Wang Goudan also felt quite emotional about Tao Yu.


    At first, he thought Tao Yu was just a kid who had recentlye from the outer city, nice to look at and possibly talented, so he lent a hand without much thought.


    But who would have imagined that he was a strong dragon crossing the river!


    It seemed usible that someone from the newly developed outer city could umte enough points to be a mid-level partner due to their talent.


    After all, the new development zone had many opportunities, high task rewards, and heavy points weight.


    Theoretically, with a bit of luck, one could also stand a chance to meet the standard.


    However, the way Tao Yu breezed through the three tasks hadpletely refreshed his cognition.


    Fierce! Way too fierce!


    The way he handled the Myriad Streams Five Forms fighting style seemed at least above lv5!


    As for strength, he was extraordinarily exceptional, seemingly having passed the most awkward stage of the early training journey.


    For him to reach this level, he must have encountered some fortunate event, and surely gained the favor of a big shot!


    Both elements were crucial and he would surely soar to great heights and secure his position in the Inner City.


    "Today, Goudan I''ve also taken advantage of you. I was prepared to negotiate down to about two thousand Yuan Force toplete it, and I estimated that would take haggling for a day or two. Who knew I could get a full payment in one go,"


    After finishing the wrap-up of the task, Wang Goudan''s face showed a hint of emotion.


    Although he was a mid-level partner with respectable abilities, earning four thousand Yuan Force in one day was still considered a very good day''s work.


    So he was more than willing to help Tao Yu familiarize with the process andplete some trivial matters, feeling overall that he still made more than expected today.


    "Not at all, Brother Goudan helped me a lot today too. Otherwise, I would really be in the dark here."


    Tao Yu leaned on the nearby phone booth and smiled.


    If he wanted to be stingy, he could have deducted some Yuan Force from Wang Goudan''s four thousand ie with no issue, but Tao Yu felt there was no need to be so heartless.


    "Haha, if it weren''t for me it would have just taken a little more time to understand everything. At worst, I would''ve spent a hundred or so Yuan Force to gather some information. Strength is the strongest pass,"


    "But you still have to remember, brother, it''s fine for these three tasks, but you can''t use the same approach if there''s more toe in the future."


    Wang Goudan once again reminded Tao Yu.


    "I understand."


    Tao Yu nced at the sky. The three tasks had only taken up half of the day, and at noon, both of them had made do with some dry food for a meal.


    "Goudan brother, are you free tonight? Where should we eat? It''s my treat."


    An unexpected fortune of tens of thousands of Yuan Force for a day''s work wasn''t something Tao Yu nned to be stingy with.


    Ever since he had crossed over to this world, to be honest, he hadn''t had a decent meal yet.


    Since entering the Abyss, he had been living off beef cans, and now that it was his first time in the Inner City, he not only wanted to get a glimpse of the world but also felt that Wang Goudan was someone worth getting in touch with.


    In this world, there was no Baidu, no Google, and no GPT. The transmission of messages wasn''t something you could easily search for or learn about by scrolling through short videos. Outside the city, it all depended on shouting, and even in the city, telephones weren''t widespread.


    The standard inte bandwidth was even worse than dial-up, and only ces like the task hall had more convenient information transmission.


    Tao Yu wasn''t alone; he had family concerns. Like Uncle Hu''s situation that arose, and his older sister''s ''ustomed'' job, problems weren''t just solved with brute force and fighting.


    He wasn''t nning on getting entangled inplicated interpersonal rtionships, but some guys with seemingly good characters were worthmunicating with more.


    You never know when they might remind you of something or pass on a piece of information.


    Just as the head of Wanliu Dojo casually informed him of the trouble Uncle Hu was facing.


    From today''s interaction, when Tao Yu had only shown a certain level of talent, Wang Goudan was willing to offer help. Inviting him for a meal seemed like the natural thing to do.


    Having just acquired over thirty thousand Yuan Force, plus the Yuan Force about to be settled from the tasks, with an ie of fifty thousand in a day, spending a few hundred or even a thousand was not uneptable.


    "Haha, of course I''lle if someone''s treating. There have been a few ces I''ve wanted to try for a long time, but never had the chance. Today, I''ll be depending on you, brother,"


    Wang Goudan was also interested in forming a closer rtionship, and knowing what the other had earned that day, he wouldn''t stand on ceremony.


    If it were him with such earnings, not to mention eating out, he''d go for the whole nine yards.


    Unlike the outer city, the ie of Inner City Pioneers, especially frencing mid-level partners like him, was already pursuing more enjoyment.


    The pressure of the Abyss was there, and when one''s self-improvement entered a stable phase or even a diminishing returns phase, enjoying life timely was amon phenomenon.


    "Great, you can lead the way then. But I''ve got to check on my sister first. If she hasn''t finished work, I''ll need to help out. Any good ces in District 8?"


    "District 8 is considered a nearby recreational area. It''s full of entertainment venues and restaurants. Let''s go. Has your sister also moved to the city? What does she do?"


    Wang Goudan casually asked.


    "Outer city work card, a cleaner."


    Wang Goudan was genuinely taken aback by Tao Yu''s words, having never expected that the young talent, who could definitely be considered an expert among mid-level partners and firmly rooted in the Inner City, would have a sister working in such a job!


    He then remembered Tao Yu''s age and the time that had passed in the new development zone.


    That such a level of strength was achieved in such a short time and his surroundings couldn''t keep up was only natural.


    But...


    This was also an opportunity for him!


    Wang Goudan''s eyes gleamed slightly.


    He himself was quite talented and his strength in the Inner City was considerable. His status as a mid-level partner had allowed him to stand firm, outdoing his own father.


    He also knew thatpared to the real upper echelons of the Inner City, he was at an absolute disadvantage in both talent and heritage, with a gulf that seemed insurmountable.


    Having entered a phase of steady improvement in strength, although he had not yet reached the diminishing returns phase, and while his investment in Yuan Force was still yielding steady gains,


    But he could already vaguely see his own ceiling, and under normal circumstances, he feared he had no chance of touching the realm of high-level partners.


    Even if he were lucky enough to umte the points, he wouldn''t be able to pass the assessment!


    Lacking more cutting-edge modification channels and higher-level skill channels, he had an invisible ceiling above him.


    Eventually, even if he earned more Yuan Force, it would only serve to maintain his strength, he might as well stay on the fringe and hang on with the most cost-effective means of Yuan Force maintenance, and then, like other Inner City Pioneers who had reached their limits, enjoy life…


    But now, a new opportunity had appeared.


    At this moment, in Wang Goudan''s eyes, Tao Yu''s figure had be somewhat different, as if it was radiating a brilliant light.


    If it were him, he could definitely do it!


    If he could secure an upper-level channel for himself, he wouldn''t have to worry about being ripped off when saving enough Yuan Force for an upgrade and transformation.


    He had found new hope for breaking through the ceiling...


    …


    In the eighth district, a leisurely street in the southern area of the Inner City, was a ce where the consumption level was quite decent.


    The quality of various entertainment venues was above average, and so was the cost.


    For this reason, there were enough service personnel at the various entertainment venues, restaurants, and casinos, who would take care of the cleanliness around their entrances on a regr day.


    The main work of the cleaners from the Outer City was to transport trash, which was rtively easypared to some dirty and disordered streets.


    Tao Lan was dressed in a yellow maternity-specific work uniform, with her little baby in the specially made infant pouch at the front.


    She herself wore a face mask and hood, carefully steering a garbage transport vehicle through the alleys.


    Her work uniform had a special maternitybel on it. While it was a kind of care for the workforce during pregnancy and nursing periods, it wasn''t infallible.


    There were many mentally unstable lunatics in the Inner City, and because they had more disposable money, the ''happiness'' overflow was even worse than in the Outer City.


    So she had to be wary of the vacant-looking figures lying in corners.


    To the Inner City folks, bullying workers from the Outer City was kind of embarrassing, the discrimination was severe, but fortunately, those who bullied for fun were few.


    However, those corner dwellers, possibly mentally unstable, were not included in this, as most injuries or deaths of Outer City workers were caused by them.


    "Phew, thankfully Uncle San got me this spot today, it''s less exhausting," she sighed.


    After driving all day and continuously emptying trash cans and transporting the waste to designated spots, a tired Tao Lan had sweat stains on her forehead.


    The weakness after childbirth made her palms sweaty as she gripped the lever.


    "I wonder how Yu is doing, with Grade A talent; I hope he grows up fast."


    In Tao Lan''s heart, there was also a glimmer of hope that if her brother could make a name for himself, she too could benefit.


    She didn''t need special support; sometimes, taking advantage of a name could save a lot of trouble.


    But it was still too early for that – even the strongest talent needed time to mature.


    "Hey, trashdy, there''s some more here, clean it up well," a voice called from ahead.


    The alley where Tao Lan was located was indeed the ''back door'' to many shops, and the door to one of them opened, revealing a service worker with colorful hair who waved impatiently at Tao Lan.


    "Oh, sure, I''m sorry," Tao Lan replied submissively, and the service worker''s expression softened slightly upon seeing her maternitybel and the baby pouch in front of her.


    Thepany always emphasized the protection of infants.


    Other workers from the Outer City might endure oppression and even torture without thepany caring, but mistreating pregnant or nursing workers would bring the security team down on them.


    "That''s fine, just be more careful next time," the service worker said, nodding after watching Tao Lan get out of the vehicle and efficiently clean the trash can with her tools, not saying anything further.


    But just then, two figures walked from the main street into the alley behind the kitchen, immediately catching the attention of Tao Lan and the service worker.


    The area was deserted andcked surveince, asionally bing a spot for criminals and gang members to trade contraband.


    For the two people who were both at the bottom of society, the obvious choice was to avoid them if possible.


    The service worker pulled on Tao Lan''s arm, suggesting they hide in the kitchen if things seemed off.


    "Sis, I had to circle this area almostpletely to find you," Tao Yu said as he saw Tao Lan in her work uniform with a mask on, holding cleaning tools, and with a baby pouch at her front, feeling a tinge of sadness in his heart.


    "How much is left? I''ll help you finish up, and then we can eat something in this shop."


    The service worker who had arranged for Tao Lan to work chuckled internally at Tao Yu''s words.


    Eat something in this shop? Could the meager earnings from a whole day''s hard work afford even the cheapest dish for one person?


    But he didn''tugh out loud, not because of high standards, but because he saw the four mechanical arms of Wang Goudan beside Tao Yu.


    Not to mention the quality of the mechanical arms, just the number indicated that the other wasn''t from the bottom ranks.


    Definitely higher than himself! To eat here regrly might be a stretch, but an asional meal was certainly feasible.


    This made him nce back at Tao Lan curiously, reminding himself not to underestimate others.


    Who would have thought that a cleaner from the Outer City could connect with such a character? He would have to be careful with his attitude in the future...