24: I don't have to be controlled by anyone

Five hundred points of spiritual power converged into a deep lake in the Sea of Consciousness.

Lin Yu slowly stood up, stretching his body, which was slightly stiff from prolonged sitting.

He didn't revel in the exhilaration of his power surge; instead, he immediately began to calculate.

The simultaneous use of twenty Multiplication Cards.

Two to the power of twenty.

One million forty-eight thousand five hundred seventy-six.

A magnification factor exceeding a million times.

This was his most fundamental trump card now.

With such a trump card, the next consideration was how to convert this power into actual combat effectiveness.

He temporarily had no plans to touch potions that directly enhanced physical attributes again.

Excluding side effects, the other three-attribute potions in Old Ghost Hall would inevitably be accompanied by immense pain during the forced attribute enhancement process.

This was what he said personally.

Lin Yu was not afraid of hardship, but he was not a psychopath and had no masochistic hobbies.

If there were simpler, more efficient, and safer methods, why choose the most painful one?

His main attribute now was spirit.

Vast spiritual power meant he had a natural advantage in spell-based skills.

So, the answer was very clear.

Lin Yu put on his cloak, re-concealing himself in the shadows, and left the 'bunker' that had cost him seventeen thousand six hundred yuan.

He once again walked into the chaotic and noisy streets of the "Junkyard."

This time, he didn't go to shops selling materials and potions but walked directly to a more secluded corner.

Most of the vendors here sold second-hand goods. Among them were the things he needed—skills.

In this world, the sources of skills were diverse; they could be skill crystals dropped by monsters or skill books produced in certain special dungeons.

Lin Yu quickly stopped in front of a stall with a 'General Store' sign.

The stall owner was a one-eyed man, lazily reclining in a chair, indifferent to passing customers.

"Boss, do you have basic magic skills?" Lin Yu asked.

The one-eyed man lifted an eyelid, sizing up Lin Yu's 'crow' attire.

"Yes. What do you need?"

"Earth, fire, water, wind, ice, lightning—all six elements, the most common kind."

The one-eyed man paused, then sat upright from his recliner.

"Little brother, are you… buying introductory textbooks for a newly awakened junior relative?"

As he spoke, he rummaged through a dusty box behind him.

"The things you're asking for are common goods that even first-year vocational college students wouldn't bother teaching. They're only good for fooling unawakened children, letting them get an early feel for elemental affinity."

Although the one-eyed man was complaining, his movements were quick, and he soon found six dull, glass-bead-like crystals of various colors.

These were the lowest-grade skill crystals.

"Anything else?" Lin Yu ignored his teasing.

"More?" The one-eyed man became interested again. "Tell me."

"Hardening spell for enhanced defense, and a shield spell."

"Ha!" The one-eyed man laughed. "You're really thorough, alright, alright."

These trashy things were everywhere.

But it was a small business; no harm in making a profit.

As he spoke, he found two more dusty crystals and pushed them, along with the other six, toward Lin Yu.

"Package deal, eighty. No bargaining."

Lin Yu took out his black card and paid directly.

"Beep."

The transfer was complete.

The one-eyed man put away his terminal, watched Lin Yu pick up the eight trashy crystals, and couldn't help but add another remark.

"Little brother, take my advice. These things are fine for playing around, but if you really rely on them as a means of combat, you won't even know how you died. For these eighty yuan, you'd be better off buying a small knife; it's more reliable than these things."

Lin Yu collected the crystals, turned, and left.

The one-eyed man watched his retreating figure, shook his head, and reclined back in his chair.

Another naive rookie.

Lin Yu walked through the crowd, his mind already immersed in his storage ring.

Card Transformation!

Those eight cheap skill crystals, before his vast spiritual power, had no resistance whatsoever and were instantly transformed into eight brand-new cards.

Skill Cards!

Fireball Spell · Novice

Water Arrow Spell · Novice

Wind Blade Spell · Novice

...Hardening Spell · Novice

Mana Shield · Novice

Looking at these eight cards, Lin Yu's mind began to rapidly construct combat models.

What would the most ordinary Fireball Spell become with a million-fold amplification?

How sturdy could the most basic Mana Shield be with a million-fold amplification?

Any small piece of trash, with a million-fold amplification, would unleash incredibly terrifying power!

Having completed all this, Lin Yu did not linger in the black market.

He planned to return to the container he had lived in for five years.

On one hand, there were still some things he needed to take with him... On the other hand, he needed to go back and ponder a question.

Whether or not to participate in this year's College Entrance Examination.

He had already deferred it for five years.

With his current abilities, the College Entrance Examination, university, and these paths to success in the worldly sense held no meaning for him anymore.

He didn't need that diploma to prove himself.

However, he had a pent-up frustration in his heart.

A frustration that had been building for five whole years.

He couldn't forget the faces of those people five years ago when he awakened the epic-grade profession of Myriad Card Creator.

Teachers from the admissions offices of the nation's top universities blocked his doorstep, promising the most generous conditions.

Representatives from major top corporations, holding 'genius cultivation contracts' that were practically indentured servitude, used coercion and inducements to try and bind his future irrevocably to their chariots.

He was indeed a genius, but precisely because he was a genius, their methods of contending for him were also extreme.

In their eyes, he was not a person.

He was a walking gold mine, a resource with infinite potential.

What they thought about was not how to cultivate him, but how to use him, how to exploit him, how to turn all his value into numbers on their financial reports.

And how to prevent Lin Yu from going to a rival company... At that moment, Lin Yu realized that this world was not as he had imagined—with sound legal systems, stability, and peace.

For those companies, groups, and collectives with enough high-level professionals and sufficient power of their own... they inherently had the ability to disregard the law.

The state's enforcement agencies might not necessarily be able to consistently overpower capital driven by self-interest.

They were lawless; they monopolized everything.

If he walked down the path they planned,

Lin Yu would have no chance of escaping!

So Lin Yu knew that these five years he had lost were destined to be lost.

Five years in exchange for a future of infinite possibilities.

Now, even if he was alone, he could continue on without being controlled by anyone!

Therefore, he wanted to take the College Entrance Examination.

He wasn't trying to prove to the world how amazing he was.

He just wanted to go back, stand before those people, and slap them hard in the face with a score they couldn't comprehend or imagine.

He wanted to tell those high-and-mighty companies, those self-important universities:

He didn't need their funding.

He didn't need their contracts.

He didn't need their agreements.

Lin Yu, he didn't depend on anyone, nor did he need to be controlled by anyone.

He, alone, could not only survive.

He could also surpass all of them!

Lin Yu walked out of the dark exit of the "Junkyard"; the sky outside was already dim yellow.

He hailed a taxi.

"Driver, to the Economic Development Zone, Fuzhuo Old Factory."