44: A hidden dragon emerges from the abyss, its target: fragments of heavenly lightning!

Lin Yuan struggled to sit up from the medical bed.

He scratched his still slightly numb hair and tentatively spoke.

"Uh..."

"Am I... going to have to pay again?"

This sentence was like a switch.

It broke the silence in the ward.

Su Wanqing quickly lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She was afraid she would laugh out loud.

This guy caused the entire Jiangcheng Branch Bureau to lose power, almost leading to a special-grade security incident.

And the first thing he cared about when he woke up was paying money?

Zhou Weiguo also wore a wry smile.

To everyone's surprise,

Elder Zhang not only didn't scold him but his eyes lit up!

He pounced to Lin Yuan's bedside with a "whoosh"!

"Don't move! Let me see!"

Elder Zhang had somehow produced a pile of strange scanning instruments and began a series of "beep beep beep" scans over Lin Yuan's body.

As he scanned, he watched the data flickering on the instruments, muttering, his voice trembling.

"Perfect! Too perfect!"

"A D-Class Peak body strength, able to withstand energy backwash! His physical indicators are already comparable to a C-rank Intermediate ancient martial arts practitioner!"

"And this energy conversion rate... over 99.8%! My heavens! The Thunder Pool's energy entered his body with almost no loss!"

Elder Zhang grew more excited as he spoke, grabbing Lin Yuan's arm as if admiring a work of art.

"This isn't a human at all! This is practically a walking... humanoid energy furnace!"

Lin Yuan was dizzy from being shaken by him.

What the heck?

Energy furnace?

Sounds pretty impressive.

Just then,

a discordant voice sounded from the side.

"Hmph."

Lin Yuan looked in the direction of the voice.

The speaker was a stranger standing behind Zhou Weiguo.

The man was tall, with a C-rank Special Agent badge pinned to his chest, and a look of disdain on his face.

He was one of the C-rank Experts who rushed to provide support immediately after the base-wide power outage.

He looked at Lin Yuan, who was surrounded by everyone, and whispered to his companion beside him.

"A realm achieved by relying on a special physique and being force-fed with massive resources."

"Just a hothouse flower."

"When it comes to a rapidly changing battlefield, this kind of person looks good but is useless."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the ward was sharp-eared and keen-eyed.

The atmosphere grew cold again.

Elder Zhang was about to burst out, but Zhou Weiguo spoke first.

"Ahem."

He walked to Lin Yuan's medical bed and patted his shoulder.

The force wasn't heavy, but Lin Yuan still felt half his body go numb.

"Kid, you sure know how to cause trouble."

Zhou Weiguo's tone was half-joking, half-serious.

"Do you know that for the 0.5 seconds when the entire branch bureau lost power, we almost thought some otherworldly monarch had torn open a rift and attacked right at our doorstep?"

"The entire base's defense system went into maximum alert."

Lin Yuan shrank his neck, not daring to speak.

Judging by this, the matter was even bigger than he had imagined.

"However..." Zhou Weiguo changed the subject, a smile appearing on his face, "Your physical data truly gave us a big surprise."

He withdrew his hand, scanned everyone present, and finally, his gaze returned to Lin Yuan.

"To give your boundless energy a reasonable outlet,"

Zhou Weiguo emphasized his tone and announced publicly:

"I've decided to recommend you to participate in the 'hidden dragon ranking' martial arts competition held by the Capital Headquarters in a week!"

As soon as these words were spoken,

the whole place erupted!

"What?!"

"Director Zhou! You're not joking, are you?"

The C-rank Expert who had previously been full of disdain was the first to stand up and immediately voiced his opposition.

"The 'hidden dragon ranking' is the highest stage for all C-rank new talents under thirty in our Dragon Shield Bureau!"

"Sending a D-Class to participate? Isn't that clearly sending him to his death?!"

"Has our Jiangcheng Branch Bureau fallen so low that we need to send a D-Class to make up the numbers? If this gets out, it will damage the reputation of our entire branch bureau!"

The other C-rank Special Agents around also nodded in agreement.

Only Su Wanqing's reaction was completely different; she looked at the indignant C-rank Expert, her eyes showing not confusion but a strange pity—for the "chosen ones" who were about to encounter this monster in the "hidden dragon ranking."

However, Lin Yuan's reaction, as the person involved, was even more intense than theirs.

As soon as he heard about participating in some competition, he shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"No, no, no!"

"Director, please don't!"

Lin Yuan waved his hands repeatedly, a look of resistance on his face.

"My small frame, how could it withstand such torment? Look at me, I just took a bath and electrocuted myself."

"Fighting and killing are so dangerous, I'm not fond of fighting, not fond of fighting."

"I just want to do missions steadily, earn more money, and live a stable life."

His little calculations were clattering loudly in his mind.

Participate in a competition?

It sounds like there's no appearance fee!

If he gets injured, he might even have to pay for his medical expenses himself!

Isn't that a huge loss?

With this time, if he took on two missions, wouldn't he get contribution points?

Safe, stable, and profitable.

Zhou Weiguo seemed to have seen through his thoughts long ago.

He ignored the C-rank Special Agent's objection and Lin Yuan's refusal.

He stared at Lin Yuan, a meaningful smile on his face.

"The champion of this 'hidden dragon ranking' martial arts competition..."

He deliberately drew out his words.

"Can choose one reward from the Capital Headquarters' A-rank strategic treasure vault."

A-rank reward?

Lin Yuan's ears twitched.

He began to calculate rapidly in his mind.

Things in the A-rank strategic treasure vault... what kind of concept was that?

Previously, taking down a monarch-level monster's embryo was only rated as a B-rank task.

An A-rank reward, to sell... bah, to hand over to the organization, how many contribution points would that be worth?

But... the risk is too great!

There's only one champion, and all the participants are elites among C-ranks.

He, a D-Class Peak, even if his physical body was strong, his energy quality was a whole major rank below theirs!

No, this deal, the risk-reward ratio is not proportional.

Lin Yuan was about to open his mouth to refuse this "kindness."

But Zhou Weiguo slowly added another sentence.

"The rewards in the vault are diverse."

"For example, there are cultivation techniques and secret manuals that even B-rank Experts would covet."

"There are divine weapons that can cut iron like mud."

"Of course..."

"It also includes an... extremely rare—"

"'heavenly thunder fragment.'"

"Heaven, Thunder, Fragment!"

These four words, like four divine thunders from the nine heavens, struck Lin Yuan's head squarely!

His eyes widened round!

The god-level charging panel in his mind erupted with dazzling light!

Risk?

Losing money?

Stable life?

To hell with it!

In front of the "heavenly thunder fragment," all of that was fleeting clouds!

The next second,

under everyone's astonished gaze,

Lin Yuan leaped up from the medical bed!

His feet together, his body stood ramrod straight!

He saluted Zhou Weiguo with the most standard military salute he had ever given in his life!

"Reporting, Director!"

"For the glory of the Dragon Shield Bureau!"

"To defend the supreme dignity of our Jiangcheng Branch Bureau!"

"I! Intern Special Agent Lin Yuan! Am willing to go through fire and water, without hesitation!"

Everyone was stunned by his 180-degree change in attitude.

Su Wanqing silently raised her hand and pressed her forehead.

Zhou Weiguo looked at his impassioned demeanor and nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, with this spirit, I am relieved."

He changed the subject and slowly added: "However, the 'hidden dragon ranking' is not just your personal matter."

"Tomorrow, go meet your teammates first."