I have an Apocalypse City

Ge Xiaojia had originally thought that the gold bracelet pawned from Song Jian was just an ordinary pair, but after taking a closer look upon retrieving it, she realized this was not the case.

The gold bracelets on the market now are almost all machine-carved, but Ge Xiaojia discovered that the pair she held was handcrafted, and the details revealed that they were the work of a master level sculptor.

The gold bracelet featured two carps, lifelike to the point that even the scales were painstakingly carved, some slightly ajar and others tightly closed, giving the fish a vibrant appearance, as if they were flicking their tails in the water. Especially the eyes of the carps—so exquisitely done they seemed to watch you from every angle—evidenced a skill beyond the reach of ordinary craftsmen.

If there was one word to describe the craftsmanship of the bracelet, it could only be "divinely inspired."

"Such a gold bracelet, no, such a work of art, is worth at least three hundred thousand!" This was Ge Xiaojia's most conservative estimate.

While the material is what people usually focus on with ordinary gold bracelets, the selling point of this pair was all in the craftsmanship.

Seeing Song Jian, Ge Xiaojia felt an inexplicable panic within her heart. Clearly, Song Jian had no idea of the bracelet's true value, and while she wanted to tell him, she didn't know how to begin.

"Would speaking out abruptly cause him to have a bad opinion of me, thinking that I was previously trying to take advantage of him?" Ge Xiaojia furrowed her brow, "Forget it, I'll wait until he's gathered enough money and wants to redeem it. Then I'll tell him the truth."

...

Unaware of landlord Ge Xiaojia's dilemma, Song Jian wouldn't have cared even if he knew. To him, this bracelet was insignificant compared to the other two pieces of jewelry in his parcel; he wouldn't be heartbroken even if he gave it to Ge Xiaojia for free. As far as Song Jian was concerned, money had become the least useful thing to him now.

After casually eating a couple of fried dough sticks and a bowl of tofu pudding on the street, Song Jian hesitated a moment before deciding to take a taxi to the company.

"This job no longer has any meaning for me now; I should focus on increasing my strength!" Song Jian inwardly declared.

Indeed, training in the real world had proven to improve his abilities in the game. Song Jian was now in dire need of mastering various cold weapons, and even firearms.

While access to firearms was still somewhat out of reach, the Black Panther Gym could fully satisfy his needs for cold weapons.

At the company, Song Jian saw Zhao Yu leaning on the lobby's front desk, chatting and laughing with a receptionist. Zhao Yu seemed to be telling a joke, eliciting giggles from the amused receptionist whose face turned a shade of red, tinged with shyness.

Zhao Yu didn't notice Song Jian and he didn't bother to greet her, heading straight to the company's nineteenth floor, the Human Resources department.

"Zhao sister!" As Song Jian pushed the door to Human Resources open and peered inside, his eyes brightened.

Zhao Yuzhi was wearing a beige suit, poised and graceful with an ever amiable smile, reminiscent of a caring elder sister.

Song Jian recalled Zhao Yuzhi was the examiner during his interview. He vividly remembered almost knocking over a glass of water because of his nerves and how Zhao Yuzhi comforted him with her soft tone, telling him not to be nervous.

"Little Jian, what brings you here?" Zhao Yuzhi looked up, saw Song Jian, and her lips curved slightly upward. Every time she called him "Little Jian," she couldn't help but feel like she was calling him "Little Cheap," and a laugh almost always threatened to escape.

"Zhao sister, I've come to process my resignation," Song Jian said, somewhat shyly.

"Resigning?" Zhao Yuzhi frowned slightly. She had a good impression of Song Jian—who was fresh out of school, untainted by society's vices, hardworking, and willing to endure hardship. There weren't many young people like him around anymore.

"Little Jian, your probation period is about to end, and with your performance, I'm sure you could become a formal member of the company. Why resign now?" Zhao Yuzhi said, her brows furrowing.

"Zhao sister, my family's property was demolished for redevelopment, we were compensated thirty million, and we got six apartments..." Song Jian didn't continue, instead he gave Zhao Yuzhi a "you know what I mean" look.

"Demolition, thirty million, six apartments..." These three phrases immediately stifled any words of persuasion Zhao Yuzhi might have had for Song Jian.

"Here is the resignation form, please fill it out," Zhao Yuzhi fell silent for a moment, then pulled out a form from the file rack and handed it to Song Jian.

"Thank you so much, Sister Zhao!" Song Jian said with a smile;

...

Quitting during the probation period was very simple, and within fifteen minutes, Song Jian left the company feeling light and free;

No sooner had he left the company than Song Jian immediately hailed a taxi to Black Panther Gym;

Early in the morning, there were very few people at Black Panther Gym, just a handful, and upon seeing Song Jian come in, Sun Qian immediately greeted him;

"Good morning, Mr. Song, Coach Wang Dan has been waiting for you in the classroom," Sun Qian said with a smile;

"So early?" Song Jian was somewhat surprised; he had scheduled his class for eight o'clock, and now it was still more than half an hour away. He thought he had arrived early, but he hadn't expected the coach to be even earlier than him!

Upon entering yesterday's classroom, Song Jian saw that, in the center of the room, there was a humanoid mannequin, and Coach Wang Dan was wielding a dagger, using it as a target, continuously striking it;

Bang bang bang—

The consecutive sounds of stabbing were incessant, and the dagger in Wang Dan's hands seemed alive, repeatedly hitting vital spots like the mannequin's throat, eyes, forehead;

"How fast!" Song Jian was a bit amazed. Wang Dan was spinning around the mannequin incessantly, left, right, side, under the rib, moving agilely without a hint of delay, and it looked almost like a dance;

Swoosh—

Wang Dan's figure dipped suddenly, rushing forward from the mannequin's left rib, the dagger in his hand slicing along the waistline of the mannequin, and after lunging forward three or four meters, he abruptly stopped, twisted his body, and the dagger in his hand drew a beautiful arc, like a shooting star, fiercely stabbing into the back of the mannequin's head;

"Swallow Returning with Glance!" Watching Coach Wang Dan's move, Song Jian inexplicably had such a phrase come to mind;

Seeing Coach Wang Dan stop practicing, Song Jian pushed the door open and entered;

"Coach, I'm here!"

Wang Dan grabbed a towel hanging on the wall, wiped off his sweat, tossed the towel aside, and nodded at Song Jian: "Not bad, you're quite early."

To be commended for being early by someone who had arrived before him made Song Jian feel a bit embarrassed;

"Alright, do you remember the moves I taught you yesterday? Give them a try!" Wang Dan said, pointing to the mannequin;

Song Jian nodded, walked to the equipment rack on the wall, and took out a practice dagger. He weighed it in his right hand and casually swung it a couple of times, feeling a familiar sensation rushing to his heart;

Holding the dagger, Song Jian walked to a spot one or two meters in front of the mannequin and looked back at Wang Dan.

At that moment, Wang Dan was drinking water from a cup and, seeing Song Jian look over, nodded slightly, signaling for him to begin;

Song Jian stepped forward fiercely, his dagger like the fangs of a wild beast, thrusting towards the chest of the mannequin;

Whoo—

The sharp sound of cutting through the air accompanied Song Jian's full-force strike, echoing through the entire classroom;