equipment in his spatial warehouse again before heading downstairs with Xiao Xiao.
Since the staff yesterday had not specified the exact time when the City Lord of Mech City would meet those who passed the smithing master selection test, they had only told him that someone would notify him.
Therefore, Ye Feng decided to continue exploring Mech City...
...
"Who is Ye Feng?"
As the two reached the hotel lobby, a voice that was neither male nor female, much like that of a eunuch, rang out.
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao both turned their gaze towards the source of the voice.
The speaker was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a vest, and holding a palm-leaf fan.
The middle-aged man was as round as a ball of fat, with a rather lewd expression. He was strutting around arrogantly, surveying the surroundings with contempt and disdain.
"Who is Ye Feng? Tell him to come out and see me!"
Seeing no one respond, the fat and lewd middle-aged man spoke again, "I am Huang Zhangyuan of Mech City, entrusted by the Secret Armor Institute to notify him to attend the final selection for smithing masters!"
"Big brother, he's really looking for you~!"
Hearing this, Xiao Xiao, who had been somewhat confused, immediately said to Ye Feng.
"I am Ye Feng~!"
Although Ye Feng found this Huang Zhangyuan, the fat and lewd man, very unlikable, since he was sent by the Secret Armor Institute to notify him about the final selection, he didn't bother to make a fuss.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Feng even took out the token that the staff at the testing site had given him yesterday.
"Hmph! You say you are, so you are?!"
Huang Zhangyuan snorted coldly, roughly snatched the token from Ye Feng's hand, glanced at Ye Feng, and began to examine it.
Time ticked by, and Huang Zhangyuan continued to scrutinize the token, turning it over and over, occasionally glancing at Ye Feng. His final gaze was filled with obvious dissatisfaction...
"What is this guy doing?"
Ye Feng was getting annoyed.
"Mr. Ye, please come here for a moment. I have something to tell you!"
At this moment, a male voice that Ye Feng found quite familiar rang out. It was Zheng Huzi.
"It's you?"
Ye Feng was a little surprised. After a slight hesitation, he followed Zheng Huzi to the side.
"Mr. Ye, this Huang Zhangyuan is someone from the Post Station responsible for running errands. He's a minor official in Mech City!"
After ensuring they were at a safe distance, Zheng Huzi leaned over and whispered to Ye Feng.
"Post Station?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly. "What's that? Isn't that guy sent by the Secret Armor Institute?"
"He barely counts. The Secret Armor Institute is directly under the City Lord's Mansion, and there are miles and miles between the Post Station and the Secret Armor Institute..."
"Huang Zhangyuan's wife works at the bank, and his daughter, for some reason, seems to have a slight connection with someone from the Secret Armor Institute..."
"So he gets some errands, and notifying people to attend the final selection for smithing masters is one of the most important of them..."
Zheng Huzi quickly explained to Ye Feng in a low voice.
"Bank?"
Hearing this word, which he hadn't heard or seen in a long time, Ye Feng felt puzzled.
There was still something called a bank in this apocalypse? Weren't money and stocks already useless?
With a little thought, Ye Feng became somewhat enlightened!
After all, Mech City was such a large base with enormous daily transactions. If they continued to barter, it wouldn't be practical, and without a relatively unified price, problems would easily arise. It was quite normal to have a "bank"...
"Uh... yes, it's a bank..."
Zheng Huzi nodded. "Relying on his wife and daughter, plus Huang Zhangyuan's skill in acting tough, he often uses his connections to extort people. Many participants like you who were selected for the smithing master examination have been fleeced by him!"
"Mr. Ye, you should have heard yesterday that if you pass the test stone, you will be rewarded with 200 arcane yuan coins or two arcane raw stones!"
"Logically, Huang Zhangyuan should give you the reward when he notifies you. But he's dragging his feet, clearly intending to pocket the reward for himself as a bribe!"
Zheng Huzi glanced at Huang Zhangyuan with a subtle look and added.
"Isn't this guy just a minor official? Why is he so arrogant? Daring to offend someone who might become a smithing master in the future?"
Hearing Zheng Huzi's words, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Mr. Ye, as the saying goes, it's easier to see the King of Hell than a minor devil!"
"Moreover, although the smithing master selection has been held so many times, most of the people who eventually become smithing masters are from the major families within Mech City. There has never been a single one from the 'wild paths'... that is, from explorers from other regions..."
"This is why Huang Zhangyuan is so fearless..."
Zheng Huzi clearly knew Huang Zhangyuan very well, and he clearly didn't want Ye Feng to suffer any losses in this matter.
After all, Master Shen had given him a lot of rewards for helping Ye Feng find him yesterday...
"So that's how it is!"
"That guy is trying to extort me, thinking I'm not compliant!"
Ye Feng finally understood what Huang Zhangyuan was doing when he was holding Ye Feng's token and pretending to examine it, with that dissatisfied look at the end.
Immediately, Ye Feng strode towards Huang Zhangyuan and said directly, "Consider the 200 arcane yuan coins or two arcane raw stones as your reward. Where will the final selection for smithing masters be held, and when?"
Knowing Huang Zhangyuan's character, Ye Feng decided to give him the reward he had told the staff about yesterday.
Huang Zhangyuan showed no special expression at this outcome, as if it were all within his expectations.
Huang Zhangyuan did not return the token to Ye Feng, nor did he tell Ye Feng the time and place of the final selection for smithing masters. Instead, he rubbed his thumb, index finger, and middle finger together and gave Ye Feng a meaningful look.
"Holy crap, this guy is so greedy!"
Seeing Huang Zhangyuan's gesture for money, Ye Feng was somewhat annoyed.
"I'm out of money!"
Ye Feng replied irritably.
"Out of money!"
Hearing Ye Feng's words, Huang Zhangyuan's face darkened. He looked at Ye Feng, who was only carrying a backpack and whose clothes were visibly worn in many places, and his gaze finally fell on Xiao Xiao beside Ye Feng.
"Cough, cough!"
Huang Zhangyuan placed his fist on his mouth and coughed feebly, as if pretending. "Since you're out of money, how about you give me the little girl next to you as my goddaughter!"
...