Chapter 79: This Time, the Profits Are Immense

Lin Xiao’s culinary skills had already earned Song Mingze’s approval; the only thing he lacked now was experience. The meal was quickly prepared, sumptuous and abundant, and Lin Xiao even introduced several new dishes during the process. Each time he created a new dish, he would first let Song Mingze taste it, and judging by Song Mingze’s reactions, he seemed quite satisfied.

Soon, it was mealtime, and the elderly residents of the nursing home gathered in the dining hall. Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised by the scene outside. Although the gathering was meant to celebrate his successful breakthrough, the turnout was unexpectedly complete. In the past, the elders would arrive for meals one after another, but this time, everyone came together. It left him feeling both honored and a little overwhelmed.

“Brother Song, the food is ready. Let’s head out as well. For some reason, I feel something’s off,” Lin Xiao remarked.

Song Mingze hadn’t expected Lin Xiao to be so perceptive—clearly, he’d sensed something was amiss. Some people hadn’t managed to hide their emotions very well.

“Let’s go. We do indeed have something to tell you,” Song Mingze said.

Lin Xiao was taken aback. Something to tell him? An inexplicable sense of foreboding crept over him.

“Brother Song, don’t keep me guessing. Just tell me straight—are you thinking it’s time for me to participate in some mission now that I’ve learned enough? I’ve been looking forward to this day,” Lin Xiao said eagerly.

Song Mingze glanced at him but ultimately kept silent. “Don’t jump to conclusions. You’ll understand soon enough,” he replied, and then headed out first. Lin Xiao had no choice but to follow.

As soon as the two appeared, all the elders’ eyes fell upon them—more precisely, upon Lin Xiao. It made him feel that something truly unusual was happening.

He went straight to sit beside Liu Jiao. “Sister Jiao, what’s going on? Everyone feels a bit strange today.”

“Just wait, you’ll know soon enough,” she replied.

The room fell silent for a moment. Xu Qing and the other staff brought out the food, but none of the elders made any move to eat. Every gaze, intentionally or not, lingered on Lin Xiao.

The atmosphere made Lin Xiao extremely uncomfortable, and he couldn’t take it anymore. “Come on, everyone, please don’t look at me like that—it’s making my skin crawl! If there’s something to say, just tell me. I really can’t stand this.”

Seeing Lin Xiao so anxious, the elders knew it was time to clarify things. All their gazes finally settled on Sun Zhiyuan.

Sun Zhiyuan was rather speechless. Just because he was a bit closer to Lin Xiao and shared a dormitory, did that mean he had to be the one to break the news? Reluctant though he was, he sighed and stood up. Since nobody else could speak, he’d do it.

“Lin Xiao, it’s not a big deal, really. We just wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow, you’ll be leaving our nursing home.”

Lin Xiao was stunned; he hadn’t expected such news. He felt a wave of discomfort wash over him.

“Everyone, did I do something wrong? I haven’t gone out lately, and I don’t think I’ve made any mistakes. You can scold me or punish me, but please don’t drive me out!”

Lin Xiao was genuinely frightened—having lived two lives, his greatest fear was loneliness. The days spent with the people at the nursing home had finally given him a sense of home, and he didn’t want to lose it.

“What are you thinking? You’ve done nothing wrong, so why would we make you leave? It’s just that we’ve taught you all we can. Keeping you here feels like a waste—there’s a wider world out there. We’ve already arranged for you to attend school: the Capital Spirit Martial Academy. Tomorrow you’ll start classes. We’ve handled your ticket and admission notice; you leave in the morning.”

Hearing that he wasn’t being expelled, Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Still, knowing he had to leave, he felt reluctant. And leaving so soon, wasn’t it too abrupt?

“It’s not that I look down on those martial academies, but do you really think their teaching is better than yours, my elders? Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?”

Lin Xiao’s words made sense—even the Capital Spirit Martial Academy couldn’t compare with the elders. But they had nothing more to teach him.

“You’re right, but sending you there isn’t just about learning. There’s another task. We want you to enroll at the Capital Spirit Martial Academy, perform well, and in a few months, there’ll be an international intercollegiate competition, selecting outstanding talents from each school. We hope you’ll stand out there—this is your first mission as a member of the Blade organization. The goal: bring home the championship!”

With Sun Zhiyuan’s words, what could Lin Xiao say?

“All right! I promise to complete the mission, but I’ll really miss all of you!”

“Come now, it’s just school, not a farewell. You can come back anytime you like,” they reassured him.

Lin Xiao thought it over—it was true. If that was the case, attending Spirit Martial University wasn’t an issue. The elders’ minds were made up, and even if he opposed, it wouldn’t change anything; he could only accept his fate.

“That’s settled then. Everyone, let’s eat—no need to act as if we’re parting forever.”

“Exactly, it’s a good thing. Lin Xiao needs to go out and gain experience. By the way, we’ve all prepared gifts for you—you might find them useful out there.”

Soon, Lin Xiao received a heap of presents. With so many elders, even one gift each amounted to more than a hundred.

Although it would normally be rude to check the gifts in front of the elders, Lin Xiao couldn’t help himself at this moment.

Each time he picked up a present, the elder who gifted it would introduce it.

An anonymous black card.

Supreme VIP membership at a club.

Every item among the many was priceless.

Lin Xiao’s favorite was the gift from Cao Bo. As a top researcher, Cao Bo’s present was unique—a belt that looked perfectly ordinary, but Lin Xiao knew what it was: one of Cao Bo’s mecha inventions. Lin Xiao had test-driven a mecha before and could control it proficiently. He never expected to receive one as a gift!

Mecha was the ultimate dream for men—Lin Xiao was absolutely thrilled.

There were also many weapons and firearms, all of which Lin Xiao accepted and stored in his ability space.

Murong Yu was the most practical, gifting Lin Xiao a pile of spatial rings. Unlike the first one he’d received, these rings weren’t as spacious. He’d long since learned that the first spatial ring gave him hundreds of square meters; every elder had one of those. This time, the rings ranged from one or two square meters to a few dozen.

With these rings, whether to disguise his real spatial ring or to give away, they were all useful.

One way or another, he had truly hit the jackpot this time!