Chapter 106: Limitations

Qin Hongyu and the others had departed, and Chen Ting had once again vanished without a trace. However, there was still a way to find him: by hunting down Zhou Potian.

Zhou Potian was the true name of the man known as the Golden Mad Blade. Since he had continued to work for Chen Ting behind the scenes, it was highly probable that he possessed knowledge of Chen Ting’s whereabouts. Furthermore, judging by yesterday’s events, it was very likely that those seven individuals had been captured through Zhou Potian’s own hands. If one could apprehend him, the identities of those seven would naturally come to light.

Of course, things would not be that simple. Within the Battle City, there was absolutely no opportunity to act. And on the battlefield… while there were chances, it would be exceptionally difficult. Regardless of anything else, Zhou Potian was a Gold-tier evolver; defeating him was easy, but capturing him alive was a challenge of a different magnitude.

Especially now that it was known that the Greedy Wolf organization had ostensibly left the Tier 1 battlefield of Tianyao City, while in reality, a portion of their forces had gone underground. Given the foundation they had left behind, even the Immortal Palace would find it no easy task to root them out once they shifted from the light into the shadows.

Naturally, all of this had little to do with Fang Mu. He was merely an accidental participant this time. Shortly after Qin Hongyu and her group left, Fang Mu decided to conclude his hunt and return to the Battle City. He had promoted to the Bronze tier but had yet to reach its limits. This expedition was originally intended to earn enough money to purchase gene agents and reach that peak. Now, with over four hundred serrated hyenas lying within his spatial equipment, he had clearly achieved his goal.

Three days later, a travel-worn Fang Mu returned to the Battle City. With a backpack on his shoulders, dressed in earth-yellow camouflage, and carrying a large sniper rifle, he looked no different from the vast majority of other evolvers. It was in this state that he returned to the Bright Moon residential complex.

In the lobby, Liang Bingyun, dressed in professional attire, looked up. Seeing the dusty Fang Mu, she paused for a moment before quickly rising with a smile. "Welcome home, Mr. Fang."

Fang Mu returned the smile with a nod. After exchanging a few casual pleasantries, he entered the elevator and soon arrived at his apartment. He ran hot water, took a long bath, and collapsed onto the soft sofa, exhaling a deep, comfortable breath. The exhaustion of the past few days seemed to dissipate significantly. Once he had steadied his mind, Fang Mu took out Yang Lin’s communicator and dialed a number.

Processing the serrated hyenas in his spatial equipment was now a familiar routine. By the second day after his return to the Battle City, his account had increased by over ten million. As expected, the price had been driven down; each carcass had been devalued to 130,000. It was because, since reaching the Bronze tier, the power of his "Blazing Fire" had increased significantly, and the hyena corpses had been somewhat over-charred.

This made Fang Mu crave the "Armor Piercing" technique even more. Yet, no matter where he looked, he could not find it, which left him silent and pensive. He began to reflect, and in doing so, he realized he had fallen into a bottleneck.

This was not a bottleneck in his cultivation, but one in his long-term planning. When he first entered the battlefield, he chose to walk alone because he had no other choice. He knew no one, save for Lin Chuyin, who was willing to help him. But whenever he considered why she offered her help, Fang Mu could not bring himself to accept it with a clear conscience.

Three months had passed without him realizing it, and he had grown accustomed to it. He was used to being alone, used to fighting by himself. After obtaining the spatial equipment and the "Origin Energy Spirit Refining Record," this had only intensified. He did not want to expose either. Having chosen to fight alone when he was at his weakest, he naturally felt an subconscious resistance to joining any team now that he possessed his own trump cards.

The second time he went to the battlefield, and even the third, it remained the same. He subconsciously believed he had to remain a lone wolf. But now—or rather, upon returning from the battlefield for the second time—he had realized that walking alone was truly not a good choice. Especially given his current situation.

Admittedly, with his spatial equipment and the "Origin Energy Spirit Refining Record," he could live quite well on the Tier 1 battlefield even on his own. In terms of making money, his performance was somewhat startling; even ordinary Gold-tier evolvers did not earn as much as he did. But beyond that? Money was not omnipotent. To say nothing of anything else, take the "Armor Piercing" technique he kept yearning for—had he not been unable to acquire it all this time?

Was it a lack of money? Of course not. Even if the technique cost tens of millions, he could buy it without batting an eye. But the crux of the matter was—he didn't even know where to buy it! And this was merely for "Armor Piercing." What was "Armor Piercing," really? It was indeed a very precious gun-fighting technique on the Tier 1 battlefield. But what about beyond that? The Tier 2 battlefield, the Tier 3 battlefield… or even the Starry Sky battlefield? What would a mere "Armor Piercing" count for then?

What about gene shells? Origin energy equipment? Or even the Silver Eye? Which of these could he buy? The answer was: none. Because all he had was money. This realization instantly narrowed his future path to a dead end.

For example, over the past few days, had he not been running around like a headless chicken, searching everywhere yet finding no way forward? This was the limitation. Fang Mu deeply felt his own inadequacies. In every sense, he was merely a sixteen-year-old boy. Although family tragedy had made him mature and precocious, he was well aware of his limitations. His perspective was limited, his thinking was limited, and his understanding of the world was severely limited.

This limitation had become the greatest obstacle to his growth. Forget about the few tens of millions he had now—even if he were given tens of billions, what could he actually accomplish with it? Truth be told, if he hadn't used the internet to mimic others, barely cobbling together a channel to sell off the serrated hyenas, he probably wouldn't have even managed that much. And even that was essentially the limit of what he could achieve on his own.

The real world was not a game; one could not simply rely on wishful thinking. He had experienced far too little. Besides fighting, what other experiences did he have? None. Absolutely zero.

Upon realizing this, Fang Mu let out a long, heavy breath. Did he want to solve it? It was simple: join a large legion. Borrow the power of the legion to temper himself, to learn. This learning was not just about combat, but also about mindset and perspective. Only in this way could he truly become strong. Otherwise, he would forever remain a "weakling" who merely appeared powerful.

Having reached this conclusion, Fang Mu took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, he dialed Qin Hongyu’s communicator.