199: Chapter 199 As Cowardly as a Mouse

Old Gu took off his reading glasses and leaned in to examine Lin Shiyao's injuries.

Right hand, bone fracture.

Left shoulder, second-degree burns.

Back, three claw wounds.

Mental Energy exhaustion.

Old Gu extended his right hand, palm hovering over Lin Shiyao's body, less than ten centimeters away.

A green light ignited in his palm, enveloping Lin Shiyao's body.

Lin Shiyao's fingers receded at a Speed visible to the naked eye, the gaps from the bone fracture knitting together.

In less than ten seconds, Lin Shiyao's fingers were as good as new.

The green light moved to Lin Shiyao's left shoulder.

The charred skin cracked like a snake shedding its skin, revealing the new pink skin underneath.

Then it moved to her back; the three claw marks slowly closed under the light, the bleeding stopped, and new granulation tissue grew from the edges of the wounds.

Finally, the three deep gashes turned into three thin lines, and then disappeared entirely.

The light extinguished, Old Gu retracted his hand and put his reading glasses back on: "The external injuries are all healed."

"Mental Energy exhaustion cannot be treated with Superpowers; she has to recover on her own."

Not long after, Lin Shiyao's eyelids twitched, and then she opened her eyes.

Lin Shiyao was stunned.

What happened? Where were her injuries?

She only remembered passing out, and being severely injured before losing consciousness.

She had expected to be in too much pain to move upon waking, and would need to lie in bed for several weeks to slowly heal.

But now, all her injuries were gone.

"Awake?" Wang Lin said.

Lin Shiyao looked at Wang Lin and asked: "My injuries... what happened?"

"Old Gu treated them. Healing-type Superpower."

"The external injuries are all healed. Mental Energy exhaustion cannot be treated with Superpowers; she has to recover on her own."

Lin Shiyao lowered her head and looked at her hands: "Who is Old Gu?"

"A veterinarian."

Lin Shiyao was stunned: "A veterinarian? A veterinarian who treats animals?"

Wang Lin nodded.

Lin Shiyao fell silent.

Wang Lin watched her silence, didn't say anything more, and turned to walk toward the door.

"You passed the assessment. Go to Uncle Niu now."

Wang Lin pushed the door open and walked out.

The two walked through the corridor and arrived at Zeng Aniu's office again.

Wang Lin knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, Zeng Aniu swept his gaze over Lin Shiyao: "How is it? Old Gu's handiwork is not bad, right?"

Lin Shiyao nodded: "Thank you, Uncle Niu."

Zeng Aniu waved his hand, pulled a file from the drawer, and tossed it onto the table.

The cover wasn't the previous "Aniu The Slaughterhouse" contract, but the totem of the Twelve Zodiacs.

Lin Shiyao's breath hitched for a moment. She reached out, picked up the contract, and opened the first page.

It was filled with dense clauses. She didn't quite understand them, but she saw the number she wanted.

Probation period, thirty thousand a month. After becoming a regular employee, fifty thousand.

"This is the basic salary, also the base pay. You get it after working a full month, regardless of whether you go out on missions or not."

"If you want to earn more, you have to go to the Mist Forest to kill monsters. You get paid for every one you kill. The more you work, the more you earn, with no cap."

Lin Shiyao raised her head and looked at Zeng Aniu.

She had just killed one today, a Blood-Eyed Wolf King, and almost died.

But Lin Shiyao also knew that the money from killing monsters was much higher than the salary.

"As it happens, we are going to the Mist Forest the day after tomorrow. If you want to go, I'll take you."

Lin Shiyao did not hesitate: "I'll go."

At this moment, Wang Lin spoke up: "Uncle Niu, I won't be going with you all to the Mist Forest the day after tomorrow."

"Why?"

"The school is organizing a training session, also to the Mist Forest. I plan to go with the school."

Zeng Aniu was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "What use is the school's training?"

"That's more like a vacation, just wandering around in the safe zone. How many powerful monsters can there be?"

"You should just come with us. Going with the school is a waste of time."

Wang Lin looked at Zeng Aniu, his lips curling slightly: "No thanks, Uncle Niu. I have other plans."

Zeng Aniu didn't press further and nodded: "Alright then, suit yourself."

At this moment, Wang Lin seemed to remember something: "By the way, Uncle Niu, is this The Slaughterhouse run by you alone?"

Zeng Aniu picked up his teacup and took a sip: "What, kid, want to buy a stake?"

Wang Lin shook his head: "Just asking."

Zeng Aniu replied: "There is another partner. But this person is as timid as a mouse; they only put up the money and then don't care about anything else."

Lin Shiyao, standing to the side, was stunned when she heard the words "timid as a mouse".

The Twelve Zodiacs base actually had another partner behind the scenes?

Just putting up money and not managing things?

Lin Shiyao couldn't imagine what kind of person would dare to go into business with Zeng Aniu, yet dare to not care about anything.

Timid? How timid could someone be if they could hold a stake in the Twelve Zodiacs' territory?

Zeng Aniu saw her confusion and waved his hand.

"Don't overthink it. That person is just a businessman; they don't understand fighting and killing."

"They put up the money to build this place, then don't come by once in a blue moon."

"You'll see them next time."

Wang Lin nodded, didn't pursue the question, turned around, and walked toward the door.

Lin Shiyao stood there, clutching the contract in her hand. She came back to her senses, nodded, put the contract away, and turned to walk toward the door.

...

The next day, at noon.

The playground of the Holy City Academy was packed with people.

In the center of the playground stood a huge bulletin board with the grouping list for this Mist Forest training posted on it.

Black and white, dense text, listing each group's number and the names of its members.

Wang Lin squeezed through the crowd, stood in front of the bulletin board, and scanned from top to bottom, searching for his name line by line.

A1, A2, A3...

Each group had five people: one senior, two sophomores, and two freshmen.

The configuration was very standard—seniors leading juniors, upperclassmen leading lowerclassmen.

Wang Lin found his group: Group A13.

Leader: Zhou Zhenghao, senior.

Members: Zhao Meng, sophomore; Su Wanqing, sophomore; Wang Lin, freshman; Qiao Shuwan, freshman.

Wang Lin's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Qiao Shuwan? His fiancée, they were assigned to the same group?

Was this a coincidence, or was it the academy's arrangement?

Upperclassmen leading lowerclassmen, pairing strength with weakness, to ensure every group had sufficient combat power.

Qiao Shuwan was a top combatant among freshmen. Although Zhao Meng had a grudge with him, he was also a practical combatant among sophomores. Su Wanqing was a student of the Ancient Martial Arts Training Hall.

The paper strength of their group could rank in the top three among all groups.

The problem was Su Wanqing. She should be a student of the Ancient Martial Arts Training Hall, the person who spent five million to buy Song Zhengchu's tingtao sword.

How did she end up on the Superpower department side?

Wang Lin couldn't figure it out, and didn't intend to—it wasn't important.

Wang Lin found the location of his group and walked over.

At the southeast corner of the playground, four people were standing there. A tall boy was standing in front, with his back to him, facing Su Wanqing, Zhao Meng, and Qiao Shuwan, saying something.

His gestures were exaggerated, and his tone sounded rather impolite.

This person must be the senior Zhou Zhenghao, the leader of Group A13.

Wang Lin walked over.

Zhou Zhenghao turned his head and looked him up and down: "You're a bit late. Pay attention next time."

Wang Lin also turned his head and looked over.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and stand over there." Zhou Zhenghao's voice raised a bit.

Wang Lin sighed.