168: Chapter 168 Always Keep a Handy Hand

Previously, the family's financial situation was poor and they were burdened with debt, so they hadn't bought new clothes for a long time.

The clothes they were wearing now were all old ones from a few years ago.

They only looked somewhat decent because they had been carefully maintained.

Lin Fan smiled and thanked his mother, saying he would go take a look in a bit.

He glanced at the flustered Qing Yu.

She was trying hard to learn the chores in the kitchen, but she looked lost several times, and her movements while handling the kitchen utensils were very clumsy; Lin Fan couldn't help but chuckle secretly.

To this Fenglie, everything was too unfamiliar, which was why she was so at a loss.

A few minutes later.

His mother told them dinner would be ready soon and asked them to go wash up.

On the way back to the room.

Lin Fan noticed that Qing Yu didn't follow Lin Duo back to her room, but followed him instead.

"What's wrong?"

He turned around and asked.

Qing Yu trembled slightly and said she had something to tell him.

Lin Fan was silent for a moment before letting her into his room.

Once inside, Qing Yu stood at the door and didn't speak for several seconds.

"Do you have something to say, or are you here to tour my room?"

Lin Fan's cold voice pulled her back to her senses, and she spoke up quickly.

It turned out that earlier, when they went out shopping...

She had discovered that someone was following them.

However, the other party was only following and hadn't made a move, so she didn't act rashly and came to tell Lin Fan first.

Lin Fan was stunned upon hearing this and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a good thing Qing Yu came to report first and didn't attack directly.

Otherwise, that poor fellow would have suffered innocently.

Lin Fan told her that he knew about this and that it was actually his arrangement.

He also told her not to worry about being followed, as this was the last time.

He didn't hide anything.

He said those people were there to protect his family's safety.

But now that she was here, this responsibility would be handed over to her.

Qing Yu had nothing to say to that, but she didn't complain either; she soon left and returned to Lin Duo's room.

After a while, his father returned, and the whole family gathered for dinner.

After dinner, his father announced that they would have a family meeting.

He even called Qing Yu over.

Because she was now a member of this family.

Their family no longer had just one son and one daughter, but two daughters!

The content of the meeting...

Was his father announcing that he had bought a shop in the commercial district and planned to sell mana cores and low-tier Magic Items!

After receiving the money from Mr. Chen and the compensation from the construction site boss, he thought about starting a business to have a stable income and properly support the family.

After the couple discussed it, they felt that opening a shop in the commercial district was a good idea.

And the most popular items with the highest demand were mana cores and Magic Items commonly used by Adventurers and newly-promoted Mages.

His father had thought about this long ago, but he hadn't been able to act on it because he lacked the funds.

Now that there was enough money, there were naturally no obstacles.

After hearing his father's words, Lin Fan nodded in agreement.

His father had already finalized the deal with the shop owner and paid five years' rent.

He planned to hire people for renovations tomorrow and simultaneously go to the Alliance to apply for a Business License.

With a license issued by the Alliance...

He could operate legally in the commercial district, letting customers know he was a legitimate merchant and not a peddler of unknown origins.

With an Alliance license, the shop would also receive Alliance protection, though his father would have to follow the price ranges for goods set by the Alliance.

This was to prevent shop owners from maliciously undercutting prices to steal all the customers.

After hearing their father's plan, the whole family was happy that their circumstances were finally improving.

After chatting for a bit longer, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

In the early morning, the warm sunlight slowly rose.

His father left early in the morning and didn't eat breakfast with the family.

He said applying for a license wasn't easy and he had to go early to get a spot in line on time.

Furthermore, he wanted to start the shop's renovations as soon as possible.

To this end, he planned to find reliable friends he used to work with, believing they could efficiently renovate the shop and make it look presentable.

His wife waved goodbye to him, reminding him to buy something to eat if he was delayed too long at the Alliance.

After his father left, she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Lin Fan and the two girls.

Lin Fan didn't have any plans for today and thought about whether to go grind some experience to prepare for creating Spells in future emergencies.

His current experience points were less than thirty thousand, which wasn't much.

But just before going downstairs for breakfast, Lin Fan received a message.

After reading the content, he learned that he was to execute a mission with Fang Lu, and Fang Lu asked him to get to the squad base as soon as possible.

Lin Fan originally wanted to bring Qing Yu along, but on second thought, he dismissed the idea.

It was better for her to stay behind and protect the family.

After breakfast, Lin Fan told his mother that the squad had a mission and he had to go out for a while.

His mother didn't stop him, only repeatedly reminding him to be careful and not get hurt.

Lin Fan nodded with a smile.

Before leaving, he glanced at Qing Yu, signaling her with his eyes to look after the house well.

Shortly after, Lin Fan arrived at the squad base.

Walking through the main gate, he saw an armored vehicle parked outside the building; he recognized it as the vehicle they commonly used for raid missions.

Entering the building, Lin Fan met Fang Lu and several others in the living room.

"You're here, that was fast."

Fang Lu said when she saw him.

Lin Fan said that by the time he received the message, he had already finished handling things at home, so he came over right after breakfast.

"Good, then I'll talk about the mission..."

Fang Lu then proceeded to explain the mission details to Lin Fan.

The target was a small town to the west of Baiyun City.

This area had always been peaceful, surrounded by large cities like Baiyun City, and Demonic Beasts rarely appeared nearby.

However, the Alliance Guards stationed there recently reported unknown creature activity in the forest outside the town.

That creature only appeared at night.

Moreover, it only moved within a specific area of the forest and hadn't come out, so no one had seen clearly what it actually was.

As for entering the forest to investigate...

The town's Alliance Guards didn't dare to act rashly, fearing unknown dangers.

After all, they were just ordinary people equipped with magic weapons.

They sent a request for help to this Alliance branch, and the Alliance posted it as a mission, which was taken by the Wave Squad.

The threat level of this mission wasn't high.

That creature was at most a common grade or mutant grade Demonic Beast, and it was very cautious, not daring to approach the town.

If it were a stronger existence, the town would have been razed to the ground long ago.

After listening to Fang Lu's explanation, Lin Fan understood they were going to investigate.

If there was an opportunity, they would clear out the Demonic Beast as well.

"Okay, when do we set out?"

Lin Fan asked.

"We can go now; we've been waiting for you."

Fang Lu answered.

"We?"

"I thought it was just the two of us."

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

From what the message said, he had thought he would only be acting with Fang Lu.

Besides, the creature in the forest was at most mutant grade, which was a trivial matter for them.

"Oh, don't be silly."

"Even if the mission looks simple, we are only First-Order Mages; it's best to be fully prepared for any emergencies."

"As an Adventurer, this is the most important thing... always keep a trump card."