Chapter 20: The Evolutionist Association, A Chance Encounter
Chapter 20: The Evolutionist Association, A Chance Encounter
In the underground training room of Residence 32, Shuiyue Subdivision, Lin Yuan sat with his legs crossed and a profound gaze in his eyes as he pondered silently.
Ever since he entered the Carefree Realm in the Martial Arts World, he had felt an oppressive force lurking in the shadows, like a beached whale struggling to breathe. But now, that feeling was absent.
"Is it because of the world's limit?" Lin Yuan speculated.
The ceiling of the Martial Arts World was evidently far below that of the Main World. This was evident from the vast difference in the flow of time between the two.
Lin Yuan, at an unprecedented level in the Carefree Realm, might be approaching the true limit in the Martial Arts World, thus attracting the world's suppression and rejection.
However, in the Main World, even if he wasn't starting from scratch, there was still a vast distance to the true limit.
At the very least, Lin Yuan knew that within the Cosmic Human Alliance, there were truly powerful evolutionists who could effortlessly traverse the stars with their physical bodies and annihilate planets with a mere flick of their fingers.
For over two million years of the Star Sea Calendar, human civilization had not only ventured beyond their mother planet but also swept across the four directions, claiming vast and boundless star domains. This was made possible not only by the leadership of the three Ultimate Intelligent Goddesses but also by the contributions of extremely powerful individual evolutionists.
After regaining his full strength, Lin Yuan took some time to adapt before connecting to the virtual world.
In his spare time over the past few days, Lin Yuan had been refining the 'Advanced Nutrient Solution' and occasionally venturing into the virtual world to explore.
In the Canglan Star Virtual World, within the residential area, Lin Yuan's figure appeared on a street. People passed by from time to time, and a few silhouettes would gather on the chairs in the corner, chatting leisurely. At a glance, there were no fewer than several dozen figures on this lively street.
Lin Yuan was already accustomed to this scene.
Although ordinary people did not have the authority to access the virtual world, the population base of Canglan Star was as high as 50 billion.
Even if there was one second-class citizen out of 500,000 people, the total number of second-class citizens on Canglan Star would exceed 100,000.
In fact, on average, one out of 200,000 to 300,000 people could become a second-class citizen, and the actual number of second-class citizens on Canglan Star was already close to 300,000.
And that was just for second-class citizens; evolutionists also had the authority to access the virtual world. Their numbers were far greater than those of second-class citizens.
After all, there were multiple paths to becoming an evolutionist—normal, abnormal, mutated, inherited, and so on.
Of course, the number of evolutionists was considered high in comparison to second-class citizens. When compared to regular citizens, evolutionists were still extremely rare, with an average of one out of a thousand.
Lin Yuan casually walked into a bar in the residential area, sat in a corner, and ordered a cocktail.
"This sensation," Lin Yuan murmured as he took a sip, his expression slightly astonished. If it weren't for his clear perception of his physical body in the outside world, he would have thought he had stepped into the real world.
"No wonder the Wisdom Goddess restricts access to the virtual world."
"Such clear sensory simulation must be based on a giant server. If personal connections were allowed, the cost would be terrifying."
After sitting in the bar for a while, Lin Yuan exited the virtual world.
"Now that my strength is restored, I should go to the Evolutionist Association as soon as possible to register and obtain my evolutionist certificate."
The Cosmic Human Alliance had strict control over evolutionists, and even those who had not yet entered the rank of evolutionists were required to register promptly.
With that in mind, Lin Yuan immediately contacted the Evolutionist Association in his city and made an appointment for registration the next day.
It was best to make prior appointments with official organizations like the Evolutionist Association.
The next day, Lin Yuan returned home.
He had been away from home these past few days, claiming that he needed to undergo training with the officials after becoming an evolutionist.
During the meal, his mother, Lu Qiong, seemed to remember something. She said, "Xiao Yuan, since you've become an evolutionist, your father has been bragging about it in the family group chat."
"Several relatives heard the news and want to host a family banquet to get together and celebrate, as well as to see you."
"That relatives group chat." Lin Yuan glanced at his father, Lin Shoucheng.
In the interstellar age, the concept of clans had long faded, but social graces remained.
Lin Yuan becoming an Evolutionist was a major event that transcended social classes; it was far more impressive than getting into some prestigious school.
Getting into a prestigious school didn't guarantee a successful career. Every year, millions of graduates from these schools entered the job market, but only a handful landed satisfactory jobs.
Evolutionists were different. Even unranked Evolutionists were highly sought-after by corporations and conglomerates willing to offer lucrative salaries.
And if one were to become a ranked Evolutionist, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate.
Lin Yuan's family used to be ordinary, occupying a negligible position among their relatives. But now that Lin Yuan had become an Evolutionist, everything had changed.
No one could guarantee that they wouldn't need Lin Yuan's help in the future.
Sometimes, it's not shameful to ask for help. What's shameful is not even being able to find the right person to ask.
"Uncle Nian helped me out in the past, and he wants everyone to get together. I can't refuse," Lin Shoucheng said with a bitter smile.
He had only been bragging in the group chat, never expecting someone to take the initiative.
"It's fine. I'll be there for the family banquet," Lin Yuan assured them, understanding his parents' concern that he might be busy and unable to attend.
After all, if Lin Yuan, the main attraction, wasn't there, the banquet would lose its purpose.
"A family banquet?"
"What kind of family banquet?"
"Will there be good food?"
Lin Yuan's sister, Lin Yi, immediately became excited, her big eyes sparkling as she asked.
After finishing the meal and leaving the house, Lin Yuan set out for the Evolutionist Association to collect his certificate.
But before he had walked far, he received a phone call.
"Is this Mr. Lin Yuan?" A female voice on the other end of the line asked cautiously.
"Yes, it is," Lin Yuan affirmed.
"I'm from the Evolutionist Association. Mr. Lin Yuan applied yesterday to come in today for registration, right?" the woman explained, sounding a bit flustered. "At the time, I wasn't aware that Mr. Lin Yuan was a second-class citizen, so I didn't explain clearly. According to the association's regulations, any second-class citizen who comes to handle affairs must be picked up by a specialized person."
The woman on the phone was almost in tears. There were only a handful of second-class citizens in Dongning City, and they all knew the president of the Evolutionist Association personally. When they had business with the association, they usually went through the president.
As a mere staff member, she had never dealt with a second-class citizen before.
When she had received Lin Yuan's application the previous day, she had been busy with other matters and hadn't paid much attention to it. But that morning, when she entered Lin Yuan's citizen ID number into the system, she was shocked to discover he was a second-class citizen.
This matter had even caught the attention of her superior, who instructed her to find out what this second-class citizen needed and to make sure those needs were met to the best of their ability.
"It's alright," Lin Yuan reassured her, shaking his head. He hadn't suffered any losses because of this.
"Then, where is Mr. Lin now? I'll send someone to pick you up immediately," the woman on the phone said, finally sounding relieved. If Lin Yuan had taken issue with her service, there was no doubt that she would have been fired the next day, and the reason would have been written into her file.
In that case, no enterprise group would have been willing to hire her. After all, disrespecting a high-ranking citizen was crossing a line, no matter where one went.
"I'm here," Lin Yuan replied after a moment's hesitation, deciding to reveal his current location.
Having someone come to pick him up would be convenient and would also save him some taxi fare.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan found a random coffee shop by the roadside and waited.
However...
Before long...
A voice suddenly sounded from beside him.
"Lin Yuan, what are you doing here?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
