Chapter 101: The Mysterious Invitation, A Glimpse into the Future

Chapter 101: The Mysterious Invitation, A Glimpse into the Future

Three days after the Shipbreaker incident, a special guest arrived at the Taoyuan neighborhood.

Li Xiuyun called Lu Heng, urging him to hurry home, and then prepared tea for the guest.

When Lu Heng returned home, he saw a young man in a suit and tie sitting in the living room.

He appeared to be in his thirties, with a medium build and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking very refined.

Upon seeing Lu Heng, the man immediately stood up and respectfully initiated a handshake, "Hello, Mr. Lu Heng, I am Paul Li, representing the Springtop Group. I'm here to extend an invitation to you."

Lu Heng frowned slightly at the mention of the Springtop Group, "What does the Springtop Group want from me?"

Paul Li nodded respectfully and replied, "The Springtop Group greatly admires you, sir, and wishes to become friends. Please rest assured, Mr. Lu, the Springtop Group only desires friendship and will not impose any mandatory demands upon you."

"The Springtop Group hasn't exactly been friendly towards me," Lu Heng said, his gaze scrutinizing.

"Indeed, there may have been some misunderstandings between the Springtop Group and you before. As a token of sincerity, please accept this."

Paul Li took out an invitation letter from his inner pocket and presented it with both hands, saying, "This is an invitation to the Ultimate Crystal Core Auction, where high-level crystal cores will be auctioned.

"The invitation contains information about several important auction items, Mr. Lu, you may take a look.

"As a gesture of sincerity, the Springtop Group will cover all your expenses for the evening as a form of compensation for the previous misunderstandings."

Lu Heng's eyebrows raised slightly upon hearing about the Ultimate Crystal Core Auction.

This auction was quite famous in the future, often featuring crystal cores sold at sky-high prices.

In his previous life, a crystal core was acquired by someone for 1 million and then put up for sale on the Crystal Core Darknet, eventually selling for 10 million.

Subsequently, this crystal core appeared at the Ultimate Crystal Core Auction and was auctioned off for 300 million.

The value of this crystal core had increased three hundredfold, from 1 million to 300 million.

Moreover, the Ultimate Crystal Core Auction was not a public event; only those who received invitations could participate.

Therefore, those who gained entry were either top-tier conglomerate representatives or mutants with peak battle prowess.

In his previous life, many mutants took pride in receiving invitations to the Ultimate Crystal Core Auction, as it symbolized their strength to some extent.

However, this invitation from the Springtop Group was an olive branch.

The Springtop Group did not require the signing of any agreements, implying that this invitation and the promised benefits were unconditional gifts.

Nevertheless, Lu Heng was concerned about the Springtop Group's ulterior motives. Accepting these benefits now might create obligations for the future. If he took advantage of this favor, how could he refuse any future requests from the Springtop Group?

Well, Lu Heng could refuse, but he was worried about the Springtop Group's hidden agenda.

Furthermore, the Springtop Group had come directly to his home and extended the invitation in front of his parents, which carried an implicit threat.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot accept it," Lu Heng said, pushing the invitation back.

Paul Li hurriedly presented the invitation again, "Please, Mr. Lu, I insist that you accept this small token of our sincerity. There's no hidden agenda, please don't overthink it."

"I'm not overthinking it, but I cannot accept it. Please take it back," Lu Heng said, gesturing for him to leave.

"Mr. Lu, please believe me. The Springtop Group is sincere and only wishes to be your friend," Paul Li continued to plead even as he was shown the door.

After sending the man away, Lu Heng returned and closed the door.

Li Xiuyun asked, "Who was that?"

"A representative of a multinational conglomerate. In the future, don't let people like him in," Lu Heng replied, surprised that the Springtop Group would proactively reach out to mend fences.

Ultimately, strength determined everything in this era, and only those with peak battle prowess could wield the highest authority.

The conglomerate had no shortage of money; what they lacked were top-tier mutants.

Li Xiuyun frowned, "I found him very polite. He bowed and greeted us, and even offered gifts. It would have been impolite to refuse."

She had never encountered such enthusiasm, especially when it came with money and gifts.

Lu Heng spoke seriously, "Don't be fooled by his friendliness. It was the Springtop Group who anonymously reported me for sinking our country's ships."

Li Xiuyun became angry upon hearing this, "How shameless! After causing trouble, they come bearing gifts. Do they have no shame?"

Lu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Incidents like this might become more frequent in the future. It's no longer suitable for us to live in Taoyuan. I'll find another place, and we'll move out."

"Move? We've lived here for over a decade and are quite accustomed to it," Li Xiuyun protested, as she had good relationships with the neighbors and didn't want to leave.

Lu Mingli understood and interjected, "Listen to your son. I believe the Springtop Group is aware of our son's current identity and wants to win him over.

"This neighborhood is nice, but it's a bit old, and the management is lax, allowing anyone to enter. Incidents like this might become more common in the future."

After much discussion, the parents eventually agreed to move out.

However, finding a new home proved to be a troublesome task.

Lu Heng wanted to find a place with strict security to prevent his parents from being disturbed by irrelevant people.

This type of housing usually came with a frightening price tag.

After discussing matters with his parents, Lu Heng returned to the Jinxiu Yujing.

Just as he entered and before he could change his shoes, someone knocked on the door.

Lu Heng walked back to the entrance and peered through the peephole, but he didn't see anyone; instead, he noticed an envelope floating in mid-air.

Yes, an envelope floating in the air.

In the dead of night, someone knocked on the door, but there was no one outside, and an envelope hovered in the air.

If it had been an ordinary person encountering this situation, they'd probably be scared half to death.

Lu Heng, however, didn't find it frightening. He opened the door and stepped out, standing in the elevator lobby, looking around, but still, he didn't see anyone.

The envelope floated right in front of him.

Lu Heng extended his palm, and the envelope gently landed on it.

Opening the envelope, he found a black invitation card.

On it was a single English word: "creator."

Others might have wondered about the meaning of this invitation card with just one word printed on it, but Lu Heng knew.

Upon seeing the word on the invitation, a glint flashed in Lu Heng's eyes, and he muttered to himself, "Finally, it's here."

This was an invitation from the creator club.

The creator club was very famous in the future, and many of the world's top-ranked mutants were members of this organization.

The term "creator" translates to "creator" or "God."

The name itself indicated the grandiosity of the club.

Within the mutant community, there was even a saying that receiving an invitation from the creator club was the world's recognition of a mutant's peak abilities.

There were many rumors about the creator club, both positive and negative.

One rumor suggested that behind the creator club stood an even more colossal organization.

Many of these top-tier mutant organizations were international, backed by multinational conglomerates.

In his previous life, countless mutants dreamed of receiving an invitation from the creator club.

However, this invitation card lacked contact information or instructions on how to join; it only had the word "creator."

In other words, the creator club sent out invitations without giving the invitees a choice to accept or decline.

The creator never sought the invitees' opinions because they always offered conditions that were impossible to refuse, without exception.

In fact, Lu Heng was a member of this organization in his previous life, and so was Su Muyu.

However, joining the creator club didn't happen as early in his previous life; it was in the second year after the Abyss's descent.

Now, the creator's invitation had arrived a year in advance.

Lu Heng held the invitation and walked back into the house. He closed the door, held up the invitation, and shone the ceiling light on it. In the projected light, he noticed a faint number, 028, on the invitation.

This was a member number, a creator club member number.

The number was different from his previous life.

The reason was apparent; receiving the creator's invitation a year in advance meant the number had to be different.

The number 028 indicated that before him, the creator club already had 27 members.

Typically, the lower the number, the stronger the mutant's abilities.

After all, the lower the number, the earlier the invitation from the creator, which, to some extent, represented strength.

Of course, occasionally, there were members with higher numbers who were stronger than those with lower ones, but overall, the members' strength generally decreased sequentially.

Lu Heng's number in his previous life was 328, while Su Muyu's was 327.

The number had advanced from 328 to 028, a difference of 300 positions.

Currently, in the fourth month after the Abyss's descent, the creator club already had 27 members.

And these 27 individuals were undoubtedly powerful.

Although Lu Heng had the memories of his rebirth, he didn't recognize these 27 individuals.

In his previous life, he had never met them and didn't even know their identities.

Upon receiving the creator's invitation again, many future memories flooded his mind.

Initially, Lu Heng didn't want to join an organization with unclear motives, but once, he was summoned to the Abyssal Battlefield, known as the Death Abyss.

No one had ever returned from this Abyssal Battlefield.

Su Muyu tried everything but couldn't get summoned there together with him.

Finally, after Lu Heng was teleported into the Death Abyss, she agreed to the creator's invitation to obtain an item that influenced the summoning, all for a chance to enter the Death Abyss.

That's how Su Muyu joined the creator, and later, Lu Heng followed suit.

The entire process of joining the creator was voluntary; the creator always offered irresistible conditions.

After seeing the number, Lu Heng didn't further examine the invitation. He slipped it back into the envelope and casually tossed it onto the key cabinet in the foyer.

There was no need to study this creator invitation card; it was just an ordinary paper card.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end