Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

At ten in the morning, the gates of Yunxiao Hall on Fallen Demon Street opened punctually, starting business. However, during the day, the business at Yunxiao Hall was rather deserted; it was at night that Yunxiao Hall really came alive.

Security guards in silver-gray uniforms stood in two neat rows at the entrance of the building, resembling two rows of wooden sculptures.

Squeak—

A flashy black X9 off-road vehicle stopped abruptly yet steadily in front of Yunxiao Hall’s building entrance, drawing little attention. After all, Fallen Demon Street was indeed quite quiet at this time.

Three men stepped down from the car, all wearing leather coats.

Though all in black leather coats, the tall man in the lead wore it with the domineering aura of a royal cape; the man on the left wore it with a flamboyant charm, while the middle-aged man on the right looked mismatched, like an old doctor forced to wear trendy fashion.

Handing the car keys to Ying Ziyao, Huo Wen’an said: ”Doctor Ying, please wait for us in the car.”

Ying Ziyao took the car keys, nodded heavily.

He got into the car, sitting in the driver’s seat Huo Wen’an had previously occupied. The thought of long guns and large artillery hidden under his seat made him feel uneasy.

Watching Huo Wen’an and Zheng Qin walk into Yunxiao Hall, Ying Ziyao shivered as he started the car, driving the weapon-laden vehicle to the nearby parking spot.

Those were truly the longest few minutes in Ying Ziyao’s life.

Zheng Qin followed behind Huo Wen’an like a curious child, not knowing what Huo Wen’an had come to do here, with betting and whoring as the worst possibilities.

Betting was out of the question, lacked capital.

Whoring was even less likely, their Lady Captain had rooted deeply in their hearts, leaving no room for other women.

Zheng Qin let his thoughts run wild as he followed Huo Wen’an to a reception hall on the east side of the first floor.

Inside the reception hall, humanoid robots designed with intelligent technology were organizing the work records from the previous day. As the two entered, all the robots paused their work unanimously, bowing to greet them: ”Welcome, guests.”

Zheng Qin stared at the robots, who appeared human-like, feeling a chilling discomfort.

Robots being intelligent is good, but being both smart and human-like is somewhat terrifying.

Huo Wen’an walked past the robots, arriving at an unmanned counter, tapping his right index finger on the tabletop.

Soon, someone approached the counter.

A middle-aged lady in a silver office dress, with golden hair neatly tied behind her head, exuding a stern aura, almost seemed to have ’I am from the Eastern Alliance’ written across her forehead.

”Hello, guest.” The lady asked Huo Wen’an: ”What business would you like to conduct?”

”I want two entrance tickets to Hell Palace.”

The middle-aged lady maintained a standard yet mechanical smile, telling Huo Wen’an: ”Two entrance tickets to Hell Palace, priced at 200,000 silver coins.”

The middle-aged lady picked up the payment machine on the counter, preparing to enter the amount when Huo Wen’an asked: ”How much to sell a toy?”

”Limited edition toy.” Huo Wen’an added.

The middle-aged lady was somewhat surprised at his words; she looked up at Huo Wen’an for a while, then glanced over his shoulder at Zheng Qin.

”Are you selling him?” She stared at Zheng Qin.

Zheng Qin stood quietly beside Huo Wen’an, displaying complete trust in Huo Wen’an.

He wasn’t afraid of Huo Wen’an selling him.

If the Pilot could sell him, it meant he had that value.

The middle-aged lady probably thought Zheng Qin didn’t look like a fighter; she straightforwardly told Huo Wen’an: ”He doesn’t seem useful, even as a limited edition, he’s not very valuable.”

Zheng Qin: ?

Is it a person?

”You’ve misunderstood.” Huo Wen’an shook his head, calmly saying: ”It’s myself.”

This left Zheng Qin and the middle-aged lady both stunned.

”You want to sell yourself?” The middle-aged woman looked at Huo Wen’an for a good while before cautiously reminding him: ”Once sold, enter the Toy Pool, life and death won’t be questioned. Unless you become the king in the Toy Pool, earning a chance to challenge the administrator.”

She added: ”Only by successfully defeating the administrator can the toy king leave the Toy Pool, are you sure you want to sell yourself?”

No one knew the rules inside the Toy Pool better than Huo Wen’an, given he had lived there for three years.

”Name a price.” Huo Wen’an was impatient.

Seeing Huo Wen’an’s determination, the middle-aged woman couldn’t hide her joy, saying: ”Please show me your identification.”

”Don’t have such a thing.” Huo Wen’an said: ”I’m undocumented.”

The middle-aged woman, unfazed, simply said: ”The copyright fee for undocumented individuals is lower than legal citizens.”

Huo Wen’an nodded, indicating understanding.

The middle-aged lady opened the small door beside, leading Huo Wen’an to a measuring device.

It was a superpower measurement machine, capable of assessing everyone’s potential.

The middle-aged lady used her work badge to start the device, opening the humanoid instrument over two meters high, gesturing for Huo Wen’an to step in.

Once Huo Wen’an stepped in, the door closed tightly, and various measuring lights swept over him back and forth.

Soon, the middle-aged lady obtained Huo Wen’an’s test report.

Physical fitness: 78 points.

Blood purity: 99.999

Mental resistance: 99.99

Superpower detection level: 0

The middle-aged woman finished reading the report, her expression somewhat peculiar. She had been working here for over forty years and had encountered many men with physical qualities approaching one hundred, most of whom possessed superpowers.

But their blood purity and mental resistance levels fluctuated greatly.

This was the first time she encountered a tester with physical qualities like a weakling but blood purity and mental resistance scores near perfect.

More absurdly, the other party’s two middle data points were nearly perfect, yet the superpower detection level was 0.

Such a situation was unprecedented.

However, a superpower detection level of 0 indicated the person was not a Super Power User.

The middle-aged woman opened the instrument bay door and told Huo Wen’an, ”You are not a Super Power User.”

Maintaining a serious and responsible work attitude, she explained to Huo Wen’an in detail, ”You’re undocumented and not a Super Power User, so even if you want to sell your absolute copyright, we would only pay you up to 1 million silver coins.”

This was a very normal price.

Huo Wen’an said expressionlessly, ”1.5 million silver coins.”

The middle-aged woman wasn’t encountering someone haggling with them for the first time, but those people had some merits. She asked Huo Wen’an, ”What’s your confidence?”

”Isn’t my face the confidence that raises my stakes?”

”...”

The middle-aged woman looked at Huo Wen’an’s face, unable to refute.

Yes, Huo Wen’an was good-looking, and in the Divine Martial Realm where appearances were generally average, a ’Combat Doll’ like Huo Wen’an would more likely stir players’ protective instincts, competitiveness, and hidden malice.

Some hoped Huo Wen’an would win, while others hoped he would be mercilessly ravaged.

His face was indeed a bonus.

”Deal.”

Zheng Qin watched as the Pilot, with hardly any effort, used his face to earn an additional 500,000 silver coins. For the first time, he realized that being good-looking was genuinely useful.

Under the staff’s guidance, Huo Wen’an filled out an identity information form. The staff recorded all his information into the contract template and paused when writing the bank account information, asking Huo Wen’an, ”Who should receive your sale proceeds?”

”All my copyright fees should go to my brother.” Huo Wen’an patted Zheng Qin’s shoulder, ”Fill in his account.”

Zheng Qin was a bit stunned, provoked by Huo Wen’an calling him ’brother.’

The staff handed Huo Wen’an a contract for selling the absolute version of a toy, ”Signing now, the money will arrive in ten minutes, and you’ll be thrown into the Toy Pool.”

”You have ten minutes to entrust affairs to your brother.” Throughout history, there was no precedent for a toy doll entering the Toy Pool and coming out alive.

The middle-aged woman also believed Huo Wen’an had no return, so she allowed him to entrust affairs.

Upon hearing these words, Zheng Qin’s brow twitched, his temper flared, wanting to hit someone.

Seeing Huo Wen’an sign the contract without hesitation, Zheng Qin exclaimed, ”Pilot, you really sold yourself to the Toy Pool? Why?”

They spoke the Divine Xia language, which the middle-aged woman couldn’t understand.

Huo Wen’an didn’t deliberately lower his voice, advising Zheng Qin, ”The night after tomorrow, bring Doctor Ying to Hell Palace to watch the Combat Doll competition. Remember to bet all the remaining balance in the account on me.”

Pausing, he added, ”Bet as much as possible.”

Reflecting, Huo Wen’an suggested, ”You can call Lady Captain to borrow money and have her earn together with you.”

Zheng Qin understood Huo Wen’an’s intentions.

He planned to go to the Toy Pool to challenge!

Zheng Qin’s blood boiled, quickly calming down with his eyes filled with worry. ”Is the Toy Pool the place where you and Xiao Qiao were kept?”

”Yes.”

Zheng Qin’s expression changed slightly, ”It’s definitely dangerous there, Pilot, you’re taking a great risk! If it’s about making money, we could find another way.”

At worst, inherit the Old Helmsman’s mantle and become a pirate.

”Trust me.” With only two words, Huo Wen’an successfully silenced Zheng Qin’s chatter.

Seven minutes later, Zheng Qin’s personal account received a remittance of 1.5 million silver coins.

The staff opened the transparent protective cover in the upper right corner of the desktop and pressed the green button. Immediately, five or six Super Power Users in combat attire approached.

Huo Wen’an took off the cylindrical bag from his shoulder and handed it to Zheng Qin.

Zheng Qin clenched his fists tightly, unwilling to accept.

Huo Wen’an then hung the cylindrical bag around Zheng Qin’s neck, leaning the cane against Zheng Qin’s chest. ”Doctor Ying is a scholar, don’t always scare him, after all, he is my elder.”

Zheng Qin’s eyes reddened.

The Super Power Users approached, attempting to reach out to hold Huo Wen’an’s arm, but a single look from Huo Wen’an filled them with a scalp-prickling fear.

”I’ll go myself.” Huo Wen’an, like their leader, walked at the forefront, cooperating thoroughly.

The few Super Power Users exchanged glances, none daring to take the initiative to grab Huo Wen’an, only cautiously following his steps.