Due to an enemy attack, the negotiation between Bentley and the Mountain Master had to be temporarily halted.

The final agreement roughly stated that Bentley would receive forty-one thousand silver coins, and the matter would be settled.

The Mountain Master felt frustrated by these terms, but had no way to object.

In the end, he could only smile bitterly and say, "Could you at least tell others that... you gave me some face and settled the issue?"

Although he was low-key, he was truly a man of the scene—essentially, he had to ensure that Celestial Craftsmanship didn't know the details, right?

Bentley regarded him with a look meant for fools, "You want face, and we don't?"

"Then you tell me," the Mountain Master simply lay down flat, "what other demands do you have?"

Just as Bentley was about to speak, commotion erupted outside; the Fallen troops were attacking Houjing.

So he left one last sentence, "I don't want silver coins, I want cultivation resources."

Watching him leave in a hurry, the Mountain Master furrowed his brows and quietly muttered, "Cultivation resources..."

This time, over three thousand Fallen attacked Houjing.

Unlike the Fallen from the Hong District, the Fallen from the Celestial District were highly organized and of considerable scale.

This was because the conditions in the Celestial District were too good, and the Fallen mingled among the people, needing to band together when they attacked.

Moreover, their gear was excellent; over three thousand Fallen had more than a dozen mechas.

But in front of the giant that is Houjing, this force was still insufficient.

The Defense Team and City Guard were mobilized together with other adventurers who volunteered to help, eliminating this group of Fallen within a day.

An estimated hundred or so Fallen managed to escape, scattered and fleeing.

The management of Houjing was incensed; this was the first time in decades that the Fallen had attacked the Four Capitals and One City.

Do they think Houjing is easy to bully? Those runaway Fallen must be captured!

A large number of City Guards, Defense Teams, and volunteers were dispatched, conducting a carpet search across the entire Houjing area.

In terms of Bentley and Qu Jianlei's strength, they were definitely qualified to be volunteers, but neither participated in the battle or the search.

Qu Jianlei was somewhat inclined to go—he had previously been captured by the Fallen and was rescued by another adventurer.

But Bentley asserted that there were too many people in Houjing qualified to participate, and the two of them were newcomers.

Newcomers participating in such battles would definitely encounter trouble; collaboration couldn't be efficient, and there was a risk of exposing their abilities.

On the night the battle ended, the City Guards checked their residence.

The next noon, a wave of Defense Team came for another inspection.

After two inspections, Qu Jianlei and the Flower Scorpion were completely exposed to everyone, unable to hide.

However, neither the City Guards nor Defense Team showed any hostility towards him; the reason goes without saying...

People were genuinely curious about his appearance and couldn't help but ask, "How old are you to have such strong repair skills?"

Then someone immediately pulled this person back, stopping him from asking further.

—Regardless of his youth, he's at least Modified Warrior Level, not someone you can casually offend.

Qu Jianlei's residence was exposed, yet not many actively approached him for repairs.

An individual who thought he was quite adept requested repairs but was blocked by the Flower Scorpion—such matters should be directed to Terry.

This person didn't dare to persist and left promptly.

Two days later, Qu Jianlei's residence was subjected to a third check, this time a joint inspection.

Leading the group was none other than the chief of the Defense Team, Starr!

Starr's attitude was pleasant, but he still asked, "With your strength, why didn't you help eliminate the Fallen?"

Qu Jianlei answered very directly, "Outside the repair industry, I'm purely a newcomer, which isn't conducive to mutual trust and collaboration."

Starr nodded in agreement with this answer, "During the battle, some mechas were damaged, can you help take a look?"

"No problem," Qu Jianlei replied straightforwardly, "A symbolic travel fee will do... just to do my bit."

Indeed, regarding the Fallen, there should be such awareness.

Starr asked with interest, "Still ask for a travel fee?"

"It's respect for knowledge," Qu Jianlei simply stated—it couldn't be helped, he was dead set in his reasoning.

Starr rolled his eyes and quietly smirked.

When Bentley returned and heard how Qu Jianlei had agreed, he didn't say much, though his expression seemed somewhat indifferent.

The next day, Qu Jianlei really went to the Defense Team, only collecting one hundred silver coins for travel fees, and worked for two whole days.

The reason for the extended work was that he not only inspected but also proactively performed some repair work.

However, he felt he contributed quite a lot, but others might not see it the same way.

Other repair masters also participated in the repairs, and upon hearing that he earned one hundred silver coins in two days, they felt unbalanced.

The repair masters didn't retaliate against him but questioned other Defense Team members, "Is this guy an A-level or B-level repair master?"

"Do A-levels do such work?" A Defense Team member retorted, "But this guy... might not be rated."}

They'd heard that Xue Mantian from Celestial Craftsmanship had once tried to hassle him, wanting to see his certificate.

"Then isn't this way too overpriced?" The questioning repair master was unhappy.

The damages to this batch of mechs were mainly from the previous battle with the Fallen; he didn't intend to earn much.

But someone ridiculously raised the price, making him feel his own kindness was misplaced, so he approached the Maintenance Association.

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