A hoof the size of a washbasin stomped heavily on the ground nearby, making the earth tremble. A minotaur over three meters tall walked past.

"Sorry! Excuse me, excuse me..."

The minotaur walked by with a smile, acting as if nothing had happened, while the surrounding crowd quickly stepped aside.

Even though everyone knew that in Xin Yuan City, it was impossible to attack each other, people still instinctively avoided him.

A faint glow flickered around the minotaur's body—that was the sign of Xin Yuan Force being released and condensed into substance, a mark of a high-level Xin Yuan Force user.

Only then did Charles Lynn remember that this wasn't the Alliance Academy's virtual platform. The people here weren't all using the standard Xin Yuan Force Level Nine template; high-level Xin Yuan Force users were everywhere.

"In terms of combat ability, I probably won't achieve anything too outstanding in this lifetime..."

Shaking his head, Charles Lynn thought about his own physical aptitude in reality, which was far from that of a genius, and couldn't help but feel a bit of melancholy.

However, Charles Lynn was skilled in other areas—maintenance and Xin Yuan coding. With these two abilities, it was enough for him to make a name for himself.

Leaving the training area, Charles Lynn went to other parts of Xin Yuan City, wandered around to get familiar with the environment, and registered an account at the exchange.

After finishing all this, Charles Lynn checked the time and logged out of the Xin Yuan Battle Network.

In his room, Charles Lynn opened his eyes and noticed a faint glow on his chest. The pendulum-shaped pattern appeared, slowly rotating, with blurry lines spreading toward his right arm.

"What's going on..."

Swinging his right arm, Charles Lynn didn't notice anything unusual. Watching those lines gradually fade away, he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but his right arm seemed more flexible.

Slightly dazed, Charles Lynn put aside his doubts and started tidying up his room. After two hours of busy work, it was already evening.

He went to the small restaurant downstairs in his apartment building, spent 50 copper coins on dinner, muttered about how expensive things were in White Arrow Harbor, and then returned to his place to review for the written exam.

Not being able to claim that generous reward made Charles Lynn feel strapped for cash. He needed to achieve a good result in the camp assessment so that the security trainee subsidy he received would be a bit higher.

……

The next day, early morning.

Charles Lynn got up very early. After washing up and getting dressed, he rushed down from his twelfth-floor apartment, heading straight for the small restaurant by the street.

Last night, while having dinner there, he heard the burly-faced owner mention that there was a half-price breakfast available in limited quantities in the morning, and Charles Lynn didn't want to miss it.

Sitting by the window, eating a meat pie stuffed with a few strips of White Arrow fish, Charles Lynn felt this breakfast was really a great deal—just 10 copper coins to fill his stomach.

"Young man, are you a new recruit at the security training camp? Want to have a drink together?"

At the next table sat a green-skinned lizardman, flicking his long tongue as he sipped cheap liquor from a long bottle, enthusiastically greeting Charles Lynn.

"No, thank you. I still have to report in, so it's not suitable to drink."

Charles Lynn declined with a smile, glancing at the long bottle, which was mixed with cloudy green saliva, and suddenly found his breakfast less appetizing.

Turning to look out the window, his gaze soon fell on a young couple standing at the entrance of his apartment building, tightly embracing each other.

The man wore a dark trench coat, tall and handsome with fair skin; the woman wore a light blue dress, her figure as graceful as a willow. The two leaned close together, truly a pleasing sight. Compared to the bustling crowds around them, this couple seemed to exist in another world, filled with a sweet, sticky atmosphere of love.

"Damn, showing off their affection so early in the morning..."

The green-skinned lizardman Mickey slammed the table, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and blew out a wisp of flame from his big mouth, as if he wanted to burn the lovey-dovey couple to ashes right there.

"Hey... Mickey, you could say it even louder so that Miss Nina Neal can hear you!"

The shop owner Jason, whose arms were as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, skillfully wiped a plate while teasing, "She'll definitely give you an unforgettable lesson!"

All around, many customers burst out laughing. The green-skinned lizardman Mickey shrank his head in fear and went back to drinking, not daring to say another word.

From the customers' conversations, Charles Lynn learned that the couple were a young husband and wife from the apartment building. The man was a bank employee in White Arrow Harbor, named Joe.

The woman's name was Nina Neal, an elite officer at the White Arrow Harbor Security Department. To become an elite officer, one had to be at least Xin Yuan Force Level Eight, not much weaker than Instructor Kelly.

When Joe and Nina Neal were single, they were the ideal partners for men and women in White Arrow Harbor. Now that they were together, it was only natural that people paid attention to them.

As Charles Lynn enjoyed his breakfast, listening to the customers' chatter and watching the perfect couple wave goodbye, he couldn't help but smile. His first morning in White Arrow Harbor seemed pretty good.

Just then, urgent sirens sounded in the distance. Several security hovercars roared past, heading toward the harbor.

"Something happened again?"

The shop owner Jason put down his plate, the muscles on his face twitching as he frowned. "So many security cars dispatched—this is the seventh time this month, isn't it?"