First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 164: Grandma Said, People Are Iron, Food Is Steel—Are There Any Chicken Legs?

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If you’re not the original Yu Chen, then fine—what’s waiting for you is the Han Empire’s 749 Provincial Bureau.

Maybe even the Main Bureau.

So what the hll are you jumping around for? What are you hiding?

Just some clumsy tricks.

The Yu family didn’t send you to 749 for a check—that’s on them.

Can’t Lu Ding do it instead?

Wherever you do reform-through-labor, it’s all the same. If you cooperate, worst case, Lu Ding sends you back afterward.

Fly there, fly back.

All just to strangle an uncertainty in the cradle.

But there are still lots of unknowns.

Like—what if a cornered dog jumps over a wall?

So Lu Ding needed insurance.

Call in backup!!

Leverage his personal connections to bring in someone seriously badass—like cannon-to-mosquito level.

All about caution and swagger. Absolute control over every angle—365 degrees, no blind spots, total suppression.

Pulled out his phone, made a call—done in five minutes.

That’s what face is for.

Stuff you build up over the years—it finally comes in handy.

Going solo? That’s only when you’ve got no other choice.

If you’ve got resources, use them.

Lu Ding wasn’t about to risk injury or danger for no reason.

“Who did you just call?”

Bai Hemen, curious as ever, wanted to know everything.

Lu Ding played coy: “You’ll find out if anything goes wrong.”

“Things go wrong when you’re around?”

That line was music to Lu Ding’s ears.

“Hahahahaha, you’ve grown—you’re learning how to say nice things now.”

Bai Hemen’s face stayed blank: “Huh? I was just telling the truth.”

To him, as long as Lu Ding was around, nothing could go wrong.

“Alright, alright, truth it is. Let’s go.”

Hard to explain things to someone this naive.

Along the way, they chatted casually with Yan Feifan, making their way to Yunmeng.

Checked Yunmeng No. 5 High’s schedule—it was still early.

At this moment, even though Brother Feifan wasn’t physically there, he was still contributing via phone.

【Brother Lu, are you guys just waiting around now?】

【Lu Ding: Pretty much】

As they talked, Yan Feifan started a group chat with four people: the three of them, plus Cao Ying.

【Yan Feifan: @Cao Ying, hurry up, Brother Lu’s in Yunmeng—recommend that restaurant you mentioned last time!】

【Cao Ying: On it. Brother Lu, there’s a place in Yunmeng called Tianxia Hui, claims to gather ingredients from all over the world—some dishes are exclusively for Treasure Hunters, made for Qi Cultivators.】

【Stuff that runs in the mountains, swims in the water, flies in the sky—they’ve got it all. I’ve even supplied them before. I’ve got a membership—I’ll send you the number and password.】

【Once you’re there, eat your fill. Everything’s on me!!!】

Life is short—enjoy it. Eat, drink, play, and have fun.

Now that they were here, Lu Ding definitely wanted to check it out.

“Ingredients from all over the world,” “Treasure Hunter exclusives”—

Just those phrases alone were enough to hook him.

He still remembered last time—he was supposed to eat Wrathful Qing Chicken at Cao Ying’s, but Chen Xian ruined it.

This time, he was going to eat a whole one.

Beside him, Bai Hemen quietly typed in the group chat:

【Bai Hemen: Do they have that chicken leg from last time?】

Yep—he was craving it too.

Last time they left in a rush, and he got handed a chicken leg to eat on the road. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten over it.

【Cao Ying: Got it, of course. That’s nothing. They’ve got even better stuff.】

Bai Hemen saw that and turned to say, “Let’s go check it out. We haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

“Dmn, you’re hungry? A Divine Palace cultivator gets hungry this fast?”

Bai Hemen couldn’t even tell Lu Ding was teasing him.

He said seriously, “Grandma says it’s important to eat on time. People are iron, food is steel.”

Then added, just as seriously, “Mostly, I’m craving.”

That was just Bai Hemen for you—anyone else would never say something like that with a straight face.

“Hahahahahaha... Let’s go, I’m craving too.”

The two picked up the pace.

That afternoon, they successfully arrived at Tianxia Hui in Yunmeng.

Once there—

Lu Ding and Bai Hemen were genuinely stunned.

A villa on an island in the middle of a lake. Beautiful scenery. Birds and beasts everywhere.

Gorgeous people, handsome people—dazzling.

All sorts of flowers blooming out of season.

Elegant ones, gaudy ones, competing in beauty.

Lu Ding and Bai Hemen didn’t know where to look—their eyes darting everywhere.

Like Granny Liu walking into the Grand View Garden.

Forget the food for now—just the sight alone was already worth it.

As they walked through, they entered the garden.

More people appeared—groups of three or five, all of them Qi Cultivators.

Super lively.

Suddenly, Lu Ding perked up his ears and listened.

“How much did you bet?”

“Five million. I bet on Lu Ding making it to third. Payout is 1.1—if it hits, that’s 10.5 million. You? I saw you calling someone to borrow money just now.”

“I put thirty million on Lu Ding hitting second. Payout’s 1.5—if I win, that’s 75 million.”

“You guys really aren’t afraid to lose, huh?”

“Lose what? A big name means real skill. It’s a sure bet. Just depends how far he climbs.”

“I actually wanted to bet on him getting first. Payout’s 2 to 1. But the rule was he can’t use stored power. If he could, he’d definitely take first—even Si Ming Realm wouldn’t scare him. But without that, second’s probably his limit.”

“Top ranker Qu Ningyan is in Divine Palace Ninth Layer. Soon as she ages out, she’ll be off the Prodigy Ranking. But Lu Ding chose this moment to show up.”

“If Qu Ningyan drops off, Lu Ding’s got a 50% shot at the top.”

Lu Ding’s strength wasn’t just talk—he’d proven it in one battle after another. Even though he was here this time basically to shake things up,

He hadn’t talked any trash.

Lan Mingli hadn’t hyped him up maliciously either.

So in a world where strength earns respect, plenty of people recognized Lu Ding’s ability.

As for outside rumors?

Recognition was one thing, but when you’re stepping onto my turf, of course I’m backing my hometown.

Can’t turn your back on your own people.

But even saying that—behind the scenes, everyone was secretly betting.

Would Lu Ding hit second? Or third?

Hearing all this, Lu Ding walked up and asked, “Hey, excuse me—this second and third place betting—where do you place that?”

“The Red Pavilion where people eat—there’s a betting board on the wall. Just tell the server during your meal. Max is one billion.”

“Oh, got it. Thanks.”

Lu Ding and Bai Hemen headed for the Red Pavilion.

“Grandma says gambling is bad.”

Lu Ding didn’t have much cash on hand—couldn’t scrape together a full billion. He borrowed money while saying, “You don’t think I can take the top spot? Want to place a bet yourself?”

“I don’t have money.”

Then Bai Hemen went quiet—no one knew what he was thinking.