"Good lad, you've grown up. Did you join the military?"
Luo Xin sat at the counter and answered with a smile, "Yes, Uncle Lin. I've been assigned to the special department, but I'll have to leave Yuezhi City. I won't have many chances to come back in the future."
The man he called 'Uncle Lin' was a middle-aged man. His left arm was a metal prosthetic, and his right eye was also a mechanical electronic eye that flashed red. Uncle Lin was busy behind the counter.
In this era of interstellar colonization, artificial body modification technology had long matured, and ordinary people who had not mastered extraordinary powers would more or less have some things on their bodies.
A bowl of ramen filled with beef was placed in front of Luo Xin.
Luo Xin took out a pair of chopsticks and started eating.
There were no other customers in the noodle shop. The night breeze blew, and it was very cold and cheerless.
Uncle Lin lit a cigarette and began to ramble, "Do well outside. In the future, when you make a name for yourself, no one will dare to bully you. "
Luo Xin ate while listening to Uncle Lin's nagging. He touched his left wristwatch.
Luo Xin transferred 10,000 star dollars to Uncle Lin's account.
Uncle Lin's electronic eye showed a transfer notification. He was stunned for a moment before he asked with a straight face, "You brat, what are you doing?"
"Uncle Lin, take this sum of money. Xiao Ling is going to graduate soon, right? "
"This ..."
"I'm joining the military so I won't be short of money in the future."
Uncle Lin took a deep puff of his cigarette and was silent for a moment. In the end, he accepted the transfer and said, "I do actually need the money now. I'll pay you back in the future."
Luo Xin smiled and said, "Uncle Lin, you're being too polite. This money is my gift to Xiao Ling so that she can learn a skill. If you run into any trouble, just give me a call. I can at least be of some help."
"Haha, alright, I'll remember that. Brat, when are you going to bring a girlfriend back? You're also of age now."
"Uncle Lin, we can't rush this ..."
"You should do this as soon as possible. Otherwise, you'll be too old to follow your heart. Then you'll end up regretting it, sigh. "
Uncle Lin's tone was a little sorrowful. At this moment, other customers entered the shop, so Uncle Lin went to greet them.
Luo Xin buried his head in his bowl of noodles.
The shop was located on a 100-meter-high floor. Outside was a floating road, and there were countless shops below it. In the middle of the open space, a projected light path outlined the floating road, and the floating vehicles shuttled back and forth.
Yuezhi City was a first-tier metropolis in the interstellar federation.
This was a three-dimensional city with a depth of several thousand meters and divided into several large floors. As far as the eye could see, the tall buildings were like a forest and colorful neon lights and virtual projections filled every inch of space in the city. Floating cars flew all over the sky, like fish in the water.
The universe was colorful, and the milky way was very lively. There were many intelligent races that had been discovered. After a long period of development, humans took the lead to form a federation and jointly expanded outward.
Technology was unprecedentedly advanced.
Interstellar travel, Dyson sphere, artificial body modification technology, super artificial intelligence, and gene trimming technology were all flourishing. More importantly, there were also extraordinary powers in this universe. The top powerhouses could stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods alone.
The universe was colorful and lively, but for Luo Xin, the only place that had warmth was this noodle shop.
When he transmigrated here, he woke up in an orphanage.
He was only 10 years old and he had no one to rely on. He was also bullied by the other children in the orphanage. It was normal for him to not have enough food and suffer from long-term malnutrition.
Uncle Lin pitied him and often helped him. When Luo Xin had nothing to eat, he could come to the noodle shop to eat beef noodles.
Luo Xin was too powerless to change anything.
However, the poor relied on mutation.
Luo Xin had awakened his ability during a fight with the others in the orphanage. After sending everyone to the crematorium, he was also taken away by the federation.
Since then, he had reached an agreement with the federation.
The federation had suppressed the matter and provided him with cultivation resources. He had also relied on his own efforts to enter the Star Dragon Academy, which was the top academy in Yuezhi City and also one of the top three academies in the federation.
This academy focused on training martial artists and ability users.
He entered the esper class and trained hard.
In return, he had to serve the federation for 30 years after graduation.
A few days ago, the 18-year-old him graduated in 9th place in the comprehensive ranking of esper ability classes. He also abided by his contract and served the federation.
The federation had originally assigned him to the military.
To a commoner, this was a great thing that would bring honor to their ancestors and have a bright future.
However, Luo Xin refused.
He turned around and applied to join the secret forces.
This was an official organization that couldn't appear in public and worked for the federation in secret. They were mainly responsible for cleaning up the internal parasites and dealing with things that couldn't be exposed to the public. It was an organization that dealt with dirty things.
The reason why he applied for this was because of money.
There were no enemies outside the federation, and he had no chance to make contributions if he was in the military. If he joined the military, he would be just wasting his time and getting a fixed salary.
Furthermore, he had no power or influence, it was impossible for him to get promoted.
Therefore, he would just be getting that meager fixed salary.
With that meager salary, could he afford to buy a house? Could he afford a car? Could he get a wife? Furthermore, the cost of cultivation was huge. The federation's support agreement had expired, and he would have to prepare his own cultivation resources.
If he went to the military department, he would not get anything.
The only way out was to suck up to the big shots and be their lackeys.
Luo Xin didn't want to suffer that kind of grievance.
In comparison, the secret forces were to his liking.
The secret forces couldn't appear in the open. No matter what they did, it would be covered up and they would have no social influence.
However, the people in the secret forces get paid.
And they get paid a lot of money.
Furthermore, the secret forces were very lax in terms of management.
The secret forces existed in small teams. Occasionally, they would receive a mandatory order. Other than that, they were free to do private work. As long as they followed the basic rules of the secret forces, their actions were not restricted.
The identity of a secret force member was also like a black card, and they had a lot of freedom in the mission. It didn't matter if they did some bad things. As long as they didn't go too far, the officials would come forward to sweep the matter under the rug.
More money, less trouble, and more freedom.
In return, secret force members did not have a social status and the suicide rate was as high as 77.2%. Even if they successfully retired, they were all injured or had all kinds of illnesses.
Those who were from aristocratic families or had connections to one would not join. Those who joined the secret forces were either short of money, were alone, or were desperadoes.
Luo Xin happened to tick all those boxes.
After he learned about this department, he still decided to join.
Wealth was found in danger.
He was relying on his ability.
His ability was the rarest and most dangerous concept-type existence among esper ability users. He could control the concept of 'quantity' and could change the multiplier. Currently, he could do so from 0.01 to 100.
For example, he could magnify his physical fitness by 100 times.
Another example would be that he could make the molecular force of a certain object increase by 0.01 times.
His current projection range was a spherical space with a radius of five meters around him. When the target is out of range, his ability will lose its influence on the object, but the effect caused by his ability will not disappear.
He was very strong.
He didn't graduate at the top of his cohort because he didn't want to.
As a commoner, he had to keep a low profile.
After all, the top 100 were all from influential families in Yuezhi City. He was the only commoner who stood out. If he got first, wouldn't that be a slap to the face of all the big shots?
He ate his bowl of noodles and drank the soup.
His plates and bowls were clean, and not a single bit of food was left.
It was his habit to not waste food.
There were customers coming in and out of the shop, and Uncle Lin was busy.
Luo Xin stood up and said, "Uncle Lin, I'll be making a move first."
"Come back and visit more often if you have the chance. Here, take these to eat on the way." Uncle Lin took out the self-made sauced beef and threw it to Luo Xin.
Luo Xin didn't try to refuse. He took the beef and held it in his arms, ready to leave the shop.
However, there was a commotion outside.
A number of hover trucks sped past, crashing and crushing many things along the way, causing the shop owners to curse.
Soon, police sirens were heard, accompanied by red and blue flashes, and a large number of police cars whizzed past with the help of drones.
It was a chase between police and bandits.
Everyone looked outside, not knowing what had happened.
One of the shop's customers checked his phone and shouted, "Oh my! Something big happened! Someone had kidnapped Xing Ji! It happened in the nearby Star habor, right under the nose of more than 100,000 fans. Who was this kidnapper that's so formidable?"
"What?!"
Another passenger jumped up and wailed, "My little star! I've already bought the tickets for tomorrow's concert!"
Even Uncle Lin was shocked. He took out his phone and checked the situation.
Luo Xin didn't feel anything.
Xing Ji was a singer who had become famous in the past two years. She was a superstar who was popular all over the federation. She had hundreds of billions of fans and was a genius girl from the star race. It was said that her voice had magic and could penetrate people's hearts. This time, she was coming to Yuezhi City to perform. She had just left Star harbor when she was abducted right in front of more than 100,000 fans.
The chase continued.
Luo Xin wasn't interested in this. He didn't chase after celebrities, and it was none of his business.
One of the rules of the secret forces was, "Don't meddle in other people's business, and don't get involved in anything without orders."
What if it was an arrangement by some big shot?
It was fine to participate, but the premise was not to be discovered.
The federal police were not to be trifled with. it wouldn't be long before the kidnappers were caught.
Luo Xin left with the sauced beef.
When he reached the door, he froze on the spot, and the beef in his hand fell to the ground.
The floating platform in front of the shop was smashed.
His only means of transportation, the floating flying donkey that had accompanied him for several years, had disappeared.
Luo Xin's face twitched. He picked up the sauced beef and returned to the store with a dark expression.
Uncle Lin asked him in bemusement, "Luo Xin, what's wrong?"
"Uncle Lin, can I take a look at the surveillance camera at the entrance?"
He took out a paper bag, poked two holes in it, and put it on his head.
The flying donkey had accompanied him for several years. It was half of his assets and was worth at least 2000 star dollars, but it was gone with a snap of a finger.
This matter wasn't over!