80: Chapter 80 The Whole City Was in an Uproar

Wheels crunched over gravel, emitting crisp sounds.

The moment the bullet-riddled military off-road vehicle, its original paint almost unrecognizable, drove out of the military control zone.

Boom!

The roar of the crowd cheered like a tsunami.

Both sides of the street, the terraces of skyscrapers, and even lampposts were densely packed with people.

Flowers, ribbons, and torn notebook pages rained down like a storm.

A giant holographic projection floated above the Jianghai, continuously replaying the scene of the Lord-level beast being killed.

The footage was slowed down ten times.

“Long live! !”

“Jianghai! Long live! !”

The roaring shouts made the off-road vehicle's bulletproof glass hum.

It was the fear suppressed for an entire night, finding an outlet for release at this moment.

The common people didn't understand tactical games or resource exchanges.

They only knew that the beast tide had retreated.

They had survived.

And at the center of all this was the person in this car.

Inside the car, it was completely different from the frenzy outside; the passenger seat was in dead silence.

Lin Fan hunched his neck, almost sliding under the seat.

He pulled the blood-stained and dusty school uniform jacket over his head, firmly covering his ears.

“Fatty, roll up the window. I don’t want to be stared at like a monkey!”

“Brother Fan, are you serious? Control your smirk; it’s about to give you away!”

In the driver's seat, Fatty Zhang Hao, however, was thoroughly enjoying himself.

He deliberately lowered the driver's side window halfway.

Although he didn't dare stick his big head out, he extended his left hand, wearing a tactical glove and holding half a bottle of warm cola.

He waved it reservedly, like a leader inspecting work.

“Ahhh! Is that Lin Fan’s hand?!”

“That must be Fatty Ye’s hand, Fatty Ye, look at me! !”

Outside, an even sharper scream instantly erupted.

Fatty was flushed with excitement, his small eyes, squeezed into slits by his plump cheeks, gleamed with shrewdness.

“Brother Fan, did you hear that? That girl shouted that she wants to have my monkey babies!”

Fatty, while holding the steering wheel with one hand, nodded to the rhythm outside, “Oh, they’re too enthusiastic. How am I supposed to set up a stall discreetly at the night market now? Should I hire two bodyguards?”

He spoke of trouble, but his body was very honest.

He even flamboyantly made a V-sign.

Completely forgetting how, half an hour ago on the battlefield, he was so scared that he clung to Lin Fan's leg, crying for his parents, looking utterly cowardly.

Lin Fan yanked off the school uniform from his head and rolled his eyes.

“If you dare drive this car into a ditch, I’ll turn you into a blind box.”

“A meat shield blind box, it should sell well.”

Fatty shivered, immediately retracted his hand, and honestly gripped the steering wheel.

“Don’t, Brother Fan, I’ll speed up now, I’ll speed up.”

In the middle of the motorcade.

A black armored car drove steadily.

Li Zhen scrutinized the surging public sentiment outside through the one-way glass.

If it were before, the credit for the retreat of a beast tide of this level would be divided among the military, the aristocratic families, and the Jianghai Lord's Mansion.

But today, all the glory was concentrated on one person.

Li Zhen held an encrypted document in his hand.

It was the “Draft Resolution on Granting Lin Fan the Title of Special Combat Hero” that had just arrived from the military.

He chose not to announce it immediately.

He was waiting.

The louder the cheers now, the heavier the weight of the upcoming commendation order would be.

Only by elevating Lin Fan to a god-like status would those aristocratic families who harbored ulterior motives in the dark dare not act rashly.

The communicator vibrated.

A red name flashed on the screen: General Ye Canglan of Kyoto.

This was the third call.

He didn't answer; he hung up directly.

This fire Lin Fan started not only repelled the beast tide but also seemed to be boiling the stagnant water in Kyoto.

Let that General Ye Canglan wait a little longer.

The harder something is to get, the more precious it becomes.

That's also a blind box mentality, isn't it?

The motorcade did not go to the military camp, nor to the Jianghai Lord's Mansion.

As per Lin Fan's request, it drove directly to Jianghai No. 3 Middle School.

At the school gate at this moment.

A red carpet was laid from the main entrance all the way to the curb.

Reporters, parents, and students who hadn't gone to the shelter crowded the school gate, making it impassable.

The principal, wearing the custom-made suit he only wore for school anniversaries, stood at the end of the red carpet with all the faculty and staff.

The scene was ten times grander than welcoming a Minister of Education for inspection.

“They’re here! They’re here!”

The crowd stirred.

That iconic modified off-road vehicle, with half a beast's intestine still hanging from its front, carrying a strong smell of blood and gunpowder, rudely stopped in front of the red carpet.

The entire scene instantly fell silent for a second.

Then.

Click, click, click!

Countless camera flashes illuminated the dusk as bright as day.

The principal excitedly rubbed his hands, straightened his tie, and even took out a comb to tidy his few sparse hairs.

He knew clearly.

From today onwards, Jianghai No. 3 Middle School would no longer be an ordinary key high school.

Instead, it would be known as the school that produced a “Special Combat Hero”.

Next year's education funding was secured.

The car door opened.

A foot in worn-out sneakers stepped onto the red carpet. Even with his current immense wealth, Lin Fan habitually wore his old attire.

Lin Fan stepped down.

The feeling of solid ground beneath his feet allowed his tense nerves to relax slightly.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

He saw a few familiar faces.

The Dean of Students, who had once sneered at him for not being able to pay tuition, was now fawningly maintaining order, afraid that someone would jostle Lin Fan.

“Step back, everyone! Don’t block Hero Lin’s way! Do you understand the rules!”

The Dean of Students shouted hoarsely, his sycophantic demeanor completely different from before.

And that top student from the next class who had awakened a C-Rank Talent and always looked down on people with disdain.

He was now hiding behind the crowd, his eyes filled with fear and jealousy.

He looked at Lin Fan’s tattered school uniform, wanting to say something, but not daring to open his mouth.

Lin Fan’s gaze swept past them.

It did not linger.

There wasn't even a ripple of emotion.

Having been baptized by life-and-death battles and witnessed the might of Lord-level beasts, these trivial school matters that once caused him stress now seemed as light as dust in his eyes.

Would a giant dragon care about the jealousy of ants?

He and they were no longer creatures of the same dimension.

Lin Fan walked straight towards the principal, a characteristic fake smile on his face.

“Principal, this display is too grand, and it costs money.”

“Instead of this expense, why not give me the cash equivalent? I’d like to donate a library to the school, named after me. How about it?”

The principal was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

“That’s a great idea! Student Lin Fan is truly practical. It shall be as you wish!”

Lin Fan “…”

In a corner of the crowd.

The clamor seemed irrelevant here.

Su Qingxue stood quietly.

She didn't push forward like the others; her white dress seemed out of place in the frenzied crowd.

Her gaze pierced through layers of people, landing precisely on Lin Fan.

Others saw glory, a halo.

She saw the faint bandages peeking out from under Lin Fan's school uniform.

Those were wounds from his body tearing apart due to extreme overload after using his SS-Rank Talent.

And his fingertips, though he was smiling, trembled slightly from extreme exhaustion.

The cost.

This was the cost behind the miracle.

Su Qingxue's hand instinctively tightened around the phone in her pocket.

On the screen was a message she had edited for a long time but never sent:

【Lin Fan, you’re amazing!】

Only six words.

Yet she had deleted and re-edited it more than a dozen times.

She looked at Lin Fan, surrounded by the crowd, like stars revolving around the moon.

Suddenly, she felt this message was superfluous.

The current him probably didn't need such cheap praise, did he?

Su Qingxue took a deep breath, her finger sliding across the screen.

Delete.

She turned, her back to the bustling crowd, and walked in the opposite direction.

Her silhouette appeared somewhat lonely.

But her steps were more resolute than ever before.

Since you’ve already walked ahead.

Then I can’t fall too far behind either.

“Brother Fan! Brother Fan!”

Fatty finally squeezed out from the enthusiastic female fans, his collar askew.

He ran breathlessly to Lin Fan's side, his hands stuffed with various small notes and contact information.

“We’re rich! Completely rich!”

Lin Fan stopped.

He ignored Fatty’s excitement, instead turning his head as if sensing something.

The corner was empty.

Only the rustling of wind through leaves.

“What are you looking at, Brother Fan?” Fatty followed his gaze, “There’s nothing there.”

“Nothing.”

Lin Fan retracted his gaze.

He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, but didn’t light it.

“Fatty.”

“Huh?”

“Notify all Myriad Treasures Pavilion employees to work overtime tonight.”

Lin Fan's eyes instantly sharpened, the shrewdness of a Shrewd Merchant once again taking over.

“Capitalize on this hype and clear out all the accumulated E-Rank blind boxes.”

“Raise the price by 30%.”

“Buy it or don’t.”

Fatty was stunned for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up.

“Brother Fan, it has to be you.”

“You’re cutting these leeks so hard, the ground will be bald three layers deep. You’re already so rich, why are you still making money?”

“I bled for the country, so what’s wrong with making some money?”

“I’m afraid of being poor! I want to make money when I have the chance,” Lin Fan awkwardly explained.