Opening his eyes again.

  Xia Li awoke from deep sleep, his head still a bit foggy. His sister's smile from the dream seemed frozen in his consciousness, as if emphasizing something.

  Xia Shu...

  His sister. Influenced by him, the tech enthusiast, she'd chosen to study the hot new field of Applied Artificial Intelligence Science. He remembered her grades had been quite good.

  But why had he dreamed of his sister twice in a row?

  She...

  After five hundred years, she must have passed away long ago.

  "Sir, how are you feeling now?"

  The mall attendant spoke to Xia Li, pulling his thoughts back to reality. He immediately stood up and tested his body.

  His condition was good. Extremely good. Unprecedentedly good!!

  Energetic, sharp-eyed and keen-eared, his body felt completely renewed—transformed from a machine about to break down into something fresh off the assembly line.

  Only...

  The clothes he was wearing had changed too. His pants and undershirt were now a black set made of new materials, and his outer layer had become a clean, proper gray trench coat.

  "I feel great. But my clothes..."

  "Your clothes were too worn. Given that your purchase today reached a sufficient amount, our store is gifting you an outfit. However, gifts cannot be exchanged."

  The attendant smiled, but Xia Li understood this was probably her own gesture.

  She must have earned quite a commission from his purchase.

  "Thanks."

  "Not at all. With your financial means, sir, what's one outfit worth? I hope you'll choose me as your guide again on your next visit."

  "Definitely you."

  Her service attitude was truly impeccable. At least when he'd first entered the store, the other attendants had only glanced at him before losing interest.

  Only this one had been proactive.

  "Here's your old Spirit Core."

  After Xia Li got up, the attendant immediately handed him the replaced Spirit Core.

  "If you need recycling services, there's a dedicated recycling station on the third floor. Or would you like me to make a trip for you? I'm quite good at bargaining!"

  "Forget it. I'll take it home for my dog."

  Xia Li hadn't forgotten that his old Spirit Core was advertised as suitable even for cats and dogs. Since it was black market goods with questionable origins, getting caught by the recycling station would be troublesome.

  "Then... sir, do you need pet supplies? Pet Heaven Chips and enhancement serums?"

  "Uh... I'm out of spirit stones!"

  Xia Li was completely impressed now. He finally understood why his little sister used to come back from shopping with piles of unnecessary stuff.

  These attendants were really something.

  They'd already set their sights on his nonexistent dog.

  "Would you like me to apply for a loan service? Zero interest for three months, annual rate as low as..."

  "No loans, no loans!!"

  Xia Li shook his head and prepared to flee, but the attendant reached out and grabbed his arm.

  "Sir, I haven't finished speaking. No more sales pitches—I have good news for you. You've successfully gained self-cultivation talent. The probability is usually only about one in twenty."

  "It worked? First try?"

  Xia Li was pleasantly surprised. He'd thought the Genesis Serum was just the beginning, with many more steps needed to gain self-cultivation ability.

  It was probably because he'd refined four spirit treasures on the other side, raising his body's basic spiritual energy affinity, that he'd awakened self-cultivation talent.

  "Yes. Congratulations, sir."

  "Good. I'm very satisfied this time."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  With that, Xia Li used his Heaven Chip to transfer three more spirit stones to the store's account, noting it as a service tip.

  The attendant quickly noticed the new deposit.

  "Thank you, sir! May you have peace and good fortune all your life."

  Receiving the tip made her quite happy. She even sent Xia Li a friend request.

  "Sir, I'll notify you immediately of any promotions. You can also order various less common serums through me."

  "Alright."

  With that, Xia Li turned and left. This time the attendant finally didn't cling to him with more sales pitches.

  After leaving the mall, Xia Li stood at the entrance watching people come and go on the main street.

  He suddenly felt a hint of confusion.

  A confusion about where to go. He had goals and motivation to move forward, but where did this sudden bewilderment come from?

  Wordless.

  Xia Li didn't plan to stay long in the Upper District. He headed straight back to the Grand Elevator to wait for the elevator down to the Lower District.

  Before long.

  The elevator doors opened. Many people walked out, but among them, a young man in a fine suit and gold-rimmed glasses suddenly looked toward Xia Li.

  Then...

  Walked toward him.

  "Well, well, if it isn't our outstanding Employee 327? You're still alive, and you've made it to the Upper District?"

  As he spoke, he pushed his glasses up with his middle finger. Behind those lenses, his slightly narrowed eyes gave off a sinister feeling.

  It was someone from the Company!!

  Xia Li's fists clenched involuntarily. He could barely resist the urge to punch the man.

  "I have a name. It's Xia Li."

  "327, you violated your employee contract and sold out Company interests. The Company will collect on its losses."

  "I said, my name isn't 327!"

  "You can wash the employee code off your face, but your file has been recorded by the Company. Once a Company employee, always Company property."

  "Return to the Company's embrace now... and the Company might still forgive you."

  The gold-rimmed glasses man's lips curved into a smirk. The Company had taken a big loss in the previous incident and was hunting down the traitors.

  Xia Li was one of them.

  They'd thought Xia Li had died in the mine collapse. The Company had even felt cheated that he'd gotten off easy. But now that he was alive, they'd make sure he wished he were dead!!

  "What a Company. What a Qiming Mining."

  "Recording me in your files, are you? Good. That'll save me the trouble of you claiming 'no such person' when I come to collect my debt."

  With that, Xia Li walked past the man and into the elevator.

  The man coldly watched Xia Li. Though he made no move, Xia Li knew he'd probably already transmitted a message through his Heaven Chip.

  It seemed he might encounter Company dogs after returning to the Lower District.

  But whatever. Bring it on.

  【Replace Alchemy Technique with Divine Sense Hacking】

  As the elevator doors closed, Xia Li immediately swapped out the technique in his technique slot during the descent.

  Then...

  He contacted Ke Xiao immediately.

  "Sis Ke, I ran into a Company dog. I'm probably about to get bitten. How do I handle this?"

  After a short wait, Ke Xiao replied.

  "No one from the organization is currently available in Linguang City. I'm not a combat operative either—I'm intelligence."

  "But I'll do my best to lock onto their positions for you. You'll have to survive this tribulation yourself."

  "Thanks. Position intel is already a huge help."