30: Chapter 30: Shattering Historical Records, Obtaining Star-Level Selection Qualification

Starport Plaza.

"Brother Yuan! You're my real dad!"

A shrill, voice-cracking shout cut through the noise.

Fatty Wang, his flesh wobbling, pushed through the crowd and lunged toward the back of the line.

His knees buckled, and he slid half a meter across the alloy floor from momentum, grabbing Lin Yuan's right leg.

"Brother Yuan! From now on, you're my real dad! I'm sticking to your leg for the rest of my life; I'll fight anyone who tries to pull me off!" Fatty babbled excitedly, his face covered in tears and snot.

This time, by huddling within the protection circle, he had barely managed to pass. He was originally just glad to have kept his life.

But when he looked up, he saw that his brother, with whom he usually ate at roadside stalls, had shattered the historical records for civilian students in Jiang City.

The surrounding civilian students' eyes turned red with envy as they stared at Fatty.

If they had known Lin Yuan was such a monster, they would have sucked up to him long ago.

Lin Yuan stood with his hands in his pockets, looked down at the "accessory" on his leg, and lifted his leg in disgust.

"Get off, you're getting snot on my pants."

Fatty didn't let go; instead, he hugged tighter, looking up with a wild laugh. "Wipe it! Wipe away! I'll buy all your pants from now on, Brother Yuan!"

Lin Yuan ignored him and scanned his surroundings.

The scions of noble families, who had once looked down on him, averted their gazes like they'd been electrocuted the moment they met his eyes, staring down at their toes.

Especially Zhao Tianze, who looked like he wanted to shove his head between his legs.

On the high platform.

General Raymond took a step forward, his military boots stepping onto the Amplification Array.

"The examination has concluded!"

His deep voice suppressed the noise of the crowd.

"The basic resource rewards for this assessment have been synchronized to your wrist terminals. The top ten will directly obtain the qualification for the Star-level sequence selection."

Raymond looked down, his gaze lingering on Lin Yuan for a second, whether intentionally or not.

"At the same time, the military is officially lifting the ban on investment channels on the virtual Star Net."

"Major conglomerates, top-tier academies, and guild powers can now individually contact the top one hundred candidates."

"The Abyss doesn't need waste from a greenhouse. Resources are earned with your lives. Go and take what you deserve."

As soon as the news of the channel's unbanning broke, the wrist terminals of many noble scions in the top hundred on the plaza began to vibrate.

The crowd began to surge.

All sorts of flattering and fawning voices surrounded Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan didn't respond to these hollow praises.

He pulled his leg out of Fatty's grasp, adjusted the collar of his faded school uniform, and turned to squeeze through the crowd.

Avoiding all the fervent gazes.

Half an hour later.

Jiang City Lower District, Slums.

The dilapidated rail train made a piercing screeching sound as it stopped at the rusted platform.

Lin Yuan stepped off the train.

He pushed open a peeling iron door in the alley.

On the table sat a plate of raw peanuts to go with wine and a chipped wine glass.

Old Lin was on the sofa, a towel in his hand, carefully wiping a cracked metal military dog tag.

Hearing the door open, Old Lin didn't look up.

"Finished the exam?" His voice was hoarse, smelling of cheap alcohol.

"Yeah." Lin Yuan walked to the table, casually grabbed two peanuts, tossed them into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Old Lin stopped what he was doing and tucked the dog tag back into his inner pocket.

He picked up the glass and took a sip.

"How was your result?"

"Not bad." Lin Yuan pulled out a broken wooden chair and sat down. "Didn't embarrass you."

Old Lin's fingers rubbed the rim of the glass a couple of times, and he nodded.

"As long as you're not dead. Go take a shower and wash off the smell of blood."

The conversation between father and son ended there.

No warm inquiries, no excited questioning.

Lin Yuan knew Old Lin's personality well.

This retired True God, who had once fought until his Godhead shattered on the Abyss's Seventh Defense Line, viewed life and death very lightly.

Back in his bedroom.

Lin Yuan locked the door, put on his helmet, and pressed the start button.

After a brief sensation of weightlessness.

Lin Yuan appeared in his personal virtual space.

As soon as he landed.

"Beep beep beep beep—"

The mailbox icon in the upper right corner flashed red, the number jumping directly from 0 to 999+.

All sorts of VIP invitations with spatial teleportation coordinates filled the mailbox like snowflakes.

Lin Yuan casually swiped through a few.

[Jiang City Zhao Clan Consortium Special Invitation: Student Lin Yuan, the Zhao family sincerely invites you to join us. Annual salary of 50 million, plus a villa in the city center.]

[Tianhui Guild Recruitment Letter: Come to Tianhui; a core Vice Chairman position is reserved for you.]

These were all private solicitations that only the top hundred were eligible to receive.

Lin Yuan remained expressionless.

He knew he had stolen the spotlight this time.

The Wasteland Swarm Style—low cost, high combat power—was an incredibly abnormal ecosystem.

In the eyes of those businessmen, it was a mobile gold mine.

He clicked on the gold-trimmed invitation at the very top.

Sender: Starsea Biotechnology.

Attached was the teleportation coordinate for a high-level private reception room.

Lin Yuan clicked teleport.

A white light flashed.

The environment quickly switched to an extremely luxurious holographic reception room.

A man in a sophisticated suit sat on the sofa, wearing an executive badge from the Starsea Consortium on his chest.

It was the same executive from the Starport platform earlier.

Seeing Lin Yuan appear, the executive stood up, his face brimming with a warm smile, and proactively extended his hands.

"Student Lin Yuan! It's an honor to meet you. I am Chen Mo, the Senior Recruiter for Starsea Biotechnology."

Lin Yuan didn't extend his hand, only nodding and sitting down on a single-seater sofa.

Chen Mo wasn't embarrassed either, naturally withdrawing his hand and sitting back down.

"Student Lin, I won't beat around the bush. Starsea Biotechnology values your potential—more specifically, we value your ability to deduce Wasteland mutant species."

Chen Mo snapped his fingers.

A holographic contract glowing with a faint golden light floated in front of Lin Yuan.

"This is the highest-tier S-class signing contract that Starsea can offer."

Chen Mo leaned forward, his tone full of temptation: "Just sign your name. An annual non-contingent base salary of one hundred million, and Jiang City's top-tier S-class resource allocation."

He pointed at the clauses in the contract, spittle flying.

"Not only that, Starsea will guarantee your admission to the Federation's First Academy, and you'll enter Starsea's core laboratory directly after graduation."

"Whatever kind of women you want, whatever kind of high-level Godhead fragments—Starsea covers it all."

Chen Mo leaned back against the sofa, crossing his hands with an air of absolute confidence.

He knew these geniuses who climbed out of the Slums too well.

One hundred million faith points was an astronomical figure enough to shatter their worldview.

Lin Yuan looked at the holographic contract before him.

He didn't rush to answer, instead extending a finger.

He swiped in mid-air, dragging the contract directly to the additional clauses section at the bottom.

The font was very small.

Lin Yuan scanned it line by line.

[Additional Clause 1: After graduating from university, the signatory must serve Starsea Biotechnology unconditionally for fifty years. During this period, they may not accept any military orders.]

[Additional Clause 2: All mutant species data, genetic maps, and ecological deduction equations generated within the signatory's God Domain must be fully submitted to the Starsea master database. The signatory loses the independent naming and trading rights for said species.]

[Additional Clause 3: Starsea has the right to intervene in the adjustment of the signatory's God Domain laws at necessary moments.]