Zero Wing's headquarters tower, top-floor reception room.
Shi Feng straightened himself up and walked slowly into the reception room. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, two women sat quietly, gazing out at the scenery beyond.
The older of the two was none other than Mu Xin, whom he had met several times before. Today she wore a purple-blue dress that radiated the warmth of summer sunlight — a far cry from the stern, no-nonsense Vice Guild Master he knew from the Divine Realm.
As for the younger girl beside her, she was dressed in a white sports top and jeans, giving off an indescribable air of innocence and spiritedness. But her petite frame made her look more like a little girl trying to dress up as an adult.
Shi Feng had seen this girl in the Divine Realm as well — she was Mu Xin's younger sister, Ke Rui.
"Shi Feng, you've finally come out! Do you have any idea how long you made us wait here?" Ke Rui glared at him as he walked in, her small face full of resentment.
"Don't listen to her. We haven't been waiting that long," Mu Xin shook her head and said softly. "Since we're out here anyway, my sister and I finally get to sit back and enjoy the city scenery out here. It's actually quite nice."
"Enjoy the city scenery out here?" Shi Feng was somewhat surprised.
"Oh right, I haven't mentioned it yet," Mu Xin said with a faint smile at his puzzled expression. "My sister and I have always lived in the Upper Zone. We rarely come out from inside the Upper Zone."
"I see." Shi Feng nodded, though his surprise only deepened. "If that's the case, Miss Mu Xin, does that mean there's no city scenery like this inside the Upper Zone?"
The Upper Zone was supposed to be located within those first-tier megacities. In theory, this kind of towering skyscraper cityscape should be commonplace there — even more spectacular than the area around Zero Wing's headquarters, if anything.
"You'll find out when we go," Mu Xin replied with a gentle smile that carried an inexplicable warmth. "The Upper Zone is different from other places. Even though Uncle Hong has given you a reserved spot, you still have to go register in person. But since you're probably not familiar with the Upper Zone, Uncle Hong asked me to take you there so you can avoid any unnecessary trouble."
"That's right. Without someone like us who knows the way to guide you, you could end up in real trouble once you get to the Upper Zone," Ke Rui chimed in with a smug grin. "One wrong move and you could get thrown right back out. It wouldn't be the first time."
Mu Xin made no objection to what Ke Rui had said.
Shi Feng turned to Mu Xin and said gratefully, "Then I'll have to trouble you."
"No trouble at all," Mu Xin shook her head and said softly. "It's actually thanks to your help that Frost Heaven's Sword became one of the twelve candidate guilds. We should be the ones thanking you."
With that, Mu Xin reached beside her seat and picked up a black suitcase.
"There are fifty bottles of S-rank nutritional potions inside. Make sure you keep them safe," she reminded him quietly after opening the suitcase. "These S-rank nutritional potions are indeed remarkable, but it's best not to use too many of them. They're not finished products, after all."
"Not finished products?" Shi Feng was taken aback.
The value of S-rank nutritional potions to the human body had already driven countless people into a frenzy. The fact that they could preserve one's youth alone was beyond incredible. And yet such potions were still considered unfinished products?
"That's right — they're not finished products, so it's best to drink as few as possible." Ke Rui also nodded her small head, offering her rare words of gentle warning. "The reason you're being told this is because you're about to enter the Upper Zone, so there are certain things you can now know. S-rank nutritional potions are actually defective goods produced by the Green God Company. They only put small quantities on the market because their effects on the human body truly are astonishing. But inside the Upper Zone, drinking them is strongly discouraged!"
Mu Xin nodded as well.
"Ke Rui and I have each only ever drunk two or three bottles due to special circumstances, and even that earned us a severe reprimand from Uncle Hong, who forbade us from ever drinking them again. Uncle Hong wouldn't do anything to harm us, so you should also be careful about using these S-rank nutritional potions," Mu Xin said in a very serious tone.
Upon hearing this, Shi Feng felt a renewed sense of caution toward the S-rank nutritional potions and thanked her, "I understand. I'll make sure to limit their use as much as possible."
If even the Upper Zone discouraged them, he could only imagine that there truly were some problems with these S-rank nutritional potions. What exactly those problems were, however, was something probably only a very small number of people knew.
Fortunately, aside from himself, no one else in the guild consumed large quantities of S-rank nutritional potions.
"All the business here is done," Ke Rui said, seeing that Mu Xin had finished handing over the S-rank nutritional potions. She was visibly getting excited. "Let's head to the Upper Zone now!"
"Now?" Shi Feng was somewhat caught off guard.
The Upper Zone was only accessible in a few designated first-tier cities, and even flying there would take several hours. And it was already getting late.