Meng Xing's eyes gleamed, unable to hide the thrill pulsing through him.
Just imagining the future might of the Hunter Guild made his blood surge.
Ambition roared to life—wild, untamed—like weeds exploding skyward under a summer gust.
But ambition alone couldn't solve his most immediate problem.
How to take the first step?
Beginnings were always the hardest.
Zero to one was a chasm.
One to ten? Child's play afterwards.
For now, he had to lay low.
Recklessness would get him killed—there were still way too many top-tier Awakened walking this world.
His tentative solution was simple:
Make the first Hunter Guild completely virtual.
Operate entirely online.
Sell the first Devil Fruit online to raise capital—because if you wanted to build a massive organization, you needed one thing above all else:
Money.
But the moment he thought of selling something so outrageous online…
a headache throbbed.
The internet never forgot.
And online "justice warriors" were the most terrifying existence—nosy, persistent, obsessive.
If the truth were discovered, forget building a guild—he'd be doomed.
Meng Xing narrowed his eyes.
"If only I had… a top-tier hacker."
Beside him, Huang Jie—who had stayed respectfully silent until now—trembled and spoke in a tiny voice:
"Brother Xing… you need a hacker?"
Meng Xing glanced sideways at him, a spark of hope flickering in his gaze.
"You know a hacker?"
In the Old District, even having a computer was rare.
Having skills? That was practically a fantasy.
Huang Jie swallowed hard.
"Brother Xing… you didn't know?
Su Manman awakened with an S-rank Hacker Talent."
Meng Xing stared.
"Su Manman?
Hacker talent?
Are you joking?"
After the monster crisis, the world's digital systems had collapsed.
Computers were nearly forgotten relics.
Anyone with hacker skills was treasured—far more than a farmer like him.
If Su Manman truly had S-rank talent, she would've left the Old District long ago.
Huang Jie quickly waved his hands.
"Normally, she could find a good job!
But Brother Xing, you know… Su Manman's got no background.
And her looks…"
Meng Xing instantly understood.
Tech companies were coveted havens.
Without background, connections, or… appearance… one couldn't even step through the door.
The world was unfair—even this one.
Many talented women were overlooked simply because they weren't pretty.
Meng Xing exhaled.
If that was the case…
He must bring this S-rank hacker into his camp.
He turned to Huang Jie.
"Didn't you bring a laptop to school for gaming?
Bring it tomorrow night."
Huang Jie didn't dare refuse.
He left Meng Xing's yard bowing like he'd been granted amnesty.
The Next Morning
Meng Xing arrived early at the agricultural store, quietly observing Su Manman's routine.
She was going to be a crucial early member of the Bounty Hunter Guild—he needed to know her well.
Soon he discovered the truth:
Su Manman didn't have just one job.
She had three.
No, maybe four.
Morning: agricultural store.
Afternoon: restaurant kitchen in the New District.
Evening:
She stuffed down several buns while cycling to a shopping mall, where she changed into a giant bear mascot suit.
Under the blazing summer sun.
She danced and waved and handed out flyers, dripping sweat inside the suffocating costume.
When her shift ended, she removed the mascot head—her face was flushed crimson, hair soaked like she'd come out of the shower.
A mall manager walked over, handing her fifty yuan.
Su Manman beamed, bowing repeatedly.
Then she changed back into her clothes and rushed off to yet another restaurant job.
Meng Xing's brows knit tightly.
Working in that heat… and fifty yuan made her that happy?
How little were her other jobs paying?
This was the Old District's reality.
A ditch separated their world from the New District, yet the gap was a chasm.
Residents from the Old District had no bargaining power.
Bosses knew they were desperate.
Wages stayed miserably low because there were always more people struggling to survive.
No wonder the Old District was called a slum.
Nightfall
After finishing all her work, Su Manman squatted by the roadside, resting half an hour in the evening breeze.
Only after her breathing steadied did she get back on her bicycle, heading toward the Old District.
Just as she was about to cross the ditch—
Three punks with neon-dyed hair blocked her path, cigarettes dangling from their lips, slip-on shoes tapping the ground.
"Oi, fat pig. What a coincidence."
"We're out of internet money. Be smart. Give each of us twenty for an overnight session."
Su Manman clutched her pocket, voice trembling.
"I… I don't have that much."
Her voice was surprisingly soft and pleasant—completely at odds with her appearance.
But her tone stirred no pity.
One thug snorted, took a drag, and slapped her hard.
"You Old District rats really don't know shame.
Without us New District folks giving you scraps, you'd be sleeping in the ditch."
"What I want isn't your money—
it's the money you earned from our New District."
Stunned, Su Manman wiped her tears.
The thug didn't care.
He reached directly into her pocket and yanked out the eighty yuan.
He grinned.
"See? Should've handed it over earlier. Look, you even get to keep twenty."
He signaled his buddies—they turned toward the New District's internet café.
But then—
They froze.
A lone, slender figure stood blocking their path.
The streetlight stretched his shadow long.
"Return the money."
Meng Xing's voice was calm. Too calm.
Su Manman blinked through tears.
"…Meng Xing?
Why are you here?"
The punks burst into laughter.
"Thought it was someone impressive.
Just another Old District loser!"
"Saving the damsel? Your tastes are heavy, dude."
Su Manman quickly shook her head.
"I'm fine, Meng Xing. Don't fight them. I… I don't need the money."
But Meng Xing didn't move.
The punks scowled and surrounded him.
The first one lunged—
—and stopped dead.
Because he saw it.
A blue flame curled around Meng Xing's hand.
With a light tap of his finger on the punk's forehead—
FWOOM.
The blue light surged, engulfing the thug's entire body.
He didn't even scream.
He simply turned to ash.
Instantly.