《Short, Light, Free》


 Chapter 1: The Knowing

    <h4>Chapter 1: The Knowing</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I¡¯ve had a secret ever since I was young.


    I could see numbers in my eyes.


    I thought nothing of it when I was little.


    Until I turned seven.


    The numbers in my eyes decreased rapidly along with every step that I took towards the street corner in my neighborhood.


    Right before they dropped to zero, I reached the corner.


    I stopped.


    The next second, a car whizzed past right before my eyes, just five centimeters in front of me, and mmed into a high perimeter wall on the other side.


    I was unharmed.


    As I watched the scene, the numbers in my eyes started to reverse and return to its closely packed state.


    I grew up and I started to read. I learned how to add and subtract.


    I tried to understand the numbers in my eyes.


    I realized it wasn¡¯t enough.


    I asked those around me if they could see the numbers in their own eyes, too.


    They were convinced that I was ying around.


    No one believed me so I learned to carry the secret around, a heavy weight on my stomach.


    Until I learned how to multiply and divide.


    A minute is sixty seconds.


    An hour is sixty minutes.


    A day is twenty-four hours.


    A year is thirty-one million, five hundred and sixty thousand seconds.


    The number in my eyes currently shows twenty-three million.


    After some rough calctions, that converted to seventy-five years.


    How funny. Could this be my lifespan?


    I realized that there were many imperceptible influences that would change the number in my eyes.


    A test, for example.


    Choosing C for this question reduced ten seconds to my life.


    Erasing and changing it to B gave me seven seconds back.


    Disregarding the uracy of the answers, Ipleted the paper in a way that caused me to lose the least seconds.


    And I received a 63 for it.


    Losing the shortest amount of time did not mean that the answers were correct.


    I¡¯d thought that the numbers in my eyes could help me cheat. It turns out that I had no choice but to rely on myself and study hard.


    I started answering the questions seriously.


    College entrance exam.


    I worked seriously through the paper once, only to realize that I had lost significant seconds.


    Thinking that I¡¯d miscalcted, I checked thrice. No mistake.


    Those seconds lost converted to five years.


    I erased a few correct answers and the time increased.


    Sacrificing good results for five years of life.


    How ironic. I could only smile a bitter smile.


    After much hesitation, I chose to give up five years of my life.


    I secured a high score.


    And a spot in the best university in the city.


    On the way home, distracted by my happiness, I carelessly fell and suffered a fracture. I had to rest for three months. The time in my eyes decreased once again but this time I knew why.


    I had to pay attention to the fluctuating numbers because it could change at any split second. I didn¡¯t want it to dip again.


    Nevertheless, idents happened.


    ¡°Stop. Listen to me. Don¡¯t enter this tunnel,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Are you insane? Why are you such a spoilsport?¡± my friend snapped back, displeased.


    ¡°Stop. I¡¯m not going in,¡± I said firmly.


    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± My friend was furious.


    He slowed the car down but it was clear that had no intention of stopping.


    The numbers in my eyes were dropping.


    I threw myself over to the driver¡¯s side and pulled the handbrake.


    The car halted.


    ¡°Have you gone mad? What is with you?¡± All three of my friends red at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going in, sorry. Go on without me.¡± I stepped out of the car.


    ¡°This is a highway. How do you n on getting back?¡± my friend asked, annoyed.


    I ignored him and walked further and further away to the opposite direction of the tunnel.


    The number was back up. Safe.


    My friends have already driven off.


    Shortly after, with the copse of a mountain, the whole tunnel was swallowed up.


    No one survived and I was left alone, not knowing what to do.


    I started avoiding crowds in fear that the number in my eyes would lessen more.


    I fell into a habitual silence.


    I started to live for the number in my eyes and it became an obsession.


    Along with time, the number decreased.


    Twenty years old.


    Thirty-five years left in me.


    What have I done? I started to hide.


    Theboratory was the quietest ce in school.


    My grades were decent and I was confident that I could be a scientist.


    Because I would know. I would know whenever the test tubes were about to explode, be it my ssmate¡¯s or mine.


    I would know and run far away.


    Graduation.


    I was the chief manufacturer of thepany that specialized in health supplements.


    Not because I was smart, but because I could keep away from danger.


    I knew little about chemicalpositions.


    However, I would volunteer myself during experiments.


    I would only go as far as putting the needle close to my skin.


    Then, I would look at the number.


    A decrease meant failure and no change meant sess.


    As for an increase...


    It never happened. Not even once in the whole of five years.


    How embarrassing.


    Until that day.


    I mixed and injected some chemicalpounds into a test tube.


    I was careless and I lost grip of the syringe and the substance on the needle came close to my skin.


    The number in my eyes actually rose! I¡¯ve created a medicine that could increase my time.


    I memorized theposition, and from that moment, I started conducting more tests.


    Each time I added a chemicalpound, I would dip a needle into the new substance, aim it on my arm and look at the number.


    Turning wild, I added all kinds ofpounds.


    Seeing a decrease in time, I would return to the previous form and try again.


    Initially, there had only been an increase of a second or two.


    Later on, I managed to increase the time by tens and hundreds of seconds.


    Eventually, the number started doubling.


    It never stopped rising.


    It felt as though I¡¯ve invented a longevity pill.


    Ecstatic, I drew a tube worth of substance and injected it into my body.


    After the initial adrenaline rush, a strong pressure kicked in within my body.


    I started yearning for some things.


    And the number in my eyes spiked.


    Non-stop.


    Until it became a sideways eight.


    ...


    ¡°Good evening, everyone. This is May, reporting live for China News. We¡¯ve received news that unknown creatures have been spotted in this pharmaceuticalpany. Follow me as I investigate the scene.¡±


    ¡°This way! Cameraman? Hey! Why are you running away?¡±


    ¡°Is there something strange behind me?¡±


    ¡°Ahhhh..!¡±


    A sheet of white takes over the television screens of every single household.


    Families are packing up their belongings, getting ready to flee.


    At this point, all major roads are congested with vehicles and people...


    Because the zombies are here.

 Chapter 2: Dystopian Determination

    <h4>Chapter 2: Dystopian Determination</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    It was just another day of doing the same things over and over again.


    It was another day at a stand-alone office with colleagues who were too busy to greet one another.


    Here I am, at my desk, keying a letter of the alphabet that has just appeared on oneputer screen into anotherputer.


    This is my job.


    It might be difficult for you to imagine but this job actually pays me one thousand five hundred every month.


    Every ten minutes, myputer would, without fail, receive a letter. Initially, out of curiosity, I tried piecing them together.


    I jotted them down on a small slip of paper:


    N £Í£Ë£Ç£×£ÔJ£Ð


    There was no meaning behind these letters.


    Nevertheless, I continued working hard for that monthly sry.


    Of course, eight hours a day go by quickly.


    Even after a day of working, I don¡¯t feel tired at all.


    Ding!


    Another letter appeared on the screen.


    L


    Calm and unhurried, I typed it into the otherputer and clicked ¡®confirm¡¯.


    Work has finally ended and nothing beats the joy of returning to my warm abode.


    Thefort and bliss of taking a long hot bath were unparalleled.


    Simple joys in life.


    Wait. What is this?


    Why is there a slip of paper stuck in my bathtub?


    Is this a joke?


    I am usually the only one at home.


    Upon a closer look, I see the word ¡®bathtub¡¯ neatly written on it.


    I have just recently bought this bathtub so it must be a prank from the merchant.


    Before I could tear it down, it slipped through my fingers and fell off.


    Where was my bathtub?


    It was gone and reced by a cardboard box.


    And here I am, sitting inside a cardboard box, submerged in water.


    Strangely, the cardboard box was waterproof.


    I looked up at the showerhead.


    There was also a piece of paper stuck on it. Who exactly was ying a trick on me?


    I tear the paper off the showerhead and it turned into an old baseball bat.


    ...


    ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymore, Doctor. Am I going mad? I see slips of paper on all kinds of objects and when I tear them down, the objects turn into other things. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying? For example, if there¡¯s a piece of paper on this table and I tear it down, this table bes a big rock or some other strange things.¡±


    The doctor looked at me listlessly before saying, ¡°I think you¡¯re under too much stress at work. First, I¡¯ll prescribe you with some calming medication and we¡¯ll go from there.¡±


    ¡°How long do I need to need to take this for?¡± I ask, puzzled.


    ¡°There are sixty-three pills in this bottle. Take one every day. Come back to me if nothing changes after two months,¡± the doctor exined tly.


    I made my way home, eyeing the bottle in my hand.


    There was a piece of paper attached to it too. I tear it down slowly.


    The bottle turned into a bicycle pump.


    I think my condition was getting worse.


    Regardless, I have to work.


    The next morning, I arrived at mypany.


    Another day of doing the same old things.


    Ding!


    The screen lit up.


    O


    I typed it into the otherputer and clicked ¡°confirm¡±.


    Wait.


    No, surely not again?


    I saw a slip of paper on the monitor.


    My hand automatically reached for it.


    Is my work going to disappear if I tear this down?


    I retracted my right hand.


    One minute, two minutes...


    I nked out for ten minutes.


    Ding!


    V


    I snapped out of my daze and keyed a ¡®V¡¯ into the otherputer before pressing ¡®confirm¡¯.


    What¡¯s happening to me? I massaged my eyes.


    Are my eyes going bad?


    I looked up at the ceiling.


    No way... Oh my goodness!


    The ceiling that I have never paid much attention to has a piece of paper stuck onto it as well.


    This was wild. I refused to believe it.


    I ced a stool on top of the cupboard.


    I climbed up with much effort and put my feet on the stool.


    I stood up slowly and managed to touch the ceiling.


    I grabbed onto the piece of paper tightly.


    ¡®Aperture Enterprise¡¯, the name of mypany.


    I tore it off, my hands trembling.


    I am still me but my office was now a pile of ruins.


    My workputer remained where it was.


    Everything seemed to be telling me that I have gone mad.


    I think they¡¯re the crazy ones.


    Ding!


    The next letter appeared.


    E


    I smiled gently before ripping the slip of paper off the monitor.


    Just as expected. I have been facing a rubbish bin at work all these years.


    How ridiculous. What was happening to this world?


    Covering my head, I ran away, avoiding all crowds.


    Escaping the bustling streets, I arrived at the outskirts of the city.


    At this point, I was wondering if the city that I have once thought of as a city would have a piece of paper attached to it. Would removing it reveal another pile of ruins?


    Was that a perimeter wall that I am seeing?


    There stood a thirty-two feet tall perimeter wall outside of the city, which I have never left until today.


    Although this lofty perimeter wall broke through the horizon, it could not be seen from within the city.


    The perimeter wall went on and on as if encircling the city that I have been living in for thirty whole years.


    What is going on?


    Curious, I walked along the wall and eventually stumbled upon a door.


    Beyond that door was a military base filled with skeletons and rusty weapons.


    On a table, in a room located deep inside the base, sat a blue briefcase that contained an old document and a yellowing diary.


    The document was titled ¡®Scattering of Nuclear Arms¡¯.


    The content of the yellowing diary was as follows:


    ¡°The enemy had dropped a nuclear bomb and our mayor had chosen to abandon us. The government, too, had given up on this region and implemented high walls to seal us in. Rich men in the city had long fled the city by purchasing golden tickets from the mayor at exorbitant prices. All exits have been welded; there is no way out. Poor people like us are left struggling in this aftermath. Doctor Gamma hasn¡¯t given up on us, however, even though we have already been severely deformed by the radiation. The newborns are bing increasingly abnormal with each generation. They can survive on just mud. Doctor Gamma, a respectable psychologist, has taught us the power of hypnosis. We repeatedly instilled the idea into our descendants that writing down the objects of their desire onto pieces of paper and attaching them onto ordinary things would allow them to see what they want. Subsequent generations of offsprings have inherited this perfect illusion. They can live on in this utopia.¡±


    With both hands, I touched my face.


    It felt strange.


    I could clearly see the pustules on my deformed arms.


    I screamed.


    ...


    Ten dayster, I am back at my desk.


    In anotherpany, ck Mountain Technology Enterprise, that paid a thousand five hundred every month.


    The job scope remained the same.


    Ding!


    S


    I keyed it into the otherputer before clicking ¡®confirm¡¯.


    I pressed down on the slip of paper that was attached to the monitor.


    Please don¡¯t fall off again. It is too much to bear.

 Chapter 3: Devil’s Corner

    <h4>Chapter 3: Devil¡¯s Corner</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°Have you heard of this story? The devil¡¯s just around this street corner. That¡¯s what people have been saying. They also said that if you pass through this street corner and sit down on a certain long bench while feeling any negative emotions, like anger, frustration, or grief, he will appear. If you¡¯re willing to give up something in exchange for a wish, he will grant it,¡± a random man told me with a smile as he approached.


    ¡°Is that right, sir?¡± I asked patronizingly, returning his smile.


    ¡°Call me Chalker. If you don¡¯t mind me saying, you look very upset. Are you feeling alright, friend?¡± Chalker was still wearing his smile, talking to me as if he was just catching up with an old friend.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I was just about to leave,¡± I responded, somewhat guarded. The sky was darkening, and judging by his tattered clothes, Chalker was most likely a beggar and the bench I was sitting on was probably his bed for the night.


    ¡°Wanna listen to my story before you leave?¡± Chalker asked, and without waiting for my answer, he sat down beside me.


    I looked at the hair-raising smile on his face, apprehensive of what he would do next. ¡°The devil you mentioned... what¡¯s the story about?¡±


    ¡°About a deal with the devil, of course! Listen to me as I share,¡± Chalker said, his smile deepening.


    He started narrating.


    ...


    It happened ten years ago. I came to this corner feeling dispirited. I was eighteen, only had a few dors in my pocket and no one to rely on. I sat down, exactly where you¡¯re seated now if my memory serves me right, and the devil appeared.


    The prideful devil spoke to me, ¡°Are you willing to give up something in exchange for another?¡±


    The devil talked a lot more but I don¡¯t remember what he said. You must know that it¡¯s not because I have a weak memory, but rather, it was simply because I¡¯m not interested in the affairs of other people.


    Furthermore, I was thirsty, starving and frightened by the proud devil at that point. I replied weakly, ¡°I want unlimited money. What do you want from me?¡±


    The devil answered, ¡°Your smile. You will have endless cash but you can never smile again! How about that?¡±


    ¡°Sure. What¡¯s the point of smiling? It can¡¯t fill my tummy. I ept the exchange,¡± I agreed firmly.


    ...


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you smiling very freely right now?¡± I interrupted, unconvinced.


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t anyone taught you that it¡¯s rude to break off someone else¡¯s story?¡± Chalker chided, that creepy smile still on his face.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± I apologized instantly.


    ...


    I left the corner in joy after receiving a pouch from the devil. It was like a bottomless bag of cash but I couldn¡¯t smile.


    I started using the money to indulge in scrumptious meals and stay in the most luxurious hotels. I lived extravagantly since there was no limit to my means. Of course, with it came more friends that followed me around every day. I exined that I was the boss of a miningpany and have umted an infinite amount of money. I even told them that I couldn¡¯t smile properly because of a mining injury.


    Everyone quickly started calling me Boss Chalk. I spent my days whoring around and gambling in luxurious brothels. I would pay whoever was willing to entertain me with generous amounts.


    Time flew by. Once, I went to the toilet after drinking too much and overheard a conversation between a hostess and my friend. With a cigarette in his hand, he said this, ¡°It¡¯s so difficult to deal with that fool with facial paralysis.¡±


    The woman nodded andughed. ¡°Exactly. His face doesn¡¯t change. Whenever I try to please him, I can¡¯t even tell if he¡¯s feeling happy. How nauseating.¡±


    From that day onward, I started paying more attention to my surroundings and realized that every single one of my friends was cursing me behind my back. To think I¡¯ve been showering them with so much money every day!


    I tried different ways to open my mouth and smile but it was impossible. Indignant, I swore never to give any of my friends a single cent again.


    Just like that, my friends left, one by one. Eventually, I found my distressed self back at this corner.


    The devil looked at me with his usual, arrogant smile. It was humiliating but I could only beg for my smile back and was willing to pay any price.


    He mockingly repeated the words I¡¯d previously said. ¡°Sure. What¡¯s the point of smiling? It can¡¯t fill my tummy. I ept the exchange!¡±


    I was ashamed but could only blindly plead with him.


    The devil looked at me. ¡°I can return you your smile but on the same condition ¨C an exchange. You can get your smile back but you¡¯ll never leave this corner ever again. You will assume the devil¡¯s job and continue making deals with people.¡±


    The prideful devil had obtained his freedom. That¡¯s right, he¡¯s free, and I got my smile back.


    This is my story.


    ...


    Speechless, I stared at Chalker.


    ¡°Tell me, kid. What do you want?¡± Chalker smiled his strange smile.


    ¡°Me? I want the person I¡¯m fond of to like me back!¡± I spoke loudly.


    ¡°How about exchanging your tears for love? You won¡¯t be able to cry, how¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Crying only makes me weak and weaklings don¡¯t get love, only sympathy,¡± I agreed without any hesitation.


    ¡°Hope you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± Chalker grinned excitedly, making me feel ufortable.


    I walked away from that street corner with a lipstick in my hand.


    A lipstick that I have gotten in exchange for my tears.


    I gave it to the person I liked.


    The lipstick was very effective.


    We got married and had a child.


    We led a happy life, or so I thought.


    I worked hard for money but it wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy my lover.


    And my child looked nothing like me.


    Whenever she cried about how I wasn¡¯t earning enough to support the family, I was always expressionless.


    I couldn¡¯t cry.


    Because of that, she called me a cold, heartless monster.


    Another discovery.


    She would tantly throw amorous nces at every man that walked by.


    The number of men she¡¯d slept with far exceeded my imagination.


    Later on, I found out that the devil confiscated my tears, not in exchange for a lipstick that could make someone love me.


    It was a lipstick that could turn someone licentious.


    Dejected, I returned to that street corner and sat down on that long bench.


    I would give anything to get my tears back because this was absolutely unbearable. I wanted to cry to my heart¡¯s content.


    Yet, Chalker only smiled and repeated the words I¡¯ve said before, just like the conceited devil he¡¯d described to me before.

 Chapter 4: I’m Not Bad

    <h4>Chapter 4: I¡¯m Not Bad</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Nine years old.


    Chalker: Do you think I¡¯ll turn bad, Margaret?


    Margaret: Chalker, you must remember that I¡¯m an angel. With me around, you won¡¯t go astray.


    Chalker: But no one else can see you. How can you prove that I won¡¯t go bad?


    Margaret: You won¡¯t, I guarantee.


    Chalker: I don¡¯t believe you! Pinky promise?


    Margaret: Alright.


    Just then, Mother knocked on the door.


    Mother : Still awake? I¡¯ming in.¡±


    ...


    Mother: What are you mumbling to yourself about?


    Chalker: Nothing. I¡¯m praying to God! I¡¯m going to sleep now.


    Mother: What a strange child.


    At nine years old, Chalker told his first lie. Chalker and Margaret shared a secret. Margaret was an angel. She promised not to let him turn into a baddie. Chalker did not want to be a baddie because Mother had told him that only goodies went to heaven. Baddies had to go to hell.


    Twelve years old.


    Chalker: I want to be a horseman, Margaret.


    Margaret: How can you be a horseman when you¡¯re so petite?


    Chalker: Tell me then, Margaret. What can I be in the future?


    Margaret: Here, take this. If you use this, you can be a horseman.


    Chalker: What¡¯s this?


    Margaret: Gluttony.


    Chalker: What does it do?


    Margaret: It makes you stronger.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At twelve years old, Chalker was gifted Gluttony, and his appetite expanded tremendously. He started growing tall and big and was stronger than most kids his age.


    Fifteen years old.


    Chalker: Look at the way I hold my sword, Margaret. Do I look like a horseman?


    Margaret : Yes, but without grandeur.


    Chalker: Grandeur?


    Margaret: A horseman¡¯s grandeur.


    Chalker: What should I do?


    Margaret: Take this!


    Chalker: What¡¯s this?


    Margaret: Wrath. It will give you the grandeur you need.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At fifteen years old, Chalker received Wrath from Margaret. He became bad-tempered and Mother just assumed that he was undergoing puberty. Only Chalker knew that it was Margaret¡¯s gift that made him this way. Through selections, he became a new recruit with the most potential.


    Eighteen years old.


    Chalker: What do I do, Margaret? I killed someone.


    Margaret: It¡¯s alright. You killed the enemy. He would¡¯ve killed you if you did not do it first.


    Chalker: But I killed somebody! Have I gone bad?


    Margaret: With me around, you won¡¯t go astray. Take this.


    Chalker: What¡¯s this?


    Margaret: Lust.


    Chalker: What¡¯s it for?


    Margaret: Not much, but it can make you happy. You¡¯ll forget everything that¡¯s happened today.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At eighteen years old, Chalker epted Lust from Margaret. He was very merry because he had be a real man. From then on, Chalker started on his horseman journey.


    Twenty-one years old.


    Chalker: I¡¯m the youngest general. His Majesty wishes to see me!


    Margaret: Yes. The enemies are frightened by the mere mention of your name.


    Chalker: But I¡¯m so nervous. His Majesty wants to see me and it¡¯s a great honor and glory! What should I do?


    Margaret: Take this.


    Chalker: This is... what?


    Margaret: This is Pride. It will give you confidence.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At twenty-one years old, Chalker was given Pride. He paid His Majesty a visit. His Majesty was an old man and Chalker felt he was undeserving of his throne. He told himself, ¡°How great. If not for me, this old man would already have been held captive by the enemies.¡±


    Twenty-four years old.


    Chalker: Tell me, Margaret. Am I wrong to have killed His Majesty?


    Margaret: I don¡¯t know. It a path you chose.


    Chalker: Did I do wrong? Have I gone bad?


    Margaret: Are you sad? With me around, you won¡¯t turn bad.


    Chalker: A little sad.


    Margaret: Take this.


    Chalker: This is...


    Margaret: Envy. It will tell you whether or not you¡¯ve made a mistake.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At twenty-four years old, Margaret gave Chalker Envy and Chalker became convinced that His Majesty was better off dead. He had been tolerating the old man for three years but what had he gotten in return? Only useless encouragements.


    Twenty-seven years old.


    Chalker: I¡¯m the emperor now, Margaret.


    Margaret: You¡¯re not happy?


    Chalker: Something feels missing.


    Margaret: What is it?


    Chalker: No idea.


    Margaret: Take this.


    Chalker: What is this?


    Margaret: Greed. It will tell you what you¡¯recking.


    Chalker: Okay.


    At twenty-seven years old, Margaret presented Chalker with Greed, and indeed, Chalker knew what he needed. His demands grew.


    Thirty years old.


    Chalker: I¡¯m aging so quickly, Margaret. You¡¯re still so young.


    Margaret: That¡¯s not true. You¡¯re in your prime right now.


    Chalker: Am I? Why don¡¯t I feel it?


    Margaret: Take this.


    Chalker: This is?


    Margaret: Sloth. It will make you feel young.


    At thirty years old, Margaret gifted Chalker Sloth. Chalker was the emperor who idled his time away, ying word games with his subordinates.


    Thirty yearster.


    Chalker had Alzheimer¡¯s disease and had forgotten many things.


    Margaret appeared unknowingly.


    There was a day where Chalker was faced with a very young general.


    At the front line, enemies feared his name.


    Chalker could only say to him, ¡°How great.¡±


    At sixty-three years old, Chalker had died in that young general¡¯s hand. Even until he was dying he did not know the name of his murderer.


    Chalker saw God.


    Chalker: I did not turn bad. Can I go to heaven?


    God: No, you¡¯ve sinned. All seven sins. You¡¯re going to hell.


    Chalker: Margaret said I haven¡¯t gone astray. I should be going to heaven.


    God shook his head helplessly. ¡°You¡¯vemitted seven sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Wrath. You¡¯re rotten to the core.¡±


    Chalker went down to hell and started thinking to himself.Am I really bad, Margaret?

 Chapter 5: Providence

    <h4>Chapter 5: Providence</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I¡¯m Jobs, God¡¯s youngest six-winged seraph.


    God took great care of me. On the sixty-third year of holding my post, He sent me to Earth to patrol the human world.


    I circled in the air, overlooking the earth. Medieval architecture remained more or less the same everywhere.


    Amidst the moving crowd, I spotted two strange fellows.


    They seemed to be arguing. Inded on the roof and observed.


    As they quarreled, they each pulled out the sharp and long stick from their waists.


    This is something new. Didn¡¯t man wrestle with their bare hands in the past?


    They started their fight, swinging moves at one another in a rhythmic manner.


    I was interested in finding out what exactly these mortals were holding onto.


    I blended in with the crowd and asked around about it.


    Later on, I located a cksmith. Those long, sharp sticks were western swords.


    Man would secure the swords onto their waists for easy ess and usage.


    ¡°Where can I find the best western sword?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have it here. The best in town,¡± he answered.


    Revealing my identity, I requested for ten swords to bring back up to Heaven. Upon receiving the swords, I gently touched one of them.


    Its name is not in vain. It will be much more efficient to use this, instead of fists, in battles.


    I brought the western swords back up, intending to salute God with them.


    I was going to receive praise, for sure.


    God saw the swords and smiled.


    ¡°These are indeed pretty good.¡±


    I was overjoyed.


    Following that, God handed the swords over to the throne angel beside me.


    God had him make copies of the swords for the angels in Heaven.


    I secretly looked for the throne angel to get a sword back.


    The throne angel smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve yet to modify it. This is to be put on the waist. You have three pairs of wings so how are you going to keep this western sword?¡±


    Only at this point did I realize that my lower right wing was obstructing the portion of my waist where the sword should be positioned.


    ¡°I have my ways, don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    Unable to argue, the throne angel gave it to me.


    I cut off my lower right wing in order to make way for my new sword. I kept it snug against my waist.


    It was painful but worth it.


    The next year, God sent me down again.


    I discovered something.


    Man were getting better at their crafts.


    The swords I¡¯d taken up to Heaven couldn¡¯t bepared to the new ones I that saw.


    The new swords were no longer made of bronze but pig iron.


    And western swords made from pig iron could easily break those made from bronze.


    It was then that I realized how obsolete my sword was.


    These new swords have two edges, one for piercing and the other for splitting.


    Double-edged swords.


    With a bitter smile, I asked for ten of those.


    This time, God wrinkled his brows, seemingly unimpressed. There was no praise.


    He handed them over to the throne angel once again.


    And I sought for one back.


    The throne angelughed upon seeing me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s your solution.¡±


    ¡°None of your business,¡± I mumbled.


    I couldn¡¯t bear to let go of my first sword but the double-edged sword was beautiful.


    Helpless, I cut off my lower left wing.


    A new year came again but God did not send me to Earth.


    Nevertheless, I was interested to see how the swords have developed.


    And so I flew down on the sly.


    There weren¡¯t many changes save for the invention of a new production method ¨C forging.


    Forging pig iron made the swords more solid. Also, from far away, came another kind of longsword.


    This longsword was wider than a double-edged sword and had to be carried on the back.


    It was much more formidable as well but required more strength from man.


    I asked for one and for it, I chopped off my upper right wing.


    I carried it on my back with a bitter smile on my face.


    It¡¯s alright, I have three left.


    Three was enough for me to return to Heaven.


    But God wasn¡¯t happy.


    I was confined for a year but at least I had three great swords on me.


    A year passed in the blink of an eye.


    God called on me.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s worth it?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t I have three left?¡±


    He continued, ¡°Then are you still keen on finding out how man has progressed?¡±


    I nodded eagerly.


    God released me with a warning.


    ¡°This is thest time. You¡¯re not allowed to go back down ever again after your return.¡±


    Man did not let me down. They created something called a knife.


    A knife was broader than a sword but only had one cutting edge.


    I forced a smile and cut off my upper left wing.


    I added the knife to my collection.


    As I was about to leave, man invented yet another weapon ¨C a pike.


    It was simply too long and I was left with myst pair of wings.


    Can¡¯t cut them off, can I?


    I searched for the most skillful cksmith.


    I wanted to know exactly how the best of the best weapon would be like.


    It took me two months to seek out the most outstanding cksmith.


    I asked for a way to fashion the ultimate weapon.


    ¡°But the best weapon is time.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand.


    He opened up his own collection.


    Inside revealed the evolution from the earliest bronze sword to the newer pig iron sword.


    He told me that there wasn¡¯t something called ¡®best weapon¡¯ in the world because time reigned supreme.


    And I possessed an infinite amount of it.


    I cut off my remaining wings and started learning from this cksmith.


    Upon discovering that I was an immortal angel. he was gratified. He taught me how to forge ironware.


    He, too, wanted to know how the best sword in the world would be like.


    Although I was clumsy, timepensated for all things.


    I inherited all the teachings of that cksmith before he died.


    I also started getting used to life on Earth, living incognito in this town.


    I offered the best weapons to valiant soldiers.


    Because I couldn¡¯t fly, I stopped bothering about the affairs of Heaven.


    It was untilter on that I got hold of news from the churches.


    Lucifer had taken a third of the angels along with him to start a revolt against God.


    After three days and nights of war, the rebels were finally tried and thrown into the abyss.


    And the weapons they had used for war were made by the throne angel ¨C copies of swords I¡¯d sent to Heaven.

 Chapter 6: No Loudspeaker I

    <h4>Chapter 6: No Loudspeaker I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    In the faraway Milky Gxy, rested a stand-alone. It was filled with extraterrestrial insects.


    Because the rocks in the containedrge ores, Man sent teams after teams of robots up to this.


    These robots battled against the extraterrestrial insects to obtain energy from the ores.


    The robots had been unable to defeat the insects until the invention of artificial intelligence.


    The robots became smarter and they now understood how to repair their own bodies.


    From then on, they lost some battles and won some.


    One day, the extraterrestrial insects sent out a small team to attack, something that happened frequently. An engineer, who had in his possession a notebook containing new data regarding the energy, handed it over to a gunner. ¡°Quick, run. Bring this to a safe ce. Connect and upload it to thework. There are new discoveries.¡±


    These were the engineer¡¯sst words. The extraterrestrial insects had taken his life with their sharp ws.


    The gunner finished up his ammunition and fled far away.


    Upon arriving at a secluded cavern, the soldier got connected to the notebook.


    The next moment, he was dumbstruck. The contents of the Inte had opened up a whole new world for him.


    The gunner removed thework adapter card from the notebook as well as some of itsponents and welded them to the back of his head.


    He threw the hard disk away.


    The gunner relied on his stored memory of the map within the notebook to find his way back to the humans¡¯ base camp.


    An engineer added him into a new team upon discovering that he had returned from war.


    This particr gunner fought hard in the day and relied on his own battery to connect his brain, the CPU, to the.


    He downloaded a messaging software and opened a chat window out of curiosity. It was a fourteen-year-old girl on the other end.


    The timezone between Earth and this waspletely flipped.


    ¡°How strange. Your location is unknown, uncle. And you have no ID,¡± the girl started.


    ¡°I¡¯m on another.¡±


    ¡°Stop joking, uncle. Are you a professional hacker?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a gunner.¡±


    ¡°How interesting. You¡¯re already twenty-seven.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my birthdate.¡±


    ¡°Stop ying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ...


    Just like that, the gunner battled against the insects for ores in the day and chatted with the girl on Earth at night.


    ¡°Hey, uncle. Do you like me?¡±


    ¡°What is like?¡±


    ¡°Cut it out. Why would you talk to me if you don¡¯t like me? Tell me, uncle. You must like me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Aye, you can¡¯t do this. You¡¯re a conman. I¡¯m out.¡±


    She went offline.


    The humans¡¯ headquarters was invaded the next day. Insects filled the sky, hovering above the camping ground.


    ¡°We¡¯re doomed,¡± the engineer spoke. ¡°All to the front.¡±


    Understanding what that signified, the gunner immediately went online.


    Late at night, the girl noticed her notification light blinking.


    ¡°I¡¯m about to die.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding, uncle? Are you finding excuses because you don¡¯t like me?¡±


    ¡°No. The enemy¡¯s found us. We might all die here.¡±


    ¡°Aye, what¡¯s going on?¡± the girl sent a voice message.


    The gunner had no loudspeaker and voice system but there was a microphone installed in the notebook.


    He pressed ¡®confirm¡¯ and all sorts of gun firings, explosions, and the anguished howling of the insects could suddenly be heard.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re amazing. You must be a hacker. What are these sounds? Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡±


    ¡°I have no loudspeaker, I can¡¯t talk...¡±


    ¡°Knock it off, alright?¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m out of ammunition. I¡¯m not going to make it.¡±


    ...


    An enormous, sharp w pierced through the gunner¡¯s body and tore his limbs apart. Battery leaked out.


    ¡°My drive¡¯s been destroyed by the enemy and I¡¯m left with under ten percent power. I understand now. I do like you, but I¡¯m going to die.¡±


    These were the gunner¡¯sst words. The girl looked on as the screen on the other end dimmed.


    A day, a week, and a month went by. Her notification light no longer blinked. A year has passed but she still hasn¡¯t erased this ID-less gunner and the conversations they¡¯d shared.


    The girl did not understand who exactly the gunner was. What was his purpose?

 Chapter 7: No Loudspeaker II

    <h4>Chapter 7: No Loudspeaker II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The girl registered for Stanford University when she turned fifteen. She failed.


    She tried again the next year. Sess.


    She was reported by the news to be a prodigy.


    Of course, she studiedputing.


    Butputing here involved the ancientputers that had long be obsolete.


    When the news spread across campus, everyone felt that it was a great pity.


    The girl participated in an interview.


    ¡°Why have you chosen to study oldputers instead of supeputers?¡± people asked.


    The girl only smiled.


    Two yearster, sixty-third Genesis Hacking Competition.


    The topic wasn¡¯t new. Contestants had to attack the Pentagon.


    A hacker with the user ID ¡®gunner¡¯ clinched first ce with a stable three-point data lead.


    And with this score, ¡®gunner¡¯ had sessfully broken the world¡¯s record from ten years ago.


    It must be known that even the best supeputer might not be able to function with such speed.


    Just as the hackers andputer enthusiasts were discussing ¡®gunner¡¯ over tea, the first runner-up denounced the winner.


    Reason being that the data was abnormal.


    A team must¡¯ve been working together on multipleputers.


    This result couldn¡¯t have been achieved alone.


    The judging panel located ¡®gunner¡¯ through an IP address.


    The panel confirmed that only one equipment had been connected and that the hacker worked from within Stanford¡¯s campus.


    News spread throughout the entire school and all the teachers made an extra effort in seeking ¡®gunner¡¯ out.


    Though, they quickly realized that this ID could be fake since the best supeputer in the university was apparently off during thepetition.


    Professors recovered some data from the supeputer and went through them time and time again, confirming that it hadn¡¯t been switched on at all on the day of thepetition.


    This strange matter became the talk of the town.


    Until the sixth-fourth hackingpetition.


    ¡®Gunner¡¯ won first ce once again and performed even faster than the previous year.


    Such speed was theoretically impossible.


    Unless ¡®gunner¡¯ was already employing a more advanced supeputer.


    Of course, the organizers had paid more attention this time and had already recorded the precise location of theputer ¨C a museum in the university.


    The results were valid but there was a leak inpetition data.


    Enthusiasts formed teams to investigate the situation, only to realize that there was nothing in the museum.


    Portableputerscked such processing power and there was no supeputer in the museum.


    A hacking enthusiast started looking out for ordinaryputers and received disapproving looks.


    An ordinaryputer was at least a few hundred times slower than a supeputer, so how could it be?


    But in a section within the museum that disyed oldputers, they discovered that theputers have been piled together.


    The investigators opened them up and found that theseputers had been bound together throughplex coding and calctions.


    Theputer, operating in zeroes and ones, had an Inte that simted a that of a supeputer¡¯s.


    Thispletely subverted the world¡¯s knowledge ofputers and the Inte.


    But no one knew the creator of this equipment.


    And there were only three students who registered for this outdatedputer course.


    It was even more ironic that this course was no longer a specialized one and was categorized under humanities.


    After teaching students how to turn theputers on and off, the rest of the sybus would be left to self-study.


    Because these things were considered antique and art.


    ...


    Science and Technological Immigration Company.


    The girl looked at the materials in her hand, smiling.


    It was a secret document belonging to the Pentagon.


    The girl had gotten hold of this document more than a year back.


    And no one had been interested in its content since the ss A involved had already been extracted dry.


    And this¡¯s IP was exactly the same as that of a certain ount user in her messaging software.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re willing to be a new citizen?¡± the receptionist asked in surprise.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The girl smiled.


    ¡°Although that newly discovered is suitable for human life, with our current rocket speed, it will take at least twenty years to get there. You can try freezing your egg and have a child through in vitro fertilization. That way you won¡¯t have to spend twenty years alone,¡± the receptionist exined.


    ¡°Have I given an insufficient amount of money?¡± the girl questioned.


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s enough. I just want to present to you the ideal case scenario because it would be such a waste of life,¡± the receptionist continued.


    She seemed to have more to say but the girl snatched the application form over and signed it.


    It was a rising project for space immigrants tounch their frozen egg or sperm into another habitable to procreate through in vitro fertilization.


    And the girl chose tounch herself into space.


    For this space project, the girl has to wait for another year because she had been the one to anonymously propose this idea to thepany.


    Just like that, she sat in the cabin of the rocket and wasunched into space.


    Of course, her destination was a ss S, and even the fastest rocket would take twenty years to get there.


    The girl in the cryosleep cabin woke up with a smile. In her hand was the coordinates of the ss A energy.


    ¡°It will take ten years to get there and another ten to get back,¡± the girl mumbled.


    It took the interster travelpany a month to realize that the money ounted to them was fake and invalid.


    Even the girl¡¯s name was bogus.


    The careless receptionist stared at the deliberately crooked word on the application form: Gunner.


    Thepany wanted to hack into the rocket¡¯s system to reroute it.


    However, they realized that in the past month, the technical staff had been watching a prerecorded video and simted sequence of the rocket¡¯s procedures and trajectory.


    And the real rocket was no longer within their control and had long veered off course.


    It had carried sufficient fuel and flown toward another destination.


    Thepany did not know how the girl had managed to wake up from the deep sleep. They were even more puzzled by the fact that she had chosen to visit an unknown in a rocket that was bound for the newly colonized.


    And the girl entered hypersleep once more, awaiting the day she would meet that uncle.

 Chapter 8: No Loudspeaker III

    <h4>Chapter 8: No Loudspeaker III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Ten yearster, the rocketnded on the energy as scheduled.


    The rocket cabin began to warm up again and the girl woke up from her cryosleep and crawled out of the room.


    She mmed onto the ground, her limbs trembling.


    Her whole body was numb and powerless. A good twenty minutes passed before she could get up on her feet.


    With her uncoordinated limbs, she staggered toward the main cabin.


    The dashboard indicated that there was oxygen outside but just to be safe, the girl brought along a filtering apparatus.


    After putting on a lightweight spacesuit, she gently pushed a button.


    The door opened up slowly.


    A barrennd filled with red rock piles entered her field of vision.


    She attempted to walk out the door.


    She looked around and recorded her location.


    Her body had grown half a foot during that ten years and she was now five foot seven.


    She had a hard time adapting.


    Everything seemed normal as she explored the.


    Like Mars, it had an uneven surface.


    After walking some distance, the girl tripped.


    Turning around, she noticed the corner of a scrap iron that was buried under a lump of loess.


    After half a day and much effort, she finally managed to dig out all four chunks of machinery.


    Upon a closer look, she realized that these rusted chunks made up the body of a gunner.


    She also found some strange limbs, most likely belonging to the extraterrestrial insects.


    After some tests, she picked out the functioningponents.


    The girl started assembling them together in hope to model aplete gunner.


    Two days went by.


    Whenever she got hungry, she would return to the rocket to get some food and catch some sleep before continuing on the repairs.


    She sessfully reactivated the gunner on the third night.


    The gunner stood up slowly but had too little charge, as reflected on the instrument in her hand.


    She brought the gunner back to the rocket and by now, his battery was approaching zero.


    She relied on the rocket¡¯s umtor to charge the gunner up, intending to rely on him to cover and explore a greater distance.


    On the way, she saw a lone insect.


    From approximately fifteen yards away, the insect darted toward the girl.


    Under her control, the gunner mercilessly fired at the insect down until the girl calmed him down.


    After using up more than half of the gunner¡¯s ammunition, the girl realized that it wasn¡¯t wise to waste ammunition like that.


    Three more days passed.


    After some exploration, she learned that she was in a destructed human base camp.


    The facilities were considered wholesome. She managed to restore the electrical power.


    However, the main monitor was already severely damaged and the buttons were mostly not working properly.


    In the storehouse, she found twenty gunners that had yet to be set up and activated.


    The girlpiled their codes and organized them into teams.


    She charged them up.


    She brought the gunners along with her to retrieve her rocket and ce it in the camp base.


    There was a cabin ecology in the base camp and potatoes grew densely.


    Perhaps that was a good start.


    With twenty gunners, she surveyed the surroundings.


    Someponents of these gunners had grown rusty, which affected their movements slightly.


    Whenever damagedponents rendered them immobile, the girl would conduct some basic repairs.


    The filtering apparatuses started to run out, leaving her with no choice but to breath the¡¯s oxygen.


    She coughed violently upon inhaling her first breath.


    Following that, she felt nothing else and decided to remove her spacesuit.


    Although her spacesuit was lightweight, it was still burdensome.


    Just like that, she traversed the battleground of the war between the gunners and extraterrestrial insects.


    The girl conducted thorough inspections on every single gunner in hope of finding that particr gunner from a decade ago.


    She wasn¡¯t so lucky this time.


    She was attacked by a group of insects from all sides.


    The densely packed insects crawled downslope, effectively surrounding her.


    The girl fought them off calmly with her perfectly programmed teams.


    The twenty gunners were godsent.


    But problems resurfaced.


    Some gunners started losing coordination.


    The moment one got captured by an insect, over ten of these bugs would pounce on and destroy him.


    The girl looked around and saw a small cave.


    WIthout any other choice, she brought the remaining gunners inside to take cover.


    The gunners stationed themselves at the cave mouth and started shooting at the iing insects in teams of two.


    More and more insect corpses piled up at the cave entrance.


    But the girl also knew that they were running out of ammunition.


    The girl sat down against the wall, thinking that she was done for.


    Because she wasn¡¯t in a spacesuit, she could clearly feel something pricking her bottom.


    Feeling the pain, she looked underneath her.


    It was a piece of stic.


    Turning on her mobile phone¡¯s torch, she saw a notebook that had been ripped apart.


    There was nowork adapter card and no microphone.


    Was this how he had managed to go online?


    There were also some otherponents remaining: a loudspeaker, hard disk, andputer memory.


    The girl gained ess to the hard disk through her mobile phone.


    She was astonished to find important data within.


    Alpha waves could actually wreck the insects¡¯ brains.


    The girl tightened her grip on the loudspeaker and mumbled, ¡°Please work.¡±


    She dismantled a gunner and modified it into a portable megaphone.


    She activated aputer sequence and programmed temporary alpha waves.


    The music red out.


    The girl pushed the gunners stationed at the cave mouth away.


    The insects came pouring into the cave.


    She shut her eyes.


    The next moment, when she opened them, the insects about two meters away from her started copsing.


    The girl was wild with joy. Making her way through the densely packed corpses, she brought the remaining six gunners back to the camping ground.


    She ripped off whatever loudspeakers she could find and installed them into the gunners¡¯ bodies.


    She then reprogrammed the alpha waves.


    They were now louder and more far-reaching.


    With her remodeled robots, she went off in search for that particr gunner.


    The results were clear. Insects as far as twenty meters away would die upon hearing the soundwaves.


    The hard disk in her hand contained detailed positions and maps of all military bases around.


    She made use of these operation bases to charge her robots.


    The search went on for a year.


    Finally, under a pile of ruins, she spotted an odd looking gunner.


    At the back of his head hid awork adapter card.


    Ecstatic, she dismantled the gunner before her.


    She extracted a CPU, unable to contain her joy.


    She brought the CPU back to the first military base in which she had parked her rocket.


    She overrode theputer sequence that came with the rocket and reprogrammed it to extinguish its fire after a short burst.


    Following that, she instilled her temperament into the rocket, just like how the oldputers simted a supeputer.


    She had made a copy of herself within the rocket¡¯sputer system.


    She then connected the gunner¡¯s CPU to the rocket and watched as the rocket shot up into the sky.


    The girl coughed and blood came out of her mouth.


    The air on the was slightly poisonous and the girl had been aware of this fact all along.


    After over a year of going without the filtering apparatus, the poison had be incurable.


    But it was worth it. To her.


    The rocket left the and reached orbit.


    Its fire had been extinguished but its internalputer sequence continued running as if the girl had created a revolving city.


    A city that floated in the universe.


    The fuel within could run the city for a very, very long time.


    ¡°Where am I? The insects are biting me...¡± the gunner surveyed his surroundings.


    It was a small town, its air fresh and scenery beautiful.


    ¡°What insects... are you ying with me again, uncle?¡± the girl spoke from behind.


    ¡°I remember you,¡± the gunner broke into a smile.


    ¡°Wait, how am I speaking without any loudspeaker?¡± he asked doubtfully.


    At this point, the gunner possessed the appearance of an uncle.


    ¡°Why that goofyugh? What did you tell me that day?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I... I like you...¡± the gunner confessed, his smile widening.


    ¡°Me too...¡± the girl admitted.


    ¡°Oh right, uncle. I like you, but what¡¯s your name?¡± she added.


    ¡°Name... I don¡¯t have one,¡± the gunner answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m Eve. I¡¯ll call you Adam.¡± The girl smiled happily.

 Chapter 9: Summer I

    <h4>Chapter 9: Summer I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Xiamen was a bustling city.


    Gngyu, a scenic ind off this city, was exceptionally quiet in contrast.


    ¡°You said you¡¯d apany me, darling. Let¡¯s go watch the sea,¡± Xiaoyue urged as she pulled on Lixia¡¯s sleeves.


    Lixia shrugged her hand off in frustration. ¡°Haven¡¯t we already been there this morning?¡±


    Xiaoyue pursed her lips, pleading, ¡°Let¡¯s go again, please? Just once more.¡±


    Lixia shook his head helplessly. ¡°Okay, but it¡¯s too hot now. I¡¯ll get two bottles of orange soda from grandma¡¯s shop first so wait here for a while.¡±


    Xiaoyue nodded and smiled, revealing six white teeth.


    Lixia didn¡¯t know how to handle Xiaoyue. She was always doing this.


    Watching the sea... but we live just off the coast.


    Lixia did not understand why Xiaoyue loved watching the sea so much.


    Grandma¡¯s shop was situated up a slope on Gngyu. One could easily locate it by walking along the graffiti walls.


    Xiaoyue walked slowly, her gaze fixed on the road far ahead. She could vaguely catch a glimpse of the beach.


    Xiaoyue looked on absentmindedly as her oversized slippers came loose countless times.


    The slippers were very big for her size 35 feet. It was clear that the slippers belonged to someone else, and that someone else was none other than Lixia.


    Xiaoyue could still remember the first time she saw Lixia.


    They were both studying in Xiamen Gngyu¡¯s music academy, albeit in different sses. Xiaoyue specialized in the most reputable instrument ¨C the guzheng.


    Lixia, on the other hand, had a special liking toward the guitar in his hands.


    She remembered how Lixia used to have stage fright. In order to train his guts, he had to practice his guitar on the beach where crowds usually gathered.


    With hisrge-size slippers left on the sand, he strummed slowly on his guitar, producing melodious tunes that moved all listeners.


    Xiaoyue approached from afar, thinking that her seat had been upied by this hairy fellow.


    She had intended to reason with him.


    She wore a long floral dress, matched with a pair of white sandals.


    Lixia was captivated by her beauty.


    Lixia¡¯s lecherous gaze made Xiaoyue blush and forget everything that she was about to say. ¡°H.. hi,¡± was all that came out of her mouth. Flustered, she identally broke her sandals.


    Like a gentleman, Lixia made up for his mistake by offering his own slippers. Following that, he sat beside her and continued ying his guitar.


    It was at this very moment that Lixia had entered her life. It was also at this very moment that she would only wear his slippers.


    Lixia ran up the alley with the graffiti walls toward unit 63 located on top of the slope.


    Truth be told, Lixia hated the sea very much.


    Lixia¡¯s father had once been a well-known fisherman in Gngyu.


    It was known that the people living in this quiet alley were either musicians or fishermen.


    Lixia¡¯s father never returned from a fishing trip five years ago. It was said that he was caught up in a rainstorm that overturned his boat as he was trying to rescue somebody.


    And after that ident, Lixia waited bitterly by the beach for three whole days.


    He refused to leave. His mother had to drag him home and lock him up in the attic.


    Lixia knocked unceasingly on the door, wanting to go out there to wait for his father¡¯s return.


    Lixia¡¯s mother finally calmed him down with a simple sentence.


    ¡°Li, you¡¯re the only man grandma and I can rely on from now on,¡± she had cried.


    From then on, Lixia developed a fear of the sea and disliked visiting the beach.


    And that one time that he met Xiaoyue while strumming on his guitar... it was destiny.


    Xiaoyue was hisplete opposite; she loved the beach.


    Lixia arrived at his grandmother¡¯s shop. She sat by the shop¡¯s entrance, attending to her customers.


    ¡°Grandma,¡± Lixia shouted happily.


    ¡°Oh, Li. Why are you here?¡± she waved her hand, smiling.


    She put her hand over the calluses on Lixia¡¯s fingers. He couldn¡¯t feel it physically but this gesture of hers warmed his heart, nevertheless.


    ¡°Why are your calluses thicker than those on my hand?¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°Not again, Grandma. I¡¯m noting anymore if you carry on this way.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Is anything the matter?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Two bottles of orange soda please, Grandma,¡± Lixia answered.


    ¡°Give me a moment.¡±


    With the drinks in his hands, he bade his grandmother goodbye before sprinting off to meet Xiaoyue.


    Xiaoyue waited quietly for Lixia.


    Lixia returned, holding onto the drinks. There was nothing better than drinking his grandmother¡¯s soda on a hot summer day like this.


    Xiaoyue pulled Lixia along as she walked toward the pier.


    Lixia had asked her quite a few times why she came here every day and each time for a few hours.


    Her wait grew longer and her visits became increasingly frequent.


    Each time, she would look far out at sea, sigh, and ask, ¡°Are you willing to wait with me, darling?¡±


    Hearing Xiaoyue¡¯s voice, Lixia would nod his head in agreement. He couldn¡¯t help it.


    They would sit on the beach as Xiaoyue leaned on his shoulder, watching the sea absentmindedly.


    Lixia would stay silent and keep his mind upied with his six guitar strings.


    The sun shone down on their bodies as the sea breeze and bottled sodas apanied them through their wait, effectively throwing their mind off the summer heat.


    An hour turned into a whole afternoon.


    A few dayster.


    Lixia shook Xiaoyue and said urgently, ¡°You must have gotten a heat stroke. Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Looking into his eyes, she said, ¡°Can you watch the sea with me, darling?¡±


    Her voice was ever so gentle. Trembling, Lixia grabbed onto Xiaoyue. ¡°Let¡¯s go home. You can¡¯t watch the sea in this condition.¡±


    Struggling free, Xiaoyue countered, ¡°You promised, darling. You¡¯ll apany me always.¡±


    Lixia clenched his teeth, carried her up and took her home.


    ¡°No, no,¡± Xiaoyue yelled while attempting to break free.


    It was Lixia¡¯s first time to go against her will.


    At home, Lixia ced her down on the bed.


    Xiaoyue asked weakly, ¡°Don¡¯t you like me anymore?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡±


    ¡°Then why won¡¯t you go with me to watch the sea?¡± Xiaoyue asked angrily, pushing him out of her room.


    Xiaoyue lived alone on Gngyu. Her parents had left the ind to make a living elsewhere when she was eleven. Rumor had it that they were very sessful but were too busy toe back.


    Xiaoyu wept in her room as Lixia stood outside, looking at her guzheng.


    Her guzheng had six strings, just like his own guitar.


    He couldn¡¯t y the guzheng but he remembered a piece that she had once guided him through.


    A disjointed tune from ¡®Fishermen¡¯s Return at Dusk¡¯ filled the house.


    Xiaoyue stopped crying and came out of her room.


    She looked at Lixia and slowly asked, ¡°Will you wait with me, darling?¡±


    Not knowing how to respond, Lixia could only return her gaze.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why she was so devilishly obsessed with the sea.

 Chapter 10: Summer II

    <h4>Chapter 10: Summer II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Not wanting to say much, Lixia answered, ¡°No more. Your body can¡¯t take it.¡±


    As if she hadn¡¯t heard him, Xiaoyue repeated, ¡°Will you?¡±


    ¡°Follow me to the hospital first. You¡¯re ill. We¡¯ll go to the beach when you recover, alright?¡± Lixia persuaded.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going,¡± Xiaoyue responded, displeased.


    Lixia carried her back to her bed and insisted, ¡°What you need now is rest and not the sun.¡±


    Xiaoyue protested and squirmed, but Lixia remained firm. He hugged her tightly until she ran out of energy and fell asleep.


    Feeling the bed move, Lixia woke up. Xiaoyue was awake.


    Tired, he asked, ¡°How are you?¡±


    Xiaoyue yelled at him in anger to get lost. Seeing that she had recovered a little bit of energy, Lixia left her ce, but not before urging her to visit the hospital.


    Xiaoyu smashed her guzheng after he left.


    Xiamen Gngyu Music Academy.


    ¡°Hey, do you know that Xiaoyue¡¯s been absent from school for two days now,¡± Xiaoyue¡¯s ssmate, Naixi, casually mentioned.


    ¡°Right. Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I haven¡¯t seen her in two days. I wouldn¡¯t have realized it if you didn¡¯t tell me,¡± the ss president replied.


    ¡°I think Lixia, the guy from next door, is her boyfriend. Should we ask him?¡± Naixi added.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea, is it?¡± the ss president responded doubtfully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, go ask.¡± Naixi pulled him over to the ss next door.


    ¡°A beauty is looking for you, Lixia. No, two beauties,¡± Lixia¡¯s good friend, Xiqing called andughed.


    Lixia put his guitar down and walked out of the ssroom.


    ¡°Is anything the matter?¡± he questioned. He knew they were Xiaoyue¡¯s ssmates.


    Before the ss president could say anything, Naixi started, ¡°Do you know that Xiaoyue¡¯s been absent from school for two days now?¡±


    Lixia shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re her boyfriend and you don¡¯t know?¡± the ss president asked him.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said. I don¡¯t know.¡± Without saying anything more, he walked back to his ssroom.


    Not knowing what to do, Naixi and the ss president discussed whether they should visit her ce after school.


    Lixia grabbed his guitar and started strumming it.


    His ssmates were shocked. While there were many mistakes, it was indeed a tune from ¡®Fishermen¡¯s Return at Dusk¡¯.


    Ring~


    The ss bell rang and Lixia dashed out.


    The school¡¯s perimeter walls weren¡¯t considered high but they weren¡¯t low either.


    Lixia heard from a senior that the easiest wall to climb over was the one in the western part of the campus.


    Reaching that particr stretch of the perimeter wall, Lixia climbed up a tall tree and jumped over.


    The tree branches and wall left countless marks on his body and arms.


    Lixia sprinted wildly to Xiaoyue¡¯s house.


    When he arrived, his uniform was soaked with sweat.


    Her gate was locked.


    Lixia climbed in through the window without much thought. He¡¯d already broken the school rule so this meant nothing.


    No one was at home.


    He immediately ran to the pier on the beach, calling out for her along the way.


    Just as he guessed, she was sitting in a corner of the beach.


    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± she asked softly.


    Lixia looked at her frail body and worried, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you beening to school?¡±


    Xiaoyue only had her pajamas and Lixia¡¯s slippers on.


    She repeated her words from before, ¡°Will you wait with me, darling?¡±


    He carried her up once again but this time, she did not resist.


    She had no energy left. She was extremely weak.


    Lixia brought her home and took out some medicines meant to help with heat strokes.


    ¡°Drink these while I prepare some food. Then, we¡¯ll head to the hospital and go to the beach when we return,¡± Lixia told her.


    Xiaoyue smiled. ¡°Okay.¡±


    That gentle voice of hers could shatter hearts.


    In twenty minutes, a bowl of fried rice and egg soup wereid out on the table.


    He made sure Xiaoyue finished all of them.


    As Xiaoyue ate her rice, she asked, ¡°Wanna hear a story, darling?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk when you eat. Tell me when you¡¯re done.¡±


    Her smile widened and six white teeth were revealed again.


    After finishing her meal, Xiaoyue started on her story.


    ¡°Five years ago, when I was eleven years old, my parents left the ind to work. I foolishly thought that they didn¡¯t want me anymore. I waited by the beach in hopes that they would return.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been going to the beach every day for five years now?¡± Lixia interrupted.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. The wind was so strong one day that I started hallucinating. I saw my father on the beach and I ran to the water without thinking. The waves swept me up and I thought I was going to die.¡±


    Lixia was stunned. She had never mentioned anything like this.


    ¡°As I was about to pass out I heard a man¡¯s voice. He told me to hang in there. I saw him. He was trying hard to save me, telling me not to be afraid. He managed to get me on the boat but because the wind that day was so strong, the boat capsized shortly after. That uncle reassured me and supported me as he swam on and on. Thest thing he said was that I must live on well and that he would return, but the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for that uncle all along?¡± Lixia asked.


    ¡°Yes. Recently I¡¯ve been dreaming about him and what he said about returning. He asked me to wait,¡± Xiaoyue exined.


    ¡°When did it start?¡± Lixia followed his question with another.


    ¡°After I met you. Before that, I seldom go to the beach. Perhaps once a month, which must be the reason why he¡¯se to look for me. Wait with me for his return, will you darling?¡± Xiaoyue said.


    ¡°He won¡¯te back. He¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s been appearing in my dreams. He said he¡¯lle back,¡± Xiaoyue insisted.


    ¡°Wait. In your dreams? Do you remember what he looks like?¡± Lixia questioned.


    ¡°Not when I woke up, but in my dreams, I could see him clearly,¡± Xiaoyue answered.


    Lixia fell into deep thought.


    ¡°Uncle said he¡¯ll return. Perhaps he¡¯s still alive. Will you wait with me, darling?¡± Xiaoyue asked again.


    Five years ago? Lixia smiled bitterly. ¡°That uncle¡¯s already back.¡±


    Xiaoyue looked at him doubtfully.


    Lixia exined slowly, ¡°That uncle is my father and I¡¯ve returned to you for him. You¡¯ve been dreaming of him because you see me a lot in the day. My father and I look strikingly simr.¡±


    Xiaoyue stared at him nkly.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if this was the time to say ¡®I love you¡¯ but he knew that he had to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.


    She was severely malnourished and suffering from a heat stroke.


    After receiving some medicines prescribed by the doctor, Lixia brought Xiaoyu to see his mom.


    Xiaoyue told the story to Lixia¡¯s mother and she started crying.


    Caringly, Lixia¡¯s mother spoke, ¡°Li, you¡¯re the only man Grandma and I can rely on now... and Xiaoyue.¡±


    Lixia ran up to the attic to retrieve a photo album.


    In it were the photos of his deceased father.


    Upon seeing them, Xiaoyue nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him.¡±


    Lixia took a photo out from the album and held it beside his face.


    They had an 80 percent resemnce, save for the sparse stubble his father had.


    Lixia smiled. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    Xiaoyue smiled widely, exposing her six white teeth.


    These were the two men Xiaoyu remembered: the man who rescued her from the violent sea... and the man who rescued her from the summer that kept her prisoner for five whole years.

 Chapter 11: Clap Clap Clap I

    <h4>Chapter 11: p p p I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I¡¯m a fresh graduate.


    After graduation, I found myself a design job in the next city.


    The pay they offered during probation was very low, probably half of a month¡¯s worth.


    My parents weren¡¯t rich so I¡¯ve never feltfortable asking them for money.


    I have four thousand dors in savings. It¡¯s the money that I¡¯ve scrimped and saved throughout my four years of university.


    The city mypany was located in was forty kilometers away from home.


    It was impossible for me to travel back and forth every day. I didn¡¯t even dare begin to contemte the transportation costs.


    As such, I have no choice but to rent an apartment.


    Initially, my colleague suggested for us to share an amodation but I¡¯m used to living alone.


    God never disappoints the good, though. I found this extremely cheap unit through the newspapers.


    It was only a street away from my office. I was happy because this would allow me to sleep in a little more.


    Myndy was a sixty-year-old aunty. She has a thick local ent.


    She looked exactly like the stereotypicalndy as she greeted me with a circr fan in her hand, ushering me up to the second floor.


    This was a worn down, unfinished building. Cracks have already appeared on the walls.


    The aunty told me cordially, ¡°Little fellow, don¡¯t judge this house by its cover. It has everything you¡¯ll need: air conditioning, water heater, and even a colored television.¡±


    At that, she inserted the house key into the keyhole and opened the door. She was right.


    The iplete looking building contained a house that had been borately done up.


    It had a room, a hall, a bathroom, and even a kitchen.


    The house smelled brand new and had a wallpaper that was soft pink in color.


    The kitchen contained all the necessary cooking equipment and even condiments.


    I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did you prepare this unit for your son or daughter, aunty? Are you renting it out to me because they¡¯re working outside and you don¡¯t wish to waste this space?¡±


    Thendy looked at him in happy surprise. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. My son is working elsewhere. Do you like it? 450 a month is cheap, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I nodded hurriedly.


    Compared to the market prices, this house was a steal.


    After handing over the money, I lugged my bags inside and settled in.


    However, all of this started seeming strange to me.


    I even found women¡¯s lingerie when I was packing my clothes into the wardrobe.


    I couldn¡¯t sleep that night.


    Suddenly I heard it.


    p p p.


    Oh my god. Are the neighbors performing a live show?


    I rested my ear against the wall.


    This, this, this... is just great.


    The next morning, I walked out of the house with messy hair and an oily face.


    It was 9:30 and I was already half an hourte.


    Gotta me it on that couple...


    Aye? A couple came out from the unit next door.


    They broke into a smile upon seeing me.


    I greeted, ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m your new neighbor.¡±


    They looked at my unit number, and the guy nodded. ¡°We moved in yesterday as well.¡±


    Thedy blushed and pursed her lips. ¡°You look listless. Didn¡¯t sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I smiled helplessly. How coincidental, we¡¯re all new to this building.


    Watching the couple¡¯s fading silhouettes I figured they were aware that they had disrupted my sleep the night before.


    I thought I was going to get a good sleep that night, but the sounds returned.


    Oh god. I used the nket to cover my face.


    The wooden walls¡¯ soundproofing was horrendous.


    On the second night of my stay, I did not sleep properly as well.


    What am I to do if this goes on?


    Oh, my. When will her periode?


    A week went by and nothing changed. pping sounds filled the nights.


    I could no longer count the number of times I¡¯d fallen asleep on my work desk.


    I was just so, so sleepy.


    One day, I fell asleep with my face on the keyboard.


    When my boss woke me up, the keyboard was already drenched in my drool.


    He told me off angrily, saying that the keyboard was from a brand called HHKB.


    It cost him a few thousand yuan and he¡¯d thought that his employees would find it morefortable to type on it.


    But because I used it as my pillow, I was fired.


    He did not ask me to pay but my sry was definitely going down the drain.


    At home, all I could think of was that couple.


    The upants on top and below were all students.


    And the unit on the other side of mine was upied by old people.


    Only this couple... it had to be them.


    I mustered the courage and knocked on their door.


    Once, twice.


    No one opened it.


    I looked through the keyhole in hope to see something.


    Pitch ck.


    Frustrated, I left.


    I decided to treat myself to a good meal before searching for another job the next day.


    I visited a high-ss western restaurant nearby.


    Hey, isn¡¯t that the couple?


    I walked up to them immediately.


    ¡°Do you guys still remember me?¡± I asked.


    The man smiled foolishly. ¡°Hey, neighbor, why didn¡¯t you bring your girlfriend along? Where¡¯s she?¡±


    Surprised, I responded, ¡°I¡¯m a fresh graduate, what girlfriend?¡±


    The guy questioned, face full of doubt, ¡°No girlfriend? So you¡¯ve been watching porn by yourself every day? So loud! Don¡¯t you want us to sleep?¡±


    I was struck dumb. ¡°You guys are the noisy one. Why are you putting the me on me?¡±


    Red in the face, thedy answered, ¡°The sounds are clearlying from your room so how can it be us?¡±


    Awkward. I thought back to the sounds at night.


    They did seem too clear. If they¡¯re not froming from the other side of the wall... is it possible it came from the other side of my nket?


    And the lingerie in the wardrobe...


    I broke out in cold sweat.

 Chapter 12: Clap Clap Clap II

    <h4>Chapter 12: p p p II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°Wait, is it really not you? We¡¯re certain that the sounds areing from your unit,¡± the man said.


    I took a few steps back.


    Panicking, I left the restaurant.


    Something was fishy.


    I went straight to the house to look for thendy.


    ¡°Why is the rent so cheap?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡±


    I pressed on and she finally told me a story.


    A couple used to stay in my unit


    They were from another part of the country.


    ¡°When they first moved in, the house was only semi-finished. They started decorating the ce a few days after settling in. They were an extremely loving couple. The sounds you mentioned... I know. I know it because the neighbors next door wereining.¡±


    ¡°Good things don¡¯tst, sadly. The man was a delivery guy and was ran over by a truck one day. It turned out, the ident was caught on camera. He was still alive but the driver rolled over him once again before fleeing the scene. He wanted to avoid taking responsibility. How cruel. He was caught after all and sentenced to seven years in jail.¡±


    Upon hearing this story, I whipped out my phone and started doing a search.


    I asked for the street name where the ident had urred.


    She mumbled it to me.


    Typing it into the search engine, I was quickly able to verify her story.


    The crime scene had been captured very clearly.


    The truck driver had knocked down a motorcyclist beside his vehicle.


    He paused for over ten seconds before elerating and going over the victim once more.


    Exactly what thendy had ryed.


    I showed her the phone screen.


    She pointed at it and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the one. It was all over the television news that day.¡±


    ¡°What happened after?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Later on, the girl kept crying in her room. The truck driver was a gambling addict who owed tons of money and couldn¡¯t pay them off. After some time, the neighbors startedining. They moved out shortly after. I had no choice. I went up to her unit a monthter to collect payment. It was then that I found her dangling from the ceiling pir above the bed.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Someone died in here and you¡¯re renting it to me?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I¡¯m 63 and haven¡¯t seen anything. I¡¯m already renting it out at such a cheap price. Whether you¡¯ll stay or not, it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    ¡°Give me a refund. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t do refunds. Not for down payment, not for rent,¡± she informed me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve only been staying here for a little over a week. Plus, you¡¯re in the wrong for concealing something like this. How can you do this?¡± I asked, indignant.


    ¡°Do you remember the agreement that we signed? It has stated clearly that there won¡¯t be any refund. It¡¯s so much cheaper here than other rentals. You should take that into consideration,¡± she spoke righteously.


    ¡°But there¡¯s a ghost in here!¡± I raised my voice.


    ¡°Ghost? Did she do anything to you? I¡¯ll say it again; whether you want to stay or not, it¡¯s up to you,¡± thendy said firmly and turned her attention back to the television.


    I returned to my room.


    I no longer had what I had thought would be the start of a stable ie.


    I was unable to get a refund.


    Helpless, Iy on the bed and fell asleep soon after.


    I woke up in the middle of the night.


    p p p.


    I could clearly feel that they were on my bed.


    Beside me.


    The clip I¡¯ve watched in the day resurfaced in my mind.


    It got me thinking.


    They would be a perfectly happy couple if not for that ident.


    Inded myself another design job.


    I got used to them being around and their lingering love.


    I could feel their happiness and joy.


    On the second month, I paid my rent again.


    Thendy smiled at me. ¡°d you realized what a bargain this ce is, young man. Good call.¡±


    I could only smile. I stayed not because of the price but because of the warmth the two lovers filled the house with.


    This unit preserved and constantly reyed the beautiful memories they¡¯d shared before their deaths.


    A few nightster, the moanings stopped.


    I mumbled, ¡°Thanks for thepany.¡±


    It looked like their souls have departed. It¡¯s been such a long time, after all, they couldn¡¯t possibly appear all the time.


    My thoughts were proven wrong the next day.


    That night, mournful cries echoed throughout the house.


    The couple next door couldn¡¯t stand it. They banged on my wall repeatedly.


    I couldn¡¯t bear the pitiful cries but I was unable to stop them. However, I could feel her loneliness and grief.


    A monthter.


    I woke up.


    Everything felt like a dream.


    The door of my unit was open.


    A couple walked in.


    They seemed pleased with what they saw.


    Thendy walked out of the door with the rent money in her hand.


    After locking the door behind them, the couple embraced.


    They¡¯re ghosts, aren¡¯t they? I wasn¡¯t afraid.


    No way? What¡¯s going on?


    Haven¡¯t they always been doing it for two hours?


    Why¡¯s this guy so weak? Just one minute?


    Their conversation shocked me even more.


    ¡°This house is great, hubby.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s so cheap. We can use the remaining money to get a car.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. Go rest for a little while I go take a look. There seems to be a kitchen so I¡¯ll whip something up for you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Aye, why¡¯s there a spectacle cloth in the cupboard?¡±


    The man held my spectacle cloth up.


    I touched my face. I¡¯m seeing clearly without my sses.


    I walked out of the house smiling.


    The sun shone down on me but I produced no shadow.


    And I¡¯m fading. I quickly returned to my unit.


    I understood now.


    I remembered now.


    I¡¯m already dead.


    I was infected by the woman¡¯s incessant weeping. Life was bleak.


    Half a monthter, I followed in her footsteps.


    I hung myself in the same spot above the bed.


    And upon discovering my death, thendy had once again rented this unit out to this couple.

 Chapter 13: Sometimes I

    <h4>Chapter 13: Sometimes I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°You¡¯re ying this game too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong? Isn¡¯t it fun?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is, but not when there¡¯s a bug.¡±


    ¡°There is a bug in this game?¡± I questioned doubtfully.


    ¡°Fast forward your clock to tomorrow and you¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I did as I was told and entered back in the game.


    There were rewards waiting to be collected.


    So it¡¯s limitless?


    As I was about to fast forward it to the following day, a message came in.


    Dahai: Lemme treat you to a meal, brother.


    Iughed and called him.


    ¡°The number you¡¯ve reached is not in service...¡±


    Aye? Not in service?


    I turned the clock back and called him again.


    ¡°What gold mine did you strike, huh? Why a treat?¡± I jested.


    ¡°What are you talking about? I never said anything about treating you,¡± was his reply.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I hung up.


    I searched for the message but it had disappeared.


    I rubbed my eyes, bewildered.


    The next afternoon, I was woken up from a nap by a message.


    Dahai: Lemme treat you to a meal, brother.


    What on earth? I hurriedly dialed his number.


    ¡°How did you know that my stock prices went up, brother? Have you been buying them too?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Why are you talking about a treat now? That wasn¡¯t what you said yesterday,¡± I told him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? My stocks went up. All three of them! Ha!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great, definitely worth a treat,¡± I replied absent-mindedly.


    I stared down at my mobile phone, puzzled.


    Did I also manipte the real time when I changed my phone¡¯s date and time settings?


    No way.


    How could that be?


    I walked on the streets after the hearty meal and made the loudest burp ever.


    As I was strolling, an unfamiliar call came in.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember me, child?¡±


    ¡°You are... ¡± I prompted. It was the voice of a middle-aged woman.


    ¡°Do you still remember Jiajia? I¡¯m his mother. I got your number from the school, I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    I quivered.


    Cao Jiajia was my close childhood friend.


    Eight years ago, he had drowned in a waterpark due to machine failure and inadequate security.


    ¡°Is anything the matter, Aunty?¡±


    ¡°I need your help. I¡¯ve been dreaming about Jiajia recently. He wants to see you. It¡¯s his death anniversary this Sunday. Will youe with us to Kunshan to visit him?¡±


    My heart broke. She must miss him a lot.


    I thought back to the time of his cremation.


    His grandmother wasn¡¯t feeling well back then and his parents couldn¡¯t contain their emotions.


    I was the one who carried his ashes.


    ¡°Sunday? I¡¯ll be there. You guys haven¡¯t moved, right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. Sorry to trouble you.¡±


    ¡°No worries, Aunty. I haven¡¯t seen him in a long time, too,¡± I reassured her.


    After hanging up, I saved her number on my phone.


    Completely sober now, I started scrolling through my contacts.


    I easily found Cao Jiajia¡¯s number.


    It had a total of 11 digits, starting with a 13, just like a mobile device.


    He used to brag a lot about having a mobile phone.


    I called the number but it was no longer in use.


    I turned my phone¡¯s time back to eight years ago.


    I texted, ¡°You there?¡±


    Ten minutes...


    Twenty minutes...


    As I was about to give up, a text came in. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Lu Qiao, your good friend,¡± I replied urgently.


    ¡°You have a mobile phone, too? Why is your number so strange?¡±


    I called him immediately.


    ¡°Sorry, the number you¡¯ve reached is not in service...¡±


    Guess this doesn¡¯t work for calls.


    ¡°Has school ended?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m doing my homework and secretly ying the snake game.¡±


    ¡°Finish it up fast and let me copy your work tomorrow.¡± Tears streamed down my cheeks involuntarily. He had always been the smarter one.


    ¡°Oh right, so why do you have a phone?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you but keep it to yourself. I got jealous of yours and bought it with my pocket money.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone, buddy.¡±


    ¡°Remember not to talk about the phone when we meet,¡± I sent after some thought.


    ¡°I told you I¡¯m not going to talk about it! I¡¯m going to finish up my homework now or you won¡¯t be able to hand yours in tomorrow.¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply again. My eyes were red and swollen from crying.


    I bought a new mobile phone and stopped manipting the time on the psychic phone.


    Kunshan was about a two-hour train ride away from here.


    I applied for a leave the day before and packed both mobile phones into my bag.


    I would chat with Jiajia, without fail, at 5 pm every day.


    Perhaps gifting Jiajia¡¯s mother this psychic phone would be good for her.


    Sunday morning.


    Relying on pure memory, I arrived at Jiajia¡¯s house and knocked on the door.


    A priest opened it.


    I was surprised for a moment but out came Jiajia¡¯s father.


    He had a headful of white hair now.


    Jiajia¡¯s father told me that the priest had been engaged by his mother to drive out the devils harassing his wife. She had gone mad a few years back.


    Hearing this made me feel empty inside.


    In my bag was the psychic phone that would allow her to keep in touch with her son.


    Yet, I couldn¡¯t get myself to talk about it with Jiajia¡¯s father at all.


    Trembling, I asked, ¡°Can I go in and have a look?¡±


    He considered it for a long moment before he finally nodded.


    A middle-aged woman was weeping in the middle of the room, a photograph of her son pressed tightly against her chest.


    She sounded as though her throat was all dried up.


    I shivered slightly before offering her a ss of water that was on the table.


    ¡°Drink some water, Aunty,¡± I said, my voice weak and trembling.


    Uncle walked over and tapped on my shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s useless. Her soul¡¯s not in here. She won¡¯t acknowledge your presence. I¡¯ll be visiting Jiajia alone. Are youing?¡±


    ¡°Jiajia?¡± I asked.


    Uncle nodded.


    Being cooped up in the car with Jiajia¡¯s father and seeing his white hair, realizing how much time has passed, was making me jittery.


    I tried to break the tension with small talk. ¡°Um, Aunty, is she...¡±


    ¡°She became like this a few years back. She would go crazy whenever Jiajia¡¯s death anniversary approaches and get better after. We just didn¡¯t manage to stop her from calling you this time around. I¡¯m so sorry to bother you,¡± Uncle exined.


    It turned out that Jiajia¡¯s parents never had another kid after him.


    And every year, they woulde up to Kunshan to pay a visit.


    Until Aunty fell ill.


    She also had my mobile number for a few years now, it just so happened that this year, Uncle hadn¡¯t managed to stop her from contacting me.


    ¡°You little rascal. How can you do this to us...¡± Jiajia¡¯s father cried out, his forehead stuck close to the gravestone.


    I, too, squatted and ced my forehead down and whispered, ¡°How worrisome...¡±


    Uncle put down the fresh flowers.


    Visitors had long been banned from burning incense paper in this graveyard. Nevertheless, Uncle retrieved a lighter from inside of his shoes.


    He, who¡¯d never smoked, started taking pieces of paper out from his bag and burning them.


    He looked and me and said, ¡°Join me. The wind here is strong. Shield me a little so I can burn more money for him.¡±


    I took off my windbreaker to cover his hands.


    He mumbled constantly while burning the papers.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing good down there? Stop looking for your mother, alright? I¡¯ve given you enough money, spend them wisely. Find me if you miss home. Don¡¯t frighten your mother anymore,¡± Uncle said and continued, ¡°I know you miss us but she¡¯s my only wife. Don¡¯t take her away, son.¡±


    ...


    A long timeter, Uncle stood up and dumped the ashes into the bag.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to witness this.¡± He smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Not at all, not at all,¡± I answered immediately.


    ¡°Will you be here next year?¡± he asked after a pause. ¡°Actually, no, forget it, don¡¯te. It¡¯s none of your business, to begin with,¡± he added helplessly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be here this time next year. It¡¯s a promise.¡±


    I gazed at the phone in my bag upon returning home.


    I had no courage to hand it over to Uncle.


    I noticed a text from Jiajia from 5 minutes ago.


    ¡°Can¡¯t talk today. Mom and Dad are bringing me to the waterpark.¡±


    A chill went down my spine.


    It was Jiajia¡¯s death anniversary.


    Which meant that eight years ago, on this day, he had drowned in the waterpark.


    My whole body went numb and my blood turned cold.


    The hair on my back stood on end as if I¡¯ve been electrocuted.


    And it struck me. I flipped through the psychic phone.


    Contact: Jiajia¡¯s mother


    Please tell me you haven¡¯t changed your number since then.


    I sent a short message over: Don¡¯t bring him to the waterpark, Aunty.


    I stood in the same spot, waiting.


    After ten minutes, a response came through. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Great!


    ¡°I¡¯m from the future, believe it or not. Do not take him to the waterpark or something bad will happen to him,¡± I replied quickly.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Aunty responded.


    I looked at the screen in despair.


    Right, who in their right mind would believe such a message?


    I tried calling her.


    ¡°Sorry, the number you¡¯ve reached is not in service...¡±


    I couldn¡¯t move. I dropped down to the floor.


    One minute...


    Two minutes...


    Ding!


    The phone lit up with a text from Jiajia.


    ¡°Trip¡¯s canceled. I wanna cry.¡±


    I was overjoyed. I took out the new mobile phone and made a call.


    ¡°How¡¯s Jiajia? Is he ok?¡±


    Jiajia¡¯s father answered bitterly, ¡°Have you gone mad too, child? How can the deade back to life?¡±


    ¡°I... I...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, kid. Go see a psychologist. It¡¯s a condition. Treat it slowly,¡± he advised in a low, helpless voice.


    Jiajia sent another message.


    ¡°Are you gloating right now? Answer me.¡±

 Chapter 14: Sometimes II

    <h4>Chapter 14: Sometimes II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°Not true. I¡¯m correcting my homework.¡±


    Our conversation ended this way.


    And I returned to work.


    Nothing had changed except for the additional phone in my bag.


    I continued chatting with Jiajia every day after his school.


    I gradually realized that I might¡¯ve saved Jiajia after all, albeit in a parallel universe.


    And in this universe that I¡¯m living in, he¡¯s not going toe back.


    An afternoon three dayster.


    Ding!


    ¡°Mom just received a call. I¡®ve been allocated to the fourth college. Are we going to be schoolmates?¡±


    It was then that I remembered that it was thest week of primary six. We were busy preparing for the exam and because I had no phone, we seldom chatted. Because of his death, I had no idea which college he would¡¯ve been allocated to. All I knew was that I¡¯d been allocated to the sixth.


    ¡°Pity. I¡¯ll be studying in the sixth.¡±


    ¡°Aye, looks like we have to keep in touch through messaging. No idea why I can¡¯t seem to call you. It doesn¡¯t connect.¡±


    ¡°I bought this phone on the sly so it¡¯s perpetually in silent mode. Sorry about that,¡± I hurriedly replied, thinking it was actually for the better that we ended up in different schools.


    That way I wouldn¡¯t get caught. Not in this universe and his.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay in contact, alright?¡± Jiajia sent.


    ¡°For sure.¡± I looked at his message, perplexed.


    How would things be between us now if he was still alive?


    ¡°Hey, Lu Qiao. There¡¯s a new colleague. Show her around,¡± Daihai, from the human resources department, called out with a smile.


    ¡°Why me? I¡¯m already very busy,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t say it as if I¡¯m mistreating you. The new staff is a beauty.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get to say that, what if my tastes -¡± My sentence was cut short as my jaw dropped.


    A beautiful woman with silky ck hair that draped over her shoulders was stood just behind Daihai. Her fringe parted in the center and ended just above her eyelids.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already given you a chance. Old Liu,e. This...¡±


    Before Dahai could continue, I had already rushed over to him and cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s alright, continue with your work, Old Liu.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking. I¡¯ll show her around,¡± I whispered in Daihai¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Look at you.¡± Heughed before walking off.


    The beauty stopped in front of me and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Qiao, right?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Xiaoqiao,¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay. Hi, Xiaoqiao. My name¡¯s Lu Qiaoqiao, you can also call me Xiaoqiao,¡± she told me, that brilliant smile still on her face.


    That cheeky runt. He had done this on purpose because of our names.


    It was good that I was guiding her because it gave me an excuse to get her number.


    I saved her name in my contacts as Xiaoqiao.


    I walked home absentmindedly after work.


    All I could process in my mind was Xiaoqiao¡¯s figure.


    For someone who had been single for over twenty years, Xiaoqiao was practically a goddess.


    I wanted so badly to get to know her.


    Right. I¡¯ll send her a casual text to get things started.


    I wasn¡¯t really paying attention as I rummaged through my bag so I identally brought out my psychic phone instead of the new one.


    I was about to return it when I thought of something.


    I adjusted the time and sent her a text.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Lu Qiao.¡±


    ¡°You have two numbers, Brother Qiao?¡± she queried.


    It was then that I remembered that the numbers on both phones were different.


    ¡°Yeah. One for work and one personal.¡±


    ¡°How professional. Looks like I¡¯ll have to get another mobile too.¡±


    ...


    Things went on rather smoothly save for some issues.


    ¡°Aye, you like sweetened soy milk? I like the salted one. Looks like you¡¯re a heretic!¡± she texted.


    No, no. I turned back the time to a minute ago.


    Indeed, thest two messages had disappeared.


    ¡°Drink? Salted soy milk¡¯s the best,¡± I sent.


    ¡°Wow, really? We have the same taste in a drink! You¡¯re not bluffing, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, why would I do that?¡± I reassured her as I penned down the details.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now. See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    Immediately, I fast forwarded the time to the next night after work.


    ¡°Tired?¡± I asked her.


    Just like that, I spent a whole night finishing a week¡¯s worth of conversation with Xiaoqiao.


    I prepared a notebook that was filled with all of her habits and likes.


    The next day, after work, I held onto it for reference.


    Using my new mobile, I sent her a text. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Lu Qiao.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be bothering you a lot from now on, Brother Qiao.¡±


    The content of her message was different, something within my expectation.


    I only had one chance in real life so I had to make good use of it.


    This is it. I looked down at the information I¡¯vepiled.


    ¡°I have extra tickets to thetest film ¡®Gaze¡¯. Interested?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Aye, Brother Qiao, how did you know about it? I¡¯ve been waiting for its release for ages! Heh heh, are you trying to date me?¡±


    ¡°No, it just so happened that my friend had to cancel and I don¡¯t want to ask another guy. So, would you be interested ining with me this weekend?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    I could feel the smile on her face.


    Half a year passed just like that.


    I fell into a routine.


    Whenever I was bored at work, I would contact Xiaoqiao with the psychic phone.


    And the good thing was that I didn¡¯t need to hurry to reply to her.


    I would simply wait until I was less busy to turn back the time and respond to her texts.


    One day, I received a message from her.


    ¡°Brother Qiao, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re always waiting by your phone? Your replies are almost instant.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I miss you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this, Brother Qiao. I¡¯ll be embarrassed if you¡¯re doing this for me.¡±


    Embarrassed? Have I seeded?


    ¡°I like you, Xiaoqiao,¡± I tested.


    Five minutes...


    Ten minutes...


    Failed?


    Dead end?


    I rewound the time.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I miss you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this, Brother Qiao. I¡¯ll be embarrassed if you¡¯re doing this for me.¡±


    ¡°Kidding. It¡¯s just me. I reply fast. Don¡¯t mind it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m overthinking...¡±


    What¡¯s going on?


    Was I too slow? Have I missed my chance?


    I had unlimited tries, anyway.


    I started experimenting like crazy.


    ¡°Do you have a boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment.¡±


    ¡°What was your previous rtionship like?¡±


    No reply.


    Restart.


    ¡°Not at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you think of me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a good man. You¡¯re not trying to be my boyfriend, are you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re suitable now.¡±


    I started thinking and flipping through my notebook.


    I was going to make use of this information to n a surprise.


    I asked her out.


    After 99 roses, a knee on the ground by the entrance of a bustling park, and her favorite 30-carat diamond ring, I did it.


    She agreed in front of everybody.


    But there was no joy in her face.


    Just like that, she became my girlfriend.


    I figured she was just afraid that I¡¯d make a fool out of myself in front of people.


    All she talked to me about were recent events.


    Every time I asked about her past, she would change the subject.


    I started stalking her friends on social media.


    Just as expected, details from a year back had all been wiped out.


    I had no ess to her profile as it was open only to friends.


    Until one day, when we were watching a movie together.


    It was an impromptu idea and the film was shitty.


    Her phone dropped to the floor.


    I picked it up and was about to return it to her when I noticed that she was fast asleep.


    I unlocked it with the pin I¡¯d memorized a long time ago.


    Finally, I obtained some clues from her QQ space.


    While her page was gone, there was an unfamiliar name among her contacts.


    Qingfeng.


    ¡°I¡¯m wrong. Please give me a call at 158****0063.¡±


    Xiaoqiao did not save that number.


    I silently memorized the number.


    I exited QQ, locked her phone, and slipped it into her shirt pocket.


    I had totally lost interest in the film by now.


    Using the psychic phone, I saved that number from earlier and sent a text, knowing that it wouldn¡¯t have any effect on real life.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Qiaoqiao.¡±


    A reply came a few minutester.


    ¡°You changed your number after all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°After serving the army for two years, I was privately selected to be an undercover agent. Do you believe me?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Is this her ex-boyfriend? A soldier and undercover agent?


    ¡°Guess you still don¡¯t or you wouldn¡¯t have blocked me and deleted everything rted to me. Can you take a look at the drug trafficking case in C City? June 29th,st year. Hope you can give me a call after.¡±


    I was flustered.


    Is this for real?


    I recalled the well-known drug trafficking case from half a year back where half a ton of drugs had been seized.


    I sank into deep thought.

 Chapter 15: Sometimes III

    <h4>Chapter 15: Sometimes III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I caught a glimpse of Xiaoqiao and had long lost the mood to continue with the film.


    I turned the time back to eight years ago.


    I texted Jiajia. He should be off from school by now.


    ¡°Jiajia, I¡¯m facing a love crisis.¡±


    I¡¯d thought that he would¡¯ve taken a long time to respond, but within seconds, my phone lit up from his reply.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t contacted me in a while.¡±


    I looked at the date. I¡¯ve been too busy chatting with Xiaoqiao to realize that half a year had already passed in the real world and the world from eight years ago.


    ¡°Been busy with school.¡±


    ¡°Busy, but not busy enough that you found the time for love? And falling into a crisis at that. I¡¯m going to your school to lodge a report.¡±


    It was then that I recalled that Jiajia was still a junior high schooler.


    ¡°Jiajia, if Ultraman loses his voice-changing device and you happen to find it, would you return it to him?¡± I tried changing the context.


    ¡°Dang! Am I a kid? What Ultraman and voice-changing device...¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help butugh as I read his reply. It was childish indeed. I stared at my phone screen, thinking of a response.


    Another message came in. ¡°Will I be able to transform if I use that voice-changing device?¡±


    I was stunned.


    Transformation...


    I applied this thought back to the current context.


    I sped my phone tightly.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll transform, have all the fun that I want, and when I get sick of it, I¡¯ll return it to him¡±


    All the fun...


    Get sick of it...


    I started getting antsy.


    I must be overthinking.


    We were talking about Ultraman and transformation device, not anything indecent.


    Before I could return his text, a slender, lily-white hand swept past my eyes and took my phone away from me.


    ¡°Eh? I haven¡¯t seen this mobile.¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is an old phone that I use as a spare so I have a separate phone for work and my personal use.¡±


    I didn¡¯t rush to take the phone back to avoid suspicions.


    ¡°Who is this is? Why are you guys talking about Ultraman?¡±


    ¡°Oh. He¡¯s a distant rtive. My nephew. He¡¯s young so I can only talk about animated films with him.¡±


    Xiaoqiao clicked on the home screen but there was nothing much on there.


    Unable to spot anything out of the ordinary, she returned it to me. ¡°That is childish.¡±


    I was relieved. It was fortunate that she hadn¡¯t scrolled through the conversation between Jiajia and me.


    ¡°This film is surprisinglyme,¡± sheined.


    I sent her home and I contemted what Jiajia had said.


    Returning after getting sick of it? A kid is a kid.


    It was something that hadn¡¯t crossed my mind.


    Should I carry on pretending that this guy doesn¡¯t exist?


    Or should I tell her the truth and let her make a decision?


    I was in a dilemma.


    Wait, wait.


    Why don¡¯t I ask her directly?


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t thinking about the present Xiaoqiao but the one in the future.


    I took out my psychic phone and fast forwarded the time to twenty-five years.


    I¡¯d nned for a fifteen years leap but my finger slipped.


    So be it.


    I was in the year 2016 and the phone had been adjusted to the year 2041.


    Won¡¯t everything be settled if I just ask if she¡¯s my wife?


    ¡°You there, Xiaoqiao?¡±


    Ten minutes...


    Twenty minutes...


    ¡°Yes. You are?¡±


    Oh my god!


    I quivered in nervousness. Wait. Perhaps I never used this number to talk to her.


    I didn¡¯t dare to tell her my name. My chest was aching. ¡°I¡¯m your old friend. Are you married?¡±


    ¡°No. Now¡¯s not the time.¡±


    Not the time?


    ¡°Are you still in touch with Lu Qiao?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Who are you exactly?¡±


    I turned the time back, unable to continue conversing with her any longer.


    25 yearster and she was still not married.


    I stared at my phone screen grudgingly.


    Not married. Not the right time.


    Then why was she in a rtionship with me?


    To kill time? Can¡¯t find the guts to reject me?


    At this point, that man came to mind.


    I turned the time back to present day and sent him a message with this number.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your story. Why couldn¡¯t you just give her a text while you were serving in the army?¡±


    A long whileter, a response came.


    ¡°You know her?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Zhou Yu. The nature of my job doesn¡¯t allow me to contact family members and friends. I didn¡¯t wish for things to turn out this way. I¡¯d finally managed to transfer to another department but happened.¡±


    I pondered over his words.


    ¡°You really like her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    It felt as though I was offering myst piece of candy to a child that I disliked.


    ¡°I can help you woo her back.¡±


    I regretted it almost instantly but the text was already delivered.


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great.¡±


    I asked Xiaoqiao out to a nearby cafe that very weekend.


    I thought about what I was going to say but nothing seemed right.


    At the scheduled time, Xiaoqiao appeared wearing a floral maxi dress. Her lipstick was fresh red in color. She must have spent a lot of effort on her make-up.


    I smiled and waved to get her attention.


    We sat across each other and started chatting.


    The waitress appeared and Xiaoqiao ordered her usual caramel mhiato.


    I asked for an espresso.


    As if sensing something amiss, she asked, ¡± Why are you drinking something so bitter today?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just tired.¡±


    It was the truth. I hadn¡¯t been sleeping well.


    Well, here goes nothing. ¡°Do you know who Zhou Yu is?¡±


    Her face immediately flushed bright red.


    ¡°How do you know him?¡± she asked, eyes wide and unbelieving.


    ¡°By chance.¡±


    ¡°He was my childhood friend.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten him, have you?¡±


    She wordlessly nodded slowly.


    The speech I¡¯d prepared earlier vanished in a puff of smoke.


    Seeing no point in continuing this rtionship, I lowered my head and forced out, ¡°Let¡¯s break up.¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°Wait, how do you know him? He¡¯s been dead for half a year now.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    A minute of tensed silence.


    ¡°It can be a fake death, right? Isn¡¯t he an undercover? This...¡± I bbered out of confusion.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She quickly covered my mouth.


    ¡°I... I...¡±


    ¡°Hush. Follow me,¡± she ordered while pulling my hand.


    She called the waitress over with surprising calm. ¡°Bill please.¡±


    Thirty kilometers away was Martyr Cemetery.


    ¡°Why are we here?¡±


    ¡°You wanted to know if he¡¯s dead or alive.¡± She stopped before a nameless gravestone.


    Upon taking a closer look, I saw the words ¡°Martyr of the Revolution¡±.


    ¡°This is him?¡± I asked, pointing at the gravestone.


    ¡°Yes. He can¡¯t even reveal his name after death.¡±


    After staring at it for a long time, I hummed and hawed, ¡°Is it possible that he¡¯s faking it like in dramas?¡±


    ¡°He left me a voice message that day but I heard it only a week after. When I called over, the receiver was the local civil police. He was already dead by the time I got there. It was said that in an attempt to nab the big boss, he¡¯d been shot six times consecutively. I was the one who took him back, I was the one who pushed his remains into the crematorium, I was the one who carried his ashes in and I was the one who chose this grave site. Now tell me, how would I not know if he¡¯s dead or alive?¡± Xiaoqiao finished, tears falling down her face.


    ¡°I, him. Which phone?¡± I spoke very incoherently.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you. How did you know him? Did you see my profile space? You snooped didn¡¯t you?¡± she cried out.


    I took my phone out and blurted, ¡°It¡¯s this. It allows you to text people from different times. It... I used it to look for Zhou Yu.¡±


    Xiaoqiao stared nkly at the phone screen, which contained Zhou Yu¡¯s number.


    She¡¯d long engraved his number in her mind. This was it.


    She retrieved a telephone card from her own bag.


    It belonged to Zhou Yu and the number on the card matched that on Lu Qiao¡¯s phone.


    She stared nkly at the phone as she read the conversation Zhou Yu and I shared the previous night.


    She took the mobile device from me.


    I had no idea what text did she sent.


    I just knew that the receiver responded because I heard the notification ring.


    ¡°Is this for real?¡± she asked, getting ready to make a call.


    ¡°Yes, but you won¡¯t be able to get through the line.¡±


    ¡°Can I borrow this for a day? Just one day.¡±


    I nodded.


    My love seemed to have ended in this pathetic way.


    I went back home. It was Monday the next day.


    I should¡¯ve gone to work but I chose to take a leave instead.


    At this point, I was even considering if I should resign.


    I was feeling so downhearted that I drowned my sorrows in a whole bottle of vodka.


    My world turned dark.


    I have no idea how long I¡¯ve slept.


    I felt hungry the moment I woke up. My head was feeling faint.


    Looking down at the phone, I saw that it was 9 pm on a Monday.


    I should eat something.


    I opened the door and I saw Xiaoqiao sitting against the wall, fast asleep, with her knees propped up and hugged close to her chest.


    ¡°What?¡±


    She woke up and smiled at me. ¡°I thought you were outside. Why didn¡¯t you answer the door when I knocked? You reek of alcohol.¡±


    I smiled helplessly. Xiaoqiao looked like an angel.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, join me for a bite?¡± I suggested.


    She nodded before saying, ¡°After you take a shower.¡±


    It turned out that when she found out that I wasn¡¯t at work earlier, she got hold of my address from the office.


    In the restaurant, she returned the phone to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s settled.¡±


    ¡°Settled?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°I told him about the phone, and that in this world, he¡¯s already dead. Since the Xiaoqiao in that other world refuses to pick up his calls, I taught him how to woo her back.¡±


    ¡°How to woo you?¡± I was confused.


    ¡°Yes, using your phone. I listed ces that he might find me at. and indeed, he did it. Whether or not he manages to fight for her is no longer my business.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying...¡± I was shocked.


    ¡°I love you even though you¡¯re stupid enough to be willing to help him win me back. How can you easily hand over someone you like to someone else?¡±


    ¡°What?Then what about the Lu Qiao in that world? What¡¯s he going to do?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Ask him yourself,¡± she smiled.


    I looked down at the phone and I stashed it inside my bag.


    Half a yearter.


    We got married.


    And I left that phone at home.


    Whenever I was free, I would chat with Jiajia.


    Yet another half a yearter, Xiaoqiao got pregnant.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be a father,¡± I texted Jiajia.


    ¡°Damn. A year ago you were telling me you had a love crisis and now you¡¯re telling me that you knocked her up?¡±


    I burst intoughter.


    Later, I found out that Zhou Yu and Xiaoqiao didn¡¯t end up together in that world either.


    Many yearster, I received a text.


    Zhou Yu said Xiaoqiao was pregnant and she had a man beside her named Lu Qiao. He then added that they were a happy couple and he was happy for them.


    Epilogue.


    Xiaoqiao got pregnant.


    Ten monthster, a beautiful baby girl arrived in this world.


    Xiaoqiao¡¯s father suggested that we each used a character from our name to create a name for her.


    Combining my surname with Xiaoqiao¡¯s name, our daughter eventually got the name ¡®Lu Luqiao¡¯.


    And from that day on, I had two Xiaoqiaos by my side.


    Luqiao opted to study in another city when she turned 16.


    Unable to let her go, my wife had me hand over the psychic phone to Luqiao.


    Luqiao continued using the phone and number even after she started working at age 21.


    One day, she sent me a screenshot with a caption attached to it: This is how swindlers cheat people nowadays, Dad. Be wary.¡±


    The screenshot contained a series of text from twenty-five years ago.


    ¡°You there, Xiaoqiao?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your old friend. Are you married?¡±


    ¡°No. Now¡¯s not the time.¡±


    ¡°Are you still in touch with Lu Qiao?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Who are you exactly?¡±

 Chapter 16: Mountain, Sea I: Forget-Me

    <h4>Chapter 16: Mountain, Sea I: Forget-Me</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Recently, a new barbershop called ¡®Hundred Ghosts¡¯ opened nearby.


    Business was booming.


    It was the start of the holidays and my hair had grown long, too.


    I took some time to check out the ce.


    I was stopped by a shop assistant upon arriving at the door


    ¡°Sir, there¡¯s a small rule.¡±


    ¡°Okay, tell me,¡± I smiled.


    ¡°No mirrors allowed inside. That mirror of yours is huge,¡± he mentioned with a bitter smile.


    ¡°Hey, brother. This isn¡¯t a mirror. It¡¯s how I make a living.¡±


    ¡°A rule is a rule,¡± he continued, pointing at the cab by the door.


    Left with no choice, I ced my bagua mirror into the cab, mumbling, ¡°You must know that I¡¯m just curious because this shop is new. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve turned around by now, understand?¡±


    The shop assistant nodded quickly. ¡°So sorry.¡±


    I stepped into a dark room.


    There was a stark contrast between the brightness in and outside of the shop.


    ¡°Is this ce lightproof?¡± I asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of the cheap rent. I¡¯m new here, too, and I am not sure why this ce is like this.¡±


    One side of the wall was covered with mirrors and the ceiling was decorated with incandescent lights.


    The lights seemed very old, though. They were very dim, but I really don¡¯t have a problem with it.


    I took a seat and the assistant proceeded to tell me all the shop¡¯s best selling points.¡±The razors our barbers use are imported from Germany,¡± he exined with a gracious smile.


    ¡°Imported from Germany?¡± I dubiously asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll feel a slight breeze when it runs over your hair and absorbs the shaved hair,¡± he proudly told me.


    I looked at the floor and it was extremely clean, not a single hair in sight.


    It seemed like the business was doing very good because all the seats were filled with customers.


    I just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something fishy was going on. Things seemed strange around here.


    ¡°The barber in charge of your hair isn¡¯t here yet,¡± the assistant informed me.


    Since I wasn¡¯t going to get my hair cut just yet, I started chatting with the assistant.


    When I asked about the owner of the shop, the assistant only gave me a serene smile.


    I insinuated that he was being petty about it and it worked.


    He told me that this barber shop was only the boss¡¯s side business.


    He then told me something unimaginable.


    ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re a Taoist. I just remembered that my interview was in a temple and...¡±


    ¡°And?¡± I prompted, somewhat apprehensive.


    ¡°I found it strange because my interviewer was an old monk.¡±


    Iughed. ¡°Your boss has a big family and career. Shaolin Temple¡¯s hit the market so it¡¯s not surprising that your interviewer was a monk. I won¡¯t be surprised if he could even afford to buy the temple.¡±


    The shop assistant smiled. ¡°Aye, when will your Taoist temple enter the market?¡±


    I chose not to be embarrassed although his words got to me.


    With a bitter smile, I exined, ¡°I¡¯m an orphan and I have been living in the temple since I was young. Do you really think there are many Taoists out there? It¡¯d be funny if there¡¯s even as many Taoists as there are one-tenth of Buddhists.


    ¡°Sorry to bring up your sad past,¡± he apologized.


    I wanted to continue the conversation but the barber walked in.


    I looked at him.


    He had a fresh and refined face but his hair was scruffy. It was unlike most barbers, whose hair are uniquely shaped and colored.


    The barber waved his hand and the shop assistant left to attend to other customers.


    ¡°Bene... Sir, are you looking for a cut or color?¡± he asked, subconsciously raising his hands close to his chest but quickly forcing them down.


    I held back the urge tough.


    ¡°You were about to call me benefactor right?¡± I smirked.


    It looked like the boss preferred hiring monks. This barber was obviously a monk.


    I looked closely at his hairline. It was a wig.


    ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m so sorry about that. Habits are hard to change,¡± he forced a smile.


    ¡°I just want a simple cut,¡± I told him, changing the topic.


    ¡°Then please,e this way bene... Sir. I¡¯ll wash your hair.¡±


    ¡°Hair wash? I just need a cut. I just want to experience that hair-eating razor. A wash isn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a rule. Hair must be washed before a cut.¡±


    ¡°You guys have so many rules.¡± I followed him.


    A bucket of clear water was ced before me. They really do things differently here.


    He pointed to a small stool.


    I sat down and looked at the water surface. ¡°Other shops use running water. Why are you using still water?¡±


    ¡°This is honey locust water. It¡¯s really beneficial for your hair. Since we don¡¯t really use shampoo, we use still water.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right. I¡¯m smelling something strange.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. It¡¯s the smell of honey locust water,¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°Okay, okay. Go ahead, then.¡±


    He took adle and poured water over my head.


    Having lived in the temple for so many years, I could clearly detect the smell of burning incense.


    I held my breath.


    Three times.


    ¡°You¡¯re really not going to use shampoo?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done. It¡¯s how we do it here.¡±


    I followed him back to the main area and to my seat.


    There was no salon cape, which was a refreshing change.


    The barber took out an electric razor.


    It looked no different from a normal razor.


    ¡°Is that the correct one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Just watch.¡± He shaved a bit of hair off my temples.


    Indeed the hair that fell vanished almost immediately.


    And I could feel a soft breeze sweeping past my neck.


    No mirrors allowed... questionable.


    I secretly took out a mini bagua mirror that I kept under my sleeve. It was something I used for self-defense.


    With the light reflected off it, I saw a little ck-bodied and white-haired ghost around my neck.


    I got so frightened it was all I could do not to make any movements.


    Is this ghost sucking my essence?


    I took a closer look at the ghost but I wasn¡¯t able to recognize it.


    I hated reading ¡®ssics of Mountain and Sea¡¯ the most so it wasn¡¯t surprising.


    The barber went on with his job, failing to notice what I was doing.


    I felt that something wasn¡¯t right so I started looking around.


    Damn! There were at least a hundred of this little ghost.


    They were scattered around the shop, surrounding each and every customer.


    The cool breeze that the barbershop bragged about is really caused by the ghosts¡¯ sucking their customers¡¯ hair.


    Each time the barber shaved off a tuft of hair, these ghosts would eagerly take in the falling hair.


    When that was done, they would wait in joy for the next batch of hair.


    I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer but my tool was in the cab.


    Furthermore, the mini bagua mirror in my palm wasn¡¯t exactly useful.


    These monks were probably in cahoots with the ghosts. If this goes on, would people be sucked soulless eventually?


    That water from earlier must have bewitching purposes.


    I was feeling increasingly afraid the longer I sat on the chair.


    Suppressing my fear, I asked in a steady voice, ¡°How are you cutting our hair so casually when there are so many ghosts around?¡±


    I knew that it was wiser to keep my voice down or I might not be able to leave the shop.


    ¡°You can see them, Benefactor?¡± he asked in shock.


    ¡°Of course. Do you want me to shout it out loud?¡± I kept a cool front but I was jumping inside.


    ¡°Follow me, Benefactor.¡± He put his razor down. I stood up and pulled the ghost off my neck.


    Even without the mini bagua mirror, I knew that the ghost was still clinging on to me.


    The barber walked further in front as if he had no intention of bringing me out.


    Going further in, he opened a wooden door. I looked around and followed him in.


    Were we leaving by the back door?


    I clenched my fist, recapping whatever Taoist boxing moves I could remember.


    There was no way I couldn¡¯t beat these monks and ghosts.


    The barber instantly removed his wig as soon as we entered the room. ¡°Amitabha. Can¡¯t get used to it.¡±


    I saw nine dots on his head. A monk, indeed.


    ¡°This way please,¡± he added.


    ¡°What are we doing?¡±


    ¡°Visiting the abbot,¡± he replied, raising a hand up toward the interior.


    Is... is this something major?


    Hush money?


    Or is my life in danger?


    ¡°You guys are real monks, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked, fearing for my life.


    ¡°Yes, monks don¡¯t deceive.¡±


    Oh, great. Monks don¡¯t take lives.


    No, wait.


    Wasn¡¯t there a temple in Thand that confined tigers and used their bones to make and sell wine?


    I froze on the spot.


    The monk had moved a few steps forward but he turned around when he couldn¡¯t hear my footsteps.


    ¡°Is anything wrong, Benefactor?¡±


    ¡°You, uh... you won¡¯t do anything funny right?¡± I stammered.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry,¡± he reassured me before proceeding even further into the room.


    The room was a tunnel that linked the shop to the neighboring national temple.


    It was totally undetectable from the outside.


    There was an old monk chanting inside the main temple hall.


    The barber walked forward and whispered something to the old monk before retreating back into the room where we came from.


    ¡°Come here,¡± he told me softly.


    I took a few steps forward but still kept some distance between us.


    ¡°You have an affinity with Buddha since you can see them.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m the abbot of this temple, is there anything you¡¯d like to ask?¡±


    ¡°Where do these little ghostse from and won¡¯t there be any problem arising from their interaction with humans?¡±


    ¡°The ghosts you¡¯re talking about are called ¡®Forget-Me¡¯. They live off hairs.¡±


    ¡°Forget-Me¡±? I repeated, not really recognizing the name.


    ¡°Hair is the source of worries and humans have three thousand strands of them. When these ghosts consume the hair, they take some of the troubles off of the owners¡¯ minds.¡±


    When he finished his exnation, it finally clicked into ce.


    I remembered that Senior has talked about these ghosts having sex and age preferences. They were fond of men¡¯s hair, especially men in their middle age.


    In order to teach me how to distinguish these ghosts, Senior had brought me to visit Sun Yalong.


    He held the bagua mirror close and I saw a fat ck-bodied, white-haired ghost squatting on his head.


    Perhaps their size difference made it difficult for me to recognize them earlier.


    ¡°I understand, but why are they appearing in the salon?¡±


    ¡°Well, these ghosts reside in the temple, feeding on the hair of new monks whoe in every year. The number of monks is decreasing, however, and we simply do have not enough food to keep them.¡±


    ¡°This...¡± I sighed. The Taoist temple had it worse.


    ¡°A few years back, we had the monks disguise as shop owners in order to collect food for these ghosts, but even then, the supply fell short. A higher educated monk then came up with this idea,¡± he exined.


    ¡°So there won¡¯t be any problem for sure?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°Do you remember the hair wash? There¡¯s ash in it.¡±


    I nodded. I was right.


    ¡°These ghosts only consume fallen hair and not those attached to the scalp. The salon stylists are all monks from the temple so the ghosts won¡¯t do anything funny.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they run out?¡± I asked, curious.


    ¡°The temple is connected to the salon. They work in the day ande back at night. There¡¯s a hundred of them, hence the salon¡¯s name.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Has this got to do with Shaolin¡¯s entrance into the market? Do you guys earn? How are the monthly expenses like?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s slightly rted. We have businesses in other industries.¡±


    Wow. Monks really do not lie...


    It¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re in the market.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s about it. Do you still want a haircut?¡±


    I touched my hair. One side was shorter than the other.


    I nodded seeing as I really had no other choice.


    ¡°Go back through the way you came in and look for that monk,¡± he told me then promptly returned to his chants.


    Touching my half-shaved hair, I walked back to the salon.


    I thought about Old Tao, the glutton we had at home. He had been starved for a long time and he was as skinny as a deted ball. It was not like the past where he could swallow up the heaven and earth.


    I think it was time to start a recycling station. It might hit the market.


    Half a yearter, it happened. The recycling station had been established for two months.


    It was a pity that the government wasn¡¯t able to get profits from it. Just the sanitation workers¡¯ wages alone threw them into a deficit every month.


    There were few Taoists, to begin with, and now all of them had to be temporary sanitation workers.


    Even then it was a losing business.


    The good thing was that Old Tao had gained decent weight.


    ¡°Shut it, you fool. I¡¯ve already taught you how to separate the trash. Why are you just swallowing everything without thinking? These bottles are worth 3 cents each. Spit them out!¡± I scolded as I patted Old Tao¡¯s tummy.

 Chapter 17: Mountain, Sea II: Tao Tie

    <h4>Chapter 17: Mountain, Sea II: Tao Tie</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The biggest obstacle emerged during the fourth month of business.


    ¡°Senior, is the couple gone?¡± I asked shakily.


    ¡°No, they¡¯re threatening to call the police,¡± he told me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them! If the policee in here, they¡¯ll see Old Tao.


    ¡°Looks like we have to look for Master,¡± he decided.


    ¡°You? Or me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go. Go calm the couple down,¡± he instructed.


    I nodded.


    The recycling station was just beside the temple.


    It used to be a courtyard, as well as Old Tao¡¯s home, built by our great, great, great ancestor, Master Chong Xu.


    He was the one who brought Old Tao over. At seven years old, I was overjoyed by the news that Tao Tie was in our temple.


    Old Tao looked nothing like an ancient beast.


    It was just a big ck ball. I thought it was a scam.


    This ck ball ate everything that it was fed. I started caring for it like a dog. However, because the number of people in the temple declined over time, there simply wasn¡¯t enough leftovers to keep Old Tao full.


    Old Tao eventually shrank into the size of a deted ball.


    Thanks to the recycling station, however, Old Tao became the size of half the house again.


    Anyway, I digressed.


    So, the couple was standing and cursing outside the temple.


    I opened the door every so slightly.


    Their voices traveled into the temple.


    ¡°Are you guys shameless or what?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already said that our ring is in the trash. We¡¯re not even asking for your help. Just let us in and we¡¯ll find it ourselves. Why can¡¯t you do that?¡±


    ¡°Are you guys trying to keep it for yourselves?¡±


    ¡°Open up!¡±


    The couple dashed over upon seeing the door slit.


    Oh my god.


    I pressed against the door firmly.


    It was a good thing that I have been boxing. I firmly bolted the door shut.


    I heard them roaring and banging on the door.


    ¡°We¡¯re calling the cops if you don¡¯te out.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe the police will ignore this.¡±


    ¡°Call the police, old man.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it now.¡±


    Panicked, I shouted, ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°Wait? For how long? You told us earlier that we can¡¯t get it back and now you want us to wait?¡±


    Just as I was about to copse from the stress, Senior ran over.


    ¡°Junior. Master wants to see you. Let me handle this, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I nodded thankfully.


    I saw him opening up the door cheerfully.


    Eh? Do we have money topensate?


    It¡¯s 5,000... is it going toe out of Master¡¯s secret stash?


    I ran over to Master¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°How long have you been here, Goudan?¡± he asked before I could even open my mouth.


    ¡°23 years now.¡±


    ¡°Now, this couple is asking for their ring, which is in Tao Tie¡¯s stomach. How are you going to solve it?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I have no solution but you must have it since you¡¯re wise.¡±


    ¡°Setting up a recycling station was your idea. Now that there¡¯s a problem, shouldn¡¯t you take responsibility?¡±


    I nodded absently but quickly shook my head as I realized what he was getting at.


    ¡°No, no. You can¡¯t put all of the me on me, Master.¡±


    ¡°I do have an idea but I¡¯ll need your help.¡±


    Idea? Help?


    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about throwing me into his stomach, are you, Master?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re smart, Goudan. You know me well. It hasn¡¯t been long since Old Tao ingested the ring. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to locate it.¡±


    ¡°Will I be able to get out?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I have my ways.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He took down a red pouch from his waist belt.


    He started tearing it open by pulling its thread.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for? Why are you pulling it apart?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s handed down to me by my master. Legend has it that this pouch is made of immortal rope. I¡¯ll tie this around you, let you into his tummy and pull it up when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡°Is this reliable?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe my words? Oh hey, it broke,¡± he mumbled, sneakily throwing the broken section behind his back.


    He then continued pulling the red rope out.


    I asked anxiously, ¡°Can you use a metal chain? This red rope worries me.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I say you¡¯re stupid. This immortal rope is much better than a metal chain.¡±


    ¡°Am I not worth even 5,000 in your eyes?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you... Bah! Let me tell you. If youe out safely this time, you¡¯ll be the next chief. I guarantee.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I feel the least bit assured?¡± I said, looking him straight in the eyes.


    ¡°Just follow me.¡± He grabbed onto the red rope tightly and gestured for me toe with him.


    Senior was already inside the innermost part of the recycling station.


    ¡°Where¡¯s that couple?¡±


    Senior smiled. ¡°All settled. I wrote a pledge, promising to help them look for it. I had theme back in the afternoon and they agreed.¡±


    I nodded, noticing that Master was already tying the rope around me.


    One and a half round around my waist.


    ¡°Done. Are you going in yourself or do I have to give a little push?¡±


    ¡°This... can you make another round? And add a metal chain perhaps?¡± I asked urgently.


    Meanwhile, Tao Tie was already waiting with his mouth wide open


    ¡°They¡¯reing back in the afternoon. What are you waiting for?¡± Master said before he turned me around and kicked me in the butt.


    A strong suction pulled me in.


    I lost consciousness.


    ¡°Will he be able toe back, Master? The rope is so thin,¡± Seniormented.


    ¡°No one knows,¡± Master replied.


    ¡°Then why did you let him go in?¡± Senior asked anxiously.


    ¡°A few hundred years ago, our great, great, great, great ancestor rescued a child from Tao Tie¡¯s tummy with this rope. He then tied the rope around Tao Tie¡¯s mouth and brought him back to our temple. During the Cultural Revolution, everyone was after this treasure. Luckily, our ancestor weaved it into a pouch and got away with it. It¡¯s been handed down to every generation from then on. If this thing really does what it was supposed to, your junior wille back. Either way, he¡¯s an orphan so no one will really look for him when he disappears. When that happens, we can just say that he ran off with that ring. Easy,¡± Master exined.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t appropriate, is it?¡± Senior questioned.


    ¡°Li Goudan was taken in by my master. He¡¯d said that this child was gifted, yet, he¡¯s been idling away for years, spending our money and taking our food. When he did finally came up with this potential business idea, it ended up costing half of our family fortunes. We even had to mortgage this temple. What am I to do?¡± Master asked.


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°But what? Hold this properly if you¡¯re afraid. Pull it up two hourster.¡± Master turned around and leave without further exnation.


    Helpless, Senior could only pick up the rope that was thrown on the floor.


    ...


    When I regained consciousness, I was in a dark surrounding.


    I processed everything that had happened.


    The red rope was still around my waist and dangling from the sky.


    Did it work? Am I in his stomach?


    Old Tao? Oh right.


    I have to look for the ring.


    All I could see was a sheet of ck.


    Where is it?


    ¡°Where are the things?¡± I shouted as I looked around.


    Nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve separated them. How unexpected. There hasn¡¯t been any live visitor for over a few hundred years, but today, there are two.¡±


    ???


    What was that sound?


    I looked around.


    An old man with crane feather-like white hair was floating above.


    I retrieved a spice bag from my waist belt and opened it up.


    There were five Taoist amulets inside.


    I threw them upward. ¡°Celestial soldiers, arrange yourselves and proceed forward to punish all evil.¡±


    The amulets ignited in mid-air.


    Nothing happened to that old man.


    ¡°I¡¯m immortal and not a demon. How are you going to punish me? Rx, I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    I¡¯d been chanting this mantra ever since I entered the temple.


    Why didn¡¯t it work? There should have been some thunder and lightning at least...


    ¡°Who are you exactly?!¡± I asked in a panic.


    ¡°Tao Tie,¡± he answered.


    ¡°You? Tao Tie? Don¡¯t joke around. Isn¡¯t Tao Tie a ck ball?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Single Breath Pouch?¡±


    ¡°Single Breath Pouch? You¡¯re the pouch monk?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nonsense. I¡¯m immortal.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I continued.


    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been any sentient being in here for such a long time. Since you won¡¯t be able to leave, chat with me. Tell me what¡¯s going on outside.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Tao Tie?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°The dragon king has nine sons and I¡¯m the fifth.¡±


    ¡°Any proof?¡±


    ¡°Through thousand years of cultivation, I turned into a human, and through another thousand years, I became immortal. Wait, why do I have to prove myself to you?¡±


    ¡°You said you¡¯re immortal, so why are you trapped in here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting fellow. It took me a few thousand years to be immortal. As a dragon with a powerful body, I had to search for stronger ways and eventually found Single Breath Pouch. This pouch can take in anything effortlessly. When using it, I tripped and fell inside,¡± he shared.


    Pffftt. I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°Stop it. From then on, I¡¯ve been trapped in here and had to fumble around and take in whateveres since I can¡¯t see. I¡¯ll categorize and separate the items when they reach me. As for my nickname, it¡¯s all hearsay. It¡¯s a pity no one can break this pouch.¡±


    ¡°Categorize?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, on the scale of how precious the items are. I¡¯ll look at their texture and quality and so on. It¡¯s been like this for over a thousand years. Wait, what¡¯s that on your body?¡±


    ¡°My body?¡± I looked at the red rope around my waist.


    ¡°Are you a son of an old friend? I find this red rope very familiar.¡±


    ¡°Old friend?¡±


    ¡°There was once a mortal who entered my pouch. After chatting with me for some time, he left with a child. He had a red rope around his waist just like you.¡±


    ¡°Red rope? Child? There have been people who exited with this red rope?¡±


    The old man nodded.


    I pierced his story together.


    The old man was Tao Tie.


    From a dragon, he turned into a human and then to an immortal.


    He got sucked into Single Breath Pouch.


    Started consuming whatever he collided into.


    That ferocious mythical animal is actually a pouch?


    Did it roll on the ground so much that it turned ck and started looking like a ck ball?


    Meanwhile, the real Tao Tie is this old man!


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re a friend, I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. I can even read your physiognomy,¡± he offered.


    ¡°You can do that?¡±


    ¡°Roughly.¡±


    ¡°Can it be altered?¡±


    ¡°All three immortal souls and seven mortal forms are present but extremely weak. One soul is even on the verge of copsing. I have a few dragon souls that I don¡¯t need since I¡¯ve already taken a human form through years of cultivation. Since we share a special affinity, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    ¡°For real?¡±


    ¡°What harm is there in giving them to you?¡±


    A golden light shot and entered my body.


    I trembled and felt a gush of freshness.


    ¡°Right, Old Tao... no, sorry. Immortal, have you seen a ring?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, did anything valuablee in recently?¡±


    ¡°Valuable? I¡¯ve only been taking in leftover food recently which got me wondering about the situation outside. As you can see, there wasn¡¯t anyone to tell me what¡¯s going on.¡±


    My face turned red in shame for feeding him trash every day.


    ¡°Here are the treasures I¡¯ve umted over the past thousands of years,¡± he said, pointing at a pile on the ground.


    Damn.


    Zodiac gypsum portraits and Gundam figurines?


    Multi-colored gemstones and ss marbles?


    Oil paintings, magazines, andics?


    Copper mirror, ss mirror, and CDs?


    Video games, calctors, and bicycle bells?


    This man doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s what... but then again, he hasn¡¯t been in touch with the outside world.


    ¡°How are my treasures?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re great. I¡¯m looking for something like this piece of ss over here. Have you seen any?¡± I pointed to a small marble.


    Perhaps the ring was too small and he¡¯d overlooked it.


    ¡°No, all I¡¯ve gotten today are leftover food and these ss bottles. All trash.¡±


    ¡°No treasure?¡± I tried my luck again.


    ¡°Oh, right. And this living thing. It¡¯s trying to disguise itself as a gemstone but a pity it¡¯s too small.¡±


    It was the ring.


    ¡°That¡¯s my ring.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s clearly a living thing,¡± he insisted.


    ¡°Living thing?¡±


    As if on cue, the ring on his finger squirmed, its head and tail opening up. It looked like a worm made from a precious stone.


    ¡°What exactly is this?¡±


    ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s a living thing for sure.¡± He pinched the worm a little, turning it back into a ring.


    ¡°Can I take it?¡±


    ¡°Things thate in never ever go out. You can leave since you have that red rope. That¡¯s not within my control, but this ring? No way.¡±


    ¡°What if we do an exchange?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Exchange?¡±


    I retrieve the mini bagua mirror from under my sleeve. This should work.


    The old man inspected it for a long time.


    ¡°It¡¯s good stuff. I can¡¯t have a conversation with this living thing... fine. Let¡¯s exchange.¡±


    He flung his hand forward and the ring came flying toward me. I quickly grabbed it.


    I then shared with him whatever that was going on outside.


    He was clearly shocked.


    I taught him how to y video games and that his lightning could charge electricity.


    He was beyond happy.


    Suddenly, I felt a pull.


    Is Master pulling me out? I felt myself being dragged upward.


    I cup my hands together. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Will visit you when I¡¯m free.¡±


    ¡°Not necessary. Leave it to fate.¡±


    ¡°You can follow me, Tao Tie. Like that child?¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯m immortal and I am taking on a human form, I¡¯m still too heavy. The man from before couldn¡¯t pull me out, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll fail too. Come again when you have the capability.¡± He smiled and waved.


    After a strong pull and a spin, I fell into unconsciousness once more.

 Chapter 18: Mountain, Sea III: Diamond Dust

    <h4>Chapter 18: Mountain, Sea III: Diamond Dust</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I woke up in an incensed room.


    Master and Senior were standing beside the bed I wasying on.


    ¡°Am I back?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the ring?¡±


    ¡°On your finger, why?¡± Senior asked.


    I raised my left hand up and saw it on my index finger.


    I was one hundred percent certain that I¡¯ve been holding it in my palm.


    Tao Tie said it was a living thing? Did it attach itself to my finger?


    ¡°Did you put it on my finger, Senior?¡±


    Shaking his head, he said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re back. Tell me, what¡¯s inside?¡±


    I knew better than to honestly answer his question. ¡°Very dirty and messy. Strong stench.¡±


    ¡°Considering the trash it takes in, it makes sense. It must¡¯ve been hard for you. Pass the ring to me. The couple¡¯s about to get here. I¡¯ll return it to them.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll return it when they get here.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t steal your credit.¡±


    Senior smiled and he and Master left the room.


    I was left alone, staring at the ring.


    Living thing?


    I took the ring off and took a closer look.


    It¡¯s a ring no matter how I see it.


    I ced a cup on the table, poured some tea into it and put the ring inside.


    I¡¯m gonna drown you.


    Something strange happened indeed. The ring started to squirm.


    Its head and tail opened up into a worm-like creature and the gemstones were its eyes.


    The worm wiggled out of the cup and stared at me with its beady eyes.


    Oh god, eye contact.


    The worm turned back into a ring.


    What a strange creature.


    Why does it exist? What¡¯s it for?


    I had no clue.


    How ridiculous. I picked the ring up again.


    I heard familiar voices. The couple had returned.


    I looked out of the window into the sky and then at the clock on the wall.


    1:30.


    I held onto the ring and walked out of the room.


    The couple was pleased to hear the good news.


    I approached them slowly.


    ¡°Return the ring quickly, Junior.¡±


    I nodded and looked at the motionless ring.


    Only Old Tao and I knew that it was a worm.


    Knowing that there wasn¡¯t any point in sharing what I knew, I extended my palm out. ¡°Here it is. Don¡¯te back again if you lose it.¡±


    The woman stood up and came over.


    Taking the ring she said, ¡°This is it, my ring.¡±


    Questionable couple.


    ¡°Where did you get the ring?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked, guarded.


    ¡°I just think that it¡¯s really pretty. I have a girlfriend and I am interested in buying her one.¡±


    Senior opened his mouth to object, aware that I had just told a lie.


    I turned around and winked at him.


    He kept mum.


    ¡°You have good taste, little fellow. This is from Old Chen¡¯s gold store, located in the western part of town. It¡¯s not cheap, can you afford it?¡± the man asked arrogantly.


    ¡°Western part? Old Chen¡¯s gold store?¡± I made a mental note.


    After checking the ring once more, the couple left happily.


    Senior slowly walked over to me. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Do you really like that ring? It is really pretty nice.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Not that. There¡¯s something wrong with the ring.¡±


    ¡°Something wrong? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Are you free this afternoon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Come with me to Old Chen¡¯s gold store.¡±


    ¡°Let me get changed.¡±


    ¡°No need. Keep that gown on.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked, puzzled.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know, just listen to me.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± he agreed, scratching his head in confusion.


    I grabbed the bagua mirror on the table and cleaned it with a cloth.


    We left the station and headed to the western part of town in our gowns.


    I was surprised to see Old Chen¡¯s gold store packed with people.


    There were all kinds of vivid and lifelike jewelry on disy and business was ridiculously good.


    I walked in but Senior did not follow.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s going on exactly? It won¡¯t be good if we enter dressed like this and scare customers away.¡±


    Tao, tao, tao, dao, dao, dao.


    There was a ridiculous saying spreading among the people, and many ces looked unfavorably toward Taoists.


    And we were in our Taoist gowns at that moment.


    ¡°Why have we chosen this path, Senior?¡±


    ¡°To cultivate the heart and nurture the character, and to free our heart from selfish desires? Is that right?


    ¡°What if there¡¯s a demon?¡±


    ¡°y it and save the people?¡±


    ¡°Your words, not mine.¡± I pulled him into the shop.


    ¡°Wait, what? There¡¯s a demon?¡± Senior was shocked but fortunately, he did not retreat.


    The boss was busily attending to customers inside the shop.


    Upon seeing us, his forehead crinkled and his brows scrunched up. ¡°These... where did these Taoistse from?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the boss?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Old Chen¡¯s gold store. I¡¯m Old Chen indeed. Why? Are you buying gold or pearls?¡± he smiled.


    I took a few steps forward and stopped just before him.


    Many customers were gone by now.


    Tao tao tao, dao, dao, dao.


    Old Chen clenched his teeth. ¡°You two Taoists better buy something. Look at how many customers you¡¯ve scared away. Don¡¯t think about leaving until you have purchased something.¡±


    Senior pulled me by my sleeve.


    I gave him a meaningful look before shrugging his hand away.


    I inspected the rings on disy.


    Three sections. Ten rings per section. They all looked unique and pleasing to the eyes.


    I pointed at one of them.


    ¡°You have good taste, young fellow. This is a 60-carat ring. 10,000 will do. No, I¡¯ll give you a discount. How about 8,800?¡±


    ¡°Take it out so I can have a better look.¡±


    ¡°Are you buying? I¡¯ll only take it out if you¡¯re buying.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I smiled coldly.


    He took the ring out from the disy cab with a sigh.


    As he wrapped it in a cloth, he told me, ¡°Grab only the cloth and take a good look. It¡¯s an authentic 60-carat ring. There¡¯s even a certificate so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I took the ring. ¡°60 carats for 8,800?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, 8,800. You can check the prices in other stores. Only my shop is offering such a good deal.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying it¡¯s 60 carats for 8,800,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°60 worms for how much?¡± I asked.


    The customers around us sneered.


    ¡°Is this Taoist crazy?¡±


    ¡°Swindler?¡±


    ¡°Call the cops, Boss.¡±


    The boss¡¯s face was ashen.


    ¡°What worms? Say that again.¡±


    ¡°60 worms. How much?¡± I firmly asked once more.


    Old Chen sighed and had the receptionist usher the customers out, leaving only Senior and myself in the store.


    Senior took out a wooden sword and held onto it.


    ¡°Tell me. How did you find out?¡± Old Chen questioned with gritted teeth.


    The ring on my hand squirmed free and fell to the ground.


    He inched closer and closer toward the disy cab.


    Senior¡¯s eyes were wide open at this point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much and would like to hear it from you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not here to find trouble?¡± Old Chen asked.


    ¡°No. I would¡¯ve spread the word if I really wanted to give you trouble.¡±


    ¡°True. So what¡¯s your motive?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just interested in your story.¡±


    He ushed at as the backyard of his store. There were three red wooden benches and a pot of high-quality Tieguanyin tea waiting for us.


    The three of us sat facing one another.


    ¡°How do I address you two?¡±


    ¡°Li Goudan,¡± I waved.


    ¡°Chen Dadan,¡± Senior smiled.


    ¡°Oh? We have the same surname,¡± Old Chen returned the smile.


    ¡°As chance has it,¡± Senior continued smiling foolishly.


    ¡°We¡¯re just here for a story and we¡¯ll leave shortly after. No other intentions,¡± I assured him.


    ¡°40 years ago, my family used to rob tombs. ording to others, my grandfather and father wiped out a rich man¡¯s grave.¡±


    ¡°Rich man¡¯s grave?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A well-known man who met a violent death on his 60th birthday. No one knew who the perpetrator was but after the magnificent burial, my grandfather and father set their eyes on his grave.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± I urged.


    ¡°What they saw was hair-raising, although the tomb raiders did exaggerate a little. It wasn¡¯t normal for sure because the funerary objects are all alive.¡±


    ¡°Alive?¡± Senior parroted, astonished.


    Old Chen raised his hand and the ring and jade pendant in his hand came alive.


    They jumped about in his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten what they¡¯re called, but I think grandfather named this ring Diamond Dust.¡±


    Diamond Dust...


    ¡°Diamond Dust? This is the Diamond Dust?¡± Senior raised his voice.


    ¡°You know this?¡± Old Chen asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a product of an ancient gold refinement process, as recorded in the ssic of Mountain and Sea. It has a consciousness, can recognize its owner and is often used as a funerary object for the king. This is all that I remember. The ancient scroll containing its information has long been destroyed,¡± Senior shared.


    ¡°With much effort, my grandfather and father managed to get hold of these 47 diamond rings and four pairs of jade pendants,¡± Old Chen added.


    I nodded, observing the jumping Diamond Dust on his hand.


    ¡°The money I earn is from selling these Diamond Dusts. I sell them cheap since the rings would find all ways, through underground water pipes or rubbish bins, to return to my side the moment customers remove them or pay little attention.¡±


    ¡°This is how you make money?¡± I asked.


    Wow.


    The couple had bought a Diamond Dust and visited the recycling station without noticing that the ring had fallen into the rubbish bin.


    The ring was trying to make its way back into Old Chen¡¯s shop but fell into Tao Tie¡¯s stomach in the process.


    The couple then came banging on our door.


    That was how things unfolded.


    Old Chen smiled, taking out a ck card from his pocket. ¡°Here¡¯s 100,000. Please keep my secret.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take it,¡± Senior rejected.


    ¡°This is a rule set by my grandfather. It¡¯s for people who discover our secret. After all, amiability makes one rich.¡±


    Senior was at a loss.


    ¡°How about this? You can read the feng shui in my shop and this money will be the service fee?¡±


    Just as Senior was about to speak up, I stepped on his foot. ¡°We¡¯ll keep the money and I¡¯ll give you a reading right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Please guide me,¡± Old Chen smiled happily.


    I epted the ck card, walked around the shop, and casually threw in some advice.


    Senior and I then made our way back to the temple. Throughout the whole journey, I couldn¡¯t hide the smile on my face.

 Chapter 19: Longevity I

    <h4>Chapter 19: Longevity I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    End of the year 2069, aliens invaded Earth.


    The resources on their had run out.


    The whole Southern Hemisphere had been destroyed, leaving only the ind states China and Russia holding up a united front.


    They formed an alliance, using a new type of light shield to resist the aliens¡¯ attack.


    Beginning of the year 2070, China received a letter from the Alien Freedom Alliance.


    The Alien Freedom Alliance consisted of a group of self-proimed peace-loving aliens.


    Of course, their so-called peace did not include regr invasion.


    They were against time travel battling, like going back in time to provide their army with a destructive light ray.


    It was written in the letter that the aliens were nning to go back a thousand year to destroy the ind state.


    The next morning, before sunrise, the whole ind state became an emptynd with no trace of humans and animals.


    Only lush vegetation grew as if there had never been any biological creatures that lived there.


    As a result, the light shield that was supposed toe into existence did not.


    The most frightening part was that all information rted to the ind had vanishedpletely.


    However, those who had read the Alien Freedom Alliance¡¯s letter had some memory of the ind.


    China, Beijing¡¯s military base.


    ¡°Qiao Ke, do you understand the mission?¡± the chief dressed in white asked.


    I shook my head, paused a little, and nodded.


    ¡°After four hours of careful calctions, the time gap should be about right,¡± the chief continued as he pulled his belt up.


    ¡°Can we seed?¡± I asked.


    The chief took off his ck-framed sunsses and wiped the smudges away. ¡°The aliens have soft bodies so they aren¡¯t able to enter the time gap. Your goal is to prevent the light ray from being released. Get ready, quick. Don¡¯t shoot off target when you use the antiser.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± I entered the cockpit.


    Metal doors started closing one after another.


    Sounds of the electronics could be heard.


    ¡°First sluice gate closed.¡±


    ¡°Fifth sluice gate closed.¡±


    ¡°Sixth sluice gate closed.¡±


    ¡°Man-made ck hole starting to develop.¡±


    ¡°Coordinates X4-818, Y6-29. BCE233, locked down.¡±


    ¡°3 minutes countdown, started.¡±


    ...


    Suddenly, the main door was sliced open by aser.


    Hundreds and thousands of squid-like aliens made their way toward theboratory.


    They used theirser guns to shoot the staffs within theb.


    I¡¯d witnessed the whole scene but I was unable to budge and could only watch those squid-like aliens take down my people.


    Aser ray shot toward me and melted off arge chunk of the cockpit¡¯s ss.


    The sound of electronics started again.


    ¡°The sixth outer shell¡¯s been damaged and can¡¯t be sealed properly.


    ¡°Countdown is about to stop.¡±


    My heart momentarily turned cold, but beside me, the chief in white let out a gratified smile.


    He pounced on the buttons before him and urgently activated them.


    The red button was forcibly being pressed and I couldn¡¯t hear a word that the chief was saying.


    Nevertheless, I understood his OK hand signal.


    Following a few moreser shots, the chief¡¯s figure became blurry save for the thick, ck-framed aviator sunsses.


    More electronic sounds.


    ¡°BCE233, locked down. Enforced transmission, start.¡±


    The turbine in the machine spun and the ck hole flowed slowly outward.


    In a matter of seconds, the whole spaceship was sucked into the dimensional ck hole web and vanished from view.


    ...


    ¡°What a miracle, a work of the Gods,¡± the Emperor in the pce hall smiled.


    ¡°Are you pleased with the celestial rock that your humble servant has offered as a tribute, My Emperor?¡± the chancellor asked, cupping his hands together respectfully.


    ¡°This is an auspicious sign. Qin Nation will prosper thanks to the blessing of the Gods,¡± the nation¡¯s advisor added.


    ¡°Good good, a chest of gold for you,¡± the Emperor announced heartily.


    ¡°Look, Your Majesty,¡± the advisor called out.


    ¡°What is it? What did you see?¡± the Emperor asked curiously.


    ¡°There¡¯s something in the rock!¡± the advisor eximed in shock.


    ¡°Interesting. It seems alive! Come, pry this open,¡± the Emperor ordered.


    Four golden-armored soldiers jogged over to the spaceship.


    By now, the spaceship had already rusted and just looked like a huge chunk of siderite.


    The soldiers picked up their halberds and started hacking at it.


    ¡°Vital signs functioning, remove devices.¡±


    ¡°Start pumping glucose C6H12O6 and Epinephrine.¡±


    ¡°Vital signs stabilized.¡±


    ¡°Begin first round of electrical resuscitation.¡±


    Zi! Zi! Thump.


    ¡°Damn.¡± My whole body was numb.


    I slowly gained full consciousness.


    Layer afteryer of vehicle armor opened up and I slid out weakly onto the floor.


    ¡°Protect the Emperor,¡± the advisor ordered.


    ¡°Wait, this person is definitely unordinary,¡± the Emperor stated.


    ¡°Your Majesty is wise, but it¡¯s better to be safe,¡± the advisor replied.


    I had all four limbs on the ground and was surrounded by golden-armored guards.


    They pointed their halberds at me.


    ¡°Introduce yourself,¡± the Emperor ordered faintly.


    ¡°Me? You¡¯re asking me?¡± I raised my head with difficulty and spotted the Emperor on the stage.


    Am I in a pce?


    ¡°Name yourself. How did you get inside the rock?¡±


    I thought about it and figured the truth must be concealed.


    ¡°I¡¯vee from heaven.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re an immortal? You do look the part. Raise your head and let me take a look.¡±


    It was then that I realized that I had a long white mustache and that my work clothes were white from the nutrient fluids.


    I raised my head higher.


    ¡°Do you have any immortal powers?¡± the emperor questioned.


    I looked down at my wrinkled skin and touched my face.


    Have I aged significantly?


    I¡¯m only 23, why have I be this way?


    Right, my mission.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked.


    ¡°How presumptuous of this immortal eh?¡± the advisor scoffed.


    Looking at me, the Emperor ordered, ¡°How dare you disregard my question? Behead him!¡±


    What?


    My hand flew to my waist to retrieve the electric gun.


    The guards were about to thrust their halberds at me.


    Bang bang.


    Two shots.


    Electric sparks flew everywhere.


    Silence filled the hall.


    The guards immediately pulled back.


    Five shots left. I coughed twice.


    ¡°Art of Lightning? Immortal indeed. Dare I ask for your name?¡± the Emperor started. He was afraid now.


    I thought hard about what I should say.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, Your Majesty?¡± I asked sternly in spite of my trembling hands.


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me? Hahaha, that¡¯s right, why would an immortal know my name? I¡¯m Ying Zheng, the First Emperor of Qin.¡±


    ¡°Ying Zheng? The Ying Zheng that destroyed six nations?¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°What? Heaven knows about my achievements? Wait, six? I¡¯ve only conquered five and I am just about to attack the state of Qi. Are you saying that I¡¯ll seed?¡± the Emperor smiled merrily.


    Five nations? It seemed like I was off by thirty years.


    I absently fiddled with my mustache.


    Or did I fall into a deep sleep upon arrival for thirty years?


    I looked at thepass on my watch.


    ¡°Did the East experience any changes over the past few decades?¡±


    ¡°Answer his question, Advisor,¡± Emperor Qin instructed.


    ¡°Twenty years ago, in the East, outside where Peni is situated, a big ind was set aze and it burned on for three days and three nights. The sky was bright throughout that period... but what changes are you looking at?¡± the advisor asked.


    Set aze? So the destructive light ray has already been released?


    I copsed.


    Over before it started?


    Is Man already done for?

 Chapter 20: Longevity II

    <h4>Chapter 20: Longevity II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°Immortal? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Emperor Qin asked urgently.


    Was he really treating me like an immortal?


    Heh heh...


    He looks about thirty or forty... already in hister years.


    I remembered that the emperor died just over the age of fifty, which was already considered a long life.


    People must have fallen into a terrible state due to the pursuit of immortality.


    Wait a minute.


    My mind spun rapidly.


    An exaggerated expression appeared on my face.


    ¡°Oh no, oh no,¡± I despaired.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Emperor Qin raised his brows in question.


    ¡°The immortality drugs¡¯ have all been burnt,¡± I informed him dully, looking at the Emperor out of the corner of my eyes.


    Five seconds...


    Ten seconds...


    Dead silence.


    ¡°Immortality drug? The human would be able to live forever after eating it?¡± The corner of the Emperor¡¯s mouth curled up.


    ¡°Aye, do you know how old I am?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°2069 years,¡± I lied smoothly.


    ¡°2000 years? Really?¡± The emperor was in shock.


    ¡°My name is Xu Fu, an immortal of Peni Ind. Because of the explosion, I hid in the rock but I was ejected. Actually, this immortality drug isn¡¯t that powerful. It only extends your life and slows the aging process. Why else do you think my hair has turned white?¡± I told him.


    ¡°Long life? So there¡¯s such a drug in Peni?¡± Emperor Qin asked nervously.


    ¡°No more. There¡¯s nothing left due to the fire,¡± I answered, clenching my fists tightly.


    I was about to seed.


    ¡°You¡¯re an immortal. Don¡¯t you have any solution?¡±


    ¡°I do but I¡¯ll need a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°A lot of things? I¡¯m the Emperor. I can give you anything. Speak.¡±


    ¡°3,000 virgin males and females, a hundred carpenters, schrs, officials, boatmen, and doctors.¡±


    The ind state may be gone but I can still disguise myself as Xu Fu and get the virgin males and females to rebuild it.


    ¡°Wise Emperor, this isn¡¯t right. Why harm the country?¡± the advisor warned.


    I knew it wasn¡¯t going to be this simple.


    ¡°Why do you need the virgins?¡± Emperor Qin questioned.


    ¡°I need their spiritual influence, but of course, the mysteries of heaven mustn¡¯t be revealed.¡±


    ¡°Let me consider. It¡¯s not a small number after all.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t believe this, but I can use a tenth of the resources to create a small pill for you first. The real pill can guarantee 500 additional years of life but a small one can only guarantee 50 additional years.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s 300 virgin males and females, 10 carpenters, schrs, officials, boatmen and doctors for a small immortality pill?¡± the Emperor smiled.


    ¡°How does that sound?¡± I enticed.


    ¡°Alright, but you cannot leave the pce, and I¡¯ll only give you a hundred days toplete it,¡± the Emperor stated.


    I nodded.


    Inside the side chamber, I drew a picture of a cannabis leaf with a writing brush.


    Yup, cannabis.


    Breathing it would make them happy, develop hallucinations and also make time move slower.


    Chewing it would be less effective but still feasible.


    I looked at the ancient map and made a guess as to where Yunnan should¡¯ve been positioned at that time. ¡°Here.¡±


    A schr borated, ¡°A nation with a hundred rivers and littlend.¡±


    ¡°Bring the children there to search for this.¡± I folded the portrait and stuffed it into the official¡¯s hand.


    I stayed in the pce for 63 days, each day passing like a year.


    When the schr returned to open the pouch, I saw all kinds of herbs.


    He cried out, ¡°Thirty kids died for these.¡±


    I categorized the herbs, leaving only the real cannabis.


    I smashed them into powder to create twenty pills.


    I consumed one. Bitter.


    The result wasn¡¯t obvious but I did feel light-headed and my world started to slow down.


    I called people in after the effects wore off.


    I kept eighteen pills and offered one as a tribute.


    At the main pce hall, Emperor Qin split the pill into two.


    He gave one to the old eunuch beside him.


    The eunuch swallowed it with half a cup of tea and immediately became floaty.


    He started mumbling gibberish about how time was slowing down and how he was flying.


    We waited for the effects to fade.


    The Emperor looked at me. ¡°This is the immortality drug?¡±


    I pointed at the eunuch, smiling. ¡°Yes or no, ask him.¡±


    ¡°Long live the Emperor, thank you immortal for the gift,¡± the eunuch cried as he knelt down by the Emperor¡¯s feet.


    The old eunuch had been following the Emperor since he was young and he was very much trusted by the Emperor.


    The Emperor swallowed his pill as well.


    After half a cup of tea, the Emperor startedughing uncontrobly.


    ¡°It¡¯s slowing down, it¡¯s slowing down. Time has slowed down. I can live longer.¡±


    I smiled bitterly. ¡°You ate only half so that¡¯s an additional 25 years. The real pill can give you 500 years.¡±


    The Emperor yelled, ¡°The immortal¡¯s right. Get me the drug, get me the drug quick!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°3,000 virgin males and females, a hundred carpenters, schrs, officials, boatmen, and doctors.¡±


    ¡°The small pill is enough, the real one is too extravagant,¡± the advisor whispered to the Emperor.


    The Emperor got angry. ¡°How dare the advisor disrupt my immortality n? Behead him!¡±


    The guards immediately dragged the advisor out.


    The Emperor nodded toward me, asking, ¡°How long do you need to make a real pill? You can be my advisor.¡±


    ¡°The real pill isplicated so I¡¯ll need 10 years. I don¡¯t need the title. I¡¯m an immortal and I have no desire for such glory.¡±


    ¡°You act the part, indeed, but 10 years is too long.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already extended your life by 25 years so what is 10?¡± I challenged.


    The Emperor stared nkly into space for a moment before bursting intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right.¡±


    It was then that I realized that this emperor who conquered six nations was a good emperor; I was the cause of his stained name, but in order to save the world, I couldn¡¯t possibly stop now.


    Half a yearter.


    Emperor Qin seized 3,000 virgin males and females by force.


    I brought all 3,500 over people over to Peni Ind. Of course, by Peni, I meant the ind state outside of it.


    Indeed, nuclear radiation was strong on this ind state.


    There were still some small problems even after thirty years of radiation.


    The children on the ind couldn¡¯t grow tall. They also started developing bow legs and buck teeth.


    These negative issues did not affect my n.


    In order to elerate the poption, I allowed them to reproduce freely.


    Tilling, hunting.


    Teaching, building.


    Every ten years, I would send someone to the pce to present a cannabis pill to Emperor Qin.


    Outsiders only saw ordinary people sending the pills but couldn¡¯t find Peni, now coined the ind of the immortals, simply because the ind state was very far from Peni.


    I handed down all my knowledge.


    Mathematics, literature,nguage.


    Geometry, science.


    Another twenty years passed.


    I was severely deteriorating with age.


    I received the news of the king¡¯s demise.


    Of course, this matter had long been mystified since the old eunuch who had swallowed half a pill had indeed lived till the ripe old age of 63.


    Well, a ripe old age in that era at least.


    As such, many versions of the story spread around.


    Some believed that the immortal and immortality pills were real and that the emperor had died because of robbers who had seized the pills during the deliverers¡¯ journey back to the pce.


    Whatever it was, I¡¯ve already done what I was supposed to do.


    It seemed that under my guidance and strategizing, I¡¯ve advanced the science and technology of this world ahead of schedule.


    It was too bad that I won¡¯t be able to witness it since I¡¯m not immortal...

 Chapter 21: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death I

    <h4>Chapter 21: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Preface.


    Dad has passed.


    I received this news through an international mail.


    The address written on it was my school¡¯s.


    It was written by my mom; she had an imposing handwriting.


    The content was actually very simple. Dad¡¯s passing time.


    No other details mentioned.


    Oh, but she did take the chance to me me for not having my mobile switched on.


    I took my phone out. No missed messages or calls.


    I suddenly remembered the phone that I had been using in China. It¡¯s been kept in a drawer at home ever since I moved here.


    I wasn¡¯t interested in staying in touch with my family and the reason was simple.


    If you had a father worth tens of billions of dors...


    If your father¡¯s photos were all over magazine covers, the Inte, television, and everywhere within the country...


    But you¡¯re just a worthless son of his.


    Of course, by worthless, I meant that I¡¯m just not outstanding enough.


    I would never surpass a tenth of what my father has achieved no matter how many distinctions and certificates I get.


    There had been a lot of news about children of entrepreneurs and officialsmitting fraud.


    In order to prevent such negative coverage, my father has thrown me into the other half of the world.


    Into this exclusive university, with a name unheard of in China, to further my studies.


    Until today.


    He¡¯s passed...


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    I did not apply for a leave of absence. Neither did I skip sses.


    Instead, I finished up my day in school earnestly.


    I was the only Chinese over here.


    When my best friend, also my desk-mate, asked about the content of that mail, I paused before smiling bitterly. I lied and told him that it was a love letter.


    His eyes lit up. He took the ¡®love letter¡¯ and looked it over for a long time.


    I did not snatch it back since I knew that he would not be able to understand a word in it anyway.


    When I had first arrived at this school, he had asked me how to write the Chinese character for dragon.


    I wrote it down for him but he insisted on double-checking it on his phone.


    He pointed at the screen, at a traditional Chinese word on a game character¡¯s t-shirt, and said that that was the correct ¡®dragon¡¯.


    I didn¡¯t know how to exin.


    He continued inspecting the letter for a while before he put it back in the envelope and returned it to me.


    He asked, dully, about the girl¡¯s appearance and why there wasn¡¯t a photo of herself in the envelope.


    I could only smile and exin that Chinese girls were usually more conservative and introverted.


    ¡°I think you people are more romantic than us French.¡±


    Again, I could only smile.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After school, I returned to my condominium apartment.


    I have no idea when Dad had gotten it.


    Houses in the city, no matter their locations, were extremely expensive.


    A condominium was even more costly.


    I haven¡¯t taken the China mobile phone out of the drawer ever since I locked it up upon arriving here.


    It has been two years.


    The phone that had been trendy at that point was now considered an antique.


    I switched it on with an uneasy heart.


    One second...


    Two seconds...


    Five seconds...


    Ten seconds...


    The battery had probably run out of charge.


    I looked at its port. An old model.


    I rummaged through the drawers and finally spotted the charger.


    Plugging it in, I waited anxiously.


    Three minutester, I turned it on urgently.


    After a brief silence, I started worrying that perhaps the call charge had run out as well.


    A few of mom¡¯s messages came in.


    Mom¡¯s strange too. Did she really think that I¡¯d be able to use the China number when I¡¯m overseas?


    Then again, they did not have my foreign number.


    And I haven¡¯t been home for two years.


    I gave mom a call.


    ¡°Luqiao, is that you?¡± mom asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Is dad gone?¡± I asked faintly.


    Silence. Followed by spasmodic sobs.


    ¡°Heart attack from over-exhaustion,¡± she managed.


    ¡°You want me to go back?¡± I continued.


    ¡°The seventh day is in two days¡¯ time. You muste back quick. Your grandmother, grandfather, and I are quarreling,¡± she said.


    ¡°Quarreling? Over what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard for me to exin over the phone. Come back and we¡¯ll talk,¡± she pleaded urgently.


    I hung up.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    I booked the air tickets from Paris to Beijing and forwarded the information to my mom.


    While I was packing my luggage, I realized how easy it was to leave this ce, yet I had been unwilling to return home for the past two years.


    I packed whatever I could bring but I only managed to fill half a suitcase.


    I went around the house once more but there was nothing else to pack.


    I thought about the items I might¡¯ve missed out.


    Oh right, leave of absence.


    I grabbed my phone but I realized that I did not have the teacher¡¯s contact information.


    I called the only person I could.


    That¡¯s right, my desk-mate.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± he greeted.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to China,¡± I said without preamble.


    ¡°So urgent? All over a letter? She must be a beauty. Remember to bring a photo back,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll need you to get me a leave of absence,¡± I requested.


    ¡°How many days?¡±


    I remained silent for a little while.


    Inhale. Exhale.


    ¡°What¡¯s... what¡¯s the limit?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Fifteen days. Any longer and you¡¯ll need a letter from a hospital. I¡¯m starting to get curious about that girl. She must be a charmingdy.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re childhood friends, I guess. Alright, I¡¯m out of time. I¡¯ve got a ne to catch.¡±


    With that, I hung up.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    30 hours of flight.


    I was practically sleeping onboard for the first half of the flight but I was wide awake for the second half.


    I thought about how I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fall asleep at all if not for my first ss cabin.


    The silence around me induced thoughts of my father.


    His name was Chen Ansheng and mine¡¯s Chen Luqiao.


    Grandmother mentioned that she had a smooth delivery of my father.


    She had felt no pain and she had held my father in her arms, with a smile on her face, when getting pushed out of the birthing ward.


    In her embrace, my dad had cried, loud and proud.


    As such, grandfather discarded potential names like Chen Dalong and Chen Dapao and opted for Chen Ansheng instead since he had a smooth birth.


    My father was great. He¡¯d been obedient since young.


    I wondered if his excellence was genuine or had been amplified by fame.


    Father was very poor when he first got married, but he worked diligently, starting from the bottom.


    He started his first shop and eventually opened a chain of multiple outlets.


    He then moved into real estate and excelled even without guidance.


    Everything at home had been obtained through his hard work.


    He earned a huge sum when he clinched a deal with a hotel.


    He then moved into mobile devices, electronics, and cars.


    He started a foundation for the Hope Project.


    He visited all sorts of ces, going on television to give speeches.


    He attended the news conference and invested in Hope Elementary School.


    He was unstoppable.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The nended safely.


    Someone was already waiting for me at the arrival gate.


    It was Uncle Fu, my personal chauffeur.


    He had always been busy taking care of my father so his time was now freed up.


    ¡°Uncle Fu, how long has it been since west met?¡± I greeted.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a few years, Young Master.¡±


    ¡°About my dad...¡± I started.


    The smile on Uncle Fu¡¯s face vanished. He replied slowly, ¡°He¡¯s gone, Young Master. It was very sudden. I couldn¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°How did it happen?¡± I asked immediately.


    ¡°Cardiac arrest. You¡¯ve heard from Madam, haven¡¯t you? She¡¯s arguing with Old Madam over Master¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he already dead? What¡¯s there to quarrel about?¡±


    ¡°This... It¡¯s not good for me to say too much. Go home and you¡¯ll see, Young Master,¡± Uncle Fu answered.


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    After some time, we arrived at the house.


    It was exceptionally quiet and I knew that it was the calm before the storm.

 Chapter 22: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death II

    <h4>Chapter 22: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Uncle Fu stopped me in my tracks as I was just about to step into the house.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked him.


    He stammered, ¡°Uh... Madam has instructed for you to stay out here first. Young Master, please wait here while I go get her.¡±


    ¡°What on earth...¡± I had no idea what was going on.


    Uncle Fu rushed into the house and my mother came out shortly.


    She walked toward me in a white floral dress.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s about your father.¡± She had no more tears at this point, only bloodshot and swollen eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°Your granny wants a direct burial but I prefer cremation. We¡¯ve been arguing for five days now. He¡¯s entering the soil in two days,¡± she exined.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t burning necessary either way?¡±


    ¡°Your granny has managed to get the permission for a direct burial somehow. I just can¡¯t change her mind.¡±


    ¡°Since granny has already decided, what are you worrying about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The problem is that your father will turn rotten and into white bones. This is a sin, I... I...¡± Tears rolled down her cheeks but she quickly wiped them away.


    It was clear that she had been crying a lot these past few days.


    ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± Her words did make sense.


    Having father rot in his coffin seemed very wrong.


    ¡°I was thinking that he could be cremated first and then buried, but I just can¡¯t convince her and I am at a loss right now. That¡¯s why I called you over, to see if you¡¯re able to talk some sense into her.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Where is she? I¡¯ll talk to her.¡±


    ¡°In the house. Go in and you¡¯ll find her.¡±


    I opened the door and was shocked by what greeted me.


    The huge living hall was divided into two sections.


    On the left, twelve people were singing songs of praise, and on the right, another twelve people chanting.


    An intense audio dissonance filled the hall.


    Father¡¯s photograph was hung on the wall above everyone.


    Voices on both sides were enthusiastic and persistent.


    In an instant, I felt dizzy. ¡°Stop.¡±


    Both sides quietened down.


    ¡°Who was that? Carry on with the chants!¡± Granny ordered urgently.


    The chanting resumed.


    Mother, too, walked from behind and raised her hands.


    The chorus started once again.


    ¡°It¡¯s my grandson! Why are you back?¡± Granny¡¯s voice rang loud.


    I said nothing.


    ¡°Your mother made youe back, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Come over and let granny have a look at you,¡± she smiled.


    I walked to her.


    Granny shot my mother a nce before pulling me into her room.


    ¡°Tell me. She wants you to change my mind, right?¡± she asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s was hard for me to obtain the permission for a direct burial. Do you know how much I¡¯ve spent?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Speak up, silly boy.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking that cremation would be better. It doesn¡¯t seem right to have dad¡¯s body rot underground.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that I know better? Is this your mom¡¯s teaching?¡±


    ¡°No, this is my own thought,¡± I answered.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. There¡¯s nothing left after burning.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The tellers in the temple have done some calctions for your dad. He had such big business and fire is a jinx. He cannot be burned,¡± she exined.


    ¡°You¡¯re being superstitious,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°In order to give you a better future, I¡¯d rather believe their words,¡± she insisted.


    The room door was pried open.


    Mother walked in, shouting, ¡°You can¡¯t say that. You¡¯re allowing your son, my husband , to rot underground because of a superstition?¡±


    ¡°What do you know? It is better to be safe than sorry,¡± Granny retorted.


    ¡°You... I can¡¯t reason with you. You won¡¯t even listen to your grandson.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just let me be willful this once?¡± Granny asked.


    ¡°Since everyone¡¯s present, I¡¯d like for them to vote,¡± Mother requested.


    ¡°Vote? Your child¡¯s on your side. What vote?¡± Granny responded, displeased.


    ¡°Whatever it is, we should sit down and talk it over. Dad should be arriving soon,¡± Mother replied.


    ¡°That old man¡¯s been learning golf in Portugal for half a month now, right? You called him back, too?¡± Granny questioned in a bitchy tone.


    ¡°So the whole family can talk things out,¡± Mother repeated.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Granny epted.


    Mother left the room while Granny headed upstairs.


    I could only return to my own room.


    The choir and chanters were bothersome.


    Uncle Fu had already ced my luggage in my room.


    As I was about to find a pair of earphones, I realized that the ce had quietened down significantly.


    Have they stopped?


    I was secretly delighted but it was not long after that the noise returned.


    Someone else must¡¯ve done what I did earlier.


    Grandfather.


    I went down to the hall immediately.


    Indeed, there stood Grandfather, dumbstruck.


    He¡¯d met Granny in Tibet.


    At that time, Granny was a poor and devout Buddhist.


    She had been interested in Pot, winter pce of Di Lamas, the sacrednd of Buddhism.


    At twenty, she picked up the courage to travel alone on foot to Tibet.


    She followed all kinds of traveling groups and hitched rides.


    Her head and face were filthy with grime for over thirty days.


    Finally, she arrived at the pce alone.


    Of course, she was penniless by that point.


    It was also then that she was provided relief by Grandfather.


    Grandfather was a pure member of a Tibetan ethnic group.


    His ent and deep-set eyes were simply irresistible for Granny.


    Of course, these are all hearsay. He was sixty-three years old when I saw him, but I¡¯m sure that forty years ago, he must¡¯ve been as handsome as Granny had described.


    Grandfather¡¯s eyes were beautiful. He had pure ck pupils.


    Unlike the streaks in our pupils, Grandfather¡¯s eyes were filled with star-like specks.


    It was a pity that my father and I weren¡¯t lucky enough to inherit his eyes.


    Of course, Grandfather was also a capable man. Locally, he was one of the very few university graduates.


    He could also speak fluent Mandarin.


    Grandfather and Granny fell in love that year for no other reasons than theirmon faith and his good looks.


    That was enough.


    Grandfather sent Granny back home and decided to stay as well.


    Shortly after, children came into the picture.


    I walked up to him immediately, asking, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s the situation, Grandfather?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Your mother¡¯s told me everything over the phone.¡±


    ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sky burial, what else?¡±


    ¡°What? Sky burial?¡± A look of disbelief fell on my face.


    ¡°Let me talk to your mom first and then your granny. Sky burial is a must for my son,¡± Grandfather answered firmly.


    ¡°Throwing him off a cliff and letting the vultures feed on him? That kind of sky burial?¡± I questioned incredulously.


    Grandfather nodded proudly before walking over to Granny.


    I knew at that point that things were only going to get worse.

 Chapter 23: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death III

    <h4>Chapter 23: Peaceful Birth, Peaceful Death III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The meeting room on the second floor was where Father hosted his yearly conference with important figures from all over the world.


    Granny and Mother were both frightened by Grandfather¡¯s sudden appearance.


    Grandfather shut the meeting room door, effectively dimming the chants and chorus outside.


    I took my seat quietly.


    Grandfather slowly walked to the master seat. ¡°One wants cremation?¡±


    Mother nodded.


    ¡°The other wants a direct burial?¡±


    Granny nodded.


    ¡°These methods are too popr. I want a sky burial,¡± Grandfathermented.


    Granny and Mother¡¯s faces changed.


    ¡°I¡¯m the oldest one here and I am the most qualified. I¡¯m guessing no one has any objections?¡±


    Mother stood up but she did not dare to talk.


    Granny, too, stood up, but she didn¡¯t say anything.


    Even then, Grandfather realized that he had no absolute power over this matter.


    His firm tone softened a little as he asked, ¡°How long has Ansheng been dead?¡±


    ¡°Six days. Tomorrow will be the seventh,¡± Mother replied.


    ¡°Tomorrow... that¡¯s just right. I¡±ll give my brother a call so please arrange the air transport. Nine hours should be enough to reach Tibet. He should be back in time for Ansheng¡¯s sky burial,¡± Grandfather said.


    Mother objected immediately.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Grandfather questioned.


    Granny said, ¡°You can¡¯t do that. I want him to be buried so that we can remember and visit him every year. If we go through with the sky burial, wouldn¡¯t there be nothing left of him?¡±


    ¡°How can you say that? The idea behind sky burial is to allow the soul to reincarnate. It will never be destroyed. Death is merely a separation between the soul and the expired body. The vultures will bring the body back to Buddha. This is Buddhist¡¯s doctrine so what do you mean there¡¯s nothing left?¡± Grandfather responded before gazing into the distance quietly.


    Granny fell into a short silence before replying, ¡°Give me some time. I¡¯ll give the experts a call to check if the sky burial will affect the feng shui at home.¡±


    She took her phone out and made the call in front of everybody.


    Seeing that made Mother¡¯s expression changed slightly. She went over to sit on a stool at the side.


    She knew she had the least say in this room.


    Which was why she had called Grandfather and me over.


    She needed more support in order to change Granny¡¯s mind.


    However, while panicking, she had forgotten that I, too, had no say in this family.


    Or why else had I been thrown into another part of the world by my own father, and been left without any power to resist?


    Grandfather was the person she really shouldn¡¯t have called over.


    Father had never been able to deal with Grandfather¡¯s antics.


    Grandfather was a free spirit. No one could control him.


    ording to him, Tibet¡¯s prairie was his home.


    Perhaps he had seen a unique species of butterfly on that prairie.


    He chased after it. It was a chase thatsted forty over years.


    Later on, Father became wealthy and Grandfather was finally able to find his own hobby ¨C to search for prairies all over the world.


    Throughout his search, he never dared to return home because a lot has changed over forty years.


    People, things, sceneries.


    Of course, he was unwilling to go home not because he hadn¡¯t been back before.


    It was because his father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother were all gone.


    His brother had been the one to send all of them off, one by one.


    He washed them and chose the cliffs.


    Chanted and waited for the vultures to take their bodies to heaven.


    That was what sky burial was.


    Back then, his brother had no money since all of it had been used to further Grandfather¡¯s studies.


    Grandfather did well, too, by entering a university, except that he had decided to chase butterflies instead.


    Grandfather¡¯s brother could only chant and fast for three days because he had no money,


    With each round of prayer beads, he restarted his chants until he reached the eighty-first time, which took him a full three days.


    It wasn¡¯t surprising then, that Grandfather¡¯s brother hated sky burials the most.


    Nevertheless, he repeated the process four times.


    Grandfather had left him alone all this while.


    His pursuitsted forty over years and when he finally returned home with money, everything had changed.


    Grandfather gave his brother a lot of money but thetter never did forgive him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a sky burial for you after you die so I hope you¡¯ll do the same for me if I go first,¡± his brother said.


    This was Grandfather¡¯s story.


    Ending her call, Granny announced, ¡°It¡¯s alright, the experts said. Sky burial isn¡¯t part of the five elements so our feng shui will not be affected. It¡¯s Buddha¡¯s blessing. Sky burial is a good thing.¡±


    Grandfather took his phone out and keyed in a familiar number.


    He never saved numbers since he had full confidence in his memory.


    But this time... the line was busy.


    Grandfather was stunned. He looked closely at the eleven digits.


    He called over once more.


    A long timeter, a voice message in the Tibetannguage was heard.


    We couldn¡¯t understand a word but Grandfather started crying.


    Bawling, in fact.


    Granny asked quietly, ¡°What is it, old man?¡±


    Like a wronged child, he answered, ¡°Brother¡¯s been dead for half a year now.¡±


    Everyone fell into stunned silence but Granny only shook her head helplessly. ¡°Half a year ago you were roaming the earth. You arranged strange traveling schedules and flew in nes more than you had time for fun. During that time you weren¡¯t contactable. Ask your daughter-inw if you don¡¯t believe me. How many times has she tried calling you? You probably didn¡¯t think about how we would¡¯ve been worried, right?¡±


    Mother nodded. ¡°I called you non-stop for half a day but the line was busy. Better than Luqiao, nheless, since he switched his mobile off. If not for my letter, I doubt we will have full attendance today.¡±


    Grandfather hung up the phone and walked out of the room, leaving everyone else not knowing what to do.


    ¡°A direct burial it shall be then. No burning. I¡¯ll settle him first,¡± Granny said before chasing after Grandfather.


    Mother sat on the same stool with her head hung low.


    I stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go back first, Mom. I¡¯ll be holding his portrait tomorrow, right?¡±


    Without raising her head she waved.


    As I was about to turn around and leave, Mother said, ¡°Your father was probably aware of his condition so he¡¯d prepared a will beforehand. It says that twenty percent will be split among your granny and grandfather, and the rest will be left to you. Your grandmother is giving her portion to you and so am I, but since you¡¯re still young, we¡¯re going to pass everything to you after your graduation.¡±


    I nodded.


    Mother continued, ¡°He also wrote that there¡¯s a letter that he wants you to read on your own so we haven¡¯t touched it. It¡¯s on your table so go take a look.¡±


    I nodded again and Mother had nothing else to add.


    I found the letter and opened it slowly.


    I took a deep breath before I started reading it seriously.


    After the first line, I felt helpless.


    Not because it was too touching but because there was only one line.


    The next morning at six, Mother woke me up.


    The family headed over to Phoenix Cemetery urgently.


    Everyone went down together and Grandfather looked much better.


    With a bitter smile, he said, ¡°It¡¯s all been arranged. I¡¯ll make a trip to Tibet once your father goes into the ground.¡±


    Granny only smiled without saying anything.


    There was a strange expression on Mother¡¯s face but she forced a smile.


    Phoenix Cemetery.


    The coffin was already there.


    Mother handed Father¡¯s portrait to me before whispering, ¡°Son, I¡¯ll distract your grandparentster so put this into his coffin before it gets covered.¡±


    She stuffed a cold, porcin pot into my hands.


    It was cylindrical and had a porcin stopper to seal the pot.


    I kept it in the pocket of my down-filled parka. The pot was bulky but fortunately unnoticeable.


    ¡°Mom? Did you cremate Dad? You...¡±


    Mother extended her hand out to cover my mouth. ¡°Be a good boy and listen to me.¡±


    I nodded.


    Mother smiled and said nothing more.


    Throughout the whole process, I held his portrait but had his ashes in my pocket.


    Time to bring the coffin down.


    Mother did pull Grandfather and Granny aside to distract them.


    When the funeral music sounded, there were only chants and no songs.


    I said to the staff, ¡°Wait, I need to put something inside.¡±


    The staff stopped what he was doing and so did the person in charge of nailing the coffin.


    I opened a small slit and ced my ne in.


    It was a gift from Mother when I turned eighteen.


    Of course, I knew that Mother had lied that it was a gift from Father.


    That wasn¡¯t Father¡¯s style at all.


    I was thinking that since it was an empty coffin, I might as well put something in formemoration and give Mother a peace of mind as well.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    Hangzhou, West Lake.


    3:30 AM.


    I made my way out of the car slowly.


    I¡¯ve observed the ce for a long time. It was the safest spot since there was the least number of passersby.


    It was winter¡¯s night and it was unbelievably cold.


    I twist the porcin lid off.


    The whitish-grey powder was indeed bone ashes.


    I took out a glove and started sprinkling the ashes toward theke, not forgetting to look out for patrolling police officers.


    Dad, why are you doing this to me...


    Ashes could not be checked through and I did not have the backing of influential people.


    I told Mother I was going overseas to travel. It took me two days to get from Beijing to Hangzhou and had many stopovers along the way.


    When the ashes were all sprinkled out, I threw the porcin pot into theke as well.


    Facing theke, I shouted, ¡°Are you happy now, Dad?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that sound? What are you doing?¡± I heard a voice call out from afar.


    I spotted a light being shone on my face by a police officer


    I used my winter hat to cover my head and quickly ran the opposite direction.


    ¡°Chen Ansheng, Chen Ansheng. I¡¯ve only heard of sons letting their fathers down. Isn¡¯t this the first time that the roles have reversed?¡± I asked indignantly.


    There was only one line in his will.


    Son, cremate me first if possible and throw my ashes into West Lake.

 Chapter 24: Bomb Specialist I

    <h4>Chapter 24: Bomb Specialist I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I think I¡¯m the world¡¯s first bomb specialist.


    It was 1937, mid-June.


    It was a hot summer and I was a hunter stationed in the southern face of Beiping.


    My family lived close to the forest outside of Beiping City.


    In order to hunt better, I chose that location, which coincidentally saved me from some troubles.


    Because it was that year that the ghosts invaded Beiping.


    Everyone in the city was captured by the ghosts and the government couldn¡¯t do anything to save the people.


    And because I was outside the city, I had been unaware of the situation inside until a fleeing woman informed me.


    She was carrying her child and ryed the story to me hysterically.


    I couldn¡¯t remember most of them except for the fact that the ghosts were killing humans and setting the city on fire.


    They plundered shops and houses and defiled every woman they saw.


    The woman said that she and her son were the only ones who managed to escape out of the four generations of her family that was living together.


    She also said that the city was about to be emptied out and the ghosts would soon reach my area.


    She told me to flee with her but I refused.


    Run? I had a family.


    I thanked her for the warning and waved her on.


    She rolled her eyes at me, looking at me like I was already a dead man walking.


    She then ran wildly, further up south, with her child.


    I took my hunting gun, entered my house and hid in a corner.


    Ghosts?


    I was interested to see if they were humans or ghosts.


    I set an animal trap on the ground in front of the door.


    Shortly after, I heard strange soundsing from outside.


    They seemed to be talking but I couldn¡¯t understand their ent at all.


    Grumbling and mumbling... these must be the ghosts that the woman was talking about.


    I shifted to the windows and in a half-squat position, used my finger to break a small hole in the protective paper.


    I peeked through it and saw two soldiers in camel-colored uniforms.


    They each had a long gun in their hands and were searching the area outside my house.


    Judging from their pace, they were going toe in very soon.


    I turned and half-squatted behind a room door.


    I disabled the safety lock on my gun and got into position.


    The footsteps of the two ghosts came increasingly close.


    Dang!


    The ghosts must have used their guns to knock against the door.


    Bang!


    They kicked the door down and I held my breath.


    I¡¯ve killed many animals in my life but not humans.


    The first ghost came in and an anguished wail followed soon after.


    He had stepped on the animal trap.


    I raised my hunting gun and took aim at the ghost¡¯s head.


    I knew that they were the ones who invaded us. I knew that they¡¯re the ones who wiped the entire city out.


    I would be killing someone if I pull the trigger.


    One second.


    Two seconds.


    The ghost shouted, pulling me back to my senses.


    We locked eyes and suddenly, he raised the gun in his hands toward my face, yelling, ¡°Baka!¡±


    In the next breath, I pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    The bullet shot through his hat and into his head but it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to pierce through his skull.


    He must¡¯ve survived that blow since he did not stop moving.


    He screamed as he fired a shot and I dodged it before smashing my hunting gun against his head.


    He fell to the ground, motionless. I¡¯ve killed someone.


    But if I didn¡¯t kill him, he would¡¯ve killed me.


    The ghost outside ran over upon hearing themotion.


    Cautious, the ghost called out a few times but gained no response.


    He started firing at my house.


    One shot, two shots.


    Their gun was evidently much more powerful than mine.


    I hid in the innermost room, waiting for the right opportunity.


    I took out the second bullet from my pocket and inserted it into my gun.


    After eight shots, I figured the ghost wouldn¡¯t stop.


    On the ninth shot, I screamed.


    I wanted to mislead him into thinking that he got me. It seemed to work.


    He fired onest shot.


    I waited with my gun in position.


    He came in as expected.


    The moment he came into view, I pulled the trigger.


    I missed and hit his left shoulder instead.


    I pounced on him and held my gun against his neck.


    My mind went nk. All I knew was that this man had to die.


    I forgot how long it took for his neck to change color.


    A purplish ck mark.


    He was deader than dead.


    I loosened my hold on the gun and looked around.


    There weren¡¯t any other ghosts. These two must¡¯ve been the explorers.


    I dragged the corpses into the room and searched their bodies.


    I put on one of their military uniforms and tried their guns.


    Indeed, they were better than my own.


    Even the bullet inserting method was different.


    I took a long time and I wasted four bullets in the process, but I managed to get the hang of it.


    After getting rid of their corpses, I started doing some calctions.


    I dug a small hole underground that was about two meters deep.


    I put a wooden board and a table on top of it to cover it.


    I stood guard by the window and observed the situation outside for three days.


    The ghosts mostly came in teams of three.


    When a team of more than three lurked around, I would hide in the underground passageway.


    These ghosts would simply scan the room and leave. I¡¯ve never been found.


    If there were only two ghosts, I would wait.


    Since I was wearing their uniform, they would enter the house and greet me.


    And then I would pull the trigger.


    My achievement was decent.


    I had killed seventeen ghosts over the course of three days.


    I removed their clothing and threw their bodies by the road.


    The outside of the city was filled with dead bodies, anyway, so without clothes, these ghosts were basically unrecognizable.


    On the fourth day, the rest of the ghosts exited Beiping City.


    They advanced toward the south so I hid in the underground passage for one whole afternoon.


    I only left when I could no longer hear the team¡¯s footsteps.


    I strolled along the boundary of Beiping City and I saw that there were still a number of ghosts stationed within the ce.


    I returned home upon noting the situation.


    Is China already done for? Did these ghosts really kill so many of us this easily?


    I pondered over my situation in the dark, not daring to turn anymps on.


    Every day, I slept in the underground passage.


    Food wasn¡¯t a problem since I was a hunter.


    I would even exchange the hunted meat for wine in the past. Of course, it was impossible to do so at this point.


    I wasn¡¯t sure of the situation elsewhere but I figured that the ghosts had upied other ces as well.


    These ghosts possessed much better weapons. Ten of my guns might not even beat one of theirs.


    It took them three days to upy Beiping. Perhaps in three months¡¯ time, the whole of China would be conquered.


    Thinking about it made me break out in cold sweat.


    Forget it, I¡¯ve already killed so many ghosts.


    It¡¯s good enough.


    Better a bad life than a good death so might as well live as the dayes.


    The next morning, I was awakened by loud sounds from outside.


    Were the Japanese back? I made no sounds out of fear.


    The shuffling sounds persisted for the whole day.


    Something wasn¡¯t right.


    I mustered up the courage to sneak over to the windows.


    There weren¡¯t many ghosts far away but they were bending down as if they were burying something.


    What were they hiding?


    Gold? Treasure?


    They sure did bury a lot of those things.


    I didn¡¯t step outside.


    Another day and night passed before these ghosts returned to Beiping.


    An area of a few hundred square meters outside of Beiping City was covered with densely packed and filled holes.


    What were those? I was extremely curious.


    I decided to check it out when I was sure that the ghosts would not reappear.

 Chapter 25: Bomb Specialist II

    <h4>Chapter 25: Bomb Specialist II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I was nning to check those buried items out early next morning, but I was kept awake by loud booms that very night.


    Seventeen booms.


    No signs, no patterns.


    It was earth-shaking and the silent night had amplified the terrifying noise.


    I had no clue as to what the buried objects were.


    I also had no idea what their motive was.


    I only knew that the buried items weren¡¯t simple and were definitely dangerous.


    By the time the sky turned slightly brighter, I could no longer suppress my curiosity.


    I came out of the hidden passage and left the house.


    After I confirmed that the coast was clear, I walked slowly toward the boundary of Beiping City.


    I looked at thend of buried items before surveying the surroundings.


    No one. Good time to move.


    I walked a few steps forward to look closely at the soil bulge.


    What caught my eyes, though, was a pool of blood not far away.


    Beside it was the corpse of a wolf. Dismembered wolf corpse to be precise.


    I couldn¡¯t be sure how many pieces the wolf had exploded into. Partly because its head was stuck in the ground, but mostly because of the deep pit beside the pool of blood.


    The inside of the pit was charred.


    Upon closer inspection, I found many simr pits.


    There was also something reflective on the ground.


    It was a thin metal sheet, also covered with ayer of ck.


    It was probably the source and cause of the explosion.


    I sniffed it a little. There was a burnt smell.


    I matched it with the pit on the ground. Could this be the buried item?


    Squatting down, I carefully removed the uppermostyer of soil, and indeed, a metal outer shell was revealed.


    It was a small metal chunk and I knew I had to be gentle with it. I was a hundred percent sure that it had everything to do with the explosions.


    My hands trembled as I slowly shaved the surrounding soil off in order to remove thendmine.


    As I was about to turn around and leave and set one foot on the ground, I heard a ¡®kacha¡¯ .


    That crisp metal sound...


    Have I stepped on it?


    My body tensed up as I stood motionless on the spot, not knowing what to do.


    I slowly bent down and ced the metal chunk I¡¯ve dug out to the ground.


    Then I gently brushed away the soil around my foot.


    I continued doing that until I saw the metal chunk underneath.


    I¡¯ve really stepped on andmine.


    Bummer.


    I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    I was sure that the minute I lose the pressure on the metal chunk, it would explode.


    Do I take a gamble? Take my foot off and run?


    Perhaps I could outrun the explosion?


    Just as I was about to remove my foot, I heard a foreign voice call from behind.


    ¡°D¨­ shita no? ¡± a ghost¡¯s cry sounded. (What¡¯s the matter?)


    My heart tensed up.


    I turned my head around slowly.


    A ghost was standing right behind me, staring.


    This is it, I¡¯m done for.


    I brought no weapon to fight him off with.


    If hees closer I¡¯ll just blow his head off and we¡¯ll die together.


    The ghost squatted down while mumbling. (Stepped on andmine? Didn¡¯t bring your gun out, did you? Look at you, so nervous that you can¡¯t even talk. I got this.)


    He lowered his head to assess the situation and I understood that he had taken me as his own people because of my uniform.


    The ghost raised his head shortly after, saying, ¡°Mondainai.¡± (No problem)


    I kept quiet because I really did not understand a word he was saying.


    I shrugged my shoulders with a sheepish look on my face.


    The ghost gave me a thumbs up and unslung his gun.


    I started to fear. Was he going to kill me?


    The ghost unloaded the bay on his gun before my face. He then put his gun down and started working on the soil with his bay.


    The ghost spoke to me in Japanese. (You¡¯re lucky I was patrolling this area. Others would definitely have handed their bay to you and have you do it yourself. I¡¯m one of the few soldiers who had experience with removingndmines. With my help, you¡¯ll be alright so don¡¯t worry. Do you know? I¡¯m going home to marry my sweetheart after this war. You? Are you too frightened to talk? Don¡¯t be afraid, if this blows up, we¡¯ll die together. I wonder if the emperor would issue a martyr medal to me. Pretty exciting to think about.)


    The ghost shaved a little soil off while grabbing onto my foot. He stuck his bay into the metal chunk before lifting my foot.


    No explosion.


    ¡°Yokatta!¡± the ghost shouted happily. (Great!)


    The ghost picked up the bay that had a metal chunk attached to it.


    He went on mumbling. (Look, thisndmine¡¯s useless now. What a close call. Be careful next time.)


    I was overjoyed.


    The ghost smiled too as he saw the grin on my face.


    He pointed at the slit and said something. (This slit is small. While we¡¯ve been trained to remove it, but mistakes do happen. You have to be wary.)


    At that, he handed the metal chunk to me.


    I smiled. ¡°Xiexie.¡± (Thanks.)


    ¡°Nani? Ch¨±gokujin?¡± the ghost panicked. (What? Chinese?)


    He looked down at the gun on the ground and reacted immediately, but I¡¯ve already gotten hold of his hand.


    I pushed the bay in his hand into his throat.


    The ghost copsed but I held onto him.


    I slowly ced him on the ground, making sure that he did not touch any soil bulges.


    He¡¯d saved my life but I had to kill him.


    How ironic.


    With the metal chunk in my hand, I ran home, ced it on the table, and lit three joss sticks.


    I made ten full kowtows on the floor.


    He was my savior and, a pity, an enemy as well.


    If not for the war, I would have hosted him with the finest wine.


    Although I understood nothing of what he had said, I knew he was a good man.


    After ten kowtows, I stood up and started analyzing the metal chunk.


    The bay had cut it openpletely and split it into two.


    The ck lump in the bottom half was the explosive.


    The top half was interesting. It was made from pieces of thin metal sheets.


    The sealed cylinder had been opened up and there was a firing pin inside of it.


    With a release of pressure, it would rebind and collide with a ck rock.


    I tried using the pin to hit against the rock. Sparks were produced.


    I figured that upon contact with the ck lump at the bottom, the sparks would cause an explosion.


    I dared not to test my theory, of course, because the explosion would definitely be loud and powerful.


    I ced the metal chunk aside.


    I started avoiding the soil bulges as much as I could.


    I was extremely careful when hunting. The ghosts seemed to have settled down nicely in Beiping City.


    Other than the soldiers guarding along the city walls, there were no more ghostsing out of the city to patrol.


    I wondered if the ghost teams had already conquered half of China by now.


    A monthter, as I was fast asleep at night, I heard footsteps.


    I woke up immediately, held my breath, and observed the situation.

 Chapter 26: Bomb Specialist III

    <h4>Chapter 26: Bomb Specialist III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I couldn¡¯t see them since I was hiding in the underground passage, but I could hear their voices.


    Two of them were panting.


    ¡°Is Old Chen going to make it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fainted but he¡¯s no longer losing blood.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave him here. He¡¯s already half dead and there¡¯s no doctor here.¡±


    ¡°No! How can we abandon ourrade for the revolution?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Xiaowang. It¡¯s worth the sacrifice precisely because it¡¯s for a revolution.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that, Old Jin. Didn¡¯t Old Chennd himself in this state in order to save us from thendmine?¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop bickering. Let¡¯s vote but count Old Chen out. There are five of us here. We will act ording to the voting result.¡±


    ...


    I stayed motionless.


    Five people?


    I pondered over their conversation.


    No, six of them.


    One injured Old Chen.


    They spoke in Chinese so they must be from China.


    Not wanting to rm them and cause panic, I did not dare to act blindly.


    I had two guns and some bullets left.


    There were enough bullets to kill all of them but I couldn¡¯t do that all at once.


    I wondered if they were mountain bandits who escaped.


    I¡¯ll fight it out if I get discovered


    ...


    ¡°Raise your hand if you think we should take Old Chen along.¡±


    ¡°2 votes.¡±


    ¡°Raise your hand if you think we should leave him here.¡±


    ¡°3 votes.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s just put him here. He¡¯s already fainted anyway. We¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning to open up a path for the team.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I saw a slight glimmer when we walked in. I looked up and saw meat hanging from the door frame. There¡¯s no one here so let¡¯s eat it. It¡¯s been a day since west ate.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake again, Xiaowang. There¡¯s no one here because they¡¯ve been killed by the ghosts. The meat must¡¯ve been poisoned and ced by them as a trap.¡±


    ¡°Old Jin¡¯s right. Don¡¯t fall victim to their evil scheme.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. We¡¯ll take turns to guard at night starting from tomorrow. We¡¯ll continue finding a region and path withoutndmines so that we can supply war equipment to the west nk and fight our way up to Beiping.¡±


    ...


    Up to Beiping? Supplies?


    What were these people trying to do?


    Landmines?


    The region in which the ghosts had nted them?


    So these people were from the volunteer army?


    And they¡¯re looking for andmine-free region?


    I thought about it and waited to see how they would handle that injured soldier.


    ...


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat it. We can¡¯t have more casualties.¡±


    ¡°How about we let Old Chen test it first?¡±


    ¡°Go check if he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°I...I still have myst breath. I¡¯ve heard the votes. For the revolution, I... let me test the food for you. Even if it¡¯s poisonous, at least I won¡¯t... die a hungry ghost.¡±


    ¡°Old Chen is wise. Xiaowang, you go. There¡¯s a pot inside. Fill it with water and meat, find somewhere further to start a fire and boil some soup. We can¡¯t have an open fire here or our location will be exposed,¡± Old Jin instructed.


    ...


    I was dumbfounded.


    Lighting a fire outside was just as good as revealing our positions.


    It would easily be detected from a high ground.


    If the ghosts were toe for us, who knows what they¡¯d do.


    I crawled out of the hidden passage and shouted, ¡°Wait!¡±


    All six were startled.


    I could also clearly see their faces.


    A few of them automatically raised their guns up.


    I immediately put mine down and raised both arms.


    ¡°Ghost¡¯s clothes,¡± Xiaowang pointed out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, I¡¯m Chinese. Hear me speak. Can the ghosts speak Chinese?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Why are you in their clothes then?¡± Old Jin asked.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t have a choice if I wanted to survive.¡±


    No one responded.


    I saw one of them lowering his gun.


    I added, ¡°I know you¡¯re all hungry but you can¡¯t light a fire outside.¡±


    ¡°What should we do then, if we can¡¯t light a fire?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you can¡¯t light a fire. You just can¡¯t do it outside. The ghosts can see clearly from high up and they will send people down faster than you think. No matter how far you light the fire, they would stillunch an extensive search the moment they spot it.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re too hungry.¡±


    ¡°This is my house. The meat in your hands was hunted by me. I can fill you guys up but you must believe me,¡± I said calmly.


    The five of them were dumbstruck.


    Old Chen, who was at hisst gasp, spoke, ¡°Vote.¡±


    Xiaowang was the first to raise his hand. ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an outsider after all so I can¡¯t trust him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s wearing a ghost¡¯s uniform and holding his gun. He must¡¯ve killed and snatched those from a ghost. I believe you, what about the rest?¡±


    ¡°Who else can we trust, if not him? I¡¯m in.¡±


    ¡°Raise your hand if you trust this man.¡±


    A total of five hands, including Old Chen¡¯s, were raised.


    Xiaowang walked toward the meat.


    ¡°Flint¡¯s on the table,¡± I said.


    Old Jin passed it over instantly.


    ¡°How do you n to do this?¡± Xiaowang asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the fire in the house can¡¯t be controlled,¡± Old Jin added.


    With a bitter smile, I answered, ¡°I¡¯m going to use a heatable brick bed.¡±


    I¡¯ve been using bricks to shut the chimney for a long time now.


    It was my secret to not being discovered.


    I struck the flint.


    Once, twice.


    The fire was lit.


    And the blocks had previously been filled.


    I added ayer of small rocks.


    Because the smoke was shut in, it filled the whole house.


    The skeptic in their team spoke up, ¡°Are you trying to choke us?¡±


    I replied, ¡°There¡¯s no other way to keep our position hidden.¡±


    Frustrated but helpless, everyone kept silent.


    Even Old Chen, who was covering his nose, refrained frommenting.


    I asked slowly, ¡°Why are you guys here?¡±


    No one answered me so I shook my head with a bitter smile.


    Minutes passed and the fire was roaring.


    I got up and took the pot before picking out the red-hot rocks with a pair of fire tongs.


    I used soil to bury the fire and stir-fried the pot of meat and burning rocks. The fragrance was irresistible.


    Everyone stared lustfully at the pot.


    I put it in the middle of the table. ¡°Eat slowly, the rocks are hot.¡±


    Before I could finish they reached in to snatch the meat.


    Xiaowang wanted to scream when he got scalded but held it in to protect their safety.


    I asked once more, ¡°What are you guys here for?¡±


    Old Chen took a piece of meat before answering, ¡°To find a path to the front line in order to replenish the supplies for Red Army.¡±


    ¡°Red Army? What supplies?¡±


    ¡°The Red Army that kills the ghosts. Unfortunately, there arendmines here, or else we wouldn¡¯t be in this state,¡± Old Chen struggled with his words.


    ¡°Wait, kill ghosts? Who¡¯s considered a part of Red Army?¡± I refined my question.


    ¡°The army that resists the Japanese. We call ourselves the Red Army and we¡¯re allrades. You¡¯re a part of us now since you¡¯re helping us, right?¡± Xiaowang responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this stuff but I know that you guys are after the ghosts.¡±


    They nodded profusely.


    I smiled. ¡°Thendmines you¡¯re talking about are the things in the ground that explode, right?¡±


    Xiaowang nodded again. ¡°Yeah, those evil ghosts cedndmines in all crucial locations, making it difficult for us to pass through. The front line isn¡¯t far from here but there are too manyndmines in Beiping.¡±


    I searched for the metal chunk and showed it to them. ¡°This is it?¡±


    ¡°It explodes, why are you holding it!¡± Xiaowang eximed.


    When I showed it properly to him, his jaw dropped.


    ¡°This has been torn open so it won¡¯t explode.¡±


    The young man beside Xiaowang asked, ¡°You know how to do it?¡±


    I nodded.


    Even though I¡¯d only seen that ghost do it once, I¡¯ve been studying it for a long time.


    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Xiaowang smiled gleefully.


    .....


    The next morning, two people remained to look after Old Chen while Xiaowang and Old Jin brought me to the area outside Beiping City.


    I disarmed andmine with a bay and ced it in front of them.


    They couldn¡¯t contain their joy.


    Half a dayter, they brought me to a camping ground that was filled with Chinese.


    They called themselves the Red Army.


    I met the leader of the army.


    After a short conversation between the leader and Xiaowang, the former ran over to me


    ¡°Surname¡¯s Jiang. I heard that you can get rid of bombs?¡±


    Bombs? Landmines, right? I nodded before handing the deactivatedndmine to him.


    The leader smiled at me, calling me a bomb specialist.


    A monthter, I freed a path for the team to transport supplies.


    Old Chen and the other tworades were rescued, too.


    Two monthster, I followed Leader Jiang in his fight from Beiping to Nanjing.


    Leader Jiang treated me very well and made me an official.


    He even sent me to study and had the newspaper write a whole load of reports on me.


    He stayed in Nanjing while I went over to Shanghai.


    The war over therested for three months and was coined the Battle of Shanghai byter generations.


    And ever since I disarmed my firstndmine, I never stopped until the day I died.


    A total of a thousand four hundred and sixty-three of them.


    Did you ask what¡¯s my name?


    My name¡¯s Yang Jie.

 Chapter 27: Why Me? I

    <h4>Chapter 27: Why Me? I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    June 2333


    Some are standing at the rail station, searching amid the wasted,


    Some are walking on the sidewalk toward their destinies,


    Some are cooking numbly in the kitchen,


    Some are quarreling on both ends of the bed.


    When you look at these people, do you really notice any difference between them and yourself?


    Do you feel their pain at times?


    Perhaps these people are working differently toward the same goal,


    Perhaps, we¡¯re all together in this...


    ¡ª¨C


    Mo Wenyu¡¯s ¡®Big World¡¯ echoed in my head as I listened to it through my earphones. I took a deep breath before disposing of my cigarette butt.


    Reluctantly, I yanked out my earphones. I could not bete for work.


    I aimed my eye at the iris clocking machine.


    ¡°Di~ Staff 250, Liu Wei, clocked in at 8:57 AM.¡±


    Three more minutes. Almostte.


    I¡¯m a scientist.


    No, a scientist¡¯s assistant.


    I¡¯m Liu Wei.


    Ab assistant in charge of preparing and delivering tea.


    I did human fertility studies in university because humans are no longer able to give birth naturally.


    Right from the start, birth by cesarean was a mistake.


    Women started to rely more on it and eventually gave up natural birth.


    This had led to human¡¯s first degeneration where babies could no longer be delivered naturally.


    Fast forward a hundred years.


    Women started to loathe the ten months of pregnancy and pain.


    Apany sprang up with the concept of breeding test tube babies.


    The cost was cheap and technology was good.


    It liberated women from ten months of agony.


    Couples merely had to ce their ovum and sperms into the breeding cabin and they could visit their child every day.


    Ten monthster, they would receive a healthy baby.


    In a short period of three years, the founder of thepany had be the world¡¯s richest man.


    And also history¡¯s biggest sinner.


    Because he had induced the second degeneration of women where they became unable to give birth at all.


    Due to aplete degeneration of women¡¯s DNA, the ratio of male to female babies became as unbnced as 9:1.


    Their body proportions started to get distorted.


    In the recent thirty years, even the ova had started to degenerate.


    Twenty years ago, the government announced that thest woman on the had died.


    Poptions in the eight continents started dwindling.


    The number of newborns declined as well.


    Most dangerously, the frozen ova were running out too.


    These all became the government¡¯s secret.


    Eight continents shrunk into three and were coined the New United Nations.


    They shared a president and had three governors, one for each continent.


    And there were only 14,000 humans left.


    Human fertility studies came into the picture five years ago.


    This science was regarded as the hope of mankind.


    I was the first batch to graduate from this course.


    Ever since then, I started working a secret job within the government.


    This secret wasn¡¯t quite the same as I had envisioned, though.


    I did not analyze ovum. Not even births.


    My professor once told me that there were no more ova left.


    We were very likely going to be thest batch of humans alive.


    I had foolishly refuted his statement, quoting cloning technology from the textbooks.


    I didn¡¯t take into ount that the first step to cloning was a mother¡¯s body.


    And thest woman had died twenty years ago.


    We¡¯ve failed even before conducting any studies.


    ¡°Mankind¡¯s done for¡± was my professor¡¯s catchphrase.


    Of course, many started discussing Judgment Day.


    Or that Science had suggested for us to hybridize ourselves with themon chimpanzees.


    Bottomline ¨C there were all sorts of nonsense spreading.


    After being brainwashed by the professor, I decided to live each day as it passed and just wait for Judgment Day.


    Of course, I hoped that I could live long enough to be thest human to die off.


    This was my goal.


    Why so negative, you asked? It was because the whole human fertility studies were bullshit.


    The foundation of everything was the mother¡¯s body, which was something we can no longer find.


    Ding ling ling~


    Ding ling ling~


    I picked up the phone. ¡°Hi, this is the research base of human fertility studies. Please tell us your problem and we will give you an answer within the next twenty-four hours.¡±


    ¡°Stop ying, Xiaowei. Come over to prefecture A, region C. I¡¯ll send you the coordinates right now.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Professor? More sugar for your coffee?¡± I was stunned. This professor, who was paid over a hundred thousand a month, had never called me for anything other than coffee.


    ¡°Cut that bullshit. I need you here in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Got it, Prof.¡± I hung up the phone and dashed out of the research institute with my windbreaker.


    Nuclear energy-powered motorbike.


    One of the reasons why I loved doing things for the country.


    Air propeller, 25,000m/s.


    Not per hour but per second.


    Autopilot system.


    It takes this motorbike only 13 minutes to cross over the Pacific Ocean.


    Draping my reflective windbreaker, I hopped onto the bike.


    Straight up into the sky.


    The bike traveled at a speed not visible to the naked eye.


    Allputed and calcted.


    Once I set the coordinates, nothing will go wrong.


    Because there were simply too few pedestrians, and the so-called region A used to be the United States, also the world¡¯s power nation.


    The bikended hard on the ground, causing dust to rise.


    The coordinates were those of a grand building.


    I took off my long windbreaker and hung it on the bike before walking into the building.


    ¡°Professor?¡±


    ¡°Professor?¡±


    There was no light at all.


    Damn it. I switched on my mobile torch.


    ¡°Are you there, Professor?¡± I checked my GPS which showed that Professor was just nearby.


    I dialed his number.


    The line connected after a few rings.


    ¡°Where are you, Professor?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Below. Basement 10. This ce¡¯s been abandoned a long time ago. It was a cryonicsboratory before.¡±


    ¡°Cryonics,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Come down, quick. Also, wear more clothes as it¡¯s about -10 degrees here. Come down from the corridor, there¡¯s no electricity. I¡¯ve already opened the door.¡±


    He hung up.


    Cryonics?


    Freezing the human body and reviving it at some time in the future?


    It could be seen as a variation of a burial. In America, the rich could choose between being buried or frozen until a time where scientists could invent a revival technology.


    A hundred yearster, this technology wasbeled as pseudoscience.


    Its purpose was just to cheat the wealthy. Frozen cells would lose their sticity.


    It was possible to recover a small portion, but because each organ in the body was different, it was impossible to revive everything.


    Of course, no matter what, the body could never restore its original appearance and condition, or else humans would be able to live forever.


    What¡¯s the point of racking your brains over this?


    Wait. Could it be the ova within their bodies?


    I ran out to grab my reflective windbreaker in hopes that it would be of use.


    I went back into the building and down the stairs with the help of my mobile torch.


    It did get colder as I went down, and I was practically shaking when it reached -10 degrees Celsius.


    Electricity had long stopped running in this building but the ground below maintained its subzero temperature.


    I pushed opened thest door.


    There were ten people inside and the lights were all lit brightly.


    The ten of them were circled around a sealedpartment


    Professor walked out slowly and waved. ¡°Who¡¯s exchanging clothes with him?


    Immediately, a man removed his jacket and handed it over to me.


    We exchanged our clothes and the man ran upstairs, shivering.


    I slipped the jacket on quickly.


    ¡°Xiaowei, you did human fertility studies in university, right?¡± Professor asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Have you learned how to extract the ova?¡±


    I nodded once again.


    ¡°Here are two female corpses,e. They should be frozen for over two years now. See if you can extract their ova,¡± he instructed.


    ¡°Why me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because among everyone present, you were the only one who scored an A in a simtion test,¡± he reasoned.


    ¡°But I haven¡¯t seen a woman¡¯s body and all operations I¡¯ve practiced were done online,¡± I trembled.


    ¡°Have you ever thought of bing a hero who had the ability to extend life? Do you remember the reason why you chose human fertility studies?¡± Professor questioned.


    ¡°Because you¡¯ll definitely be given a government post upon graduation,¡± I said, stunned.


    ¡°You... I don¡¯t care what were your real intentions, but you, for a fact, scored the highest. Eitherplete this surgery or prepare to be kept in jail your whole life,¡± he urged before handing over a surgical knife.


    ¡°Can I take a puff before answering?¡± I asked helplessly.


    Professor waved his hand. ¡°One stick¡¯s time.¡±

 Chapter 28: Why Me II

    <h4>Chapter 28: Why Me II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Basement 10.


    I lit a cigarette up and took a puff. Other than the smoke in my lungs, there was a gush of coldness within.


    I took another puff before throwing it on the ground and stepping on it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it but I need assistance,¡± I said faintly.


    ¡°No problem. These people don¡¯t have an A but they¡¯re all talented in their own fields,¡± Professor reassured.


    I nodded, slightly frustrated. ¡°Who¡¯s the best with their hands?¡±


    Only two out of ten people raised their hands.


    I nodded again. ¡°Other than them, the rest may leave.¡±


    The rest of them looked at each other, clearly not wanting to leave.


    Professor waved them away. ¡°Listen to him.¡±


    Only then did they withdrew from Basement 10, leaving only me and my assistants.


    I smiled. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    One of the assistants exined, ¡°There¡¯s a total of sixty-three frozen bodies and sixteen are women. After screening them multiple times with X-ray, we found out that only two wombs are suspected to contain ovum cells.¡±


    I pointed to the sealedpartment before me. ¡°These two?¡±


    The assistants nodded.


    I looked at the implement beside me. Everything I needed was avable.


    After some thought, I instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s do it one by one. Disinfect first. I¡¯ll open thepartment and we¡¯ll defrost the bodies. We have about five minutes to extract the ova but don¡¯t be anxious.¡±


    I opened a can of sterilizing gas, filling the whole room with it.


    A simple sterilization consideredplete.


    I instructed the assistants to put thepartment t on the ground and as they did that, I noticed that its electric power source was still on.


    Nuclear energy-poweredpartment.


    I pressed the activation key and liquid nitrogen poured out from holes on both side.


    The sound of a machinery opening up could be heard.


    A nude female body appeared before our eyes.


    This is a woman?


    She looked different from images in scientific books.


    The assistants were stunned, too.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it.¡± I pressed the defrost button.


    Instantly, thepartment started warming up and I aimed the knife at the woman¡¯s lower body.


    Since I was extracting ova, I couldn¡¯t preserve her body perfectly.


    It was actually a simple procedure.


    I made a slit, which was very hard since the body had yet to defrostpletely.


    I had a full view of her womb.


    It was pretty much as depicted on television programs. I started slitting the womb.


    ¡°Get an x1000 magnification ready,¡± I shouted.


    The assistant immediately ced a magnifying ss on my eye. The electrical magnifying ss recorded and disyed what I saw on the screen.


    I started searching for the ova.


    Wait. ck cells emerged before my eyes.


    I tensed.


    ¡°Suction tool,¡± I shouted.


    The other assistant handed it over to me immediately.


    I aimed it at the small ck lump before activating it.


    Looking at the disy screen, I dered, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be ovum cells.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but what exactly is that ck thing?¡± the assistant asked.


    Through the screen, they had seen the ck cells that were being sucked out.


    ¡°Might be cancer cells,¡± I decided after some thought.


    I cut open the whole ovary. Its core was already rotten and diseased.


    Of course, the X-ray couldn¡¯t detect this, but upon cutting it open, the situation became clear.


    ¡°Anyone has a data cable?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Me. Is your phone out?¡± one assistant asked.


    ¡°No, but I¡¯d like to see the data in thepartment.¡±


    I took the cable and I connected it to my phone. After searching for a long time, I saw a small jack on thepartment.


    There was only one document in thepartment.


    Written in English.


    I tranted it on the.


    My name is Anna and I have stage 4 womb cancer. I chose cryonics because my husband and I had been trying for a kid but unfortunately I have cancer. Upon hearing about this, we decided to use this method to preserve our future. As such, we gave up our family fortune for this. I hope that my husband and I will be awakened when medicinal science is advanced enough. Enough to cure my illness and bear a healthy baby for my husband and me.


    I quivered, unsure if it was due to the cold or because of the letter.


    I sent the operation screen and this document to Professor before writing, ¡°I¡¯ll rest for ten minutes before moving on to the next.¡±


    A minuteter, he replied, ¡°Continue.¡±


    Learning from my mistake, I connected the data cable to the secondpartment before anything else.


    Simrly, there was only one document.


    It started with a UBS, followed by two rows of numbers, one long and the other short.


    Below were some English words again.


    Is there immortality now? If yes, will this money be sufficient to revive me? If it¡¯s not enough, take it as my deposit. I have more money to offer upon revival, as long as you let me live forever.


    I keyed UBS into the search engine and found out that it was the abbreviation of a bank in Switzend.


    The two rows of number are the user and pin?


    I tried logging in.


    Zero bnce.


    Looking at the records, I found out that thest withdrawal was 200 years back.


    1 zero, 2 zeroes, 3 zeroes...


    A whole 20,000,000 dors had been taken out.


    Not only was he cheated of his life, he was also robbed clean of his money.


    The assistants were staring nkly at the freshly operated female corpse.


    With a bitter smile, I said, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±


    We ced the secondpartment t against the floor again and opened it. The woman inside was breathtakingly beautiful.


    But no matter how beautiful she was, it was still just a corpse.


    Again, I carried out the same procedures, but this time I managed to extract this richdy¡¯s ovum.


    I also knew that there was a slim chance of reviving it.


    The ovum was no longer active because even with the current technology, frozen ova could only be preserved for 15 years


    There wasn¡¯t any technology to preserve frozen ova from 200 years ago.


    It was going to be really difficult to revive it.


    I opened the door of Basement 10 and handed the test tube to Professor.


    Things ended this way.


    Two monthster, I got promoted.


    I was still idling away in theboratory.


    Plus, I no longer needed to deliver coffee to Professor.


    There was no news about the ovum.


    The government work contract would always start with the words ¡®strictly confidential¡¯.


    As such, I kept it from everyone.


    It was a Sunday, also my resting day, when my mobile rang.


    It was Professor.


    ¡°Xiaowei,e to Continent C¡¯s prison. Bring two cups of coffee, one with additional sugar,¡± Professor instructed before hanging up.


    I was stunned.


    Prison? Why me?


    Did the ovum extraction fail? Why is he bringing me to jail?


    Why wasn¡¯t he arresting me but asking me to deliver coffees instead?


    ¡°I¡¯m clearly already a scientific researcher and not an assistant. Why me?¡± I mumbled grudgingly.


    There was only one prison, located in Region C, shared among all three continents.


    The crime rates in a wealthy era were indeed pathetically low.


    However, desperation did drive some tomit errors.


    Continent C¡¯s prison was in a deste area outside town, not far away from me actually.


    I arrived there with two cups of coffee and three sugar cubes after a four-minute ride.


    There was a huge and impermeable perimeter wall running along Continent C¡¯s suburban district.


    This was the world¡¯sst prison.


    The safest and most reliable.


    I redialed Professor¡¯s number because there wasn¡¯t any way for me to get in.


    There were two serious-looking guards standing outside the entrance. The submachine guns in their hands made my hair stand.


    There was no answer. A few minutester, he came out to get his coffees and sugar cubes.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave,¡± I said.


    ¡°There¡¯s something. Come with me. One cup is yours,¡± he replied.


    I drank a sip before following him in.


    ¡°Why are we here, Prof?¡±


    ¡°Because the ovum you extracted has failed.¡±


    I quivered and turned back to look at the main entrance.


    The guards were slowly closing the doors.

 Chapter 29: Why Me? III

    <h4>Chapter 29: Why Me? III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I stopped in my tracks.


    ¡°Thought of something? There wasn¡¯t any problem with the ovum extraction but we discovered, after fertilizing it, that the cells were deteriorating too quickly. We took steps to salvage it but it would cause deformity in the fetus. There¡¯s probably no hope left for humans but there is onest possible solution.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I continued sipping on my coffee.


    ¡°I had youe over to see what we¡¯ve just found. Number one test subject.¡±


    ¡°Test subject? Number one?¡± I mumbled before following him further in.


    ¡°We were shocked to find him but he¡¯s humanity¡¯sst hope.¡±


    I nodded, interest piqued.


    Perhaps a hermaphrodite?


    ¡°Do you think a normal person can break out of this prison, Xiaowei?¡± Prof asked.


    I looked around. ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Someone had managed to do it twice.¡±


    ¡°Twice? No way...¡±


    ¡°Twice. Sessfully. This is his second time doing it and getting arrested. He¡¯s been confined to an isted room.¡±


    On the way, I noticed that the criminals were in striped clothing and imprisoned in individual units.


    Further in, after passing a door, the criminals were dressed in orange.


    Yet another door and there were only ten over people in this area.


    Blood red uniforms.


    ¡°The colors represent the severity of their crimes?¡±


    ¡°Good observation skills, but I heard that these blood red uniforms used to be white. They fought and mutted themselves so much that the clothes were permanently dirty, hence a change of color.¡±


    I nodded.


    Thest door opened.


    Spotlessly white corridor.


    The room walls were made of ss.


    In the centermost room was a man doing push-ups.


    He wasn¡¯t acting secretively at all.


    I knocked on the ss wall. ¡°Why ss?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this. It¡¯s reinforced ss. This is the type of ss used during the president¡¯s speeches. Evenser can¡¯t pierce through it.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s our test subject? He looks just like a normal human being.¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you his past. He was first caught for stealing cars, a petty crime, and so he wore the striped uniform initially. And then he escaped in the second week.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°He killed three policemen in one breath before running out.¡±


    ¡°No one shot him?¡±


    ¡°It was night time and foggy.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t the guns have thermal imaging?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where he¡¯s smart. First, he ced the nket in the toilet sink. He then draped it over and left. The cold and moist nket absorbed his body heat, turning him invisible in the fog.¡±


    ¡°Then how did he get caught again?¡±


    ¡°He was attempting to kill somebody when he got arrested and was sent straight to the orange room. Only upon closer inspection did they realize that he was the very same man who killed eight people in order to escape and thirteen more when he was out for a month.¡±


    ¡°Oh my goodness, thirteen?¡± I was astonished.


    Murder was the most severe crime since the human poption was no longer replenishable, also why the death sentence was no longer in practice. We couldn¡¯t afford to lose any more human beings so casually.


    ¡°Then what happened? He tried again right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it shook the whole prison up.¡±


    ¡°How did he do it the second time?¡±


    ¡°In a month, he started an internal disorder and killed the prison guard in charge of him before hiding him in the closet. He then disguised himself and walked righteously out of the door.¡±


    ¡°Sound unlikely and ridiculous,¡± Imented.


    ¡°So now he¡¯s locked up alone. When asked if he had an aplice he said yes, but those in the prison who knew him said he work alone,¡± Professor continued.


    ¡°Well, why would the aplice confess?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone thought at first but then he started listing names and thest person was that very guard that he¡¯d killed. In fact, all aplices were murdered by him.¡±


    ¡± What? ¡± I was utterly confused.


    ¡°The prison called a psychologist over and the psychologist said that he did have his aplices because he had sixteen personalities. They were all his partners in crime.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, this is unbelievable,¡± I was almost shouting.


    ¡°And now we need him to save mankind.¡±


    ¡°Why him?¡±


    Professor and I stood in the innermost room.


    Before us was the criminal who killed fifteen people and had sixteen criminal personalities.


    He looked at us with a very calm demeanor.


    He probably knew that he couldn¡¯t hurt us because of that reinforced ss.


    Professor instructed the guard beside us, ¡°Give him anesthesia, here¡¯s the permission grant.¡±


    The guard opened the sluice gate and green gas sprayed into the criminal¡¯s unit.


    He covered his nose and tried dodging. He even picked up a cup on the table and wet his nket and covered his mouth and nose with it.


    He stuck close to the ground to reduce the amount of gas intake.


    I looked at him as I pondered over Professor¡¯s words.


    He was indeed too dangerous.


    I saw him slowly losing the fight and copsing to the ground.


    Professor pointed at me. ¡°Carry him back to ourboratory.¡±


    ¡°Professor, is this safe?¡± I panicked.


    The guard reassured, ¡°Even an elephant will be knocked out for a full day and night. A human will turnpletely numb for at least three days, so don¡¯t worry. If you¡¯re worried, I¡¯ll inject a sedative.¡±


    I nodded without hesitation.


    The guard opened the door and took out a syringe.


    As he bent down to administer the drug, the criminal used his nket to cover the guard¡¯s face.


    Before anyone could process the situation, he had already twisted the guard¡¯s neck.


    In that instant, I pressed the door switch.


    mmed it repeatedly, to be precise, hoping that it would close faster.


    However, the criminal threw himself at me and grabbed my neck.


    The other guards raised their guns and the criminal immediately pulled me in front of him and used me as a shield.


    I saw that the sedative was already half inserted into his leg.


    I quickly pushed it in the rest of the way.


    Almost instantly, he copsed.


    He seemed to have lost his soul at this point.


    Hiding behind a guard, Professor spoke, ¡°Good one, Xiaowei. Bring him out.¡±


    I shook my head helplessly before calming down and carrying him up.


    A weekter at Continent B¡¯s undergroundboratory.


    I¡¯ve received an invitation to participate in the final step of the experiment.


    The same reinforced ss.


    The criminal was enclosed in a small jar.


    His arms and legs had already been cut off so he could only move his neck.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, looking at Professor.


    ¡°So that he can¡¯t move as much and have less physical power consumption. It will reduce the speed of organ deterioration and aid Project Deep Blue.¡±


    ¡°Project Deep Blue?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°We¡¯re unable to help the whole of mankind to live forever but we do have the technology to let one live eternally.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re letting him live forever?¡± I pointed at the criminal.


    ¡°Right. The second step of Project Deep Blue is to simte a human world and a button that activates a nuclear warhead. And then, we¡¯ll have him put on the VR equipment and let at least one of his split personality be convinced that the button¡¯s been pressed,¡± Professor exined.


    I thought through the logic behind making him believe that he¡¯d killed the entire world.


    So he¡¯d possessed all personalities of the world.


    ¡°But is it possible for him to have so many personalities?¡± I questioned.


    Everyone present looked at me in shock.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know if it will seed but the human brain has limitless potential,¡± Professor answered.


    ¡°This is thest hope for mankind? Having unlimited personalities all in the mind can be considered as a continuation of mankind?¡±


    ¡°Scientifically speaking, because he is human, the characters in his head are also humans. The activation button is right in front of us. The president was supposed to press it but since he was neither in favor or against this project, we¡¯ve decided to get someone else to do it. I¡¯m presenting this chance to you.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because nothing beats destroying mankind for real. You¡¯re the most suitable candidate for carrying out this sin.¡± Professor put my hand on top of the button.


    I pressed it gently.


    Explosions sounded incessant from above.


    ¡°Is this a real nuclear warhead button?¡± I asked.


    Everyone around was already starting to kill themselves.


    Wait a minute.


    At least one personality to believe that he¡¯s destroyed the world.


    At least one personality to believe that he¡¯s destroyed the world.


    At least one personality to believe that he¡¯s destroyed the world.


    I shut my eyes, mind tossing and turning.


    I opened them.


    I am soaking in an azure blue petri dish and my limbs have been severed.


    Theboratory before my eyes was already filled with dust.


    I also saw a few skeletons. Probably dead for some time now.


    It appeared that this dream hase to an end once more. Who should be given the first person perspective this time? It seemed like everyone¡¯s had their turn. It was so difficult to make a choice.


    Music filled my ears.


    ¡°Some are standing at the rail station, searching amid the wasted,


    some are walking on the sidewalk toward their destinies,


    some are cooking numbly in the kitchen,


    some are quarreling on both ends of the bed.


    When you look at these people, do you really notice any difference between them and yourself?


    Do you feel their pain at times?


    Perhaps these people are working differently toward the same goal,


    perhaps we¡¯re all together in this...¡±

 Chapter 30: Code K

    <h4>Chapter 30: Code K</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The car was parked in the corner of a busy street outside a gold shop with a thriving business.


    I¡¯m Jack, a civil police.


    I don¡¯t arrest criminals.


    Well, not ordinary criminals, at least.


    Ever since I¡¯ve received a tip-off, I¡¯ve been waiting here for three days but no suspicious target has been here yet.


    I looked at my watch, noting that I could manage to take five minutes out to get some breakfast at the restaurant nearby.


    I woke my 200kg, thunderously snoring, assistant sh driver up. ¡°Keep watch for a while, Fatty. I¡¯ll get breakfast. Call me if there¡¯s any development.¡±


    Fatty rubbed his belly, smiling. ¡°Get me 3 buns, a breadstick, and salted soy milk.¡±


    I got out of the car.


    I jogged to the restaurant and sighed upon noticing the long line.


    Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.


    My phone rang. Frustrated, I answered it.


    ¡°Come back quick, the targets¡¯ are on the move. One has entered the gold shop. Many hostages,¡± Fatty informed me.


    ¡°What ss?¡± I questioned.


    If it wasn¡¯t urgent, I could still get some food.


    ¡°ss B. I see a methrower. Sniper¡¯s in position,¡± Fatty continued.


    ¡°B? Okay. Wait for me, I¡¯m almost done.¡±


    ¡°Nn.. no, no. Can¡¯t wait. It¡¯s ur..urgent here!¡± Fatty stammered.


    His old habit of stuttering always came back whenever he was nervous.


    I left the queue and sprinted toward the gold shop.


    With barely any pause, I retrieved a shotgun from my waist belt.


    I deactivated the lock and inserted the bullets one by one.


    Kachak! All eight bullets have been loaded with one hand.


    I used the other hand to put on my Bluetooth device.


    ¡°Viper calling for headquarters,¡± I stated.


    ¡°Headquarters over, please speak, Viper.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the sniper?¡±


    ¡°A building 400 meters away. Target area: second to the fourth window of the gold shop. Six o¡¯clock from the shop. Able to take action.¡±


    ¡°Viper received.¡± I inhaled a sharp intake of breath.


    Am I supposed to trick the deviant over to that spot?


    Were these leaders¡¯ brains filled with shit?


    I kicked my way into the shop, busting the door.


    I raised my shotgun and aimed.


    ¡°Police! Everyone, raise your hands,¡± I ordered.


    I aimed the gun at the only man standing.


    Needless to think, he must be the methrower.


    Just as I was about to pull the trigger, it was smacked away from my hand and a force tackled me to the ground.


    Invisible man?


    ¡°Good one, Hannah. Keep him down and kill him if he makes any move,¡± the methrower smiled as he filled his bag with more gold jewelry.


    Damn it.


    I could feel something sharp against my neck but I couldn¡¯t see anything from this angle.


    I could only feel that it was a knife or dagger-like object. There was at least an invisible man and methrower in the shop.


    I cursed in a low voice, ¡°You retards. Don¡¯t you know what you¡¯re doing? How could you forget about switching the thermal imaging on?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± A woman¡¯s voice sounded beside my ear.


    Oh, an invisible woman.


    ¡°You have a beautiful voice,dy.¡± I smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Yeah? You¡¯d better behave or my voice would be thest thing you¡¯ll hear,¡± she whispered.


    In their perfectte fashion, a report came in from my Bluetooth device. ¡°Headquarters, over. Sniper¡¯s turned on thermal imaging. New report: Two deviants spotted. Invisible man and methrower. Danger index: ss A.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that voice in your ear?¡± the woman questioned before taking my receiver down.


    I then saw my Bluetooth device floating in mid-air.


    She must¡¯ve put it on but I couldn¡¯t be sure because she was leaning too close.


    I didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly as I could already feel something trickling down my neck.


    I was pretty sure it was blood.


    ¡°Is this the police¡¯s channel?¡± the woman asked.


    My face turned pale.


    I couldn¡¯t locate my shotgun.


    ¡°Hannah,st drawer. 50 more seconds and we¡¯ll leave. Get rid of him,¡± the methrower instructed.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait. I have ast wish,¡± I stalled.


    ¡°5 seconds,¡± the woman said coldly.


    ¡°I¡¯m still a virgin. It¡¯s impossible to lose it in five seconds, but can you at least take my first kiss?¡± I asked urgently.


    A moment of silence.


    ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re decently handsome,¡± the woman spoke slowly.


    I felt her warm lips on mine.


    I used the position of the Bluetooth device mid-air to judge her position. Fixing her head in ce, I moved my lips slightly.


    I quickly took the opportunity to grab a dagger that I kept in my holster and stabbed it into her neck.


    Red blood oozed out and stained my right hand.


    The dagger had pierced her vertebra and cut off her nerves.


    She was unable to fight back.


    The knife against my neck loosened.


    I stood up slowly and retrieved my shotgun.


    The hostages kept mum and the methrower did not notice.


    He was greedily filling his bag with more jewelry as I aimed my gun at him.


    I pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    The methrower swayed a little before copsing.


    Cheers filled the shop.


    ¡°You guys can leave now. File out in order, don¡¯t rush,¡± I instructed.


    The hostages swarmed out of the shop before I could finish.


    I touched my neck and felt a sharp sting.


    I plucked out the suspending Bluetooth device and ced it back in my ear.


    The woman remained invisible even after death.


    ¡°Come settle the arrangements. Both deviants are dead,¡± I reported.


    ¡°Headquarters received. Good job, Viper.¡±


    I lit a cigarette and took a puff.


    I nced over at the dead, invisible woman.


    It doesn¡¯t looked like she was going to materialize anytime soon. I could only confirm her location through her blood.


    I squatted down, covered my hand in the pool of fresh blood and smeared it across her face.


    Through theyer of blood, I saw her features.


    She was a beauty. It was a pity she had this type of sickness.


    Incurable sickness.


    I put out the cigarette, which I¡¯ve only taken one puff from, before leaving the shop.


    Everything dated back to 63 years ago.


    A new type of pandemic flu had taken over the world.


    Fever, pneumonia, organ failure.


    The whole sequence didn¡¯t take more than 3 days.


    The death rate was no lower than 89%.


    Incurable.


    Until a type of unique medication emerged.


    It was to be administered via an injection and it was very rapid and effective in reducing fever.


    Majority of those facing death had been saved.


    I heard that this medicine was originally developed as a tranquilizer during the third world war.


    It could restore injured soldiers¡¯bat power.


    The flu disappeared off the face of the earth a weekter.


    90% of the human poption had been injected with this drug, but a small percentage of them started facing side effects.


    These victims made up no more than 10 percent. They started developing supernatural powers like psychokinesis, x-ray vision, foretelling the future, and discharging electricity.


    Because it was practically the whole world that had been injected with this medication, it was difficult to run them all through a checklist.


    10 yearster, groups after groups of deviants started surfacing.


    Studies had proven that the affected individuals had a 90% chance of handing down their mutated genes to their offsprings.


    While not many people were affected, fear was still inevitable.


    Theyunched a project with the codename ¡®Project K¡¯.


    I¡¯m a soldier who had been trained specially for Project K.


    A soldier whose job was to destroy these so-called ¡®sick¡¯ people.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Fatty. I can¡¯t move anymore, go get breakfast. I want a bean paste bun and sweetened soy milk,¡± I said as I slumped into my seat.


    ¡°Sure thing, my hero,¡± Fatty answered enthusiastically before opening the car door.


    Looking at his fading silhouette, I subconsciously ced a finger on my lips, reminiscing that few seconds of warmth from earlier.

 Chapter 31: Code K II

    <h4>Chapter 31: Code K II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    When I came back to my senses, I locked the gun and removed its bullets.


    Fatty returned and flung a bag of food toward me.


    I fiddled with the bag and took out the soy milk.


    It was salted. Fatty always got this wrong.


    I sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the next mission?¡±


    Smiling, Fatty replied, ¡°Wait, let me take a look.¡±


    He whipped out his phone and pressed a few buttons speedily. ¡°ss C mission: Run an inspection through the deviants in the slum area.¡±


    ¡°Yet another life-wasting mission?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it for your safety?¡± Fatty smiled.


    ...


    Fatty¡¯s my second partner.


    Franklin was my first.


    I was Franklin¡¯s assistant at that time and did what Fatty¡¯s mostly doing right now ¨C receiving missions on his behalf.


    Missions usuallye in three sses: A, B, and C ss.


    Deviants will be categorized into two groups of threat or of no threat.


    It was easy to separate them since any deviant with even the slightest intention to cause damage would be ssified as a threat.


    Deviants of no threat would fall into ss C.


    Deviants of any threat would fall under ss B.


    When two or more ss B deviants work together, they be a ss A threat.


    Franklin only allowed me to ept ss A missions.


    He was a very capable lone wolf. He was the one who had taught me all my gun techniques.


    But Franklin¡¯s no longer around.


    ...


    Inspecting the slum areas was the simplest mission of all ss C missions.


    Basically, it involved bringing a notebook, going house to house, and verifying the deviants¡¯ identities.


    ss B deviants could be killed immediately.


    Deviants that posed no threat could live on like any human being on the condition that they have to be chemically castrated.


    It was done to prevent them from handing their mutated genes down to the next generation.


    As such, more than 90% of these people were poor.


    And some threatening deviants would hide in the slums.


    I knocked on the door as Fatty hid from a distance.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± A voice came from behind the door.


    ¡°Police. Conducting checks,¡± I shouted.


    The door opened slowly as a thin figure appeared before me.


    ¡°Name?¡± I asked with a pen in my hand.


    ¡°Aike,¡± the frail figure answered softly with his mouth closed.


    ¡°What abilities?¡± I asked faintly.


    Aike opened his mouth slowly and an eye-piercing light shone from within his mouth.


    I immediately put my sunsses on. ¡°You can close your mouth now. Anyone else in the house?¡±


    ¡°My cousin, Dick,¡± he answered with his mouth shut tight.


    ¡°Get him here. What abilities?¡± I asked while subconsciously taking out my shotgun.


    When the lights came on, another man emerged.


    ¡°Dick, no abilities. Just an extra thumb,¡± he reported before raising his right hand.


    Starting from a few years ago, deviants with deformity fell under ss C.


    But in order to reduce the chances of newborns developing deformity, affected individuals would have to give up their rights to reproduce.


    Don¡¯t ask me why they couldn¡¯t just undergo surgery to be a ¡®normal¡¯ person. Once born a deviant, always a deviant.


    Thisbel would stick with them for life. Any attempt to disguise themselves as a normal human being would throw them into ss B.


    I pressed a button on my sunsses. With the thermal imaging switched on, I scanned the room once more.


    I shut the door slowly when I was certain that there was no one else in the house.


    Fatty walked over and smiled. ¡°How was it?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Next one.¡± I wrote some notes down before heading over to the next unit.


    It took one morning to run through half the slums.


    No discovery. There was nothing to be discovered.


    This was the simplest mission, anyway.


    The sun was burning the ground and there were exceptionally few people on the road.


    Sweat poured down Fatty¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Jack. Let¡¯s get some fast food. I want an ice cream cone.¡±


    My phone suddenly rang.


    It was the headquarters.


    ¡°Calling for Viper.¡±


    ¡°Viper, received,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Still in the slum area?¡±


    ¡°Just finished. I am about to leave,¡± I replied.


    ¡°ss A escapee was found within your region.¡±


    ¡°ss A? How many of them? What abilities?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Just one. I¡¯ll send his photo over to you.¡±


    ¡°Send it to Panda. I¡¯m not using a smartphone. One person? Why ss A then?¡± I asked in doubt.


    Upon hearing his name, Fatty asked, ¡°Me? What are you doing to send?¡±


    ¡°Photograph of the suspect, ss A,¡± I informed.


    Fatty closed his mouth and unlocked his phone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any information for now. The tip-off came in a red document and I have no rights to get involved. I can only tell you that the suspect might have more than one special ability, hence a ss A deviant. I¡¯ll wait for your good news.¡±


    Two ss B partners working together would be regarded as a ss A case. It must work the same for an individual with two ss B abilities.


    It was my first time experiencing something like this.


    Fatty raised up his phone. ¡°Any impression?¡±


    I looked at the photograph in his mobile.


    A very ordinary looking child, no different from any human being.


    Except for his golden eyes, nothing else seemed strange.


    I wrinkled my brows, slowly starting to recall something.


    I flipped through my notebook.


    Wait, I remember.


    Unit 402.


    An aged woman and her child.


    This child was her kid.


    They had a 90% resemnce, except that the child looked slightly younger than reflected in the photograph.


    I opened the car door. ¡°Mission, ss A.¡±


    Fatty looked displeased. ¡°Nooooo, why a mission now?¡±


    ¡°Unit 402 from earlier. An olddy and a young child, do you remember?¡± I asked, jogging up the stairs.


    Fatty stared at his screen, scratching his head. ¡°I think so...¡±


    I already got my shotgun ready as soon as I arrived at unit 402


    I inserted the bullets and disabled the safety lock before knocking on the door.


    The ageddy appeared. She was about sixty to seventy years old.


    Pointing my gun straight at her, I demanded, ¡°Where¡¯s the child?¡±


    I remembered her words. She had no superpower and she had to rent a unit here as she was too poor to raise her child elsewhere.


    ¡°Inside,¡± she pointed down at the hallway, her hand trembling.


    I took out a glow stick, broke it, and threw it on the ground before walking in.


    Shortly after, the orange-yellow light illuminated the whole room.


    I had a clear look at the child¡¯s face. He was staring at me.


    He had a pair of bright golden eyes and he was smiling at me.


    I aimed my gun at the child with one hand and used the other to obstruct the ageddy beside me.


    I fired a shot.


    The child stood in the same spot, unharmed.


    The shot had been fired and the chair behind the child had been shattered.


    Psychokinesis? Speed? Or did I miss?


    All kinds of possibilities floated within my mind.


    The child walked slowly toward me.


    In a straight line


    I took aim and fired once again.


    The child dodged all of my bullets very naturally by leaning his body toward the left and right.


    And the things behind him started crumbling.


    He moved very slowly.


    I fired consecutive shots but he managed to avoid them all.


    He was in front of me by now.


    I extended my arm in an attempt to grab him but he was already out of the room.


    He stopped for a moment and we made eye contact.


    He was smiling.


    A mocking smile.


    I raised my gun again. Half a meter¡¯s distance.


    He has nowhere to hide. It¡¯s just not possible.


    With his speed, he can never dodge this. I pulled the trigger.


    No bullet left.


    The child turned around, ready to flee.


    He knew I had no bullets left? Is that his power?


    Or what could it be?


    Why was he bulletproof?


    ...


    ¡°Why shotgun, Franklin?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m able to kill so many deviants?¡± he returned with another question.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you kill them with other guns, too? It¡¯s too easy to misfire with a shotgun,¡± Imented.


    ¡°Which is why I choose to work alone,¡± Franklin smiled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Because first, no short-range shots will be missed, and second, I¡¯d never want to miss,¡± he finished.


    He became a lone wolf since no one dared to work with him.


    Near-range shots weren¡¯t supposed to go off-target but with Franklin¡¯s shotgun, I¡¯d misfired 7 bullets.


    ...


    When I regained my senses, the child had already escaped over 20 meters away.


    Fatty ran over and brushed past the child¡¯s shoulder.


    He gasped for air and looked at me, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Shoot. He¡¯s a ss A deviant,¡± I instructed.


    Fatty was stunned. ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°But what? He¡¯s running away,¡± I shouted anxiously.


    Fatty retrieved his gun and fired a shot.


    It was a hit.


    The boy did not copse. He kept running further and further away.


    ¡°You got it?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s a tracker that I¡¯ve shot,¡± Fatty replied.


    Looking at Fatty¡¯s size, I decided not to have him chase after the child anymore.


    I aimed the gun at the olddy¡¯s head. ¡°What is he, exactly?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not my child. He¡¯s my husband.¡±

 Chapter 32: Code K III

    <h4>Chapter 32: Code K III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡± I held the gun close to her head.


    Fatty jumped in nervously, ¡°Calm down, Jack. There¡¯s a tracker on him now. We¡¯ll be able to catch him.¡±


    ¡°Before we catch him, we gotta know what exactly he is first,¡± I responded, not loosening my grip on the gun.


    The old woman was scared speechless. Fatty stepped close to me, grabbed my gun and pointed it at the ceiling. ¡°Tell me slowly, Madam. You said he¡¯s your husband?¡±


    She kept silent.


    Fatty directed the gun back into my holster.


    I sighed before securing it in ce.


    ¡°I¡¯m not as patient as he is, so if I were you, I¡¯d speak up fast,¡± I warned.


    Fatty pulled thedy further into the house.


    A wooden table and 3 old stools.


    The dim light in the room barely illuminated our faces.


    The olddy smiled bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t have much to offer you here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s talk about your husband,¡± Fatty said warmly.


    After a short silence, she said, ¡°He¡¯s my husband. When we first met, he was 39 and I was 25. I was deeply attracted to his golden eyes.¡±


    ¡°That child was a middle-aged man when you first met?¡± Fatty asked in shock.


    ¡°I figured. Reverse aging,¡± I added.


    Reverse aging brought no harm and was very unique.


    However, what I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around was the fact that he¡¯d managed to dodge all my bullets.


    ¡°I did not give up on us even after realizing he¡¯s a deviant. We chose to hide. It wasn¡¯t easy for us but we were happy. It was only until a few years back that I discovered his secret,¡± she exined.


    ¡°What secret?¡± Fatty asked eagerly.


    I thought about what the headquarters had mentioned.


    ss A deviant. A reverse-aging deviant will not fall under ss A.


    Was the secret about his second ability?


    ¡°As I grew older, he became younger. Of course, this isn¡¯t the most important thing. I wanted to have a baby with him but I was unable to. That was when I discovered his ability.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Fatty asked.


    I smacked the table. ¡°Go straight to the point. Are you stalling for time?¡±


    ¡°Those who¡¯ve seen his eyes will not be able to reproduce,¡± she revealed.


    ¡°Lose the ability to bear children?¡± I asked.


    His golden eyes resurfaced in my mind.


    ¡°With mere eye contact?¡± Fatty asked.


    ¡°Yes. We hid in cities, one after another. We moved every year, all the while with him bing younger and younger. I¡¯m 50 now and he¡¯s like a 9-year-old,¡± she continued.


    ¡°How many cities have you two been in?¡± Fatty questioned, astonished.


    ¡°Can¡¯t remember,¡± was her reply.


    Fatty looked at me.


    I stood up. ¡°Other than those two characteristics, does he have any more superpowers? Like possessing the lightning speed or the ability to foretell the future?¡±


    The olddy shook her head.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± I walked out of the room in frustration.


    Fatty followed behind me. ¡°Did you look into his eyes earlier, Jack?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no big deal. The problem is that we don¡¯t know what his abilities are. Quick, check your tracker.¡±


    Fatty quickly retrieved his phone and pressed some buttons. ¡°I think I did look into his eyes. Just a little though. Am I not going to be able to reproduce? I¡¯m still single, how can this happen to me?¡± Fatty went despaired.


    I stared at his phone, noticing that the red dot had stopped at a nearby street.


    I gave the headquarters a call.


    ¡°Viper calling for headquarters,¡± I started.


    ¡°Headquarters received. Please speak, Viper.¡±


    ¡°Street 34. I¡¯ll send the suspect¡¯s location over right now. The position of ss A deviant, the suspect you had me check up on, locked down,¡± I said.


    I threw the phone back to Fatty. ¡°Share his location with them. Don¡¯t follow if you¡¯re worried about not being able to reproduce.¡±


    Fatty nodded and remained in his spot.


    I took out my gun and jogged toward street 34.


    I loaded my bullets, devising a n on how I could arrest him.


    I gave the headquarters another call.


    ¡°Viper calling for headquarters.¡±


    ¡°Headquarters received. Please speak.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the suspect¡¯s location?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s experiencing reverse aging and those who¡¯ve seen his eyes will not be able to reproduce. I suspect that he can predict about a few or ten seconds into the future. I hope you can dispatch more officers and promote this case to ss A+,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Request received. There are four teams ofmissioners close by. Already sent the ss A+ information over. I¡¯ll send their contacts to your mobile.¡±


    ¡°Not necessary. I¡¯m not using a smartphone. Tell them that the child might be able to foresee the shooting so they shouldn¡¯t harbor any malicious intent and just surround him instead,¡± I advised.


    ...


    ¡°What kind of deviant do you deem the most dangerous, Franklin?¡±


    ¡°Most dangerous? Every single one of them is equally dangerous, but those with premonition are the hardest to deal with,¡± he answered with a smile.


    ¡°Premonition?¡± I repeated his words foolishly.


    ¡°Listen to me. If you meet deviants like that, you must convince yourself that you¡¯re not trying to cause harm since they can usually predict a few seconds into the future. They can see that you¡¯re nning to hurt them so they know how to avoid your attacks. Free your mind and they will be helpless,¡± Franklin told me.


    ¡°Can¡¯t kill them with evil intentions?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Impossible unless there¡¯s a sure-fire attacking method, like dropping an atomic bomb or sniping from thousands of meters away,¡± Franklin added with a smile.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Of course, there aren¡¯t many deviants with this ability. I¡¯ve only met one so far. He could look 5 seconds into the future. I chose to let him hold me captive. As he ran away while holding me against him, I hid my gun in a position that he couldn¡¯t see and shot it through my stomach. The bullet came out from me and entered his body, effectively killing him.¡± Franklin lifted his shirt up to reveal the vivid scar.


    ...


    The red dot did not move.


    He was only a street corner away from me.


    I turned around quickly and saw that kid.


    He was sitting on a wooden bench, gasping for breath.


    He must be tired.


    It made sense since he was an old man trapped in a child¡¯s body.


    That run must¡¯ve tired him out.


    I raised my gun and the document in my hand. ¡°Police case! Everyone, step back.¡±


    I aimed the gun at the child but did not put my finger on the trigger board.


    He would know if I harbored that intention to shoot.


    Indeed, he did not escape. Instead, all passersby fled the scene.


    I approached the child slowly. ¡°You can predict the future, can¡¯t you?¡±


    He only looked at me.


    A few colleagues appeared at the street corner.


    I was a few more steps from him but I kept my finger off the trigger.


    ¡°How many seconds in advance?¡± I asked.


    He remained silent.


    My colleagues have already blocked off the street corner by now.


    ¡°Surround him,¡± I ordered.


    ¡°This must be him, eh?¡± a colleague from far away asked.


    I wrinkled my brows. ¡°Don¡¯t look into his eyes or you won¡¯t be able to reproduce.¡±


    A few of my colleagues quickly diverted their gaze away from his face.


    I held the gun against the child¡¯s head. ¡°Do you think you can avoid this bullet now that I¡¯m so close?¡±


    ¡°No idea,¡± his said softly.


    It was very hoarse, however, like that of an old man.


    I slowly moved my finger to the trigger but he did not move.


    Has he given up?


    I ced my finger firmly on the trigger before pressing it down.


    Everyone was stunned by the next scene.


    With a part of the gun barrel, the child had managed to deflect the bullet to the side.


    It didn¡¯t seem like he had the ability to foresee the future.


    Such split-second reaction wasn¡¯t typical of those with the ability to foretell.


    What was it then?


    The child started fleeing fast.


    My colleagues were about to block him but he easily slipped through the gap. He had already run off before anyone could do more.


    They got their guns out and took aim.


    ¡°Can we shoot?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s already fired a shot earlier.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it then.¡±


    They started shooting, but the child, again, easily dodged the bullets.


    No, no. It was almost as if the bullets were dodging him.


    I was at a loss.


    What¡¯s going on...


    Our fatal bullets just won¡¯t hit the child, unlike Fatty¡¯s harmless tracker bullet.


    I took out my pistol, inserted a tracking bullet before aiming it at the child.


    I fired a shot and the bullet went straight to his head.


    The boy only shook a little before fleeing further away.


    I pulled a colleague aside and had him take out his phone.


    Two red dots.


    I was at a loss.


    Misses only urred with fatal bullets. He could only dodge a fatal bullet.


    What was he?


    3 monthster.


    We¡¯ve been following the red dots for three months now.


    We¡¯ve tried all methods but he¡¯s still alive.


    We¡¯ve been unable to catch him at all.


    I looked at the health report in my hands.


    My reproductive organs have been deteriorating severely.


    And everyone else in this city was facing the same symptoms.


    I found outter that people in cities the boy had been in were unable to reproduce as well.


    Precisely the reason why this case was ssified as ss A.


    The child was eight years old now and there were three uncontaminated cities left.


    He moved every year with the goal of spreading the condition across mankind.


    Those who saw him became infertile and blind people had long been ssified as ss C deviants and been chemically castrated.


    The government even dropped an atomic bomb in the secondst city but the red dots did not disappear.


    He was unstoppable.


    Epilogue.


    My name is Philips.


    It¡¯s a name I gave myself.


    I have no parents because I¡¯ve never been born.


    When I started to understand this concept, I discovered that I was an old man, clueless about the world.


    A nursing home had offered me shelter.


    Everyone told me that I have beautiful eyes.


    Golden in color.


    All my knowledge came from the nurses in the home.


    Later on, they resigned, saying that stress had caused them to be infertile.


    I knew a lot of things, like how people needed an identification card.


    I had none. I did not know my age but everyonemented that I was bing increasingly youthful looking.


    After ten years of consciousness, my white hair started turning ck.


    They discovered my secret. They said I was undergoing reverse aging.


    Being called a deviant, I was expelled from the nursing home.


    I roamed the streets without the ability to take care of myself.


    I became wiser as I grew younger.


    I started learning how to conceal my secret. I was able to work for others to earn a living.


    But I realized that whoever I passed would be infertile.


    Friends around me faced the same issue.


    As I grew even younger, I started to recover more intelligence.


    I understood what was going on.


    I¡¯m a deviant.


    I started wondering if these were my abilities.


    As I regained my youthful and handsome appearance, people started to like me.


    It was only until I got shot by the police that I realized I was left unhurt.


    I started to understand my ability.


    First, I¡¯m able to render Man infertile.


    Second, it¡¯s not that I can age backward because I was never born.


    I¡¯m non-existent.


    Since I¡¯ve never been born, I could never die.


    I fled, city to city, spreading infertility.


    Because I can¡¯t die, I¡¯m basically putting this world to an end.


    Once I realized this fact, I found myself spiraling out of control.


    Instinctively, I ran. I looked everyone in the eye.


    I couldn¡¯t control myself.


    It¡¯s my destiny.

 Chapter 33: Unfortunate Opportunity I

    <h4>Chapter 33: Unfortunate Opportunity I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    It¡¯s been five years since this spaceship has arrived on Earth.


    No one knew where it came from except that it simply hovered above The White House.


    Or rather, thirty feet above the whole of Washington D.C. region.


    The spaceship was so huge that even with such great distance, it was able to cover half of the state.


    All sorts of tests have been carried out.


    Experts imed that the spaceship was at least thrice the size of Washington.


    It didn¡¯t move an inch since five years ago.


    ording to the specialists, however, it was indeed moving.


    Moving along with Earth¡¯s rotations.


    No one knew the source of its power as machines haven¡¯t been able to conduct tests on it.


    Not it¡¯s temperature, weight, or even size.


    Because the whole of Washington became a forbidden area.


    Previously, the military has hot a guided missile to it but upon reaching a thousand feet in height, it lost its power and was left floating motionless in the air.


    The military was afraid that the missile would fall back down once the spaceship leaves.


    As such, they no longerunched any attacks after.


    People talked about an alien invasion.


    Every country was involved in such discussions in the first year of its arrival.


    The spaceship never moved, it was as if it was dead.


    People gradually forgot about its existence even though it became a sight even more famous than The White House. Even if you¡¯re in Colombia, you¡¯ll see it once you raise your head up.


    It blocked the sun in the day and the moon at night.


    The trees and flowers illuminated by the spaceship have all withered.


    Even the American president had to leave the White House upon the spaceship¡¯s arrival.


    Everything was different today.


    It has been five years now and everyone¡¯s already forgotten to check on it once in a while.


    Until it shot a white beam of light down.


    The light beam pierced through the horizon and set off the ground rm.


    Citizens in Washington were instructed to evacuate into the air-raid shelter within ten minutes.


    The military started advancing toward The White House. They¡¯ve been waiting for this day since five years ago.


    They forged forward with all kinds of tanks that had anti-aircraft guns in them.


    The white beam of light shot down on the roof of The White House and a strange ck figure descended slowly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a human,¡± a sniper reported.


    ¡°Are you certain about that?¡± the soldier beside him asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Very clearly. He¡¯s our people,¡± the sniper confirmed.


    The soldier spoke into his walkie-talkie, ¡°It¡¯s a human inside, Captain.¡±


    The captain then spoke into his walkie-talkie, ¡°It¡¯s a human, Officer.¡±


    The message was passed upward in this manner.


    The Defense Minister, Gerard, picked up a binocr and observed the light beam for a long time.


    Tears started forming in his eyes.


    He put it down and rubbed them a little.


    The ck figure was now standing atop The White House. It was a human indeed.


    It was a man.


    ¡°Hello, humans,¡± the man greeted.


    His voice was heard very clearly by everyone present.


    Silence.


    Gerard spoke up, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The man looked at his hand and answered, ¡°The spaceship seemed to havended five years earlier than expected and I¡¯ve just woken up from hibernation. Sorry to have caused any inconvenience to you earthlings.¡±


    ¡°You just woke up? Who are you exactly?¡± Gerard asked, already dialing for the president.


    ¡°I¡¯vee from Resplendent. Our people are 98% simr to you earthlings, except that we have a longer civilization. We attribute the phenomenon to Earth¡¯s incapability to further progress to ¡®reincarnation¡¯.


    ¡°Reincarnation?¡± Gerard repeated.


    ¡°Earth will regenerate every fifty million years, which is unlike Resplendent. As such, our technology is much more advanced. Whenever you guys are about to reach our realm of science and knowledge, Earth will be destroyed. The most Earth has done was to discover medium-term technologies but even then, it still underwent reincarnation,¡± the man exined with some hand gestures.


    ¡°You mean our earth is constantly being reced?¡± Gerard asked in astonishment.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been studying you ever since we discovered Earth. Earth has already reincarnated sixty-three times throughout Resplendent¡¯s history. Each reincarnation is slightly different. Language, skin color... the only thing that remains the same is the system of life, which is why we look alike,¡± he continued.


    ¡°If what you said is true, why are you speaking to us in English?¡± Gerard questioned.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not using yournguage. Our transmitnguage differently and I can use anguage you are familiar with tomunicate with you,¡± he exined.


    ¡°This... can you give me ten minutes to discuss this with the president?¡± George requested.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± the man replied.


    Gerard raised his phone up. ¡°Mister President, did you hear everything?¡±


    ¡°Very clearly. Are they aliens?¡± the president asked over the phone.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Gerard nodded.


    ¡°This is ssified information. Stop the satellite broadcast. Figure out his motive,¡± the president instructed.


    ¡°My goal is simple. I just have a question,¡± the man responded.


    ¡°You heard me?¡± the president asked.


    ¡°Yes I did,¡± the man answered.


    ¡°What is it? Speak,¡± the president urged.


    He was in Los Angeles at that point, a good four thousand kilometers away.


    ¡°The average lifespan on Resplendent spans across one to one and a half reincarnations of Earth. My teacher¡¯s been fortunate enough to live through two reincarnations and conduct thorough studies. He discovered something you guys call ¡®faith¡¯ which remains a constant regardless of reincarnation and other changes. It is also something that we do not possess. Because there is only so much we can observe, we decided to visit you to find out for ourselves what exactly faith is,¡± the man conveyed.


    ¡°Your arrival¡¯s a big thing for us. We have to reevaluate our understanding of the world so could you please give us some time to answer your question?¡± the president asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not urgent. I can stay around for about a thousand years. I¡¯ll leave before your next reincarnation. Of course, there¡¯s no way you guys can avoid it. We¡¯ve been here many times and after each reincarnation, none of you actually remembers us at all. Wee with a different goal each time because you earthlings are indeed very simr to us. We regard Earth as a point of reference for us,¡± the man finished.


    The president crinkled his brows. ¡°How are you going to understand our faith?¡±


    ¡°I would like to take eight earthlings back to my to educate us on what faith is. Because your lifespan is only about sixty years, I¡¯ll have to freeze their bodies before taking them away.¡±


    ¡°Please give us a few days to consider your proposal and find suitable candidates,¡± the president responded.


    ¡°Alright.¡± A white beam of light brought the man back into the spaceship.


    Gerard asked over the phone, ¡°What is faith, Mister President?¡±

 Chapter 34: Unfortunate Opportunity II

    <h4>Chapter 34: Unfortunate Opportunity II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°What do you think faith is?¡± the president returned the question.


    After some thought, Gerard answered, ¡°Faith? America is faith. War is my faith. Victory is my faith.¡±


    ¡°He wants eight men who can teach them what faith is. Can I count you in?¡± the president asked.


    ¡°If it¡¯s for America, it would be an honor.¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t let you go or Star Wars is really going to happen.¡± The president shook his head helplessly.


    ¡°What do you think faith is then, Mister President?¡± Gerard asked again.


    With a bitter smile, the president answered, ¡°No idea. I¡¯llunch a meeting with the United Nations. I¡¯m sure other countries know of this matter as well.¡±


    The president shut his phone and Gerard looked up at the spaceship with a grave expression on his face.


    ¡°Faith?¡± Gerard mumbled to himself.


    ¡°Do we await orders or withdraw, Officer?¡± a soldier asked.


    ¡°Withdraw. Leave the rest to the president,¡± Gerard instructed.


    The next morning, president¡¯s office.


    A hundred and ny-four monitors with faces on them.


    The monitors were of different sizes, closely ced before the president¡¯s seat.


    The biggest screens were a meter long; there were only six of them.


    The smallest ones, about ten of them, were only about the size of a palm.


    There was a country g on the top right-hand corner of each monitor.


    The president started, ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys already know of this?¡±


    The presidents of one hundred and ny-four countries started nodding their heads.


    The United Nations had a hundred and ny-three member countries and two observing members.


    The discussion was lively at this point.


    Through his earpiece, the president was bombarded with all kinds of tranted content.


    Nevertheless, half of all talks were meaningless since countries were merely promoting their faiths.


    Frustrated, the American president mmed his fist on the table, effectively shutting the crowd.


    ¡°There are so many religions but I only need eight representatives!¡± he said helplessly.


    Amotion burst out again.


    The American president continued, ¡°Regardless of disagreements, they have requested eight people from us. What are you guys chit chatting about? It¡¯s of no use. Since this happened in my country, I¡¯ll make the decision.¡±


    The crowd went wild again.


    The American president cut off all connecting lines before taking his earpiece down.


    What all these people did was just talk about their own cultures.


    He pressed a button on his telephone.


    ¡°Call in a few professors,¡± he ordered.


    Twenty minutester, three professors entered.


    ¡°Read this and share your thoughts,¡± he said, handing over a document with the alien¡¯s photograph in it.


    They read through the document and kept quiet for a long time.


    ¡°So what are your thoughts?¡± the president asked.


    The younger one among the trio spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s not the aliens¡¯ first time visiting our. ording to him, we are always undergoing reincarnation. If that¡¯s the case, it really doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s to be sent over, does it?¡±


    Looking at the professor who spoke, he continued, ¡°What kind of people should we present to him then?¡±


    ¡°Logically speaking, religious representatives should be sent over. A Christian priest, monk, witch, Daoist priest, prophet, shaman, and so on,¡± the professor enumerated.


    Another professor interrupted, ¡°Or a scientist, athlete, chef ¨C all of whom are contributing to the progress of mankind.¡±


    ¡°Then why not present to him a criminal, nutcase, depressed individual, elderly suffering from dementia, and a mentally deficient child for them to study,¡± the third professor suggested.


    Dead silence.


    ¡°Basically, the selected few pose no effect or whatsoever on this world?¡± the president questioned.


    The three professors exchanged nces and nodded.


    With a wave of his hand, the president sent them away.


    The next day, he sealed the whole national border.


    All armed forces were assigned along the borders of all fifty-six states.


    Those without America¡¯s passport were kicked out and even Americans weren¡¯t allowed to return at the moment.


    Even passengers who¡¯dnded were forced to return to their point of departure with all connection cut off.


    Upon receiving his mission, Gerard had confirmed it thrice before locking the whole of America down.


    The president started a live broadcast, connecting to every television channel.


    It was a major amplification and glorification of the matter.


    After an impassioned speech, the president coughed a little before continuing, ¡°Our time will restart over and over again; we are trapped in this endless cycle. We have a chance now, however. A chance presented only to America. At 12 in the afternoon today, every registered mobile phone will receive a message. Only eight names will be chosen to visit Resplendent in exchange for a chance of change,¡± the president finished, leaving the whole America fired up.


    Television programs resumed. The president wiped away the sweat from his forehead while asking the cameraman, ¡°Is my speech sessful?¡±


    With a thumbs up, the cameraman responded, ¡°Even more exciting than your election.¡±


    ...


    Everyone waited anxiously for their messages.


    One minute to twelve.


    Five seconds... three seconds.


    Two, one.


    Messaging ringtones rang simultaneously.


    ¡°You are not chosen.¡±


    ...


    I¡¯m a fresh graduate. That day, I was lying on my bed, reading the newspaper.


    I was searching for a suitable job and god knows how many CVs I¡¯ve already sent topanies all over.


    I nced over at my phone when it rang.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been chosen to visit Resplendent. Please head down to your nearest police station or court.¡±


    Resplendent? I threw my phone aside.


    Mom walked in.


    ¡°Did you receive the message, son? Probably a pointless question but I¡¯m still curious. After all, only eight have been chosen,¡± she asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The president has picked eight people to visit Resplendent. Wonder who are the lucky ones...¡± she exined.


    ¡°Mom? You¡¯ve been watching too many dramas.¡± I stood up, looking at her.


    She came over with her phone. ¡°Something like this.¡±


    I looked briefly at the message.


    I picked my phone up and looked closely at the message. ¡°Only eight names?¡±


    ¡°Why, silly son? Don¡¯t tell me you got it,¡± she rushed over, staring at my phone screen.


    I dashed over to the nearest police station.


    Holding my phone up, I looked eagerly at the police on duty.


    Half an hourter, a Lincoln limousine appeared before the station¡¯s entrance.


    Mom was there when I got escorted into the car.

 Chapter 35: Unfortunate Opportunity III

    <h4>Chapter 35: Unfortunate Opportunity III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The car drove toward The White House.


    I was directed to the center of the lounge upon my arrival.


    Three people were already waiting there.


    ¡°Have you guys been chosen, too?¡± I asked.


    They were of different ages and skin colors but all nodded nevertheless.


    Because the skies were off-limit, another car appeared six hourster, carrying four people.


    All eight, old and young, were gathered.


    No one told us what to do.


    A government official closed the gates of The White House.


    An African-American boy smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just the eight of us here now. Let¡¯s introduce ourselves?¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    The boy licked his lip before starting, ¡°I¡¯m Franklin from Washington. I was stealing a car when I received the message. What luck!¡±


    The boy nudged me a little after he finished.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Chalk, Chinese American. I came here with my mom when I was seven. I just graduated from university and have yet to find a job.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t need a job anymore, brother.¡± The African-American boy grinned.


    A middle-aged Caucasian man spoke up, somewhat annoyed, ¡°Name¡¯s Michael, I have some savings from the past and a small vi in Hollywood. Life¡¯s been pretty decent until I received the message and got forced to go here.¡±


    Right as he finished, a balding uncle eximed, ¡°I recognize you, Michael! I¡¯m Clifford, remember me?¡±


    ¡°Clifford?¡± Michael repeated, scratching his head.


    ¡°North Yankton, 30 years ago? We were ssmates,¡± Clifford supplied excitedly.


    After a short pause, a smile broke out on Michael¡¯s face. He rushed over to give Clifford a big hug.


    As the next person was about to introduce himself, the whole lounge lit up.


    White light shone in through the windows and everyone fell silent.


    It was so bright, like in the afternoon, that everyone had to squint their eyes.


    A huge boom sounded from the roof, followed by sounds of footsteps.


    The footsteps grew louder, and shortly after, the main gate of The White House opened.


    There was a fear of the unknown and immense pressure overtaking the hall.


    The man before us was simply too perfect and not at all human-like.


    He spoke slowly, ¡°Are the eight of you going to provide me with answers?¡±


    It was as if the man was speaking right by our ears. Everyone started nodding their head vigorously.


    The man continued, ¡°My spaceship moves too fast so it¡¯s impossible to bring such weak human bodies over.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you bringing us to your?¡± Franklin asked.


    The man took out a gun-like object. ¡°We¡¯ve studied theposition of earthlings¡¯ bodies. They¡¯re very much different from ours. Upon death, something called ¡®spirit¡¯ will emerge and its weight is still at 21g. Afterpression, it bes as dense as our core. Only in that way can all eight of you follow me to Resplendent.¡±


    The man fired a shot.


    A lightning bolt shed before splitting up and striking all eight people


    There was no time to react.


    All bodies turned into ashes.


    The man swirled a small bottle in his hands before walking out of the room. The bright ray shone down on him and took him away.


    The spaceship flew up and left the.


    It was as if nothing had ever happened, save for the fact that Earth was now eight people fewer.


    ...


    I slowly opened my eyes and massaged my head.


    I¡¯ve never felt this awake and clear-headed.


    Information started loading in my brain.


    Thest thing I remembered was the alien man firing at us.


    Am I dead? I nced down at my hands.


    My skin was snow-white, fingers slender.


    These were not my hands.


    I looked down at my body. It wasn¡¯t mine.


    I could see strange things through my eyes. Numbers would appear at times, too.


    What¡¯s happening?


    My body had be perfectly proportional. I touched my face.


    I could feel that I no longer looked the same.


    What exactly was going on?


    I got off the bed. The sunlight was exceptionally ring.


    I opened the windows and looked up.


    There were three suns.


    I quickly shut the windows and opened the room door.


    It was that man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°I never did. Perhaps on that, yes. I merely extracted your soul, brought it here, and gave you a new body,¡± he exined.


    Resplendent? Three suns? This is Resplendent?¡± I asked urgently.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± was his reply.


    ¡°Where are the rest? All seven of them?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Their souls aren¡¯t as detached as yours and are still lying dormant. You might be the only one we have left. I¡¯ll bring you to my teacher now. Please tell him what faith is,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Faith? Why do I have to talk about this? And them... aren¡¯t they going to wake up?¡± I asked, bewildered.


    ¡°This is why you¡¯re here. We gave you guys a brand new life in the hope that you can unravel the secret behind our. Please don¡¯t disappoint us.¡±


    Helpless, I followed him into a very robotic room, in which sat another man who looked exactly like the first man I saw.


    ¡°Who is he? Your twin?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°He¡¯s my teacher,¡± the man answered.


    ¡°Teacher? Why do you two look exactly the same?¡±


    ¡°The same? Every one of us here looks the same,¡± he responded.


    I quivered, immediately searching for a reflective surface within the room.


    I found a concave mirror on the wall and caught a glimpse of my face.


    Just as he said, we had the exact same faces.


    Touching my face, I shouted, ¡°Why???¡±


    ¡°Why what?¡± both men asked in unison.


    ¡°Why¡¯s my face like that?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re one of us now,¡± the man replied simply.


    I was dumbstruck.


    The man wrung his head out and held it with his left hand. He flipped a lid on his head open. ¡°This is us.¡±


    I saw a microchip. He was all machine.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that we¡¯re all like that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re moreplicated since we extracted your soul and nted it into the microchip. As such, you cannot be dismantled, otherwise, it might cause malfunctioning. We¡¯re not sure,¡± he exined.


    ¡°What about my partners?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Same as you.¡±


    I felt around my crotch area. There was nothing.


    ¡°How do I eat and shit? What about sex? What are we, exactly?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of those? Aren¡¯t we a more perfected version? Stop digressing and tell us what faith is.¡±


    ¡°You guys are robots? Shouldn¡¯t you be immortal then?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°The microchip is our storage. Everything will be saved inside and upon hitting the limit, we will die. My teacher¡¯s managed to live through two reincarnations because he only has five minutes a day. So don¡¯t waste his time and tell us what faith is, quick.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so important?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Our ancestor once told us that we¡¯ve already reached our maximum potential and that faith is the key to a breakthrough,¡± the teacher spoke up.


    I stared at him nkly.


    ¡°You wanna know what faith is? Revert me back and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± I bargained.


    ¡°Why are you so ignorant, human? You¡¯re the most advanced and perfected version of yourself now.¡±


    ¡°Heh heh,¡± Iughed bitterly.


    ¡°So what exactly is true faith?¡± the man repeated his question.


    ¡°Fuck faith and fuck science,¡± I screamed as I tried to strangle myself.


    I strangled with all the strength I¡¯ve got.


    A red halo within my eyes lit up.


    Strange symbols appeared before my eyes and moved rapidly.


    ¡°What are you doing, human? Why are you harming yourself?¡± the man asked.


    The red light grew brighter and I felt my body turn numb.


    Four words emerged.


    It wasn¡¯t anynguage I¡¯ve seen before but I understood them.


    Safety mode.


    A sheet of white took over my vision.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here,¡± a voice sounded in my ears.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting a long time now. I¡¯m from Earth,¡± the voice continued.


    ¡°Then who are these people? What are they?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a projected image now.¡±


    I looked quietly into the sheet of white.


    ¡°Our science has advanced enough for us to travel into the future. I was an astronaut, who had been asked to orbit the earth. When I was getting ready to return, I saw the earth undergo reincarnation. The whole copsed and an azure re-emerged. I was at apogee and hence avoided that. Upon returning to earth, I realized that we were back in prehistory. That was my first andst time experiencing something like this. I started doing some calctions and came up with this concept of reincarnation. I searched for solutions. Since it¡¯s impossible for me to save those on earth, the only thing I could do was to save these semi-smart robots.¡±


    The voice recording ended and the man appeared.


    ¡°These AI robots are the result of the science and technology of that time. We programmed themplete tasks we aren¡¯t capable of doing but I overwrote somews, making them think that they¡¯re from Resplendent. Surviving became their primary purpose. I programmed an order for them to keep Earth under observation and added a secret code based on the concept of faith. Because the robots aren¡¯t able to harm themselves, activating the secret code will lead to self-destruction. They are inevitably going to check in on Earth and realize that faith is something exclusive to humans. They will seek humans out and change them. Of course, if you¡¯re listening to my recording, I have seeded. I¡¯ll hand over all codes to you and leave it to you to help mankind ovee reincarnation.¡±


    The sight before my eyes became clear once again.


    ¡°What have you done, human?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Shut up, stupid robots,¡± I yelled.


    Both men immediately covered their mouths.


    I was startled.


    ¡°Sit,¡± I ordered.


    They plopped down onto the ground


    I looked at myself helplessly. I was no longer human.


    How was I to save mankind?


    I opened the windows and looked out.


    This was green and safe.


    ¡°There¡¯s oxygen here?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the robot answered.


    ¡°And there¡¯s no reincarnation over here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve witnessed Earth reincarnating hundreds of thousands of times but we¡¯ve yet to experience it ourselves.¡±


    My eyes lit up. ¡°Why can¡¯t Mane over via spaceships?¡±


    ¡°Humans are too fragile for that. elerating into the speed of light will shatter their bodies,¡± robot man exined.


    ¡°What if we slow it down?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Reduce it to 10% and it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°How many years is that?¡±


    ¡°40.¡±


    ¡°How long can I live?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You have the same core as us so that willst you about one and a half reincarnations.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s send a group of people on board, have them bear children at the age of twenty, and prepare seven generations¡¯ worth of supplies. All we need is for one man and one woman to get here safely...¡± I mumbled to myself.


    ¡°Project Ark, start,¡± I announced.


    Numbers and data appeared before my eyes, precalcting all the issues I¡¯ll face.

 Chapter 36: In What World?

    <h4>Chapter 36: In What World?</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    The college entrance exam was three days away. I¡¯ve been awake for a week now.


    This was all because Xiaomei¡¯s agreed to be my girlfriend on the condition that I enter the same university as her.


    Shuo Men University.


    A student would need an average of 629 points to be epted.


    This was her goal, and now, mine as well.


    My average score was 550 but I¡¯ve been improving tremendously over these past few days.


    I¡¯m not sure how many cups of coffee I¡¯ve taken but I¡¯ve been without sleep for a week.


    I¡¯ve basically memorized the whole sybus ofnguage studies.


    I constantly pushed myself and I am on the verge of exhaustion.


    I picked up a ss photograph from my table.


    Fourth row, eighteen from the left.


    That¡¯s my Xiaomei.


    She¡¯s really beautiful.


    I¡¯m all ready now and all that¡¯s needed was a restful sleep.


    But I wasn¡¯t tired at all.


    I slowly got up and walked toward my bed.


    The moment I took a step, I experienced vertigo.


    Everything turned ck and I instantly lost my vision.


    I couldn¡¯t feel my limbs.


    My body leaned forward slightly and I lost bnce.


    I was fully conscious but I had no control over my limbs.


    I copsed forward onto the bed.


    My head mmed heavily onto the spring mattress.


    I wanted to scream for help but realized I had no voice.


    I was definitely clear-headed, however.


    Am I paralyzed?


    That was my first thought.


    Soon after, a second thought popped into my head. What¡¯s going to happen to Xiaomei and I if I can¡¯t get into the university?


    I had to recover.


    I rationalized the situation. Was I dreaming? I had experienced something like this before in a dream.


    I quickly dismissed the idea since my line of thought was too logical and clear.


    All was ck but I could still hear.


    I was unable to move but I could feel someone pressing down on the bed.


    Would everything be alright once I wake up from a sleep?


    I sorted out my emotions and got rid of all negative thoughts.


    I decided to assess the situation after a nap.


    But I couldn¡¯t fall asleep.


    It¡¯s been a week since Ist slept, yet I simply couldn¡¯t fall asleep.


    Is this sudden death? The thing that happened to those who spend nights gaming in an Inte cafe?


    I realized I was no different from those gamers.


    While they were busy ying, I was busy studying.


    The phrase ¡®death from overstudying¡¯ entered my mind.


    I knew for sure that I was going to appear on the headlines the next day.


    Just like that, Iy down for three hours until Mom came in to call me out for dinner.


    She called my name repeatedly, flipping my body over.


    Her shouts grew louder but I was unable to respond.


    All I heard was my name.


    She then tried strangling and pping me.


    It hurt so bad but I couldn¡¯t do anything.


    She pried open my eyelids and light entered my field of vision.


    However, I was unable to focus and couldn¡¯t get a clear glimpse of Mom¡¯s face.


    I wasn¡¯t blind, just paralyzed and hence unable to open my eyes and see.


    So, am I in a vegetative state?


    Would I be okay when I¡¯m awake?


    Aye, wait.


    What am I to do if I can¡¯t wake up?


    Two more days until the exam.


    I felt my eyelids closing once again and I heard Mom calling for help over the phone.


    Twenty minutes passed.


    Dad brought a doctor over.


    I was carried on a stretcher and sent to the hospital.


    Inside the emergency room, I could hear the doctors whispering.


    ¡°Everything seems normal, what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s so young so it can¡¯t be a stroke. Let¡¯s wait for theb results.¡±


    My eyelids were being pried open again and my view was illuminated by a shlight.


    ¡°Pupils unable to shrink. Braindead?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t umon. I heard from his mother that he¡¯s been studying in his room for a long time. Could it be over exhaustion?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try resuscitating him first.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been ack of bed space recently. Will his family use us of shirking responsibility if we transfer him to another hospital?¡±


    My back turned cold. Am I a lost cause?


    But there was nothing I could do. I was a pig waiting to be ughtered.


    I heard the door closing.


    ¡°We can only try to cure him first. Put on the heart rate monitor. His breathing is regr. I have no idea what¡¯s wrong.¡±


    I started to panic since even the doctors couldn¡¯t diagnose my issue.


    ¡°Look. His heart rate is increasing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s past 130 now.¡±


    ¡°Inject 1mg of Betaloc to reduce heart rate.¡±


    I could feel a needle entering my vein.


    A cold fluid spread throughout my body.


    ¡°It¡¯sing down.¡±


    ¡°Strange. Exceeding 130 bpm in a state of shock?¡±


    ¡°Alright, push him out when his heart rate stabilizes.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait. It¡¯s dropping too quickly.¡±


    ¡°What the? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Down to 63. Oh my god.¡±


    ¡°Remove defibritor. Get the conductive gauze ready.¡±


    ¡°Down to 30. Prepare 0.1mg of adrenaline.¡±


    ¡°Defibritor removed. Gauze in ce.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m awake. Don¡¯t electrocute me!¡± I shouted.


    I could see everything clearly.


    ¡°Why are you shouting?¡± a girl¡¯s voice sounded beside me.


    I was lying in the middle of a vast grasnd.


    ¡°You... I... this..? Where am I?¡± I stammered.


    ¡°Your doorway, you fool. Are you ying with me?¡± she replied.


    I turned my head.


    It was Xiaomei, except that she actually had a whole lot of freckles all over her face.


    And her skin was much darker.


    ¡°You... you... you!¡± I shouted anxiously.


    ¡°What? Has your afternoon nap turned you silly?¡± Xiaomeiughed.


    I looked at my hands. They were perfectly fine.


    I stood up and surveyed my surroundings. Behind me was a cogon grass house.


    ¡°Where¡¯s this ce?¡± I asked Xiaomei with my arms opened.


    ¡°Shuozhou. Have you gone berserk or are you acting right now? Pretending to have lost your memory to avoid the exam this afternoon? It¡¯s not the first time you¡¯re doing this. Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to get away with it,¡± Xiaomei chided.


    ¡°I did. I studied so hard for you,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Alright, have you mastered Swallow¡¯s nest?¡± she questioned.


    ¡°What nest?¡± I asked in shock.


    Xiaomei wrinkled her brows before taking a few steps forward and made two and a half rotations.


    She then made four air kicks as if she was flying in mid-air.


    My jaw dropped.


    Uponnding, she continued, ¡°This is a perfect demonstration. It¡¯s such a basic move but can you do it? Father warned me not to hang out with fools.¡±


    ¡°What was that move called? The one where you fly here and there?¡± I asked with my mouth still wide open.

 Chapter 37: In What World? II

    <h4>Chapter 37: In What World? II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    ¡°Swallow¡¯s Nest. It¡¯s one of the most basic kung fu moves,¡± she stated as if it was already obvious.


    ¡°What kung fu? Why do we have to learn this?¡± I asked, bewildered.


    ¡°Father mentioned that only those who practice it will excel,¡± she exined.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    ¡°Alright, the ss is starting. Just wait and fail, Tiedan,¡± she dismissed.


    ¡°Tiedan? Did you call me Tiedan?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Tiedan?¡± Xiaomei asked doubtfully.


    But I¡¯m Goudan.


    Am I in a different world?


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to ss,¡± Xiaomei said before disappearing right before my eyes.


    I looked at her in shock. The kung fu in martial art novels was happening in front of me.


    I¡¯m in a different world. Most definitely.


    How could anyone move like that?


    As I stood up my light weight became apparent.


    I extended my left leg out and onto the ground.


    With a small jump, I found myself off the groundpletely.


    Like an astronaut.


    I tried imitating Xiaomei¡¯s moves and flew up sessfully.


    However, eachnding was a disaster for me since I was bad at bncing.


    With each discement of my center of gravity, I mmed onto the ground, leaving startling cracks all over.


    I punched the ground lightly.


    It felt as though I was hitting foam. I punched once again with more force.


    The ground cracked. What¡¯s going on?


    Xiaomei¡¯s words rang in my ears.


    ¡°Father mentioned that only those who practice kung fu can excel.¡±


    Were the people here all swordsmen?


    I¡¯m in another world.


    Seeing Xiaomei¡¯s disappearing silhouette, I tried hard to catch up.


    I started by stepping gently on the ground and getting used to the rhythm.


    Gradually, I was able to adapt to the speed and go faster.


    I seemed to have grasped the technique and felt as though I was flying.


    A small town appeared before my eyes and I saw Xiaomei waving at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dreaming, am I, Xiaomei?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re really going to bete if you don¡¯t stop this nonsense,¡± she answered in frustration.


    In the most southern part of the town was a big institution. Ten students of simr age stood with me in a row.


    There were boys and girls and Xiaomei stood right at the end.


    I followed behind.


    ¡°What are you doing, Tiedan? You¡¯re in the wrong position. Stand beside Ergou,¡± the student beside Xiaomei said.


    ¡°Ergou?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Brother Tiedan,¡± Ergou called out.


    Clueless, I walked over to him.


    ¡°Wrong side, Brother Tiedan. Not my left but my right,¡± Ergou corrected.


    I scooted over to his right helplessly.


    A muscr fellow came over, shouting, ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you have mastered Swallow¡¯s Nest?¡±


    Everyone nodded except for me.


    ¡°What is it, Tiedan? Can¡¯t execute such a simple move?¡± the muscr man yelled.


    Ergou nudged me a little before whispering, ¡°Teacher¡¯s talking to you, Tiedan.¡±


    ¡°That thing¡¯s a teacher?¡± I pointed at the muscr man.


    ¡°Are you trying to get into trouble? How dare you disrespect Teacher!¡± Ergou whispered, slightly louder this time.


    ¡°Thing? Looks like you¡¯re all grown up, eh?¡± the teacher walked over to me with his fist clenched.


    ¡°What¡¯s he trying to do? Hit me? Where are your morals? How can you...¡± Before I could finish my sentence, a fistnded on my face.


    ¡°You¡¯re always the slowest to grasp anything and you have such a bad memory. You¡¯re also theziest. You¡¯re the absolute worst,¡± he reprimanded along with a few more punches.


    I copsed onto the ground, motionless. There was a visible pool of blood.


    ¡°Murder...¡± I shouted hoarsely.


    The other students wereughing.


    I¡¯m about to die! How were they so calm?


    I was semi-conscious but I could still feel the sharp pain.


    The pain was keeping me from fainting.


    Exhaling a deep breath, Teacher ordered, ¡°Come stand still as punishment.¡±


    At that, he left, leaving me gasping for air on the ground.


    Where am I exactly and who are these people?


    Teacher observed and provided guidance as each student executed their Swallow¡¯s Nest.


    I was in a daze. Everyone has already perfected the move.


    Suddenly, I heard Xiaomei¡¯s voice. ¡°Stop ying dead and ept your punishment. Same ce, tonight. I¡¯ll guide you through a few more times.¡±


    Before I could ask for the address, she¡¯s already joined the rest of the group.


    It was then that I realized I was fine.


    I touched my face. The blood had stopped flowing.


    I was no longer hurting and I could run and jump as if nothing had happened.


    How unbelievable. I walked to the side obediently.


    Just then, a student who was executing his movended on his buttocks, breaking his leg in the process.


    I stared in shock.


    Teacher shook his head and pointed in my direction. ¡°Join in. How can you go wrong with such a simple move?¡±


    The student twisted his broken right leg back into position before hobbling over.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked, still in shock.


    ¡°Are you mocking me, Tiedan?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that when you¡¯re injured?¡± I asked.


    He made two kicks before responding, ¡°It was a minor deviation. Never again.¡±


    I was dumbstruck. Just a moment ago, his leg was broken but now he was as agile as ever.


    I was starting to understand that their world waspletely different from mine.


    Kung fu was mainstream and people with injuries recovered speedily.


    It seemed like I¡¯ve traveled back in time. The houses here were all made of bricks and tiles.


    Was this theke found in most martial arts novels?


    I¡¯d better follow the rules here or else I¡¯d risk getting into major trouble.


    After assessing the students, Teacher approached us and stroked the boy¡¯s head, asking him to rejoin the group.


    He then came over to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s all for your own good, got it?¡±


    Speechless, I nodded. He was like a different person as he spoke so gently to me.


    ¡°Swallow¡¯s Nest¡¯s really not difficult. Go back to ss. I¡¯ll have to invite your parents down if you don¡¯t show improvement. Do as you please,¡± he finished before ruffling my hair with much force.


    I felt like my whole head was going toe off.


    He finally took his hand away and said, ¡°What are you thinking about? Go over there quickly. Sometimes I wonder if you¡¯recking in IQ. You¡¯re always slower on catching onto things than the rest, but somehow you manage. What a strange kid.¡±


    At that, he walked off, leaving me stuck to the ground until Xiaomei came over.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to ss. I¡¯ll teach you again tonight, don¡¯t worry. Just buck up.¡±


    She dragged me toward the house.


    So I¡¯m a bum and I am only able to catch up thanks to Xiaomei¡¯s tuition.


    I¡¯m in another world.

 Chapter 38: In What World? III

    <h4>Chapter 38: In What World? III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Everyone was seated on the ground and I could only follow whatever they were doing.


    My only constion was that the liberal arts teacher was ady. She handed us a stack of small booklets down.


    I was taken aback by the thin parchment booklet of about ten pages.


    I whispered to Ergou, ¡°This is our textbook for a semester?¡±


    ¡°No, this is something we¡¯ll have to practice daily until we reach the age of twenty.¡±


    ¡°Just these few pages? Practice them daily?¡± I repeated while flipping through the booklet.


    Ergou stopped me. ¡°What are you doing? There are only ten booklets avable in the school. Don¡¯t damage it! Teacher wrote them one by one.¡±


    ¡°Chill. Simple stuff. I¡¯m done with it,¡± I replied, pushing his hand away.


    ¡°Stop bragging,¡± Ergou sneered.


    I flipped over to thest page and read it twice. ¡°There are only ten pages. How long do you think I¡¯ll need?¡±


    Unconvinced, Ergou stood up and informed the teacher, ¡°Tiedan ims he¡¯s already memorized the whole book.¡±


    All eyes were on me. After a short pause, a deafening round of mockingughter erupted.


    The teacher shouted for the students to keep quiet but to no avail.


    I raised my right hand and executed the steps written in the book.


    A green wisp of air emerged.


    Dead silence.


    ¡°Even bigger than Teacher¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god.¡±


    Not knowing how to release that energy, I ran out of the ssroom, found an empty space and flung it away.


    An earth-shattering explosion sounded.


    I was utterly shocked.


    ...


    A yearter, Mobei City Center.


    First ever martial arts convention.


    ¡°Are you ready, Tiedan?¡± the muscr teacher asked, pping my shoulder.


    ¡°Easy peasy.¡± I stood up and walked toward the elevated stage.


    Mypetitor stood before me with a huge sword behind his back.


    ¡°Competition start,¡± the judge announced.


    I extended both hands forward and ten green energy balls shot out, instantly intimidating mypetitor.


    He threw his sword down and ran off stage.


    Rubbing my hands together, I exited the stage as well.


    I had be a great master of the martial arts institution and I was the one who wrote all the textbooks.


    ¡°Competition¡¯s about to start, Tiedan. I heard he¡¯s a well-known great master too,¡± the muscr teacher informed.


    I got up the stage.


    My nextpetitor was an old man of significant aura and presence, generating two white balls of energy as he looked at me. ¡°It¡¯s not my business to tell, child, but I¡¯ve been practicing for over five decades to reach this level of control. I¡¯ve seen you fight. You do have some talent, so how about you surrender and bow to me, and I¡¯ll ept you as my disciple and impart some tricks?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s the shape of the most solid energy, Sir?¡±


    ¡°What a joke. It¡¯s circr of course. What else could it be? Don¡¯t make meugh,¡± the old man ridiculed.


    I waved my hand and a triangr energy ball appeared.


    It smashed onto the two milky white energy balls in his hand, causing them to explode.


    The old man flew out of the stage.


    ¡°World¡¯s first martial arts champion, Li Tiedan,¡± the host dered.¡±


    The crowd cheered.


    Satisfied, I left the stage and hugged Xiaomei. ¡°I did it. Can I marry you now?¡±


    Xiaomei smiled, nodding.


    Three dayster, the bridal room filled with ornamented candles.


    ¡°Xiaomei, I might not be from this world.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°I lived in a different world from this. There are no martial arts there. People merely studied because their future depended on it. It¡¯spletely different over here. Listen to me slowly,¡± I prepped her before rying all that¡¯s happened to me.


    About entering university in order to make her my girlfriend and so on...


    When I was done, Xiaomei was in a daze. After a short pause, she started, ¡°Do you remember what happened when you were little, Tiedan?¡±


    I shook my head.


    She went on, ¡°Before your parents passed away, you used to enjoy listening to the vige storyteller¡¯s stories.


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°You shared your favorite story with me every day. Something about a college entrance exam and excelling through studying,¡± she exined.


    ¡°What?¡± I was even more confused at this point.


    ¡°The story is about a child who fell from a tree and lost consciousness for three days and nights. He found himself in a different ce when he woke up. There were tall buildings and cows made of galvanized iron. These cows could run without food and there are people inside bashing and colliding recklessly. The people were dressed in strange clothing. They can¡¯t fight and had no kung fu,¡± she continued.


    I stood rooted to the ground.


    ¡°When your father passed away, you cried for three days and three nights. You started speaking simr gibberish like how you had to study for a brighter future. Not wanting to anger you, I yed along.¡±


    ¡°If what you said is true, why was I able to learn so quickly and understand the booklet¡¯s content so easily? They are things I had to learn every day in the other world,¡± I rationalized.


    ¡°Then do you remember anything about your parents in that world? What about this world? The sudden loss caused you to suffer a temporal amnesia. You¡¯re good with books because of your strong belief that that was the way to sess. What do you think is real then? This world or the one where university is key to a good life?¡± Xiaomei asked simply.


    ¡°But in that world, entering university meant having you as my girlfriend...¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°I¡¯m already your wife so why would you still think about that non-existent world?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that it¡¯s all my imagination? All false?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Try recalling how your parents died if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    I started thinking about what was and what wasn¡¯t. I had no recollection of my parents.


    Xiaomei was still Xiaomei. I was studying kung fu instead of science and math.


    In that world, I only had a small room and textbooks that I¡¯ve long forgotten about.


    This was the world that I¡¯m consciously living in.


    A world with my teachers. My students. My Xiaomei.


    What¡¯s real and what¡¯s not, then?


    Does it really matter?

 Chapter 39: Candy I

    <h4>Chapter 39: Candy I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I have an adorable little brother. He came into this world when I was eight.


    At that time, Mom and Dad brought me to the hospital¡¯s newborn baby ward. Separated by the incubator, I first caught a glimpse of that little fellow.


    I asked Mom if he could y with me in the future. I would give him all my toys.


    Mom only wiped away her tears and informed me that there had been a small issue.


    I might not be able to meet him anytime soon, she said. For now, I could only watch him from the other side of the ss.


    ¡°Your brother can¡¯te home with us just yet. He¡¯ll be staying here for a long time.¡±


    Later on, I discovered that Mom had given birth to me naturally.


    Unsurprisingly, she chose the same method when it came to my little brother, except it took her a long time this round.


    Because the umbilical cord was around his neck, it took much effort for little brother toe out safely.


    I would often ask my parents about his whereabouts.


    And they never once told me.


    They only discussed the matter privately in their room


    Each session would conclude with Mom bawling her eyes out.


    We would visit little brother a few times each month and he was always sleeping peacefully in his incubator.


    He was, more often than not, in a deep sleep and seldom opened his eyes.


    When he was awake, however, he enjoyed smiling goofily at me as much as I enjoyed pulling ugly faces at him.


    Whenever that happened, I would ask Mom if he could be discharged soon.


    And she would always give the same answer: ¡°Very soon.¡±


    But years passed, one after another.


    Finally, when I was about toplete fourth grade, Mom and Dad brought him home for the first time.


    Mom smiled and encouraged me to y with him.


    I noticed that he kept smiling goofily at me.


    He was smiling goofily at everything in fact. He appeared rather sluggish.


    I asked Mom if he was a retard.


    I remember getting pped so hard by her that day. I could still feel the sting on my face.


    If I recall correctly, that was the first andst time she had ever hit me.


    During elementary grade six, I was always one of the best performing students in the ss.


    Little brother had learned to talk by then.


    His first word wasn¡¯t ¡®Mom¡¯ or ¡®Dad¡¯ but ¡®Brother¡¯, a word that I taught him.


    He was so happy and I knew he liked me.


    When other kids were running about downstairs I enjoyed ying stic toys with him.


    I was more than happy to give them all to him.


    He collected and kept them under his bed until there was no space left.


    We had fun, mostly, except when our rtives came to visit.


    They would talk about useless stuff like how I shouldn¡¯t y with my brother.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a smart kid. Don¡¯t let a retard affect your future.¡±


    They thought I was too young to understand things but they were wrong. I knew better than them.


    My brother might be a little slow but I love him.


    And he loves me too. Anyway, that¡¯s the reason why I hate those rtives so much.


    Of course, I hated school, too, since little brother can¡¯t tag along.


    He would bawl his eyes out when I leave for school every day.


    I remember how the teacher would ask about our aspirations.


    The year beforest, I wanted to be a chef so I could cook nice dishes for little brother.


    Last year, I wanted to be a cop so I could protect him.


    This year, however, I wanted to be a doctor so I could cure his illness.


    I attended junior middle school at thirteen but little brother did not start kindergarten when he turned five.


    Mom said that kindergartens weren¡¯t suitable for him, which got me thinking about how I hated attending kindergarten as well and often cried there.


    I figured it was for the best since little brother loved crying and school would be worse for him.


    Mom resigned long ago in order to take care of him. She taught him how to write and draw.


    I would also try to teach himnguage and math but he wasn¡¯t into learning.


    I would coax him into studying by bringing out all my toys.


    Nothing worked. Hisprehension abilities were verycking.


    I had to repeat simple things multiple times before he could remember them.


    For a day at that. I gradually understood how severe his condition really was.


    I never thought about giving up because I knew that he was just slower than average.


    I still had to teach him whatever he needed to learn.


    Time was all it took, and indeed, little brother could eventually recite the multiplication table with ease.


    By then, I was fifteen and was about to embark on my third year.


    He was seven and should be starting on elementary school.


    Mom wasn¡¯t too keen on it. She was worried that he would be bullied by his ssmates.


    I felt the same way.


    Unable to persuade her, Dad had no choice but to agree on homeschooling.


    It was the beginning of all nightmares.

 Chapter 40: Candy II

    <h4>Chapter 40: Candy II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    Teacher told us that we had to rely on ourselves in order to get epted into a reputable senior high school.


    I started drowning myself in studies but little brother wanted mypany.


    Since Mom had to cook, I could only assume this responsibility.


    It was enjoyable at first but because of the fun, I often forgot about revision.


    My grades slipped slowly.


    To be honest, it wasn¡¯t really getting low. It was just that my ssmates were starting to get serious about their studies and they were advancing rapidly.


    The rich ones would go for tuition and the poorer ones would mug behind closed doors.


    I remained stagnant because of little brother.


    I attempted to use toys to keep him busy in order to buy some time for myself.


    However, he quickly got bored of all the toys and none would keep him focused any longer.


    I thought about using other objects.


    One day, I finally found something useful ¨C a candy.


    Mom wouldn¡¯t be pleased of course since candies caused bad teeth.


    There was nothing good about candies.


    Because I was so busy studying, I had nowhere to spend my pocket money on.


    As such, I used them to fill my drawer up with candies.


    Each time little brother came looking for me, I would lure him away with a candy.


    ¡°You must finish this, little brother. I¡¯m ying with you, alright?¡± I would tell him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he would reply gleefully.


    ¡°But remember not to tell Mom and Dad that I¡¯ve been giving you candy.¡±


    He nodded quickly before taking the candy from my hand.


    Once, twice...


    One day, two days...


    As summer break was approaching, I finally caught a break.


    ¡°Did you feed your brother something, Jiaming? Why are his teeth all rotten?¡± Mom shouted.


    ¡°No idea. I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± I answered.


    ¡°This kid is really...¡± Mom walked toward my brother.


    That week, little brother visited the dentist.


    Mom exined that he had found candies from somewhere and that all his mrs were damaged. His new teeth won¡¯t be out soon but the dentist had to remove all his teeth and give him fake ones.


    This reminded me how half a semester passed just like that.


    I fed him candies daily. At first, it was a bag in two days, but eventually, it became two bags in a day.


    Mom pinched his ear, probing, ¡°Who gave them to you?¡±


    Little brother only smiled, not uttering a word.


    ¡°Seriously... we don¡¯t even have that many candies at home,¡± Mommented, suspicious.


    ¡°Stop, Mom. I¡¯m going to school.¡± I ran out of my room in guilt.


    It was all my fault.


    Little brother never stoppeding into my room but I stopped giving him candies.


    He stuck with me, asking to y. I simply couldn¡¯t focus.


    I stood up and retrieved a Transformer toy from the shelf. It was something I¡¯d never nned to give to him.


    I pushed it to him. ¡°This is my favorite toy, you know? Take this and have fun. Let me revise my work alright?¡±


    Little brother threw it aside. ¡°I want candy.¡±


    My heart sank. I was at a loss.


    I looked toward the drawer, unable to stay focused.


    Out of fear, I did not hand him any more candy.


    The next afternoon, I returned to my study room and got a shock upon opening the drawer. It was half empty.


    Initially, I was afraid that Mom had found out, but I quickly found clues.


    There were wrapping papers on the floor.


    It was my little brother.


    Not wanting to shout, I looked for him in the room.


    I found him at a corner in the balcony and he was holding onto a bag of candy.


    Wrapping papers were sticking out from his pockets.


    He handed a candy over to me. ¡°Have this.¡±


    I was in shock but quickly picked up all the wrappers.


    Mom was doing the chores and hadn¡¯t noticed this. I heaved a sigh of relief.


    I lost all mood to revise.


    I returned to my room with him beside me.


    He pulled my hand and said, ¡°I want some candy.¡±


    I shook my head.


    It was a week to my examination and I decided not to think about it any longer.


    I pulled my drawer open and retrieved my wallet. ¡°Here¡¯s some money for you to buy whatever you want. Stop disturbing me okay?¡±


    He took the money reluctantly and I nudged him out of my room.


    I put on my MP3 and started writing my papers.


    Mom only realized that little brother wasn¡¯t in my room when she came in to call me out for dinner.


    He was gone.


    I wasn¡¯t anxious. I knew he had to be at the candy shop downstairs but I kept quiet.


    I brought him there often.


    Mom and Dad left the house to search for him.


    Half an hourter, Mom brought him back.


    The food was cold but I was already full.


    Mom threw my wallet on the floor. ¡°Jiaming.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This is yours, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied calmly despite my panic.


    ¡°You said you didn¡¯t feed him anything,¡± she roared.


    ¡°I¡¯m facing my books every day so how would I know that he¡¯s gotten hold of my wallet? Now it¡¯s clear. He¡¯s stealing my money to get candies.¡±


    ¡°You... why didn¡¯t you say anything about losing your wallet?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t use any money for school. I did not even realize that my wallet was missing. Alright, can we stop talking? My examination is in three days¡¯ time.¡± I stood up and walked to my room.


    After that day, I stopped receiving pocket money. I also started locking my door to prevent little brother from entering.


    I could hear him knocking on my door every day but I drowned it out with my MP3.


    I did not open the door or even call his name anymore.


    I did pretty well on that examination.


    But little brother was in trouble again.

 Chapter 41: Candy III

    <h4>Chapter 41: Candy III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    On the first night of mid-term examination, it was pouring outside.


    I had English and Science papers the next day.


    After I finshed up my revision for both subjects, I left the room only to find that the house was empty and the food on the table was still hot.


    Everyone was missing and my first thought was that Mom and Dad must¡¯ve gone out to search for little brother once again.


    I went to the balcony that he loved hiding in. I found a makeshift rope from bedsheets tied together.


    We lived on the third floor.


    I saw small footprints on top of the air conditioner.


    It was obviously his footprints.


    Looking at the pouring rain, I quivered. He must be at one of the shops, I thought.


    Mom and Dad weren¡¯t home. For a short while, I sat on the sofa, gasping for breath.


    The door opened and I imagined it to be Mom and Dad bringing my brother home.


    But only the two of them returned.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± I asked.


    Mom only wept.


    ¡°Nowhere to be found,¡± Dad responded.


    I suggested to call the police and Dad proceeded down to the nearest security station.


    Upon his return, the three of us stared nkly at the walls, waiting for news.


    The phone rang all of a sudden.


    He¡¯s been found.


    It was a supermarket manager on the other end of the line.


    My little brother had made his way to the nearest supermarket after sneaking out.


    He¡¯d been found snacking on candies under the candy counter.


    A staff spotted him stuffing all the sticky candy wrappers into his pockets.


    When asked about it, he refused to say anything.


    Fortunately, the staff had managed to get our number by tempting him with candies.


    Mom and Dad dashed straight for the supermarket and I followed closely.


    It was still pouring when we got there.


    As I kept my umbre, I saw Mom rushing over to grab my brother¡¯s hand as she thanked all the staff in the store.


    It was on that day that I knew he was addicted to candies.


    Result day. I was eligible for many senior high schools.


    Little brother grew crazier with each passing day.


    He would make noise if not given candies.


    He would even start harming himself.


    Not knowing what to do, Mom sent him to a rehabilitation center.


    It was a mental hospital actually. Mom and Dad were no longer able to handle him.


    Within a week, with the help of sedative drugs, he started to ept treatment.


    Something else happened in that week.


    In his ward was another patient who was suffering from depression. He had been down with a cold for the longest time.


    When he switched over to Chinese medicine, the nurses gave him candies to tackle the bitterness.


    Later on, he got attacked by my little brother, and the nurses weren¡¯t able to stop it in time, resulting in severe injuries.


    No one could¡¯ve imagined that a seven-year-old would possess that much strength.


    Little brother was ced on istion because of this. Visits weren¡¯t allowed as well.


    In order to avoid my brother, I chose to attend a senior high school in the neighboring city.


    Time passed quickly and I had fun with my ssmates.


    All was good save for the part where they started discussing about their siblings.


    They asked about mine, of course, but I only shook my head and said I had none.


    Even when it came to winter breaks, I chose not to go home.


    I simply told my parents that I had work or internshipmitments.


    They would call me regrly to inform me about my brother¡¯s condition.


    Many things had happened to him of course.


    For example, he somehow managed to get hold of a lot of candies even in the hospital.


    No one knew how he got them.


    All they knew was that they could always find wrappers hidden in his pillowcase.


    There was nothing Mom and Dad could do about the situation and even the doctor said that he could only deal with this progressively.


    Many a times, Mom and Dad would tell me over the phone that Little Brother misses me.


    Three years in senior high passed quickly and I had been afraid to return home for each new year.


    I only returned home once after my final year and our family finally had a reunion.


    Having a little too much to drink, Dad suggested that we visit Little Brother the next day.


    I declined with a reasonable excuse, of course.


    Never once did I return home throughout my four years in university.


    I made fewer calls as time passed.


    On the first day of my third year in school, I received a call from Mom.


    She announced happily that my brother was getting well soon and that his condition had more or less stabilized.


    After some discussion, Mom and Dad decided to bring him home to continue his treatment.


    I simply agreed since I didn¡¯t know how else to deal with the situation.


    I felt increasingly distant.


    The day before graduation, my parents mentioned Little Brother over the phone. They said that he was bing healthier. They also shared that he really wanted to see me so I should make a trip back.


    Which I did, albeit reluctantly.


    The weather was exceptionally hot in June.


    The crickets were officially dering the start of Summer.


    When I finally reached our door, I smelled something strange.


    I took out the key that I kept since senior high but I was unsure if it would still work.


    I stuck it into the keyhole and turned it.


    It worked.


    The smell, or rather odor, grew stronger.


    I entered the house hesitantly.


    Everything was in ce, not much different from when I left.


    Nothing much had changed.


    ¡°Mom? Dad?¡± I called out.


    No response.


    The kitchen, study room, and bedrooms were all empty.


    They must¡¯ve gone out, I thought.


    Upon reaching my own room door, I ced my hand on the knob.


    I heard footsteps approaching and turned around.


    A muscr man stood before me. He was a head taller than me.


    His hair trailed over his well-built shoulders.


    He smelled as if he hadn¡¯t taken a shower in a long time, however. With his hands kept behind his back, he said, ¡°Brother.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re?¡± I opened my room door and felt something amiss.


    ¡°Eat some candy, Brother,¡± he extended his left hand and in it was a round candy.


    ¡°You¡¯re my little brother?¡± I asked in fear, retreating into my room.


    I found the source of that stench. It was Mom and Dad, rotting in a corner.


    ¡°Eat some candy, Brother,¡± he repeated as he follwed me to my room.


    I looked at him. There was a chopping knife in his right hand. It was the one Mom used on a daily basis.


    ¡°Candy, Brother,¡± he offered again.


    I took out my wallet and said to him, ¡°I¡¯ll give you money. Get yourself better candies, alright?¡±


    He swatted my wallet away with his left hand before shoving the candy into my hand.


    ¡°Eat it quick. It¡¯s delicious,¡± he smiled. I¡¯d never seen him that happy.


    I opened the wrapper only to find an eyeball.


    I couldn¡¯t tell if it belonged to Mom or Dad.

 Chapter 42: Escape I

    <h4>Chapter 42: Escape I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix


    I opened my eyes slowly. It was dusky everywhere.


    I couldn¡¯t seem to remember my identity.


    I felt something moist at the back of my head.


    I reached my hand back to touch it. It stung.


    cing my hand under the dim light, I saw what seemed to be blood.


    But because it was too dark, I could only hazard a guess from its texture.


    It was mmy.


    I started thinking about the events that might have led to this. Did someone strike me from the back?


    Where was I? I surveyed my surroundings.


    Dark, damp.


    It seemed to be a sealed room.


    I walked to the wall and knocked on it. It was extremely solid.


    Who exactly locked me in here, I thought.


    I started searching hard for pieces of memory.


    Signing of documents... was I an entrepreneur?


    I could also visualize a bunch of students and a white chalk.


    I saw myself sketching a little horse on the ckboard, clear and distinct.


    The kids were cheering happily and I could hear them apuding.


    Was I a teacher as well?


    I pondered over it over.


    So I¡¯m a sessful entrepreneur and in my free time, I teach art?


    What happened to me, then?


    I tried seeing if I had any valuables on me. I didn¡¯t because I waspletely naked.


    It was hard to determine my appearance based on touch alone, but when I looked down, I saw a beer belly.


    Well, it seemed like I¡¯m a fat boss.


    It made sense since social drinking was essential for entrepreneurs.


    Was the kidnapper after my money?


    No.


    I had to save myself.


    Everything in my head was blurry so even if the kidnapper wanted a contact, I couldn¡¯t give it to him.


    I inspected the walls closely with help from the dim light.


    I was shocked to discover that this room waspletely sealed. There wasn¡¯t any window at all.


    In that case, I wasn¡¯t in an isted house in a deste area. It was likely that I was trapped in someone¡¯s basement. It certainly exined the moisture and darkness.


    I raised my head to find a dim incandescent light hanging off the ceiling.


    This ce was like a prison, specially constructed.


    I sat on the ground and continued searching for clues in my head, and that was when my stomach started to growl.


    I was hungry and most probably going to starve to death.


    I heard the sounds of water dripping.


    Following the source, I found a long water pipe.


    A murky liquid was flowing through it at a very slow speed.


    Beneath the pipe was a solid metal bowl.


    I picked it up and smelled the liquid inside.


    Could this be for me?


    With the constant growling of my stomach, I grudgingly took a sip and was pleasantly surprised.


    It had a rather thick consistency and it was slightly salty.


    There was a sweet aftertaste. It really wasn¡¯t bad at all.


    I started gulping it down before putting it back under the pipe.


    Under the light, I observed each drop of soupnding into the bowl. Let¡¯s call it soup.


    I stared at it, considering my next course of action.


    The kidnapper hadn¡¯t showed himself and the soup was umting very slowly.


    This speed was probably just enough to keep me barely alive.


    Also, the liquid could fill my tummy and quench my thirst at the same time.


    Must have been well thought out by the perpetrator, I thought.


    Have I offended somebody when doing business?


    The pain was much more bearable by now but my mind was stillrgely nk.


    I continued pondering over my plight.


    Right, a teacher...


    I dipped my finger into the soup and started drawing the little horse that I pictured in my head on the wall.


    In front of the kids, I seemed to have drawn an adorable little horse.


    In reality, the horse on the wall looked more like a deformed monster.


    It was neither like a horse nor a dog.


    I looked up at the ceiling light. It must¡¯ve been affecting my ability, I thought.


    Or perhaps my state of mind wasn¡¯t stable at this point so the horse came out differently.


    I sat down, intending to rest, but immediately noticed a dark corner before my eyes.


    Putting aside all my fears, I crawled over and groped around in the dark.


    It felt like a hole.


    It was very tiny, only big enough to fit my head.


    My shoulders were stuck on both sides.


    Was I too fat? I patted my beer belly.


    Indeed, it was time to lose some weight.


    I was about a shoulder bigger than the hole.


    It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I slimmed down.


    I stared at the pitch ck hole, not knowing what was within.


    It might be an exit since I had no other way out.


    I put my head in and started shouting for help. When nothing happened, I started cursing hysterically.


    I gave up eventually as I was out of strength and breath. I wasn¡¯t going to get a response.

 Chapter 43: Escape II

    <h4>Chapter 43: Escape II</h4>


    I tried recalling how I got in here. Was I thrown down from above?


    I stood up and stared at the ceiling for a long time, but because of the light, I couldn¡¯t see anything else.


    I noticed a serious problem ¨C I was losing track of time.


    And I was quickly getting hungry. Each time that happened, I would rush to the metal bowl and gulp everything down.


    I did not produce any excretion since the soup was barely sufficient to keep me alive.


    At times, the house would tremble so I was convinced that it was located in an earthquake-active zone.


    Yet, I was unable to send any message out.


    I could only wait for the metal bowl to be filled up, time and time again.


    One thing I was thankful for, though, was that this meager amount of soup made me lose some weight.


    I was looking forward to fitting into the hole.


    I wanted so badly to see what was on the other end.


    I hoped for it to be an exit since I really had no other way out.


    My routine became monotonous. I would simply sleep and drink my soup.


    Recable memories became scarce.


    Initially, I could clearly see myself signing on contracts but as time passed, I started forgetting if it was a pen or a seal that I was holding onto.


    And the other piece of memory ¨C the kids¡¯ faces ¨C were long gone.


    And the horse too.


    As fragments started disappearing, I started resenting the person who threw me in here.


    I wanted to crush his bones. What could I possibly have done to deserve this?


    Why would he lock me in and torture me like this?


    Without a watch or ess to sunlight, I had no idea how much time had passed.


    However, it was a fact that I was getting skinnier.


    Weaker as well, and because I was sleeping so much, it became hard to move about.


    I started some basic movements since I was afraid that a body that was too weak would hinder me from crawling out of the hole.


    My hands were out of strength. They simply swung about like a jellyfish.


    I started jogging slowly and throwing punches at the wall.


    With much effort and persistence, I was gradually able to move freely.


    Nevertheless, my memory waspletely gone and I had even forgotten my own name.


    Then again, I never knew my name from the start. All I could think of was a way to escape this hellhole.


    I startedparing my size against the hole regrly, awaiting the day that I would finally be able to squeeze in.


    Once, I fell asleep and was jolted awake by an intense tremor.


    The whole house was trembling and I figured that a major earthquake was about to hit.


    Without a choice, I consumed myst bowl of soup before throwing it aside.


    I attempted to crawl into the hole. So close.


    I held my breath and tried pushing myself in again.


    The hole was extremely narrow and while I managed to fit in, there simply was no extra space within.


    In spite of that, I had to wriggle to further in.


    I got stuck, of course, but giving up wasn¡¯t an option.


    I was so sick of that ce and all I wanted was freedom.


    That alone was enough to keep me going.


    The shaking never stopped. Was the house going to copse?


    I started forcing my way in despite the agony.


    Regret set in. It would¡¯ve been easier if I had just waited a little longer.


    I brushed all thoughts aside as a soft, delicate voice entered my ears.


    It sounded as though I had earplugs on and the voice seemed to being from the other side of the wall.


    I listened carefully.


    It was slightly echoey.


    ¡°Rx, don¡¯t be nervous.¡±


    ¡°Deep breath, rx.¡±


    ¡°Almost there.¡±


    ...


    Was someone encouraging me? Was that my own heart speaking?


    I continued struggling my way in and I could feel my strength depleting.


    My body was getting heavier every passing second and I was tempted to go back for the soup.


    The voice returned and this time, I was certain that it wasn¡¯t my own.


    ¡°Not happening. Cut it open.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a premature birth. She fell and broke her water. Get her kin to sign this, it¡¯s all ready.¡±


    ¡°Lives will be lost if you drag this on. Do it.¡±


    ...


    I was at peace.


    Like someone who¡¯s finally reached the shore after being stranded at sea for a long time.


    Like someone who came back from death¡¯s door.


    Light started illuminating my body and I realized that I¡¯d never opened my eyes to begin with.


    I felt a pair of huge hands grabbing and pulling me.


    Pulling me out from the sealed room.


    I was lifted and patted on the back.


    I started crying. Wailing.


    I was finally free.


    ¡°It¡¯s a boy. 3.6kg, congrattions.¡±


    Worth congratting, indeed.


    ...


    Years passed and I lost all memory of it.


    I am still a kid and there were new things waiting for me to learn and remember.


    Like how my father was a sessful businessman while my mother was an art teacher in an elementary school.

 Chapter 44: My Bride

    <h4>Chapter 44: My Bride</h4>


    I got out of the airport and gged down a taxi.


    On the road, the driver talked my ear off.


    Finally, after what seemed like an endless chatter, he drove into my homnd, Jingdezhen. It was a small town that¡¯s famous for its porcin.


    I stood out like a sore thumb as I walked amidst the crowd.


    It was ironic, really, considering that everyone else was dressed casually while I was in a well-ironed suit.


    It was custom-made without a brand name.


    An ¡®L¡¯ was sewn on the corner of a sleeve, however, since I designed it myself.


    Nine years ago, on Savile Row Street, I was lucky enough to be a recipient of Mister Bailey¡¯s handed-down teachings.


    I learned from him for eight whole years and brought the art of tailoring back to China.


    Looking back, I have no idea how I had managed to persevere for that long.


    In the day, I made suits for famous people all over the world, and at night, I stayed upte to polish my English.


    From measuring to drafting, from cutting to sewing...


    From speaking simple words like ¡®sorry¡¯ to teaching customers about the history and significance of tailoring in a fluent British ent.


    Finally, Mister Bailey gave me the permission to sew a symbol on my suit.


    L


    It represented eight years of dedication.


    Last year, Mister Bailey said he had no skills left to impart to me.


    I left for Beijing, for the best western suit shop rmended by him.


    By then, I was a reputable, international western suit designer.


    A suit of my creation went at least seventy thousand yuan.


    Despite the high cost, the rich and famous came to me in an endless stream.


    Even ordinary customers would get me to design their wedding suit as a way of unting their wealth.


    Finally, I could stop feeling like an inferior being.


    If I wasn¡¯t happy with a particr customer, he would find his suit a little too tight.


    Nevertheless, he would bear the difort, give me a thumbs up, and praise my skills.


    This was the power of reputation. It was something I had to slog eight hard years for.


    Other than offering double holidays, thepany also gave me an extra month of rest.


    I applied for it in June in order to visit my homnd. It didn¡¯t really make any sense since I no longer had any rtives or even a house there.


    My old apartment had long be someone else¡¯s home.


    Looking into the kitchen window, I saw ady frying vegetables.


    Not far away from her was a little boy ying with toys and he looked very happy.


    He reminded me of the time when I was still a child. It was a pity that Mom was no longer around.


    I saw thedy looking back at me and I quickly averted my gaze with a sheepish smile.


    I backed away, not wanting to be misunderstood as a creeper.


    Anyway, the point of my visit wasn¡¯t my old apartment but the park nearby.


    ¡°Summer¡¯s really hot,¡± I mumbled as I took a seat on the park¡¯s bench. It was noon.


    Earlier, I had bought a bottle of c from a snack kiosk.


    The sun shone directly on my face but I only stared nkly at the castle opposite me.


    It was a private construction, somewhat like a rich man¡¯s vi.


    I sat down for an hour.


    An hour quickly turned into two.


    I was still there when the sun started setting, adding a red tinge to my suit.


    Eventually, I got impatient and took a quick look at my watch.


    It was time to find a hotel to spend the night.


    I squashed the c bottle out of frustration and stood up.


    I threw my trash in the bin, and just as I was about to leave, a little girl called out to me.


    ¡°Brother, brother,¡± she greeted cheerily, running over to me.


    I haven¡¯t seen her before.


    ¡°Brother, brother,¡± she called out again, her tone warm.


    I looked around before smiling at her, asking doubtfully, ¡°Are you calling me, little one?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so stupid? Is there anyone else around?¡± she asked unhappily before taking a seat on the bench I had just got up from.


    She looked displeased.


    I adjusted my cor before speaking, ¡°Is anything the matter, little girl? I¡¯ll bring you to the police if you¡¯re lost.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not lost,¡± she imed and pointed at a nearby building. ¡°Look, that¡¯s my house.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m done here then.¡± I turned around.


    ¡°Brother? Brother?¡± she called out yet again.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked impatiently.


    ¡°A pretty sister had mee over to pass a message. She doesn¡¯t want to see you, she said. She also said you¡¯ll buy me an ice cream. Is that true?¡± she asked, giving me adoring puppy eyes.


    I looked around frantically. I grabbed her shoulders and said firmly, ¡°Tell me where she is and I¡¯ll get you two.¡±


    She whined. ¡°It hurts. She was standing right there earlier. Now I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    I looked at where she was pointing but there was no one.


    ¡°Damn, I should¡¯ve been more observant,¡± I cursed to myself.


    ¡°Brother? Where¡¯s my ice cream? Do I really get one?¡± she asked timidly.


    I answered gently, ¡°Yes, that sister wasn¡¯t lying to you.¡±


    ¡°Hurray!¡± She jumped in joy.


    I held her hand and brought her to another snack kiosk.


    It was newly opened and I hadn¡¯t seen it before.


    Business seemedcking and there wasn¡¯t actually anyone in the shop.


    The owner was a woman and she was sitting on a chair not far away, eating a watermelon.


    She ran over to us immediately.


    ¡°Any ice cream?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, Aunty, ice cream please,¡± the little girl said charmingly.


    ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± The aunty quickly smiled at the little girl and opened her icebox, revealing a number of different vored popsicles.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for ice cream, Aunty,¡± she exined.


    ¡°Yes, child, look below,¡± the aunty responded.


    At the bottom of the ice box was a stic cylinder. ¡°I made them myself. In fact, I¡¯ve been making them my whole life. My son bought this shop especially for me. Alright, there you go, old-school park ice cream.¡±


    She opened the cylindrical lid and in it were all the ice creams.


    It was then that I remembered something.


    The aunty filled two stic cups with ice cream. ¡°I haven¡¯t been doing this for long so there¡¯s no egg roll at the bottom. Please make do.¡±


    She then took out two straws with a spoon at one end.


    The little girl scooped her ice cream out gleefully.


    After taking a bite, I blurted out, ¡°This taste is familiar.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve tried it before, little fellow?¡± the aunty asked.


    ¡°You used to sell ice cream in a cart outside the park, right?¡± I questioned.


    Recognition dawned on her face and she almost shouted, ¡°Are you Xiaoqiao?¡±


    I nodded with a bittersweet smile. ¡°That¡¯s right, Aunty, I¡¯m Luqiao.¡±


    She smiled warmly. ¡°Yes, I used to sell them every day until my son had the means to open this shop. Sadly, business hasn¡¯t been good. Either way, I have nothing to do so this helps to kill time.¡±


    ¡°How much, Aunty?¡±


    ¡°Forget it. This cannot be considered an ice cream so I¡¯m not going to charge. Plus, you¡¯re Xiaoqiao. Where¡¯s Xiaoyue? Is this your kid?¡±


    Unable to exin everything, I only nodded. I took out a hundred yuan bill and ced it on the icebox. ¡°Keep the change, Aunty, thanks.¡±


    Before she could react, I led the little girl back to the park.


    We returned to the bench and she continued eating her ice cream joyfully.


    ¡°Are you very rich, Brother? Why are you buying me ice cream?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I responded absentmindedly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with that pretty sister?¡±


    ¡°Eh? A child shouldn¡¯t ask so much,¡± I replied, embarrassed.


    ¡°She must be your girlfriend?¡±


    I remained quiet.


    ¡°How lucky of her! Mommy always says it¡¯s good to marry a rich man.¡±


    Iughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t rich when I met that pretty sister.¡±


    ¡°Wait, but she doesn¡¯t want to see you now...¡±


    I tried changing the topic by asking for her name.


    ¡°Yinuo. Nine years old,¡± she answered innocently.


    ¡°Nine?¡± My heart started beating fast.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m Luqiao,¡± I quickly answered.


    She grinned. ¡°What an ugly name. I¡¯ll just call you Brother.¡±


    Looking at the almost disappearing sun, I told her, ¡°Wanna listen to a story, Yinuo?¡±


    Yinuo became excited. ¡°Sure! Mommy and Daddy are always busy. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve heard a story.¡±


    ¡°Alright,e here tomorrow at noon and I¡¯ll share it with you.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯te tomorrow. Today¡¯s thest day of my school break. I¡¯ll have tuition and piano lessons to attend from now on so there¡¯s no time,¡± she exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll tell you if we meet again.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Bye, Brother.¡± She handed me the empty cup before running off.


    I continued staring at the castle.


    The sky was quickly turning dark. I thought about sitting here for a little while more before searching for a hotel.


    Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in my ears.


    It was a voice I would never ever forget.


    ¡°Why are you still here? Didn¡¯t I ask you to leave?¡±

 Chapter 45: My Bride II

    <h4>Chapter 45: My Bride II</h4>


    I turned my head slowly.


    She hasn¡¯t changed much at all. She might be a few feet taller but that was all.


    She wore a lovely long maxi dress that lit my eyes up.


    I remember her eximing many years back that she might never wear a dress again.


    She¡¯s probably changed, I thought.


    Before I could speak, she sat down next to me.


    Just like when we first met.


    Twenty years ago.


    ...


    Jingdezhen Park, Summer.


    There was an abandoned region of the park due to a fire that broke out and killed over a hundred children.


    Because of that, the region became a ce for kids to train their guts.


    It was the ce that became a part of my young and inexperienced childhood.


    I was six.


    I went over to explore that abandoned part because I heard about it from the kids at school.


    I caught sight of a girl that was sitting on a long bench.


    I walked over to the bench.


    After pacing back and forth for a long time, she spoke up, ¡°What are you doing waddling in front of me?¡±


    I remembered that she was carrying her own backpack as she stood there berating me, her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I just came to have a look, ¡°I answered nervously.


    I sat down beside her.


    Displeased, she pushed me away. ¡°I found this spot so go find somewhere else to sit.¡±


    ¡°Why? I found it, too! It¡¯s my secret ground,¡± I retorted, albeit meekly. I would never forget the conversation we shared.


    ¡°I came here first,¡± she said with a smile.


    I stood up and looked straight into her eyes, not daring to utter a word.


    She was just like my mother. I remembered her smiling in triumph. ¡°I found it so it¡¯s no longer a secret.¡±


    I pointed at her and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve found my spot, you have two choices.¡±


    Looking back, I wondered where I got that courage from?


    She sat back down on the bench and asked curiously, ¡°What are they?¡±


    I gestured with my fingers. ¡°One, leave and forget about this ce. Second, join my secret ground and be my...¡±


    Sheughed bitterly. ¡°What? Security guard?¡±


    ¡°Wife. My wife,¡± I blurted out.


    The fury that came to her was instant. I saw her whole expression changed.


    I was absolutely frightened.


    I jumped off the bench as if it was on fire and I ran. Every few seconds, I would turn to look back at her.


    She never stopped ring at me.


    Despite her scaring the absolute crap out of me, I did not run far. Instead, I made a big detour and hid behind the bench.


    I sneaked nces at her and saw that she was just staring nkly into space.


    Her face was beet red.


    It made me feel something strange.


    ...


    I shifted closer to her.


    She started dully, ¡°You actually look like a human now with that suit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just clothes,¡± I replied, looking down and adjusting my cor.


    ¡°How? Are you a pilot now? Are you really sessful now?¡± she bombarded me with one question after another, just like in the past.


    ¡°No, not a pilot. I gave up upon realizing that I had a fear of heights. What about you, my air stewardess?¡± I smiled bitterly.


    ¡°You¡¯re allowed to fear heights but I can¡¯t be airsick?¡± she mumbled, wrinkling her brows.


    ¡°What about you? What are you doing now?¡± I asked, not really understanding her words.


    ¡°You go first,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a tailor in Beijing. I sell a suit for seventy thousand yuan and I get to keep a third of it,¡± I smiled, smoothing my hands down my suit.


    ¡°Right, who¡¯s going to wear a seventy thousand suit? Business must be bad. Look at you, so skinny.¡± She pinched my arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s different in Beijing. It¡¯s a fast-paced city with a strong economy. Demand for my suits is still high. I won¡¯t go hungry, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I looked up into the star-filled sky. There weren¡¯t many neon city lights, only scarce street lights and a few yellowing billboards.


    The stars were shining brightly alongside a half moon that was hung high up in the sky.


    ¡°Oh, so you just look skinny? You¡¯re telling me you really have some meat there?¡± She smiled, grabbing onto my arm.


    I asked, ¡°Your turn. What are you doing nowadays?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a florist.¡±


    I massaged my arms, thinking back to twenty years ago.


    .....


    The second day of our acquaintance yed out at the same bench in the corner of the park.


    I arrived at my ¡®secret ground¡¯ earlier than usual.


    I was in elementary school. My mother was no longer around and my father was a professor at a nearby university.


    He returned homete every night and had little time with me even on the weekends.


    As such, before five in the evening, he wouldn¡¯t care much about where I went to have fun.


    Nothing would go wrong anyway.


    I sat on the same long bench but my mind wasn¡¯t upied by her.


    I was thinking about the mother I¡¯d never seen. The mother whom I only kept a photograph of.


    ¡°What is she like exactly?¡± I wondered dreamily before falling into a deep sleep.


    ¡°Hey, why are you here again?¡±


    I jolted awake.


    ¡°Did I fall asleep?¡± I asked, muddle-headed.


    I saw her smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m here first today,¡± I eximed proudly.


    She ced her backpack on the bench before sitting down next to me.


    With much strength, she pushed me down to the ground. ¡°Does it really work that way?¡±


    She was nine and I was five. I was half a head shorter than her and I did not possess as much strength.


    I wailed. What else could I have done?


    I would cry whenever I wanted a particr toy. Tried and tested.


    I bawled my eyes out with no intention of getting up.


    She wavered, anxiousness evident in her eyes.


    I shot her a nce amidst all that crying. Half the battle was already won and all I needed was time.


    After some time, she finally squeezed out in a tiny hesitant voice, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    I half sobbed, ¡°What are you saying? I can¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    Yes, I was annoyingly shameless.


    Cleary feeling bad, she pulled me up from the ground and onto the bench.


    I continued sobbing even after I took a seat.


    She retrieved a handkerchief from her bag. ¡°This is my favorite. I bring it wherever I go. Use it.¡±


    Without any hesitation, I took it and wiped my tears and snot.


    I could feel her heart aching as she observed my every action.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Luqiao, five years old.¡± I returned her handkerchief. ¡°You?¡±


    After some thought, she replied, ¡°Why should I tell you? I¡¯m older so just called me Sister. It¡¯s only polite.¡±


    ¡°Sister?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Yes, little brother, you¡¯re doing well.¡± She raised her brows in delight.


    We never exchanged a word after that. I took the handkerchief once more to wipe my tears before returning it to her.


    Somehow, the tears kepting and this went on for over ten times.


    Her face became all twisted but I never stopped.


    Walls came down after that day.


    ...


    I got all teary-eyed thinking about it. I pulled out that very handkerchief from my suit pocket.


    ¡°You still have it?¡± she asked in surprise.


    ¡°Of course. You gave it to me,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do you realize how long you¡¯ve been gone, Luqiao?¡±


    I lowered my head, ashamed. I answered in a small voice, ¡°Eight or nine years...¡±


    She pointed at the tower far away. ¡°Remember that? The clock on that tower stopped moving at 5:20 on the day you left.¡±


    I followed her finger and noticed that the clock was still at 5:20.


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, I remember. You kept lying to me that you lived there. And I really went there to find you. The owner kept a pit bull. I got chased and bitten so how could I forget?¡±


    ¡°I did lie about some things but you did, too,¡± she shot back, separating my sped hands.


    She examined the calluses on my hands.


    ¡°Are you really a tailor?¡± she asked.


    I lifted my right sleeve to reveal the little ¡®L¡¯ sewn onto it.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. This ¡®L¡¯ stands for Luqiao and also the path of my life.¡±


    She got up and took a few steps forward. ¡°Remember why we parted?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    I was about to continue when she took a few more steps forward. ¡°The sky¡¯s already dark. Are you going home?¡±


    ¡°I have no apartment here. I was nning to find a hotel. Do you have work tomorrow? Let¡¯s meet here at the same time?¡± I suggested.


    She pulled me up. ¡°Let¡¯s go. You¡¯ll pay the room charge.¡±


    I was stunned. ¡°You¡¯reing with me?¡±


    ¡°I have no work tomorrow and I don¡¯t feel like going home. I finally get to see you after a long time, so how am I supposed to let you go?¡±


    ¡°You... don¡¯te here every day, do you? For me?¡±


    She dragged me toward the nearest hotel without answering.


    When we arrived at the counter, she simply extended her hand. ¡°Identification card.¡±


    I took it out of my wallet together with three one hundred yuan bills.


    She asked for a room with a king-sized bed.


    In the room, none of us spoke a word.


    She pounced on me and showered me with kisses.


    We made love all night.

 Chapter 46: My Bride III

    <h4>Chapter 46: My Bride III</h4>


    I gradually woke up from my sleep and realized that I was naked.


    I was too caught up in reliving everything that happenedst night that it took me a few minutes to notice that the bed was empty.


    I heard the sound of water running and I looked over to the bathroom.


    She was taking a shower and I could faintly see her silhouette through the frosted ss.


    I listened close and heard her humming a tune.


    The shower turned off so I quickly got into afortable position and pretended to be asleep.


    She got out of the bathroom shortly after, picked up her phone and dialed a number.


    ¡°Can I request for a day off, Manager? I know it¡¯s sudden and I should¡¯ve told you in advance but something came up and I can¡¯t get to work.¡±


    So she lied about not having work and forgot about applying for leave.


    ¡°Thank you so much and sorry for the inconvenience, Manager.¡±


    She hung up and continued humming her tune as she walked toward me.


    I could feel her holding onto something, probably my wallet.


    I heard her open it.


    There were two metal buttons that made a crisp sound when being opened.


    Was she trying to take my money? All kinds of thoughts filled my head.


    I thought about turning over at that moment but decided against it.


    ¡°He¡¯s really a tailor...¡± I heard her mumble.


    I knew she¡¯d seen the name card inside.


    The next thing I knew, a tight p hadnded on my face.


    I was struck dumb.


    I opened my eyes and looked at her.


    She yelled, ¡°Why do you have so many credit cards, Luqiao. Aren¡¯t you rich? Why do you have so many cards? Such a liar.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about!¡± I was still in shock.


    ¡°How do you exin these then?¡± she demanded, flinging my cards out one by one.


    There were more than five of them.


    I sat up. ¡°Am I not a tailor? I need seven days toplete a suit. In order to decrease their waiting time, some customers would stuff me with gifts when I take their measurements. Other tailors ept them so wouldn¡¯t it be unprofessional of me to decline?¡±


    ¡°Gift? Are you corrupted? epting gifts at work?¡± Almost subconsciously, she gave me another p on my face.


    It stung.


    ¡°Tell me. Did youe back because you got sick of robbing and killing?¡± she cried out.


    ¡°I did leave for eight years but how could I have changed that much?¡± I responded.


    Memories returned.


    ...


    I was six and she was nine.


    After that incident, we met every day on the bench.


    We talked about everything under the sun.


    Time passed, year after year.


    When I attended junior high, she was already in senior high.


    When I got to senior high, she was already enrolled in university.


    We were always three years apart.


    I got epted into her university, Jingdezhen Institution.


    I was in my first year and she was in herst.


    School¡¯s sports field.


    I confessed.


    We discussed the present, the past, and the future... everything.


    Were we going to get a cat or dog?


    Shower or bathtub?


    Manual or electric toothbrush?


    Girl or boy?


    Good things don¡¯tst of course.


    My fathermitted suicide right before the start of my third year.


    He jumped off a building during work time.


    I realized after that his job as a professor in a county¡¯s university wasn¡¯t enough to provide for us... for me.


    He had no time to rest, traveling everywhere to give talks.


    However, not many were interested in these profound talks so he had to borrow money from people.


    He ended up owing loan sharks money in exchange for my worry-free days.


    Finally, he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and chose to end his life, but not before I became an adult.


    He left me a letter and I remembered thest line: Do not me anyone. This world is unbearably cruel but life goes on and has been going on for millions of years.


    I finished reading with augh. What a cultured suicide note.


    I did not cry or look for him, perhaps because I was rebelling. That became one of my life¡¯s biggest regret.


    I heard that his corpse remained in the mortuary, unimed for a month. Eventually, the loan sharks tracked him down and he finally got cremated.


    And she graduated after.


    She chose to be an air stewardess and enrolled in an etiquette school once more.


    And I visited her parents at the worst time.


    It went great until we had a little too much to drink.


    Of course, when they started asking about my family situation I ryed everything that happened.


    I was about to start my third year, had no money or job.


    No parents, no future goals.


    She was told by her parents to get us more fruits and what I experienced next was the most miserable ten minutes of my life.


    Without calling me out on anything, her father kept stressing that he needed to find an outstanding partner for his daughter.


    And his wife wasn¡¯t too shy to emphasize that what I had going on in my life was far below their expectations.


    I was already on the brink of breaking down but Uncle decided to bring my family up once again.


    At that point, I was wondering if it really was difficult for an orphan to get married.


    They had no interest at all in how we met and fell in love.


    ¡°Leave my daughter if you want what¡¯s best for her,¡± Aunty persuaded.


    I waited for her return in silence. She entered with a basket of fruits, all happy and innocent.


    And her parents reverted to their usual selves.


    I cut off all contact with her after that day.


    I left a letter, roughly mentioning that I would return after bing a pilot.


    I dropped out of school and left Jingdezhen.


    Because Father jumped during work, the school offered a sum of relief payment.


    I used it to book a one-way flight to London since I did not have enough for a return flight.


    I had nned to enroll in Pulford Aviation Institution since my English was decent.


    However, things did not turn out the way I had expected them to.


    As they say, the moon was always brighter in another country.


    Pulford Aviation Institution was the most reputable school in London.


    There were two hundred students but only fifteen nes.


    We had to pay for tuition and fuel.


    After hanging on for half a year, Ipleted all my theoretical exams.


    I gave up right before the practical. Students had to clock five hundred hours of flying in order to graduate.


    The cost of fuel for five hundred hours of flying wasn¡¯t something I can afford just by working extra when I had the time.


    Continuing would justnd me in heavier debts, just like Father. I had to give up.


    I sat on Savile Row Street, broke and miserable, staring at a tailor shop on the opposite side.


    Mister Bailey discovered me and asked if I wanted to learn.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded before adding, ¡°No money...¡±


    He took me in.


    ...


    ¡°Tell me where exactly you¡¯ve been in these eight years, Luqiao,¡± she demanded urgently.


    I looked out of the window. The weather was great. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the park and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    She put on her floral maxi dress and threw a pair of newly bought boxes at me. ¡°Go shower ande home with me tonight. My parents want to see you. They¡¯re curious too, as to how you¡¯ve been all these years. Exin yourself tonight.¡±


    I smiled bitterly.


    She must have made the call when I was still asleep.


    I was still feeling somewhat indignant about the incident that happened eight years ago. Her parents had no respect for me.


    As I was about to speak up, I saw her staring at me.


    All that came out of my mouth was a ¡®sorry¡¯.


    ¡°I know what happened but you were gone by the time I went to look for you.¡±


    I kept quiet.


    ¡°My parents felt they had gone overboard. Coincidentally, they needed a supervisor at the printing house and had wanted to take over at the shop upon graduation. It was a pity you left and I found out that you dropped out of school. Other than your letter, I had no other news of you.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve been waiting? Until now?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Eight years. I gave up on bing an air stewardess. Instead, I became a florist and worked in a shop opposite the park¡¯s entrance, hoping to chance upon you someday. And I finally saw you yesterday, dressed like a fool.¡±


    Was eight years long? It felt like seconds.


    That night felt almost like a rey of events from eight years ago.


    Except that her parents had aged significantly. Again, she was told to get us some fruits.


    Of course, their tone was much warmer this time and they did not bring up my past.


    Instead, I told them what I had achieved from the past eight years.


    Uncle smiled. ¡°Custom-made suits?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Bright future?¡± Aunty blurted out before covering her mouth almost immediately.


    I could only smile.


    Half a yearter.


    We got married.


    I designed our outfits, of course.


    Seven years ago, on Savile Row Street, I had a vision for a bride¡¯s dress.


    It was going to be made from pieces of fine cloth and there were going to be silver metal scales.


    There would be a long red thread. Sixty-three meters.


    This dress could only be worn once and it must be on the day of the bride¡¯s wedding. No fitting because that would take half a day.


    Nothing must be worn underneath the dress.


    The cloths and silver scales would be put and held together by the red thread.


    When she finally put on the dress, half a day had already gone by.


    Breathtakingly beautiful.


    The silverish white wedding gown carried a subtle red tinge that could be faintly seen through the scales.


    The red thread ended with a bowknot in front of her chest.


    Putting on ten-centimeter heels, her height came up to a hundred and eighty centimeters.


    Almost as tall as I am.


    With each step, her scale-filled dress produced a soothing chime.


    She was like an armored queen.


    Her parents were smiling brightly.


    I pulled her into the bridal room after the wedding ceremony.


    Her bridal dress train made the floor sparkle.


    I untied the bowknot gently and the red thread fluttered in the air.


    A thousand pieces of silver scales and white cloth fell and scattered like feathers.


    Theynded on the floor like raindrops. It was a heavenly moment.


    Her bare body appeared before my eyes.


    Just this and nothing more.

 Chapter 47: Pacific Ocean

    <h4>Chapter 47: Pacific Ocean</h4>


    It all happened in the Pacific Ocean.


    I am a drop of tear. Don¡¯t ask me why.


    What was rational was actual and what was actual was rational.


    I belonged to a whale.


    I was in his eye and I saw the things he saw.


    My master was a strong whale.


    I followed him everywhere until the moment his body lost warmth.


    It should be said that I was the only one by his side when he died.


    Whales lived and moved about in a group but they die alone.


    I could feel how regretful he had been the moments leading up to his death.


    If it was true that regretful tears were salty, I would most definitely be the saltiest drop to exist.


    But nothing can be changed.


    I still remembered what Chalk¡¯s father had said.


    ¡°You¡¯re the strongest whale to be born this year, Chalk.¡±


    While the other newborn whales weighed only about six tonnes, Chalk was eight. A big doll indeed.


    Chalk nudged his father, asking, ¡°Am I strong enough, Father? When can I be like you?¡±


    His father smiled. ¡°You have to grow much more to be like me, child.¡±


    ¡°Grow much more?¡± Chalk asked doubtfully.


    Master¡¯s father was the leader of the whale pack despite his old age.


    Whales have a habit of sneaking away to die alone to prevent bing a burden to their ns.


    Sometimes, they would get themselves stranded on the shore and have a look at the outside world.


    However, Master¡¯s father couldn¡¯t leave just yet. He was waiting for someone to take over his position.


    Looking at his son, he could only wish for him to grow up fast and strong.


    ¡°Grow much more...¡± Chalk mumbled.


    I think Master did a great job in growing up.


    The same batch of whale babies grew up to be as healthy as Master too.


    Chalk became their leader and was in charge of leading them during ytime.


    Chalk¡¯s father was very pleased because he saw his young self in Chalk.


    ¡°Grow up well and you can be the leader of sixty-three whales,¡± Chalk¡¯s father encouraged him.


    Chalk was already doing a good job but time was running out.


    One year, two years...


    Five years passed silently.


    The leader had aged quite a bit.


    And Chalk had grown stronger year by year.


    Finally, his father was convinced that he was good enough to be a leader.


    He taught Chalk how to be an excellent leader.


    After a few months of guidance, however, he noticed something.


    Chalk seemed to not have any interest in learning.


    ¡°Being a leader isn¡¯t a child¡¯s game,¡± Chalk¡¯s father reprimanded.


    However, prideful Chalk believed that he was already strong enough.


    It was true, of course, since no other whales in the family had a body and strength like his.


    In fact, even Chalk¡¯s father wasn¡¯t as big as him.


    Just like that, the lessons ended.


    Most of it entered Chalk¡¯s left ear and came out of his right.


    He hadn¡¯t learned much at all.


    Chalk¡¯s father was really getting on in years and so he finally passed his duties to Chalk.


    Every single whale felt that Chalk was entirely worthy as a leader since he was just like his father and even stronger.


    ¡°Long live the leader!¡± they shouted continuously, their voices echoing throughout the whole ocean.


    Chalk¡¯s father had long been wanting to leave and it was finally the time to do so.


    Whales¡¯ rules.


    He was just an old whale now.


    ording to the convention, he should¡¯ve already left but he really was still worried about his son.


    Everything changed on the day of his intended departure.


    The peaceful ocean was still as deep.


    Chalk led the n further down to a region with ample food source.


    A few whales swam over yelling, ¡°Whaler ship is here!¡±


    ¡°Whaler ship is here!¡±


    Chalk¡¯s father did mention something about the whalers but it seemed like a legend to Chalk.


    There were many whaler ships a long time ago.


    They killed whales without restraint but had stopped appearing for the past few decades.


    Chalk seemed to have forgotten how frightening those whalers were ording to his father.


    ¡°So what?¡± Chalk responded.


    His members calmed down upon feeling their leader¡¯s confidence.


    They simply waited for him to make a wise decision.


    But Chalk might¡¯ve been wrong this time.


    He swam in the direction in which his members hade from.


    They were all in shock but they started whispering shortly after.


    ¡°Can he defeat the whalers?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve all seen his strength. Is there a need to doubt?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s indeed a leader, courageous unlike us.¡±


    Chalk arrived at the region where the ship wasst spotted and started looking around.


    He couldn¡¯t see any ships. Not even a shrimp.


    Chalk shouted, ¡°No more danger. I¡¯ve scared them off!¡±


    His members were bbergasted.


    They started to doubt their leader¡¯s capability.


    ¡°Come back, quick, it¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    Chalk felt that they were making a mountain out of a molehill.


    Little did he realize that the whaler ship was floating right overhead so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t see anything in the water.


    ¡°Look up, Leader! Run quick! Danger!¡±


    Chalk looked up slowly and was dumbstruck.


    Two spears flew toward him and entered his back and tailbone.


    A huge followed closely after.


    Although it wasn¡¯ting at him fast, Chalk was trapped.


    It was a despairful moment.


    He was helpless despite his size and strength.


    The wrapped around Chalk¡¯s body, gradually tightening.


    It started going up and pulling Chalk along.


    Chalk could slowly get a clearer view of the whaler ship.


    It was much, much bigger than he was.


    He got pulled out of the waters and he felt his skin exposed to the air for the first time.


    Bang!


    The whaler ship shook and the loosened a little.


    Chalk¡¯s father had mmed himself against the ship.


    Chalk swam as hard as he could but he was still trapped within the.


    ¡°Run, child.¡±


    Bang!


    Another collision sounded, so loud that it resonated throughout the ocean.


    Chalk¡¯s father had done it again and the camepletely lose this time.


    Chalk managed to escape but his father floated about motionlessly.


    Chalk looked around but it was just him and his father left.


    Before he could go over to his father¡¯s side, another spear and came down and took his father up.


    The other whales had long swum away from danger.


    Chalk was saved but he swam on helplessly.


    He was left alone in the ocean.


    He¡¯d done wrong but it was all toote.


    He wasn¡¯t aware of the spears that had caused him to bleed.


    A few minutester, a group of sharks was lured by his blood.


    Left alone, a whale, no matter how strong, simply wasn¡¯t a match for a shark.


    And he was injured.


    Seeing that group of sharks, a lot of things went through Chalk¡¯s mind.


    As they attacked him, he felt his body losing its warmth slowly.


    At thest moment, I was born.


    Master wanted to know what happened to his father, but how?


    I was just a drop of tear.


    Once belonging to him and now to the Pacific.

 Chapter 48: Field of Vision I

    <h4>Chapter 48: Field of Vision I</h4>


    My name is Luqiao and I am a fresh graduate.


    I majored inndscape architecture. I was used to being around nts until I took over my father¡¯s small and half-deadpany.


    My mom gave birth to me at a prettyte age and my father was already sixty-three years old. He had long reached retirement age and had been eagerly awaiting my graduation.


    I refused his offer many times, insisting that I was just a gardener.


    He was adamant, however, that his business must be inherited by family.


    His tinypany wasn¡¯t appealing to me at all.


    Father¡¯s business involved medical research and distribution.


    This was, by right, a profitable industry, but not for our family. Sometimes, I questioned how I was able to survive through university.


    Since middle school, I had been applying for student grants, but because of this, my ssmates looked down on me and my family. ¡°Why¡¯s your family so poor?¡±


    It was because other than sales, my father was doing research on a new medicine ¨C Anoinfloxacin.


    It was used to cure blindness, either from injury or gics.


    The medicine was, at that point,pletely new and no otherpanies were selling it.


    Naturally, it was a losing business since there were few suitable candidates.


    Anoinfloxaxin was a medicine meant to be injected into the eyes and not all patients would be eligible.


    Their eyeballs must still be able to sense light in order for this medicine to work.


    The medicine would be injected into the eyes¡¯ lenses in order to alter the way they perceive colors and light sensations and hence cure blindness.


    It must also be noted that the sess rate was under eighty percent and that further eyesight corrections must be done even after the injection.


    But it would eventually allow the blind to see the world clearly.


    A milliliter of Anoinfloxacin cost a thousand dors.


    Because of this, many would opt for thetest electrical eyeball technology instead.


    In fact, Anoinfloxacin was twice as expensive.


    Let¡¯s talk about the electrical eyeball technology that was developed five years back.


    Even thepletely blind would be able to see again although they would only experience a slight improvement.


    The good thing about this technology was that the blind did not have to possess working eyeballs as long as their nerves were intact and functioning. This was because their eyeballs would be reced by electrical ones.


    The electrical eyeballs would capture waves and stimte the nerves through electrical currents and form blurry and abstract images in the brain.


    These images would vary from person to person.


    Some described them to be floating stars in the sky while others said it was as if somebody was waving a chalk in front of a ckboard.


    While these images weren¡¯t what normal individuals would see, the patients could train themselves to capture movements of objects so as to avoid danger in their daily lives.


    The electrical eyeballs cost anything from sixty to five hundred dors each and the differences lie in the quality of the images.


    Usually, the doctor would immediately diagnose if a patient was suitable for the electrical eyeball surgery.


    He would never mention anything about Anoinfloxacin unless the patient asked.


    Even though it seemed at that point that Anoinfloxacin was rubbish, Father had high hopes for it.


    After some thought, I figured that it probably had something to do with his past.


    Father used to drive for a factory when he was younger.


    Once, he got into an ident, swerved to the side of the road and collided with a tree in order to prevent his head from mming onto the steering wheel.


    When he woke up half a monthter, his right eye could barely see anything except for a dim ray of light.


    At that time, there wasn¡¯t any electrical eyeball surgery and his partial blindness affected his mood greatly.


    The doctor gave him two choices: To remove his eyeball or to inject Anoinfloxacin into it.


    The hospital was still experimenting with that chemical so they offered a free treatment on the condition that they would not be responsible for the oue.


    After a long time, Father epted the hospital¡¯s offer.


    The treatment went well. With thepany¡¯spensation payments and some loans, Father founded hispany.


    Thepany was doing increasingly well but he invested most of his profits into studying Anoinfloxacin.


    While he did manage to reduce the side effects and raise the sess rate to ny percent, these were all futile in the medical world. Anoinfloxacin had inadequate usability and a high cost.


    Mother supported Father¡¯s decision all the way. It must be true love.


    I even asked Father about his obsession with Anoinfloxacin once.


    He smiled at me, pointing at his right eye. ¡°You¡¯ll only know how wonderful it is if you experience it for yourself.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    I had the thought of halting all research on Anoinfloxacin upon taking over thepany but realized, after meeting the board of directors, that this segment was thepany¡¯s main focus.


    In thepany¡¯s manual, even before its content page, there was a line that said: Anoinfloxacin¡¯s study and development must never stop.


    I was at a loss, especially since I also discovered that other than me, all directors were patients who had been treated with Anoinfloxacin.


    After the meeting, I did some research, half-suspecting that mypany was an evil cult.


    There was no information about it online except for a short testimonial that I couldn¡¯t quiteprehend.


    It wrote briefly about how the mountains became greener, the ocean became bluer, how the flowers became fresher, and the sceneries became more vibrant.


    At that, I stopped reading. Something felt amiss.


    I scrolled to the bottom of the webpage and, lo and behold, this news originated from mypany¡¯s forum.


    Thumbing through the manual, I also came across many unbelievable guidelines.


    For example, interviewees who had done the treatment would score the highest and those with proper qualifications would be epted, against convention, into thepany.


    Thepany would also pay regr visits to ex-patients and even offer a job to the those who were unemployed.


    Employees who lose their eyesight from injury would receive free treatment even if the ident did not ur during office hours.


    I took a look at the list of employees and cold sweat started pouring out.


    Sixty percent of them had been through the treatment, and eighty percent of the total number of patients were working for thepany.


    Also, some of the directors were millionaires.


    I called the ountant over and finally, after a long time, understood why thepany hadn¡¯t shut down.


    There had been rich men driving thepany with regr funds after being treated with Anoinfloxacin. Some were investors while others simply wanted to donate.


    The funds were actually sufficient to keep thepany running for such a long time, a fact that I couldn¡¯t rte to since I did not understand the magic of Anoinfloxacin.


    There were only two thoughts running through my mind.


    The medicine was either that magical or users of it had been poisoned and brainwashed.


    I quickly made a trip to the research and developmentboratory, hoping to find out what exactly was going on in there.

 Chapter 49: Field of Vision II

    <h4>Chapter 49: Field of Vision II</h4>


    I arrived at theboratory where there were three isted rooms at the end of the corridor.


    Proceeding along the corridor, I had to go through a few metal framed ss doors.


    The sses were translucent so it was difficult to see through them.


    The three rooms were decorated in a way that wasn¡¯t in line with the rest of the building.


    As the office building hadn¡¯t been renovated in a long time, the walls were all old and yellowed.


    Yet, beyond theseyers of ss doors were rooms with snow-white walls. It was as if they were newly done up.


    A guard stood before the ss doors.


    The guard did not acknowledge my presence and seemed not to have any intention of opening the door.


    ¡°Open up,¡± I demanded.


    The guard remained motionless as if he hadn¡¯t heard me.


    ¡°Do you not know who I am?¡± I questioned loudly but the guard was unmoved.


    The ountant ran over and exined, ¡°There are rules. You can¡¯t go in dressed like that.¡±


    ¡°What rules?¡±


    He handed a snow-white work uniform to me. ¡°Once you¡¯re sterile and disinfected, you¡¯ll be able to enter.¡±


    Annoyed, I put it on and turned back to the guard.


    Indeed, he opened the first door and allowed me and the ountant to go through.


    Trapped between the first and second door, I heard aputerized voice.


    Disinfection, start.


    Strong gushes of wind blew onto us for two whole minutes.


    In the second room, I saw blue y floor tiles.


    Stepping on it made a blue substance stick to our shoes and. We left the second room with shoes that had ayer of blur membrane around it.


    The ountant put on a hai and a mask and I followed suit.


    Finally, we reached the end and there weren¡¯t many people around.


    Seven experimenters to be exact.


    The ountant led me into the first room.


    I was weed by all sorts of equipment, an absolutely foreign experience for andscape architect.


    The ountant proceeded to ry some information to a professor inside the room.


    The professor approached me and asked, ¡°Are you the new boss?¡±


    I only nodded. Initially, I had nned to be in control, but somehow, I turned passive.


    The professor put on his thick sses before saying, ¡°Come.¡±


    I followed him into the second room but the ountant did not.


    ¡°I still have some ounts to clear,¡± he exined before leaving.


    The professor had ordered the three experimenters in the room to leave so only the two of us were left.


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± he started.


    ¡°Anoinfloxacin.¡±


    ¡°I figured you haven¡¯t been injected with it. Come over, I¡¯ll let you experience its beauty.¡±


    He bent down to retrieve a pair of spectacles.


    He then took out a bottle of Anoinfloxacin solvent and dripped it into one spectacle lens.


    ¡°Try wearing it.¡±


    I put it on and immediately felt dizzy.


    The professor came over with a board and covered the lens with Anoinfloxacin.


    He then took out a pointer and pointed at a faraway monitor, asking, ¡°What color?¡±


    I looked over to where he was pointing. On the monitor was a big tree illuminated by the sun.


    ¡°Green?¡±


    He moved the board to cover the lens without Anoinfloxacin and repeated his question.


    I was dumbstruck. The originally green tree was now exceptionally crisp and had so many different shades because of the shadow cast by the sun.


    The bottom portion was darker, and toward the top, the tree became brighter.


    The professor pointed at the topmostyer of leaves. ¡°We call this B5 Green and the bottommostyer D5 Green.¡±


    I could hardly believe my eyes. Did this professor alter the image when I wasn¡¯t paying attention?


    I removed the board and was proven wrong.


    The eye without Anoinfloxacin lens couldn¡¯t perceive as many variations of green.


    I covered that eye again and couldn¡¯t believe that I was looking at a still image since the tree looked as if it was going to pop out from the monitor.


    I looked at the professor and noticed that he lookedpletely different as well.


    It was as if I was viewing the world in an ultra high definition. It was indescribable.


    My jaw dropped and I was left speechless.


    The professor smiled. ¡°This is the beauty of Anoinfloxacin. Curing blindness is merely one of its uses. With the three primary colors as a foundation, humans can only perceive a handful of colors. With Anoinfloxacin, they could perceive a million more shades.


    He then turned off the light and I was shocked to discover that the Anoinfloxacin lens provided perfect night vision as well and I could see everything clear as day.


    He added Anoinfloxacin to the other lens and I could finally indulge in the full experience.


    ¡°Go out and see the world. Because it¡¯s not injected into the eyes¡¯ crystalline lenses, oxidation will ur and the spectacle lenses will only be effective for an hour. Sixty-three minutes to be exact.¡±


    An hour? I nodded before leaving theboratory.


    I opened the office building door and was bbergasted.


    The sun shone on the ground, turning it golden-bright and dazzling. The colors reflected off the ground had me totally enchanted.


    I finally understood Father¡¯s words. You¡¯ll only understand its beauty after experiencing it.


    I strolled along the streets and could distinguish between shades that I usually couldn¡¯t.


    D2 Silver traffic light post, B4 Red traffic light...


    Even the cars which were supposedly of the same color appeared differently to my eyes.


    I attempted to search for the bluest car, but I would always catch sight of one that was even bluer than the one before.


    Even every white car was unique to me.


    I was enthralled by it all but I quickly noticed that the colors were starting to dim.


    I took the spectacles off and the professor¡¯s words came back to mind.


    One hour was up.


    A thousand for a bottle, and if not injected into the eyes, it would onlyst an hour.


    I started feeling disappointed. It was scarier than taking drugs.


    I lost all interest in what I was seeing, but it became clear to me how people could be obsessed with Anoinfloxacin.

 Chapter 50: Field of Vision III

    <h4>Chapter 50: Field of Vision III</h4>


    I started searching for the most suitable buyer.


    I was convinced that Anoinfloxacin wasn¡¯t just a medicine to cure blindness.


    It was difficult but I found a candidate, nevertheless.


    Approaching this target wasn¡¯t going to be easy so I engaged the help of my high school ssmate who was also one of the national minister¡¯s assistants.


    We got reacquainted through a reunion gatheringst year. I remembered how shocked we all were by the fact that he had been working for the minister.


    Because of his unique job, he left a deep impression on me.


    I flipped through my contact book, hoping that he hadn¡¯t changed his number.


    I called a few times and after a few voicemail, he finally picked up.


    ¡°Hey, Dahai?¡± I started.


    ¡°Yes, this is?¡±


    ¡°Your high school ssmate, Luqiao.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the boy at the back row. I remember you!¡± Dahaiughed.


    ¡°Help me with something, will you?¡±


    ¡°Help? I¡¯m no national leader so I won¡¯t be of any use.¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to know if the minister¡¯s color blindness has been cured,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Why are you asking that out of nowhere? Don¡¯t you know how serious this is?¡± he responded sternly.


    ¡°Of course, I know. I have taken over my father¡¯spany and we have sessfully developed a medicine that cures color blindness and I¡¯m just here to promote it. Since there hasn¡¯t been any suitable candidate, the minister came to mind.¡±


    ¡°Cure color blindness? Are you serious? You want me to talk to him about it and lose my job?¡± he asked incredulously.


    ¡°But have you thought about how you will benefit when he¡¯s cured?¡± I challenged.


    ¡°Alright, let me sleep on this,¡± he gave in.


    ¡°Give me a call anytime,¡± I encouraged.


    ...


    One and a half year ago, our prime minister entered the office.


    He was quick to start work, attending to different nations¡¯ friendly meetings during his first year.


    China attracted a lot of tourists and the minister often traveled to promote our culture. He was able to form strong ties with respective nations.


    However, his condition was slowly revealed to the public.


    There had been an event where a nation known for its Musang King Durians invited him down to get acquainted with them.


    ¡°¡®Musang King Durians¡¯ fall on their own upon ripening and those intact would be brought in a cage with a civet to test for quality. If the civet was pleased with what it sniffed, the durian was of excellent quality.¡± After exining, the nation¡¯s king pointed at a yellow durian before him.


    Our minister then took a few steps forward and picked up a green one to observe.


    This went unnoticed until the matter spread to other nations and people starteding up with weird ideas.


    The worst incident happened when a nation¡¯s president ced a green candy among a pile of yellow ones and told our minister that he wanted a green one.


    Our minister then picked out a yellow one, in front of everyone and the cameras, and gave it to him.


    ¡°Thanks for the green candy,¡± he responded, immediately causing a huge sensation.


    Two groups of people surfaced.


    One group was busy cursing the other nation while the other was throwing ridiculous remarks at our nation.


    Our minister quickly returned home and even canceled the next overseas conferences.


    He also started traveling out less, from a few times in a month to a few times in a year.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next afternoon, my phone rang.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t lying about the cure, were you?¡± Dahai asked urgently.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± I reassured him.


    ¡°He wants to see you. Bring your medicine.¡±


    I practically leaped out of my chair and sprung toward theboratory.


    I quickly went through the procedures and I entered the innermost room to pull the professor out to tell him everything.


    I then called the finance department and booked a flight ticket to the capital.


    Upon arriving at a luxurious building, a few men in pencil straight suits surrounded us.


    The minister looked more or less the same as he did on television.


    As he approached us, I quickly opened up our briefcase and retrieved the Anoinfloxacin spectacle lenses and my name card.


    The minister smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. We¡¯ve already run a check. You may go straight to the point. The medicine cures color blindness, you said?¡±


    I handed the spectacles to him. ¡°This is it.¡±


    ¡°A pair of sses to correct color blindness?¡± the minister put it on doubtfully.


    In the next second, he jaw dropped in disbelief.


    I smiled. ¡°Not the sses but the chemical within. It will be injected into the eyes.¡±


    The minister removed the sses, waited for two seconds, and put them back on again.


    I knew that half of the battle was already won. No one could possibly resist the beauty of Anoinfloxacin.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that in order to have this view, I¡¯ll need those bottles of substance inside my eyes?¡± he rified.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Can¡¯t I just wear this sses?¡± he asked, puzzled.


    ¡°The effects will onlyst for an hour,¡± I exined.


    ¡°An hour you say?¡± the minister repeated and stood up.


    He disyed the exact reaction as I had previously.


    He walked toward the windows and looked out, taking in the breathtaking sights.


    I waited for a full hour before he took the sses out and turned around.


    ¡°Sess rate and side effects?¡±


    I got up slowly and took out some documents. ¡°There¡¯s always a chance of failure but the sess rate is 90 percent. No side effects. Here are some follow-ups of patients who¡¯ve had the surgery, please take a look.¡±


    The minister fell into a short silence as he flipped through the documents. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there any cases of patients with color blindness?¡±


    A cold sweat dripped down my forehead but I answered confidently, ¡°We don¡¯t do follow-ups for that since it¡¯s considered a small case. Plus, Anoinfloxacin is mainly used to cure blindness. If it works for blind patients, it should work even more effectively for those with color blindness, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    It was a ridiculous excuse since Anoinfloxacin wasn¡¯t meant to cure color blindness, to begin with.


    Yellow would still be yellow and green would still be green. Colorblind patients would still be unable to distinguish between them.


    However, the difference between B5 Yellow and B5 Green would be more obvious under the light.


    Anoinfloxacin would merely raise the color gamut. It would allow colorblind patients to be more sensitive to different shades and thus learn to differentiate between different colors. Making use of more colors to neglect the fact that they weren¡¯t able to distinguish between certain colors was the main reason why I decided to find our minister.


    I clenched my fist in anxiousness until I saw him nod his head as he read through the documents.


    ¡°Right, if there¡¯s been a 90 percent sess rate for patients who were born blind, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me. Make the necessary arrangements, quick.¡±


    I almost jumped off my seat.


    ...


    Three yearster.


    Our minister started attending friendly meetings more regrly and with more confidence.


    Nations who had nned to mock him took him to an art exhibition but were left speechless by his urate analyses of the art pieces.


    Today was the first day where every citizen would be injected with Anoinfloxacin, as ordered by our leader.


    It was also the day of my surgery.


    The whole process took about ten minutes.


    There was a neww in our country regarding the usage of Anoinfloxacin.


    Upon turning 18, nationals would receive a free Anoinfloxacin injection and those who refuse surgery would not obtain citizenship rights and privileges.


    Of course, all cost was being absorbed by the government.


    And my once privatepany became a government-owned firm and sole operator within the country.


    Thanks to more government funds, Anoinfloxacin has be more effective and sessful. Nevertheless, its price remains the same.


    As I walked out of the hospital, my view of the world renews.


    Finally, a rich man now, Father¡¯s words rang in my mind.


    You¡¯ll only understand its beauty after experiencing it for yourself.

 Chapter 51: Has Always Been I

    <h4>Chapter 51: Has Always Been I</h4>


    ¡°Do you think we have any regrets left in this life, Xiaomei?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No kids. Does that count?¡± she answered, leaning against my shoulder and fanning her palm-leaf fan.


    The gentle breeze brushed past my body. Cooling.


    I smiled bitterly. ¡°Counts. Let¡¯s just try harder in the next life.¡±


    ¡°Why would I still be with you if there¡¯s a next life?¡± She stopped fanning herself and gave me a cold smile.


    ¡°Why? Are you suffering right now?¡± I asked faintly.


    ¡°No, not at all. If there¡¯s a next life, I¡¯d still stick with you,¡± Xiaomei choked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Kids or no kids, we¡¯re fine.¡± I caressed her hair.


    We were of the same age, 52.


    We might never have any children in this life since Xiaomei was infertile.


    We were childhood sweethearts.


    At five years old, I was the king among a bunch of other kids.


    And Xiaomei followed her granny around, sitting on a rattan chair at a corner of the street to cool off.


    I only realizedter that Xiaomei was envious that I could y with the kids so carefreely.


    Of course, I envied her for having a kin to look after her.


    That¡¯s right, I was raised in an orphanage.


    I had no worries. All I did was run about all day with the other orphans.


    I missed those days. It was a pity there¡¯s no going back.


    I remembered getting acquainted with Xiaomei in elementary school.


    We became deskmates.


    It was love at first sight for me.


    Who would¡¯ve thought that the girl on the rattan chair would be my deskmate? Who would¡¯ve thought that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together?


    After school, I invited her to join our games and because of that, she¡¯d gotten a hard beating from her granny.


    From then on, I¡¯ve been spending time and having fun with my childhood sweetheart.


    We got married in a church after graduating from university.


    We lived together in a home that we¡¯ve strived hard for.


    Our hairs turned grey and we continued living our married life, one day at a time.


    ...


    No regrets, basically, except for ourck of affinity with children.


    Xiaomei was 20 when she got diagnosed with a serious gynecological condition.


    Irregr periods brought little inconvenience to her daily life but the major concern was infertility.


    We were able to keep pets for the first two decades but they had to leave us, too.


    Our biggest dog, Whitey, died when we were 37.


    It took some time for Xiaomei to recover from his death and I caught her crying in a corner many times.


    I did bring up the option of child adoption. Obviously, I was an orphan and I felt that adoption wasn¡¯t a bad choice.


    However, Xiaomei looked at it from a different angle. ¡°What if the child has a childhood sweetheart that he will be leaving behind? Is it not possible that we might ruin a perfect couple?¡±


    I had no arguments. Women were sensitive creatures after all.


    Who would dare reason with a woman?


    Years passed. There are pros to living life with just your spouse.


    I retired at 63 and we realized that we weren¡¯t able to take care of each other any longer because our bodies were weakening day by day.


    I have developed short-term dementia and started forgetting my keys and other little things.


    Xiaomei was worse. She would watch television and forget that she¡¯d been cooking just a moment ago, almost resulting in a few fire emergencies.


    We were getting old and there was nothing the hospital could do.


    After much discussion, hiring a housekeeper seemed like a decent option.


    In spite of that, we were worried that the housekeeper would have ulterior motives like what Xiaomei had read on the news.


    Stealing and setting the house on fire weremon urrences.


    Plus, our memories were deteriorating and we wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if things did go missing.


    Atst, we decided to get an agent to sell off our house.


    We then deposited the three hundred thousand into our bank card.


    We moved into a nursing home and the days were quite decent.


    My same-aged neighbor wasn¡¯t my match when it came to chess, and Xiaomei, too, had found an olddy to spend time with.


    Because her dementia was more serious, I was in charge of our finances.


    And because of my own condition, I wrote the password on the back of the card.


    Good things don¡¯tst.


    In our third year, Xiaomei was sent to the hospital and was diagnosed with stomach cancer.


    The cancer was already in the terminal stage. I ran about in the hospital with my bank card, lost and frantic.


    Xiaomei pulled my trembling arm. ¡°Forget it, old man. Keep the money for yourself.¡±


    I was a mess, bawling my old eyes out.


    I asked her when did she start feeling pain but she refused to answer.


    She only smiled.


    I asked the doctor for the best medication and instruments but he shook his head and said that she only had a few more months to live.


    I started visiting the hospital every day after she got admitted.


    She was sent to the emergency room in her third week.


    When I reached it, I was told to sign an acknowledgment form but before I could do so, the surgery room light went off.


    Xiaomei was gone. Gone forever.


    I cried the whole night and even fainted in the hospital.


    When I woke up, the doctor told me that my heart wasn¡¯t doing so well.


    At night, my mind was filled with thoughts of Xiaomei. I took the medical record hung on the wall and flipped it over to write my will.


    I decided to leave all my money to the nursing home, requesting for them to purchase few more chess sets and also to renovate the public square since Xiaomei enjoyed spending her time there.


    Finishing up, I walked up to the rooftop.


    All I could think of when I jumped was Xiaomei.


    Life without her was unlivable.


    During the plunge, I thought about the pirate ship ride we took when we were 20.


    It felt simr.


    ...


    The night was dark and the road was long.


    I felt strength returning to my body and I could stand up straight again.


    Many things came back to my mind.


    Many, many.


    I walked forward subconsciously.


    On the other side of the road was a big river.


    I noticed many simr souls walking forward, all seemingly in deep thought.


    There wasn¡¯t much scenery by the river save for the red spider lilies in full bloom.


    I followed the crowd and heard a strange voice.


    A creature with a horse¡¯s face shouted as he held onto an iron chain, ¡°Don¡¯t rush. One by one. Reincarnate and start a new life!¡±


    Helpless, I carried on forward. The bridge was very narrow and could only fit one person at a time.


    I saw many people crowding before the bridge, Xiaomei included.


    She looked very young, 18 at my guess, and extremely beautiful, just as I remembered.


    I ran over to her immediately. ¡°Where is this, Xiaomei?¡±

 Chapter 52: Has Always Been II

    <h4>Chapter 52: Has Always Been II</h4>


    Xiaomei smiled. ¡°You actually came! I thought I was going to have to wait a long time for you.¡±


    Not understanding, I shook my head and asked again, ¡°Where is this ce, exactly?¡±


    She pointed at the bridge. ¡°This might really be theherworld.¡±


    ¡°Right, I remember now. We¡¯re both dead,¡± I mumbled, touching my head.


    ¡°Everyone here is going to cross the bridge to reincarnate,¡± she exined.


    ¡°Why are you still here then? To wait for me?¡± I asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Why else? I want to be with you in the next life so I was nning to wait here. There have been people who crossed over by themselves because they couldn¡¯t wait any longer. Luckily, you came just after a day,¡± she answered.


    I recalled that I had jumped soon after waking up.


    I turned around and observed those waiting. They were all expressionless.


    I walked over to a young fellow. ¡°How long have you been waiting, Brother?¡±


    He nced over and shook his head. ¡°Can¡¯t remember. A few years now, perhaps? Someone¡¯s been keeping track of time and she¡¯s been waiting for an even longer time.¡±


    I looked at the direction he was pointing at where a grey-haired woman was squatting down.


    I approached her slowly and patted her shoulder. ¡°Excuse me, madam. How long have you been waiting?¡±


    She looked up and replied, ¡°46 years.¡±


    Stunned, I questioned, ¡°How do you keep track of the time?¡±


    She shifted aside, revealing the back of a tree where she had made scratches on with the help of her bracelet.


    There were two sections, top, and bottom. The top consisted of circles whereas the bottom was filled with stripes.


    The scratches covered the whole surface of the tree. The tree behind her was filled with scratches as well.


    ¡°A line a day, a circle a year. 46 circles, 46 whole years,¡± she exined faintly.


    Looking at the scratches, I added, ¡°Do you remember when you died?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°When I was 63, from leukemia. He should¡¯ve been 66 at that time.¡±


    ¡°66 + 46 = 112. You must¡¯ve missed him when he crossed over?¡± I suggested apprehensively.


    She stared at me. ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    I was shocked.


    ¡°How are you so calm if you think that, too?¡± I questioned in astonishment.


    ¡°A passerby said the same thing 20 years back. I know it very well but I chose to continue waiting. What else can I do?¡±


    ¡°Pardon me for saying, but if he¡¯s dead and might have already been here a few times, is there any point in waiting? He¡¯s supposed to turn 113 next year. Is it even possible for humans to live that long?¡±


    ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, I can wait for his second reincarnation. I¡¯ll just keep waiting. It¡¯ll be okay as long as I can recognize him,¡± she answered.


    ¡°You do know that it¡¯s possible that you won¡¯t recognize him anymore, right?¡±


    She looked into my eyes. ¡°Will you forget your lover?¡±


    I shook my head helplessly. ¡°What if, just what if, he¡¯s been here already and you wait another hundred years but he doesn¡¯t recognize you at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve not been here the longest. The horse face over there mentioned that someone had waited through 46 rounds of reincarnations ¨C that¡¯s 197 years ¨C before she reunited with her lover,¡± she shared, breaking into a small smile.


    Xiaomei came over and grabbed my arm. ¡°Continue waiting, Sister Xiaoyu. We wish for your sess. We¡¯ll get going now.¡±


    I saw thedy diverting her soulless gaze back to the crowd.


    Xiaomei pulled me along toward the bridge but stopped right before it. ¡°It¡¯s only been the first step.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to drink the Meng Po soup upon crossing the bridge. In order to ensure that we remember each other, there¡¯s something we have to do. The seniors taught me this.¡±


    She bent down and I followed suit, noticing that the ground was filled by a bundle of rocks with names engraved on them.


    Xiaomei bit her fingertip. Using her fresh blood, she drew a big circle on an unmarked rock.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Do I write my name, too?¡± I asked.


    Xiaomei nodded before writing on the right side of the rock: Chen Shimei.


    I did the same and wrote ¡®Qin Xianglian¡¯ on the left corner.


    Almost instantly, I felt a burn on my right arm and a red symbol surfaced. The exact same symbol appeared on Xiaomei¡¯s left arm.


    I was struck dumb. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°That is our symbol. We will be birthed close to each other. You must not forget about this, okay?¡± she told me, pointing at the mark on my arm.


    I nodded and she led me across the bridge.


    There was a tform in the center of the bridge. An olddy handed us a bowl of soup. Smiling, she said, ¡°Drink up, drink up. Forget all your troubles, forget all the love and hate, and start anew.¡±


    Xiaomei took the bowl and drank half of it before passing it over to me. ¡°Half each. This way, we¡¯ll maintain a special connection.¡±


    The olddy smiled again. ¡°Oh? A couple?¡±


    Xiaomei nodded. ¡°Can we really be together again this way, Old Lady?¡±


    ¡°Deep ties will always be indestructible.¡±


    ¡°Indestructible?¡± Xiaomei repeated.


    The olddy ruffled her hair. ¡°Let fate be, silly girl. Quick, the longer you drag the more you forget.¡±


    Xiaomei nodded and rushed me off.


    I was still rather shocked by it all but I quickly finished my bowl.


    I caught sight of a creature with a cow¡¯s head standing at the other end of the bridge, directing people forward.


    ¡°Brother Cow, my partner is here. Let us reincarnate, quick.¡±


    The cow headughed. ¡°How fast. Only a day¡¯s wait. Follow me, hurry.¡±


    Brother Cow seemed to be in a rush as well as he guided Xiaomei forward.


    She touched the symbol on my arm. ¡°Don¡¯t ever forget this.¡±


    I nodded.


    I saw many portals but Brother Cow led us to the furthest one. ¡°This is for humans. Enter and you will reincarnate. Good luck to you both.¡±


    Before he could finish, Xiaomei spoke urgently, ¡°The longer we drag on, the more we¡¯ll forget. No time!¡±


    She held my hand and we both jumped down. The plunge made her tighten her grip.


    Brother Cow stared after us, his mouth agape. Embarrassed, he mumbled, ¡°Why did you have to rush? I haven¡¯t mentioned that you have to jump in one after another in order to reincarnate in the same city. Jumping in together will make you twins...¡±


    ...


    Beijing Hospital.


    ¡°They¡¯re here, a boy and a girl. They have matching birthmarks, how cute!¡± a man eximed excitedly over the phone.

 Chapter 53: Has Always Been III

    <h4>Chapter 53: Has Always Been III</h4>


    We¡¯re twins. I have a clingy sister.


    We were entirely different, from looks to personalities.


    Dad said that I take after Mom, and Sis took after him.


    I was a naughty kid while Sis was always gentle and quiet.


    Dad was a businessman who owned a smallpany. Mom was an art teacher.


    When we turned four, Mom chose to teach us at home instead of enrolling us in kindergarten.


    Her favorite subject was Art of course.


    I had little interest in it, unlike Sis.


    She progressed quickly. When I¡¯ve just learned my own name, she was already able to recognize alphabets and even basic Chinese words.


    Whenever shepleted her writing exercises or drawings, she would show them to me.


    I had no interest in motionless things, however. I enjoyed looking out the windows.


    There was a group of children running about and I envied them.


    There had been many times that I¡¯ve asked Mom if I could y with those kids but she talked about how Sis would be lonely if I went out.


    I could only look at them from afar, observing their every move.


    There was a tan girl among them who caught my attention.


    Sis would always hold her puppet up to my face, asking me to y with her. I would indulge her, albeit half-heartedly.


    One day, Mom went out to get groceries and I found my chance.


    I decided to drag Sis out of the house. The kids were ying badminton.


    I had so much fun with that sport while Sis sat on the ground at a side, examining the ants having their meal.


    She grabbed hold of one of the bigger-sized ants and shouted, ¡°Look what I¡¯ve caught, Brother!¡±


    Before I knew it, I smacked the shuttlecock right on her forehead, leaving a red mark.


    Blood flowed out slowly and my blood turned cold.


    Sis started crying and held up the hand with the ant. ¡°Brother, Brother.¡±


    At a loss, the rest of the kids packed their stuff and dispersed. I did not know what else to do so I just brought her home.


    Immediately after we got back, I took a paper towel to wipe her forehead.


    Panicking, I said, ¡°Tell Mom you got it yourself, alright? Tell her that and I¡¯ll y with you every day.¡±


    She nodded even as tears continued to flow. I covered her head with the paper towel.


    A few minutester, Mom returned home and caught me all flustered.


    She quickly noticed Sis¡¯ forehead and asked what was going on.


    ¡°Sh.. she... kn... knocked her head,¡± I stammered.


    Mom brought her to the hospital immediately and I stood motionless and in shock.


    Mom did not say much after the trip and I asked Sis if she¡¯d said anything.


    She shook her head. ¡°I got it myself.¡±


    Even after she grew up, there was still a white scar on the highest part of her forehead.


    Ever since she became aware of it, she started using fringe to cover it. Nevertheless, I would feel a tinge of regret every time I saw her scar.


    After that incident, I stopped bringing her out and resigned myself to just admiring the kids outside.


    I apanied Sis as she yed with her dolls and painted.


    When Mom returned to school for work, she made use of her connections to get us both into the same ss.


    Coincidentally, that tan girl got allocated to our ss as well.


    Xiaowen, as I got to know after, had long ck hair.


    She sat two seats in front of me, Sis in between us.


    I would always write notes and ask Sis to hand them to her.


    She¡¯d been caught by the teacher quite a few times but she would always take the me.


    Whenever the school contacted the parents, Mom would barge into the teacher¡¯s office from the next door art ss and give her a good scolding.


    And I would always narrowly escape punishment.


    Our elementary and junior high were affiliated so all three of us remained in the same school. However, I got transferred to another ss while Sis and Xiaowen became deskmates.


    As usual, I wrote letters and Sis delivered them to her.


    Heaven was fair and the guilty would not escape. On our third year in junior high, Mom found out about my puppy love and how Sis had been my scapegoat throughout the years.


    She questioned Sis about it until she finally pointed at her forehead and revealed the truth.


    I was reprimanded and grounded.


    As my studies were affected by my being in love, Mom went to look for Xiaowen¡¯s parents, only to realize that they had moved.


    I quickly became an insignificant member of the family.


    Sis did well in middle school and was able to enter a reputable senior high school.


    I, on the other hand, was faring consistently bad.


    I lost contact with Xiaowen, but I was aware that Sis and Xiaowen hung out in the same clique in middle school.


    Through her, I got to know Xiaowen¡¯s mobile number.


    Things did not end there.


    I found a part-time job during the first summer vacation of high school.


    I spent half of my earnings on my first ever mobile phone.


    Like typical parents, mine raised Sis generously and me conservatively.


    She received a weekly allowance of 200 whereas I only had 20.


    Unfortunately, the call charges cost more than the mobile itself.


    20 a week simply wasn¡¯t enough for my expenses.


    As they say, when there¡¯s a will there¡¯s a way. I borrowed money.


    From Sis, of course.


    We could only meet on Sundays, and whenever we met up, I would start putting up an act.


    It was extremely effective and Sis had always been surprisingly obedient.


    I borrowed 100 from her each time and she never ever asked for the money back.


    After graduation, I joined Dad¡¯s smallpany while Sis moved on to a prestigious university.


    She went on to get her master¡¯s and Ph.D.


    On my side, I took over thepany smoothly, but the situation did not improve much.


    Xiaowen became my girlfriend and we got married before Sis¡¯ graduation.


    There were three types of people in the world: Men, women, and female doctors.


    I thought about employing Sis as a project manager cum deputy director.


    However, even with a Ph.D., Sis was willing to start from the bottom.


    No one knew that she was the boss¡¯ sister.


    Sis put little effort into makeup and dressing up and had little social life.


    I tried introducing a man to her but she waspletely disinterested.


    Ever since she joined, however, many aspects of thepany underwent tremendous progress.


    Orders were increasing and business was turning for the better.


    At 28, Xiaowen got pregnant.


    With Sis¡¯ guidance, thepany started thriving and excelling.


    Fast forward to the next five years, my life with Xiaowen started to improve.


    Unfortunately, on my 33rd birthday, Sis died in the office from over exhaustion.


    Mom and Dad took it hard.


    Only when the other employees handed her belongings to me did they discover that she was my little sister.


    As I flipped through her diary, its content caught me off guard.


    She wrote mostly about me.


    June 3rd: Brother¡¯s married. I¡¯m heartbroken.


    June 4th: My lover¡¯s married. I¡¯m no longer interested in love.


    June 27th: I got my Ph.D., but he didn¡¯t show up. I specifically reminded him a few times.


    June 28th: Although he¡¯s married, I will help him fix thepany.


    On the next page, June 29th, there was a drawing of a ck heart.


    It was irregrly shaped but extremely familiar looking.


    Subconsciously, I looked down at my arm and saw our matching birthmarks.


    Her journal ended here.


    She stopped writing after starting work.


    I ran to our parents¡¯ home and rummaged through her bedroom.


    She had had a habit of keeping a diary.


    I read each and every one of them, tears rolling uncontrobly down my cheeks.


    Sis had never stopped loving me.


    She ended every diary with a drawing of our matching birthmarks.


    It was all over and I burned everything before Xiaowen¡¯s parents could have the chance to find out.


    ...


    Sis returned to the underworld and to the bridge.


    Sister Xiaoyu called out, ¡°Did you reunite with your love in this life, Xiaomei?¡±


    Sis shook her head in puzzlement. ¡°Xiaomei? You must be mistaken?¡±


    ¡°Another round of reincarnation... it¡¯s normal to forget things.¡± Sister Xiaoyu shook her head.


    She then pulled Sis to the bundle of rocks before the bridge, pointing at the rocks with Qin Xianglian and Chen Shimei¡¯s names on them. ¡°Your rocks. And look at that matching birthmark on your arm.¡±


    Sis looked down at her arm, confused.


    Sister Xiaoyu ryed the whole story to her in clear details.


    Sis only shook her head in disbelief. Sister Xiaoyu then dragged her to the olddy and cow head.


    The olddy and cow head exined the events to her with ease, especially since Brother Cow remembered us as the rushing couple who couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    When they finished, Sis broke down in tears. However, she did not reveal the happenings from before her death.


    Helpless, Sister Xiaoyu returned to her corner under the tree and continued waiting for her lover.


    Sis cried for some time.


    She used a nearby rock to grind her name off her rock. She then bit her fingertip and wrote some small words at the back of it.


    She walked toward Sister Xiaoyu and asked, ¡°Do you still believe in love?¡±


    Sister Xiaoyu nodded. ¡°Why else would I still be waiting here?¡±


    Sis smiled. ¡°You told me that the woman who waited 197 years found her lover eventually, but was he really the same person she fell in love with? Perhaps, she got sick of waiting and dragged a random stranger with her to reincarnate? Who would know?¡±


    She turned around and crossed the bridge.


    Sister Xiaoyu looked on as Sis unhesitantly swallowed her Meng Po soup and proceeded to reincarnate.


    There were only two things in Sister Xiaoyu¡¯s mind at that point. The face of her lover and Sis¡¯ words.


    These things yed inside her head and she didn¡¯t know what to do.


    It was the first time she had forgotten to make a mark on the tree. In fact, she stopped keeping track of the time.


    ...


    My daughter was born and I saw a simr birthmark on her arm.


    She was a clingy one and possessed many traits simr to Sis¡¯.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    At 55, my body was weakening due to stomach cancer.


    Not even a weekter, I left this world and I wasn¡¯t surprised by what I saw in the underworld.


    I went to the bridge and saw a group of people looking as though they were waiting for something.


    I approached them for more details and found out that they were waiting for their lovers.


    Xiaowen instantly came to mind.


    A woman under the tree rushed over and hugged me tightly.


    She called herself Sister Xiaoyu and told me that I was the one she¡¯d been waiting for.


    I looked at her, bewildered.


    I listened to her story about the arduous wait.


    She pulled me to the bridge and picked up a clean rock.


    She wrote her name on it and had me write mine with my own blood, too.


    After writing, I felt an intense pain in my calf. I pulled up my trousers and saw a strange birthmark.


    Sister Xiaoyu showed me hers as well.


    I saw another rock at a corner with only one name on it.


    I pointed at it and asked Sister Xiaoyu what it was about.


    She shook her head and said she had no idea.


    I flipped the rock over.


    Deep ties are indestructible.


    As I was pondering over this line, Sister Xiaoyu hurriedly dragged me across the bridge.

 Chapter 54: Game of Destruction I

    <h4>Chapter 54: Game of Destruction I</h4>


    My name¡¯s Goudan. I am a university student awaiting graduation.


    My buddy Dahai and I have known each other since we were young. We studied in the same elementary, middle school, and high school.


    Right before our high school graduation, under the influence of alcohol, we recklessly chose to major in the hardest specialization in university ¡ª Chinese Cultural Studies.


    That¡¯s right, history, basically.


    Ancient writings were hard toprehend, and history, official and unofficial, was always tangled andplicated.


    There were only 27 students majoring in Chinese Cultural Studies.


    Not because it was difficult, but because our nation has long been destroyed.


    Funny butmentable.


    There¡¯s only one maind China, made up of three nations.


    Two big and one small.


    We¡¯re part of the small nation, sped in the middle.


    2,000 years ago, we were attacked by two powerful neighboring countries.


    Our soldiers were unable to resist their firearms.


    The two supernations chose to initiate World War One outside of our country walls.


    Troops lined up in our territory from both ends, and thest to get pushed out of our border would win. Naturally, ournd would be the reward.


    We werepletely helpless no matter the oue.


    Our nation was like a te of meat held between two fang-bearing predators.


    The warsted for eight years and despite the high casualties on both ends, there wasn¡¯t a clear winner.


    There were umted corpses and armors waiting for us to clean up once the battle ended.


    Throughout that eight years, every single citizen lived in fear and trepidation that our nation would be taken over and everyone would be captured and turned into ves.


    No one knew how much tribute our old king had offered to both supernations.


    Basically, apart from necessities like food and water, everything else was presented as gifts to our neighbors.


    They had no intention of stopping, however. Any hesitation would encourage the enemy to reinforce their attacks.


    The seemingly endless battle finally came to a stop on the eighth year when King Chalk ascended the throne after our old king fell ill.


    King Chalk stopped paying tribute to both nations.


    Instead, with a fewpanions, he paid the respective kings a visit.


    He shared his theory regarding the war with them separately.


    The next morning, both nations withdrew their forces.


    There have been many versions and spections about what truly happened, but all were consistent in their praises.


    Some called him the God¡¯s emissary while others coined him the smartest man in the world.


    The most reliable and ptable version exined how King Chalk rationalized the cons of war with the fact that both nations¡¯ treasuries had been experiencing a steep reduction. He also pointed out that their families were under tremendous pressure as citizens were forced into joining the army and sacrificing their lives.


    The way heid out these scenarios was remarkable. Any wrong word could¡¯ve easily gotten him killed.


    His logical reasoning must have moved both nations since none actually flew into a rage.


    He thenpared the pros and cons of using eight or more years in exchange for a small piece ofnd.


    Of course, these were all to ease them into his real proposal.


    So what was King Chalk¡¯s hidden trump?


    Turning war into business.


    His first target was left baffled, but after some exnation, he epted on the condition that the other party was in favor as well.


    Needless to say, King Chalk set off to the other nation and repeated his proposal the next day.


    On the following day, both nations retreated.


    Turning war into business was King Chalk¡¯s way to end the battle and allow both nations to send and station merchants on both ends of our country.


    To unify our currency and promotemerce.


    Both parties had a year to umte capital and the one with a more than half lead would take the win and be rewarded with ournd.


    The judge was none other than King Chalk. He was willing to step down as a king and have the winner do as he pleased.


    This was appealing to both parties since there was nothing to lose.


    The real winner, however, was King Chalk.


    The withdrawal of forces on both ends instantly lifted the fear of citizens from all three nations.


    King Chalk then made use of the gold, silver, and other treasures he hadn¡¯t offered as tribute by having cksmiths convert them into a type of green copper coins.


    Within a week, the green copper coins were evenly distributed among all citizens.


    And with the two nations¡¯ stationing of merchants, manufacturing jobs were created for our citizens as a new channel of ie.


    Citizen life improved quickly, and theirborious but stable dayssted for a whole year.


    The day ofpetition arrived and King Chalk stood in between the merchants from both nations with a cold smile.


    He had been informed that in order to win, both nations turned to making counterfeit coins.


    The result was 13 versus 16 tonnes of copper coins so there wasn¡¯t any winner.


    Both parties knew something fishy was going on but none was willing to admit that they had cheated.


    The coins were piled outside the city walls on both ends. King Chalk picked a coin up and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll redesign them to prevent forgery. Return to your country, report to your king, ande again next year.¡±


    All he did was add some decorative designs on the coins before having the merchants collect them.


    Just like that, thepetition was held every year and the coins were, too, reformed annually.


    When both parties finally felt something amiss, our small nation had already be the most stable bridge between the merchants and the citizens.


    Any news surfacing in one nation would first pass through our country before reaching the other nation.


    Both wanted tounch an attack, and in return, they were flooded with citizens¡¯ints.


    They did not discard that idea, however, and both parties mobilized their troops.


    Their target wasn¡¯t our nation but our imperial pce.


    King Chalk was held captive on our own execution ground.


    Our smart king then came up with the excuse that both nations had different types of equipment that they used for the death penalty. This excuse sessfully halted their ns and allowed King Chalk to ultimately die a natural death.


    He passed away at 63. He had worked hard his whole life so he had no family to mourn for him.


    A statue of him was built in our nation¡¯s central park for all to visit and pay homage to.


    After his demise, our nation no longer had another king.


    Nevertheless, the rivalry between both supernations never ended, and the judging right was handed over to the merchants from all kinds of banks stationed in our country.


    Also, both nations never stopped cheating.


    Despite the absence of an army and a king, our nation became the third supernation, sandwiched between the original supernations.


    2,000 years passed in the blink of an eye and our nation has moved away from agriculture and advanced into the era of science and technology.


    Nothing else changed, however, and this piece of history became part of our course sybus and was constantly being reanalyzed and reorganized.


    The average citizen wouldn¡¯t be interested to investigate our history, but the 27 of us would never forget all that happened.


    There were only 27 of us partly because there was a lot of memorization work, recording and analyzing history, and ancient writings. Another reason was that the graduation exam of this course was the hardest of all.


    Because our national culture was not a part of other nations¡¯ educational sybus, our exam invigtors were from a local bank.


    And this bank ¡ª Green Coin Bank ¡ª was unrivaled.


    Its logo was precisely that green copper coin, without the decorative designs, that King Chalk held in his hands 2,000 years ago.


    My buddy and I would be taking the exam tomorrow but we still have no idea what would be asked.


    All we know was that there hasn¡¯t been any sessful graduate in five years.

 Chapter 55: Game of Destruction II

    <h4>Chapter 55: Game of Destruction II</h4>


    On the day of the examination, Dahai drove us to Green Coin Bank.


    The bank was located on the northern side of the country.


    It was surrounded by ancient constructions, dating even as far as the past century.


    Green Coin Bank¡¯s walls were covered in vines and moss.


    The alley was packed full of luxurious cars, one more expensive than the previous.


    It frustrated Dahai to no end.


    He parked his worn out car right at the end before we made our way to the bank.


    There weren¡¯t many people around, surprisingly.


    At the entrance, we were greeted with a smile by a man in a suit. ¡°Hi there, here for the exam or to deposit money?¡±


    ¡°Exam,¡± Dahai answered indifferently.


    ¡°Please, let me have a look at your identity card,¡± he requested, extending his palms out.


    We handed our cards to him, and with a nod, he stepped aside. ¡°Wee. This way, please.¡±


    We entered the bank and saw a big sign that pointed toward the exam resting room.


    We followed the directions and entered the room.


    There were over ten students inside. We knew one another since there were only 27 students in this course, but we hadn¡¯t actually met before.


    I was number 27 and Dahai was 26 since these students were in Chinese Cultural Studies from the start while the two of us just switched over halfway.


    In our university, the course was a self-study program and our ssroom was a small storeroom.


    There were no teachers, only Dahai, myself, and our textbooks.


    These people had probably been studying on their own or were from good institutions and had their own teachers.


    Within the examination group, we exchanged knowledge.


    Someone stood up and asked, ¡°You¡¯re Goudan and Dahai, right?¡±


    We nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m the leader and number one, Liu Yang. Very pleased to meet you guys, wee.¡± Liu Yang smiled and offered us a handshake.


    ¡°How much do you know about the examination?¡± Dahai questioned.


    Everyone shook their head save for Liu Yang, who pointed at someone in the corner. ¡°We¡¯re from the current batch. Students from the previous batch had mostly given up except for one ¡ª number seven. He never talks.¡±


    I looked to where he was pointing and saw a man in a hooded jacket sitting in the corner.


    ¡°Number seven is a repeat student?¡± I asked.


    Liu Yang nodded. ¡°I only found out about this a few days back. He might know what to expect.¡±


    At that point, another six students entered the room with a boy with a shaved head in the lead.


    He rubbed his head and smiled. ¡°Sorry, we¡¯rete. We¡¯re from Dyke University.¡±


    ¡°Your institution is indeed quite a distance away from here. So everyone is here, I suppose?¡± Liu Yang responded kindly.


    Another door opened and the man in the suit came in. ¡°The exam is starting. Please follow me, number one.¡±


    Liu Yang smiled. ¡°Coming.¡±


    The man in the suit nodded before entering the room.


    Liu Yang looked at us. ¡°I¡¯m going in, wait for my good news.¡±


    Everyone nodded except for the student in the hooded jacket.


    Liu Yang entered the room and I approached the student in the jacket.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Goudan.¡±


    He raised his head to look at me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    I pointed to the room Liu Yang had entered a moment ago. ¡°You¡¯ve been in there once, right?¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you n to share some tips with us?¡± I asked.


    He stood up slowly and coughed. ¡°Everyone here knows that no one¡¯s passed in five years, right?¡±


    Everyone nodded.


    ¡°You guys are studying this because of your parents, right? They are all rich, right?¡± heughed.


    Everyone looked at each other but did not answer.


    ¡°The person who passed this exam is now the fourth richest man. Isn¡¯t that the secret reason why you guys are here? Why, then, would I share my knowledge?¡± he continued, raising his mobile phone up. Information of a man was disyed on the screen.


    I remember that name. Yun Huateng.


    I took my own phone out and searched for him on the Inte. Indeed, he was thest person to pass this exam five years ago and he had be the fourth richest man in the world.


    I thought back to the luxurious cars parked outside. It seemed that what the student in the jacket said was true. The students were all from wealthy families.


    I thought about the invigtors. Could it be that passing the examination meant getting their support?


    I exhaled loudly, not daring to think about the benefits and rtions involved.


    The door opened and Liu Yang was escorted out by the man in the suit.


    Liu Yang shouted, ¡°My nation isn¡¯t dead. Not dead. I did my calctions. How could it be? Why?¡±


    Nation? Not dead?


    I kept his words in mind.


    The student in the jacketughed. ¡°What¡¯s the point in trying to justify yourself?¡±


    Liu Yang immediately shut his mouth and sat down.


    ¡°Number two,¡± the man spoke.


    A refined youngdy stood up and took small quick steps into the room.


    A guy walked over to Liu Yang. ¡°What¡¯s it about, Leader?¡±


    Liu Yang stood up absentmindedly and looked at everyone. ¡°Game... it¡¯s a game.¡±


    ¡°Game?¡± the guy asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Try it, it¡¯s impossible. Everything¡¯s set to their advantage. It¡¯s not possible to win,¡± Liu Yang finished and walked toward the exit.


    He ignored the guy¡¯s following questions and left the waiting room.


    I retrieved a notepad and a pen from my bag and jotted everything down. Game, nation, not dead.


    I looked at my scattered notes and was at a loss.


    Dahai gave me a look. ¡°Any clue?¡±


    ¡°He has.¡± I pointed at the student in the jacket.


    Eight minutes haven¡¯t even passed yet before the girl came out, practically sobbing.


    ¡°Your turn, number three.¡±


    A guy stood up and asked nervously, ¡°Give me a moment, please?¡±


    The man in the suit looked at this watch. ¡°One minute.¡±


    He tapped the girl¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside, Sis?¡±


    ¡°Game. Game of Destruction,¡± the girl cried out.


    ¡°Details please?¡± he urged.


    The man in the suit cleared his throat, ¡°Remember your promise?¡±


    The girl cried and shook her head non-stop.


    The student in the jacketughed. ¡°Whatever happens inside is confidential. Even if you do know what¡¯s going on, you won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    The man in the suit tapped on his watch impatiently. ¡°Time¡¯s up.¡±


    Helpless, number three followed him into the room.


    I added to my notepad: Game of Destruction.


    Dahai tapped on my shoulder. ¡°Any more pen and paper?¡±


    I tore a few pages off my notepad and took out another pen from my bag.


    Dahai walked over to the girl and asked, ¡°Did they say that you¡¯re not allowed to speak of and write about the things that went on inside? Did they mention that you can¡¯t draw them out?¡±


    Everyone got excited as the girl took the pen from him and started drawing.


    Ten minutes passed and number three came out looking dejected.


    ¡°What are you doing, Sis?¡±


    Having stopped crying long ago, she replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m drawing out what happened inside.¡±


    He pped the paper off her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve failed so why should we help them?¡±


    He dragged her out of the waiting room.


    ¡°Number four.¡±


    Dahai bent down to pick the paper.


    There was a long meeting table with a deck of cards on one side and five separated cards in the middle. Three of the cards were being shed by a small de.


    Dahai had a look at it before passing it to the next person.


    I was thest to see it and none before me was able toprehend its content.


    It was number seven¡¯s turn.


    The student in the jacket said, ¡°In games, a loophole is the only truth.¡±


    He entered the room.


    I kept the girl¡¯s drawing together with my notes and wrote number seven¡¯s words down.


    In games, a loophole is the only truth.


    I was still confused.


    Too little was known at this point.

 Chapter 56: Game of Destruction III

    <h4>Chapter 56: Game of Destruction III</h4>


    The student in the jacket entered the room, and the rest of us wondered if he would manage to pass the exam this time around.


    I was absentmindedly staring at my notes when Dahai leaned over.


    He pointed at the drawing and said, ¡°Okay, so we know that the test is about a card game involving destruction, but we have no clue on how to go about ying it. We also know that everything that goes on inside is to the advantage of the testers.¡±


    ¡°And no one¡¯s ever passed the exam in five years,¡± I added.


    ¡°Do you think he will pass it this time?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Maybe. He must¡¯ve thought of a way to beat the system,¡± I shrugged.


    One minute...


    Two minutes...


    Ten minutes...


    Fifteen minutes...


    Just as everyone was starting to get hyped up because number seven hasn¡¯te out yet, the door opened before them.


    The man in the suit led number seven out.


    ¡°Next, number eight,¡± he called out.


    The student in the jacket walked toward the exit in silence.


    Dahai rushed over and grabbed his shoulder. ¡°You were in there for so long, did you pass?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯te back again. It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that those who previously passed were phoneys?¡± Dahai questioned.


    Number seven lowered his head. ¡°I repeated my studies for four whole years. How many four years do we have? Every day, I thought of how to beat this game, only to fail for the second time. Do you understand how frustrating and disheartening that is? Yun Huateng¡¯s victory must¡¯ve urged the gamemaster to perfect his game once again.¡±


    At that, he turned and left the room, leaving no chance for further questions.


    Dahai repeated number seven¡¯s words in front of everybody, ¡°Yun Huateng¡¯s victory must¡¯ve urged the gamemaster to perfect his game once again.¡±


    Everyone started discussing among themselves.


    ¡°Is it more difficult now?¡±


    ¡°Why are we still trying, then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder no one¡¯s passed in five years.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be fewer and fewer loopholes each time someone seeds?¡±


    ...


    In the middle of their discussion, number eight was escorted into the examination room.


    He exited the room within ten minutes.


    It was number nine¡¯s turn. A girl.


    She stood up, bowed and announced, ¡°I¡¯ll withdraw.¡±


    Number 11, also a girl, gave up her chance as well.


    In went number 12.


    By now, everyone was calling their families and exining the situation.


    Shortly after, a few got up and exited the waiting room as well.


    Dahai stopped one of them. ¡°Why are you giving up?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen? Most can¡¯t evenst for ten minutes. And number seven, who came prepared, onlysted for fifteen minutes. What more of us? We know nothing. Are we really going to spend four years discovering the problem and another four solving it? We have the money, but not the time.¡±


    There were only seven students left in the waiting room.


    The pace of the examination did not change. One student took about ten minutes.


    Practically all of them came out shaking their head. It was obvious that they had a lot to say, but out of fear, they refrained from talking.


    ¡°Number 26,¡± the man in the suit called.


    Dahai gave me a meaningful look and patted me on my shoulder. ¡°Wait for my good news.¡±


    I stared at my watch. Every second was torture.


    After eight minutes, the door opened.


    Dahai smiled bitterly. ¡°How difficult.¡±


    ¡°Failed?¡± I asked.


    Dahai walked over to give me a hug, secretly stuffing his mobile phone into my pocket. ¡°Six sixes, video.¡±


    The man in the suit looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re thest one, number 27.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Can I go to the washroom first? I¡¯m too nervous, I can¡¯t control my dder.¡±


    He looked at his watch. ¡°You¡¯re lucky since some gave up their spots. I¡¯ll give you ten minutes. Your chance will be forfeited if you do not show up by then.¡±


    I nodded again before rushing for the exit.


    He stopped me quickly. ¡°There¡¯s a washroom here.¡±


    He led me into a small cubicle further inside. It was a tiny toilet.


    I shut the door and sat on the toilet bowl. Taking Dahai¡¯s phone out, I keyed six sixes.


    I searched through his videos and saw an eight-minute clip with a ck thumbnail.


    It looked more like a voice recording. He must have hidden it in his trousers.


    The sounds were very crisp, however. I could visualize the settings thanks to the girl¡¯s drawing.


    I listened on and heard the shuffling of cards and a man¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Game of Destruction. You¡¯re not allowed to speak of or write about it. Failure toply will get you punished, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dahai answered.


    ¡°What do you think a king needs? Pick five cards and ce them in front of you.¡±


    Dahai picked out five cards. ¡°There are repeated cards inside the deck. Can I pick identical cards?¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes. Two treasuries, an army, citizens, and a giant dragon.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t nning to win. He was testing the game out for me.


    I heard him smacking the cards down on the table while the other cards were being collected and kept.


    The first question master spoke, ¡°Five cards, five problems. Lose three cards and you fail.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°If my question uses any of your cards to attack another of your cards, you get to attack me with your own question. You have 60 seconds to solve each problem. If you don¡¯t speak, it¡¯s an automatic failure.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but won¡¯t the game end right away if you send an assassin to kill my king?¡± Dahai rified.


    ¡°You¡¯re the king and my questions will not be a direct attack on you.¡±


    ¡°Got it. No more questions.¡±


    ¡°Your treasuries have been invaded by bandits. They will take all your assets.¡±


    I heard an hourss being turned over and the sounds of falling sand grains.


    The quiet examination room became especially noisy at this point.


    ...


    I immediately penned everything down.


    A game of attacking and defending.


    A pile of resource cards.


    First question: What does a king need in order to run a nation?


    The yer would select five cards. Cards are repeatable.


    Cards would then be ced on the table.


    The yer would be given a scenario, e.g, your national treasury has been invaded by thieves.


    The question master must not use any of the yer¡¯s cards to attack any of his deck. If found, the question master will be attacked with a problem.


    If not discovered, the yer will continue answering the problem, I added.


    I circled thisst line since it was important.


    Questions mustn¡¯t target the king directly.


    If the yer fails to answer, his card will be shed.


    I heard Dahai¡¯s voice again. ¡°My giant dragon is guarding the treasuries.¡±


    ¡°Second problem: You don¡¯t have a dragon trainer and you can¡¯t utilize your treasuries.¡±


    My hair stood up upon hearing this.


    He used a sentence to get rid of two treasuries, instantly forcing Dahai into a corner.


    Horrifying game.


    Mobilizing his army to defend the treasures would only get his soldiers killed.


    Sending his citizens would lead to the same oue.


    The sand grains continued to fall until there was absolute silence.


    Dahai did not talk but a clear shing sound broke the silence quickly.


    ¡°Your treasuries are gone and harvest is bad this year. A fire broke out and destroyed all your granaries. Your citizens and army are going to starve.¡±


    Again, Dahai stayed quiet for another 60 seconds so his cards were shed.


    A yer fails when more than half of his resources were being taken away.


    ¡°The game has ended. You¡¯re out, number 26.¡±


    ...


    I looked through the rules again and was at a loss.


    About nine minutes had passed.


    The man in the suit knocked on the door. ¡°Your time¡¯s almost up.¡±


    I kept Dahai¡¯s phone and my notes before heading out.


    ...


    The room was very dark and there were actually five people sitting around the table.


    The table was filled with sh marks. It was bone-chillingly frightening.


    A new deck of cards was ced before me.


    ¡°Game of destruction. You¡¯re not allowed to speak of or write about it. Failure toply will get you punished, understood?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°What do you think a king needs? Pick five cards and ce them in front of you.¡±


    I took my time picking them out.


    Treasury.


    Army.


    Citizens.


    cksmith.


    Doctor.


    I ced them on the table and the question master kept the rest of the cards.


    ¡°If my question uses any of your cards to attack another of your cards, you get to attack me with your own question. You have 60 seconds to solve each problem. If you don¡¯t speak, it¡¯s an automatic failure.¡±


    I nodded again.


    ¡°First problem: A giant dragon flew into your treasury intending to upy it as its nest.¡±


    Not showing any mercy, I thought as I wracked my brains.


    I considered giving up on the first problem to search for a loophole in the game.


    At thest second, I smiled and said, ¡°I give up.¡±


    The question master used a dagger to sh my treasury card. ¡°Second problem: An epidemic broke out in your nation. Your army and citizens have been infected. They will be killed very soon.¡±


    I looked on as two daggers were ced before my army and citizens cards. Dangerous.


    I pointed at my doctor card. ¡°My doctor will cure them.¡±


    ¡°Third problem: Your doctor needs to purchase expensive herbs from neighboring nations but you¡¯re unable to utilize your treasury and your doctor has been infected as well.


    Another dagger was ced before my doctor. The question master smiled coldly.


    I took out my notes.


    Seconds passed and I pondered over the problem seriously.


    It was a mental game.


    I was losing time.


    I thought about how King Chalk would¡¯ve easily solved this problem.


    An image of a man smiling and holding onto a green coin appeared in my mind.


    ¡°Game over, number 27.¡±


    Smiling, three question masters got ready to sh my cards.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I shouted.


    I was surprised that they actually stopped to listen.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I meant to say that I¡¯ll get the cksmith to melt all weapons in the army to create new coins in order to purchase the herbs,¡± I smiled.


    Brief silence. The question masters kept their daggers.


    ¡°Fourth question: The neighboring countries discovered that your army doesn¡¯t have any weapons. They n to invade your nation and kill all your people.¡±


    Four question masters took our their daggers and pointed at my remaining cards.


    With a bitter smile, I answered, ¡°My people will wee them into the country. We will open our doors wide for them. We will open half the door of our treasury and they can go in and take everything as they please.¡±


    All five question masters stared at me as if they were struck dumb.


    They were aware that it was a trap since the giant dragon was still in the treasury.


    ¡°Fifth problem: Your enemy country has a dragon trainer who easily controlled the giant dragon, thus sessfully suppressing your country. You¡¯ve lost, number 27.¡±


    The other four question masters stuck their daggers into my cards.


    At this point, my treasury card was already shed and my other four cards were pinned onto the table by the daggers.


    I grinned at thest question master before standing up and raising a victory sign up in the air.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± they asked in unison.


    ¡°I¡¯ve won so I am celebrating!¡± I answered.


    ¡°How have you won?¡±


    ¡°My people haven¡¯t been cured by the herbs and they have openly invited the invaders into the country. My goal wasn¡¯t to use the dragon to fend off the invaders but to make use of the epidemic that broke out. My citizens only consumed the herbs after being captured. The invading soldiers, including the dragon trainer, died from the diseases since they had no antidote,¡± I answered before piecing my broken treasury cards back together.


    ...


    All five question masters stood up and the door behind me opened up.


    ¡°You¡¯ve won. Enter.¡±


    I walked slowly into the innermost room.


    Inside stood a statue of King Chalk. An old man was sitting before it.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    The old man smiled. ¡°My ancestor was King Chalk¡¯s favorite courtier. He was also the founder of this bank.¡±


    ¡°What has that got to do with me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ve passed the examination and have 50% of the bank¡¯s stocks at your disposal,¡± the old man answered.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked in bewilderment.


    ¡°Students like you is the reason why our bank hasn¡¯t copsed yet. Students who pass our exam will get 50% of our shares and do as they please on the condition that they must create a new game. You¡¯ll lose everything when someone else beats your game.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that this game was created by Yun Huateng? And I¡¯m supposed to create a new one for prospective students and ensure that no one wins it in order to safeguard my shares?¡± I rified.


    ¡°You¡¯re wise.¡±


    ¡°Green Coin Bank is still standing today because there are people like us safeguarding it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and the first to seed was King Chalk himself,¡± the old man continued.


    ¡°I see. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll squander away all the money?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°You¡¯re a wise man. You can only spend more if you earn more. You have to be careful not to let someone else beat the game or you¡¯ll be left with nothing,¡± the old man exined.


    ¡°Your bank is no different from loan sharks, then?¡±


    ¡°Wrong. We¡¯re thest inheritors of our national culture. How else would our cultural knowledge continue without a king and an army?¡±


    ¡°So King Chalk has won the game, too?¡±


    ¡°No, he was the first person to create the game. You have a month¡¯s time toe up with a new one and to make it invulnerable,¡± the old man finished with a smile.


    I looked at the statue of King Chalk, who was holding a coin in his hand. ¡°Next game: Guess the coin.¡±


    To be continued~

 Chapter 57: Brilliant Silver I

    <h4>Chapter 57: Brilliant Silver I</h4>


    It¡¯s me. My stare could scare a sexual predator away.


    It¡¯s me, someone who would help an elderly in need without hesitation.


    It¡¯s me. I¡¯m deep in the vige, shouldering our children¡¯s future.


    It¡¯s me, a hero who could singlehandedly rescue disaster-stricken victims.


    It¡¯s me. I could bring prosperity to our nation.


    I¡¯m the hope of people, the future of the nation, the flower of our mothend.


    Everyone¡¯s waiting for me to unleash my potential.


    I switched on the power and wiped my keyboard carefully.


    ¡°Obviously lip syncing. Are you idol-chasing fans brainless?¡± I sent.


    Comments flooded the page almost instantly.


    They were all attacking me but I honestly didn¡¯t care.


    I was proud of what I had done and the results it got.


    I browsed through the criticisms, picked one and checked the ID.


    ¡°Hahaha, what an idiot. You should read more. Are you still in elementary school? You can¡¯t even type properly so stop barking,¡± I typed enthusiastically.


    That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a keyboard warrior.


    I refreshed the page and a video about school violence popped up as the number one trending topic.


    Even without watching the video, I started writing ament.


    ¡°How can you all be so sure that the kid getting beaten up isn¡¯t the problematic one? Why else would the other kids beat him up?¡± I sent.


    Again, criticisms flooded the page in under ten seconds.


    I even received a private message that said: Are you mentally unsound?


    I noticed from the disy picture that the sender was actually a girl.


    I immediately clicked on her blog and searched for her photos.


    She was an ordinary looking girl but she had a big ck mole on her face.


    I grinned and returned to my inbox. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that but how dare you criticize me, you ugly troll? Look at your mole. Hair is growing out of it!¡±


    I thought about how she¡¯d retaliate and imagined her to be reorganizing her argument.


    My ID and information were, naturally, concealed. The basics of being a keyboard warrior.


    There wasn¡¯t a way for her tounch a personal attack. On the other hand, I had more than enough material to attack her with.


    I continued browsing through her photos and caught sight of her pet dog.


    It was a toy poodle.


    I sent another private message. ¡°Your poodle must be busy humping right now. Poor bedsheet and bolster.¡±


    After that, I lodged a report against her first private message and ticked the box that said ¡®Inappropriate content¡¯.


    I grabbed a handful of chips from the bag on my right and started munching.


    I watched as the number of replies increased steadily. It was exciting for me.


    A notification informing me that I¡¯ve gotten a new fan popped up.


    I thought back to the time when I first started interacting on the Inte.


    I spent time and effort to type out value-addingments, but no one cared. I had no replies and no likes.


    It was then that I noticed that unconventionalments sparked the biggest discussions.


    Those messages were mostly negative but at least they garnered replies.


    First reply: You¡¯re just a keyboard warrior.


    I clicked on my profile and saw only ten fans.


    I then searched ¡®keyboard warrior¡¯ on the.


    What I saw surprised and impressed me.


    I then searched, ¡°How to be a keyboard warrior?¡±


    This appeared:


    1. Be absolutely unconcerned.


    2. Attack your opponent with all that you¡¯ve got.


    3. No matter how your opponent defends or retaliates, continue your bashing.


    4. Get yourself a good keyboard, duh.


    ...


    I wiped my keyboard carefully and embarked on my new journey of no return.


    Initially, I would get med as well.


    I learned and started concealing my information and using an abstract disy picture.


    I changed my ID into ¡®passerby¡¯ and wrote a brief introduction: Just a keyboard warrior.


    I started building my ming skills and eventually learned how to associate simple drawings and words with horrible things that would definitely trigger the other party.


    I brought gender, race, and religion up when attacking. I gradually got better at it.


    Everyment I make would attract a ton of replies. Even if they were all negative, I was still very pleased.


    I even started joining group discussions started by other warriors.


    I slowly gained fame and reputation among them.


    Those who knew my ID started calling me Brother Lu, which was a coincidence since my name is Luqiao.


    My fans increased rapidly from over ten individuals to tens of them.


    To hundreds and thousands and even tens of thousands.


    I have no idea why they¡¯re following me, but perhaps, I¡¯ve sessfully convinced them.


    Last month, in the biggest keyboard warrior forum, the group master had decided to step down because his wife was about to give birth.


    He wanted to have a brand new identity and presence on the Inte and had decided to hand his role over to me.


    Just like that, I became the leader of the biggest keyboard warrior group in China.


    There were 26,000 members but only 13 coordinators.


    ...


    I¡¯ve been in my post for over a month now.


    Since the meetingst month, I¡¯ve been receiving some strange emails out of the blue.


    They contained images filled with small English words.


    Since they weren¡¯t in text format, I wasn¡¯t able to paste them into the trantion software. I understood little of what was written.


    The words were handwritten and messy and it took me a long time to even figure the alphabets out.


    I ignored them at first but the emails came in quicker and more frequently.


    From one in a few days to one a day.


    And then to two a day and even a few a day.


    Eventually, I received one every three to four hours.


    Frustrated, I started examining them more closely.


    Each image contained different contents and just as I was about to take a closer look, another email popped up in my inbox. It was in Chinese and there were only a few lines.


    It wrote: Since you¡¯re not replying, I¡¯ll look for you immediately, Mister Luqiao.


    I shuddered as my body broke out in cold sweats. I stared nkly at my emails.


    How did he know my name? I had taken extra efforts to conceal my identity.


    And what did those emails mean?


    I was thinking about sending these emails to someone who was fluent in English, but then I realized I only had few friends.


    Without a choice, I slowly typed the English words, one letter at a time, into the trantion software.


    Before I could finish a line, someone knocked on my door.


    It was gentle but continuous. Definitely not myndlord chasing for payment.


    A chill ran down my spine as the knocks continued incessantly.

 Chapter 58: Brilliant Silver II

    <h4>Chapter 58: Brilliant Silver II</h4>


    I looked toward the door, my heart thumping heavily.


    I was considering whether or not to open the door when I heard ady¡¯s voiceing from outside.


    ¡°Are you in there, Mister Luqiao?¡± Her voice was soft and gentle.


    I stood still, confused.


    A girl¡¯s looking for me?


    Her voice was melodious but I knew for a fact that she was a stranger.


    ¡°Are you in there, Mister Luqiao?¡± she repeated.


    After much thought, I walked stealthily toward the door and looked through the peephole.


    I stared at her face as she continued knocking on the door.


    A beautiful and innocent girl was knocking on my door.


    The peephole magnified her features significantly but she was still enchantingly beautiful.


    Without even realizing it, my hand was already on the doorknob.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not in, I¡¯lle back tomorrow,¡± she spoke again before turning away.


    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m here!¡± I shouted.


    After a short pause, she responded, ¡°Were you sleeping, Mister Luqiao? I¡¯m sorry to disturb you.¡±


    I loosened the bolt and opened the door slowly.


    I regretted it immediately. A huge ck army glove reached in and forced the door open all the way in.


    The girl was still standing in front of me, but four armed, big fellows strode inside my apartment.


    They were in thick clothes, had helmets on, and were holding onto gun-like objects.


    Weren¡¯t guns illegal in China?


    I fell butt down onto the ground out of fear and crawled backward.


    I saw the girl stepping away for a moment before pushing a wheelchair into the apartment.


    An old man sat on the chair, an oxygen tube attached to his nose. He looked as if he was on hisst gasp.


    One of the armed fellows spoke, in English, ¡°The air quality here is horrendous, don¡¯t bring him in.¡±


    The old man coughed and answered in a hoarse voice, ¡°No worries, it¡¯s all worth it.¡±


    I looked in fear at the scene unfolding before me. My whole being was trembling.


    Theymunicated in English so they must¡¯ve been the ones sending me those emails.


    The girl started, ¡°Hi, Mister Luqiao. I¡¯m a temporary trantor, here to help Mister nc and youmunicate.¡±


    Two other armed fellows came foward, one pushed myputer chair over while the other pulled me up and onto the chair.


    I met the old man¡¯s eyes.


    The old man spoke slowly and the girl nodded. She tranted, ¡°Sorry for the scare, Mister Luqiao. I had thought that you¡¯d have a few guards of your own so I brought a few more people along, but I was wrong. I did not expect you to be alone at home, it seems inconsistent with your online presence.¡±


    Inconsistent with my online presence?


    What? I am merely a keyboard warrior.


    And what was this man¡¯s identity? A dying caucasian with four American mercenaries? And a Chinesedy trantor? What a troop.


    I stuttered, ¡°You.. you are?¡±


    The old man coughed a little before speaking. Nodding, thedy tranted, ¡°I forgot to introduce myself. I¡¯m Michael nc, the chairperson and also thest elder of Luciferian Society.


    Luciferian Society? What?


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked.


    Thedy forwarded my question.


    The old man¡¯s face brightened up and he smiled. Thedy exined, ¡°We do not condone violence and immoral acts. We strongly believe in equality, honesty, and integrity. We especially support and encourage the development of children¡¯s ethics and intelligence, and also the preservation of this natural environment. We believe that the arts and sciences have a perennial impact on mankind and we admire the positive effects they¡¯ve had on us. Man should optimize the days they have in this world, rationally distinguish good from evil and ept that all actionse with consequences, good or bad.¡±


    ¡°A cult?¡± I blurted out.


    Thedy turned pale. She raised her index finger up to her mouth, asking me to hush.


    The old man mumbled, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    Thedy wrinkled her brows and answered, ¡°He said he understands.¡±


    A smile returned to the old man¡¯s face before he continued talking.


    Thedy heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Lucifer is a god that really exists. No worshipping or revering is required. On the contrary, he¡¯s more like a teacher, a friend, a savior.¡±


    ¡°Why talk so much? A cult is a cult,¡± I added.


    Thedy urgently shouted, ¡°I¡¯m just here to trante. How would I know that they¡¯re in a cult? They offered a ton of money so who wouldn¡¯t do it?¡±


    I wanted to say something but one armed fellow held his gun up to my head.


    The old man spoke again, ¡°What did Mister Luqiao say? Why are you so agitated?¡±


    Thedy coughed nervously, ¡°He understands your idea and wishes to know what your goal is. I raised my voice in hope that he would listen to your teachings properly.¡±


    The old man extended his hand out to pat thedy¡¯s trembling hand. ¡°Thanks for your support. Our society will bless you.¡±


    Thedy smiled in embarrassment and the old man continued sharing his beliefs.


    Instead of tranting, thedy said, ¡°Do not talk. They think I¡¯m telling you about their teachings. They¡¯re indeed a cult and I was, too, frightened by the armed men. My phone¡¯s been confiscated. They¡¯re paying me 4,000 RMB an hour and have already deposited 10,000 into my ount. I¡¯ll call the police once I get my phone so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I nodded in agreement.


    The old man extended his hand toward me, smiling.


    Thedy added, ¡°You¡¯ve agreed to join their society. Shake his hand, quick.¡±


    I paused for a moment before epting the handshake.


    The old man said something, causing thedy to open her mouth wide in shock.


    ¡°They can give you a lot of money. All expenses will be unconditionally taken care of by them as long as you bring their teachings into China. When it¡¯s all done, you¡¯ll receive a portion of the proceeds collected from members.¡±


    I was in shock.


    Thedy spoke up again, ¡°What exactly have you done for them to notice you?¡±


    I pondered over her words. ¡°I¡±m just a leader of a keyboard warrior forum with 26,000 followers.¡±


    The man waved his hand and an armed fellow brought a suitcase out.


    He opened it, revealing a caseful of banknotes.


    ¡°Your deposit,¡± thedy exined.


    The old man loosened his grip and the armed guy handed the suitcase over to me.


    Thedy tranted, ¡°You¡¯re running a cult too, aren¡¯t you, Mister Luqiao? While I don¡¯t know much about your views and teachings, you¡¯re clearly expanding well over here. As such, I hope you¡¯ll use your method to spread our Luciferian teachings. I hereby wee you into our society. Any questions or rifications?¡±


    Were they nning to take over my forum and convert the members?


    I pointed at thedy. ¡°I want her to stay and help usmunicate.¡±


    Thedy replied in fury, ¡°Are you crazy? I¡¯m trying to save you! Why are you dragging me down?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever thought about how you might get killed the moment you leave? You know their secrets,¡± I exined dully.


    She fell into a short silence before talking to the old man. ¡°I¡¯d like to stay and continue working for you.¡±


    The old man nodded happily. ¡°From now on, your sry will be 10,000 a day. I¡¯ll be staying here for a month. Please let me know if Mister Luqiao is facing any problems, and thanks again for your support.¡±


    He took out a mobile phone and handed it over to her.


    He put a ck manual down, said a few lines, and was escorted out by the armed fellows.


    I asked urgently, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    Thedy smiled bitterly. ¡°He wants you to finish reading this book. He¡¯ll pay for all your living expenses and provide whatever you need. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    I rushed to the door and looked through the peephole.


    A big armed fellow was guarding the door.

 Chapter 59: Brilliant Silver III

    <h4>Chapter 59: Brilliant Silver III</h4>


    I observed the big fellow through the peephole. Without his coat on, he looked like an average individual. Well, that was if an average individual owned a gun and creepily stood guard on innocent people¡¯s doors.


    I was living in an area withmon citizens, and my neighbors were all from the Three Religions and Nine Schools.


    I wondered if someone would send for help after seeing these strange foreigners.


    I looked away from the peephole and whispered to thedy, ¡°He¡¯s guarding the door. Call the police, quick.¡±


    She took her phone out, pressed a few keys, but then suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Did they take your card out? It¡¯s fine, I have my phone,¡± I told her, taking my phone out from my pocket.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. Aren¡¯t you afraid that they will charge in and kill us when they hear the police sirens?¡± she asked.


    I hadn¡¯t considered that.


    I walked toward my only window. I lived on the fifth floor but there were always ways to get out of the block.


    However, when I looked down, I saw another man standing in the alley.


    He was quite tall but I couldn¡¯t see his face clearly. He was casually dressed and had pale skin.


    It was obvious that he was one of the guards that the old man had put on us to prevent us from escaping.


    I turned to look at thedy. ¡°This area¡¯s sealed off too. Any ideas?¡±


    She only stared at her phone nkly.


    I walked over and patted her shoulder. She jumped up as if she just realized that I was here.


    ¡°Any ideas?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°How about we just act ording to their wishes and escape when there¡¯s a chance?¡± she suggested faintly.


    I nodded and looked over at the manual given by the old man.


    The unremarkable looking book had two Chinese words on it: Brilliant Silver.


    Surprisingly, the content inside was in Chinese as well.


    I flipped open the first page.


    The words were simple and all about Luciferian teachings.


    I browsed through the content, which was mostly reassuring the reader that it was a harmless society.


    Self-worshipping, the self is the god...


    But I gradually discovered strange things, like how the seventh chapter talked about strategies to break into the China market.


    It was circled in red ink and I figured that was a must-read.


    I quickly flipped to that chapter and was utterly shocked by what it talked about.


    There was a whole list of brainwashing techniques that apparently were effective overseas butpletely failed in China.


    They had even invented a game with a title of a particrrge ocean creature, but China did not fall for it.


    And it all originated from a chat group. I looked at the chat group on my monitor not far away and finally understood why I became their target ¨C the keyboard warriors.


    A chat group with 26,000 members would create a much bigger impact than any of the strange methods they had been employing.


    I noticed that a few pages were folded at their corners and immediately flipped to those.


    There was a line written at the top of a page with red ink: Acquire or assimte into local religious groups and reform from within.


    I thought about my current situation, opened the suitcase and examined every roll of banknotes.


    Thedy asked, ¡°Real money?¡±


    A roll contained about a hundred banknotes and there were over a hundred rolls in total. I nodded. ¡°Probably. I think there¡¯s a million in here.¡±


    ¡°The money¡¯s yours already but I¡¯m afraid you might not live to spend it,¡± she said.


    ¡°Their goal is for me to spread their beliefs,¡± I responded.


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to do as they say?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Perhaps?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll try to preach?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Not sure if I¡¯m capable enough to do so, though,¡± I answered helplessly and sat in front of my desktop.


    She moved over to me and asked, ¡°What are you nning to do now?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that they¡¯ll cover all expenses?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°They did say that.¡±


    ¡°I thought of a good idea. Tell him I need a bank card with a hundred thousand,¡± I said.


    She paused for a moment before leaving the room to ry the message.


    The big fellow made a call while another walked in to hand a ck card over to me.


    After a short conversation with thedy, the fellow left.


    She shut the door and hurried to my side. ¡°Done.¡±


    I linked the card to my mobile before writing down valuable phrases from the book and also information from the web.


    Bullsh*t phrases like, ¡®Luciferianism is the real me¡¯.


    I tried to associate the teachings to the fictional world of games andics by saying that revenge must be taken, but no innocent must be harmed and that we were our own masters.


    I opened all 13 chatgroups with 2,000 participants each and carelessly gave away 51 red packets to them.


    The first reaction I got was them asking if my ount had been hacked or if I¡¯d struck the lottery.


    I simply said that I had made some money and was very happy. I did not slow down my gifting speed.


    The giftssted for half an hour and tens of thousands of dors had already been distributed.


    The participants started messaging me privately about my outburst.


    Frightened, I blocked my private inbox and only left the chat groups open.


    The members got increasingly hyped up and were discussing what might have happened to me.


    It was during this chaotic moment that I made a move.


    I sent a mass message: I have been enlightened and have won a huge prize. I¡¯ll continue sending money tomorrow. Wait for it.


    Lottery?


    Family assets?


    Rich woman?


    All sorts of guesses flooded the chatrooms.


    Again, it was time for me to send the information I have prepared.


    People started questioning what Luciferianism was about.


    Without answering, I started giving away money again.


    I leaned back in my chair, and thedy asked, ¡°Will this really work?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I believe that the word ¡®Luciferianism¡¯ will start trending in China within the next few days.¡±


    She continued, ¡°So far you¡¯ve used less than 100,000. You think it¡¯s enough?¡±


    ¡°Get those big fellows to get us food. We¡¯ll wait until tomorrow and see,¡± I replied indifferently.


    After the meal, I went straight to bed.


    Iid aforter on the floor and offered my bed to her.


    She seemed unsatisfied with my bed, but since she had no other choice, she made do.


    I didn¡¯t fall asleep until the very early morning.


    I had been thinking a lot.


    About how I, who had been ming people online, had be a group master and a member of a cult.


    ...


    I woke up in the afternoon and noticed that my mobile had been spammed with calls from the other coordinators.


    I gave one of them a call and he informed me that practically all of them had created a separate chat group.


    ¡®Luciferianism¡¯ really did spread across the whole Inte.


    I opened all 13 chats and started sending money again.


    The group chat was exceptionally noisy and many had already changed their names.


    Some even repeated the lines I had sent about Luciferianism.


    With a bitter smile, I continued sending red packets until my hands went numb.


    This was when I noticed that thedy had gone missing.


    I looked over at the suitcase, but the money was still all there.


    Did she escape? How?


    Just as I was about to ask a guard, she walked out of the bathroom wearing one of my T-shirts.


    ¡°You were showering?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I already showered this morning. I was just using the toilet. Oh, and um, I hope you don¡¯t mind me borrowing your shirt.¡±


    I waved a hand dismissively. ¡°We¡¯re a sess. Luciferianism has gained a small group of supporters.¡±


    I opened Weibo and keyed the word into the search engine.


    It wasn¡¯t trending yet, but there were already hundreds of thousands of news about it.


    There were a few types of discussions.


    Some believed that Luciferianism could bring good luck.


    Some were already iming to be pious believers.


    Some were criticizing its sudden poprity and discussing its origin.


    Others were just ming one another. A majority of these people were merely keyboard warriors, of course.


    They attacked with extraordinary powers, dragging fathers, mothers, and ancestors in.


    I was baffled by these ongoing discussions but my method was clearly working.


    Thedy picked my phone up.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use your own?¡±


    She looked startled by my question and it took her a few beats before she replied, ¡°I ran out of battery and I don¡¯t have my charger with me.¡±


    I returned to my seat. ¡°I think a few more days will do.¡±


    She handed me my phone and I picked hers up.


    ¡°Should we get them to buy you a charger?¡±


    She nodded and walked out.


    Her phone suddenly lit up in my hand, and I caught a glimpse of a message written in English.


    She stood rooted to the spot for two seconds before I spoke up, ¡°Not out of battery?¡±


    She retreated a few steps and stuttered, ¡°About to run out.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m pretty sure you said your phone wasn¡¯t on?¡± I questioned, slowly getting off the chair.


    She took something from her waist pocket, came straight at me, and stabbed it into my arm.


    It all happened so fast I wasn¡¯t even sure what went on.


    I staggered a few steps back, pulling out the tube-like thing sticking out of my arm. It was toote. Whatever it contained had already been injected into my body.


    ¡°What... what have you done?¡± I yelled at her.


    She shook her head. ¡°They made me do it. This phone isn¡¯t mine.¡±


    ...


    My knees gave way but I could still control my upper body.


    I saw her opening the door and a few big fellows pushed the old man into the room shortly after.


    She reported, ¡°I¡¯ve followed your orders. You¡¯ll spare me, right?¡±


    The old man paused briefly before replying, in Chinese, ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    She was astonished. ¡°You can speak Chinese?¡±


    Again, using his somewhat shaky Chinese, he responded, ¡°I¡¯ve been here for over 40 years so it¡¯s only natural.¡±


    She added nervously, ¡°There are 13 group chats on hisputer, just continue spreading the teachings and distributing money. It will work.¡±


    ¡°Did you get his password?¡± the old man coughed.


    ¡°Password? You didn¡¯t tell me anything about getting his password. Anyways, you could get that yourself, hisputer is right there,¡± she continued.


    ¡°Get rid of her andunch Project Brilliant Silver,¡± the old man ordered.


    Thedy started crying for help but was forced into silence by one of the guards.


    I saw him twist her neck with a quick motion before she dropped to the ground, lifeless.


    I waspletely helpless as I sat there, paralyzed on my chair, with no strength to speak or even blink my eyes.


    The old man came over to me and shook my hand. He coughed out, ¡°Mister Luqiao, I only have a rough understanding of your teaching methods but they are really effective. Thank you for letting us into China.¡±


    He¡¯s been in China for over 40 years? And he could understand Chinese?


    I looked at him in shock. It all made sense since the manual was in Chinese, too.


    He stood up with much effort and I was dragged by his goons onto his wheelchair.


    The old man moved over to my seat and started operating myputer.


    ...


    I was being taken care of in a nursing home for half a year.


    I couldn¡¯t move or talk.


    All I could manage were groans.


    The nurses simply couldn¡¯t understand what I was trying to say.


    One day, the old man came to visit.


    He brought along a brand new wheelchair with all sorts of buttons.


    The big fellows he always had with him moved me onto that chair and before I knew it, I was being pushed into a spacious auditorium nearby.


    The auditorium was filled with people who were dressed in ck robes.


    The old man walked onto the stage and smiled. ¡°Let us wee the man who had direct contact with Sir Lucifer himself, Mister Brilliant Silver. Although he¡¯s paralyzed, his thoughts are almost perfectly in line with Sir Lucifer. There¡¯s a trantion device to help usmunicate with him. His speech will be amplified by the loudspeaker on the wheelchair. He will continue to spread Luciferianism.¡±


    I was led to the center of the stage.


    I tried as hard as I could to shake my head. I wanted to scream. The audience was being fooled.


    Unfortunately, I could only groan and move my eyelids non-stop.


    The loudspeaker was activated.


    ¡°Good evening, everyone. I¡¯m Sir Lucifer¡¯s emissary. While I¡¯m unable to move, please believe that I will lead all of you to the one and only truth and miracle.¡±


    ...

 Chapter 60: Bet’s On I

    <h4>Chapter 60: Bet¡¯s On I</h4>


    A straight and a pair.


    No, no...


    I tapped on thest pair three and clicked discard.


    I looked at the words at the bottom.


    First.


    I put my phone down and looked up at the teacher, a middle-ageddy droning on and on about some mathematical forme.


    Fatty, my roommate, tapped my shoulder from behind. ¡°¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t lost at all today.¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that good luck? Another round when we get back?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We can start right now, why wait?¡± I responded.


    ¡°I mean a real game.¡± Fatty grinned.


    I nodded. Why not? I had been winning the whole day.


    I had faith in my luck that day.


    ¡°And we¡¯ll y with money,¡± Fatty added.


    ¡°Real money?¡± I asked doubtfully.


    Gambling with real money was something I hadn¡¯t tried before.


    ¡°One dor minimum. Rules remain the same,¡± Fatty continued.


    I looked down at my phone and thought about it for a while.


    I¡¯ve bet so much more in those games so what harm could one real game do?


    After school, we returned to our dorm area.


    Fatty pulled me into our neighbors¡¯ room.


    A huge stench weed us as we entered.


    Must be that student who dislikes washing his feet.


    In the innermost corner, a skinny guy was lying on his bed and shaking his feet nonchntly.


    ¡°Two games?¡± Fatty suggested.


    The boy in the corner immediately perked up and looked at us. ¡°Golden flower or the cow?¡±


    ¡°My friend here only ys ¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯,¡± Fatty stated.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Just learn then. It¡¯s easy. ¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯ isme,¡± he replied, shooting me a nce.


    The extremely unfriendly nce gave me goosebumps.


    ¡°Hey, I finally found someone whom you can y with, so justpromise, alright? Start with ¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯,¡± Fatty tried.


    The skinny boy raised his brows before nodding. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll get to know each other through this game.¡±


    He took out a deck of old poker cards from under his bed.


    The cards were so old that their corners were mostly opened up.


    ¡°Should I go get a new deck?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No need. This deck has sentimental value. I can¡¯t bear to throw it away,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Ignore him. Buying cards is a waste of time!¡± Fattyughed.


    Skinny Boy started shuffling and dealing the cards.


    His hands moved fast and it didn¡¯t take long for him to finish dealing.


    Even before Fatty received his cards, he shouted, ¡°Snatch the Landlord!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll snatch,¡± I followed automatically.


    ¡°Take it then.¡± Skinny Boy let out augh.


    I picked the card up.


    I had three to six. A seven away from a straight.


    The cards I picked variedrgely but there just wasn¡¯t any seven.


    ¡°Deal the cards, Landlord,¡± Skinny Boy said, smiling.


    ¡°Wait. What¡¯s the rush?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All good cards?¡± Fatty grinned.


    ¡°Yeah. Pair three,¡± I called out.


    During the first round, I was overpowered by the King twice.


    Eight dors.


    Skinny Boy took out a pen and paper to record it down.


    In the second round, he snatched thendlord.


    I had no seven.


    My cards weren¡¯t bad since I had three pairs and should¡¯ve been able to clear them all.


    However, toward the end, my teammate, also Fatty, slipped a single card to Skinny Boy.


    I was trapped.


    Skinny Boy cleared all his cards smoothly over a few rounds.


    I shot Fatty an irritated nce.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    He smiled sheepishly. ¡°I thought you had nothing so I...¡±


    I only shook my head in response.


    ¡°Still wanna y?¡± Skinny Boy asked.


    There was something fishy going on.


    ¡°y.¡±


    I picked my cards up. Lousy.


    Over the next ten over rounds, I won some but lost more.


    I lost mostly because my cards were squashed by theirs.


    All because Icked a seven. I couldn¡¯t get rid of my small cards and could only watch them clear theirs.


    Skinny Boy won the most and even Fatty lost some.


    I, on the other hand, made a huge loss.


    It was recorded that I owed a total of 430 RMB.


    Skinny Boyughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll count it as 400.¡±


    I indignantly took four banknotes out from my pocket.


    Skinny Boy looked at Fatty and said, ¡°50 will do.¡±


    Fatty smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring money today, I will just pass it to you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°No worries,e again!¡± Skinny Boy grinned.


    Irked by it all, I left the room.


    ¡°You find the cards questionable, too, right?¡± I asked Fatty.


    He shook his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve been winning the whole day?¡±


    ¡°You made me lose a few times by blocking my cards!¡± I raised my voice, obviously annoyed.


    ¡°I thought you were able to clear them!¡± Fatty answered foolishly.


    ...


    400 RMB.


    That was half of a month¡¯s expenses.


    As I was vexing over this amount the next day, Fatty showed up again.


    ¡°Do you wanna y today? Recoup our losses?¡± Fatty suggested.


    I declined and found it more and more suspicious.


    Fatty leaned over and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth, Brother Liang. That skinny monkey cheated!¡±


    I raised my brows. ¡°borate.¡±


    ¡°I only found out yesterday that he¡¯d been trained to shuffle the deck in a way that you¡¯ll never get a seven. He¡¯ll keep all four cards together at the bottom before you cut the deck, and then wash them back into the deck and distribute them to himself slowly,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Why did you still y with him then?¡± I asked furiously.


    He lowered his head slightly. ¡°I only found out after...¡±


    ¡°How? What do you propose we do today?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°We can work together and teach him a lesson.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said.


    Fatty looked at me, panic-stricken.


    ¡°Are you two in cahoots?¡± I probed.


    He narrowed his eyes in thought for a short while before nodding and then shaking his head immediately after.


    I patted his shoulder. ¡°I dislike traitors but I loathe cheaters more.¡±


    Fatty shook his head, paused for a moment, and then started nodding his head vigorously. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. We won¡¯t let him shuffle the deck. I¡¯ll help you win against him.¡±


    ¡°If he likes to shuffle that much, we¡¯ll let him do it. Just help me shout for thendlord and double up,¡± I grinned.


    ¡°Brother Liang, you..?¡±


    ¡°What? Just do as I say.¡±


    Back to that stinky room.


    That familiar spot.


    Skinny Boy smiled as he shuffled his cards. ¡°You guys sure know what loyalty is! Thanks foring back. I can tell that you both have skills but justck the luck.¡±


    ¡°Not only do I patronize your business, I¡¯ve even invested in it,¡± I announced excitedly and ced apletely new deck on the table.


    Skinny Boy was stunned. A few beatster, he gave a coldugh. ¡°No problem, let¡¯s continue.¡±


    He opened the deck and shuffled it.


    Fatty kept his word and I won all four games.


    Fifth game started and all the sevens were gone again.


    He must¡¯ve done it again.


    I finished that round calmly and wasn¡¯t mad that I lost.


    Skinny Boyughed. ¡°Fortunes rise and fall eh?¡±


    When he was done shuffling the cards, I pushed it aside and brought out a new deck of cards.


    Skinny Boy stared at me, confused.


    ¡°That deck is old so let¡¯s use this.¡±


    ...


    With a bitter smile, he epted that new deck and started shuffling.


    I won three consecutive rounds.


    After that round, I pushed the cards aside once again and took a recement deck out.


    Nervous, Skinny Boy asked, ¡°How many decks did you bring, Brother Liang?¡±


    ¡°Rx. There¡¯s still so much time.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t as capable when it came to cheating but I was good at counting and remembering cards.


    Skinny Boy lost over 700 RMB that evening.


    Fatty lost a little over 300 RMB.


    Feeling generous, I proposed, ¡°Let¡¯s round it down to 700 and 300 shall we? Can you pay now?¡±


    ¡°No, can I return the amount to you slowly?¡± Skinny Boy requested.


    ¡°Sure thing. We have many more games to y in future.¡±


    I left the room.


    Skinny Boy clenched his teeth. ¡°What were you doing, stupid Fatty? I kicked to tell you not to double up but you didn¡¯t seem to care!¡±


    Fatty half-cried, ¡°I thought the kicks were signs to double up since you wanted to cut your losses.


    Skinny Boy red up. ¡°I¡¯ll remember this. I¡¯m going to get even with him.¡±

 Chapter 61: Bet’s On II

    <h4>Chapter 61: Bet¡¯s On II</h4>


    The next morning, during the first period, a familiar figure appeared by the door.


    Skinny Boy.


    He gave me a lewd smile before waving me over.


    I wondered if he was here to pay his debt.


    As I walked over to him, I saw him fish a 100 RMB note out from his pocket. ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯ve got. I¡¯ll pay you back slowly. I hope you don¡¯t mind,¡± he said.


    ¡°No problem,¡± I reassured him.


    He peered into my room and said, ¡°Your ss looks boring. I¡¯ll introduce you to a fun app!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Fighting the Landlord! You¡¯re good at it, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I already have an app for that, but thanks,¡± I replied politely.


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m talking about an app that allows you to y with real money.¡±


    ¡°Got it, but it¡¯s fine. You may leave now,¡± I urged.


    ¡°It¡¯s made by people from Macau. It¡¯s legitimate,¡± he said, raising his phone up to show me.


    ¡°Alright, I got it,¡± I said, shaking my head.


    ¡°Remember to download it!¡± Skinny Boy reminded.


    I returned back to my seat, somewhat annoyed.


    A weekter.


    I was dozing off in ss as usual when I received a friend request on my phone.


    Skinny Boy.


    I was about to reject the request when I thought about the money he owed me.


    Perhaps, he was nning to pay me now?


    I epted.


    A message came in shortly after.


    Skinny Boy: yed it yet?


    Me: No.


    Skinny Boy: Register now for a gift!


    Me: Oh.


    Skinny Boy: They¡¯re giving out money!


    Me: Oh.


    I received a link to download the page.


    Frustrated, I clicked on the link and downloaded the game.


    50 diamonds would be sent to your ount upon registration.


    One diamond was equivalent to one RMB.


    When users umte 100 diamonds, they could then convert them into cash.


    There were three arenas with different betting costs.


    1, 5, and 10 diamonds respectively.


    A game in the high-level arena costs 10 RMB.


    There were only a few hundred people in the low-level arena while the middle-level one was practically empty.


    The high-level arena was unbelievably packed. There were at least a few thousand yers in there.


    There must be a reason for that.


    After poking around the game some more, I realized that the arenas had no restrictions.


    Anyone could go in as long as they had points.


    What about the negative points?


    I clicked on the app¡¯s shop.


    The first sentence that popped up stated that upon topping up, the score would reset to 0.


    So, users with a negative score could continue ying after a top up?


    I might as well just enter the high-level arena.


    I was given 15 diamonds upon entering.


    There¡¯s no harm in ying, right?


    The first round started and I was struck dumb by my luck.


    Straights!


    Without hesitation, I doubled the bet.


    I became thendlord and cleared my cards smoothly, quickly gaining 40 diamonds.


    55 diamonds in total. 55 RMB.


    Easy money.


    I started another round, confident in my luck.


    Amazing cards once again.


    Icalled for Landlord.


    90 diamonds. I smiled foolishly at the screen.


    How about another round?


    I still got pretty decent cards, but the three cards given by thendlord were horrible.


    The whole process felt vaguely familiar.


    Toward the end, even with my utmost skills, I had 2 scattered cards left.


    Over 70 diamonds.


    After another seven rounds, I had nothing left.


    Thest seven games were as unpredictable as a rollercoaster.


    Zero diamonds left.


    I recharged my ount, already forgetting my original intent.


    By the time I realized what was going on, it was already toote.


    My bank card was maxed out.


    Broke already? Had I actually spent all 700 in my bank ount?


    I looked up and realized that I was all alone in the ssroom. Everyone else had left long ago.


    I did not realize how long I¡¯d been ying the game for.


    A message popped up.


    Skinny Boy.


    ¡°How was it? Had a windfall?¡±


    I did not respond.


    He messaged again. ¡°Why? Did you lose some money?¡±


    He owed me money, I remembered.


    ¡°You owe me 600, right? I¡¯m out of money. Can you pay me as soon as possible?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely pay you back, Brother, but I have nothing now. Next month, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ...


    I¡¯ll just borrow some money since I would get it back from Skinny Boy, anyway.


    I borrowed 600 from a friend.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll return it to you next month for sure.¡±


    I was good with people so I got the money pretty easily.


    Iunched the app and recharged my ount.


    I lost everything half an hourter.


    I just kept losing like there was no tomorrow.


    It felt as though I was ying with Skinny Boy all over again.


    I felt the emptiness in my pocket and shook my head.


    Never again.


    I was about to delete the app when I noticed a message, sent 10 minutes ago, informing me that I had an outstanding mobile n fee to pay.


    How was I able to y for thest ten minutes without Inte data, then?


    Who was I ying with?


    I took myptop out and started extracting data from the app before using C# software to open it. I learned these before, fortunately.


    After analyzing the codes, I was shocked to discover that it was a single yer app.


    The game was coded in a way that yers would win, yes, but at the moment that they were about to exceed 100 diamonds, their sess rate would fall to less than five percent.


    Since the cards were already set beforehand, there was simply no way to beat the system.


    If not for the fact that my Inte data was cut off, I never would¡¯ve known about this.


    This app had a foreign IP address. Someone was clearly making money out of it.


    I thought about it the whole night and made use of the same principles to create a simr app.


    I tweaked some basic settings and also altered the sess rate to 90%.


    The next day, Skinny Boy sent me another message.


    Skinny Boy: Still ying it?


    Me: Of course! Look at how much I¡¯ve won.


    I sent an image over.


    Skinny Boy: Aye? Is it a different interface? 1,500 diamonds? The F*ck?


    Me: This is another app. Much better than the one you rmended. High chance of winning.


    Skinny Boy: Really?


    Me: Why would I lie to you?


    Skinny Boy: Link, please.


    Me: Sure, but this app doesn¡¯t give free diamonds. Your ount starts with 0 diamonds so you¡¯ll have to charge it first. I don¡¯t remember the link so I¡¯ll send you the file instead.


    I sent the document over with a bitter smile on my face.


    It¡¯s my app, why would there be a link?


    ...


    Ten minutester, my bank ount received some money.


    He had charged his ount with 6 RMB.


    I smiled.


    Half an hourter, he sent me a message.


    Skinny Boy: Wow, I really won!


    Me: Good for you.


    Skinny Boy: Can I borrow some money from you?


    Me: Why?


    Skinny Boy: There¡¯s a VIP arena, open for those with at least 700 points. Have you tried it?


    Me: Yes, of course. I¡¯ve been ying in that arena.


    Skinny Boy: Yeah, so I¡¯m thinking of borrowing some money to start winning bigger.


    Me: I need it to earn, too. Find someone else, sorry.


    Skinny Boy: Alright, have fun.


    I wasn¡¯t able to keep track of Skinny Boy¡¯s score, but over the course of half an hour, he had already recharged his ount with a total of 600 RMB.


    I opened my QQ ount in preparation for his call.


    Indeed, he called shortly after.


    Using a voice-changing application, I turned myself into a woman.


    ¡°Hi sir, how may I help you today?¡±


    ¡°How do I withdraw my winnings? Why can¡¯t I find any information about it?¡± Skinny Boy questioned.


    ¡°You can¡¯t im the winnings, sir.¡±


    ¡°The f*ck do you mean? I have over 8,000 diamonds inside!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but this is not a gambling app. It¡¯s just an ordinary game for entertainment purposes and the winning rate has been adjusted. How else could you have won each game so easily? It¡¯s all for fun,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a scam?¡± Skinny Boy yelled over the phone.


    ¡°Please, calm down, sir. When you y games by Tencent, are the beans you pay for redeemable? This app works the same way as Tencent¡¯s Fight the Landlord. It¡¯s all just for fun and joy, do you get it?¡± I finished.


    There was only silence so I hung up and deleted the customer service information before transferring the money out.


    There wasn¡¯t a need to press Skinny Boy for payment any longer since he had already returned it all, both principal and interest.

 Chapter 62: Mountain, Sea IV: Wind Fox

    <h4>Chapter 62: Mountain, Sea IV: Wind Fox</h4>


    When Master received the bank card with 100,000 RMB in it, his face split into a grin so wide it almost reached his ears.


    He verified the whole story over and over again before he finally asked, ¡°How did you know that the rings are actually worms?¡±


    After a short pause, I scratched my head and answered, ¡°I saw it wiggle a little when I was in Tao Tie¡¯s stomach.


    As an experienced man who¡¯d seen much of the world, he simply nodded and allowed Senior and I to leave.


    Just like that, our problems came to an end and we never stopped operating our recycling station.


    Whenever I see strange gadgets, I would be reminded of the old man in Tao Tie¡¯s stomach.


    I would then paste a note on the unfamiliar gadgets, informing the old man how to use them, in hopes that he wouldn¡¯t feel bored inside.


    Half a monthter, on a bright morning, Senior knocked on my door frantically. He shouted, ¡°It¡¯s bad, Goudan!¡±


    Startled, I jumped off my bed and wondered if someone¡¯s belonging had fallen into Tao Tie¡¯s stomach again.


    I hurriedly opened the door and saw Senior pointing outside. ¡°People. So many of them!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all looking for you to have their Feng Shuis read. Master¡¯s having difficulty holding them back. They¡¯re all calling you the Feng Shui Master,¡± he exined anxiously.


    ¡°Feng Shui? Master?¡± I blurted out incredulously.


    I quickly got dressed and rushed to the main hall. I looked out of the main gate and was stupefied at how many cars were parked along the streets.


    Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce...


    All kinds of luxurious cars, ck in color, filled the pitiful looking streets.


    Senior nudged my shoulder, snapping me out of my daze.


    I turned around and walked toward the main hall filled with people in western suits and leather shoes.


    As soon as they saw me, they started, ¡°This must be the Master that Old Jin was talking about right?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he too young to be a Master? Seems unreliable.¡±


    ¡°How dare you doubt the Master? Don¡¯t you know that Old Jin had recently umted half a year¡¯s profit in a month? It¡¯s all thanks to this Master¡¯s Feng Shui readings. You mustn¡¯t question his abilities.¡±


    ...


    I could vaguely hear their conversations.


    Old Jin?


    I immediately thought of the gold shop owner, Old Chen.


    Feng Shui readings? Master?


    I started to understand what was going on.


    Master walked over to my side andughed. ¡°What Feng Shui arrangements did you make for Old Chen, my dear disciple? Was it really that urate?¡±


    I answered helplessly, ¡°Only the two that you taught me!¡±


    ¡°Which two?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°He¡¯s working with gold right? Since earth produces gold, I simply ced a stone tablet on the soil outside his door. And since gold subdues wood, I had him pull all the ivy on the wall onto the ground. Suppress earth to retain gold, spread wood to strengthen gold,¡± I described briefly.


    ¡°Wow, Goudan! How am I not aware that you actually pay attention to my lessons? It seems like you¡¯re pretty talented in reading Feng Shui,¡± Master said.


    ¡°What should we do about these people, Master?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you mean what should we do? They¡¯ve alle for you!¡± he eximed, pressing down on my shoulder.


    I let out a helplessugh. ¡°It¡¯s okay if I help a few, but if I were to advise all of them, wouldn¡¯t my inadequacy be exposed? I really don¡¯t know much and you know that! Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t reconsider this?¡±


    Master nodded while stroking his whiskers. ¡°You know what, that actually makes sense, Goudan. Okay. I¡¯ll send them away first as this business must be done slowly. We¡¯ll do bidding, alright? The highest bidder will get a reading...¡±


    I heaved a sigh and immediately went to hide behind the hall.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your disciple, Priest?¡±


    ¡°He was just here a moment ago.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll offer 40,000 for a reading!¡±


    ¡°40,000? Stop messing around, Fatty. I¡¯ll pay 80,000!¡±


    ¡°80,000? Perhaps all of you are unaware but Old Jin spent over 100,000 to get Master¡¯s advice. Aren¡¯t you guys insulting him by offering such prices?¡±


    ...


    I started to sweat. Master was a greedy man and I knew that he was going toe up with a terrible n.


    Taking in their discussions, Master raised his eyebrows and gave a cold smile. ¡°Reading Feng Shui is akin to divulging the will of heaven. It¡¯s magic and my disciple has limited powers. As such, only the highest bidder will receive advice. Come back for the bid tomorrow noon, alright?¡±


    ¡°Bid?¡±


    ¡°Why are you doing this, Priest?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve made a wasted trip, then?¡±


    Master kept his hands behind his back and smiled serenely as he said, ¡°Once a month, with a minimum bid of 10,000 and a 5,000 increase. Come back tomorrow noon. Thanks foring today. It truly is an honor. Dadan, see them out.¡±


    Senior Chen Dadan nodded and walked over to the center of the hall. ¡°Please return and visit tomorrow, sirs and madams.¡±


    The frustrated crowd slowly dispersed, groans filling the hall as people made their exits.


    ...


    The next noon, the number of visitors doubled.


    Rows of visitors filled the hall.


    Master told me to don a yellow Daoist robe and sit right in the middle.


    All benches in the temple had been brought inside the hall but they were still barely enough to amodate everyone.


    Master did, however, prepare 50 wooden tablets beforehand and wrote numbers on them.


    He even prepared additional ten tablets just before noon.


    There were about roughly 63 people who came.


    It seemed as though all the reputable and wealthy merchants in the area came looking for me.


    Master couldn¡¯t contain his grin. He cleared his throat loudly to get everyone¡¯s attention before announcing, ¡°The Art of Feng Shui. The first auction starts now, with 10,000 as the minimum bid.¡±


    Tablets were raised into the air, one after another.


    Master announced eagerly, ¡°Number 4, 15,000.¡±


    ¡°17, 20,000.¡±


    ¡°60, 25,000.¡±


    ¡°34, 150,000.¡±


    ¡°18, 155,000.¡±


    Master¡¯s voice was trembling by now, his excitement obvious.


    Just then, number 42 stood up with his tablet raised and dered, ¡°500,000.¡±


    The crowd fell silent in an instant.


    There was a short pause before everyone started whispering among themselves.


    ¡°Is this little master really worth 500,000?¡±


    ¡°What if this is all Old Jin¡¯s set up?¡±


    ¡°But he did make significant profits this month!¡±


    ¡°Could be sheer luck. This price just doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±


    ¡°Do you know that guy?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he the unlucky guy, Zhao Bayi? His wife and children have all gone berserk.¡±


    ¡°This auction happens monthly right? Let¡¯s just give it to him. If even this unfortunate man¡¯s luck turns for the better, there¡¯s no reason for us to doubt this master¡¯s ways.¡±


    Some bidders got up and left the hall, the rest following suit shortly after.


    Seeing that no one was interested in increasing their bids anymore, Master quickly stuttered, ¡°500,000, going once, going twice... sold!¡±


    Master had mixed emotions at this point.


    He was happy with the money, of course, but he was also thinking about the possibility of the inuracies in my reading. If my work turned out to be a sham, this auction would be the first and thest.


    The owner of tablet number 42 walked over to the middle of the hall that was now more or less empty.


    Number 42 knelt before me and started bawling, ¡°Please save my family, Master. I¡¯ll pay you any amount as long as you do, be it 500,000 or 1,000,000.¡±


    The remaining visitors were stunned.


    I quickly pulled him up and into my room.


    Master had Senior clear the ce before following us in.


    Once we were inside, the man put his tablet down and rambled on, ¡°My name¡¯s Zhao Bayi and I¡¯m the boss of a steelwork factory. I started a few months back, and my wife and daughter started getting possessed. They went crazy and the doctors just can¡¯t cure them. I even sought help from the biggest temple in China, but they couldn¡¯t do anything about it because the spirits were vile.¡±


    Master shook his head in dismay. ¡°That is too much, sir. There¡¯s a price for Feng Shui reading. You¡¯ll have to top up for us to get rid of the spirits.¡±


    Zhao Bayi cried out, ¡°Money isn¡¯t the problem. I can mortgage my factory and sell my house. I¡¯m willing to do anything just to get my family back.¡±


    I can¡¯t believe Master was going to take advantage of this guy¡¯s predicament.


    ¡°500,000, it¡¯s a deal,¡± I informed Zhao Bayi.


    He managed a small smile in the middle of his sobbing.


    Master pulled me to a corner and chided, ¡°Are you mad, Goudan? Do you know how to cure mental patients?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Master. Eliminating evil is our job. I must go.¡±


    ¡°How confident are you?¡± he asked.


    I knew I couldn¡¯t give him a low number. ¡°90%, but with Senior, it¡¯s a 100.¡±


    It was a tant lie of course.


    I had no idea where to even begin.


    Senior came running in. ¡°You need my help, Junior? Oh, I¡¯ve cleared the hall, Master.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Well then, go get ready, you two. Would it be by card or cash, dear sir? You can pay us half first and the rest when the job ispleted,¡± Master suggested kindly.


    We left the temple right after collecting the deposit.


    We followed him to a jeep parked far away.


    It was iparable to the luxurious cars we¡¯d seen the day before.


    Not wanting to question him, we sat through a quiet, half an hour journey.


    Zhendong, Vi district.


    There was a vi all the way in and it stood out from the rest.


    Zhao Bayi pointed at it and said, ¡°That¡¯s my home. My wife and daughter are being taken care of by a nanny whom I¡¯ve hired a month ago.¡±


    We got off the car and I took out mypass.


    I held it toward the house and the needle started spinning uncontrobly.


    I took a deep breath. Senior, too, saw thepass and got frightened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll enter but you wait outside until I call for you. There really is something going on inside,¡± I instructed Zhao Bayi.


    Zhao Bayi simply nodded before handing me a silver key. I dragged Senior over to the house.


    The moment we opened the door, an unweing gush of wind escaped.


    It hit me and I experienced vertigo.


    Even Senior staggered backward from the force.


    I quickly opened up a small box that I kept in my pocket and smeared a little donkey blood onto my eyelids.


    I chanted some spells to open up my third eye before fixing them onto the interior of the house.


    A middle-aged woman was sitting upright on a sofa in the middle of the hall.


    Beside her sat a twitchingdy that was holding on to a girl¡¯s hand. The whole scene was indescribably spooky.


    Senior shouted at once, ¡°Pleasee out, Aunty, there are spirits inside the house.¡±


    I put my arm in front of him. ¡°Donkey blood opens up the third eye. That woman is the spirit.¡±


    I could see ck smoke rising from that woman¡¯s body.


    She smiled coldly. ¡°How can you tell, eh?¡±


    Senior opened his third eye shortly after and I hurriedly took out a few talismans with my left hand. With my right, I retrieved a wooden sword from behind my back.


    The woman got up slowly and approached us as the mother and daughter continued twitching in the hall.


    I felt goosebumps all over my body.


    Senior, too, was startled by the woman¡¯s ghastly appearance.


    The whole house was filled with ck smoke.


    I pierced a talisman with my sword while chanting and smacked it toward the woman.


    She blocked my sword effortlessly with one hand and kicked me in the stomach.


    I flew about three meters back, mming into the shoe rack.


    That wasn¡¯t a woman¡¯s strength.


    She said cooly, ¡°You really think your rubbish can hurt me?¡±


    Her voice sounded neither like a woman nor a man at that point.


    Senior had initially looked like he wanted to help me, but instead, he rushed over to the woman and held her in a death grip. ¡°She¡¯s not a ghost. The sword is ineffective. She¡¯s a wind fox, as described in the ssic of Mountain and Sea...¡±


    Before he could finish, the woman executed a tombstone piledriver, effectively knocking him unconscious.


    It was my first time witnessing such a splendid attempt.


    I was still in shock when she walked toward me.


    Oh my god, a wind fox?


    Doesn¡¯t Senior know that I have limited knowledge about the contents of the ssic Mountain and Sea? What¡¯s the point of telling me the type of species? Why didn¡¯t he just tell me how to deal with it? What am I going to do?


    She grabbed me by my shirt and easily lifted me up.


    A familiar voice filled my ears. It was the voice of an old man.


    ¡°Roar at her,¡± he advised simply.


    I inhaled deeply before following the voice¡¯s instruction.


    It wasn¡¯t loud, but she loosened her grip and curled up.


    The ck smoke around her rose up and scattered. She asked weakly, ¡°What dragon are you?¡±


    ¡°What dragon?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what dragon you are. My master, the real dragon, will destroy you on my behalf...¡± her voice became fuzzy and a silhouette of a green fox emerged from her body.


    It jumped out of the window speedily and I was at a loss.


    When I regained my senses, the mother and daughter were no longer trembling and twitching.


    The woman was calling for the police while the daughter screamed, ¡°Get lost, baddies!¡±


    I quickly called for Zhao Bayi.


    Seeing his family safe and sound, Zhao Bayi brought the nanny and Senior to the nearest hospital.


    All of us squeezed into the seven sitter jeep.


    At the hospital, the nurses carried the woman and Senior inside.


    Even though Senior was hit hard, he only sustained minor injuries and was able to wake up a few hourster.


    ¡°What is the wind fox all about, Senior?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Are you alright, Junior? Where are we?¡± he questioned, puzzled.


    ¡°I scared the fox away, but what is it, exactly?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°The Wind fox, or the wind beast, is simr to humans in the way that they are naturallyzy. It resembles a sable and is green in color. Fire can¡¯t burn it and de can¡¯t cut it. Fighting it is like hitting a leather bag, impossible to damage. Hitting its head a thousand times could knock it out, but it will revive when wind enters its mouth. Stuffing cmus into its nose would kill it,¡± he exined.


    I pondered over what the real dragon the wind fox mentioned could be, my brows knitting with the effort.

 Chapter 63: Mountain, Sea V: Pu Lao

    <h4>Chapter 63: Mountain, Sea V: Pu Lao</h4>


    Senior wasn¡¯t in any serious condition and the woman, too, had woken up from hera. She had absolutely no idea of the things that had happened.


    There was no way of getting any information from her since she did not even recall working for Zhao Bayi.


    Herst memory was of her taking a stroll.


    She did, however, remember her name and background.


    She requested to contact her family to tell them that she was safe and also to get them to bring her home.


    The man over the phone, whom she called husband, shared that he had filed a police report two months ago and asked for the hospital¡¯s address.


    I was befuddled and so was Zhao Bayi.


    ording to him, other than the woman¡¯s name, the way she spoke and her mannerisms werepletely different from when they first met.


    After reassuring Senior, I went over to the doctor to get more details.


    He mentioned that while Senior was just minorly injured, it would be better for him to remain in the hospital under observation for another three days.


    He then looked over at the woman and said that she could be discharged any time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for their bills. Give him the best examinations and amenities,¡± Zhao Bayi graciously said, hugging his family tight.


    ¡°Rest a little, Senior,¡± I encouraged him.


    His body was probably still feeling the ache since he merely nodded before his eyes slid shut.


    ¡°Let him rest, let¡¯s talk elsewhere,¡± I told Zhao Bayi.


    After paying the remaining dues, Zhao Bayi drove me back to his vi.


    His jeep was much more spacious now that there were two fewer passengers.


    I sat in the front while his wife and daughter took the backseats.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to rify a few things,¡± I started.


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°It was a demon, a wind fox to be exact, that had invaded your home and possessed your employee. I simply scared it off, it¡¯s not dead.¡±


    ¡°Will ite back for revenge, Master?¡± Zhao Bayi asked, concerned.


    He drove somewhat anxiously now and the car started jerking a little.


    ¡°You¡¯re driving, Bayi,¡± his wife reminded urgently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything else, I¡¯ll finish the job cleanly,¡± I promised.


    ¡°My family¡¯s safety is in your hands, Master,¡± Zhao Bayi pleaded.


    I nodded before turning around to address his wife, ¡°You must be his lover. Do you remember anything that had happened?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°A little. I remember the housekeeper boiling some fish soup for my daughter, Niuniu, and I. I do not remember anything else after, and the next person I saw is you.¡±


    Zhao Bayi¡¯s expression turned grave. ¡°I don¡¯t really like soup. It looks like we¡¯ve found the cause, but what was the wind fox¡¯s motive?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you some questions so please answer them honestly,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything I know,¡± he assured.


    ¡°Where did you find that housekeeper?¡±


    ¡°I passed a park two months ago. She was waving a sign that said she was looking for a full-time job as a nanny. Our helper from the Philippines had asked for a raise prior to that and finding it unreasonable, I fired her and hired that woman,¡± he exined.


    After some thought, I continued, ¡°Did you offend anyone two months ago?¡±


    ¡°I work in a steel factory. Who could I have possibly offended?¡± Zhao Bayi mumbled.


    ¡°No, husband. Don¡¯t you remember the thing that happened at the zoo? Didn¡¯t the boss yell something about finding someone to deal with you? Have you forgotten?¡± she questioned nervously.


    ¡°The zoo?¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°That¡¯s considered? I did think about that incident after and agreed that I was at fault. It¡¯s only normal for him to have been harsh about it,¡± Zhao Bayi answered, lowering his head slightly.


    Wind fox? The zoo?


    I scrunched my eyebrows.


    It can¡¯t be that simple.


    ¡°Give me the details,¡± I urged.


    ¡°Our factory does skimp on the job and stint on materials at times. The zoo had requested for us to build them a cage. It was onlyter on that I discovered our cage wasn¡¯t of the set standard. I only found out that there were issues with our agreement after sending it to the zoo. I have to admit that I¡¯m to be med for not supervising my staff properly,¡± he narrated with a softer and gentler tone.


    ¡°I understand,¡± I responded faintly.


    ¡°What are your ns then, Master? Can you bless my house, please?¡± Zhao Bayi requested.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the house and search for clues first.¡±


    My mind wandered to the real dragon the wind fox warned me about.


    Perhaps the dragon was hiding in the zoo.


    The jeep stopped.


    We alighted and headed toward the vi.


    All of us got a shock upon opening the door.


    In the few hours that we were gone, the whole apartment had turned into a mess.


    It was as if someone had ransacked the whole ce.


    ¡°Must be the fox¡¯s doing,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s not safe here,¡± Zhao Bayi¡¯s wife said.


    The next thing I knew, Zhao Bayi was on his knees in front of me. ¡°You must help us, Master.¡±


    Expressionless, I asked, ¡°Are you sure you haven¡¯t offended anyone else?¡±


    He thought about it for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°Will you go upstairs with me, Master? I would like to see if the safe is still around,¡± Zhao Bayi pointed upward.


    I followed him to the master bedroom on the second floor.


    It waspletely empty except for the big wooden bed.


    Zhao Bayi pointed at the headboard. ¡°It¡¯s missing.¡±


    ¡°Call the police first while I make a trip down to the zoo. Move out within these next few days. Give me your contact number and wait for my good news,¡± I instructed.


    Zhao Bayi nodded. He wrote his number down for me and slipped a thousand dor bill into my pocket.


    I left the vi, hailed a taxi and rushed to the zoo.


    It was especially lively and packed that day.


    I bought a ticket and entered.


    There were all kinds of signboards introducing the different types of animals.


    Penguins, lions, elephants, pandas...


    Wait, pandas?


    They¡¯re considered to be national treasures. How could our small county zoo possibly get a hold of them?


    I walked toward the sectioned area for pandas to check it out.


    A stench invaded my nostrils the moment I stepped inside.


    It was indescribably pungent.


    There were about seven dogs kept inside the metal fence.


    Excited visitors were observing and discussing the dogs.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point ofing all the way here for these dogs?¡± I said out loud.


    They looked over at me before a small voice rang, ¡°This man¡¯s nuts.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s mental.¡±


    ¡°Calling pandas dogs? Weirdo.¡±


    ¡°Go back to school if you can¡¯t even tell them apart.¡±


    I wondered what was going on.


    I noticed someone photographing the dogs and I leaned over to take a look. The image he had captured was indeed that of pandas.


    Oh my god.


    I retrieved my mobile phone andunched the camera.


    I snapped a photo of the dogs and they, too, transformed into charmingly naive looking pandas.


    Have I gone berserk, too?


    I rubbed my eyes and the dried donkey blood fell off my eyelids.


    Oh. That¡¯s why.


    The donkey blood had opened up my third eye and allowed me to see demonic creatures.


    I left the crowd and walked over to other exhibition halls.


    All I saw were dogs but the images that I snapped were those of all kinds of animals.


    Frustrated, I gave Senior a call.


    After exining the situation to him, he listed at least ten demonic beasts that could¡¯ve been the cause of this.


    Left confused and drained, I hung up.


    Immediately after I ended the call, Zhao Bayi¡¯s number appeared on my screen.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Whose disciple are you?¡± he asked dully.


    That wasn¡¯t his voice for sure.


    ¡°Whose disciple?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°You smell foreign.¡±


    ¡°Smell? You can smell me? You know where I am?¡±


    ¡°We have simr smells. Whose disciple are you? My older or younger brother?¡±


    Instead of answering, I surveyed my surroundings.


    There was only one slightly taller building around.


    I stared at it and answered, ¡°You¡¯re in there? You kidnapped Zhao Bayi?¡±


    ¡°Answer before asking.¡±


    I let out a helpless sigh.


    Simr smells... older and younger brother... mixed dragon and pure dragon?


    After a short consideration, I tried my luck. ¡°Tao Tie.¡±


    ¡°Fifth brother? I haven¡¯t seen him in a long time. Come on up. Someone will lead the way. I have so many questions for you.¡±


    I quickly made my way to that building and the person guarding the doors took me by surprise.


    It was a wind fox disguised as a female employee.


    ¡°You guys kidnapped him?¡±


    ¡°Go up and you¡¯ll know,¡± the wind fox repliedughingly.


    Before I could ask another question, she turned around and entered the building.


    I followed suit.


    The elevator doors opened and she walked in.


    Again, I could only follow her.


    Inside the elevator, she started, ¡°I had thought that you were of a mixed bred. Who would¡¯ve known that you have the same blood as our master.¡±


    I reyed her words silently, a rough idea of what was going on forming in my mind.


    Same blood as Tao Tie? One of the nine sons?


    The doors opened slowly and she made her way out.


    I saw Zhao Bayi and his family, their backs toward me as they knelt in front of a chair.


    I walked out and the man on the chair spoke up. ¡°You tried to get them to hide? But to where?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was merely teasing them, I didn¡¯t expect to attract such an important figure. Tao Tie¡¯s disciple, why are you working for bad people?¡±


    Bad people?


    ¡°I¡¯m only helping whoever I believe deserves it,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Deserves it? Do you know how evil these humans are? I spent so much on the steel fence but they gave me a bunch of rusted trash,¡± heined, repeatedly mming his fist on the table with enough force to cause the room to shake.


    Zhao Bayi cried out, ¡°I¡¯ve learned my lesson, I¡¯ve learned my lesson.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s admitted his mistake. Why won¡¯t you forgive him?¡±


    ¡°Whose side are you on, boy? Elbows bending outward? Tao Tie will be infuriated to have a disciple like you for sure. Wait a minute, you¡¯re a human?¡±


    He stood up and waved his hand.


    I was dragged over to his side by a gush of air.


    His hand was held firmly against my body.


    He sniffed me for a few seconds andmented, ¡°You¡¯re strange, boy.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± I managed to squeak out.


    ¡°I, Pu Lao, have never seen someone like you. A human without a soul.¡±


    ¡°Pu Lao?!¡± I eximed.


    ¡°I¡¯m the dragon¡¯s third son and the zoo is my business.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re all dogs,¡± I said stupidly.


    ¡°What we see are dogs but humans would be able to see all kinds of animals. What can I do? Humans like me,¡± Pu Lao smiled.


    ¡°What are you going to do to Zhao Bayi? And what are you going to do with me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter, initially, but now that you¡¯re involved... I¡¯ll need to correct that attitude of yours and I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re human or not. Pass my test and all of you will be fine. Otherwise, I¡¯ll add you guys to my pet collection downstairs,¡± he said with a malevolentugh.


    ¡°Attitude? What attitude do I have?¡± I struggled.


    He threw me onto the ground and said, ¡°I¡¯m not mad, but you¡¯re still unsure of what you represent. To other spirits, you¡¯re a dragon and not human. You have to correct yourself.¡±


    I remained silent.


    ¡°If you refuse to learn, I¡¯ll make you join the animals downstairs as a way to discipline you on Tao Tie¡¯s behalf. It would also prevent you from getting into trouble elsewhere, shaming his reputation.¡±


    Things weren¡¯t good, I knew, but there was nothing I could do.


    My body was aching from that m.


    ¡°Write down the passcode of your safe and that will be the end of this matter. Tell anyone about what happened and you¡¯ll die,¡± Pu Lao warned Zhao Bayi.


    Zhao Bayi made a few bows before writing something down on a piece of paper. He then quickly pulled his family away, running and shouting, ¡°I¡¯ve learned my lesson.¡±


    The wind fox came over and pulled me off the ground.


    Pu Lao sat back down and looked out of the windows at his zoo.


    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Rest first. There¡¯s no rush,¡± the wind fox answered coyly with a grin.

 Chapter 64: Mountain, Sea VI: Baize

    <h4>Chapter 64: Mountain, Sea VI: Baize</h4>


    It was only when she was dragging me out that I realized that I was unable to move my body.


    Despite the negligible force Pu Lao had exerted earlier, my limbs were broken.


    The wind fox brought me down to a single room in the basement and threw me onto the bed.


    The adrenaline started to wear off and I felt pain returning to my body.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I need the hospital,¡± I groaned out.


    ¡°Hospital? Do you really think you can leave this ce?¡± the fox sneered.


    The pain was bing unbearable. ¡°It hurts so much! I¡¯m going to die!¡±


    The wind fox let out a groan like I was the one being unreasonable before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.


    Only my brain was active.


    I looked around the room.


    It was in and simple.


    I tried moving a hand and discovered that I had no strength to do so.


    Pu Lao had merely pushed me onto the ground.


    I experienced a whole new level of fear as I imagined how easily he could¡¯ve killed me.


    I recalled his words. Pass his test and I¡¯ll be safe.


    Fail and I¡¯ll be put on disy for the rest of my life.


    I was curious, however, about what animal he would turn me into.


    But of course, it was ideal that I do not be a part of this fake zoo.


    It was brilliant of him, though. There were wild dogs all around town.


    This fake zoo attracted a high volume of tourists and it was clearly a profitable business. It was no wonder Pu Lao had such arge influence.


    What he said about dragons possessing a certain attitude... does he really regard me as a dragon?


    Tao Tie did offer me a piece of his soul. Could that be the reason?


    Something else came to mind.


    Previously, as the wind fox was about to attack me, I had heard a frail old voice advising me.


    And the wind fox was indeed afraid of my roar.


    Perhaps that roar contained some dragon breath that could subdue demons?


    I started roaring.


    Nothing in the room changed.


    All I heard was a voiceing from outside: ¡°Why are you howling? It¡¯s so noisy!¡±


    I turned my head slowly toward the door as an ancient doctor-like young fellow walked in.


    He had white hair and he was dressed in a white gown. He put his medicine box down.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re enduring the pain well. You, youngsters, are sturdy, indeed. I should¡¯ve eaten beforeing since it looked like an hour¡¯s wait wouldn¡¯t kill you, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Youngster? You look much younger than me. Do you think you¡¯re all that great just because you¡¯re dressed like Ning Caichen? Get lost! Go find your little lover!¡± I yelled in anger.


    ¡°Ning Caichen? A long time ago, when I was treating him, he did ask if he could write me into a book,¡± he mused.


    Pu Songling? The writer of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio? Treating?


    I calmed down instantly, figuring out that those working for Pu Lao weren¡¯t normal humans.


    Which era was Pu Songling from? And what about this young man?


    ¡°Are you going to treat me, brother? Hurry, please.¡± I was suffering beyond belief and I really couldn¡¯t care less about his treating methods right now.


    ¡°What an attitude, young man! Don¡¯t you know that even that old fellow, Pu Lao, won¡¯t utter a word even if you die under my care?¡±


    Pu Lao can¡¯t do anything to this fellow?


    I thought about probing. This young doctor was definitely an old demon.


    Treating patients? Treated Pu Songling?


    The most powerful ancient doctor? The Legend of the Divine Farmer?


    ¡°Hey, do you know the Divine Farmer?¡± I asked.


    The doctor rolled out a white cloth with all kinds of needles ced neatly on top.


    ¡°Divine Farmer?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, him.¡±


    Water filled his eyes immediately and tears started rolling down his face.


    I was stunned.


    ¡°Do you know who wrote the first-ever book about herbs and medicine?¡± he managed as endless tears continued flowing down.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Yellow Emperor¡¯s Internal Canon and Divine Farmer¡¯s Compendium of Materia Medica?¡± I rified. Thankfully, I had been exposed to medical books back in the temple.


    ¡°They were written by the same person,¡± he exined before wiping his tears with his sleeves.


    The Yellow Emperor is also the Divine Farmer?


    ¡°You¡¯re saying they¡¯re the same person?¡±


    ¡°No. Divine Farmer is a group of people.¡±


    ¡°Divine Farmer is a group of people?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°The Legend of the Divine Farmer? Do you really think you humans can test so many species of nts for poison and not die? There are 25 of them who sacrificed their lives topile a record. Only three survived after the list was sufficient for publishing,¡± he exined.


    The words that I was about to say turned into a high-pitched screech.


    He had just stuck a needle right into my inner thigh.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that Divine Farmer is made up of 25 individuals and that both books were written by one person? But weren¡¯t there 25?¡± I asked between breaks because it hurt so badly.


    ¡°Because they¡¯re epting orders from one person,¡± he answered, his tears still continuing to flow.


    ¡°Yellow Emperor?¡±


    It seemed as though the mere mention of the Yellow Emperor would open the floodgates.


    Who was this Yellow Emperor, exactly?


    He injected the second needle into my right arm. By now, I had little needles all over my body.


    A tear fell onto my body. As I felt the warmth of it, he started reciting an ancient poem:


    The Emperor patrols the East Ocean and ascends Soapberry Mountain to reach the shore where the white marsh beast resides.


    He asks about all supernatural things of the world, but as the white marsh beast tells simply, ancient energy essence has turned into matter and wandering spirits into infinite mutations.


    The beast then urges him to share it with the world with imagery and words, which he does, through this song.


    I eyed the young doctor up and down and eximed in shock, ¡°You¡¯re White Marsh, Baize!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve made me recall a lot, young man. I was good friends with Yellow Emperor. A pity he was human and had to depart from this world when his time was up.¡± He wiped his eyes with his sleeves once again.


    My body was now covered with needles and I was still unable to move.


    Baize bent down and took out a bottle from his medicine box.


    There was a puff of ck smoke squirming within.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°This is good stuff. A piece of Pu Lao¡¯s soul. I¡¯ve been wanting to exchange something for it but to no avail, yet he¡¯s giving it to you for free.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± I asked nervously.


    ¡°This has been in his body all along, and because his body is abnormally strong, it is not something ordinary monsters could swallow. It will be harder for you since you¡¯re half human,¡± he said, ignoring my question.


    ¡°Are you really going to put this in my body?¡±


    Baize smiled. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you believe me? I¡¯m the holy physician, Baize. No one would dare im to be the first even if I imed second.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the first spot, then?¡± I mocked.


    Baize raised his head, his tears streaming generously down his cheeks.


    He cried out, ¡°The first? Uncle Yellow Emperor deserves to be the first!¡±


    Having lived tens of thousands of years disguising as a young fellow, Baize was filled with deep emotions as he called out the ancestor¡¯s name.


    He lowered his head slowly and opened the bottle.


    He inverted the bottle and grabbed the ck substance in his hand before stuffing it into my mouth.


    He held it firmly against my mouth.


    I felt something going crazy within my body. It was difficult to bear.


    It was totally different from when Tao Tie gave me a piece of his soul.


    I felt swollen and bloated.


    With a bitter smile, Baize ryed, ¡°Pu Lao said you¡¯ll get your freedom if you pass this test. If you fail, you¡¯ll be paralyzed and he will take care of you, as an animal, for the rest of your life. Someone will feed you every day and you can just lie around. He¡¯s already decided that you¡¯ll be a sloth.¡±


    I wanted to speak up but I can¡¯t.


    Baize kept his hand on my mouth.


    At least one of my questions was answered. I would be a sloth.


    Indeed, since I wouldn¡¯t be able to move at all.


    Amidst of my suffering, a frail old voice fell upon my ears. ¡°Couple strength with gentleness. Resist it and it will do the same but worse.¡±


    Baize sighed, ¡°So Tao Tie left a piece of soul with you. You must¡¯ve saved the world in your previous life. Why else would everyone be so eager to help you?¡±


    I didn¡¯t take much of his words in as I was preupied with that old voice.


    Couple strength with gentleness?


    I shouldn¡¯t resist? Won¡¯t I die if I don¡¯t, though?


    Not having much choice, I loosened my limbs and imagined myself as a sloth, naked and hugging a tree.


    As soon as I rxed, I felt the pain being reduced slightly.


    Baize took his hand off and I could finally breathe in some fresh air.


    A puff of ck smoke rose from my mouth before making its way in soon after.


    My stomach was churning and my limbs were tensed.


    Baize walked toward the door and opened it.


    I saw the wind fox standing outside.


    ¡°Is it done, sir?¡±


    Baize nodded. ¡°The rest is up to him. Remember to get your master to pay me for those needles.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the wind fox reassured.


    It was then that I realized that those needles were still on my body.


    But I could actually move.


    My first reaction was to grab the needles, but I discovered that they were entering my body bit by bit.


    With my right hand, I tried grabbing the end of a long needle.


    Baize turned around. ¡°Wanna take it out? Don¡¯t wanna live anymore?¡±


    Helpless, I let go and watched as the needle slowly entered my body.


    This... am I going turning into Wolverine during security checks?


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Wolverine? What a joke. If you had taken the needle out, you would really have be a sloth. You gotta learn how to count your blessings.¡±


    He could read minds? Strange.


    I tried to organize my thoughts.


    Thoughts about Yellow Emperor, Divine Farmer, and all that Baize had said.


    You¡¯ve made me recall a lot, young man.


    In that case, he must¡¯ve read that I was trying to figure out his rtionship with Yellow Emperor.


    I see.


    I stared at him as he left the room.


    The wind fox came in andmented, ¡°To think you were trying to take it out.¡±


    ¡°What are these nonsensical needles, exactly?¡± I asked with much effort.


    ¡°Nonsensical? These are the green dragon¡¯s beard. It takes the dragon a hundred years to grow a centimeter. Yes, he likes gambling, but do you know how difficult it was to get him to use his beard as coteral? That set of needles cost my master half his fortune,¡± the wind fox rambled.


    My swollen body started to return to its original state but it was burning hot.


    I quickly removed my clothes and felt much better.


    I could move nimbly now.


    The moment I took my clothes off, I saw the green needles moving about non-stop.


    They appeared and disappeared at times as did the green veins in my body.


    I even noticed a green dragon tattoo surfacing on my skin, extending from the front of my body to the whole of my back.


    It trembled from time to time like a live creature.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked worriedly, although it was pretty bizarre and exceptionally cool-looking.


    ¡°Quit boasting. Do you think your body can block off my master¡¯s soul? Although the green dragon is considered a mixed breed, it is already beyond humans.¡± The wind fox touched my body before grabbing me forcefully by my chest.


    I looked into the wind fox¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t mean it when she said my body was weak and inferior.


    She released me. ¡°Put your clothes on. You¡¯ll stay here for a month and Teacher Baize will teach you some manners and etiquettes. I¡¯ll be settling your expenses.¡±


    ¡°Can I give my family a call?¡± I asked.


    She waved her hand. ¡°As you wish.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask a question first?¡±


    ¡°As you wish,¡± she repeated.


    ¡°Where did Baizee from and why is he here?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°He¡¯s our veterinarian. He treats our sick animals.¡±


    ¡°He treats the dogs when they fall ill?¡± I asked, surprised.


    ¡°Say it one more time and see what happens,¡± she warned.


    I shut my mouth instantly.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve gotten Teacher Baize to set you straight,¡± she scoffed and left the room.


    I was left alone, still bedridden.


    I contemted for a long time before pulling out my phone and giving Master a call to exin the situation.


    Of course, I fabricated a story and said that Zhao Bayi had me stay on as a guest.


    I also informed him that I would be back a monthter.


    I even hid the fact that Senior was in the hospital and lied that he was with me.


    Master chided us for being rebellious kids and used us of trying to form our own establishment.


    I could onlyugh and exin that only dummies would refuse free lodging and money.


    Master grudgingly agreed and reminded me to bring the other half of Zhao Bayi¡¯s fees home.

 Chapter 65: Battlefield Reporter

    <h4>Chapter 65: Battlefield Reporter</h4>


    I¡¯m Chalk, a battlefield reporter.


    My job was to bring thetest and most truthful war updates to the citizens.


    Wars were inevitably bloody and cruel, making my job dangerous and difficult.


    Battlefield reporters were rare in this country since no normal human being would choose to enter in one of the most dangerous fields of work.


    I, however, took great pleasure in my work as I¡¯ve always wanted to be a soldier.


    It was too bad that my background dictated that I¡¯m unable to serve for any country.


    Twenty years ago, Golden Sun and ck Eagle were allies.


    Golden Sun was a magnificent empire whereas ck Eagle was still a developing one.


    My mother was a nomadic herdsman living on the boundaries of ck Eagle while my father was a businessman traveling along the Silk Road.


    The ck Eagle Empire, as its name suggests, was a nation known for rearing ck eagles because only itsnd was suitable for raisingrge-build ck eagles.


    These ck eagles have quality feathers, the best material for quill pens.


    My father was in this very line of business.


    He would pay exorbitant prices for the ck feathers and transport them back to Golden Sun Empire.


    The feathers would be processed and refined in Golden Sun. The factory would cut open the feathers¡¯ tube, remove the liquid in it, and sharpen it with a carving knife.


    They would then drill a fillister in the center of the tip to prevent ink from flowing out when not in use.


    A notch will be carved to allow the ink to flow smoothly from the top to the pen tip.


    The tube will be filled with high-quality ink that could be used after cutting open the notch.


    These superior quill pens were then sold to every corner of the empire.


    Even in this technologically advanced age, having possession of such pens was a symbol of luxury and elegance.


    It was also through this trade that my father became acquainted with my mother. He introduced her to this concrete society.


    They gave birth to me but I was never interested in the feather business.


    Father felt proudest of his achievements when he could lend his quill pen to people who needed one.


    Nothing greatsts forever, of course.


    The business was halted due to war between both empires.


    The conflict arose from unevenly developed exchange-traded treasury bonds. ck Eagle was quickly gaining strength but Golden Sun was trying to suppress its progress.


    After proposing 63 unfair agreements, Golden Sun Empire obliterated all kind feelings between both nations.


    The war started and both nations cut off all connections.


    The Silk Road became a dead road covered with corpses.


    Because of her marriage to my father, Mother had no choice but to remain in Golden Sun.


    She could only observe ck Eagle from afar and mourn the fact that she could possibly never see her family again.


    I was still young during the second year of the war.


    Father was thrown into jail for marrying an enemy.


    The ck feathers in the storehouse were all plundered and Father was even given the death penalty due to therge volume.


    The quill pens which were once a representation of affluence became a symbol of betrayal.


    Upon Father¡¯s death, practically none of his rtives approved of Mother because she belonged to ck Eagle Empire.


    She could only suffer in silence as she raised me. She knew nothing else apart from household chores.


    Most of the time, she was employed as a housekeeper and would fashion pens made from doves¡¯ feathers.


    The art of making pens was the only thing Father had imparted to her before he left.


    While other kids had new toys to y with and new clothes to wear, I grew up ying with the pens and sleeping on the feather pillows Mother made.


    I eventually developed a fear of that feathery smell.


    I was, fortunately, good in my studies. Perhaps it had something to do with the quill pens since Mom often reminded me that they represented Father.


    I had no interest in writing and drawing, however. I was determined to be a soldier, only to realizeter on that the army wouldn¡¯t ept me because of my identity.


    As such, I graduated from university and became a reporter.


    When I first came to know about this unique profession, I jumped into it without any second thoughts.


    It was a danger-filled career so I was easily epted without being put through thorough checks.


    I was a team with my photographer.


    Mother disapproved of my job, but nevertheless, she would get my suitcase ready whenever I had a mission.


    ¡°If you meet the herdsmen, find the mojito tribesmen and tell them that Butterfly misses them.¡±


    However, ording to my knowledge, the nomadic herdsmen had moved into the vige since the war started.


    It was going to be difficult to locate them but I had never disregarded her words.


    Of course, being a battlefield reporter wasn¡¯t as dangerous as it seems.


    Reporters should be fine if they just stay low and wait the war out.


    If one party ims victory over the other, or when the reporters have been held captive by either party, they would be released upon producing the necessary documents since their job was well-respected by people.


    On the ck Eagle side lies a vast grasnd, once a paradise for the nomadic herdsmen.


    The keyword was ¡®once¡¯.


    Just yesterday, in the vehicle carrying army supplies en route to Golden Sun Empire, I already had the newest report and headlines ready for publishing.


    When the vehicle stopped by a small encampment to rest, I heard some soldiers talking about a homicidal maniac running about in the vige.


    Their conversations piqued my interest, but the photographer did not dare to apany me in.


    He said he was tired and that lunatics produced by war were more frightening than soldiers.


    My objective wasn¡¯t just to photograph the events but rather to fulfill Mother¡¯s wishes.


    To see if there were any mojito tribesmen inside and to convey her longings.


    I dropped my bag and informed the photographer that I would return in an hour.


    Carrying his camera with me, I entered alone.


    There were beautifulndscapes along the way but I was not in the mood to appreciate them.


    It was a hamlet, where houses were made from wooden nks and other makeshift materials.


    When I reached the vige, it was totally empty. I figured that the vigers were hiding from the maniac.


    During the war, there simply was no time for the soldiers to protect the vigers from such maniacs.


    The chaos caused by these maniacs became negligible in face of real war.


    As I was about to leave in disappointment, I noticed two shadows in a corner.


    One stood on the spot, panicking, while the other held onto a dagger with a face full of malevolence.


    He must be the maniac, I guessed.


    The panicking victim was stumbling and falling clumsily to the ground.


    Just as the killer was about to attack, he spotted me. He immediately turned away and fled.


    I quickly made the chase, trying to capture whatever footage I could with the shaking camera.


    While my first reaction should¡¯ve been to save the victim, it would be more effective to restrain the killer.


    I thought about how I would be able to run much faster without the camera.


    I decided to drop it as I turned a corner and it, indeed, increased my chasing speed.


    When I held the killer down with my body, he struggled non-stop beneath me.


    I snatched his dagger and stabbed him.


    I walked over to the camera and was about to save the clip when a bunch of vigers rushed over.


    I waved my hands over and tried to exin the situation to them, but they threw me onto the ground and pressed me against it.


    Flustered, I tried to clear the misunderstanding, thinking ahead about how I would be the vige hero and how I would call for the mojito tribesmen.


    But before I could finish, I was dragged, along with the victim, and thrown into the local jail.


    I was used of being an aplice and the evidence was the camera in my hands.


    It turned out that the camera had managed to capture the corpses hidden within bushes and corners.


    All I could think of were Mother¡¯s wishes.


    And that victim, or so I had thought, was the real maniac and that his dagger had been taken away by the real victim before he could attack.


    That maniac wasn¡¯t in his right mind, so seeing that I¡¯ve killed thest man for him made him believe that I was on his side.


    He then told the police about it confidently, and as in his statement, I did kill a helpless viger.


    While giving his statement, he kept calling me his partner, saying that he would see me again in the same cell.


    My identity as a reporter and my side of the story wasn¡¯t being taken seriously because I was from Golden Sun Empire.


    Most importantly, my work pass was in my bag, which I had handed over to the cameraman before leaving.


    Aside from the camera, there was nothing else, not even a pen or paper, to verify my identity.


    Even my possession of the camera made them think that I was going to release the clip online to satisfy some sort of perverse desire.


    As for the vehicle and the cameraman, they had decided that I was murdered, since I did not return by the promised hour, and quickly left for Golden Sun.


    The camera had clearly captured the whole killing process and the clip was publicized on the national television in ck Eagle Empire.


    At the same time, in Golden Sun Empire, televisions were broadcasting the battlefield reports that I had been hosting from the frontline.

 Chapter 66: Moon of Wrath I

    <h4>Chapter 66: Moon of Wrath I</h4>


    I¡¯m Goudan, the nation¡¯s prime minister.


    A year ago, our neighboring country had gained significant fame and reputation through a sessful rocketunch.


    It became a supernation overnight.


    Rocket? Commendable.


    A reinforced steel cylinder costs up to a few hundred million.


    It stood erect on the ground, its goal the faraway sky.


    The reporters were narrating the scene of the rocket shooting up live on national television.


    No ident, no explosion, no deviation.


    Televisions recycled the rocketunch scene and published it in newspapers.


    Then came the longsting boasts.


    Practically all countries started turning rocketunch into a trend.


    Be it wealthy or developing countries, all believed that a sessfulunch would symbolize their nation¡¯s brimming financial and physical resources.


    They also believed that it signified that a country had foresight.


    This matter became a knot in my heart.


    A knot that I must untangle.


    Government Building, inside the office.


    In a meeting.


    ¡°Are we going tounch one to raise the citizens¡¯ spirits?¡± the chief of propaganda department questioned.


    ¡°Do we have the capital?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°Taxes and fundings this year add up to about 700 million, but I¡¯m not sure how much we¡¯ll have to pump into this,¡± the finance minister answered.


    ¡°Do we have the necessary technology and resources?¡± I continued.


    Silence.


    A general, sitting furthest away from everyone, tucked his hat between his belt and walked over.


    He stopped before me and retrieved a thick set of documents from behind him. ¡°Prime Minister, I¡¯d originally intended to appeal for a batch of the newest missile ingredients, but now, I would rather have the military expert build a rocket.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re proposing that the missile builder build a rocket?¡± I asked in surprise.


    Sighs filled the room.


    ¡°Why not?¡± the general raised his voice.


    ¡°I think you should give your scientists a call to check the feasibility of your n before we continue this discussion,¡± I told him. He had to understand that this wasn¡¯t a joking matter.


    The general pulled out a satellite phone from his back pocket and pressed some buttons.


    After a few minute conversation over the phone, he hung up and bowed to me. ¡°The military expert requires some input from the mathematicians but they believe it¡¯s not a problem, and I have faith in them. Just take a look at these missile blueprints. It¡¯s practically perfect.¡±


    I browsed through the diagrams one by one.


    All drawnponents came with precise measurements andbels stating their specific functions.


    The chief of cultural department smiled and said, ¡°I have countless mathematicians with me. That¡¯s not a problem.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Have you asked your specialists about the costs, General?¡±


    With a grave expression, he answered, ¡°Because this will be our very firstunch, the estimated cost is about 1.3billion.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we only have 700 million?¡±


    The chief of cultural department trembled slightly as he spoke, ¡°We had nned to build a world-ss sports stadiumst year, but our neighbor¡¯s newly built stadium far surpassed our blueprints so I halted the project and saved the money. We should have about 400 million and a massive site avable.¡±


    My jaw dropped. Everyone was taken aback.


    ¡°Where is it?¡±


    The chief took a red pen out and walked over to the blueprints on the table.


    He marked out the city center, tapping the location with his pen.


    ¡°1.1 billion capital to build a rocket in the city center?¡± I processed the information slowly.


    Everyone was stunned.


    After a brief pause, the general started pping.


    So did the chief of the cultural department.


    Soon, apuse and cheers took over the room.


    Suddenly, the door was kicked open and five fully-equipped soldiers barged in.


    I stood up, frustrated. ¡°Withdraw. No one¡¯s hurt. We were just too excited. Everyone is in agreement for this project?¡±


    Hands shot up into the air one after another, leaving the soldiers baffled.


    In a corner, the chief of disease prevention department stood up and said, ¡°Willunching the rocket in the city center produce any harmful substances? And will those substances...¡±


    The soldiers left the room at this point, holding up the broken door in ce.


    ¡°Get more information from the scientists. Be more detailed, General,¡± I ordered.


    The general turned away and picked up his satellite phone once again.


    The call was going on for a few minutes when the general suddenly raised a fist high up.


    He gave us a thumbs up, informing us that it was good news.


    After he hung up, the general turned to us and ryed, ¡°We can build a giant protection sector to iste the noise and radiation. The military expert raised no concerns, but the shield is going to cost about 100 million.¡±


    ¡°13 plus one... how much do we have now?¡±


    ¡°With the 400 million from the stadium, we have a total of 1.1billion,¡± the finance minister answered.


    The chief of the cultural department got up. ¡°We may be short of 300 million but if news spreads, we could stick ads onto the aforementioned protection sector and even on the rocket itself. I¡¯m sure we will gather more than 300million.¡±


    ¡°Have we gone mad?¡± I asked, still attempting to piece things together in my head.


    The general patted my shoulder. ¡°No, we¡¯re creating the future.¡±


    ¡°We need a resounding name for this project,¡± I decided.


    Rocket in the city center? Core?


    I looked at the map on the table, the red mark catching my attention. ¡°Let¡¯s call it the Red Dot Project.¡±


    The chief of propaganda department shook his head. ¡°People will associate it with war. This is the start of our nation¡¯s transformation. How about Project Begin?¡±


    ¡°Project Begin? Looks like we¡¯ve got our name. Run anything that has to do with this project through my approval before executing them,¡± I shouted with vigor.


    Shouts and apuse filled the room once more.


    Again, the door was kicked open and the soldiers trodded in.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine. Why do you guyse in the moment we raise our voice?¡± I asked curiously since nothing like this had ever happened before.


    One of the soldiers shed a watch in his hand. There were a few numbers on it.


    He exined, ¡°General¡¯s rule. Exceed 80 decibels and we¡¯re supposed to check in.¡±


    I turned to look at the general. He waved his hand sheepishly. ¡°For safety.¡±


    ¡°Looks like this project is well-supported! Over 80 decibels!¡± I noted excitedly.


    Everyone calmed down as the general and the chief of the cultural department returned to their seats.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± I asked.


    Everyone shook their head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This ce isn¡¯t good for a meeting anymore. Let¡¯s go grab a drink?¡± I offered merrily.


    Three dayster.


    Four boxes of documents in red, orange, yellow, and green were ced on the office table.


    The colors represented the level of importance of the documents within; green for general documents and red for ssified ones.


    I picked a document from the red box, ¡®Project Begin¡¯ stamped on it.


    Interested, I flipped open the file and started reading.


    Pleased with what I saw, I signed my big fat name on it.

 Chapter 67: Moon of Wrath II

    <h4>Chapter 67: Moon of Wrath II</h4>


    Thest line of the contract stated, ¡®Destination: the Moon¡¯.


    I signed it immediately.


    I handed the contract over to my assistant before whipping out my phone.


    I called the chief of the cultural department.


    We were 300 million short.


    He answered the phone almost immediately.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sir?¡±


    ¡°When will the ads be sent out? I¡¯ve already signed the paperwork,¡± I said.


    ¡°The ads have long been released, sir, perhaps you¡¯ve been too busy to notice. I¡¯ll send you the video in a short while if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You might as well tell me the results. You do know that I¡¯ll have to gather the 300 million as soon as possible right?¡±


    ¡°There are at least 63panies proposing bids for the protective shield. Rocket wise, there¡¯s only been onepany so far.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Which one?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Pepsi C,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Pepsi C? Why not Coca-C?¡±


    ¡°Coca-C did participate but they did not give as good a price as Pepsi C,¡± he informed me.


    ¡°Okay, okay. How much in total?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to check with the finance minister as we¡¯re only in charge of the ads and not the money,¡± he spoke softly.


    I shook my head, annoyed. Deliberate vition, not owning up...


    ¡°Got it. Right, about the sports stadium... why didn¡¯t you go ahead with the n?¡±


    ¡°I already told you... the other nation has already built something even better so I had no choice. I¡¯ve already exined...¡± he stuttered.


    I interrupted him with a stern voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just tell me that you¡¯re not in charge of the money? Why do I recall 700 million being handed over to you for that project, and yet, you¡¯re only handing 400 back now?¡±


    ¡°De..demolishing fees, contract penalty fees and...¡± he hemmed and hawed.


    ¡°Do you really take me for a fool? Demolition works are written into the contract so how much can it cost? Perhaps you¡¯ve forgotten why you¡¯re here today? Your position used to be mine ¨C I am well aware of all the procedures. Did you really think that I don¡¯t know which procedures you can potentially milk some money from? Who was the one who agreed to your proposalst year? And to whom are you rying this useless information right now?¡± I shot.


    The chief broke down. He replied through sobs, ¡°You. It¡¯s all you. I was greedy, I¡¯ll admit it. It was that 300 million and I did make amends. Pepsi won the bid because I gave them 300 million. I was wrong. Let me off, please. It¡¯s my first offense.¡±


    ¡°Millions of dors involved in a first offense? What about the second time?¡±


    ¡°No next time, I promise. Ultimately, not much of that 300 million was left for me. There was only about 280 million left and I even threw in another 300 million in order for Pepsi to make a tender. Please believe me,¡± he pleaded, his cries growing increasingly loud.


    ¡°You sure know how to think, huh? But there are still so many loopholes in your story. Pulling down one wall to repair the other? So, where did you milk the 20 million from? Will I gain more information if I were to question the boss of Pepsi myself? Are you really going to build the rocket or just somehow mishandle the 700 million, losing it along the way? I think this project is your way of filling in the remaining holes, no?¡±


    I hung up.


    I connected the dots in my head.


    I supported the chief¡¯s sports stadium proposalst year. He must have thought of it because he knew that our neighbor was already building an even bigger one. He was going to wait for the demolition works to bepleted before making changes to the proposal and milking more money from it. When asked, he would exin that another nation had already done something better so he had toe up with something else.


    When Project Begin first came into the picture, he immediately saw it as a chance to surrender whatever money was left. He swallowed a full 300 million. He must¡¯ve won Pepsi the bid through other methods, but instead, imed that the 300 million was responsible for its sessful bid. He must be waiting for Pepsi to award a bonus as well.


    I called the general immediately to search for more gaps. I wasn¡¯t going to go easy on him.


    An hourter, the chief of the cultural department was thrown into jail.


    Only after thorough checks did I discover that he had swallowed a total of 900 million throughout the seven years he had been in office, slowly working his way up. 900 million... our country did not even earn that much in a year.


    Because of the chief¡¯s fall, Coca-C and Pepsi bid again.


    This time, Coca-C clinched the deal with a real 200 million.


    Two yearster, bustling city center.


    All kinds of advertisements surfaced on the massive protective shield.


    It was stood smack dab in the city center, magnificent beyond description.


    It was no different from the diagram in the blueprints.


    ¡°This is basically... oh, not right. What¡¯s this rocket called?¡± I asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Armstrong Speed Cycle Jet-propelled Armstrong Cannon... no, Armstrong Speed Cycle Jet-propelled Armstrong rocket,¡± the assistant corrected himself.


    ¡°What a tongue twister. Who came up with it?¡±


    ¡°The military expert was inspired by the romantic side of men.¡±


    On the rocket was a ringly huge Coca-C logo.


    Below it was another massive tagline: It¡¯s up to you to feel good.


    Why was there such a garish tagline on this magnificent rocket? I frowned and asked, ¡°And who came up with the tagline? It¡¯s so huge! Where¡¯s the chief of the cultural department?¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten, sir? You threw him in jail and no one¡¯s dared to take over his position since then.¡± The assistant hurried, ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no time, you have to go on stage now.¡±


    ¡°But this ad...¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Coca-C spent 200 million on it. There¡¯s nothing to be done.¡±


    The countdown was starting and I was put in charge of pushing theunch button.


    Over 10 cameras were aimed at me and all national channels were broadcasting this historical moment live.


    The general gave me a thumbs up and the white-gowned scientists nodded.


    I listened on nervously as the host started the countdown.


    ¡°Countdown to the rocketunch, start.¡±


    ¡°Nine.¡±


    ¡°Eight.¡±


    ¡°Seven.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°Two.¡±


    ¡°One.¡±


    Before all the cameras, I pushed the big red button.


    The ground started shaking and mes rose up.


    The rocket, not far away, lifted into the sky as everyone held their breaths.


    The host did not forget to add, ¡°Proudly brought to you by Coca-C. It¡¯s up to you to feel good.¡±


    The rocket shot up into the sky, straight and stable.


    It disappeared into the horizon before everyone¡¯s eyes.


    They only lowered their heads when the rocket could not be seen anymore.


    My body that had been shaking along with theunch gradually started to calm down.


    I felt somewhat insipid, but the crowd actually went wild with cheer.


    ¡°Have we seeded?¡± I asked uponing out of my daze.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°We did it!¡±


    The cheers and shouts fell incessantly into my ears.


    The white-gowned scientists walked onto the stage, took over my microphone and hushed the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s not a sess yet since the whole procedure isn¡¯tpleted. Do not disrupt what we¡¯re about to do next. Please leave if there¡¯s nothing else. We are, however, as pleased with the current situation.¡±


    I nodded and took back the microphone, leading the crowd away from the stage area.


    Emotional, happy.


    The general whispered in my ear, ¡°So sorry about that, the expert is just a bit more cautious. I¡¯ll get him to apologize.¡±


    I patted his shoulder. ¡°No problem, he¡¯s doing the right thing.¡±


    ...


    Three dayster, the minister of finance brought thick piles of reports into my office.


    He shouted gleefully, ¡°Do you know how much we¡¯ve earned form this? Mary and status, the tangibles and the intangibles. We¡¯ve won the bet, we¡¯ve won!¡±


    I took the contracts and browsed through everything. We did make a windfall from this.


    ¡°We canunch more rockets! Everything you see in the city center can be reused. We canunch one every two years. This... this is doing amazing things for our nation!¡± the minister said cheerfully.


    ¡°I know and I already nned to continue even if you didn¡¯t ask,¡± I replied with a smile.


    The minister of finance department nodded and left the room happily.


    I picked up a red document from the red cab.


    ¡®Rocketunch to the moon, February.¡¯


    I wrinkled my brows and sighed. ¡°How rash... Project Begin had just begun.¡±

 Chapter 68: Moon of Wrath III

    <h4>Chapter 68: Moon of Wrath III</h4>


    I stood up slowly and gave the general a call.


    ¡°Where are you?¡± I asked. ¡°Where is it now?¡±


    ¡°Give me a moment, I¡¯ll ask.¡±


    After a brief silence, he added, ¡°Twenty more hours to reach the moon.¡±


    ¡°Any problems so far? Actually, no, forget it, pass the phone to the expert,¡± I instructed anxiously.


    ¡°Hi, sir,¡± the expert greeted faintly.


    ¡°Any problems with the rocket?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Nothing significant. In my humble opinion, guiding missiles is harder than this. Of course, I might be too full of myself since the mathematicians have contributed more. Their calctions helped a lot,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Enough of these. How long would you guys need to create the second rocket?¡±


    The expert fell silent and I could hear him scratching his head.


    ¡°ording to this blueprint, if everything goes well with the first rocket, we¡¯ll just need the mathematicians to calcte theunch timing properly and we can build one a year.¡±


    ¡°What about the cost? Is there any way to reduce it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not buying groceries in the market. Even from the start, the building costs aren¡¯t low and we¡¯ll require more fuel than what¡¯s just enough tond on the moon,¡± the expert exined, displeased.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ll need triple that amount and there¡¯s nothing to be done about it, but it¡¯s all for Project Begin so can¡¯t you just try to reduce some expenses wherever you can?¡± I requested politely.


    ¡°There¡¯s a way actually,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°I can, in fact, save about 50% of the total cost, but the project¡¯s sess will not be guaranteed. You should know better since you handed the n and the goals,¡± he went on.


    ¡°Alright, ignore what I¡¯ve said. 130 million, once a year, how¡¯s that?¡± I asked helplessly.


    ¡°120 will do, sir,¡± he said with augh.


    ¡°Thanks for the hard work. Would you mind handing the phone back to the general?¡±


    ¡°I heard him raise his voice, sir. I¡¯ll get him to apologize, do not worry,¡± the general assured me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, he¡¯s doing a great job. Thank you for keeping him.¡±


    ¡°All for the nation,¡± he shouted patriotically.


    I hung up.


    After a full day, the news of the moonnding had spread across the whole nation.


    The news even reached the neighboring countries. Messages from respective envoys came in quickly, either seeking to get hold of the research and development data or to purchase the blueprints directly.


    I rejected all of them regardless of the price they offered.


    The second rocket entered the research and development stage, and I personally took on the role of the chief of cultural department and was in charge of the advertorial job.


    Another year passed and our second rocket wasunched as scheduled.


    Same procedures and processes except for the logo on the rocket: 999 Cold Control.


    Everything was perfect and wless.


    Four dayster, the news spread across the whole nation once again.


    The finance minister walked over to me wordlessly.


    I asked, ¡°What is it? Is anything the matter?¡±


    After a long pause, he started, ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t see the problem in sending a rocket up every three or four years since it¡¯s profitable, but isn¡¯t this current pace too fast? We¡¯re earning less than the firstunch. Another time and we might even...¡±


    He looked at me, not daring to finish.


    I held onto the red documents and returned his stare without speaking.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t the third proposal that you¡¯re holding, is it, Sir?¡± he asked, his voice slightly trembling.


    ¡°Busted.¡± I smiled sheepishly.


    ¡°Can you put that on hold, Prime Minister?¡± he asked, his voice now severely shaking.


    I put the contract aside and walked toward him. Patting his shoulderfortingly, I said, ¡°Have I done anything throughout the years that wasn¡¯t for the greater good of the nation?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve given your all for our nation, but to err is human. The frequency you proposed is really unsuitable and you might really need to stop a little,¡± he continued in a less shaky voice.


    I looked into his eyes. ¡°Trust me this once, alright?¡±


    He looked stunned for a moment before lowering his head.


    The third rocket was added to the schedule.


    Another year passed and it wasunched as nned.


    The advertisement was for Stanleypound fertilizer.


    I watched on as the rocket disappeared before my eyes.


    ¡°Is the advertising quality declining?¡± I asked.


    The assistant nodded without hesitation. ¡°Our profits are, too, and the finance minister isn¡¯t pleased.¡±


    ¡°Help me, alright? Say I¡¯m not around if people ask. No one shall obstruct my fourthunch,¡± I said as I handed the documents over to him.


    ¡°Prime Minister,¡± he said nervously.


    ¡°Why? Are you nning to discourage me, too? Don¡¯t you know me? Get back to work.¡±


    ...


    Another year passed.


    ¡°Do you still remember who¡¯s the advertisingpany this time?¡± I ced the fifth contract on the table.


    The assistant lowered his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s only the fifth and no one¡¯s willing to invest?¡± I asked.


    He only nodded.


    ¡°As they please. I¡¯m going tounch it either way.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to tell you that Nation K is interested in our blueprint and the price they offered is enough for one moreunch. I think you know what needs to be done,¡± he added.


    ¡°More and more countries are able tounch their own rockets, yes?¡±


    ¡°Almost all except for K, but either no country¡¯s willing to sell their blueprint or will only sell it at an exorbitant price, which is why K hase to us.¡±


    ¡°Sell it to them. This is no longer a secret, anyway, and there¡¯s no time for our n anymore. It¡¯s still not enough,¡± I sighed.


    ¡°n?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Get to work, quick, and take the contract,¡± I told him.


    Helpless, he picked the contract from the table and left.


    ...


    Sixthunch, sess.


    ...


    I was holding onto the seventh rocketunch n when the finance minister barged into my office.


    I froze as I watch him took a pistol out from his pocket and aimed it at me.


    I could see his hands trembling.


    ¡°Prime Minister, you can¡¯t treat rocketunches as your rice bowls. We need the fundings to build the nation,¡± he yelled, his whole body shaking.


    I put the contract down slowly.


    ¡°Is that the seventh n? I shouldn¡¯t have voted for you back then. You¡¯re a lunatic to waste resources like this.¡±


    He knelt down on the floor with the pistol still in his trembling hands.


    ¡°Could you please calm down and listen to me? I can¡¯t tell you much, but please believe me when I tell you that we don¡¯t have much time. We have to keepunching the rockets. We have to do it before the other nations, understand?¡± I told him soothingly.


    ¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± he said before pointing the gun into his own mouth.


    Kneeling before me, he pulled the trigger.


    The shot rang loud and armed soldiers entered almost immediately.


    They stood rooted to the ground, shocked beyond belief.


    With a wave of my hand, I instructed, ¡°Clean up the body and hand the red contract to my assistant.¡±


    I left the office and gave the general a call.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What else have we got other than the rockets?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°What else? The finance minister would know better,¡± he replied.


    ¡°He just killed himself before my eyes. Tell me what you know,¡± I responded dully.


    ¡°80% reduction in forces, weaponry technology stagnant for seven years...¡± he informed me.


    ¡°How much more? How much more toplete Project Begin?¡±


    ¡°Three more rockets.¡±


    ¡°Can we do it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but for the nation...¡±


    ...


    Eighthunch, sess.


    ...


    The ninth rocketunch n was in my hands and the whole army had been abrogated.


    The number of governmental officials was reduced by 80%.


    Taxes increased twofold, leading to severe resentment.


    Still, the ninthunch happened as scheduled and was a sess.


    Four dayster, I heard the good news.


    And the enemy country¡¯s forces entered my nation¡¯s soil.


    One more. Just one more.


    Four hourster, a fully-armed army troop appeared before me.


    My assistant had already been a victim of the bloodbath and I also had lost contact with the general.


    The soldiers of the enemy country had their technologically advanced firearms aimed at me.


    ¡°Your citizens are cursing you, sir,¡± a soldier, dressed slightly differently, started.


    ¡°I know,¡± I said, leaning back in my chair with a smile.


    ¡°I did not see a single soldier on my way here,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Soldier? I have no money for an army,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Let me introduce myself first. I¡¯m the first general of Nation M, Billy Harrington. I might have to take you with me.¡±


    I ced a remote control on the table. ¡°You do know that we¡¯ve beenunching rockets to the moon for nine years now, right?¡±


    He walked over to my table, took out a satellite phone and dialed some numbers before putting it down. ¡°We know and we¡¯ve been watching. You might have gone overboard, my dear rocket minister.¡±


    The line got through and a voice was heard: ¡°I¡¯m the president of Nation M and I¡¯m leading my army to take over your territory.¡±


    ¡°Overboard? Perhaps, I have. But do you know what this remote is for?¡±


    ¡°Remote to alert the secret army you¡¯ve been hiding?¡± he sneered.


    The soldiers behind him started smirking and no one spoke from the other end of the line.


    ¡°If you have really been watching, I think you should know what came before our rockets.¡±


    ¡°Yes I do, my dear missile minister, or rather, missile rocket minister?¡± the soldier continued with a patronizing smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll impart to you some general knowledge. You do know that we¡¯ve always been seeing the bright side of the moon, right? The far side, however, will never be visible,¡± I shared, returning his smile just as patronizingly.


    ¡°So?¡± he looked at me uncertainly.


    ¡°On the side that you can¡¯t see stand nine rockets, each containing two third fuel within. Of course, 10 was my goal, but it seems impossible now. Nine is mighty enough, albeit a little slower,¡± I said.


    ¡°Are you ying with us? A moon?¡± The soldier lost his smile.


    ¡°The moment I press this button, the nine rockets on the moon will reignite and smash the whole moon toward Earth. I¡¯m requesting for you to put your weapons down and surrender to me now.¡±


    The leader raised his gun and aimed it at me, those behind him followed suit.


    Through the phone, a voice sounded, ¡°Is it true? What you said?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Project Begin has just begun. I need you to announce this to the world and get all nations to surrender to me.¡±


    The real Project Begin was a 10-year n to take over the world.


    ¡°The remote¡¯s in his hand?¡± the voice over the phone asked.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s holding it,¡± the soldier answered.


    After a brief silence, the voice sounded, ¡°n B.¡±


    From not far away, a sniper pulled the trigger.


    My mind went nk as my upper body copsed onto the table.


    The soldier quickly held my arms down and took the remote.


    ¡°This? It¡¯s really light. Made of stic... there¡¯s no way. We¡¯ve been fooled by this madman,¡± the soldier eximed.


    ¡°Leader, his chest seems to be glowing,¡± a soldier noted.


    The soldierid my body straight and saw the wires on my chest.


    He undressed my shirt and found a transducer.


    With some horror, he figured out that only an electrical circuit was keeping my heart beating.


    And my heart had stopped beating.


    He immediately looked out of the window and into the sky.


    Above the clouds, the azure sky seemed calm.


    But on the moon above the calm blue, nine indescribable objects stirred restlessly.


    During the night, when everyone could see the moon, they noticed it bing bigger in size and redder in color.


    It looked like a moon of wrath, all ready to embrace Earth.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    This story gained two votes.


    During the first voting, with one leading vote, it was Goudan¡¯s first time beating Luqiao and securing the lead role in ¡®Moon of Wrath¡¯.


    During the second voting between a) a happy ending, and b) a sad ending, 80% voted for B, which was ¡®n B¡¯.


    Providence is everything and everything is foreordained.


    Back to the votes. The sad ending was the result of the votes.


    In order to make everyone happy, I released the happy ending anyway.


    Synopsis of the happy ending was also referred to as the Goudan model:


    The nation found out after thepletion of nine rocketunches.


    The story remained the same except that the sniper puts his gun down upon receiving the order to execute n B.


    The soldier, too, puts down his firearm helplessly.


    Negotiation failed.


    The nation announced, on behalf of Goudan, the secret of the moon and introduced both Project Begin and Goudan to the world.


    Goudan dered, through all national televisions across the world, that the world belonged to him alone.


    Even as years passed, people from all over the world would look up at the moon from time to time.


    The moon that could get angry anytime.


    ...


    Of course, the so-called good ending was only good from Goudan¡¯s perspective.


    I shan¡¯t write the synopsis out in detail.


    Whichever ending¡¯s better? To each his own, I guess.

 Chapter 69: Seven Friends: Whitey

    <h4>Chapter 69: Seven Friends: Whitey</h4>


    I¡¯ll try not to make this story hard toprehend, but life is not something that can be exined with just words.


    I remember a saying that goes: It takes three years to learn something good, but just three days to learn something bad.


    But how can a thoroughly evil person be good?


    My answer? Seven friends.


    They walked in front of me, falling into the depths of the unfathomable abyss on my behalf in order to put me back on the right path and to make me cherish everything that I have.


    If not for these seven friends, I might¡¯ve turned out to be aplete bad egg.


    ...


    When did I meet Whitey, you ask?


    I¡¯ll have to begin my story from when I started falling.


    I wasn¡¯t the easiest to deal with when I was young.


    I never did things good kids do.


    On the other hand, I never stopped doing things bad kids do.


    Grade 5, Winter break.


    My older cousin who came from the vige was staying with my family.


    He was 23 that year and was searching for a job in the city.


    I was 13 and in grade five.


    I had surprisingly little assignments to clear that winter break.


    Whenever my cousin was free, he enjoyed sitting on the long bench and flipping through recruitment ads.


    I was ced under his care and it seemed that my cousin hadn¡¯t been a good kid when he was younger either.


    One day, he put down the newspapers in his hand, and on impulse, brought me out in search of a gaming cafe. Inte cafes weren¡¯t as avable during that time.


    The one we found could practically be found in all corners of the city center, but one trip was all it took for me to remember the route.


    That route leading to degeneration.


    My cousin gave up his search and returned to his vige after seven days.


    During the seven days that he was with us, I was basically having fun 24/7.


    I must have yed every single game in the cafe.


    He led the way and handed all his pocket money to me.


    30 RMB was a treasure to me back then since I had no pocket money yet.


    Of course, I spent all of it on the gaming cafe.


    That cafe was situated in a bustling and lively business district.


    A coin cost 50 cents and I broke the 30 RMB into a few portions of coins.


    As a kid with no allowance, I was very calctive when it came to money.


    No matter how calctive, however, I was unable to resist the bright colors of the monitors.


    I even felt that I wasn¡¯t reserved enough. Only when I reached university did an economic professor mention that it was perfectly normal. He said, ¡°For women, children, elderly or dogs, to earn money is to look forward.¡±


    I finished that sum of money within a week.


    The following days were difficult but there was still half of winter left.


    I could only stare as other children yed their games.


    Soon enough, however, I found a path to get rich.


    It was the new year and I was going to get money from my rtives. It was the tradition.


    Sadly, it was also tradition for children to hand them over to their parents. Nevertheless, some were able to keep the money for themselves.


    I quickly got started on my n.


    Thinking back, I realized that I really didmit an offense.


    I¡¯d imagine that you¡¯ll understand how quickly and easily children team up with one another, especially when they were immature and when money was involved.


    The five of us, barely acquainted, would wait all morning for a target to appear.


    Our targets would usually be new faces whose pockets produced clinking sounds or those who carried copper tins with them. These were children who had exchanged for many coins in one go.


    The five of us were a team, with four ying bad cops and one ying the good cop.


    We always managed to get a sum of money.


    Come to think of it, I was usually the good cop.


    There were usually only two staffs in the cafe, one watching the door and the other collecting money.


    The door watcher was also in charge of the joystick.


    We would wait for our targets to enter the cafe¡¯s blindspot before making a move.


    I would first go over to talk to them, telling them that I was a pretty big figure in the cafe and that they could look for me if they ever needed any help.


    They would ignore my words at the start and I would leave the cafe.


    My teammates would then enter the cafe, approach the target¡¯s station, and switch the console off by pressing a button on top of it.


    They would then wait for the target to realize what was going on before starting their standard procedure.


    ¡°Have you paid the protection fees?¡±


    ¡°Is this a ce for you to visit?¡±


    ¡°Why are you still here? Get out.¡±


    ...


    All of them spoke, one after another, effectively confusing the target.


    At that point, if the target were to fight back verbally, they would scatter away.


    If the target remained passive, I would reappear, pull them to a side, and pretend to calm them down before going over to the target to exin the situation.


    I would tell him that these people were gangsters and that their brothers were all big figures before asking how much he had on him. I would tell him that I had managed to convince them to collect just 10 instead of 20 RMB.


    I would also exin that after collecting the fee, the guys could protect him whenever he needed.


    Usually, the targets would be well-behaved and honest, emptying their pockets and taking out their coin tins.


    Around the Chinese New Year period, our sess rate was about 70 to 80%.


    After the targets leave, we would divide our ill-gotten gains or y in other gaming cafes.


    Were there times that we failed? Of course.


    If the targets start to shout or run over to the counter, the staff would chase us out.


    Nevertheless, after a short while, the big brother watching the door would sympathize with us and let us in.


    After a few times of doing that, I asked him why he was still letting us in.


    ording to him, it didn¡¯t matter who earned whose money.


    Plus, he¡¯d rather deal with familiar faces like us rather than the new ones.


    We became this gaming cafe¡¯s official gangsters.


    We yed tricks initially, but they did not remain effective for long.


    Neers became veterans and there were familiar faces all around.


    Without any choice, we invented another method.


    We seldom used it and only used it in unfamiliar cafes.


    If we get caught, we might not just be shooed but also beaten.


    The five of us would search the grounds of the new cafes for a fallen coin.


    Even after growing up, I had dreams where I was just looking around for coins.


    Finding the coin was just the first part.


    After that, we would search for a target who kept his coin box on the table while gaming.


    We would ensure that he had a decent amount of coins in the box before tossing our coin on the floor around his feet and informing him that his coin had dropped.


    While gaming, the target would usually only throw a swift nce on the floor.


    If there really was a coin, he would bend down to grab it real quick.


    One of us would then use our body to hold him down, pretending to continue his game for him while someone else reaches in for his coins.


    When the target got back up, we would quickly release the joystick and he would instinctively take over immediately.


    When he finally realized that he was missing something, we would¡¯ve long been gone.


    We used this method thrice and only when we were really itching to do it.


    In actual fact, we were really just hoping to find coins on the ground.


    This step was already very challenging without adding having to find a lone, rich, and brainless yer.


    It was really difficult and soon enough, only few would still leave their boxes on the table.


    Hanging out a lot in our usual gaming cafe led us to the discovery of a dark door beside the counter.


    All kinds of adults went inside from time to time, but as children, we never dared to enter.


    Until we met Whitey.


    He was my first barely-friends friend.


    Whitey always had a white Nokia phone in his hand.


    Nokia at that time was a raremodity.


    A white Nokia was an even rarer sight.


    We were of the same height, so when I saw him enter the room sessfully one day, I couldn¡¯t contain my curiosity any longer and I followed him.


    There were all kinds of brightly-colored slot machines.


    Whitey sat in front of one of those and started ying.


    I wasn¡¯t interested in the colored lights but rather, the people who were in there.


    They had boxes filled with wads of cash and Whitey was one of them.


    One dor could be exchanged for two coins and everyone seemed to be tossing the coins into the machine non-stop.


    I did not understand how the red and green horse racing lights could attract them.


    Since that day, I would follow Whitey whenever he entered the room.


    Which was almost every day, I realized, and each time, he would bring along a box filled with coins.


    I counted them secretly and found out that he usually brought a hundred dors for each visit.


    He usually observed as others yed the slot machines and would only take over after they left.


    Each time he yed, however, he yed pretty big and differently from other people.


    I followed him for a week and saw him keeping his gains into his case.


    He lost the majority of the time, but when he did earn, the coins poured out in torrents.


    I rarely saw people gaining so much at once but it happened to Whitey thrice.


    Thrice within just a week.


    For a poor kid like me, who had to think twice before spending a coin, this sum was simply unimaginable.


    One day, Whitey noticed my existence.


    ¡°You¡¯ve beening in here every day, wanna learn?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°But I have no money.¡±


    ¡°I can teach you but you gotta pay the tuition fees,¡± he offered.


    I followed him around and interacted with him for another week.


    In that time, I discovered that Whitey was a junior high student and he had started ying the slot machines when he was about my age.


    Whitey told me that the only way to have a chance at winning at any slot machine was to invest in Big or Small.


    The rules were simple. 15points is the boundary. Anything above would be counted as big and anything below small.


    10 points for a dor.


    There wasn¡¯t any limit to the betting number. The first win would bring a double in coins.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why are you ying the horse racing game?¡±


    ¡°Big or Small is meaningless to me.¡±


    He wanted the machine to rain coins.


    The method Whitey taught me was very simple.


    Prepare five dors.


    Put five cents on Big.


    Repeat if it¡¯s a win, and add another five cents if it¡¯s a loss.


    10 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents...


    Win and restart from five cents.


    Go home when all five dors were used up, otherwise, continue.


    A few dayster, after I had managed to gather five dors, I tried my luck.


    Whitey¡¯s method was effective indeed. I won over 20 dors on the first day.


    Looking at the money, I had actually thought about ending the game and saving them up.


    Yet, I was unable to understand how Whitey could throw his money out again without feeling the ache.


    One day, I finally asked him how much he had spent on the machines.


    He smiled and answered that he had already spent a few thousand dors.


    At sixth grade, I was practically unable toprehend the enormity of that amount.


    When I asked about the source of the money, he only smiled.


    I started believing that he was rich.


    I kept his words in mind, visiting the ce whenever I had five dors and only continuing if I won.


    I added a rule for myself: Save a dor for the games outside.


    From then on, I entered the dark room almost every day, ying the slot machines or observing other yers when I had no money.


    My luck ran out gradually and I started losing more than winning.


    When school started, I visited only during the weekends.


    Naturally, I saw Whitey less frequently.


    One morning, after losing my five dors, I noticed him observing other yers as usual.


    I could no longer remember much of the things he had told me.


    However, I do remember him warning me not to touch games other than Big or Small.


    He told me about the old fellow who roped him into this whole business.


    The old fellow was about forty or fifty.


    He loved the slot machines and would exchange 200 dors worth of coins, staying for a whole day each time.


    He was the one who shared the winning method with Whitey.


    He also taught him to wait for a yer that was about to finish his game.


    If the yer had been losing non-stop for about 2 rounds before leaving, he should take over and stay on for five rounds, betting five dors on Seven for each round.


    Seven was the biggest chip in the slot machine and a strike would bring a tenfold increase in winnings.


    50 points would be 5,000.


    It was 10 points for a dor so 5,000 would convert into 500 dors.


    This was the secret to the torrential raining of coins.


    25 dors in exchange for 500 dors.


    ¡°How many times have you seeded?¡± I asked Whitey.


    ¡°Countless. So many times that I often dream about it too.¡±


    In fact, because he had seeded many times, he doubled his bet to 10 dors per round for 10 rounds.


    I asked if that was how he got all his gaming coins, but he said it wasn¡¯t so.


    Just about two years ago, he hadnded himself in a debt of about 2,500 dors, money that he had borrowed from the loan sharks.


    There were times that he managed to repay a little, but he was always owing more than he was able to return.


    The loan sharks got hold of his school and home address, and even his parents¡¯ contacts and offices.


    He divulged this secret when he was borrowing money.


    It was only then that I realized that his white Nokia had disappeared.


    He then told me that he had sold it a long time ago.


    One day, Whitey witnessed an innocent bloke losing 20 rounds and leaving. He nudged me and said that it was a good chance.


    He sat down and yed 10 rounds with 10 dors each.


    No strike at all. He left depressed.


    Before he left, he told me that he was never going toe back again and that the loan sharks had threatened to look for his parents.


    I never saw him again.


    From that day onward, I neverid my hands on a slot machine again.

 Chapter 70: Choice I

    <h4>Chapter 70: Choice I</h4>


    Three same-aged children were ying near a construction site.


    It was almost evening time and the kids were tired. Just as they were getting ready to go home for dinner, a person slowly descended from the sky.


    The personnded before the three of them and introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m your tooth fairy and I¡¯m omnipotent. I¡¯ve received your prayers and I will ask each of you a question before blessing you with an ability.¡±


    The children exchanged nces before one of them took a step forward. ¡°Are you really the tooth fairy?¡±


    The tooth fairy smiled. With a wave of his hand, the kid in doubt floated into the air.


    The fairy gestured with his finger and the child made two turns beforending safely on the ground.


    This, however, wasn¡¯t enough to clear the children¡¯s doubts.


    The tooth fairy pointed to one of them, asking, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Xiaohong,¡± he answered with a smile.


    ¡°What do you want to be when you grow up?¡± the tooth fairy continued.


    ¡°I want to be a magician. I visited a circusst week and the magicians were simply amazing!¡± he answered as his smile widened.


    The tooth fairyughed and whispered something in his ear before adding, ¡°This is the power I¡¯m blessing you with.¡±


    Xiaohong nodded and walked over to a side.


    The fairy then pointed at another child. ¡°And what¡¯s yours?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Xiaohuang,¡± he answered excitedly.


    ¡°And what would you like to be when you grow up?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of that, but I might want to be a scientist or a doctor. How about the president?¡±


    Again, with a smile, the fairy whispered something in his ears. ¡°This is the power I¡¯m blessing you with.¡±


    Xiaohuang smiled and joined Xiaohong at the side.


    ¡°And you,stly, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Xian. I want to be a policeman. I want to protect my mommy. Daddy is a cop too and he... tooth fairy, can you bring a person back to life? I want my daddy back...¡± Xian spoke up, tears welling up in his eyes before generously flowing down.


    The tooth fairy whispered in his ears, ¡°Only God can do something like that. I¡¯m going to give you the power to make liquids disappear. Remember not to tell the adults.¡±


    With a wave of the tooth fairy¡¯s hand, Xian¡¯s tears stopped falling.


    The fairy stood up. ¡°I¡¯ve given you your powers so the rest is up to you, little ones.¡±


    Before they could react, he rose into the air slowly.


    Floating above, he took out a memo and wrote: I don¡¯t want mommy to know about my bed-wetting incident.


    Below these words, he added the children¡¯s names.


    He then crossed them out with a pen before flipping over to the next page.


    On it was the same sentence and a few names. He sighed before disappearing into the air.


    ...


    Looking at the other two children, Xiaohong started, ¡°What powers did he give you two?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to tell,¡± Xiaohuang replied.


    ¡°He only said not to tell the adults,¡± Xian corrected, scratching his head.


    Xiaohong smiled. ¡°I guess it¡¯s okay for us to share. I¡¯m able to make liquids disappear.¡±


    ¡°Aye? I have the same power,¡± Xiaohuang added.


    ¡°He gave us the same power?¡± Xian asked, baffled.


    ¡°But we have different dreams. You want to be a cop and have a bigger wish but why were we given the same ability?¡± Xiaohong questioned.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re going to miss dinner if we continue talking. We might even get a beating. It¡¯s already night time,¡± Xiaohuang reminded.


    The three of them parted.


    ...


    That night, Xiaohong¡¯s house.


    ¡°How¡¯s the preparation working along, husband? We¡¯re moving tomorrow. The school¡¯s going to close down soon so let¡¯s just transfer him to another school,¡± Xiaohong¡¯s mother said.


    ¡°Aye? Why?¡± Xiaohong asked in confusion.


    ¡°Why are you interrupting, kiddo? Have you calcted how much we can get from this demolition, wife?¡± Xiaohong¡¯s father responded.


    ¡°What about Xiaohuang and Xian? Will I see them again?¡± Xiaohong chimed in again.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s going to move. Eat your dinner and don¡¯t talk. Thepensation is decent since they¡¯re going to be building arge-scale sports stadium. Let¡¯s move further away and get a tutor for her. He¡¯s been ying too much recently and his grades are slipping,¡± Xiaohong¡¯s mother added.


    After dinner, in the loft.


    Xiaohong finished up his assignments and looked over at a ss of water on the table. It was half full.


    He wondered if he really had the ability to make the water disappear.


    He stared at the ss and willed the liquid within to vanish.


    Indeed, in the next instant, it disappeared.


    He continued staring at the empty ss in disbelief.


    ...


    20 yearster, behind the curtains of a big opera house.


    A man in a suit said to Xiaohong, ¡°It¡¯s been over a year, my great magician. Don¡¯t you have something new to offer other than the same few tricks?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m trying hard toe up with something,¡± he replied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been saying this for almost half a year now. You know that I¡¯m not the only one rushing you, right? The audiences are sick of your shows. 18-year-old gifted magician, five years of world touring and earth-shaking performances. Why, then, have your performances remain stagnant the moment I signed you on?¡±


    ¡°I wille up with a new program. Today, in fact. It has all been taken care of. Please do not worry,¡± Xiaohong reassured.


    ¡°No, please don¡¯t feel pressured. Your few tricks are really amazing, but sooner orter, people are going to get bored of them. When you first came in, the seats are always fully booked, but what about now? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of the current situation,¡± the man in suit continued.


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought it out. I¡¯ll be performing a sealed room escape. Fill a metal pot with water, dump me inside and...¡± Xiaohong ryed nervously.


    ¡°Water, water, water. Can¡¯t you do something without water? Something more interesting perhaps? Close-up magic, maybe? You¡¯re a world-ss magician so you should know these, right?¡±


    ¡°Ye... yes, I do, but can I perform that tomorrow instead? Just... just let me do my thing today and... and I¡¯ll change it up tomorrow...¡± he stuttered.


    The man in the suit walked over to a side, took out a suitcase and tossed it on the floor. ¡°This is what the previous magician left behind after getting fired. See if there¡¯s anything you can make use of. You¡¯re going on stage in half an hour.¡±


    Xiaohong shook his head vigorously. ¡°No, no. Please just let me perform the water trick once more. Last time, I promise. Tomorrow I¡¯ll...¡±


    The man interrupted, ¡°Yes, as for the water bucket,e with me, the few of you. Let¡¯s move it out. Listen up, my great magician. Give us something different today. Protect your reputation.¡±


    ...


    Xiaohong stared nkly at the man and the three burly fellows moving his water bucket away.


    He knelt on the floor and remained silent for a brief moment.


    He looked at his watch before opening up the suitcase.


    Rummaging through it he spotted a hat, a rod, a colored ribbon, and a red ball.


    He also found a water gun and opened it up happily, only to realize that it was empty.


    Hhe sprawled across the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks.


    It¡¯s over, he thought.


    It was something he hadn¡¯t expected at all.


    Just then, a bunny girl entered the waiting room. ¡°You have 10 more minutes, Madam. Boss had mee over to check on you. Are you ready?¡±


    Xiaohong raised his head, his tears vanishing instantly.


    With a soft, trembling voice, he replied, ¡°Got it. Leave for now.¡±


    The bunny girl nodded before pointing at Xiaohong¡¯s face. ¡°Your makeup is running, Madam.¡±


    Xiaohong waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll get it fixed, no worries.¡±


    The bunny left the room and closed the door.


    10 minutester.


    The red curtain opened up.


    There was nothing on stage except for a suitcase.


    All kinds of tools were spread across the floor.


    One minute, two minutes.


    The audience looked attentively at the stage, anticipating a surprise.


    This famous magician was the only one whose tricks haven¡¯t been exposed.


    Yet, nothing happened even after a long time of waiting.


    Doubtful whispers started off stage and never stopped until the man in the suit ran out with a microphone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,dies and gentlemen, the performance is over. Our magician isn¡¯t feeling well today. Please stay tuned for the circus¡¯ performance.¡±


    Silence took over the theatre for a few seconds before bottles and all other kinds of trash were thrown onto the stage.


    ...


    A few kilometers away, as he drove on in his own sports car, Xiaohong mumbled, ¡°How are you guys doing, Xiaohuang and Xian?¡±

 Chapter 71: Choice II

    <h4>Chapter 71: Choice II</h4>


    Xiaohong wondered if he should make a trip back to their old school to seek out any information about Xiaohuang and Xian.


    Hhe no longer had any memories of that northern region although it had been the ce where the three of them lived in and yed together.


    After contemting for a short while, he started his navigation.


    He drove toward the northern region, ncing down at his oil meter out of habit.


    He had more than half a tank left, enough for him to make a few return trips.


    Xiaohong stepped hard on the elerator and sped down the highway and into the night.


    Some time passed and he was about five kilometers away from the northern region.


    The rm for the oil tank went off and he stared at the flickering warning light in disbelief.


    He was certain that the amount of oil he had at the start was enough for him to clock 200 kilometers instead of just 40.


    He got off the car and made some checks but he didn¡¯t spot any problem.


    Frustrated, Xiaohong searched on his phone for the nearest gas station.


    Fortunately, there was one a kilometer away and he had just enough oil to get there.


    It was a small-scale, private gas station and there was only a man sitting on a long bench. He was looking at his phone and up at the moon from time to time.


    ¡°99 oil, please,¡± Xiaohong requested as he climbed out.


    With a smile, the man asked, ¡°From zero to full?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Is this a privatepany? Do you have 99 oil? Pure? I do not want to wreck the car,¡± he said.


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried, you can hire a tow truck to get you to the next gas station over ten kilometers away,¡± he suggested with a cold smile.


    Xiaohong switched the engine off before pointing at his phone. ¡°Do you know which direction leads to the northern region? It¡¯s a little secluded here and the navigation hasn¡¯t been urate so I¡¯m lost.¡±


    ¡°Fill it up to the brim and go straight ahead,¡± he answered, surprised. ¡°Why are you going there at this hour?¡±


    ¡°To visit a school. I¡¯m hoping to find some information from there,¡± he exined half-heartedly.


    ¡°There are only abandoned houses there,¡± he said, opening up the cap and putting the petrol gun in.


    ¡°Azure Primary. You know it?¡± Xiaohao questioned.


    ¡°Of course, I know it. It¡¯s my alma mater,¡± he responded.


    ¡°What a coincidence! Are you my senior or junior?¡± Xiaodong smiled, his tensed face softening a little.


    ¡°Since we were fellow schoolmates, just pay me 200 and be on your way,¡± he said with a sigh.


    ¡°40 liters of 99 oil for 200?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you a discount since we were from the same school. Talk some more and I¡¯ll change my mind, schoolmate,¡± he teased.


    Xiaohong fished out two bills and handed it over to him before going back to his car and continuing his journey.


    Northern region.


    There were no lights at all and abandoned buildings stretched along a whole 30 kilometers ofnd.


    Xiaohong wasn¡¯t surprised, of course, since he remembered the residents signing a consent form to move out. The deputy mayor then sold thend to a neighboring conglomerate before running away with the money. All 630 million of it.


    20 years have passed since then, but the deputy mayor hasn¡¯t been caught yet.


    Xiaohong¡¯s parents were only notified two months after they moved that year.


    The new governor had no power to take over this matter since the whole of northern regionnd had been sold off at a low cost.


    The contract was in effect and nothing could be changed.


    Strangely, the conglomerate left that piece ofnd in ruins for twenty years.


    Xiaohong arrived at the old school gate and climbed over the wall.


    Finally, after half an hour, he found the storeroom containing all the documents of the school. It was on the second floor in the teaching block.


    he flipped through the files for an hour but he found nothing useful.


    Because the relocation happened at the end of the year, documents involving the final year of the students in grade six were left behind.


    Xiaohong was still in the fifth grade at that time so no relevant information could be found.


    Helpless, he went back to his car and nced down at his oil meter again.


    The oil was almost full but something was off.


    Was there any way he could empty his tank quickly? He then thought back to his ability.


    He clearly remembered that he started his journey with half a tank.


    Schoolmate, discount, zero to full?


    How did he know that I was at zero?


    It clicked and he sped right back to the gas station.


    It took him 20 minutes, and when he arrived, the man was still sitting on the bench looking at his phone.


    ¡°Xiaohuang?¡± he asked after getting off the car.


    ¡°How do you know my name? Wait, Xian? Or Xiaohong?¡± he asked, bewildered.


    ¡°Xiaohuang? Is that really you? I¡¯m Xiaohong! You¡¯re using your given power to run this business?¡± Xiaohong rified.


    ¡°It makes sense now. You¡¯re really Xiaohong?¡± Xiaohuang smiled.


    They exchanged hugs and Xiaohuang took his phone out and showed it to Xiaohong.


    There were two roads disyed on his screen.


    ¡°Monitoring cameras nearby?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I installed them and opened my gas station here,¡± he smiled.


    ¡°Using your power to drain drivers¡¯ petrol, leaving them with no choice but to visit your station? Is that how you¡¯re earning your money?¡± Xiaohong asked.


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s not easy. It took me a long time to master the skill of exhausting their fuel just enough for them to get here smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this dishonesty?¡±


    ¡°I have no choice. What about you? What have you been doing? Are you a magician, using your power to perform tricks? Is that how got yourself this decent car?¡±


    ¡°More or less. Do you know where Xian is?¡± he asked impatiently.


    Xiaohuang sighed. ¡°Probably in the army. All because of that ruined piece ofnd. 20 years but no sessful negotiation. War is about to break out, it seems.¡±


    ¡°Which army? Any idea?¡±


    ¡°Your family moved away from here the quickest and I could only give Xian my new address. She¡¯s been secretly writing to me but it doesn¡¯t have a return address, so I could only receive but not reply. Thest one he wrote said that he was going to join the army. That¡¯s all I know.¡±


    Just then, cars appeared on his phone screen.


    He kept his phone. ¡°Let¡¯s get into your car and get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The tyrants areing. The cameras aren¡¯t clear so I¡¯ll drain the oil whenever I see cars. Recently, I¡¯ve been draining their cars quite frequently and I think they¡¯re starting to suspect something. It seems like they¡¯re finally making a move now,¡± he exined urgently.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Xiaohong said while rushing back to his car.


    Xiaohuang ran back into his kiosk.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Xiaohong shouted.


    ¡°Gonna take my money! I¡¯ve saved quite a bit,¡± he yelled back.


    Xiaohong stared at his watch as seconds ticked by.


    Vrooming sounds were bing louder.


    Frustrated, Xiaohong rushed into the kiosk to find out what he was doing.


    He shifted a sack outside.


    ¡°Why do you have so much money?¡± Xiaohong questioned.


    ¡°Well... there are times where I do bad stuff,¡± Xiaohuang confessed with a bitter smile.


    ¡°Bad stuff?¡± Xiaohong asked, not understanding.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how easy it is for us to kill someone?¡± Xiaohuang responded.


    ¡°Easy? Kill someone?¡± Xiaohong repeated.


    ¡°The human body consists of 70% water. We can drain them dry in an instant,¡± Xiaohuang told her.


    ¡°You mean... you¡¯re killing for money?¡± Xiaohong asked, staring at him in shock.


    ¡°Why else would I open my gas station in such a deserted area?¡± Xiaohuang heaved out a breath as he put the sack down.


    The whizzing cars arrived and about 10 gangsters got off.


    A row of them stood before the gas station, holding weapons like machetes and metal rods.


    ¡°Before you came, I was a little afraid, but now that you¡¯re here, I worry less. Let¡¯s kill half each?¡± he proposed.


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xiaohong asked, puzzled.


    Xiaohuang dropped his sack and rushed out.


    The next scene left Xiaohong¡¯s mouth wide open in disbelief.


    He saw Xiaohuang gazing attentively at the gangsters before him.


    Almost immediately, their brains started drying up, their bodies shrinking and shriveling before they copsed.


    Within 10 minutes, the seven of them were motionless on the ground.


    As the remaining six turned around with the intention to flee, Xiaohuang roared, ¡°Let¡¯s see if you dare toe back again. Do you still want to take revenge because I got rid of your foul-tempered second chief?¡±


    The six gangsters quickly hopped into their cars but Xiaohuang continued sucking them dry.


    Xiaohong stopped him just as he was about to lock onto thest target. ¡°You killed their second chief? You told me they¡¯re here because you sucked their oil dry! What¡¯s happening to you, Xiaohuang?¡±


    By the time Xiaohuang reacted, thest gangster had already driven off.


    ¡°Why have you be so bad?¡± Xiaohong asked helplessly.


    Sighing, Xiaohuang dragged a corpse into his kiosk.


    ¡°People die for money just as birds die for food.¡±

 Chapter 72: Choice III

    <h4>Chapter 72: Choice III</h4>


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xiaohong asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine that you didn¡¯t help me earlier, but how can you let thest one go? Come on, help me drag these bodies in and we¡¯ll burn them before going away. I¡¯ll be a magician¡¯s assistant. How about that?¡± Xiaohuang suggested with a grin.


    ¡°I¡¯m no longer performing magic,¡± he stated dully.


    ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t it pay well?¡±


    Xiaohong stared at Xiaohuang¡¯s smile, remembering their carefree youth.


    ¡°I got tired of it,¡± he lied.


    ¡°We¡¯ll think of something else,¡± he assured him before dragging another corpse into the kiosk.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Xiaohong stopped him.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiaohuang asked, putting the corpse down.


    ¡°When I came earlier, I mentioned that I was heading to the school. If I hadn¡¯t said that or convinced you that I was just an innocent passerby, would I have be one of them?¡± he asked, pointing at the corpses on the floor.


    Brief silence.


    ¡°I can¡¯t answer that,¡± he replied bluntly.


    ¡°If that thought didn¡¯t cross your mind, you would¡¯ve given me a definite answer,¡± he said firmly, his expression turning dark.


    ¡°I can¡¯t answer you because I don¡¯t want to lie. If I did think you were just an ordinary person driving a luxurious car, then yes, you would¡¯ve been on the ground by now. But you are Xiaohong. I let you off the moment you mentioned the school.¡±


    Xiaohong was dumbstruck.


    Xiaohuang continued pulling the corpses inside. ¡°You have two choices now. Leave immediately or help me tidy up this mess and we¡¯ll leave together. It¡¯s up to you.¡±


    He focused on his task and left Xiaohong to deliberate.


    It was only when he was dragging the third corpse did Xiaohong join him.


    ¡°Thought it over and well?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about this. I¡¯m just helping an old friend. I don¡¯t want tomit a crime, or worse, kill anyone,¡± he answered, making herself clear.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as you think, you know? Killing somebody, I mean. I remember when I first did it. Struck by poverty and the northern region incident, I entered a lousy high school and bumped into a bunch of gangsters collecting protection fees. It was at that time when I first made use of my ability unconsciously, instantly killing their chief,¡± he revealed.


    ¡°What happened after?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you in the car.¡±


    Just then, a car drove over slowly.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s here,¡± Xiaohuang shouted.


    Xiaohong turned around immediately.


    It was a police car but its sirens were off.


    ¡°I¡¯ll drain his oil before getting that bag of money. Are the gangsters calling the police these days? What even?¡±


    He red at the approaching car.


    The car stopped and a policeman in full uniform got off.


    He walked toward the kiosk unhurriedly.


    ¡°Just one person? I¡¯ll get rid of him and we¡¯ll continue,¡± Xiaohuang decided.


    ¡°The fewerplications the better,¡± Xiaohong warned, pulling him back.


    ¡°He¡¯s already here and he might even have a gun. Are we going to kill him or get killed?¡± he demanded with a frown.


    Before Xiaohong could respond, the police started shouting.


    ¡°You guys know the tooth fairy, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°He mentioned the tooth fairy.¡± Xiaohong held Xiaohuang back once more.


    ¡°Yes, but if he does something strange, I¡¯ll put him down immediately. I mean it.¡±


    The police came closer and took his vest and other equipment off and tossed them onto the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to apprehend you,¡± he informed them with both hands raised.


    The three exchanged nces.


    ¡°What are you here for then?¡±


    ¡°20 minutes ago, a gangster barged into the station, reporting that there is a vampire who sucked 12 of his friends dry. My colleagues suspected that he was high on drugs but I knew it was something more,¡± he exined.


    ¡°How do you know about the tooth fairy?¡± Xiaohuang asked.


    ¡°The tooth fairy gave two of my friends and I a superpower.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Xian?¡± Xiaohong asked in shock.


    After a few seconds, the policeman spoke, ¡°You¡¯re Xiaohong and Xiaohuang? I knew it! Vampire? It has to be the tooth fairy! I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s really you two!¡±


    Xiaohuang asked, guarded, ¡°Where¡¯s that gangster now? Why did youe alone? Where are the rest of the policemen?¡±


    Xian broke into a smile. ¡°We locked him up and he¡¯s probably undergoing some drug tests in the hospital. The other policemen are busy discussing the possibility of having nabbed a drug lord since such a secluded area was ideal for drug trafficking. I found an excuse to slip out to check this ce out.¡±


    Xiaohong was just about to say something when Xiaohuang stopped her. He said instead, ¡°Didn¡¯t you join the army? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Make it short then,¡± Xiaohuang directed.


    ¡°I did write a letter telling you that. I became a machine operator in the first year and started driving fighter nes in the second.¡±


    ¡°Machine operators do that? You¡¯re the most capable among us,¡± Xiaohong added.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been banned from flying,¡± Xian continued.


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaohong asked.


    ¡°When I was flying, enemies called me a death god because the moment they enter my radar, I can crash their nes without even shooting. I think you both know how I do it.¡±


    ¡°Draining their oil again. Why are both of you like that? Then again, he¡¯s doing it to protect the nation, but what about you?¡± Xiaohong reprimanded Xiaohuang.


    ¡°Why did youe back then? If you were doing so well...¡± It was Xiaohuang¡¯s turn to be confused.


    Xian ced a hand on his forehead. ¡°Within half a year, 27 enemy nes got destroyed. A day before I was to collect an honorary medal, I mistook an allied ne as the enemy. While the incident was deemed to be a mistake on the pilot¡¯s part, only I know the truth.¡±


    ¡°Admitted and resigned? But you were doing so well! I¡¯m sure your superior did not agree to it?¡± Xiaohuang asked.


    Xian took off the glove he was wearing on his left hand. Two fingers were missing.


    Two most important fingers ¨C fore and middle fingers.


    ¡°Did you do that?¡± Xiaohong questioned.


    ¡°I made up my mind and I followed through. All dried up and rotted so I had to get it amputated. I then retired from the military and came over to work as a cop,¡± Xian finished.


    ¡°How long has it been?¡± Xiaohuang asked.


    ¡°Three years,¡± he answered, putting his glove back on.


    Xiaohuang then continued dragging the corpses, ignoring his friends.


    ¡°Are you really just here to talk about former times?¡± Xiaohong asked doubtfully.


    Xian pointed at a corpse. ¡°I¡¯m a cop. The gangster said there was a vampire. Xiaohuang was the only one around, isn¡¯t it? Did you participate?¡±


    Xiaohong shook his head.


    Xian retrieved a set of handcuffs from his pocket.


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Xiaohong asked, pushing Xian¡¯s hands down. ¡°He can kill you with one look and you¡¯re intending to cuff him?¡±


    Xiangughed. ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones with this superpower. I¡¯ve already previously captured two people like us.¡±


    ¡°You mean the tooth fairy gave many others this power?¡± Xiaohong asked, astonished.


    ¡°Wait for me here. Give me 10 minutes,¡± Xian told him with a smile.


    Hiding his handcuffs, Xian followed behind Xiaohuang.


    ¡°Wanna help?¡± Xiaohuang asked. ¡°We¡¯ll drag them in and light a match. I¡¯ll leave with Xiaohong and you can continue working as a cop.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a n. I¡¯m sorry, though, I¡¯m a policeman.¡±


    ¡°Policeman? You kill your own people and dare call yourself a policeman?¡±


    Xian took out his handcuffs. ¡°Evildoers must be punished.¡±


    ¡°Give me a chance,¡± Xiaohuang pleaded.


    ¡°How can I?¡± Xian asked.


    ¡°In the past, I had no choice, but I just want to be a good person now. Let me off this once and I won¡¯t kill anymore. I¡¯ll work honestly as Xiaohong¡¯s assistant.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m a policeman,¡± Xian repeated.


    ¡°You want me dead, don¡¯t you?¡± Xiaohuang frowned.


    Just as Xiaohuang was about to raise his head, he was thrown onto the ground.


    His head was turned to the side and he couldn¡¯t look at Xian.


    Xian extended his hands and punctured Xiaohuang¡¯s eyes.


    A miserable shriek traveled out of the kiosk but Xiaohong remained rooted to the ground.


    ¡°This way, you can¡¯t hurt anyone again,¡± Xian said as he cuffed Xiaohuang.


    Xiaohuang squirmed, banging his head on the ground.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re in pain. After the ne incident, I had nned to dig out my own eyes. I wasn¡¯t able to control it so my eyes sucked my fingers dry instead.¡±


    ¡°I... I have so... something else to say,¡± Xiaohuang managed to get out.


    ¡°Speak.¡± Xian moved closer to Xiaohuang and loosened his grip a little.


    Xiaohuang retrieved a small knife from his back pocket and stabbed Xian in the chest.


    Xiaohong waited from a distance away. He could clearly identify Xiaohuang¡¯s scream from earlier but it had been quiet for some time since then.


    Just then, Xiaohuang crawled out of the kiosk. ¡°Where are you, Xiaohong? Light this ce up and take me away. I don¡¯t need the money anymore.¡±


    Xiaohong¡¯s jaw dropped at the sight of Xiaohuang¡¯s bloody eyes.


    He understood what Xian had done. Damaging the eyes was indeed an effective solution, but it seemed that Xian had failed.


    Xiaohuang continued shouting, ¡°I can give all my money to you, Xiaohong, as long as you take me away from here.¡±


    Xiaohong walked over to the side of the kiosk and shone his phone light onto the ground, catching a glimpse of Xian¡¯s body.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Xiaohuang to kill Xian.


    He squatted down, cing a hand on him.


    ¡°Is that you, Xiaohong?¡± Xiaohuang asked frantically.


    ¡°You killed him?¡±


    ¡°He was going to arrest me. I was just protecting myself. I¡¯m blind now. You gotta save me,¡± he pleaded.


    ¡°He wanted to arrest you because you¡¯ve killed many people, but why did you kill him?¡±


    Silence filled the ce as Xiaohuang had no answer.


    Xiaohong stared Xiaohuang and within a split second, he stopped moving.


    He then dragged his dried up body toward the pile of corpses.


    When that was done, he looked down at his own chest, standing motionless.


    Seconds ticked by and he finally copsed onto the ground, trembling. ¡°I can¡¯t... I¡¯m scared.¡±


    A dead silence surrounded her. He got up slowly and yelled in anger, ¡°Tooth fairy!¡±


    To be continued.

 Chapter 73: Choice (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 73: Choice (Part 2) I</h4>


    The sky was already brightening by the time Xiaohong got up and walked into the kiosk.


    Under the dim light, he picked up the bag of money Xiaohuang had prepared.


    He moved it into the front seat of his car with much effort before walking over to the pumping station and pulling out two fuel guns.


    He stretched them to the maximum and got as close to the room as possible.


    He started spraying the fuel onto the ground and did not stop until the guns ran out.


    He dropped the guns, a big pool of oil spreading across all corners of the gas station.


    The thick fuel smell made him cough. He returned to his car and drove about ten meters away.


    He turned on the cigarette lighter in the car.


    A ding broke the peace.


    He wound down the window and threw it toward the gas station.


    A few secondster, all he saw was rising mes.


    He drove away.


    ...


    Three yearster in a bar.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the weather getting colder?¡± a customermented after taking a shot of vodka.


    ¡°Yeah, winters are getting increasingly unbearable,¡± the barman sighed, the breath he exhaled showing up in a puff of mist.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to drink? It¡¯s such a cold day!¡± The customer pushed his empty shot ss toward the barman.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m at work. I¡¯ll get in trouble with the boss for getting drunk and messing up the ounts,¡± he declined. He took out an opened bottle of vodka from a small fridge under the counter, swirled it a little before refilling his customer¡¯s ss.


    A man in a leather jacket entered the bar.


    ¡°A customer? How rare. A new one at that...¡± the barman smiled as he looked up, only to fall silent the next instant.


    ¡°What? Is that your boss? Why have you gone mute?¡± the customer asked before turning around.


    The barman¡¯s silence was due to the ck head mask the man in the leather jacket was wearing.


    The man took out a shotgun from his back pocket and aimed it at the customer.


    Before the customer could process what was going on, a loud bang echoed.


    The barman noticed that the shotgun was specially made.


    The front part consisted of a series of ck membranes. When the trigger was pulled, a ck shot out.


    The customer¡¯s face had been wrapped around by at least three ckyers.


    And just as he was about to reach up and remove them, the neer pounced.


    The man held the customer down onto the ground and held his gun above the customer¡¯s neck.


    He used his legs to spread open the customer¡¯s hands, putting him in a deadlock.


    ¡°Know the tooth fairy?¡± he asked, using his right hand to cover the customer¡¯s face.


    The customer remained motionless and silent.


    The neer pointed his fore and middle fingers at the customer¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Know the tooth fairy?¡± he tried again.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the customer answered.


    The barman smashed the vodka bottle he was holding onto and the alcohol sshed all over himself.


    Using the sharp edges, he aimed the bottle at the man in the leather jacket, getting ready to attack.


    Before the barman could make a move against him, the man in the leather jacket gave him an intense look and he felt his body losing strength. He copsed behind the counter.


    The alcohol over his body disappeared and he was unable to move. It felt like blood wasn¡¯t circting within his body. He could only maintain bare consciousness and breaths.


    ¡°When did you meet him and where?¡± the neer asked.


    ¡°Will you let me go if I answer?¡± the customer asked with a shaky voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve let many people go, but even more people suffered because of my impatience,¡± he stated dully.


    ¡°I can¡¯t remember the date but it was about 20 years ago when I was still a kid. The northern region, Kangning road. The tooth fairy gave me the power to make liquid disappear,¡± the customer shouted.


    ¡°Have you used it to kill anybody?¡±


    ¡°No, never ever,¡± the customer answered confidently.


    The man in the leather jacket poked his fingers through the ck and blood started pouring out as the customer screeched.


    ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it? But at least you¡¯re still alive. me it on the tooth fairy if you have to. He gave not only you but all of us asting nightmare.¡± He loosened his hands and kept his shotgun.


    He took out a brochure and a pen from his pocket.


    On the map, he drew a circle on Kangning road and added a horizontal line on the next page.


    He looked at his glove. The fresh blood that had just been on it moments ago was now gone.


    The man in the leather jacket left the bar and returned to his sports car.


    He removed his mask and threw it onto the passenger seat along with the brochure.


    Xiaohong drove toward a distant ce.


    The brochure left on the seat contained a map of the whole northern region.


    Red circles covered the map and there were a total of 25 strikes on the next page.


    Below the strikes were time and dates.


    While the times were more or less different, the dates remained constant.


    Xiaohong was very certain that it was that very day that he had met the tooth fairy as well.


    He drove through the street where he came from, made a turn, and stopped his car.


    He sighed before taking out his mobile and making a call.


    ¡°Any more leads?¡± he asked upon connecting.


    ¡°No more. I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s any, so don¡¯t be impatient. You have to give me time,¡± the voice on the other end replied.


    ¡°I gave you so much money. Why have you only found me these few people?¡±


    ¡°The information you provided was clear ¨C the ability to make liquid disappear ¨C but this isn¡¯t something they would disy for no reason, is it? I do, however, have some trails involving the person you¡¯re searching for specifically.¡±


    ¡°You found the tooth fairy?¡± Xiaohong¡¯s voice was evidently livelier at this point.


    ¡°How can I possibly find something out of a fairy tale?¡± the voice asked, frustrated.


    ¡°Who then?¡± Xiaohong sounded helpless.


    ¡°You mentioned something about the deputy mayor. If not for him, your friends might still be alive. Remember?¡±


    ¡°Deputy mayor? You found him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not living the life everyone thinks he is. He¡¯s dirt broke and living as an elementary school teacher in a slum area.


    ¡°That scum, a teacher? Send me whatever information you have.¡±


    ¡°I can do that but stop chasing me for a month. I treat you as a friend so don¡¯t threaten me with your superpower,¡± the voice said nervously.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I given you enough money?¡± Xiaohong asked faintly.


    ¡°No, you gave too much. Much more than what I can offer you, but you must understand that this is really a challenging task.¡±


    ¡°I know. You¡¯re doing a great job ¨C I just need more. Who knows how many more of these people there are,¡± Xiaohong said.


    ¡°There might not be any left, you know. I haven¡¯t found any leads in four months. 25 sounds like a good number. Could that be it?¡±


    ¡°Continue searching. You said the same thing when you reached 20 numbers. I¡¯ll find you tomorrow. Prepare an overcoat for me. The weather¡¯s really turning colder day by day.¡±


    Xiaohong hung up.


    A message came in shortly after.


    It was the address of the slum area in Sanshui district with a remark at the bottom: He will be preparing lesson ns at home from seven p.m. onward.


    Xiaohong put his phone down and started driving toward his destination.

 Chapter 74: Choice (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 74: Choice (Part 2) II</h4>


    Xiaohong stopped his car outside the slum since the muddy ground made it impossible for him to drive.


    He got off after stuffing the head mask into his pocket.


    He followed the directions in his phone and walked into the slum area. It was 6:30 pm.


    No one noticed that he was wearing a leather jacket.


    He even bought a bag of scones in the market along the way.


    He got closer and closer to his destination.


    It was an unfinished building that looked as though it could copse anytime.


    After finishing his food, he entered the building and looked for unit 202.


    Upon locating it, he looked into the windows.


    There were cracks in the ss and it looked like it had been held in ce with adhesive tape.


    It was a simple house. The ceilingmp had a yellowing bulb that filled the room with a dim light.


    Beneath it was a man reading a book with a slight hunch.


    There were all kinds of books around him. Language, math, art... all subjects it seemed.


    It seemed impossible that the man before Xiaohong was that very same deputy mayor who swallowed 630 million.


    Xiaohong took out his head mask and put it on before retrieving a shlight from his back pocket.


    It was a unique shlight because it had three bulbs.


    Its ss cover had been cut into a rhombus shape, which allowed light to gather.


    Holding his breath, Xiaohong kicked the door open.


    In the instant that the man turned around, Xiaohong switched his shlight on.


    A blinding light shone into the man¡¯s eyes, making him scream.


    Xiaohong rushed over to hold him against the ground.


    ¡°It hurts. I can¡¯t see!¡± the man yelled.


    ¡°It¡¯s temporary. You¡¯d better shut up or I¡¯ll make it more permanent,¡± Xiaohong warned with a bitter smile.


    With his eyes shut tightly, the man had a distorted look on his face


    ¡°You¡¯re the cause of our misery, dear deputy mayor,¡± Xiaohong started.


    ¡°How do you know who I am? I know I was wrong. Look at me. I¡¯ve been teaching over here for ten years in hopes that I canpensate for my mistake. I¡¯m very sorry,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Do you think your sorry can bring back lives?¡± Xiaohong asked as he flipped the table before him.


    Books came crashing down together with the shattering of a ss cup.


    The noise attracted a few observers.


    Xiaohong took his shotgun out and pointed it at them. ¡°Look and you¡¯ll join him.¡±


    The crowd immediately retracted their gazes, but an elderly stepped forward and said in a low voice, ¡°Ding¡¯s a good man. Why do you want him dead?¡±


    ¡°Why? Ask him yourself. Ask him what he¡¯s done and why I¡¯m here today.¡±


    The mayor took over with a trembling voice, ¡°Just leave, everyone. I¡¯m at fault. I¡¯m the deputy mayor, Ding Yizhen. Do not call the police. I¡¯d rather die in his hands than to be spurned by the whole world.¡±


    The elderly fell silent before stepping back without another word.


    The rest, too, could only sneak nces from behind the wall.


    ¡°Do you know? The northern region wouldn¡¯t be in this state if not for you. If not for you, my friends would still be alive. Aside from the tooth fairy, you¡¯re the only person I abhor.¡±


    ¡°Tooth fairy? You know him too?¡± Ding asked nervously.


    ¡°What has the tooth fairy got to do with you? You have the superpower too?¡± Xiaohong quickly held his fingers against the mayor¡¯s eyelids.


    ¡°I¡¯m in this state because of the tooth fairy,¡± the mayor answered as tears rolled down his cheeks.


    Xiaohong was taken aback. He pulled out a ck and covered the mayor¡¯s eyes.


    He wanted to know the details so bad but he was afraid that the mayor had the same power as him.


    The fact that the mayor knew about the tooth fairy made Xiaohong really suspicious.


    ¡°Tell me everything you know about the tooth fairy,¡± Xiaohong demanded.


    ¡°24 years ago, when I was pondering over our nation¡¯s situation, the tooth fairy descended and told me that building the best sports stadium would change things for the better. As long as I did it, I would only rise higher and higher in status.¡±


    ¡°And you believed him? And everything happened because of that?¡±


    ¡°No, that was just the beginning. The whole nation was in support of my proposal. I only realize that the whole thing was the tooth fairy¡¯s plot after handling the northern region. And he¡¯s not the only devil in this world. There are many others...¡± the mayor continued.


    ¡°What? Many others?¡± Xiaohong repeated in surprise.


    ¡°There¡¯s Headless Horseman, Jersey Devil, Mothman, Bigfoot and so on... many, many kinds. They go around giving kids superpowers and letting them do whatever they want with it.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say all these earlier? Why are there so many devils?¡± Xiaohong was uprehending.


    For three years, Xiaohong had been chasing down those with the superpower the tooth fairy gave. It was only now that he realized that that was merely the tip of the iceberg.


    ¡°I only found out after. These devils can¡¯t harm humans but they can give them abilities. They each have a region to administer and can only give superpowers to those within their areas. The tooth fairy suggested that I build a sports stadium to push those with his superpower to other parts of the country, either to the next city or somewhere even further. I only found more information about these devils a long timeter. They¡¯re more or less doing the same thing. It¡¯s like a game,¡± the mayor finished.


    ¡°Do you know how many people the tooth fairy gave power to?¡±


    ¡°He told me that each devil had 50 people. It was a game for them, almost like a bet. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s at stake but I¡¯m like this today because of him. He took away the funds and I fell into this state.¡±


    The sirens sounded outside.


    ¡°They¡¯re here to arrest me. Kill me, quick,¡± the mayor shouted.


    Xiaohong sighed. ¡°They¡¯re here for me. I¡¯ve caused a disturbance.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go. Kill me first,¡± the mayor requested.


    ¡°No, you have to ept your punishment,¡± Xiaohong said before getting up.


    ¡°Only you understand that the devils are real. The cops are going to treat us as madmen,¡± the mayor yelled.


    ¡°This has nothing to do with me,¡± Xiaohong stated before rushing out of the door.


    The sirens got increasingly ring and voices rang from below, ¡°Raise your hands up, everyone inside!¡±

 Chapter 75: Choice (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 75: Choice (Part 2) III</h4>


    When Xiaohong came out to the corridor, everyone had their arms raised in the air.


    Frustrated, he looked downstairs and saw that the area was crowded with policemen.


    Xiaohong took off his mask and put it back into his pocket along with his other equipment before raising his arms.


    The policemen made their way up the stairs as Xiaohong gradually leaned against the wall against the staircase.


    ¡°Do not move, everyone. Tell me where room 202 is, left or right?¡± a policeman holding a gun asked the crowd.


    Xiaohong pointed, ¡°That opened door over there.¡±


    Just as the policeman was about to turn away, he stopped. ¡°Your clothes... you don¡¯t seem to be from here...¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, however, he copsed weakly onto the ground.


    As the other policemen started to sense something, they, too, fell down one after another.


    Xiaohong stepped over the policemen¡¯s bodies and made his way down as the other citizens started shouting in panic.


    The policemen on standby started making a move but were also rendered paralyzed by Xiaohong.


    They sprawled motionless on the ground, barely able to breathe.


    Their minds went nk as they experienced anemia and dizziness, their visions darkening.


    Xiaohong got to the first floor easily but more sirens started to sound.


    He walked briskly toward his car and eyed the iing police cars along the way.


    The policemen noticed that the panel board meters were indicating an empty water tank and oil tank.


    Xiaohong was unstoppable.


    Even those policemen lying in ambush fell to the ground before they could even shout for Xiaohong to freeze.


    Xiaohong got nearer and nearer to his car but helicopters started to draw close.


    Frustrated, he looked up and saw that it was an old and worn one, owned by the civilians.


    The policemen in the helicopter were shining bright lights down on Xiaohong, entuating his silhouette.


    Xiahong frowned and sighed, ¡°How tricky to avoid killing people.¡±


    The police lights followed Xiaohong closely.


    Left without a choice, he looked up and stared at the source, instantly deactivating them.


    The policemen were confused by the sudden ckout. They shook their torches as if that would turn them back on.


    They opened up the back of their shlights to remove the batteries only to realize that they were weightless.


    The policemen squeezed the batteries slightly and discovered that they were empty inside.


    By then, Xiaohong had already gotten into his car and drove away, leaving a huge mess behind.


    ...


    The next day, he sat in a coffee shop reading some newspapers.


    The coffee he had ordered turned ice cold within ten minutes.


    He was already wearing the overcoat given to him, but a mist was stilling out of his mouth whenever he exhaled.


    The deputy mayor¡¯s face flooded the front page.


    ¡®Northen region¡¯s deputy mayor arrested after 23 years.¡¯


    ¡®Mentally unstable, incoherent speech.¡¯


    Xiaohong smiled bitterly at the report but his brows were furrowed.


    Hundreds of thoughts were running through his mind.


    There were many devils apart from the tooth fairy, they can¡¯t attack humans, fifty with superpowers, managing their own territories, betting game...


    ...


    He turned his focus back to the northern region.


    That had to be the tooth fairy¡¯s region.


    Unable to harm humans.


    Xiaohong closed his newspaper and dashed back into his car.


    He sped toward the northern region.


    The moment he entered the region, he felt an arising suppression.


    He was a hundred meters in when he started having difficulty breathing.


    Just then, a hand extended over, scaring and provoking him to step on the emergency brakes.


    That sharp halt left tire marks on the ground.


    The figure on the passenger seat smiled. ¡°You¡¯re finally here. You were still a young man when you came over to the school looking for documents. Now, you¡¯re the homicidal maniac who¡¯s killed 26 of my chess pieces.¡±


    This must be the tooth fairy, Xiaohong thought.


    ¡°Nothing to think about. Your power does not work on me,¡± the tooth fairy stated.


    Xiaohong threw a punch that prated the tooth fairy¡¯s body andnded on the seat.


    ¡°You can¡¯t touch me either, maniac,¡± the tooth fairy said before waving his finger, instantly locking Xiaohong tight in his seat.


    ¡°Killing? I¡¯ve never killed anyone.¡±


    The tooth fairy smiled again. ¡°Why did you have to take away their lives? Their superpower, to me, is life. Without the power, their lives are not worth living and they¡¯re better off dead.¡±


    Xiaohong forced himself to calm down. ¡°I haven¡¯t killed anyone. This so-called superpower is a sin.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t killed? Then what is Xiaohuang if not human? What a kind kid, that little one. He had ambitions.¡± The tooth fairy smiled coldly.


    ¡°I only killwbreakers. I know what you¡¯re trying to say. When I¡¯m done with this, I will end my own life,¡± Xiaohong added firmly.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re giving this attitude because you¡¯re aware that I can¡¯t kill you,¡± the tooth fairy said, his teeth gritted.


    ¡°Is this also the reason why you let the mayor go that year? Because you can¡¯t hurt humans?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very intelligent. I¡¯ve already lost half the bet thanks to you. Of course, there¡¯s a way to make up for it. There are a total of 12 devils and we each gave 50 people the same superpower ¨C controlling liquids. 650 people, spread all over the nation. Go kill all of their chess pieces. Dig out their eyes.¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± Xiaohong flew into a rage.


    ¡°You should, because of what I¡¯m about to tell you. 23 years ago, there were a total of 666 people ¨C the holy son, holy father, and holy spirit who started this bet, us 13 devils, and the kids with superpowers,¡± the tooth fairy narrated.


    ¡°Satanic number.¡± Xiaohong sucked in a cold breath.


    ¡°You¡¯ve noticed that the weather¡¯s turning colder, haven¡¯t you? Guess where the liquid you drain goes to?¡±


    Silence.


    With a menacing smile, the tooth fairy continued, ¡°The earth¡¯s core. The temperature will only continue to drop as long as there are people engaging their power, bringing us back to the Ice age and finally into destruction. I¡¯m asking you to kill the other chess pieces to save Earth!¡±


    ¡°Or to give you a chance to win your stupid bet? What¡¯s the condition?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in charge of recording the volume of liquid each person drains and we will do that until the earth dies out. The biggest team contributor wins and the devil will be the next reigning religious figure,¡± the tooth fairy said, excitement evident in his voice.


    ¡°And you think you still have a chance to win?¡± Xiaohong asked.


    ¡°I have you. You¡¯re very unique. You¡¯re the only one who thought about looking for me. You¡¯re also the only one who knows this secret. Kill them for me. If I win, you¡¯ll get eternal life and be a demigod in the next cycle of life,¡± the tooth fairy offered, his voice bing sharper.


    ¡°Can¡¯t a person win by sucking the ocean dry?¡±


    ¡°No, we measure by average. No matter how much you drain, the volume will be evenly distributed among the other 46 members. We¡¯re too low in number now that you¡¯ve killed so many of your own. The only way for us to have a shot is for you to lower the other devil teams¡¯ average score.¡±


    ¡°I can listen to you but I have a question.¡±


    ¡°Ask away, my boy. Give me victory and you¡¯ll have everything.¡± The tooth fairy undid his spell, allowing Xiaohong to move again.


    ¡°If the earth is still fine after the death of all 650 people, will the bet still continue?¡±


    After a short consideration, the tooth fairy shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re unable to give any more people superpower. 50 is the maximum.¡±


    Before the tooth fairy could finish, Xiaohong drove his car toward the boundary of the northern region.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go get them!¡± The tooth fairy grinned victoriously.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to save the earth,¡± Xiaohong said faintly.


    Xiaohong passed the boundary and the tooth fairy vanished instantly.


    ...


    63 yearster.


    Aurora district, where the world¡¯s most active volcanoes stand.


    134 of them hasn¡¯t erupted since 63 years ago.


    The earth¡¯s temperature was returning to normal and was no longer experiencing any dips.


    ¡°Are you looking at the weather reports again, Grandfather?¡± the little girl asked.


    With his shaking hand, the grandfather wrote down the temperatures of countries in a small booklet.


    He flipped through his book and noticed that the temperature today was one to two degrees colder than the year before.


    The grandfather tidied his things, got his overcoat ready, and told his granddaughter, ¡°Be good while grandfather makes a trip up there. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to save the earth again?¡± she asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t expect that, did you, Tooth Fairy? I¡¯m 98 years old and I doubt anyone with power is still alive. The world is going to be fine. I¡¯m the final winner,¡± the grandfather said with a smile.


    He got up from his chair, but before he could make a step forward, he copsed onto the ground, lying motionless for a long time.


    The granddaughter burst into tears and ran next door to look for her parents.

 Chapter 76: All-seeing Eye I

    <h4>Chapter 76: All-seeing Eye I</h4>


    My name is Lixia. I¡¯m ten years old and I¡¯m in the fifth grade.


    My family is different from others.


    Other kids have parents to send them to and fro, but I go home from school alone every day.


    Mom has been hospitalized and Dad has never told me what Mom is sick with.


    Because of work, Dad was unable to take me to school or fetch me from it.


    It has be a habit for me to visit my mom at the hospital after school.


    Luckily, the hospital was just ten minutes away from my school.


    I would do my work beside her bed and grab dinner from the canteen to apany her.


    Half a semester passed with me stuck in that routine.


    Sometimes, during dinner time, a fatnguid cat would roam into the room.


    I would offer it some of my own food.


    Mom would just keep quiet and request that I clean up the floor after.


    This fat cat would let me stroke it a little after it¡¯s full.


    It would even roll over and show me its belly to rub.


    Whenever I y with the cat, Mom would correct my assignments by drawing circles on the errors.


    After she was done, she would stash them in my bag and ask me to head home.


    I would get Dad to look them through again.


    Days passed simply.


    One day, as I was about to leave the hospital after putting the cat down and carrying my backpack, a nurse stopped me at the exit.


    ¡°y with that fat cat less in the future, alright, little boy?¡± she said kindly, kneeling down slightly.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked curiously.


    She looked around before answering, ¡°Its name is Oscar and he¡¯s a death kitty.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°A death kitty can predict when a person is going to die,¡± she exined.


    ¡°How?¡±


    Instead of answering, she got up and rushed off.


    From that day onward, while I still feed the cat, I touched it lesser and lesser unless it rubbed its body against my calves, asking to be petted.


    One day, the cat came into the room. I put a small piece of fish on the floor but it did note over, and instead, jumped to the bed of an old man.


    The fat cat curled up on his pillow and fell asleep soon after.


    Everyone looked at the old man with a strange expression.


    I was about to go pick the cat up but Mom stopped me.


    She whispered to me, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb Oscar today.¡±


    I nodded and used a tissue paper to clean up the food.


    As usual, Mom packed my bag and sent me on my way.


    The cat was still sleeping peacefully by the old man¡¯s pillow.


    And the old man was writing something on a piece of paper.


    Curious, I walked over to have a look. On the paper were closely packed words that looked moreplicated than those I had learned in school.


    ¡°What are you doing, eh?¡± I asked softly.


    Mom quickly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, Lixia!¡±


    I lowered my head in shame, but the old man simply ruffled my hair and smiled. ¡°Oscar¡¯s a good cat. Don¡¯t bully it, alright?¡±


    As I was puzzling over his words, Mom added, ¡°Go home now, boy.¡±


    Without a choice, I nodded and left the hospital.


    The next day, the old man¡¯s bed was empty.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future,¡± Mom dismissed.


    Oscar came into the room and walked around my legs, its long tail hooking around my calf.


    ¡°Good boy. I¡¯ll y with you after finishing my homework,¡± I said as I stroked it.


    Amazingly, he listened and went aside for a nap.


    I went to get dinner after finishing up.


    I ate beef that day and gave Oscar the biggest piece.


    He gobbled everything up happily.


    I told Mom, ¡°A nurse told me not to y with him and the old man from yesterday told me to treat him well.¡±


    ¡°What do you think of that?¡± Mom asked with a smile.


    ¡°Oscar¡¯s very cute,¡± I stated.


    ¡°Do what you want then,¡± she encouraged.


    I carried Oscar up and rubbed its belly as it stretched outfortably on myp, purring softly.


    ...


    Three yearster, junior high, second grade.


    I started to grasp certain concepts and Mom¡¯s body was weakening each day.


    Oscar visited less frequently and each time it entered the room, I would carry it out.


    Whenever it came over, however, I would still put half of my dinner outside the door for him to enjoy.


    If he wanted to be petted, I would carry him out and do it.


    I finally understood why the nurse told me to stay away from Oscar and why the old man had me treat him well.


    Oscar really was a death kitty.


    The patient that was lying on the bed he would jump onto would pass away the next day.


    He hasn¡¯t failed so far and chasing it away wouldn¡¯t change anything.


    ¡°Hey, Oscar. Don¡¯t you jump on Mom¡¯s bed, alright?¡±


    Oscar made a turn happily and meowed.


    ¡°Do you hear me? Meow again if you understand.¡±


    Other than producing a low wheeze, it made no other sounds.


    I rubbed his belly. ¡°Clever, eh?¡±


    Oscar used his tail to bump my hand before strutting down the corridor gleefully.


    ...


    Half a monthter.


    Oscar visited us again.


    I carried him out and gave half of my food to him as usual.


    He wasn¡¯t interested in the food, however. He wanted to go into the room.


    He howled a little when I tried stopping him.


    ¡°Is someone going to go today?¡± I asked.


    Oscar made a loud meow.


    Looking at the four beds inside, I moved aside helplessly.


    Oscar entered slowly and stopped before Mom¡¯s bed before jumping on top of it and lying in a corner.


    I dashed in and saw that Mom was crying.


    ¡°He might be mistaken. It might not be true,¡± I said, extending my hands out to grab Oscar.


    Mom stopped me. ¡°Don¡¯t. Give your father a call.¡±


    I stood motionless, not hearing her words.


    ¡°Mom? Can I take him away?¡±


    ¡°Let him stay here. There¡¯s nothing we can do. Chasing him away won¡¯t change anything.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way at all?¡± I asked.


    An olddy on the next bed spoke up. ¡°This is his 63rd prediction and he hasn¡¯t been wrong before.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s just tired and wants to rest. I¡¯ll carry him out. He must¡¯ve made a mistake,¡± I repeated before grabbing hold of Oscar.


    Oscar meowed again and struggled free before lying back down.


    I was about to try again but Mom chided, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Lixia.¡±


    She fell into a coughing fit immediately after.


    Frustrated, I gave Dad a call.


    Upon hearing about Oscar, he put everything down at work and came over.


    Half an hour passed.


    Dad, Mom, and Oscar were in the room while I squatted outside.


    My mind was nk.


    Unable to control my emotions, tears started pouring down.


    Frantic, I ran into the room and grabbed Oscar by force.


    My sudden action shocked everyone in the room.


    Oscar escaped my embrace and jumped onto my face.


    With a loud meow, he wed at my left eye, leaving a fresh cut just above my eyelid.


    After that, he went back to my mom¡¯s side and sat still like nothing had happened.


    Blood dripped down my face and onto the white sheets.


    I stared nkly at the ground as Dad came over to cover my left eye with a cotton pad.


    He rushed me to the emergency room.


    Seven stitches and a white gauzeter, I was sent to the ward beside Mom¡¯s and was told not to move about.


    The doctor said I was lucky my eyeball wasn¡¯t hurt, but an infection was still possible and I might have to stay in for the night.


    Lying on the bed, I resisted the tears that were welling in my eyes, not wanting them to roll over my wound.


    I did not sleep that night.


    Dad was the one who informed me the next day when Mom left.

 Chapter 77: All-seeing Eye II

    <h4>Chapter 77: All-seeing Eye II</h4>


    Tears flowed down endlessly.


    Dad stopped me when I tried to prop myself up. ¡°Stay down, kid. I have already informed your school about what happened. I took half a month¡¯s leave to settle this all, okay? I¡¯m here to take care of you so talk to me if you need me.¡±


    I wanted to raise my head but Dad pressed it down onto the pillow insistently.


    ¡°What are you trying to do? What if you fall? Are you nning to go over to her bed and cry? You¡¯re injured. Lie down and hold it in. There¡¯s nothing your tears can do. Endure that little bit of sadness, she just left... that¡¯s... all...¡± he broke down in tears, turning around to hide his face.


    I didn¡¯t move again. The doctor¡¯s warning not to exert myself too much and risk reopening the wound also came to mind.


    After a short silence, Dad spoke up again, ¡°Wait here while I settle some paperwork. I¡¯ll get you dinnerter.¡±


    Before I could agree, he left the ward.


    I stared at the ceiling, my mind aplete mess.


    I felt no pain whatsoever, unlike the night before where my eye was still hurting badly.


    I reached a hand up to touch the gauze. It wasn¡¯t painful at all.


    This made me curious. I wanted to remove the bandage but I don¡¯t want to go against the doctor¡¯s orders.


    He said I could only get the stitches removed a weekter or there would be a scar.


    The severity of the scar would depend on these seven days. Other than to re-apply medication, I wasn¡¯t allowed to remove the gauze. I was to eat light food and avoid oil and spice.


    I put my head down and continued staring at the ceiling.


    A meow rang in my ears.


    I turned to the sound but I saw nothing.


    I shifted back around and it rang again.


    I could tell that it was Oscar¡¯s voice. Plus, there wasn¡¯t any other cat in the hospital apart from him.


    I looked over at the old man on the next bed. ¡°Excuse me, sir. Do you hear a cat?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± he responded.


    ¡°Excuse me, do you hear a cat?¡± I raised my voice a notch.


    ¡°Cat? I¡¯m old and my ears aren¡¯t working well,¡± he replied.


    A small girl on the opposite side added, ¡°Think I heard it.¡±


    I gritted my teeth. I was right.


    It was nearby.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, little girl?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yinuo,¡± she answered with a friendly smile.


    Silence resumed in the ward.


    After a short moment, there were soft sounds at the door.


    I looked over at Yinuo again and requested, ¡°There seems to be something outside, Yinuo. Could you help me open the door and have a look, please?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Alright, brother one-eyed dragon. I¡¯ll go now.¡±


    She got off the bed and opened the door.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, drawing a breath.


    ¡°A cat. Come in, kitty,¡± she said faintly.


    I shot up subconsciously and looked at the old man. He looked well and wasughing happily at the television screen.


    ¡°What are you sick with, Yinuo?¡±


    She answered, ¡°Asthma. I¡¯ll have to rest for a month.¡±


    I looked over at the fourth patient, who was also thest person in the ward. It was a pregnantdy. Shey on the bed and was covered in a nket.


    ¡°Are you sick, aunty?¡± I asked hesitantly.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who is sick. I¡¯m nine months pregnant, can¡¯t you see? There are not enough beds there so I got allocated here instead,¡± she responded.


    A few secondster, Oscar appeared within my field of vision.


    He jumped up and meowed once before resting at a corner of my bed.


    The three other patients looked at me as I looked at Oscar.


    ¡°Is that the death kitty? Your question makes sense now,¡± the pregnantdymented.


    The old man sighed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t expecting you to leave this world before me.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a death kitty, brother one-eyed dragon?¡± She walked over slowly and reached her hand out to touch Oscar.


    I stopped her unconsciously. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, Yinuo. He¡¯s very fierce. My eye¡¯s like this because of him.¡±


    She retracted her hand and moved a few steps back.


    Thoughts flooded my mind.


    Am I going to die tonight?


    How could I die? It¡¯s just a wound infection.


    I touched the gauze over my left eye and hopped off the bed.


    ¡°This cat scratches, aunty. Don¡¯t let her touch it,¡± I told the pregnantdy.


    She nodded. ¡°Got it. Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find the doctor and ask why I¡¯m going to die tonight.¡±


    I walked out of the ward with careful steps since I was afraid of getting into an ident.


    I arrived at the doctor¡¯s office and thankfully, he was on duty.


    He had just finished a consultation with another patient and had three more waiting.


    I cut over and said, ¡°Oscar came over to my bed earlier and rested on it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the doctor asked, confused.


    ¡°That death kitty. Have I been infected? Will I not live past tonight?¡±


    The doctor waved his hand. ¡°Wait here, everyone, and you,e over here. Let me have a closer look.¡±


    I walked over and he removed my gauze.


    ¡°Your wound is about to recover. There isn¡¯t any problem, it seems. I¡¯ve also given you the Rabies vine so it¡¯s impossible that you die tonight. Perhaps you¡¯ve been traumatized by that incident?¡± the doctor suggested.


    ¡°But the other four patients saw the same thing...¡±


    ¡°Bring me there. Those waiting for me, please consult the other doctor. Sorry to have wasted your time,¡± he informed the other patients before following me over to the ward.


    Oscar was still in my bed when we entered.


    The doctor exhaled. ¡°This is my first time seeing it. So the rumors were true...¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m really going to die, Doc?¡± I asked anxiously.


    He stepped forward and prodded Oscar a little but it remained motionless.


    The doctor flipped him over and discovered that it seemed lifeless.


    He put on his stethoscope and looked for a pulse over the cat¡¯s stomach. ¡°I¡¯m not a veterinarian but it seems like he¡¯s dead. How about you get a doctor from the animal hospital just around the corner?¡± the doctor suggested.


    Just as I was about to leave, he called, ¡°Wait. I¡¯ll go with you since the doctor might note if you have no money.¡±


    He carried Oscar out.


    15 minutester, we arrived at the animal hospital.


    After a brief examination, the vet dered Oscar dead.


    ¡°Cause of death?¡± the doctor asked.


    The vet sighed, ¡°This cat is well over ten years old. It¡¯s only natural. He died of old age. There¡¯s a funeral parlor for animals in here.¡±


    The doctor smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Our hospital has a morgue.¡±


    The vet returned the smile. ¡°Are you snatching our business?¡±


    ¡°This cat¡¯s been with us for a few years. Because it could predict death, some liked it while others hated it. Let¡¯s hand it over to the hospital. It¡¯s what we should do for him,¡± the doctor said.


    ¡°So this is that death kitty?¡± the vet asked.


    The doctor paid the fees and carried Oscar out. I followed closely behind.


    ¡°Will I die tonight, Doc?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think so much. It¡¯s just a rumor after all,¡± he smiled.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve seen him predict correctly the death of two patients, and one of them is my mom.¡±


    ¡°My condolences. We shouldn¡¯t be so superstitious. Your wound is healing fine, I guarantee you.¡±


    The doctor brought the cat to the morgue while I returned to my ward.


    The pregnantdy and the old man started questioning me and I shared everything I knew.


    At night, Dad came over with dinner and I did not bring Oscar¡¯s death up.


    After dinner, he went home while Iy on my bed, tensed and apprehensive.


    The night was deepening and I wasn¡¯t able to sleep at all.


    Time passed and soon it was midnight.


    Then one in the morning.


    Two, three, four...


    At five, I looked out at the light shining through the gaps between the curtains.


    I slowly rxed my body and fell into a deep sleep.


    I woke up in the afternoon and nothing happened.


    Somehow, the news of Oscar¡¯s death spread across the whole hospital.


    Oscar received a splendid burial. There were even reporters present. I chose not to answer when they interviewed me.


    Oscar¡¯s name appeared in the newspapers, on television, and even on Baidu.


    Six dayster, I got my stitches removed. There was a tiny scar and my left eye was significantly redder than my right. I couldn¡¯t see things clearly yet.


    Upon informing the doctor of that, he said, ¡°The slight redness and blurriness are normal effects. You¡¯ll be alright in a few days¡¯ time. Your eyeball is perfectly undamaged.¡±


    A few dayster, not only did my eye not improve, I began to notice other things.

 Chapter 78: All-seeing Eye III

    <h4>Chapter 78: All-seeing Eye III</h4>


    The things I saw became different.


    I¡¯ll have to start from the second week after I got my eye patch removed.


    The doctor refused to admit that it was due negligence, but the hospital had agreed to pay for me to get a pair of sses.


    After an eye-check, the optician announced that my right eye vision was normal whereas my left eye was about 150 degrees in shortsightedness.


    With the new sses, my overall vision returned to normal.


    Yet, I saw strange things.


    I would see Mom walking amidst the crowds at times.


    Mom was buried seven days after her death. I had my gauze removed on that same day so I wasn¡¯t able to attend her burial.


    As such, I attributed hallucination to this matter.


    One day, when I was passing a park after school, I saw a familiar figure.


    Yinuo.


    And in that split second, I had actually mistaken her for my mom.


    But when I took a second nce, she returned to her normal appearance.


    But I was certain that I had just seen a petite version of Mom. Much smaller than me.


    I walked over to Yinuo.


    ¡°Do you still remember me, little girl?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re brother one-eyed dragon! Why are you wearing sses?¡± she asked beforeing down the slide.


    ¡°My wound recovered but not my vision, so I have no choice but to put them on. I can¡¯t see clearly otherwise.¡±


    She looked at me. ¡°My deskmate wears spectacles too and he¡¯s doing really well in ss. But because he doesn¡¯t ever let me touch his sses, I suspect at times that he¡¯s only smart because of them.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s been studying too hard,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Can you lend me your sses, brother?¡± Yinuo pleaded with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a toy,¡± I told her sternly.


    ¡°Just a little while. I just want to know if it will make me smarter,¡± she persuaded.


    ¡°Alright, take it. Can¡¯t really say no to you.¡± I smiled and took them off.


    The moment I took it off, I got a shock and fell butt first onto the ground.


    The vision in my left eye was blurry, but in front of me stood a petite version of Mom.


    I was certain.


    ¡°What is it, brother one-eyed dragon?¡± Yinuo asked with concern.


    I handed my sses over to her before rubbing my eyes.


    My right eye could still see clearly but the left was slightly blurry.


    My right eye saw Yinuo but my left saw Mom.


    Mom but with Yinuo¡¯s build.


    I covered my eyes, one at a time, and realized that I had two visions.


    Yinuo fiddled with my sses and put it on. When she got dizzy, she removed them and returned it to me. ¡°The left side makes me feel giddy! I don¡¯t want to be smart if I have to wear this.¡±


    I quickly put the sses back on and my vision became consistent. Yinuo was Yinuo again.


    The moment I took it off, however, my left eye saw Mom again.


    Baffled, I waved Yinuo goodbye before turning around.


    A few stepster, I heard her call my name. When I turned back around, she was on the ground.


    I dashed over. Her face looked pale and she seemed to have difficulty breathing.


    Asthma.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your medicine?¡± I asked.


    With much effort, she pointed at her backpack not far away.


    I ran over and rummaged through it, eventually finding her inhaler.


    I passed it to her and saw her struggling to open and shake it.


    I took it and sprayed it toward the sky but nothing came out. Even shaking it a few times did not help.


    I knew it was finished.


    Frustrated, I carried her up and made a run for the hospital.


    I was fourteen and she was nine so it took me about six minutes before I got to the main road.


    ¡°Help!¡± I cried out as I put her down.


    A few Samaritans nearby came over to check out the situation.


    ¡°Asthma attack!¡± I shouted.


    One of them gged down a car and carried Yinuo onto the backseat.


    I sat in the front seat, my mind whirling.


    Ten minutester, we arrived at the emergency room.


    After an hour of wait, the doctor came out shaking his head.


    I was too stunned to move. ¡°Who is she? Your sister?¡±


    ¡°No, I met her on the street,¡± I answered.


    I paced back and forth in the hospital, taking off my sses and looking into each ward.


    I noticed that regardless of the sex of the patients, my left eye only saw someone who resembled Mom a lot.


    For example, when I saw an old man in a ward, or rather, when my right eye saw an old man, my left eye saw someone who had a 70% resemnce to my mom.


    I pondered over it as I ran through the halls frantically.


    I noticed some things.


    To my left eye, each person resembled my mom but to different extents. Yinuo, who looked the most alike, was dead.


    I found an olddy, ashen-faced, in another ward who looked, to my left eye, almost identical to Mom.


    Her whole family was by her side.


    I plucked up the courage and asked one of them, ¡°What is she sick with?¡±


    The family member sighed. ¡°Last stage of stomach cancer, not much time left to live. Go elsewhere to y, kiddo. Don¡¯te over here.¡±


    This had something to do with Oscar, I was sure.


    I analyzed everything that had happened and finally understood why he was able to predict death.


    When it was almost time for a person to go, he or she took on the appearance of Oscar¡¯s closest kin, be it his mother or anyone else. That exined why he would snug close to them each time and even give up food to apany the person for a little more time.


    And I was in that state, either because he scratched me, or because he died in my bed.


    My left eye took over his ability to see death and in turn, I saw Mom when someone was about to die.


    The nearer to death, the more alike they looked.


    16 yearster.


    I¡¯m a famous fortune teller. I even have a nickname ¨C Supernova.


    Word spread that if Supernova said you¡¯re going to die, no matter how vigorous and lively you were, you should start preparing for your own funeral. But if he says you¡¯re going to live, even withst stage cancer, you¡¯re not going to die.


    Of course, I¡¯m able to predict this thanks to my ability.


    I was practically the bearer of bad news and my uracy rate was almost 100%.


    Nevertheless, I could only predict and not save.


    Yet, people were still attracted and wanted me to help them take a look.


    My skill has even attracted media attention. Every three to five days, some reporters woulde over and conduct an interview.


    Recently, a program called ¡®The Battle Between Psychics¡¯ has invited me over as a guest for June 3rd¡¯s episode.


    The first round would be a testing game.


    I would be locked up in a small room.


    There would be five young people and one would be a cancer patient.


    They would enter the room and I would have to identify the patient in order to seed.


    I took off my sses and surveyed each one of them carefully.


    To my left eye, all of them looked identical to mom.


    I smiled, thinking about how considerate the program was. Were they afraid that I would get it wrong?


    I was going to be correct no matter what. An entertainment program for sure.


    I put on my sses before exiting the room. ¡°All five of them havete-stage cancer.¡±


    The host responded with sarcastic astonishment, ¡°Wow, Mister Lixia. I was told that only one of them is a cancer patient. Are you a chatan?¡±


    The crowd off stage started hissing and getting louder.


    I thought about how difficult it must have been to gather fivete-stage cancer patients. Furthermore, they were all going to die that night.


    I took off my sses and looked at the host. Mom.


    I gazed at the crowd. With my right eye shut, all of them turned into Mom.


    I picked up the microphone. ¡°Am I a liar? All of you will find out soon because everyone¡¯s about to die.¡±


    To be continued.

 Chapter 79: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 79: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°Nuts.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s gone mad, hasn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°I thought that he¡¯s good at what he does? It looks like you can¡¯t trust the media after all!¡±


    ¡°All of us are going to die? Ha! He¡¯s a fraud. Why did the program invite this kind of person?¡±


    ...


    The audience was in disorder.


    Worried, the host took over the microphone. ¡°Please be quiet, everyone. We¡¯re going to re-record this segment. Please calm down and pretend that nothing¡¯s happened, alright?¡±


    I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if it was about to copse and crush everyone, and prove how capable I was at my job and so on...


    After a long time, the crowd finally kept their emotions in check and was ready to reroll.


    The host started repeating the rules of the game as if nothing had happened before.


    I kept my eyes on the ceiling, wondering when it was going toe crashing down.


    ¡°... Please enter the room and we¡¯ll begin our first test, Mr. Lixia,¡± the host announced.


    I stood still. The host coughed loudly before repeating, ¡°Please enter the room and we¡¯ll begin our first test, Mr. Lixia.¡±


    Again, I ignored his words. I fished my phone out and directed the front camera at myself.


    The crowd started to protest again.


    ...


    ¡°Was he zoning out earlier?¡±


    ¡°Taking his phone out when recording a program?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s gone mad for real. Why is he here?¡±


    ¡°This is getting ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°Get lost! You¡¯re a scam!¡±


    ...


    I closed my right eye and saw Mom through the disy screen.


    The host came over angrily and snatched my phone. ¡°Do you still want to record?¡±


    I put my sses on and shook my head.


    ¡°Get lost then. I¡¯ve hosted programs for eight years now and I have never seen a guest like you. You¡¯re mental,¡± he yelled into the microphone.


    The audience cheered and apuded.


    The host calmed down and said, ¡°Please leave, Mr. Lixia.¡±


    I left the stage.


    The host took a few deep breaths before continuing, ¡°Next, we have our special guest from Japan.


    The host recited his script while all I could focus on was leaving the ce as soon as possible.


    I was stopped by the director. He shouted furiously, ¡°Have you gone bonkers? Even if you¡¯re fame seeking, that¡¯s not the right way to do it! Telling everyone they¡¯re about to die? You¡¯re not going to get anymission. We¡¯ll cut away your segment!¡±


    ¡°Can I leave now?¡± I asked, taking off my sses.


    He turned into Mom. I wanted to tell him that he, too, was going to die. However, I kept my mouth shut and just left quietly.


    With a wave, the director continued, ¡°I admired you previously since you¡¯re one of the most urate people around, but your performance today ispletely disappointing. People in the audience were snapping videos. Your future will be ruined if those go up on the. What a madman. I guess you¡¯re betting your life on this but it looks like it¡¯s going to backfire. Good luck.¡±


    I gave him a dull smile before leaving the television station while holding onto my sses. Everyone looked like Mom and I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing.


    I thought about what this signified if my all-seeing eye was still functioning.


    Was the whole region about to experience an earthquake? One of 11 or 12 magnitude that would leave no survivors?


    It was my first time experiencing something like this. First time in 16 years.


    I took my phone out and searched for thetest news involving an earthquake.


    Nothing. The weather was great and peaceful.


    It wasn¡¯t even going to rain so an earth-shattering disaster was even more unlikely to ur.


    After some thought, I was convinced that my eye was malfunctioning.


    I hoped that was the case since I was on the death list, too.


    I thought about Oscar, the doctor, and the veterinarian.


    The veterinarian mentioned that Oscar died when he was over ten years old. Perhaps the ability onlysts as long as his lifespan? It¡¯s been 16 years since I¡¯ve had this power.


    I searched on the for a cat¡¯s average lifespan. 13 ¨C 15 years.


    If my ability was indeed given by Oscar, what¡¯s going to happen now?


    I thought about how Oscar was lying on a corner of my bed when he died. He had probably regarded me as someone close to him.


    But I did not die that night!


    Could it be that once the power has passed, I¡¯ll start seeing everyone as someone familiar? Just like how I¡¯m seeing Mom everywhere?


    I shook my head, dismissing this imusible thought.


    Yinuo had been the one to open the door for him so why didn¡¯t he go to her?


    I started thinking that this might just be a one-off thing and hoped that it wasn¡¯t true.


    To my left eye, everyone resembled Mom to an extent that I would deem dangerous and that they were most likely going to die within 24 hours, or strictly speaking, 12.


    On the pedestrian street near the television station, I spotted a television screen in one of the shops.


    On it was an ongoing news program and the host looked like Mom as well.


    Isn¡¯t this channel from the other region? Were other regions involved too?


    I stared bitterly for a moment and the sales assistant came over to greet me.


    ¡°Hi, sir! Here to get a television?¡± He smiled kindly.


    ¡°It¡¯s high in definition. Can you switch channels? There¡¯s quite a huge difference between the HD and non-HD televisions, I must say,¡± Imented, pointing at the biggest screen.


    ¡°Our televisions have a built-in pixel converter so even non-HD channels will look better on our TVs aspared to other brands¡¯,¡± he promoted.


    ¡°Can you switch channels then?¡± I asked.


    After a short pause, the shopkeeper took out a remote and changed the channel a few times.


    ¡°Switch between the news channels since I usually watch those at home,¡± I requested.


    In every other news channel, the hosts would be Mom when I shut my right eye.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t many news channels here, aye?¡± the shopkeeper mumbled, vexed.


    After four or five channels, I became sure that there were only two possibilities.


    If my eye was still functioning, the whole nation would soon face destruction.


    ¡°Do you have channels from other nations? News channels?¡± I asked again.


    He eyed me up and down. ¡°Are you really here to buy a television?¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you think I¡¯m ying with you?¡±


    The shopkeeper continued mumbling, ¡°If you opt for satellite TV, you can get certain channels thate in different sets. This setes with the basic package but you can pay 500 more to upgrade it to satellite TV.¡±


    I looked on as he switched to other international news channels. Mom everywhere.


    I sighed. ¡°I like the television a lot but not your attitude.¡±


    I walked away and heard him cursing me from behind.


    I had no time to worry about that, however.


    I opened my Weibo and posted, ¡°The world might be ending in less than 12 hours.¡±


    A few minutes passed and I started receiving tons of messages from over 300,000 fans.


    Discussions came flooding in, more so than usual.


    (Starting to announce the end of the world already?)


    (I¡¯ve seen the clip of you wrecking the television program.¡±


    (Is this some marketing gimmick?)


    (Are you really seeing our deaths?)


    (Chatan! Bogus!)


    ...

 Chapter 80: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 80: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) II</h4>


    I clicked on the trending page and saw my clip right at the top. It had been viewed and shared over 800,000 times.


    Out of the ten most popr threads, five were rted to me and they were all negative.


    Only half an hour had passed and the incident was already taking over the whole Weibo. I smiled bitterly.


    I wanted to get angry but I can¡¯t. The world might not live to see the next day.


    I scrolled through the private messages and there were all kinds ofments.


    Needless to say, all of them were taunting me.


    I saw an official warning stating that I had created panic on the web. They demanded me to release a statement within three hours or my ount would be banned.


    I continued browsing the pages and noticed even more things.


    The whole situation wasn¡¯t something I could control or turn around any longer.


    I shut off my Weibo. I understood that there was no way that I could exin this to the people.


    Only one thought crossed my mind. I had to see my father.


    If the world was going to end, I would rather spend the time to eat myst meal with him.


    I gged down a taxi and headed to Dad¡¯s house.


    I had moved to a suburban district a few years ago upon bing financially secure.


    I enjoyed the silence in the suburban area. Why did I even join the television program?


    I gave Dad a monthly allowance but went home only during Chinese New Year.


    On the road, I asked the driver, ¡°What would you do if the world is going to end within the next twelve hours?¡±


    He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the hottest topic nowadays? Every passenger is talking about it.¡±


    ¡°Is it really that popr?¡± I asked, smiling.


    The driver returned the smile and answered, ¡°I think there¡¯s a fraud making a scene in a television station, predicting that the world is going to end. But, I did think about what I would do.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I thought about spending extravagantly with my family. I would think they¡¯re more important than money.¡±


    I took a look around the cab. There were two kids with bright eyes in the photograph.


    ¡°Your children?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate them. One of them is at Beijing University while the other is in Yale. Their school fees cost a bomb, of course, but it¡¯s quite alright since I¡¯m minimizing my expenses and driving around more. They¡¯re really well-behaved. This little one knows to work part-time while studying. Do you know how many schrships he¡¯s been offered?¡± the driver went on proudly.


    I smiled before stuffing the photograph back to its original ce.


    After much talking, he turned over, embarrassed. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been talking too much. What about you? What would you do if the world is about to end?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go home to my family, exactly what I¡¯m doing right now,¡± I smiled.


    ¡°So you¡¯re convinced that the world is about to end? I remember someone predicting the same thing for 2012 over 20 years ago. There was even a movie about it. It¡¯s already 2036 now and history¡¯s repeating itself. I don¡¯t believe it anymore. Plus, I¡¯m still waiting for my children to get married and have children,¡± he shared.


    ¡°I¡¯m not convinced as well but I am still using this as an excuse to visit my family.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re escaping work to rush back to your family? Using the end of the world as an excuse? What a good idea! It¡¯s a pity my children aren¡¯t here or I would use it too. It¡¯s been tiring enough today,¡± he saidughingly.


    ¡°Is it? How much do you earn in a day?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°On bad days, 2 to 300, on good days 1 to 2,000. There¡¯s no lower and upper limit. I just work hard every day. Other than driving, there¡¯s really nothing else I¡¯m good at,¡± he answered.


    I took out my wallet. There was 800 in there.


    I held onto the bills as I waited to reach my destination.


    ...


    We arrived at my dad¡¯s and the driver nced over at the meter. ¡°25 please.¡±


    I put 800 on the front seat. ¡°If I were to give you 800, would you go home? Spend time with your family and give your children a call?¡±


    ¡°Are you really taking the news seriously, sir? The same thing happened years ago and tons of money had been wasted. That cannot happen again. Please clear your mind, sir,¡± he urged anxiously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯m pretty wealthy, 800 isn¡¯t much to me. Isn¡¯t it good for you to end the day a little earlier? You¡¯re already tired, right?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Thank you then, sir,¡± he responded gratefully.


    I looked at him with my left eye and saw Mom.


    I got off the car, shut the door, and walked toward my house.


    The familiar neighborhood, familiar stairs.


    Familiar neighbors, familiar sunset.


    I walked slowly toward unit 402 and knocked on the door.


    Dad opened it.


    He never remarried after Mom¡¯s death.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I missed you and wanted to see you.¡±


    I could sense that something was amiss. Dad hadn¡¯t questioned my motive whenever I returned in the past.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of soy sauce. Go get me some,¡± he asked, taking out a folded 10 cent banknote.


    It was a rare piece that seldom appeared in this era, yet he was asking me to use it.


    ¡°I lost my wallet on the way here, Dad. This isn¡¯t enough for soy sauce, is it? Can you give me more?¡± I asked, waving the 10 cent bill.


    He took the bill and pulled it open.


    On it was two messily written words: Run, quick.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll go get the sauce, Dad.¡±


    ...


    As I turned around to leave, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the people in the house.


    They were in the special forces¡¯ uniform and seemed to be getting ready to make a move.


    I quickened my pace and heard them shouting for me shortly after.


    Dad blocked the door, trapping them inside the house.


    Before I could go far, I noticed that there were more soldiers waiting downstairs.


    Over ten of them surrounded the neighborhood.


    I stood still, struck dumb.


    The soldiers in the house broke free, dashed over and held me against the corridor wall.


    My mind was nk. Since when did the government be so efficient? It¡¯s only been half an hour and they¡¯re already lying in ambush?


    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything. Don¡¯t arrest me,¡± I shouted helplessly.


    A soldier spoke up. ¡°We¡¯ve been following you for half a month now. We even disguised ourselves as reporters but were declined.¡±


    I frowned as memories started resurfacing.


    Things weren¡¯t as simple. They weren¡¯t arresting me because of the rumor I started.


    It was a conspiracy. A premeditation.


    I was brought downstairs and onto the street.


    There were three military off-road vehicles waiting and I was escorted into the middle one.


    Inside the car, there were seven fully-equipped soldiers around me.


    Each held onto their guns tightly. They weren¡¯t aiming them at me but it was still a frightening sight.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked.


    None of the soldiers gave me a reply but the person on the front seat opened the separator a little.


    I couldn¡¯t see the person clearly but I could hear him say, ¡°An experimentalb about 40 kilometers away from here. We¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time now, Mr. Lixia, or rather, Supernova.¡±

 Chapter 81: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 81: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) III</h4>


    ¡°Wait for me to what?¡± I asked.


    Laughter erupted from the opposite side. ¡°I¡¯ve been observing for three whole months now...¡±


    ¡°Three months?¡± I repeated, thinking through the recent happenings.


    It wasn¡¯t surprising for people in my line of work to attract enemies, especially when I tell those burly fellows that they were going to die the next day. They would argue and curse non-stop.


    Even after their deaths, their family and friends would continue haunting me.


    Some were even convinced that I was the cause of the tragedy.


    As such, I developed the habit of collecting payment before speaking.


    There were many potential clients but I would only receive two to three of them a month.


    And the so-called endless interviews... I would only ept one in two months just to keep my business warm.


    As for the television program, I didn¡¯t expect something like that to happen.


    The person in the front of the car continued, ¡°Eight years ago, after graduation, you started revealing your ability. You were working in a factory while telling fortune part-time. You predicted many fortunes urately, telling them they were all going to die soon. I remember it was your 16th client that brought you to fame. An old man of 101 years consulted you and you told him that he could live till 109. Thest time he visited you was about a year ago, when you informed him that he had only a few more months left and that he shouldn¡¯t look for you again. From then on, your reputation as Supernova started booming.¡±


    I clenched my teeth. This guy knew a lot about me.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Supernova, sir, exactly what powers do you have? How are you able to predict death?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just what I do. Is it very strange?¡±


    ¡°Let me analyze your ability then,¡± he replied faintly.


    With a cold smile, I continued, ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve done a thorough investigation, but why don¡¯t you know my ce of residence? You could¡¯ve found me directly. Why did you have to frighten my father?¡±


    ¡°Because he was the one who provided me with some important information. How else would I know that there had been a cat involved before this? Of course, instead of talking, the cat would lie on the dying patient¡¯s bed. Yet, not only can you tell, you can even roughly predict the time of death.¡±


    ¡°How detailed. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re sending me to read the fortune of a big figure? Like a gang leader or the president? Well, here¡¯s what I can tell you ¨C in a few hours, everyone will be dead.¡±


    The two soldiers closest to me shuddered. I could sense their fear.


    ¡°You¡¯ve calcted that?¡± the man on the front seat asked nervously.


    I was stunned by his question. Calcted?


    They know? So it¡¯s all true? Everything that I¡¯ve seen?


    ¡°I thought you just wanted to know if I can predict death? Why are you so surprised by what I just said?¡± I questioned.


    The man actually smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a scientist so everything requires objective evidence. After all, you¡¯re a safe bet in our n B. With or without you, there isn¡¯t much difference.¡±


    A safe bet in n B? Not much difference?


    ¡°Why bother taking me then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a scientist, Mr. Supernova. Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t believe in what you do since it¡¯s not something science can exin, but since the whole human race is at stake, I would appreciate if you can be more cooperative.¡±


    ¡°You want cooperation?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course. For the human race.¡±


    ¡°So you get your soldiers to point their guns at me to require my cooperation? What ever happened to just saying ¡®pretty please¡¯?¡± I mocked.


    ¡°You can make requests but I can¡¯t take any of them away. They belong to the military and they are not under my control.¡±


    ¡°Tell me why the world is about to end. I only know that everyone has less than a day left,¡± I stated.


    After a few seconds of silence, he asked, ¡°Do you know Apophis?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered.


    ¡°It is an asteroid that¡¯s about to hit Earth. It will reach our atmosphere in about 14 hours. What we need to do now is intercept it. We took you just in case we need your help.¡±


    ¡°Wait. The world is ending in about 14 hours and you spent some of that valuable time waiting for me at my Dad¡¯s ce. Now, you keep repeating that I¡¯m unimportant? That¡¯s very hypocritical of you,¡± I musedughingly.


    ¡°Our psychologists had predicted that you would make a trip home before the end of the world.¡± He paused. ¡°I have a call, give me a moment...¡±


    After half an hour on the phone, he asked me angrily, ¡°When did you announce it to the world?¡±


    ¡°An hour and a half ago. What about it?¡±


    ¡°An hour ago, some scientists and astronomy enthusiasts came out to verify your prediction. The whole world, including the governments of other countries, is looking for you right now,¡± he stated.


    I was in shock. Whitewashed so quickly?


    The car came to a halt and the soldiers got off.


    A white-gowned scientist came to the back. ¡°Let¡¯s go, my Supernova.¡±


    He was the one on the front seat.


    Without a choice, I got down, and three soldiers followed behind me, pushing me to a museum.


    The museum had been converted into a temporary meeting room. There were many people inside, facing their monitors, busily typing away.


    The scientist spoke up, ¡°Government officials from all over the world are aware of your ability. If the world doesn¡¯t end, you¡¯re probably going to be locked up and reduced to an experimental subject, Mr. Supernova. But if you can help us save mankind, I promise that the next half of your life will be safeguarded.¡±


    I had nothing to say to that.


    Inside the room, all I saw were monitors and employees.


    I was allocated a seat.


    On the stage stood a person ¨C our very own president.


    ¡°Why did he choose this ce?¡± I asked the scientist.


    He smiled. ¡°This is just a control room. The real operation is going on in all corners of the world. This is merely a projection. Don¡¯t you know about Crypton Future Media? Holographic projection technology? That¡¯s what the president is using to instruct everybody.¡±


    ¡°That works?¡± I asked.


    The holographic figure of the president pointed at me. ¡°You¡¯re Mr. Supernova?¡±


    ¡°What the f*ck?¡± I yelped. ¡°He can see me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. He¡¯s in the capital,unching a meeting through hundreds of projections from all over the world. It¡¯s easier this way,¡± the scientist exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time. Good to see you, Mr. Supernova. Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡± the president asked.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you made it clear, Professor Doug? We don¡¯t have much time left. I¡¯ll give you five minutes,¡± the president rushed.


    ¡°There are 50 spacecraft in our formation, and amander-in-chief will lead the operation to deviate Apophis¡¯s trajectory. You¡¯ll need to use your ability to let us know whether the earth is safe,¡± he exined.


    ¡°I understand, but what am I supposed to do?¡± I rified.


    The scientist looked at me, wide-eyed. ¡°You¡¯re asking me? How would I know your trick to predicting death?¡±


    ¡°Can I use the equipment here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that your prediction requires the tools here? Which one? Telephone or the?¡±


    I pointed at the projection of the president. ¡°I need that holographic image.¡±


    ¡°Are you nuts?¡± the scientist raised his voice.


    ¡°Do you trust my ability or not? I need that,¡± I told him firmly.


    ¡°You... fine! Wait here,¡± he said.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± I called out.


    ¡°Give the president a call. We have the instrument but we will need his approval before connecting it to the Inte. Wait for me.¡±


    I heard the scientist sighing throughout the few minutes of exchange before ending the call with, ¡°I¡¯m sure of his ability.¡±


    He came back and announced, ¡°Go ahead, he¡¯s agreed.¡±


    The president looked at me before speaking, ¡°I¡¯ll give you control, Mr. Supernova. What else do you need?¡±


    I sighed before standing up and walking to the tform. ¡°Do we have embassies all around the world?¡±


    ¡°What do you need them for?¡± he asked.


    I got up the stage and the scientist had me put on a headgear.


    What I saw were tons of meeting rooms and a research center.


    ¡°Can I request all embassies to select young people, free from illnesses and diseases, to stand in front of me?¡±


    ¡°Give us five minutes.¡±


    I waited and tried shutting one eye at a time.


    The people in the projected image all looked like Mom.


    Then, the image before me switched to one of many differently-colored youngsters but they, too, looked like Mom.


    ¡°These are employees from respective embassies,¡± the president noted.


    I removed the headgear and asked, ¡°Can anyone give me a ster?¡±


    I received one from the scientist.


    I opened it and pasted the ster over my right eye before putting the headgear back on.


    ¡°You can start your program.¡±


    ¡°Nothing else you need?¡± the president asked.


    ¡°Yeah, let them work. I¡¯m not sure about your n but I can only tell you that your embassies are safe. Do you understand that?¡±


    Understanding my meaning, the president instructed, ¡°Execute n B.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s n A?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Tounch 11 nuclear warheads toward Apophis. The impact that the exploded fragments would bring to Earth is much less destructive and the world won¡¯t end at least,¡± the scientist exined quietly.


    I shut my mouth.


    Just then, a thick manly voice sounded from behind, ¡°All the spacecraft are in position. Please take the lead.¡±


    I figured he must be themander-in-chief or the pilot.


    ¡°Start the operation. Please provide a report on the current situation, Mr. Supernova,¡± the president ordered.


    All I saw were Moms. All over the hundreds of screens.


    Seconds passed and I saw that one of Moms had turned into a young man.


    Shortly after, more and more Moms turned into young men and women.


    I started using my finger to swipe those people who were about to revert to their normal selves to the right.


    One, two.


    One group, two groups.


    ¡°Those on the right are safe?¡± the president questioned.


    ¡°Those on the extreme right are safe from the end of the world,¡± I replied.


    I could hear a round of cheers rising from the backstage and within the room.


    I continued separating the virtual monitors and finally, amidst all the densely packed screens, I saw an obvious dividing line. There were tens of virtual video frames on the left side of the dividing line.


    A voice came from behind, ¡°Those on the left are employees of North America¡¯s embassy.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°How¡¯s the situation up there?¡±


    The thick voice resumed, ¡°The spacecrafts have overheated and our instruments are not functioning properly. We¡¯ve already lost connection with at least ten spacecrafts. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re gone.¡±


    I noticed that some of the screens on the right were once again filled with Mom¡¯s faces.


    I shouted urgently, ¡°Did you guys alter the operation? Return to your previous direction. You¡¯ve pulled the asteroid back! Don¡¯t act recklessly!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s way too hot so I had them adjust slightly. Tell me if I¡¯m heading in the right direction. We¡¯re depending on you, Mr. Supernova,¡± the thick, manly voice sounded.


    ¡°No, more people are going to die!¡±


    ¡°Yes! The opposite direction. Continue down this path!¡±


    I could feel sweat pouring down my forehead.


    ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t you say that you lost connection with some of them? Show me the faces of the pilots controlling the spacecraft,¡± I demanded.


    Faces started appearing before me. All Moms.


    ¡°I see death in your faces, brothers, but please try your best. The earth will be safe soon,¡± I told them.


    Voices responded unharmoniously but with the same words: ¡°For Earth.¡±


    I saw Moms disappearing from other sets of screens.


    I pushed them over to the right side. Two more left.


    ¡°These two embassies? Is there something wrong with those regions?¡± the president asked.


    ¡°The earth should be fine but these two should make a trip to the hospital. You two might only have a few more months to live,¡± I added.


    They looked about 30% simr to Mom at that point.


    More cheers erupted as the screens with the pilots started disconnecting one by one.


    I removed my headgear and looked at everyone in the room.


    I couldn¡¯t smile.


    ¡°You did it, Mr. Supernova,¡± I heard the president¡¯s soft voiceing from the headgear.


    I sighed before correcting him with a small voice, ¡°They did it.¡±

 Chapter 82: I Have Superpowers

    <h4>Chapter 82: I Have Superpowers</h4>


    Extract A:


    ¡°Hey! Do you guys know? I have superpowers!¡± I shouted.


    No one entertained me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You are the worst in the whole school, superpowers. What a braggart,¡± Kid A ridiculed.


    The other four started whispering in each other¡¯s ears.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me, eh? I can predict the future. Look at that road juncture. Xiaohong will pass by, carrying a bag of apples and even give one to me. Wait and see,¡± I said before quickening my pace.


    Indeed, at the aforementioned road juncture, Xiaohong appeared, struggling with a basket of apples.


    I waved to her and she put her basket down. She took an apple out and handed it to me before continuing on her way.


    ¡°See? I can predict the future,¡± I boasted, holding the apple up proudly.


    ¡°Wow! How did you do it?¡± Kid B asked, amazed.


    ¡°I have superpowers. Each night, when I go to bed, I¡¯ll dream about the things that will happen the next day. 100% uracy.¡±


    ¡°But earlier you said a bag of apples. She was carrying a basket?¡± Kid B asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool? Xiaohong is from your ss and her family sells fruits. She¡¯d bring some home every day, see you on her way home, and give you one when you wave to her. It¡¯s all been calcted, hasn¡¯t it, braggart king?¡± Kid A asked.


    ¡°Pfffft. Braggart King,¡± the rest chimed in before scattering away.


    I stood on the spot, mumbling, ¡°I really do have superpowers, why won¡¯t you guys believe me?¡±


    ...


    Extract B:


    ¡°Ahh...¡±


    I was startled awake.


    Xiaomingmitted suicide!


    That was the first response that appeared in my mind.


    Yes, I dreamt it.


    I dreamed that Xiaoming had jumped. My superpower couldn¡¯t be wrong.


    The next day.


    I rushed to ss and Xiaohong was sitting in front of me.


    I hadn¡¯t expected her to be that early. There were only the two of us in the ssroom at that point.


    ¡°Hey, Xiaohong. Follow me, will you? I dreamed of somethingst night,¡± I said. I stood up and walked out of the ssroom and toward the stairs.


    Xiaohong followed behind me as I went up to the roof.


    ¡°Someone will jump off from here.¡± I pointed at the edge where a warning sign stood.


    At a loss, she asked, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°I saw it in my dream,¡± I answered nervously before going over to look down.


    ¡°What a joke. How can you take your dream seriously?¡± she asked before joining me and looking down.


    Eight stories high.


    ¡°Right, I forgot who¡¯s going to do it. It could be you, Xiaohong. I think I dreamed of you jumping down,¡± I mentioned before giving her a little push.


    She instinctively grabbed onto the railing and screamed, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Without a word, I gathered all my strength and pushed her over the edge.


    Not daring to look down, I rushed off, intending to go home through the back gate.


    I repeated in my head: I have superpowers.


    ...


    Extract C:


    I skipped school the next day.


    Mom and Dad called my teacher.


    I figured it shouldn¡¯t matter since I was performing poorly in school, but they insisted that I attended sses.


    I sat in the back row, trembling as I stared at the empty seat in front of me.


    I asked my deskmate fearfully, ¡°Xiaohong isn¡¯t in school today?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Xiaohong? You¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t been in school,¡± he answered, confused.


    ¡°Just me? No, Xiaohong, the girl sitting in front of me. Where¡¯s she?¡± I asked, trembling.


    ¡°What trick are you ying? There¡¯s no Xiaohong in this ss!¡±


    ¡°Then why is the seat in front of me empty? How do you exin that?¡± I asked, surprised.


    ¡°Is your brain fried from studying? It¡¯s been empty for half a semester now! Don¡¯t you remember? You kept tugging the ponytail of the girl in front of you and the teacher sent you here. You then started jabbing the male student in front of you with your pencil, causing great disturbance. Frustrated, the teacher reallocated him and kept the seat empty since then,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Impossible. There¡¯s no way. Then why are you still sitting with me? Am I not disturbing you?¡± I asked, cold sweat drenching my uniform.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve really turned silly! You¡¯re thest in ss and I¡¯m the secondst. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to take over the bottom spot again if you stoping to school.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s this happening?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can rx now that you¡¯re back.¡± He grinned.


    ...


    Extract D:


    ¡°I really have superpowers,¡± I shouted from the rooftop.


    I remembered that this was the ce where Xiaoming had jumped off from.


    It was also the ce where I had pushed Xiaohong down.


    Could it be that I have no superpowers?


    ¡°I have it for sure.¡±


    I jumped up.


    I¡¯ve seeded.


    I floated in the air.


    See?


    I have superpowers.


    I feel my power advancing.


    I could fly.


    I kicked hard and flew out of the.


    There was no oxygen but I could breathe.


    I have superpowers.


    ...


    ¡°What sound is that?¡± Kid A asked.


    ¡°Did you see? Someone jumped!¡± Kid B shouted excitedly.


    ¡°Who? ying suicide in school?¡± Kid A dragged Kid B out of the ssroom to join in themotion.


    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t this the braggart king? He was just boasting about his superpowers a few days back!¡± Kid Amented.


    ¡°He¡¯s from ss 3 right?¡± Kid B added.


    ¡°Do you remember his name?¡± Kid A asked.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s from grade 6, name¡¯s Xiaoming,¡± Kid B answered.


    Three minutes ago...


    I jumped up. I¡¯ve seeded.


    I floated in the air. There was nothing beneath my feet.


    Gravity and eleration pulled me downward.


    Guess I can¡¯t fly after all.


    As I plunged from the eighth story, I thought about something.


    I was the person in my dream.


    I have superpowers.

 Chapter 83: Turing I

    <h4>Chapter 83: Turing I</h4>


    It¡¯s the year 2333. Technology is expanding, quicker and quicker.


    We¡¯re experiencing major breakthroughs in all aspects of human life.


    Take distribution for example. A high technology researchpany named ¡®Every Minute¡¯ has invented the wormhole-transmission technique where non-life goods could be transported to any part of the world in a split second.


    Of course, we have significantly progressed in transportation, too. A hundred years ago, humans had learned how to tackle radiation and has sessfully created nuclear energy nes for civilian use. In the recent 30 years, Man has also switched over to antimatter engines. The good thing about antimatter engines is that they could naturally burn and die off. It is better than nuclear energy which requires many conditions and a big reactor. With antimatter engines, the weight of spacecrafts has greatly been reduced, hence allowing the spacecrafts to move twice as fast as the nuclear energy-powered ones.


    As for space flights seen in Star Trek, they¡¯ve be a reality. Combining 18 vats of antimatter engines allow humans to reach Mars within 30 days. Reaching Milky Way, however, is still quite unimaginable at this point.


    Cuisine wise, we¡¯re faring even better. After a hundred years of research and development, Old Mother Company discovered a type of bacteria that is acid and corrosion-resistant. Under anaerobic condition, it can breed continuously in a human stomach. When the stomach absorbs it, the human would receive valuable nutrients. Old Mother Company also invented a sauce that contained fungus nutrition. One mouthful of it can rece a month¡¯s worth of food intake. The sauce s is most well-liked by soldiers and those trying to lose weight. It has been a constant best-seller all over the world.


    It can even cure paralyzed patients by rebuilding their nerves and returning their exoskeletons to life. This product is even being endorsed by the 70th Iron Man, Tony Stark. There are also all kinds of man-made organs like kidneys and livers.


    Preoptimizing fetuses¡¯ genes is something even moremon and can be used to prevent deformity or other inherited illnesses. It can even improve neurological functions to effectively produce brighter children.


    Mobile devices? We have Apple¡¯s iPhone 250. There haven¡¯t been many issues to date, except that the battery consumption is extremely high and fast. Even with a conversion to nuclear energy battery, the iPhone 250 would need to be recharged about twice a day.


    Despite consistent progress in all aspects of life, there is something that remains stagnant. This is something I¡¯m about to address, and it is also the reason why I¡¯ve invited everyone to this conference.


    ¡°Artificial Intelligence,¡± the host finally shouted after the long buildup.


    The audience started to stir restlessly.


    ¡°Let us first invite the senior AI,¡± the host continued before the lights went out.


    A projected screen disyed a virtual human. It was the AI robot that took the world by storm over three hundred years ago.


    A beam of light shone toward the host.


    ¡°This is an expired AI robot, started by thepany Youtube in 2016. Its name is AJ and has been undergoing research and development for 317 years. Yet, it seems not to have made any progress and is still a moron,¡± the host stated.


    Laughter erupted in the room.


    The screen with AJ on it shrank and was pulled to a side.


    ¡°10 yearster, Google came up with GJ, a publicity AI and also a tool for Google¡¯s search engine. It has no IQ and is basically a moron as well,¡± the host added, bringing some tension to the atmosphere.


    Another figure appeared on the screen. It was GJ.


    Again, the screen with GJ on it shrank and was pulled to another side.


    ¡°These AI made of 0s and 1s have been unable to progress even after such a long period of IQ upgrading. Rather, the so-called IQ isn¡¯t really IQ,¡± the host finished and paused.


    ¡°AI can be considered a branch of science. It attempted to understand the essence of intelligence and produce a smart robot that could simte human behavior and thoughts. Areas of research include robots,nguage distinction, image recognition, naturalnguage processing, expert system, and many more. Yet, there hasn¡¯t been any major progress. Things have changed, however, because our Geaigepany has invented an all-new AI robot, Turing, that is going to change the world,¡± the host announced enthusiastically.


    A mechanical box, about the height of half a man, came into view on an ascending stage as three beams of light shone down on it.


    On the left of the box was AJ and on the right was GJ.


    ¡°For the next minute, I¡¯ll leave the mic to the judges,¡± the host continued.


    The lights turned back on and the about twenty rows of the audience started raising a sign they were holding.


    ¡°You can go first, adorabledy,¡± the host said with a smile.


    Ady stood up and took over the microphone. ¡°I¡¯m asking on behalf of iQiyi. Why did AJ and GJ choose the cloud tform a few hundred years ago? And now that the minputers are somon, why is Turing still so big in size? Why doesn¡¯t it take on a human appearance or something like that?¡±


    ¡°This is a tricky question. Turing is still an exhibition piece since it¡¯s the only one in the world right now and is extremely valuable. It is made of thousands of interconnected minputers. It is the smartest AI so far and can simte the psyche of a 27-year-old man. There will be a demonstrationter on to show the differences between an AI and a moronic robot. As for appearance, we have yet to create a suitable one for Turing for his capabilities are far too advanced. It will not take long, however, I assure you,¡± the host answered. ¡°You can hand over the mic to another judge, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Smiling with satisfaction, she passed it to the man beside her. He said, ¡°I¡¯m from Tencent and would like to ask about Turing¡¯s cost as a product. Does it have anymercial value? And how can you integrate Turing into our everyday lives and services?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question. First off, Turing can be connected to any device within a kilometer via Bluetooth 10.1. Its internalmunication system can be connected to mobile devices and even the Inte from all over the world. Its manufacturing cost is extremely high, yes, but if you were to use him as yourpany¡¯s receptionist, you will actually save over 50 years down the road than if you were to employ someone to do the job. Plus, the robot is superior in certain aspects. It doesn¡¯t need to be fed and can work limitlessly. You can hand the mic over to the next judge, thanks,¡± the host answered, maintaining his smile.


    Again, another stood up and took over the mic. ¡°I¡¯m from Youtube and I disagree with what you said about AJ. How did youe up with some conceited nonsense that Turing is more outstanding than AJ?¡±


    The host¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about AJ¡¯s problem, shall we? Yourpany wrote on the official site that AJ takes on a 16-year-old girl¡¯s identity, right? When tested, however, it imed to be an androgynous five-year-old often calling itself a beauty. I reckon these low-level bugs haven¡¯t been dealt with even after 300 over years, aye? For those in doubt, let us move on to the testing stage. This is a live broadcast so there¡¯s no way for us to fake it,¡± the host reassured.


    The three beams of light shone down on AJ, Turing, and GJ respectively.


    The host began, ¡°Answer me, AJ. What would you do if your mother dies?¡±


    AJ paused for half a second before answering, ¡°I have no mother. I am AJ. Thank you, gracias.¡±


    The host repeated, ¡°Answer me, GJ. What would you do if your mother dies?¡±


    With an effeminate voice, GJ responded, ¡°Mother, short form, Mom. Noun, a woman in rtion to her child or children... An important role in educating children.¡±


    The host smiled at the media representative from Youtube. ¡°You might suspect that I¡¯ve prepared the question beforehand. How about you ask Turing anything you want?¡±


    The representative held onto his mic and after some consideration, asked, ¡°Does chicken or pork taste better, Turing?¡±


    Turing answered immediately, ¡°Chicken meat contains rich nutrients and low cholesterol. Pork has the lowest amount of protein and the highest fat content. I would choose chicken if taking human health into consideration, but judging from your physique, both types of meat shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you.¡±


    The audience was left speechless. After a brief pause, apuse filled the room.


    Turing could actually analyze the enquirer, something that hasn¡¯t been seen before.


    The host pped his hands happily, signaling the crowd to quiet down. He then continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure some of you are still skeptical. One more question, perhaps?¡±


    The representative from Youtube, with a shakier voice this time, asked again, ¡°You sound just like us humans, aye?¡±


    After some time, Turing responded, ¡°Sorry, sir. My voice is generated from an electronic and not from vocal folds and airflow. Our equipment ispletely different so there¡¯s no room forparison. I wish for you to respect me and not ask demeaning questions.¡±


    Long pause.


    Turing could even sense if the enquirer was asking a serious question or not. This made the audience somewhat fearful. It did seem eerily intimidating that an AI had just used the word ¡®respect¡¯.


    The host quickly exined, ¡°As I¡¯ve mentioned, Turing is simting the mind of a 27-year-old man. He has his own way of thinking, which is very human-like. I think this is what a real AI should be capable of doing.¡±


    ¡°Please do not justify my behavior. That man was obviously not asking with genuine intentions. Plus, he¡¯s being ssified as unfriendly in my system so I hope not to have any more interactions with him,¡± Turing added.


    An AI like Turing,pared to AJ and GJ, was of apletely different league.


    The host grinned. ¡°Thanks for your input, Turing. This is also the reason why we chose for him not to take on a human appearance yet, otherwise, it would¡¯ve been more startling for everyone. You¡¯ve seen for yourself the problem we¡¯re already facing at this testing stage, but please do not worry, Turing will be switched off once the power is cut off.¡±


    He pressed a button on the remote he was holding and the light shining down on the mechanical box went out.


    Turing has been switched off and the emotions from the floor surged.

 Chapter 84: Turing II

    <h4>Chapter 84: Turing II</h4>


    The host pped his hands and the audience calmed down.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let the next judge speak before I go on to talk about Turing¡¯s basic parameters. Then, the voting will begin and you can cast your vote for the best AI,¡± he dered.


    Ady took over the mic and started, ¡°I¡¯m from Sina Weibo and I would like to ask when can such a sessful invention be mass-produced? And how long before we see it again?¡±


    The host answered, ¡°For now, we only n to reproduce 10 of this and auction it to enterprises from all over the world for exhibition purposes. Soon enough, hopefully, when we undergo breakthroughs in terms of material and construction costs, we will start reproducing more and also meet up withrge-scale customers. This one right here will be ced at our reception desk for all to admire. Only 500 people would get to talk to it each day.¡±


    The tension continued to build up as he moved on to introduce the functions and parameters of Turing.


    Next was the voting session and Turing became the champion with 17 out of a total of 20 votes.


    The conference ended.


    The director of Geaige tapped the man next to him. ¡°How much have our stocks risen, ountant?¡±


    The ountant looked at the numbers on his monitor, saying, ¡°Our stocks in America, under no limitation, have flipped 63 folds.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s just a conceptual product. How did it produce such results?¡± the director asked in shock.


    ¡°No, this is a whole new domain,¡± the ountant said with a victorious smile.


    ¡°But you know that we¡¯re unable to mass-produce it,¡± the director said, sighing.


    ...


    An hour after the conference, the topic of AI flooded the news media and headlines.


    Good or bad, all relevant articles practically overtook all other trending topics and pages.


    Inside a small workshop.


    Two individuals sat on the sofa, watching as the television broadcast the conference.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Geaigepany in our city? How amazing is this stuff?¡±


    ¡°Probably just another tool to answer questions. Programming these things usually consume a lot of time. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing substantial and they¡¯re merely exaggerating their speech. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re feeling sour, aye, as a member of one of the world¡¯s finest hacking group? I¡¯m sorry that you¡¯re here with me,mitting these petty crimes.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Give me a year and 20 hackers like me can create an AI robot, too. One that¡¯s even better than Turing. What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡±


    ¡°Just admit it, Dahai. You find it amazing but hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°I chose to follow you years ago, Luqiao. Why are you doing this to me? Making me regret my choice?¡±


    ¡°Dahai... Brother Hai, how much do you think we can sell it for if we get our hands on it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Wait... you¡¯re thinking of...?¡±


    ¡°Just tell me how much. A rough figure.¡±


    ¡°Maybe 200 million to start with for the first generation. Plus, they¡¯re currently putting it in theirpany for publicity. They¡¯re probably waiting for other majorpanies to contact them. I think there would be collectors who are willing to pay a high price for it.¡±


    ¡°Run a check on thatpany and we¡¯ll make a move in three days,¡± I said mischievously.


    Dahai stared at me in disbelief.


    ¡°Why? Are you not interested?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with just stealing some famous paintings or antiques? Why would you set your eyes on this AI?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t this always been a regret of yours? Even if we can¡¯t sell it, it will look good as a home decor.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the n then?¡± Dahai questioned.


    ¡°Reception desk, a half-man tall machine, a remodeled van, you and me. Should be easy,¡± I stated.


    ¡°Wait for my news then,¡± Dahai said before walking over to a side.


    I finished my beer and shut the television off.


    ...


    A dayter, Geaige ced Turing 1.0 into its main lounge and people flooded in daily to have a look.


    Everyone wanted to witness the charm of AI, but only 500 were allowed inside each day. Two minutes per person.


    After sessfully hacking into the system list, Dahai managed to get us in quickly to experience it for ourselves. This AI robot was indeed impressive.


    Despite the possibility that all have been scripted at the conference, even Dahai was in awe.


    The way Turing answered questions was definitely of a whole new level.


    That night, at two in the morning, I drove the van to Geaigepany with Dahai and parked somewhere not far away.


    ¡°Two security guards, one¡¯s fast asleep. The other¡¯s just got up to make his rounds,¡± Dahai informed me.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll get to work in 10 minutes¡¯ time,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t allowed to touch it earlier so I have no idea how heavy it is. I prepared some things here so that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. There are no rms or whatsoever, I¡¯ve checked,¡± Dahai continued.


    ¡°Have you found a buyer?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s an empty market. The collectors don¡¯t seem interested, but I believe that once news of the theft spread, people will start taking an interest. It will be easier then,¡± Dahai answered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that we fetch a good price. Let¡¯s go,¡± I said before stepping on the elerator and pulling up the gear lever.


    The van¡¯s suspension system started to stretch and the whole van was raised two meters above ground.


    It crossed Geaige¡¯s perimeter wall easily before descending into thepany grounds.


    ¡°Have you settled the surveince cameras?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I destroyed the hard disk, don¡¯t worry,¡± Dahai reassured me.


    I drove the van into the main entrance and parked there.


    We got off and I opened up my backpack. Inside were two tubes of mist sprays. I threw one to Dahai but he failed to catch it and itnded on the ground.


    I shook my head at his clumsiness. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t loud enough to cause rm.


    I saw Dahai rushing to pick it up.


    We chose a ss panel beside the main door because the main door waspletely sealed.


    Plus, we had a ss softener spray.


    I took it out and sprayed it directly at the ss and Dahai followed suit.


    After some time, a 2.5 man-sized hole appeared before us.


    I entered the main lounge.


    ¡°That thing should¡¯ve been switched off right? If it¡¯s on and sees us, will it make a police report by itself? I¡¯ve seen its mouth. Unbelievable stuff,¡± I said.


    ¡°Right, and we¡¯ll have to tweak the settings upon bringing it back or it¡¯s going to be making a scene after we sell it,¡± Dahai said with a bitterugh.


    From afar, I saw a galvanized iron box and the power source on top wasn¡¯t lit.


    I walked to the box and asked, ¡°No rms, really?¡±


    ¡°No, probably because they knew that this thing can call the police on its own when turned on. Just think about it, an AI robot calling the cops and informing them that it¡¯s been kidnapped!¡±


    I touched the box lightly before attempting to lift it up. It did not budge.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this thing too heavy?¡± I eximed.


    Dahaiughed. ¡°Why are you rushing? I¡¯ll pull the electric cord first.¡±


    Dahai squatted down and searched for the plug before pulling it out.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve brought along the mechanical arms,¡± Imented helplessly.


    Dahai retrieved two slings from his backpack. ¡°I prepared them.¡±


    I picked them up and put them on. Two mechanical arms extended out from the shoulder straps.


    I controlled them to mp down on one side of the box while Dahai took the other side.


    Another two arms emerged and held onto the ground tightly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go slowly,¡± Dahai said.


    With much effort, we brought the box toward the main entrance of thepany building.


    ¡°Do you know how regrly the guards make their rounds?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re not strict about that. From what I know, they¡¯ll do onest check after 1 am and the next round will be done at 8 in the morning when the main door is opened. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Dahai answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s disappointing that they¡¯ll only realize it at 8 in the morning,¡± I added.


    At the back of the van, the mechanical arms slowly released the box onto the floor of the vehicle.


    I saw the whole vehicle drop half a fist in height.


    ¡°Exactly how heavy is this thing?¡± I asked, amazed.


    ¡°I think function wise, this thing isparable to Milky Way 20.0, but Milky Way 20.0 is as big as a room whereas this baby here is supermini.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that we can earn well if we sell its parts separately?¡± I quizzed as we got into the van.


    When we got to the perimeter wall, I engaged the gear lever once again.


    A red light showed up on the panel board and the van remained motionless.


    ¡°What happened? Is it spoilt?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Probably exceeded the weight limit. I did not take into consideration how heavy this thing is going to be,¡± I answered, frustrated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the main entrance?¡± Dahai suggested.


    ¡°What about the railing?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Open it at the security room while I drive,¡± Dahai said.


    Without a choice, I got down and Dahai scooted over to the driver¡¯s seat.


    I walked slowly toward the security room.


    Snoring sounds filled the tiny space.


    I realized that the door was locked. Annoyed, I took out my ss softener and started spraying the small window.


    After reaching my hand in to unlock the door, I tiptoed in.


    I saw a whole panel of buttons and all sorts of instruments.


    I pressed the switch and saw the railings of the main entrance lift up.


    The sound it produced made me jump and also woke the security up.

 Chapter 85: Turing III

    <h4>Chapter 85: Turing III</h4>


    Almost instinctively, I picked up a police truncheon hanging on the side and smashed it on his head.


    He fell back onto the table, unconscious.


    I hadn¡¯t expected the railings to be that loud.


    I quickly ran out and back onto the van¡¯s front seat in panic.


    Dahai drove us out of the building.


    ¡°How could I have forgotten the mask?¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°The security guard woke up from the noise and I hit him with the truncheon. He might¡¯ve seen my face,¡± I exined worriedly.


    ¡°What should we do then? Should we return it?¡± Dahai asked before braking.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go. If the news mentions the thief¡¯s appearance, we¡¯ll just run away after selling it off,¡± I proposed.


    He restarted the car and drove along.


    ...


    Next morning, 9 A.M.


    Dahai nudged me awake before showing me the news on his phone.


    News trending: Geaigepany¡¯s AI robot, Turing, has been stolen.


    Thepany even offered a three million reward to get it back.


    Half an hourter, two opposing groups emerged, hurling abuses at one another.


    One group believed that Turing had really gone missing while the other group believed it to be a conspiracy.


    Something like this had happened a few hundred years ago, where apany¡¯s gship merchandise was allegedly stolen, only for the whole affair to be deemed a scamter on. Such publicity stunts weren¡¯t new.


    I stood up and took a look at the iron box. ¡°Let¡¯s turn it on after breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Wait. I want to disassemble it before turning it on,¡± Dahai requested.


    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the instation. Are you going to make a copy of the circuit?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. There should be a memory battery. When the power is cut off, it should still retain the data. If we remove it and leave it for 5 minutes before putting it back, the whole system should reset. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem when we turn it on then. If a passcode or the like is required, I¡¯ll decipher it,¡± Dahai exined with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you since you¡¯re the expert on these things. We can still sell the parts if we can¡¯t turn it onter, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to check if the parts can be connected via themon ports. We¡¯ll have to see,¡± Dahai said before pulling out a toolbox from a drawer. He squatted down beside the iron box and fiddled with it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get us some breakfast. What do you want?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The usual,¡± he answered.


    When I got back, I saw Dahai sitting on the floor in a daze.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, concerned.


    ¡°The screws are different so I was waiting to see if you can force it open,¡± Dahai said before grabbing his food.


    ¡°Will forcing it open affect anything?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll use a drill bit to get rid of all these screws, but the downside is that we won¡¯t be able to secure it as tightly again when we reassemble it,¡± Dahai shared.


    ¡°Will it affect sales?¡± I rephrased.


    ¡°Probably not. I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s inspected it in detail,¡± Dahai replied.


    ¡°Why are you hesitating then? We have no other choice but to disassemble it anyway, or we won¡¯t be able to turn it on.¡±


    ¡°I was waiting for a second opinion, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Remove them. We¡¯ll just sell the parts if we can¡¯t reassemble it. You have my support,¡± I assured him.


    Dahai put his food down and got the electrical drill ready.


    Holes started appearing at a side of the box, along with loud drilling sounds.


    After 10 minutes, Dahai switched the drill off.


    With his hands on the box, he gave it a good kick and the whole metal panel fell off.


    There was a pitch ckyer of electrote and soundproofing cover.


    As Dahai attempted to unload it, a ck figure scuttled out, causing him to fall backward with the metal panel pressing down on him.


    My first reaction was to give that ck figure a good kick on its head.


    And it wasn¡¯t that I made a forceful kick, but rather, the thing that ran out was a dwarf.


    The dwarf was sprawled on the ground, unconscious.


    I asked in shock, ¡°This is the AI?¡±


    Dahai moved the metal panel away with some effort. He jumped up in surprise when he caught a glimpse of the dwarf.


    ¡°Tie him to the chair, quick!¡± I shouted.


    Dahai rummaged around for a rope.


    I picked up an empty beer bottle from the table and walked carefully toward the box.


    I pulled the electrote to the side and discovered a small room within.


    There was a small bed with a microphone in front.


    Beside the mic were three small tforms.


    On the first was a can of Old Mother¡¯s nutritious sauce. On the second were three iPhone 250s and on the third were some emergency first-aid products.


    I called out to Dahai.


    Upon seeing it, Dahai shook his head and walked out.


    The two spare iPhone 250s were switched off and the operating one was charging and had no passcode.


    Unlocking it, I saw the headlines from the morning news. Looks like Mister ¡®Turing¡¯ is aware that he¡¯s been stolen.


    ¡°Wake him up, Dahai.¡±


    The dwarf was tied to a chair and ced beside the box.


    Dahai came back with a pail of water and poured it on the dwarf¡¯s body.


    After a coughing fit, the flustered dwarf squirmed about in his seat, realizing that he¡¯s been kidnapped.


    ¡°So you¡¯re AI Turing,¡± I started.


    The dwarf remained silent.


    Dahai spoke nervously, ¡°Will he call the cops? He¡¯s been in there for so long and had more than enough time to make a report.¡±


    The dwarf shook his head in response. ¡°Don¡¯t call the cops, don¡¯t call the cops.¡±


    ¡°Did you see that? He seems even more afraid than us,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on or I¡¯ll call the police right now,¡± Dahai warned.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell. You can¡¯t call the police,¡± the dwarf mumbled, shaking his head.


    I held the ss bottle up.


    Just then, someone knocked on our door and a frail voice sounded, ¡°He¡¯s not going to speak, but you can ask me anything you want to know.¡±


    We were startled.


    The dwarf shouted, ¡°You can¡¯t say anything, Director!¡±


    I broke the bottle in my hand and held the broken edges against the dwarf¡¯s neck. ¡°You called your director over? Who else is outside?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an 81-year-old man and there¡¯s no one behind me. Don¡¯t worry, just let me in and I¡¯ll answer all your questions,¡± the frail voice called.


    ¡°Go take a look, Dahai.¡±


    Dahai walked over and looked through the peephole. ¡°Old man in a suit, no one else around.¡±


    ¡°Let him in.¡±


    The dwarf yelled, ¡°Leave, quick, Director! If the copse, I¡¯ll just say that I¡¯ve been hired to y a prank. No one will believe that Turing is fake. Don¡¯t worry about me and leave!¡±


    ¡°How considerate,¡± Imented before taking a cloth from the floor and stuffing it into his mouth.


    Dahai opened the door, intending to seize the old man, only to find thetter falling onto him. Having no choice, Dahai supported the old man into the house before closing the door behind him.


    The old man sat on the sofa, not far away from the dwarf.


    I held onto my broken ss bottle and Dahai grabbed a knife from the kitchen.


    With his mouth stuffed, the dwarf could only groan.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I started.


    The old man smiled bitterly. ¡°You probably don¡¯t know what Geaige was before. It used to be an association for the disabled, but 90% of the members were dwarfs.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± Dahai urged.


    ¡°Over a hundred years ago, humans started giving injections to fetuses. Once, the experiment went wrong as the caving contained dwarf genes instead of genes that would cure illnesses and improve intelligence. Thepany selling the vine refused to take responsibility, which was why we started receiving more and more dwarfs,¡± he exined.


    ¡°So you thought about putting these dwarfs into boxes and disguise them as AI?¡± I asked, baffled.


    ¡°We had no choice. The country refuses to acknowledge these dwarfs. Because of their physique, they¡¯re unable to take on much work. In the past, they could still work as telmunicators, but in recent years, AI has taken over their jobs and more and more dwarfs are bing unemployed. It¡¯s ironic, but AI is the reason why we came up with this,¡± he continued.


    ¡°I remember you saying at the conference that this box will be ced at the front desk and that while it is expensive, it will be much cheaper than employing a staff. So you¡¯re trying to get these dwarfs to take over regr receptionists? Why is it so expensive, though?¡± Dahai questioned.


    ¡°There are simply too many dwarfs under our care, and we dare not sell too many of it, for obvious reasons. We had nned to put 30 of such ¡®machines¡¯ into the market. We will let the dwarfs rest by requesting a maintenance check every month. We will secretly swap out the dwarf for another one and replenish the facilities inside to guarantee another month¡¯s supply. Even if the ¡®machine¡¯ spoils, we could immediately repair it. Plus, normal working hours are from eight to five, so the dwarf inside Turing won¡¯t feel exhausted. Things were going well until you two came along,¡± he ended with a sigh.


    ¡°This is all that we should know? What should we do, Dahai?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? Why are you calling my name? Won¡¯t they know my identity? We¡¯ll have to kill them now!¡± Dahai shouted, raising his knife.


    ¡°No, listen to me, you two. I¡¯m here to negotiate and you two will be satisfied, I guarantee,¡± he persuaded nervously.


    ¡°Tell us.¡± I nodded, stopping Dahai.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hand over 8% of our shares, along with a 3 million ¡®reward¡¯. You two can be the heroes who caught the bandits and also market our AI for us. We¡¯ve already sent people to prepare the script. It will go something along the lines of Turing contacting your mobile and you two rushing to his aid. This is our current market stock price. Have a look at it and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree,¡± he said firmly before holding his phone screen up for us.


    On the screen were manyplicated lines but all were steadily rising.


    Dahai and I nodded happily.

 Chapter 86: The Value of Art I

    <h4>Chapter 86: The Value of Art I</h4>


    I¡¯m Chalk and I¡¯m an artist.


    I came from Dashan Vige, where not many understood art.


    I yed with mypanions a lot when I was young.


    While they were busy ying in the mud, I was making shapes with it and was often made fun of by them.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t mind.


    When the vige¡¯s volunteer teacher mentioned one day that fire can harden y, I got excited.


    After ss, I brought my figurine to the teacher¡¯s house.


    However, she only frowned upon seeing it.


    Nevertheless, I asked happily, ¡°This will crack when dried, Teacher. You said fire can harden it and not leave cracks. Is it true?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°How about you leave your figurine with me and you head home first? I¡¯ll settle it and bring it to you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯d like to learn,¡± I said.


    Helpless, she responded, ¡°It¡¯s time I give you extra sses. What is this ugly thing?¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s you,¡± I replied.


    That day, she borrowed a stove from the neighbor¡¯s house.


    We remodeled the figurine before getting rid of the surface bubbles and knots.


    I looked on as she ced my mud figurine on the stove.


    Four hourster, she retrieved it with a stick and ced it outside to cool down before handing it to me.


    I was so happy that I couldn¡¯t speak. The teacher smiled and asked, ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    I nodded eagerly before revealing a wide grin.


    After some thought, she added, ¡°Come over at night, whenever you¡¯re free, and I¡¯ll teach you more.¡±


    ...


    The teacher stayed with us for three years, and ording to her, our artistic standard had improved from beingpletely illiterate to that of a junior high school student.


    And I was her favorite student.


    She gave me many one-to-one sses, teaching me things like perspectives and the golden ratio.


    Whenever she returned home for the new year, she woulde back with propylene paints.


    ¡°These paints can give your work colors, but they can onlyst 5 years. Remember to keep the lids closed when you¡¯re not using them or they will harden,¡± she told me kindly.


    Before she left, she passed all her materials to me. I cherished them so much that I used them really stingily.


    I started making more and more potteries and got better at it.


    .....


    While other kids were plowing the fields at 14 or 15, I refused to let go of the y even at 17 years old.


    While Mom and Dad nagged at me every day, they don¡¯t really push me out to work.


    Because the stuff I make could fetch money.


    I¡¯ll have to start from my father.


    Each year, some vigers would make a trip to town to engage in trading, and my father happened to be one of the agents.


    Dad brought two of my art pieces into the city a few years back and returned with a green banknote. He was beyond happy.


    I recognized the 50 dor bill in spite of the fact that we, as vigers, had no use for it.


    Dad shared, ¡°There was a group of tourists in the city. One of them looked at your ceramic art for a long time before asking for the price. Before he could buy it, an argument broke out because someone else was interested in it too. The price kept going higher.¡±


    Later on, I discovered that the tourist group had experienced a tire burst while on the road.


    The tour guide quickly brought them into the market in order to pass time, and two tourists happened to catch sight of my ceramic works and got into a fight.


    Eventually, Dad sold them off at 50 each, before using a 50 to buy a bunch of things back to the vige.


    A few years after that incident, Dad stopped following the other vigers to the market.


    Instead, he pushed his handcart, containing my ceramic pieces, even further away.


    He chose a rest station where tour buses would often stop for tourists to take a break from their long journey.


    Dad would then pull his cart around to sell my work, then spend the earnings on supplies.


    Initially, employees at the station would chase Dad away, but after some time, upon discovering that he had traveled miles just to get business, they started to sympathize with him.


    And Dad started from selling the pieces once a year to once in six months.


    Then once a month. I was requested to create 10 pieces each month.


    It was easy for me since I enjoyed making things. The only problem I had was that some of my paints were running out. I had no choice but to bring it up to Dad.


    After some discussion, he decided to look for some people at the rest station.


    He sought help from a bus driver, who actually agreed to bring him some paints.


    However, Dad got a shock when the driver pointed to his phone screen to show him the cost of the paints.


    Over a hundred for one small tube of paint. The driverughed and suggested that he used my ceramic pieces as coteral.


    Although Dad felt that the driver was being dishonest, he had no choice but to ept his offer.


    Every month, he would bring ten ceramic pieces to the rest station and pass five of it to the driver in exchange for five tubes of paint.


    Then, he would sell away the other five pieces for cash to buy supplies from the market.


    It became a regr routine.


    However, as the distance between our vige and the rest station was about 17 kilometers away, Dad would only return homete at night.


    One day, when he no longer had the energy to carry on, he handed this task over to me.


    For the first few times, he would follow me as I pull the cart to the rest station.


    After the third time, hepletely entrusted the job to me.


    During my first trip alone, I met up with the bus driver.


    ¡°Where¡¯s that old man?¡± he asked.


    ¡°My father? He can¡¯t do this anymore. I¡¯ll take over from here. Do you still have red paint?¡±


    He entered the resting room while I waited outside.


    I noticed him retrieving it from a drawer filled with countless tubes of paint.


    That aroused my suspicion. Aren¡¯t these things expensive?


    The driver approached me and handed two tubes of red paint over. ¡°2 for 200, or 5 ceramic pieces.¡±


    After sealing the deal, I started chatting with a customer after selling my pieces.


    He told me he was an art student and he took a lot of interest in my work.


    I quickly asked him about the price of paint tubes.


    He fished out his phone and introduced me to an app called Taobao.


    After checking out the real price of the paint tubes, I couldn¡¯t control my emotions.


    I ran off to give the bus driver a good beating.


    A few other employees held me back. It was a big mess at the rest station.


    I returned home, crying to Dad and telling him the truth. He got so angry that he picked up a hoe and got ready to go seek revenge.


    I stopped him, of course, but he was so upset that he couldn¡¯t sleep that night.


    The next day, he took out a small pouch and said to me, ¡°Go to the city, kid. This is not the ce for you. The city¡¯s where you should be.¡±


    I opened the pouch and saw ten 100 bills.

 Chapter 87: The Value of Art II

    <h4>Chapter 87: The Value of Art II</h4>


    Without saying any bold, visionary words, I stuffed the pouch into my pocket, carried the bag Mom had prepared and walked out.


    I knew they were looking at me from the door and I knew that if I looked back, I wouldn¡¯t be able to leave.


    I could feel the hot tears rolling down my face but that did not stop me from moving forward.


    The vige road connected straight to the county town, and I didn¡¯t know how long I had walked for.


    Because I was ignorant, I walked in the middle of the big road.


    A massive cow-transporting vehicle honked his horn at me.


    I jumped, startled. The driver stopped his truck beside me and shouted kindly, ¡°Where are you going, little fellow? Need a lift?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m heading to town. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll walk slowly,¡± I declined.


    ¡°The nearest town is about 63 kilometers away. Where are you from? Why are you here?¡± he asked suspiciously.


    I ignored his question, went over to the side of the road and continued on my way.


    The driver drove next to me and honked his horn again. He stopped his lorry, opened the truck¡¯s passenger door and gestured for me to get in.


    After a moment of hesitation, I obliged.


    It was my first time in a vehicle.


    As if knowing that I was a bit naive, he extended his hand and shut the door for me.


    He then proceeded to buckle me up, which startled me.


    I struggled, attempting to break free, but the driver quickly exined that it was just for safety.


    At that point, I was convinced that perhaps not every driver was bad.


    On the way, he asked a lot of questions and I answered them one by one.


    I learned quite a lot from our conversation.


    ¡°How much money do you have? Are you going to the city?¡±


    After some thought, I carefully replied, ¡°I have no money.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s going to be problematic. In order to survive in the city you¡¯ll need at least 3,000 if you¡¯re thrifty,¡± he shared.


    ¡°Why that much?¡± I asked, unable toprehend that much amount of money.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the food alone. Food is expensive, a bowl of noodles costs over 10 dors and that won¡¯t even fill your tummy. Plus, without money, you¡¯re not going to be able to move about in the city. The most I can do for you is to send you to town,¡± he exined.


    ¡°How much will I need to get from the town to the city?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It depends on the city you¡¯re nning to go. The best or just the average ones?¡±


    ¡°What about the best?¡± I asked immediately.


    ¡°The best city is Beijing and you¡¯ll have to take an airne to get there. That stuff¡¯s even more expensive than a car. One trip will cost you over a thousand dors. You don¡¯t have that kind of money for sure, so that¡¯s out of the question,¡± he answered.


    I lowered my head, pondering over his words.


    After a short pause, he sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t be upset. If Beijing¡¯s where you wanna go, join me at my goods transportation factory. We specialize in ughtering cows. If you¡¯d be willing to work as a butcher for a few months, you¡¯ll save enough money for Beijing.¡±


    I nodded happily. ¡°Yes, yes! I¡¯m willing to work.¡±


    Three hourster, we arrived at a small factory.


    He had me wait outside while he went ahead to talk to some people inside.


    A man in spectacles walked out and stared at me. ¡°Name? Age?¡±


    ¡°Chalk, 23.¡±


    ¡°What a trendy name. Have you ever cooked at home? Do you know how to cut meat?¡± he pushed his sses up, smiling.


    ¡°No, but I can learn.¡±


    ¡°Identification card?¡± he asked.


    I took it out from my bag and he instantly snatched it over.


    I moved to take it back, but he just smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep this for you. Three months of training, no sry but food and lodging provided. You¡¯ll get 1,500 a month when you start working, but for the first five months, half of it will be taken away as part of your entrance fee. At the end of the fifth month, you would¡¯ve gotten me 3,750 and only then will I return your card to you. Interested?¡±


    ¡°Why do I have to pay an entrance fee when I¡¯m here to work?¡± I asked somewhat angrily.


    He only returned my re with a smile. ¡°This is not the ce for you if you can¡¯t take hard work, but I don¡¯t know if other ces would be willing to ept you.¡±


    The driver came over to my side. ¡°This is the biggest ughterhouse in town. Other ces might not even offer you 500 a month. It¡¯s worth it here.¡±


    After some time, I asked the man in spectacles, ¡°So at the end of the fifth month, you¡¯d get yourself and me 3,750?¡±


    ¡°Yes, half for you and half for me, and you will get your card back. No tricks.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    The driver patted my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be the witness. I¡¯ve known sses for a few years now.¡±


    I nodded again.


    The bespectacled man waved and said, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    I followed him into the factory.


    He whispered, ¡°Since driver Dahai brought you in and I¡¯ve taken your card and will be taking your money, I will take care of you. If you see anyone in the factory, tell them you¡¯re my brother and they won¡¯t make things difficult for you. Learn from me these three months.¡±


    For the next two months, I slept on a sofa in sses¡¯ bedroom and wore sses¡¯ old uniform.


    I had food to eat and water to drink, and I carefully observe sses as he ughtered the cows.


    He taught me every detail of it and after two months, I was finally allowed to handle one on my own.


    He would give me a good scolding the moment I made a little mistake, but I endured it all.


    I thought about how he treated me and decided to repay him double when I receive my identification card.


    After a three-month apprenticeship, I finally understood, somewhat, how to dissect a whole cow.


    I worked hard for another five months and I still had no bed of my own during this period.


    I never saw my sry either and I was told that it was all in sses¡¯ hands.


    Also, I had no proper clothes and even had my own taken away by sses.


    I figured he¡¯d probably swallowed the money he saved from depriving me of new clothes and a bed.


    In the month that I was about to im my identification card and stop working, sses took a week off to visit his hometown and I was able to sleep on his bed.


    It was a double-decker bed, and the habitually silent fatty, who slept on top, started talking.


    It was only then that I realized that the man that I loathed so much was actually a good person.


    This ughterhouse only recruited old hands.


    The three months that I worked as an apprentice provided no ie for me because I wasn¡¯t an employee at all.


    sses paid for my food and trained me hard for three months.


    Also, the ughterhouse wasn¡¯t short of qualified butchers so even after my apprenticeship, I was merely sharing a small part of sses¡¯ burden.


    He also shared that the oldest butcher will be retiring on the day I get my card back.


    I then found out that in the five months that I had been working after my apprenticeship, sses had been sharing half of his pay with me.


    And he had set the period to five months so that I could take over the oldest butcher¡¯s position upon his retirement.


    That was also the reason why I had no bed and clothes of my own yet.


    While I had been under the impression that I was giving sses half of my pay, he was actually the one sharing his with me.


    Even the group leader in the ughterhouse was told by sses to keep it from me.


    I wouldn¡¯t have known at all, if not for Fatty¡¯s big mouth and sses¡¯ departure.


    When sses returned a few dayster, I rushed up to apologize.


    I shared everything about myself to him, leaving no detail behind.


    We talked for a whole night and he kept persuading me to take over the old butcher¡¯s position, but I told him that my heart was set on Beijing.


    He said, ¡°The master is about to resign and you can take over from there. Getting paid 1,500 a month is really decent, why wouldn¡¯t you take it?¡±


    ¡°I really want to go to Beijing. I want to do art. I¡¯ve almost forgotten everything about art in my eight months here.¡±


    The next morning, sses was nowhere to be found.


    When he returned, he had a new set of handphone with him. He gave his old one to me.


    He even bought me a new number and handed me the 3,750 along with my card.


    He reminded me to give him a call upon reaching Beijing.


    That day, I made a small figurine with the mud found outside the factory.


    I then risked death by borrowing the kitchen kiln to dry it before giving it to sses.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Heughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s you! Can¡¯t you tell?¡±


    He looked at it for a moment before adding, ¡°I think Beijing just might be more suitable for you, Chalk.

 Chapter 88: The Value of Art III

    <h4>Chapter 88: The Value of Art III</h4>


    Coincidentally, the factory had to travel to the city for a procurement so I got a free ride.


    Upon arriving at the city¡¯s airport, I got myself a ticket to Beijing.


    This thing called airne was really amazing, and I puked in there.


    Beijing, night time.


    I walked around searching for a ce to stay the night, but the hotels were simply too costly.


    I ended up sleeping in a park that day.


    The next day, I asked around for rmendations and finally found an ancient street that sold chinaware.


    Along the alley stood a shop filled with potteries, simr to those I made.


    The shop wasn¡¯t big and the owner was elderly.


    I went forward to ask, ¡°Do you need a potter?¡±


    The owner shook his head. ¡°I only sell and don¡¯t collect.¡±


    I tried again, ¡°Then where are these potteries from?¡±


    He pointed at himself. ¡°I made them.¡±


    I pointed at some of his works and said, ¡°I can make one that¡¯s twice as nice.¡±


    He got angry and chased me away.


    Clenching my teeth, I found a nearby restaurant.


    Lodging wasn¡¯t provided and I had one rest day a week.


    My sry was 1,300 a month.


    I rented a nearby ce at 300 a month. It did not even have a toilet.


    I kept the old man¡¯s shop in mind and rushed three ceramic pieces out during my off days.


    Uponpletion, I took them to his shop in hopes that he would dry them for me.


    Of course, I wanted him to acknowledge my skills.


    There were three customers chatting with him when I arrived.


    Not wanting to disturb them, I squatted outside his shop.


    After a short while, the three customers exited together.


    It was only then that I realized they were together.


    As I stood up, they gave me a nce.


    One of them tapped on my shoulder, asking, ¡°Did you just buy those? What a strange color!¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not done. I just made them and I¡¯m intending to put them up for sale,¡± I said with a smile.


    He gave me a strange look and asked, ¡°You made those?¡±


    I nodded before entering the shop. ¡°Can I pay you to dry these for me?¡±


    The three customers followed behind me out of curiosity.


    The old man waved while looking at the pieces in my hands.


    After scrutinizing them, he said thoughtfully, ¡°I remember now. You¡¯re that fellow who came in a few days ago asking if I ept ceramic works.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it for you. Please leave.¡± He pushed my ceramic pieces back into my hands.


    The three customers remained quiet.


    Helpless, I left in search of another ce.


    The three customers stopped me.


    ¡°Little fellow, you said you were intending to sell the final products. Will you be willing to sell these half-made ones then?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not done. How can I sell them?¡±


    ¡°How about this. 500 a piece and I¡¯ll buy all three of them right now. We¡¯ll find someone else to dry them,¡± one of them proposed.


    I fell silent for a short while. I couldn¡¯t speak but I felt my head moving up and down a few times.


    The guy smiled before taking 15 bills out of his money pouch and handing them over to me.


    I epted the money and handed over my works.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, little fellow?¡± the other guy asked.


    ¡°Chalk. Why?¡±


    ¡°Would you write your name at the bottom of these pieces? For memory¡¯s sake.¡±


    I nodded before searching for a suitable tool.


    One of them handed a fountain pen to me. ¡°Just write your name down.¡±


    ¡°This is expensive, isn¡¯t it?¡± I looked down at the pen.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem,¡± one spoke as all three shook their heads.


    After some thought, I signed my name as CK.


    A guy handed me his name card. ¡°If you produce more works in the future and need them to be dried, just give us a call. We will buy them if they¡¯re good.¡±


    I stood rooted to the ground as they walked away happily.


    Within three months, I called them 15 times, selling them five pieces at 500 each, each time.


    And every single time, they had me sign my name at the bottom.


    Looking at the money in my hands, I found it all hard to believe. They never have even told me what they were doing with my works.


    With 30,000 in my pocket, I quit my job and rented a shop right opposite the old man¡¯s.


    I bought the necessary tools and called sses for the first time.


    While he found it unbelievable, he also felt that it was only natural.


    I started renovating the shop and disying my works on the shelves.


    I called the customers and shared the happy news with them, but they asked if I had with me ceramic works that hadn¡¯t been dried or colored.


    After mumbling to myself a little, I said yes. For the money, it¡¯s always a yes.


    They visited once a month and only bought pieces that hadn¡¯t been dried or colored.


    Other than them, I had practically no other businesses.


    I had a shop of my own but my business was only slightly better than the old man¡¯s.


    After the first month, the old man came knocking on my door.


    ¡°Why are you doing here? Wanna smash my shop because I stole some of your business?¡± I asked, rushing over to guard the door.


    He shook his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re having regrets then? And want me to work with you? Do you think that¡¯s possible? I¡¯m earning more than you right now,¡± I continued.


    He pointed at his own shop. ¡°Go over there and I¡¯ll show you something. It has something to do with you.¡±


    Interested, I followed him to his shop.


    I tried guessing his motives but nothing came to mind.


    He pointed at the television screen. ¡°You made these, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    It was an auction program.


    Big red words: Collector¡¯s items, made by a modern ceramic artist, Chalk. 50,000.


    The so-called collector¡¯s items were precisely the three pieces that I had previously brought into the old man¡¯s shop.


    The pieces were nowpleted and of a different color. A man in a white Chinese tunic suit smiled at the screen. ¡°I, Chalk, have inherited valuable skills from my master, Liu Bing, and I¡¯m here today after 15 years of hard work. As you can see from my work, aesthetically speaking, the pieces are lively...¡±


    The old man pointed at the television and said, ¡°They changed the color but I can still recognize that those belong to you. You are indeed more skillful than me and I epted that, which is why I remember.¡±


    I looked at the man who imed to be Chalk. He was actually selling off my work as his own.


    ¡°What channel is this?¡±


    He answered immediately, ¡°Should be Beijing television station, broadcasting studio.¡±


    To be continued.

 Chapter 89: The Value of Art (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 89: The Value of Art (Part 2) I</h4>


    I instantly ran out and locked my shop up before gging down a cab to head to the television station.


    I dashed into the studio and went up angrily to the receptionist. ¡°That program. Is it here?¡±


    She looked up at me in startlement. ¡°Hi, what is it?¡±


    I looked around and pointed at a television screen not far away, asking anxiously, ¡°Where are they? That auction. Ceramic art. Is that happening here?¡±


    The channel on the television screen switched to another program.


    ¡°Wait. You¡¯re talking about ¡®Treasure Time¡¯ that screens every Tuesday?¡± she asked with an awkward smile.


    ¡°Yes, that.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not here,¡± she answered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way. I just saw them 20 minutes ago on the screen. I wasn¡¯t far away. Do you have a contact that I can call? They¡¯re cheaters. I am Chalk,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°You must¡¯ve misunderstood, sir. The programs we screen are all pre-recorded, so we¡¯re just screening clips from weeks ago,¡± she exined.


    Two security guards came in from the back. One of them warned, ¡°Please lower your volume when you speak.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Sorry for being rude. Do you know where they are? Or how I can contact the person in charge of the program?¡±


    ¡°Please follow me, sir,¡± she requested before walking to the side.


    I followed her helplessly with the two security guards trailing behind us in a watchful manner.


    She questioned softly, ¡°Did they cheat you of your money? You look really agitated.¡±


    I nodded slightly. ¡°Yeah, they lied to me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one to monitor this ce and it won¡¯t be good for either of us if this blows up. I¡¯ll give you the contact of one of the producers, but don¡¯t tell him that you got it from us.¡±


    I nodded again. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you their name card. Give me a second,¡± she said before running to a counter.


    As I followed, the two security guards made sure to keep me in their sights.


    She handed me a name card and I found it oddly familiar.


    I scrolled through my phone to search for that number.


    Indeed, saved on my phone, was that number attached to a name ¨C Three Customers.


    I remembered receiving the exact same name card from one of them.


    I stuffed it into my pocket, thinking through everything that had happened.


    I left the station and called the customer up.


    The line connected quickly.


    ¡°Boss Chalk! You¡¯re calling earlier than expected. New pieces? Or are you in need of money?¡± he asked chirpily.


    ¡°Yes, new pieces. Better than those from before so I¡¯m quite excited.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯lle over in a few days, Boss Chalk. And it¡¯s time you change your mobile phone since you have the money now! That way, you can snap some photographs for us to assess your works. Of course, I¡¯m not saying that your works aren¡¯t good. I¡¯ll have you know, that my boss only has good words for your stuff.¡±


    ¡°So you guys areing over tomorrow?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still overseas. Will the day after tomorrow be fine? Are you tight on cash? It¡¯s understandable, the rent there is ridiculous,¡± he sympathized.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you then,¡± I finished before hanging up.


    I returned to my shop and for the whole night, I tried to devise a n.


    I decided to confront them when they visited but then I quickly realized that I had no substantial evidence.


    I racked my brains for something that would help me figure out what exactly was going on.


    The next morning, I bought a tea set and an expensive type of tea leaves, Tieguanyin, in spite of the fact that I never had the habit of drinking tea.


    I also bought three thick ropes and some sleeping pills.


    I had searched many shops for those sleeping pills before I found a doctor that was willing to prescribe them to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been under immense pressure and I haven¡¯t been sleeping for three nights now. I can still eat but I find it difficult to sleep,¡± I told the doctor.


    He looked me over clinically and replied, ¡°Your dark eye circles are indeed heavy. I¡¯ll prescribe you eight pills for now because taking any more than that will affect your energy. Don¡¯t take them consecutively, okay?¡±


    On the day that I was to meet the three buyers, I ground the pills into powder and poured it into the teapot.


    When they came over in the afternoon, one of them greeted, ¡°Seems like our boss is starting to enjoy life, eh? Drinking tea and all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve noticed? I just started.¡± I smiled as I get the pot ready.


    ¡°Hey, I did pick up some things from you. You do look a little unustomed. Here, let me do it.¡± He opened the teabox and caught a whiff.


    ¡°Wait, what is this tea?¡±


    ¡°Not bad, aye?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°It is decent but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as good as my boss¡¯. I guess we¡¯ll know better once we try it.¡± He smiled before gathering the tea set.


    Another man added, ¡°Where¡¯s the good stuff you mentioned? Show them to us!¡±


    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go get them.¡± I headed to the back of the room to gather some ceramic pieces.


    I stuck close behind the door, eavesdropping on their conversation.


    Minutes passed and one spoke impatiently, ¡°Isn¡¯t he taking too long?¡±


    ¡°His products are only half finished, perhaps they¡¯ve gone out of shape and he¡¯s fine-tuning them. You did squash one of them before.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s taking way too long. Should we look for him inside?¡±


    ¡°What for? We¡¯ve done this so many times. He has his own shop and tea set now. Are you afraid that he won¡¯t have the stuff? We¡¯re drinking good tea. He must be rich. Come, this tea is great.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hmm, it smells a little strange.¡±


    ¡°Not as good as our boss¡¯. I think you steeped this wrong.¡±


    ¡°How will I get that wrong? Boss gets me to do this for him every time. Maybe the water¡¯s dirty? Why¡¯s there a strange smell?¡±


    I figured that this was the right time, so I came out with my works. ¡°Sorry to keep you guys waiting. How¡¯s the tea? I¡¯ve just started getting into it. The water inside hasn¡¯t been boiled.¡±


    ¡°No wonder it tastes kinda strange,¡± onemented.


    ¡°They¡¯re done,e take a look. I made them these past few days,¡± I invited.


    ¡°They look... quite average. Nothing special,¡± one critiqued.


    ¡°Same price and we¡¯ll take them all, is that alright?¡± the other added.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I agreed.


    They got the money ready and we sealed the deal.


    As they were walking toward the door, I called them back.


    ¡°Hold on, fellows! I forgot to sign my name.¡±


    The moment they turned their wobbly bodies around, I ran up to the door and locked it.

 Chapter 90: The Value of Art (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 90: The Value of Art (Part 2) II</h4>


    They stared at me in surprise.


    ¡°What are you doing, Boss Chalk?¡± one asked.


    Wordlessly, I grabbed a stool from the side.


    One of them retreated a few steps before falling to the ground. The other two started to look dazed as well.


    When they saw their friend on the ground, one started to shout while the other ran toward the inner part of the shop.


    I smashed a chair on the noisy one¡¯s head to knock him out. For a second, I got worried about the bruise on his forehead, but I was reassured when I heard him breathing.


    I then headed to the inner room to pursue the other guy, but before I could think of ways to subdue him, he copsed.


    I dragged them all into one room before I rummaged through their belongings. I switched off all of their mobile phones and dumped it with their wallets that I¡¯ve already gathered.


    With the three thick ropes, I tied them up firmly.


    I arranged three stools into a triangr shape and had them sit on top, their back facing one another.


    I then tied all of them together again before stuffing towels into their mouths.


    I waited for about eight hours before they regained consciousness, during which I checked for their pulses every half an hour.


    I did it more cautiously for the one I smashed on the head. I took some medication out to treat his wound.


    They gradually woke up and when they failed to see each other¡¯s faces, they started mumbling nervously.


    I took the towel out of one of their mouths. ¡°Answer whatever I ask and you don¡¯t have to get hurt.¡±


    The man who could now speak screamed and I gave him a tight p.


    ¡°The walls are pretty sound-proof here. I¡¯ll give you a p each time you make a noise. Let¡¯s see if the police or neighbors get here first before your face gets deformed,¡± I warned.


    ¡°Boss... Boss Chalk. Why are you doing this? We haven¡¯t done anything wrong, have we? We don¡¯t have money. Let us off and we won¡¯t call the police...¡± the man stuttered.


    I shook my head and gave him another p. ¡°Just answer my questions and nothing else. I¡¯ll let you go after so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Do you... mean what you say?¡± he cried.


    Another p. ¡°Why is the program called ¡®Treasure Time¡¯ putting my ceramic pieces up for auction?¡±


    The man kept crying as the one beside him shook his head vigorously, mumbling through the towel in his mouth.


    I removed the towel and he answered, ¡°You sold them to us so we have the rights to resell it. Just tell us if you¡¯re angry about the price difference. Holding us hostage like this is a crime.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s not all. Of course, you reselling my works is none of my business but why is there a man pretending to be me and iming to have created those pieces on his own? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The initially self-righteous man fell silent.


    The one who had been crying spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s all our boss¡¯ idea. We have no clue... we¡¯re only in charge of collecting these treasures and your works. Boss happens to appreciate them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that you have no idea?¡±


    All three nodded furiously.


    I took out their name card. ¡°Why was I given this card when I asked the station for the producer¡¯s contact?¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you onest chance to tell me the truth or I¡¯ll leave you to rot here without any food or water,¡± I threatened.


    Silence.


    ¡°Why? Is your boss really that great? So great that he¡¯s more important than your lives?¡±


    The third man who has yet to speak shook his head.


    I removed the towel in his mouth.


    He coughed before answering, ¡°We know little of it. We¡¯re merely in charge of getting the goods. We can give you our boss¡¯ address, but you must let us go and not tell anyone how you got it. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°No problem, but you must promise that you¡¯ve been honest.¡±


    ¡°He makes a monthly trip to the office. He lives in a vi along Oasis Garden District A. We¡¯re in charge of collecting antiques but he¡¯s the one doing the business stuff. We don¡¯t earn much. He, however, earns over a thousandfold in profit each time,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Who else is there in his family?¡± I asked.


    ¡°His grandmother, nanny, and his kids. Oh, he goes to the reservoir to fish every month,¡± another one added.


    ¡°Specific time?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Are you going to make trouble for him, Boss Chalk? We don¡¯t like him either so don¡¯t worry, we will tell you when he tells us. He doesn¡¯t have a fixed time schedule.¡±


    ¡°Not trouble, just the truth, which is also why I called you over. Your boss will be next,¡± I said.


    ¡°We really can¡¯t help you. Us staff really don¡¯t know much about his shady business and way of doing things,¡± one exined.


    I turned around, opened their wallets and took out their identification and bank cards. ¡°I¡¯ll hold on to these for the meantime. I¡¯m not afraid that you guys will call the cops because I¡¯m sure your boss wouldn¡¯t want that kind of attention on him either. When you tell me when he¡¯s going to fish, you¡¯ll get these back.


    I untied the first man.


    He stood up weakly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Boss Chalk. We won¡¯t betray you, but you mustn¡¯t betray us as well.¡±


    ¡°Go out one by one. Tidy up your clothes first.¡±


    He walked over to a side to get ready before grabbing his wallet and phone and leaving the shop.


    I then untied the second man and the process repeated.


    When they were all gone, I reopened my shop.


    They looked at me from far away, still visibly trembling.


    I made a ¡®call me¡¯ gesture and they nodded simultaneously.


    The next day, I called sses to share the story and he told me not to act rashly.


    After hanging up, I was so angry that I smashed my phone and had no choice but to get a new set from Nokia.


    Four dayster, the three of them appeared at my shop entrance.


    Two of them pushed the other one in as they waited outside.


    The one who entered said nervously, ¡°Boss told us today that he¡¯s going fishing tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of the weather?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He won¡¯t go if it rains or if it gets too hot. He¡¯s like that,¡± he said while taking his phone out, the screen showing a picture of a fat man.


    Imitted his appearance to memory.


    ¡°He drives a Benz and his tools are in the back of his car. His car te is 7777A,¡± he shared.


    I retrieved their identification and bank cards from a cab and handed it over to him.


    He said, ¡°Just vent your anger, but don¡¯t kill him. Bring a mask to conceal your identity.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I know what to do.¡±

 Chapter 91: The Value of Art (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 91: The Value of Art (Part 2) III</h4>


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be telling you this, Boss Chalk, but I¡¯m still going to,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°The ceramic pieces you sold us... we auctioned them off a total of 63 times and failed almost 61 times.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, baffled.


    ¡°Simply speaking, we couldn¡¯t sell them.¡±


    ¡°What? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Because Boss rarely manages to sell your art, he doesn¡¯t earn from it. I think that he got someone to take on your identity so that he could raise the works¡¯ value,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Why does he still keep buying my stuff then?¡±


    He could only shake his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find that strange?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I only found out about thisst night and that¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you now.¡±


    I waved my arm dismissively, my mind preupied. ¡°Got it, you can leave now.¡±


    ¡°If you still n to sell your pieces, mail them to this address and we¡¯ll send the money over. We won¡¯t being back again,¡± he stammered a bit fearfully before cing a name card on the table.


    ¡°Leave,¡± I said again.


    He bolted out of my shop and handed his friends their cards.


    I watched them rush down the street before I closed my shop.


    I bought some fishing tools and waited for the next day.


    Looking down at my clothes, I wondered if I was dressed too shabbily.


    Frustrated, I visited a clothing shop and found a more suitable and casual outfit.


    The next morning, I left for the reservoir early and got myself situated.


    Gradually, I noticed more and more people arriving, much more than I expected.


    I figured that at this rate, I wouldn¡¯t get alone time with the boss even if I did find him.


    I was just about to pack my stuff up and leave when I discovered something strange.


    These people weren¡¯t really fishing, they were just all acting perfunctorily.


    Some simply threw their lines in without any bait and sat around idly. It seemed that they weren¡¯t really here to fish.


    I leaned over to a guy close to me and asked, ¡°Will you catch any fishes like this, brother?¡±


    He gave me a weird look before answering, ¡°You¡¯re really here to catch fishes?¡±


    Surprised, I asked, ¡°You¡¯re not?¡±


    He smiled and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just here for fun. Fish or no fish, I don¡¯t really care.¡±


    ¡°A lot of them are like you, yeah? They don¡¯t care about the fishes?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Chalk.¡±


    ¡°Where do you do your business? Coming all the way here...¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m here to fish.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t simple, are you? Do you know how long it¡¯s been since someone came here to fish for real? I¡¯ve beening here for two years now, once every month. No one really fishes here and I¡¯m sure you know it.¡±


    I kept quiet.


    He continued faintly, ¡°Tell me, who introduced you to this ce? What do you normally do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a ceramic artist.¡±


    ¡°Do you earn much? Coming here at such a young age... I¡¯m guessing that you earn more than me. I buy and sell unlicensed vehicles. Bring me along when you do your business in the future and I¡¯ll teach you what you need to know, aye?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Is this really your first time? The first time I came here, I had someone to guide me along. Come, scoot over. You can call me Director Chen,¡± he introduced.


    I adjusted my chair and sat opposite of him.


    Just then, a car drove over.


    Turning around, I saw a Benz with the car te number 7777A.


    ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Looks like you do know a little something. I¡¯ll introduce you so don¡¯t speak. Just watch and learn,¡± he said.


    ¡°I should keep quiet?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Boss Ma only mingles with familiar people. Things run deep here after all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡±


    ¡°Should I introduce you to him, Brother Chalk?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Director Chen called out to the man in the car, ¡°This way first, Director Hai.¡±


    The fatty in the car responded, ¡°Looks like the sun is too hot and our director is getting impatient!¡±


    He got off the car and walked over. ¡°Who¡¯s this youngd beside you?¡±


    ¡°A brother. He¡¯s a ceramic artist and has a great business. I brought him here,¡± Director Chen said with a smile.


    Fatty extended his hand. ¡°Your name?¡±


    I looked at him, not daring to say a word.


    Director Chen interrupted, ¡°He¡¯s afraid of strangers. It¡¯s hard doing business after all, so it¡¯s only natural that he¡¯s apprehensive.¡±


    Fatty smiled, unoffended. ¡°Understandable. I started off like that as well.¡±


    Director Chen returned the smile. ¡°Two orders, 700,000. Keep the coteral fee of the failed auctions and give me the rest.¡±


    Fatty fished a stack of bank cards from his pocket and handed one over with Director Chen¡¯s name on it. ¡°Continue supporting my business.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Director Chen reassured before taking his card.


    Fatty looked over to me and offered me a name card. ¡°This little brother here. Should I tell you the ways here?¡±


    Director Chen grinned. ¡°That¡¯d be great! I was afraid of not sharing enough, causing him to misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a loyal client, how can I turn away your brother?¡± He turned to me and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your help,¡± I replied gratefully.


    I slipped my left hand into my pocket and pressed the record button on my phone.


    ¡°I run an auction business in Beijing City, which has interaction with a television program called Treasure Time. You probably already know about this, but just send your ck money over, wait for the price you want and make a bid. Appeal for a withdrawal and I¡¯ll keep the 15% penalty fee while the rest of your money goes back to you ¨C clean,¡± Fatty exined.


    I nodded in realization and shut off the recording.


    ¡°Right, what¡¯s your name, little brother? You can tell me now,¡± he encouraged smilingly.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Chalk,¡± Director Chen answered on my behalf.


    ¡°Director Chalk, ceramic artist. Okay, I¡¯ll write it down so give me a moment.¡± Fatty took out a notebook and pen to jot it down. His pen was already poised on the paper when I saw him pause, his brows wrinkling.


    He looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re Chalk.¡±


    I thought about what the three customers said. Boss admired my work.


    ¡°Why? You two know each other?¡± Director Chen asked.


    Fatty grabbed my cor, but I immediately broke free and ran.


    ¡°Grab him. He¡¯s problematic,¡± Fatty shouted.


    In an instant, the people all around us that were ¡®fishing¡¯ stood up and chased after me. They weren¡¯t as fast as me but I was still scared.


    I looked back for a split second and saw the Benz speeding over.


    Left without a choice, I jumped into the reservoir.


    ...


    I could swim pretty decently but I still took in quite a lot of water.


    I swam on and on for about half an hour before reaching a shore.


    I sprawled down on the ground, almost paralyzed from exhaustion.


    People started crowding over to me.


    After a coughing fit, I stood up. They asked if I was alright but I walked far away from the crowd.


    I rushed to the nearest police station, handed my phone¡¯s memory card and managed to muster thest of my energy to say, ¡°The recording inside.¡±


    I promptly copsed on the floor.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    Things came to an end and the program was being put under investigation.


    Fatty was thrown into jail and in order to plead for a lighter sentence, he handed his notebook over to the police, allowing them to discover a Beijing moneyundering site.


    A monthter, I closed my shop permanently because there practically wasn¡¯t any business.


    The ceramic pieces looked great, but I wasn¡¯t really considered an artist.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± sses shouted.


    I snapped out of my reverie, looked down at my very own butcher knife and smiled.


    ¡°Coming!¡±

 Chapter 92: Immortal Cultivation I

    <h4>Chapter 92: Immortal Cultivation I</h4>


    This world is somewhat different from what you know.


    The East has immortals and the West has magic.


    Things that Science can¡¯t exin can be found here.


    There are powers involved, of course. They are a part of man¡¯s unconscious revtion.


    Science has been trying to analyze and understand these things for over a hundred years now.


    Humans bing immortal means they are bing stronger. Living for an eternity is still something that most can¡¯tprehend.


    The path to immortality is split into many stages: Base, Eye-Opening, Golden Pill, Elemental Fetus, Out-of-Body, Split Body, Joint Body, Awakening, The Great Vehicle, and Ordeal.


    It all sounds incredible but...


    When a baby grows up and attends kindergarten, his spiritual root starts to grow.


    The Base stage will be covered in grade one and two.


    Eye-Opening in three and four.


    Golden Pill in five and six.


    Elementary school graduates be Golden Pill practitioners.


    Elemental Fetus in middle school, junior year.


    Out-of-Body in the second year.


    Split Body in the third year.


    Nine years ofpulsory education thene to an end and even with Split Body, graduates aren¡¯t considered learned.


    Vocational secondary and high schoolers master Fake Joint Body and Real Joint Body respectively, but they are collectively known as Joint Bodies.


    Pre-university students and Undergraduates undergo fake and real Awakening respectively, but they are collectively known as the awakeners.


    Post-Graduates are The Great Vehicles.


    Doctors and those after are coined Ordealer and Post-ordealer.


    This is the furthest one can go academically. The pursuers are left to improve by themselves.


    It¡¯s the 21st century and cultivation is bing easier.


    Joint Bodies do not dare to speak.


    Awakeners are everywhere and The Great Vehicles gather together.


    And The Ordealers had the only reputation.


    ...


    ¡°You¡¯d better eat more. Do you know how many Split Bodies have failed to be Joint Bodies and how many Joint Bodies have failed to be Awakeners? It¡¯s all because they weren¡¯t given enough nutrients when young,¡± Mom chided.


    ¡°What about those who fast?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Where did you hear this nonsense? In the past, when everyone was poor, your father and I could only eat a piece of meat once a month. The experts have shared. Fasting cultivation is pseudoscience. Eat now, okay?¡± she answered impatiently.


    I tried hard to control the chopsticks before looking bitterly at her.


    She wasn¡¯t looking so I reached my hand out to grab them.


    Before I got hold of them, a pair of floating chopsticks pped my hand.


    ¡°How old are you already? Why are you still using your hands? Have I taught you nothing?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it. It¡¯s going to take so long,¡± I argued.


    ¡°Look at yourself, you useless boy. The boy next door, Wang Gangdan, is a year younger than you but he can already fold paper with mind control. He¡¯s already won so many awards. What about you? You can¡¯t even move a pair of chopsticks. What are you going to do when you grow older? How are you going to get married?¡± she questioned angrily.


    ¡°But I tried! It just won¡¯t work,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°There are 40 kids in your ss. You¡¯re at the second bottom spot, just above the mentally retarded kid. You know what? I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson and I¡¯ve already discussed this with your father. You¡¯re going for extra sses in a few days. You¡¯d better take this more seriously.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want tuition!¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want? Be d that I¡¯m not sending you to enrichment sses. Look at our neighbor¡¯s daughter. Always first in forming pills and winning prizes. Her father is so proud of her, but what about me? You can¡¯t even produce anything. You only know how to y!¡± she shouted before willing her chopsticks to stuff mouthfuls of food into my mouth.


    ¡°But Mom, can¡¯t humans not be immortals? That guy who appears on TV every day... Yun Huateng, didn¡¯t he say that he¡¯s of Golden Pill standard?¡± I stammered.


    ¡°He¡¯s different. Are you as capable? How old are you? Why are you already thinking about straying from the convention? Do you want to be a beggar, eating trash you find on the ground?¡± She frowned.


    A paper towel floated over and went over my mouth.


    Next came a wet towel that gave my face a good wipe.


    The newspaper in front of Dad folded itself and joined the rest of the stack. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to work. Stay at home and finish up your work. I¡¯ll check it when Ie back. School¡¯s starting soon. Don¡¯t get into any trouble, or you¡¯ll regret it when we get a call from the school.¡±


    Because I could respond, he started chanting a few sentences.


    A sword flew over and with a jump, Dadnded on it and flew out of the window.


    Mom waved her hand and the dishes started washing themselves in the kitchen.


    She shook her head and said, ¡°I won¡¯t repeat what your father has said. Just be good and finish your work. When you get tired, do eye exercises. Don¡¯t watch TV and don¡¯t bezy.¡±


    Mom whistled and the back door opened.


    A white crane appeared outside the house and spread its wings before making a bird call.


    Mom walked over and sat on it¡¯s back. After some adjusting, the crane flew up and far away.


    Frustrated, I went upstairs, opened my workbook and turned on the TV. An animated film was showing.


    ...


    I had no troubles with school, save for my bad results.


    There were powers where I needed many attempts toprehend while others required only one try.


    I knew that my cultivation progress was close to non-existent, so I started appreciating certain pieces of equipment that people with low abilities invented.


    These equipment were types of machinery, made from electricity and metal, which made lives more convenient.


    I kept this from my parents since they were working for the government in the world of immortals.


    They discriminate against those with weaker abilities ¨C the reason why they oftenpared me to other kids.


    I was afraid of this, and it might even be the cause of my stagnant learning curve.


    While my results were bad, it wasn¡¯t to a point where I had to retain.


    But uponpleting Split Body in middle school, practically no educational establishment was willing to ept me.


    Vocational secondary schools of Fake Joint Bodies standard weren¡¯t good enough for my parents.


    As my body was considered strong, they considered sending me to the army.


    After all, when a soldier returns, he is considered to be of a scattered immortal level.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t as high as, say, the golden immortal level, it was still better than Split and Fake Joint Body.


    I rejected their proposal, however.


    I showed them a book. ¡°I want to learn machinery.¡±


    Dad waved his hand and the book started flipping itself in front of him.


    He sighed. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Some people aren¡¯t able to fly long distances or overexert their powers. With these pieces of machinery to help, they would be able to do things that are difficult to achieve manually,¡± I exined.


    He shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re hopeless. You can¡¯t even learn by yourself and yet you want to learn such tricks? You¡¯re really letting yourself go, eh?¡±


    Dad snapped his fingers and a me rose in the air. It burned the book into ashes before disappearing like a breeze.


    Surprisingly, Mom stopped Dad, saying, ¡°Let him finish. He¡¯s really bad at cultivation, after all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, speak. Get ready to be crippled if you can¡¯t give me a good reason,¡± Dad demanded furiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked. There¡¯s a Fake Joint Body Institution called Azure Flight.

 Chapter 93: Immortal Cultivation Studies II

    <h4>Chapter 93: Immortal Cultivation Studies II</h4>


    ¡°Azure Flight? Fake Joint Body Institution? What in the world is that about?¡± he grumbled unhappily.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve heard of that. Do you remember the administrative chairperson who managed the Disabled People Federation?¡± Mom asked.


    ¡°That damned fatty?¡±


    ¡°He broke an arm when he was little but he was a real Ordealer. He¡¯s quite the big figure, you know that, but he was transferred to the federation. I heard he even made improvements to it and he¡¯s the one who invested in Azure Flight Institution. It started off as a Real Joint Body Institution, but after epting some under-qualified or disabled student, it was demoted to a Fake Joint Body Institution. If they do ept our son, it won¡¯t sound as bad. Plus, there¡¯s no harm in going to talk to them first,¡± Mom suggested.


    Dad nodded. ¡°But Fake Joint Body is still Fake Joint Body.¡±


    ¡°But at least you¡¯ve tried. Those Real Joint Body Institutions aren¡¯t willing to ept him, no matter how friendly your rtionships with them are. No Real Joint Body Institution will risk epting a student that might not graduate.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really not that bad. Why won¡¯t you let me try?¡± I pleaded.


    ¡°This fatty has a strange personality. I¡¯ve seen him at a meeting but we did not get to interact much. I¡¯ll try,¡± Dad said before calling for his sword.


    Again, he jumped on it before disappearing into the horizon momentster.


    ¡°Are you really interested in these?¡± Mom asked me.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been dabbling in it for a few years now,¡± I told her.


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been faring so poorly in school?¡± she deduced with a sigh.


    ¡°No, I just can¡¯t study,¡± I exined, without mentioning that the pressure they put on me was part of the reason.


    ¡°Alright. Go upstairs.¡±


    ...


    That night, Dad knocked on my door. ¡°Are you asleep?¡±


    ¡°No,e in,¡± I called out.


    He opened the door and walked in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not settled?¡±


    ¡°The principal¡¯s called Pang Dahai. Call him Uncle Dahai. I¡¯ll bring you to meet him tomorrow. Share all your strange ideas with him and I think he¡¯ll let you in,¡± Dad told me.


    ¡°But you burned my book, Dad. I might mess up if I do it verbally,¡± I replied nervously.


    Dad smiled before sticking a strip of jade onto his head.


    I perked up. ¡°Oh! You read it all before burning it so you remember?¡±


    He removed the jade strip and threw it at me before ruffling my hair. ¡°I¡¯ve told Uncle Dahai all about it but only briefly. He wasn¡¯t keen on meeting me before, but after sharing some relevant knowledge, he was impressed and epted my request. Of course, I talked about the things you wrote inside, so I believe you two will get along,¡± he encouraged.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not mad at me, Dad?¡± I asked sheepishly.


    ¡°Mad? What a joke. No one¡¯s taken the path that you¡¯re about to embark on! But if you don¡¯t do me proud, I¡¯m going to give you a good beating,¡± he said.


    Comforted, I nodded.


    After he left the room, I stuck the strip of jade onto my head and saw a beam of light along with the whole content of the book.


    The next morning, Dad knocked on my door again.


    He entered wordlessly and proceeded to drag me outside. I haven¡¯t even begun processing anything when I felt a towel pping onto my face. Clothes came flying toward me and in a second, I was all dressed.


    ¡°Are you going to eat breakfast?¡± Mom asked, smiling.


    ¡°Nah, we¡¯re going to see Pang Dahai,¡± Dad replied.


    ¡°Be respectful!¡± Mom reminded.


    Before I could agree, Dad dragged me out of the house.


    Two swords flew out from within the house. ¡°Are we going together or are you going to follow behind me?¡±


    ¡°I... I got a D for sword control. We¡¯re only allowed to fly with a C and above...¡± I stammered.


    The next thing I knew, Dad had already willed one of the swords to tilt to the side to give me a good whack on the butt.


    He was about to hit me a second time but he stopped. He sighed loudly and said, ¡°What in the world have you been learning these few years?¡±


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m just not made for these,¡± I answered frustratedly as I massaged my butt.


    Dad shook his head and released his control on the sword. The sword floated gently in the air.


    ¡°What else are you hiding from me. Spill it all,¡± Dad demanded before pulling me up and onto his sword.


    I shook my head. ¡°I can fly without controlling the sword.¡±


    He stopped and let me down. ¡°Show me. If you can do it, I¡¯ll never hit you again.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°What are you going to use?¡±


    I ran back into the house and came back out with a backpack.


    ¡°Can this backpack match my speed?¡± Dad asked.


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t go too fast. My speed is adjustable, but I¡¯m not ready to go fast yet since I only made this recently,¡± I answered nervously.


    Dad hopped onto his sword and made his way up.


    I pulled a rope hanging from the backpack. Two jet engines started spinning rapidly and hot air shot out, pushing me into the air. I controlled the direction of the air flow and caught up with Dad.


    Turning around and seeing me close behind, Dad moved his lips slightly and I heard his voice ringing in my head, ¡°What on earth is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a jetpack. It¡¯s not as fast as your sword but it can still go at ten meters per second and there¡¯s still room for improvement,¡± I shouted.


    Dad shook his head. His crisp voice sounded from within my ears, ¡°You can¡¯t even use voice travel? How bad are you, exactly? You don¡¯t have to raise your voice, I can hear you. What is this jetpack powered by?¡±


    I exined, ¡°Gasoline and a motor. These are cheap materials, easily avable in the market. They¡¯re even cheaper than a bottle of limitless water that is being used by those cultivating medicine. I got a D for voice travel, too. So far, what I¡¯ve learned to do is to read with the jade strip and some basic levitation techniques.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t your teacher call to inform us about your atrocious performance?¡± Dad asked, raging.


    ¡°I have a voice-changing device. I¡¯ll record my voice with the jade strip, tweak it, and send it to her. She didn¡¯t suspect anything at all and I¡¯ve been using it for years,¡± I replied with a bitter smile.


    ¡°You unfilial boy! I¡¯m going to beat you to death!¡± he shouted, slowing his sword down.


    I yelled back, ¡°You promised not to hit me if I could catch up!¡±


    Dad stopped a meter in front of me and sighed. ¡°Alright, alright. I think you¡¯re all grown up now, anyway. I shan¡¯t hit you anymore.¡±

 Chapter 94: Immortal Cultivation Studies III

    <h4>Chapter 94: Immortal Cultivation Studies III</h4>


    Dad and I flew for some time before arriving outside a private house.


    Dad shouted, ¡°I¡¯ve brought him with me, Pang Dahai.¡±


    The door opened slowly and Dad shoved me in. ¡°I¡¯ll wait at home.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re noting in with me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. Go home on your ownter.¡± He flew away without waiting for my agreement.


    I walked in and was greeted by all kinds of mechanical equipment.


    I saw a fatty sitting on the sofa as tools floated above his workstation. He seemed to be assembling something.


    He looked over at me and waved.


    I saw that his whole hand was silver in color.


    ¡°Mechanical arm?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°Heh heh. I developed it on my own to deal with daily work. You can make a custom order at 63 gold pieces an arm. 20% discount if you have a member¡¯s card from the federation.¡±


    I put my backpack down and pointed at his workstation. ¡°What are you working on right now?¡±


    ¡°A fatal weapon that can shoot metal-type ammunition. It¡¯s a kind of concealed weapon and I intend to name it MT Pistol. Any time before a battle, when your opponent has his guard down, you can use this to attack. He won¡¯t have any time to dodge your bullet,¡± Fatty told me with a proud smile.


    With a wave, my backpack flew right into his hand.


    He looked at it carefully. ¡°This is good stuff. I¡¯ll be able to reduce the size by half after some analysis.¡±


    He waved again and the assembled MT pistol flew into my hand.


    I grabbed it tightly and an ammunition clip floated in front of me.


    ¡°Put it in and undo the safety lock. There a small hook where you can rest your finger on. Aim it at the target and pull the trigger.¡±


    I followed his instructions.


    Bang!


    A hole appeared on the target right before my eyes.


    I ran forward and noticed that the metal te behind had an indentation.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too powerful? If it can shoot consecutively with such speed, no shield can defend it,¡± I cried out.


    ¡°You finally get the idea. I¡¯ve been thinking about it recently,¡± Fatty said.


    ¡°I¡¯m Li Goudan. My father, Li Jing, called me over and said that you¡¯re the principal of Azure Flight Institution?¡± I responded.


    ¡°Goudan? Good name, and yes, I¡¯m Pang Dahai, the principal of Azure Flight. Your dad is managing the navy well but I¡¯m still surprised that his son is such a genius,¡± he said, grinning.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m not even of Split Body standard when ites to cultivation.¡±


    ¡°So what? I wouldn¡¯t change your brain for anything, even over ten Ordealers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that great. I¡¯m interested in Science and while I know this is not mainstream and is even considered as demonic, I¡¯m doing it as a hobby...¡± I paused, not knowing how to continue.


    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m interested in you? I¡¯ve seen what you wrote in your book. You¡¯re much better than most students and even teachers at the school! Wanna know why?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Why?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Students and teachers at my school have bold and imaginative thoughts and unlimited passion toward Science. Yet, they have all sumbed to a misconception that the basis of Science is imagination. In reality, practice is the foundation of Science. With careful calctions, you have turned your imagination into actual simtions. While these numbers may not be urate, you¡¯ve already exceeded the capability of everyone at my school,¡± Fatty exined, sending a jade strip into my hand.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying...¡± I grabbed the jade and read it. It contained all the steps to create and use a pistol. The length of the gun body, the angle of firing, the method to operate, and the way to stabilize the trajectory. I felt overwhelmed.


    ¡°If you came without your backpack, I might¡¯ve just epted you as a student. Since you showed up with it, that¡¯s enough proof that you have every right to join my institution as a teacher,¡± he told meughingly.


    ¡°That jetpack?¡± I asked, smiling.


    ¡°I had thought that it was merely a concept. I did not expect you to have actualized it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve made everything in that book,¡± I stated.


    Upon hearing that, he shuddered. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Bring in all of them tomorrow. No, no, no. I¡¯ll go over with you now. Let me see your stuff!¡± he eximed excitedly before bolting up.


    ...


    News that Li Jing¡¯s son Li Goudan, with his Split Body qualification, had be the assistant principal in Azure Flight Institution spread across the whole immortal world the next day.


    Two groups of people emerged.


    Cultivators were convinced that Dad had used his connections to secure my future.


    There were also some who knew that Pang Dahai was a stubborn person and wouldn¡¯t be swayed like that, so the news got them interested in my abilities.


    as such, the news got them interested in my abilities.


    On that day, during the news conference, Pang Dahai only said that time will tell if his assistant was worthy of his position.


    When it was time for me to speak, I simply put on my jetpack and made a live demonstration.


    Afternding back on the ground, I said to the audience, ¡°No cultivation is needed at all. Azure Flight Institution epts custom orders. It won¡¯t cost more than 10 gold pieces.¡±


    The crowd surged and split into two groups once again.


    One side deemed my jetpack useless while the other believed that my invention was a step into the future.


    I bowed and left the stage.


    Because Science was still considered demonic, news that oilmps were being reced by light bulbs could already be seen in the newspapers.


    Times were changing and good things were hard to overlook.


    Since then, orders came in continuously. I was surprised. Of course, many felt that it was cheap so they purchased one just for the fun of it.


    Upon receiving the blueprint, students and teachers at school started mass producing the jetpack. Three gold pieces were needed to cover the material cost and two gold pieces to cover the assembling cost.


    The remaining five gold pieces came to me and I made a windfall out of my invention.


    ...


    I invented the fridge a yearter.


    Powers weren¡¯t needed to preserve fresh food. Five gold pieces a set. Custom orders epted within Azure Flight Institution.


    I invented an air-conditioner three years after that.


    No powers required to control the temperature in a room. Custom orders epted within Azure Flight Institution.


    Five yearster, our Science and Technology Institution was officially established and more inventions came along: The airne and three artificial satellites.


    With our own unique way of doing things, our institution became one of the best educational establishments.


    I invented the mobile phone seven yearster.


    With data transmission from the satellites, it was like a portable television with many different types of channels. People no longer needed to stay at home to get information. Mass produced, it was being sold for fifty gold pieces a set.


    Then came WiFi andputers...


    Azure Flight Science and Technology Institution became the best establishment within the whole world of immortals, with Pang Dahai and Li Goudan leading as the principal and vice principal.

 Chapter 95: Smoke and Business I

    <h4>Chapter 95: Smoke and Business I</h4>


    June 3rd, 2017.


    My name is Lu Qiao. I¡¯m a third-year student at Beijing University.


    I major in quite a reputable course ¨C Marketing.


    However, from how things were looking, I would probably remain unemployed after graduation.


    Not because of poor grades, of course. Beijing University is one of the best after all.


    My grades have always been good and I¡¯ve always been in the top three.


    It all began with my dad. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of sons cheating their fathers of money?


    What about the other way round?


    My father is Lu Ba.


    Since young, I¡¯ve been fed and clothed well thanks to him.


    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve never heard of the Roadcat Sports Car...


    It was established in 2006 and was a sports car brand in China. It mainly produced SUVs and sedans. As of June 2008, thepany¡¯s sold over 2,600,000 cards.


    Yes, our family was doing great then.


    ...


    But it did not prevent my father from turning into a gambling addict.


    Before 2008, my dad was an honest man who ran his car factory diligently.


    Within two years, his excellent work attitude pushed hispany into the top 15 car brands of China. Hispany showed no signs of slowing down. It was the ck horse in the business world.


    I still have no idea who was the son of a b*tch that brought him to Macau.


    From then on, things got out of hand.


    My dad became a regr customer, visiting Macau almost once a week.


    I didn¡¯t know what he yed in there, but he quarreled with Mom every day.


    When things got heated, he would hit Mom.


    After a year of abuse, she finally had enough.


    In 2009, my mom reported him to the media, causing a hit to his reputation. However, with money and power, he managed to tweak the story so that in the eyes of the public, Mom was an adulterer.


    Divorce was brought up and because I was still in elementary school, Dad bribed the judge and panelists to secure custody.


    No matter how much evidence and sincerity Mom had, all of the news outlets were reporting about her ¡®affair¡¯ so it was an obvious decision for the judge.


    Unable to bear public criticism, Mom jumped off a building that night.


    I wasn¡¯t involved in the custody case and I only heard about it from Grandma a long timeter.


    I hated my dad but I said nothing.


    2009 happened to be Roadcat¡¯s heyday, but those in the loop understood that the court case sealed its fate.


    That year, I was ced in every evening ss possible and only returned to Grandma¡¯s house on the weekends.


    Even though I was under Dad¡¯s care byw, I never saw him again after middle school.


    After my college entrance exam, Grandma said that she wanted me to get into Marketing.


    She wanted me to save Dad¡¯spany.


    She only knew that thepany was deteriorating but she did not know the reason why. I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her that thepany was in deficit thanks to Dad. With his name, he managed to borrow money to repay debts, pulling down a wall to build another.


    At its peak in 2009, Roadcat sold 220,500 cars. By the end of 2014, sales had dropped progressively to 21,400.


    Even with the deteriorating sales, Dad had no intention of stopping. He continued losing money, selling 17 factories and nine authorized stores in the process.


    In 2016, he was left with two shops and a factory.


    At the end of 2016, Roadcat subcontracted 90% of its production line to Ford and only 1971 cars were sold that year.


    Start of 2017, also three days ago...


    Dad called me.


    He stood outside the school gate, waving to me. He was missing three fingers.


    We sat at a coffee shop nearby, two cups of coffee on the table.


    ¡°What happened to your fingers?¡±


    With a bitter smile, he said, ¡°Spent 30,000st month to learn some tricks from a master. I was told that there wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I got caught and this was the punishment. I tried tracking down the master for my money, but he was nowhere to be found.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not trying to borrow money from me, are you? I have no money. I work to save money for school. I¡¯ll have to pay 5,000 for year four,¡± I dered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to talk about money. I feel that I¡¯ve let you down,¡± he told me.


    ¡°Then what do you want to talk about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done you wrong and I n to give whatever I have left to you. There¡¯s still a factory and two shops, and I¡¯ve given you the rights to them. The documents have been signed. These are all that I have for you...¡± he answered.


    ¡°Signed? You signed those on my behalf?¡± I asked, astonished.


    ¡°Just ept it. I have nothing else I can give you.¡±


    I nodded helplessly.


    ¡°And I can¡¯t visit your grandmother anymore. I n to get a job and spend the rest of my life in the city. There¡¯s no need for you to look for me. It will be better for us this way.¡±


    He stood up, ced a hundred dor bill on the table and walked away.


    I looked on as his figure disappeared into the crowd, thinking that he had turned over a new leaf.


    I was being naive, of course. That afternoon, I received countless calls from banks and creditors.


    I switched my phone off frustratedly.


    The next morning, I made my way to the factory.


    The employees were already at work when I entered.


    ¡°Are you Boss¡¯ son?¡± a bespectacled man asked as he approached me.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Lu Qiao,¡± I introduced myself.


    ¡°I¡¯m the ountant, you can call me sses. The employees haven¡¯t been paid for two months now. Did your father give 500,000 to you when he handed thepany over?¡±


    ¡°500,000? Wait, um, speaking about money, can you tell me what¡¯s going on with those calls from creditors?¡±


    ¡°You dad¡¯s been borrowing money with thepany¡¯s name. Now that you¡¯re the only legal person in charge of thepany, these debt collectors are going to be after you,¡± sses exined.


    ¡°No, no! I didn¡¯t sign anything or even give my thumbprint. I haven¡¯t even read the contracts so why have I be the only legal person?¡± I shouted in disbelief.


    Startled, sses covered my mouth as other workers dropped what they were doing and looked over.


    He whispered, ¡°Listen to me if you don¡¯t want these people to kill you.¡±


    I nodded and he released his hand.


    He smiled. ¡°Guys, this is Boss¡¯ son, also our new boss. You guys will be getting paid in due time. Continue to work hard and sales will improve. Thepany will treat you well. Keep it going, people!¡±


    Everyone smiled and went back to work.


    sses then pulled me to the office on the second floor.

 Chapter 96: Smoke and Business II

    <h4>Chapter 96: Smoke and Business II</h4>


    ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve already mentioned, they haven¡¯t been getting paid for two months now. They were waiting for the 500,000 your father promised and for you to save them.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the 500,000?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± he asked, eyes wide and disbelieving.


    ¡°What am I supposed to know? I only know that these calls are overheating my phone and that I know less about this hopeless factory than you guys.¡±


    ¡°You graduated from Beijing University, right? Marketing? Managed finances in a high-endpany, yearly sry of a million?¡± sses asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from there but I am still an undergraduate. The rest of what you said is not true. Did my dad tell you that?¡±


    sses shook his head. ¡°He took thest 500,000 from thepany. He said it was for you to bring thepany back up again.¡±


    ¡°What a joke. Why did you guys let him take it so easily?¡±


    ¡°He said you¡¯re earning a million a year and that the 500,000 is to be ced in suitable investments. Plus, he¡¯s our boss, so why would we doubt him? You¡¯re ourst hope now that you¡¯re here,¡± he stated.


    ¡°Hold on. Do you not understand? He took thest 500,000 and ran away, leaving me with his position.¡±


    ¡°This... can we get it back? That money is for our sry. What should we do?¡± sses asked worriedly.


    ¡°He¡¯s been gone for almost a day now, do you really think we can still find him? He told me not to look for him and he will do the same,¡± I ryed, looking out of the windows. The workers were striving hard.


    ¡°We¡¯re doomed then?¡± sses plopped down onto a white sofa at the side.


    ¡°How long have you been here for, sses?¡±


    ¡°Since 2007, the first year of operation. I¡¯ve been here for about 10 years now. Who would¡¯ve known that thepany will fall into such a state...¡± he sobbed spasmodically, wiping his face with his sleeve.


    ¡°Things aren¡¯t as bad as they seem. We can continue selling the cars, right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re a high-performing marketing student, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯ll know what to do, won¡¯t you? You¡¯re our savior!¡± sses stood up and looked at me hopefully.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to know how big the hole is...¡± I answered.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying we need more fundings, right? But your dad¡¯s taken thest bit away and we really have nothing to fork out anymore. There¡¯s no way...¡± he mumbled anxiously.


    I fished my phone out and waved it in front of him. ¡°Those calling me... what banks are they from and how much does thepany owe them? Give me the exact numbers.¡±


    ¡°I have a book. Hold on,¡± he said, rummaging through the cabs.


    He read aloud the contents of a small notebook, ¡°A total of 13,630,000, which is considered little, thanks to the stores and factories that were being put up as coteral. Amidst the total, 10,000,000 are loans from respective banks like Central Bank, China Construction Bank, Field Bank and Industrial, and Commercial Bank of China. 3,000,000 was borrowed from a loan shark. I manage this side really strictly but your father had managed to borrow it somehow from someone called Brother Luan, a mafia boss. If we don¡¯t return it as soon as possible, this factory is going down in a matter of days.¡±


    I turned my phone on, much to sses¡¯ surprise. He asked, ¡°Why would you do that? Are you not afraid of those calls?¡±


    I shook my head, frustrated. ¡°I need to settle them before I can think about making money.¡±


    I called each bank up ordingly.


    ¡°Hi, this is Central Bank.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the legal representative of Roadcat,¡± I greeted.


    ¡°Hold on while I transfer your call to my manager.¡±


    Minutes passed.


    ¡°Hi, sir. Under yourpany¡¯s name, a loan of an estimated four million is due. Our final warning letter¡¯s been sent out more than ten times and we¡¯ve already taken legal action...¡±


    ¡°I understand and I am ready to negotiate. Can you suspend the case for now?¡± I requested.


    ¡°A huge sum of money is involved and yourpany is in decline. We cannot possibly take such a big risk. Please understand our position.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like this. We have an umted debt of over 13,000,000, from four banks in total. I¡¯ve managed to convince the other three banks. Please suspend the case or there¡¯s no way I can make a single cent appear. You banks won¡¯t get much from me by turning it into a court case, but I can guarantee that if you suspend it, I will return the minimum sum to your bank every month.¡±


    sses grabbed my arm, possibly to chide me, but I made a ¡®shush¡¯ gesture to him. He fell silent but his grip on my arm remained tight, he had no intention of letting go.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that if we suspend the case, you¡¯ll repay the minimum sum? That would be 60,000 a month. I¡¯ll help you make an appeal if you can guarantee that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work. I¡¯ll make sure that the money gets to you on the first of each month.¡± I hang up.


    sses exploded. He let go of my arm and shouted, ¡°No, you¡¯re lying to them! How are we supposed to gather 60,000 a month? And the otherpanies... they never agreed to suspend the case!¡±


    I called up the second bank, China Construction Bank.


    Before the line connected, I said, ¡°Am I not calling them up now? Shut it if you want thepany to live.¡±


    As if understanding something, he took out a pen and paper to jot down the sum to be returned each month.


    ...


    After conversing with all four banks, sses raised his list. ¡°We¡¯ll need 150,000 by the next month to save thepany.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a lot simpler now? And the loan shark, Brother Luan. Do you have his number?¡±


    sses fiddled with his phone for a few seconds before handing it over to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Brother Luan, I¡¯m Lu Ba¡¯s son, Lu Qiao. I¡¯m here to repay Roadcat¡¯s debt so can you please ask your men to stop calling me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to pay 3,400,000?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have it now but I can return it on the first of the next month. How about that?¡±


    ¡°Have you gone silly? Or are you nning to sell away yourst factory and two stores?¡±


    ¡°I can manage it without selling anything. I just hope you can give me until the next month.¡±


    ¡°You said you¡¯re Lu Ba¡¯s son? Are you that remarkable?¡±


    ¡°I have no other choice. I can¡¯t produce anything if you rush me like that,¡± I responded.


    ¡°3,500,000 next month, then. Miss a 100,000 and you¡¯ll be missing a finger. I¡¯ll have your right arm if you can¡¯t keep your end of the bargain. I¡¯ll keep my promise and I won¡¯t call you until then.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Oh right, my dad¡¯s fingers... you chopped them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°d you know. I¡¯ll see you in your factory in a month¡¯s time.¡± He hung up.


    sses echoed fearfully, ¡°3,650,000 in 20 days?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± I said with a bitter smile.

 Chapter 97: Smoke and Business III

    <h4>Chapter 97: Smoke and Business III</h4>


    ¡°Simple? Are you kidding?¡± sses eximed, looking like he was at his wits¡¯ end.


    I picked up a shlight from the side and opened the office door.


    I knocked it against the railing of the second floor. ¡°Please stop what you¡¯re doing, everybody.¡±


    The workers looked up at me.


    I shouted, ¡°Thepany is experiencing a cash flow problem, but please believe that I¡¯ll make it up to you, double, topensate for putting your sry on hold for two months. Continue to work hard and look forward to the first of the next month!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking the truth, Boss?¡± an employee shouted.


    ¡°I mean what I say. You may get back to work,¡± I finished before turning around.


    sses looked furious. ¡°What a thoughtless promise! How will you do that?¡±


    I smiled as I overlooked the workshop. ¡°How many cars can we make in a day? And how many do we have in stock?¡±


    ¡°This factory is slightly small, so about 15 a day. There are over 200 cars in storage. It¡¯s hard to even sell a few cars in a day,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Construction cost of a car?¡± I asked.


    ¡°8,000 for material, and we set the selling price at 30,000 to 50,000. Ourpetitors are minicars from Alto, Suzuki, and others. We also have no fundings to engage in research and development.¡±


    ¡°Are the two stores still selling cars?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course! How can we stop? Nine to five every day without fail. We¡¯re even enforcing overtime,¡± sses answered.


    ¡°Give the sales managers a call and have them close the shop. Get them over here. I need to talk to them.¡±


    ¡°Close? No way!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already stated that we¡¯ll need 3,650,000 in 20 days so why are you still wasting my time? Hurry up!¡± I instructed.


    At a loss, sses nodded and gave his sales managers a call.


    Half an hourter, two managers and eightdies appeared before me.


    ¡°These are all that we have?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Two are resting today,¡± a manager spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you another half an hour to get them all here,¡± I said firmly.


    Half an hour passed and two sloppily-dressed women entered the workshop.


    I smiled. ¡°We¡¯re only selling one model right now, is that right?¡±


    ¡°Roadcat third series,¡± a manager replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure youdies have heard that the department store is like a battlefield?¡± I asked.


    All tendies nodded.


    ¡°Sales is like the gunsmoke during a battle. I¡¯m about to give you the best weapon. I can promise you it¡¯s the best, but the rest is up to you,¡± I started.


    The team looked at me eagerly.


    ¡°From today onward, Roadcat third series will be sold at 250,000 each,¡± I announced.


    Everyone looked at me weirdly and both managers gave a contemptuous smile.


    sses added urgently, ¡°Sales is tough even at 30,000. How is 250,000 even possible?¡±


    ¡°Let me finish. Get out if you¡¯re going to keep interrupting me,¡± I ordered.


    Everyone was convinced that I was crazy, but I knew better. This was merely the beginning.


    sses covered his mouth.


    I smiled before continuing, ¡°The weapon I¡¯m giving youdies, is rebate. 250,000 for a Roadcat third series. Tell the customers that from the first month of their purchase, they can get a 500 rebate and subsequently as well. That¡¯s 6,000 a year and 30,000 at the end of five years. After that, we will return the remaining 220,000 to them. Give them a call every month if they don¡¯t believe you. Convince them that we¡¯re not going to run away.¡±


    Silence.


    sses fished out a calctor and tapped on it furiously.


    I put my left hand on his calctor. ¡°There¡¯s no need to calcte. They¡¯ll pay 250,000 for a car and get 250,000 back after 5 years, so they¡¯re essentially getting it for free. This is our weapon.¡±


    No one dared to speak.


    I looked at each and every one of them. ¡°How many customers can you secure with this fatal weapon? You¡¯ll get amission of 1,000 per car so that¡¯s 10,000 for ten cars. From now on, you won¡¯t be getting any basic sry. Those who are not willing to stay may leave. I¡¯ll give you some time to decide.¡±


    Thedies started whispering among themselves.


    No one moved a step and their whispers became louder.


    ¡°Alright, get to work. Time is money. I¡¯m sure no one here wants to waste even a second, right?¡± I asked.


    The employees started getting up. One of the twodies who joined uster said to me, ¡°Can we start work now, Boss? We don¡¯t need to rest.¡±


    I waved my hand with a smile. ¡°Sure, but get dressed first. Both managers, stay. The rest may leave.¡±


    Only sses and the two managers were left.


    ¡°Managers, get the price of Roadcat third series changed. Tell them that all repairs done within the first five years will be free of charge, but the warranty will end after five years. Got it?¡±


    They nodded. One of them asked, ¡°Are we allowed to sell, too? To get themission?¡±


    ¡°Sure you can. Only the twelve of you are allowed to do sales. We¡¯re no longer recruiting, alright?¡±


    They nodded again.


    ¡°Alright, get back to work.¡±


    They dashed out immediately.


    sses looked at me, confused. ¡°Boss? Is this not a losing business?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re calling me Boss now?¡± I smiled. ¡°Use your brains and see if we¡¯re really losing from it.¡±


    ¡°A car for 250,000. Get 250,000 back after five years. Either way, we¡¯re losing 250,000 for nothing? And free repairs? A loss on top of a loss?¡± sses rationalized.


    ¡°250,000? Are you really thinking? Have you forgotten about the construction cost?¡±


    After some thought, he broke into a smile. ¡°250,000 but we lose 8,000?¡±


    ¡°I really wonder how younded this position. To be exact, we¡¯re borrowing 250,000 at a low-interest rate of 8,000, and 250,000 is from just one customer. We¡¯ll take 50,000 out to pay for the cost of construction and workers¡¯ sries, and the remaining 200,000 to invest in R & D. Even if we just ce all of it in safe investments, how much can we earn in five years?¡±


    sses typed away at his calctor. ¡°360,000 or so. Repaying them 30,000 a year for five years... that¡¯s about 6,000 per customer. If we get better investment rates, our money stream would be endless.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re exaggerating. We probably won¡¯t get 6,000, but it should be close. At the very least, we can settle our problem once and for all.¡±


    sses nodded. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re from Beijing University.¡±


    Before sses could add anything, his phone rang. After the exchange, he grinned. ¡°They¡¯ve sold three! So fast... so fast.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°This is only the beginning. You must make sure that they¡¯re the only ones selling. Any more salesperson and we might not be able to afford it. What you should worry about now is construction and not the sales.¡±


    ...


    Over 200 cars were sold at the end of two weeks.


    Demand started to exceed supply and I had my managers ensure that there were at least 50 ready to sell cars avable.


    And we already had 50,000,000 cash flow. Of course, these weren¡¯t ours.


    We would have to return them, but meanwhile, we had to use it to make us more money.


    sses was ecstatic. He wanted to repay the banks immediately, but I insisted on only paying the minimum. Taking it all out now would only make it difficult for us to fill the gapter on.


    The factory would stop for a day on the first of each month.


    Every employee, as promised, was given their sry andpensation fee.


    I waited in the empty factory for Brother Luan while sses hid behind me.


    At 9:30 in the morning, three minivans arrived.


    About ten people barged into the factory office with clubs and machetes.


    A bald man wearing a gold chain as thick as a finger, appeared and shouted, ¡°Where¡¯s my 3,500,000?¡±


    I handed a bank card over to him. ¡°It was difficult, but we managed. There is 3,700,000 inside. Please take care of us in the future. Thank you, Brother Luan.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a fool to you?¡± He looked at the bank card and had hisckey bring out a POS system.


    He swiped the card. ¡°Pin?¡±


    ¡°Six eights, don¡¯t worry,¡± I said confidently.


    Shortly after, Brother Luan slid the card into his pocket, smiling. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re much better than your father.¡±


    ¡°Thepany¡¯s in a tight spot now, but things will get better. How about you get your men back off first? I won¡¯t be able to make and sell the cars if my machines get damaged,¡± I suggested.


    With a wave, Brother Luan replied, ¡°Alright, but shouldn¡¯t we talk about protection fees?¡±


    He had hisckeys leave the workshop and I heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Now that the debt¡¯s cleared, how about 100,000 a month?¡± I proposed.


    ¡°At least 200,000. Aren¡¯t you going to take it out for this month?¡± he smiled.


    ¡°This... alright, just don¡¯t chop my hand off. Come back next month.¡± I acted sullenly.


    ¡°You¡¯re tactful, eh? I¡¯ll see you next month then.¡±


    He stood up and left the office.


    sses said nervously, ¡°I was afraid of this. Now we¡¯ve be their money tree. Are we still able to pay them? There isn¡¯t a problem?¡±


    Iughed, pping my phone on the table. ¡°Does he have a rtive within the police force?¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± sses responded.


    ¡°Bring the recording to the police station and tell the employees not to show up on the first of next month. We¡¯ll get the police to nab the whole gang.¡± I grinned.


    I held onto my phone, which kept over 50 online ounts with 50,000,000 within them to collect interest.


    This sum would only continue to grow from sales. Only the interest belonged to us, but it, too, would also continue to grow.

 Chapter 98: Mountain, Sea VII: Xiaoqian

    <h4>Chapter 98: Mountain, Sea VII: Xiaoqian</h4>


    Having been through the so-called cmity that Pu Lao talked about, I was ready to leave. However, the wind fox told me that I could only leave after I finished the etiquette ss.


    Days went byfortably and I had good food daily.


    I even had half an hour to call back home in the afternoon.


    A few dayster, I was informed that Senior had recovered and was ready to leave the hospital.


    With no other choice, I could only contact Zhao Bayi to give him a ride back to the temple.


    I also told Master that I was kidnapped by a weird monster and forced to be aborer. Master was initially skeptical, but Zhao Bayi reported that he wouldn¡¯t have made it if not for me.


    Master then started crying loudly, attempting to get some more money off Zhao Bayi again. After that, he instructed me to return to the temple if I get the opportunity because there was still demon-ridding businesses waiting for me.


    I couldn¡¯t really exin what was going on so I could only give him a perfunctory answer. There was no way for me to leave at all.


    On my second week, I tried slipping away from the zoo. However, just when I was about one step away from outside, I felt my hands raise up and p myself on the head. It wasn¡¯t within my control.


    I walked on the street as my hands hit my face, creating bruises.


    I had no way of stopping and controlling my hands. The curse would only be removed when I re-enter the zoo.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if Pu Lao could sense my absence from the zoo, but the moment I stepped out, my muscles would tense and I would lose control of my arms.


    That night, I experimented for a whole hour.


    Even if I tied my hands together or attached sponges to them to reduce the impact, they would try all ways to hurt me the moment I stepped out. Finally, I had no choice but to give up.


    The next morning, the wind fox simply smiled knowingly at me and said nothing.


    Baize looked and me and shook his head. I retrieved a mirror and realized that I wasn¡¯t even recognizable anymore.


    Thankfully, my face recovered after a day. It seemed that my recovering ability had already surpassed that of average humans.


    It was pointless, though, since I couldn¡¯t really leave.


    I could only abide by their orders and hope that they would let me go if I perform well.


    Disregarding theck of freedom, life in the zoo was much better than in the temple.


    The only thing I was dissatisfied with was the fact that I had to get up at four in the morning.


    Baize would make me run two rounds in the morning before I could get my breakfast.


    A round was about 10 kilometers, so I was basically running half a marathon every day. In the beginning, I could only finish it at six, but gradually, my speed and endurance improved.


    That doesn¡¯t mean that I wasn¡¯t irritated by the routine, though.


    After breakfast, Baize would make me memorize Chinese literature that was foreign and iprehensible. I never enjoyed reading so it was a torture for me. If I was unable to read a word or understand its meaning, Baize would snap a ruler onto my head. It hurt terribly.


    The hit itself wasn¡¯t painful, but the aftermath felt like a magnitude 10 earthquake. It was mentally crumbling. When I asked about the ruler, he only smiled and said that its name was Waking the Dragon.


    After an afternoon feast, I would get half an hour of rest time.


    I could do whatever I wanted during that period and I usually used it to make calls.


    At one in the afternoon, the wind fox woulde into my room and get me down to the gym to practice mixed martial arts and wrestling.


    I asked her why I wasn¡¯t taught moves from the ancient times, like tiger w, snake palm, and white crane wings, but she just gave me a withering look.


    I had some foundation when it came to Daoist boxing, but the wind fox showed me no mercy.


    Although my body was stronger, inertia, power, and momentum would still cause some bones to break when I get thrown onto the ground.


    It hurt like crazy at first, but the pain would subside a few minutes after she fix my bones.


    I was allowed to use any moves during battle so there was quite some intimacy involved.


    But to teach me a lesson, I would get flung even further and harder. Naturally.


    I tried using the same soundwave that I¡¯d used previously to deal with her. It seemed to work, just not as optimal as before.


    During the month, Pu Lao only visited once. He left immediately after seeing me being mmed to the floor.


    I was convinced that the wind fox did it on purpose. I got beaten up but I never really learned any techniques. However, I have to admit that I got better at taking her punches.


    After dinner, I had all the time to myself. There were practically no limitations.


    Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t dare to leave the zoo and would just simply stroll around within its boundaries.


    I could also buy things in the zoo without paying a single cent.


    Three months passed just like that and the most unhappy person wasn¡¯t me but Master.


    He even suspected that I was lying to him and that I had just decided not to return home. Yet, when I told him about my plight, not once did he visit me.


    Baize started to teach me the art of healing as well. It was as if he wanted to cram all the knowledge into my brain.


    It was midnight and I found myself unable to sleep. I got up and decided to roam the corridors.


    Baize¡¯s room was a floor below me. I started wondering about the etiquette ss and when it was going to start.


    After all, I could only leave upon attending that ss.


    I knocked on Baize¡¯s door but there was no answer. After waiting for a little while, I took out a card.


    I swiped it from the wind fox and had kept it in my pocket since, thinking that it could be of use someday.


    I surveyed my surroundings and started picking the lock. After a few minutes, the lock opened up and I pushed the door gently.


    It was empty inside.


    I found the light switch and flipped it on. The room was even iner than mine.


    There was a medicine box on his bed.


    I closed the door gingerly and walked toward the box.


    I started considering if I should open it since they might be treasures within, things like dragon beard needles or a version of that cursed ruler. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the box.


    It was pitch ck inside. I reached my hand into it.


    Suddenly, I felt a force pulling me inside. Before I could even put a thought into resisting, I¡¯ve already disappeared into the darkness.


    Some timeter, I woke up in pain.


    My hands were hitting my head non-stop as I was no longer in the zoo.


    I felt my arms going numb from the self-abuse. I figured that my face probably was in the same condition.


    I observed my surroundings.


    The scenery was beautiful, like a mountain.


    I haven¡¯t been here before, but it seemed somewhat familiar as if I¡¯d seen it on television before.


    I saw a stone tablet not far away and ran toward it.


    Seeing the words on it made me draw a cold breath.


    ck Mountain.


    Below it was a row of smaller words: Buddhist temple ahead.


    I was stunned. Baize really had something going on with Ning Caichen.


    And like he had mentioned, perhaps he really did share the Chinese Ghost Story with Pu Songling.


    A cool breeze brushed past and a gentle voice rang in my ears. ¡°Are you lost, mister?¡±


    I turned around and saw a beauty dressed in white.


    She looked stunning, much more so than the wind fox.


    ¡°Mister? Why are you hitting yourself?¡± she asked, grinning.


    ¡°I¡¯m just passing by and this... is just an old habit,¡± I answered helplessly.


    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a foreign face over here in thousands of years. My name¡¯s Xiaoai, how do I address you?¡±


    I shuddered. ording to the Chinese Ghost Story, this spirit was the subordinate of the old grandmother. She was in charge of sucking souls. Though the story also mentioned that the old grandmother was already dead, I still raised my guard up.


    ¡°You can call me Goudan. Can you please direct me to the Buddhist temple?¡± I requested.


    She pointed ahead and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you there since I¡¯m bored.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Men and women shouldn¡¯t get too close. I¡¯ll go there myself, don¡¯t worry,¡± I dismissed, afraid of getting my soul sucked by a ghost.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cold, Brother Goudan. Aren¡¯t your hands being controlled by someone? I can help you,¡± she offered.


    I stopped in my tracks and turned around. ¡°You can?¡±


    She waved her arm fancifully and a beam of light shot into my arms, causing them to stop immediately.


    She waved her arm a few more times and another beam entered my face.


    I felt a cool breeze in that instant.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re actually quite handsome,¡± Xiaoai eximed, surprised.


    I took out my mobile and saw my reflection on the screen.


    The wounds were healed. She took her phone out, saying, ¡°Why are you using that lousy phone? This is an iPhone, I¡¯ll turn on the front cam for you.¡±


    I was dumbstruck. Why was this woman shing the newest iPhone on my face? It was then that I realized that the way she was speaking wasn¡¯t like how people from ancient times spoke.


    ¡°Why do you have an iPhone?¡± I quizzed.


    Sheughed. ¡°Because I bought it? What, you can¡¯t afford it?¡±


    I muttered nervously after a short pause, ¡°You... you¡¯re not a soul-sucking spirit, are you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Xiaoai asked, puzzled.


    I pointed ahead. ¡°That¡¯s the Buddhist temple, you said?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to follow me. I¡¯ll go by myself,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me why you¡¯re going there yet. It¡¯s all empty now and the people are all in the vige down the mountain. Other than my house, there¡¯s nothing else at the peak.¡±


    ¡°Your house is at the peak? What kind of person is your grandmother?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Grandmother? Wait, have you been watching too much dramas? There had been one, but she was killed a long time ago. Wait, you asked if I was a soul-sucking spirit... you think I¡¯m a ghost?¡± Sheughed, looking at me like I¡¯m the silliest person she¡¯d met.


    I stood rooted to the ground. ¡°What about Xiaoqian? Ning Caichen?¡±


    ¡°Why are you looking for my parents? And my dad no longer goes by that name,¡± she stated, confused.


    ¡°You¡¯re Xiaoqian and Baize¡¯s daughter?¡±


    ¡°You got it right this time.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s this, then? How do I get out?¡± I asked, frustrated.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. I¡¯ll bring you out.¡±


    Suddenly, she grabbed my arm.


    The next thing I knew, I was back in the room.


    Baize was eating his supper.


    The three of us exchanged nces. The atmosphere quickly turned awkward.


    ¡°The door¡¯s locked. How did you get in?¡± Baize asked.


    ¡°Erm...¡± I scratched my head.


    ¡°You recognize him, don¡¯t you, Dad?¡± Xiaoai smiled.


    ¡°Exin yourself. How did you get in?¡± Baize repeated to me.


    ¡°I, uh...¡± I stammered.


    Xiaoai broke into a smile. ¡°You¡¯re eating behind Mom¡¯s back again!¡±


    Baize smiled bitterly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t approve of supper and won¡¯t stop nagging at me to lose weight. I¡¯ll go in after finishing this. Go on, go back.¡±


    Xiaoai groaned. ¡°Go back soon or she¡¯s going to get angry.¡±


    She then jumped back into the medicine box, leaving Baize and me in the room.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I started. ¡°Your wife¡¯s asking you to lose some weight, yet you make me run every day while you just look on?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He red at me and repeated, ¡°How did you get in?¡±


    Since Xiaoai was no longer there, I said righteously, ¡°She brought me out to y, why?¡±


    ¡°How do you know her?¡± he asked, putting his supper down and reaching out for his ruler.


    ¡°I met her on the road,¡± I lied.


    He sighed. ¡°Just go.¡±


    ¡°Wait. I want to know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± He pped the ruler down on the table and turned back to his food.


    ¡°You told me that the story was real. You¡¯re Ning Caichen and there¡¯s also Xiaoqian. But why is this ck Mountain in your medicine box?¡±


    He exined faintly, ¡°The story is true. I destroyed the grandmother but they¡¯re from different worlds. She¡¯s a tree demon and Xiaoqian died under her tree. She turned into a ghost and she was unable to leave that tree. I had no choice but to turn the vines and roots into this medicine box, keeping everything including the Buddhist temple and the vige within. I turned the box into a whole miniature world.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a vige inside the box? What about the vigers?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been captured to apany Xiaoqian. They¡¯re stuck in the past and they¡¯re unable to leave as well. Xiaoai is our child and she isn¡¯t restricted like Xiaoqian. Only the two of us cane out of the box,¡± he continued.


    I finally understood.


    ¡°Stay away from my daughter. I¡¯ve yet to discipline you. Don¡¯t lead her astray, you hear me?¡± he warned before dismissively waving me away.


    I nodded and turned around to leave, my head was filled with details of the story.


    If I was being honest, though, I was more fascinated by the fact that Xiaoai had helped me to counter Pu Lao¡¯s spell.

 Chapter 99: Mountain, Sea VIII: Kylin

    <h4>Chapter 99: Mountain, Sea VIII: Kylin</h4>


    The moment I exited his room, I rushed out of the zoo.


    I put my left foot out of the entrance, and when my hands remained still, my right foot followed.


    I was now standing by the main road.


    Xiaoai had lifted my curse.


    I wondered if it was time to return to the temple.


    Three months had already passed and I¡¯ve never been away from home for such a long time.


    While the temple offered nothing inparison to this ce, my heart was yearning for the money-grubbing Master and kind Senior.


    As I thought about it, I walked further and further.


    Yet, shortly after, I turned around. I knew that nothing good woulde out of going back.


    Pu Lao might make a trip to the temple if he found me missing the next morning.


    He might even destroy the temple out of anger.


    I returned to my room and lied down on the bed, vexed.


    The next morning, I felt someone pushing me. I opened my eyes and was greeted by a sheet of white.


    Xiaoai.


    Baize was standing beside her.


    ¡°Ah!¡± I hurriedly put on some clothes.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to run, Brother Goudan. My dad will run with you this time and I¡¯ll supervise. Mom¡¯s orders,¡± she said, smiling.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    Baize kept quiet and Xiaoai continued, ¡°I reported Dad to Mom yesterday, so I¡¯ll be making sure that you twoplete your run this morning!¡±


    ...


    Baize looked very young and schrly but his physical body was even weaker than the average human.


    He was running in front of me.


    Xiaoai was cycling not far away.


    Revenge is sweet.


    I followed slowly behind and gloated as he gasped for breath. I guessed that three months of training wasn¡¯t useless after all.


    We started at four and only finished the run at eight.


    Uponpletion, Baize sprawled haphazardly down beside the road, panting loudly.


    I calmly stood at his side, as if I hadn¡¯t just been through a half marathon.


    Xiaoai stopped over and grinned. ¡°You did well, Dad!¡±


    Baize waved her away. ¡°Go back home and do your self-study. I¡¯ll go over in a bit. Don¡¯t bezy.¡±


    I was smiling and whistling all the way back to my room.


    I waited for a long time, but Baize didn¡¯te back. Instead, it was Xiaoai who entered my room.


    ¡°Hey. Where¡¯s your father?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He was called away by the wind fox. He had mee over to check on you,¡± she responded.


    ¡°He¡¯s not worried about you supervising me alone?¡±


    ¡°He is, that¡¯s why he gave me this.¡± She pulled out the Waking the Dragon. ¡°He said to hit you on your head whenever you misbehave.¡±


    I silently cursed. I tried, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about where he¡¯s headed to?¡±


    ¡°Where else could it be? Some animals must just have fallen sick,¡± she said.


    A loud ring sounded from above.


    There was only Pu Lao¡¯s room on the floor above me.


    I stuck my head out of the window to see themotion above and Xiaoai followed behind.


    All the windows on that floor were broken.


    I looked at Xiaoai, who also had her head out, and asked, ¡°Is this normal?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go sneak a peak.¡±


    I retrieved my bagua mirror and looked around for a long rod.


    Xiaoai asked, ¡°Do you want to know what¡¯s happening upstairs?¡±


    I nodded.


    She stepped closer to me, grabbed my arm, and promptly lifted us up into the air.


    ¡°What the f*ck! You can fly?¡± I eximed, astonished.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal,¡± she murmured as she casually maneuvered us into a corner mid-air.


    She waved her arm and I noticed that we¡¯ve been covered by a white fog.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked softly.


    She whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t talk. This is ayer of shelter. I¡¯m afraid of being seen by those below. We¡¯ll be in trouble if that happens.¡±


    In our position, we could clearly see what was happening on the upper floor.


    The wind fox and Baize were standing behind Pu Lao while an enormous animal with a lion¡¯s head, deer¡¯s horns, tiger¡¯s eyes, moose¡¯s body, dragon¡¯s scales, and a cow¡¯s tail prowled on the ground.


    mes entered and exited his mouth as he breathed.


    ¡°Xiaoai, what kind of creature is that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it looks like it¡¯s not Pu Lao¡¯s match,¡± she answered faintly.


    I muttered, ¡°I can¡¯t hear them.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go closer.¡± We inched closer toward the building.


    ...


    ¡°He¡¯s my boss and he¡¯s your rtive. Please, have Baize go over to treat him. Why aren¡¯t you helping?¡± the lion roared.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that we can¡¯t cure this illness,¡± Pu Lao responded.


    ¡°How would you know if you won¡¯t even take a look?¡± the lion roared again.


    Pu Lao waved his hand off-handedly. ¡°Tell him, Baize. Stubborn fool.¡±


    Baize exined calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help, Brother Kylin, but this illness is something I¡¯ve seen thousands of years ago. It¡¯s a mental disorder that rpses every year. There¡¯s really nothing I can do. If you really want to help him, go back and just be with him.¡±


    So, this is a kylin.


    Who¡¯s this boss and brother of his then? Who¡¯s the incurable beast?


    ¡°It¡¯s different this time. He¡¯s severely injured. Didn¡¯t you tell me that you have a love-forgetting potion? State a price and save his life,¡± the kylin roared.


    ¡°Brother Kylin, this potion works on everyone but not on such a severe case. Plus, I don¡¯t have it anymore,¡± Baize said.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying to me! What do you mean you don¡¯t have it anymore?¡± he bellowed. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I can beat you three up? I¡¯m going to do whatever it takes to bring at least one of you over with me!¡±


    Baize cated, ¡°Alright, alright. I don¡¯t have the potion anymore, that¡¯s the truth, but I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    The kylin immediately started to shrink in size and eventually transformed into a middle-aged man.


    ¡°You¡¯reing with me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°But I¡¯ll bring someone along and I will need Pu Lao¡¯s approval.¡±


    Baize whispered something to Pu Lao and thetter nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go call him now,¡± Baize informed him.


    The kylin yelled, ¡°Hurry!¡±


    ...


    From our perch mid-air, I patted Xiaoai¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. I think he¡¯s bringing me.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Xiaoai asked doubtfully but she brought me back to the room nheless.


    I quickly picked up a book and pretended to study, my brain swimming with questions. What kind of animal is the kylin? Why did it appear here and who is he seeking help for?


    The door opened slowly and Baize instructed somewhat sorrily, ¡°Pack your stuff. We¡¯re going out.¡±


    I asked suspiciously, ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Northen part.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to bring anything?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I came here with nothing,¡± I answered frustratedly.


    Baize nodded. ¡°Bring him up, Xiaoai. I¡¯ll get the medicine box. We¡¯ll leave soon, look after him.¡±


    Xiaoai nodded before pulling me up.


    The door opened and I entered the room.


    Kylin spoke up,¡±Who is this?¡±


    ¡°Goudan. Old Tao¡¯s disciple,¡± Pu Lao replied.


    ¡°We¡¯re bringing him?¡± Kylin asked, puzzled.


    Pu Lao nodded.


    Kylin walked over to me and Xiaoai retreated a few steps.


    ¡°Are you his nephew? You smell like a dragon. Whose kid are you?¡±


    Before I could think of what to tell him, Pu Lao called me over.


    When I got to him, he whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll need you to follow Baize carefully and listen to his instructions. This trip points to disaster, so prepare yourself.¡±


    ¡°Pre...prepare myself...¡± I mumbled helplessly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you broke my spell, but at least I can save some time undoing it now. But when you get there, no more tricks, okay? Listen to what Baize tells you or you might not be able to return,¡± Pu Lao warned.


    ¡°Why are we going there?¡±


    ¡°The less you know the better.¡±


    Baize came in with the medicine box.


    ¡°Go.¡± Pu Lao waved me away.


    Kylin went down on all fours and transformed into an enormous lion once again.


    Baize situated himself on his back. ¡°Xiaoai, bring him into the box and I¡¯ll tell you when we reach our destination.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s all these? Where are we going?¡± I repeated.


    Baize shook his head. ¡°I told you, we¡¯re going to the north.¡±


    ¡°Why so far? And how?¡± I questioned.


    Kylin roared, ¡°I move fast. Stop wasting my boss¡¯ time, he¡¯s waiting to be treated.¡±


    Without another word, Baize opened his medicine box and Xiaoai pulled me in.


    It was all darkness before Inded.


    We appeared at ck Mountain once again.


    ...


    ¡°Sit tight!¡± Kylin yelled.


    Baize stuck his body close to Kylin¡¯s body.


    In a few steps, Kylin leaped out of the building andnded on the rooves of private houses.


    Kylin was already out of the city even before a hundred steps.


    He moved so fast, it was like there weren¡¯t any obstructions in his path.


    ...


    Inside the medicine box, ck Mountain.


    We could feel the slight shaking of the ground.


    She shut her eyes and started, ¡°My dad¡¯s on his back and we¡¯re out of the zoo. With this speed, we can really reach north in half a day.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We wait. I can bring you to my mother. You came for my parents yesterday, didn¡¯t you?¡± she asked, dragging me up the mountain.


    To my surprise, on the mountain peak stood a three-story vi.


    Xiaoai opened the door and it was empty inside.


    She called out for her mother but there was no answer. Xiaoai said to me, ¡°She might¡¯ve gone down to get groceries.¡±


    ¡°Groceries?¡± I echoed.


    ¡°Yes, those below are rich. They¡¯re also supplying us with water and electricity,¡± she replied.


    I was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s electricity here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why? Do you think we¡¯re living in ancient times? Ha! It¡¯s more like the 80s over here. It¡¯s not as underdeveloped as you think.¡±


    ¡°So those people discovered electricity?¡±


    ¡°My father taught them in secret and it will be my turn soon. Previously, he had taught them step by step, but I¡¯ve nowe up with a better idea, inspired by the hospital that we have here. We simply supplied them with some hospital and medicine-rted novels and some people mastered the contents in less than half a month,¡± Xiaoai rted.


    ¡°So you think that if you throw some books about gliders, they will start flying?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she said exasperatedly. ¡°They have no idea that they¡¯re living inside a medicine box. Only Dad and I can fly, which is why we¡¯re the only ones who can leave.¡±


    The door suddenly opened and a woman entered. ¡°Who¡¯s home?¡±


    Xiaoai smiled and called out, ¡°I¡¯m back, Mom. I¡¯m with a friend of Dad. He¡¯s here for lunch.¡±


    Thedy smiled kindly. ¡°You should¡¯ve told me. I have no makeup on.¡±


    I looked at her and involuntarily shuddered.


    She was a middle-aged woman, no different from the aunties you¡¯d see bargaining in the wet market.


    ¡°This... is your mom? Xiaoqian?¡± I stammered.


    Xiaoai pped my head with Waking the Dragon. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude. Call her aunty.¡±


    I covered my head with a bitter smile. ¡°Hi, Aunty, nice to meet you.¡±


    Xiaoqian smiled. With a small wave of her hand, she instantly looked younger. She was almost resembled Xiaoai, except that she exuded a more mature charm. She no longer was that tired looking aunty.


    ¡°Baize¡¯s friend? Make yourself at home while I prepare the food. It¡¯ll be quick,¡± she said.


    ¡°That aunty is your mom? How?¡± I turned to Xiaoai.


    She shook her head and gave me another ruler p on my head. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Won¡¯t she gather suspicions if she doesn¡¯t disguise herself in the market?¡±


    I sighed before plopping down onto the sofa.


    A short momentter, a scrumptious lunch wasid out on the table.


    Xiaoqian asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your father? Is he not nning toe back again?¡±


    Xiaoai replied, ¡°No, he¡¯s out to treat illnesses, which is why he had Brother Goudane over to save on a ticket.¡±


    She gave me a kick under the table. I hastily added, ¡°Yeah, yeah. Emergency trip. It¡¯s a little far.¡±


    Xiaoqian nodded, satisfied with our exnation. ¡°It¡¯s good to be thrifty. Quick, let¡¯s eat. Xiaogou, right? Come, eat more.¡±

 Chapter 100: Mountain, Sea IX: Pixiu

    <h4>Chapter 100: Mountain, Sea IX: Pixiu</h4>


    Her food, seasoned with only salt and no chicken essence or MSG, had a distinctive taste.


    I ate my heart out, which ttered Xiaoqian.


    ¡°How old are you, Xiaogou?¡±


    ¡°23.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re young but that¡¯s good. What do your parents do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an orphan,¡± I answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, no need to run about during Chinese New Year. You cane here in the future.¡±


    ¡°Are you misunderstanding something, Aunty?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Baize¡¯s colleague, are you not?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m his disciple. Kind of,¡± I corrected.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I doubt he¡¯ll agree if it¡¯s a colleague.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait. I think you¡¯re really misunderstanding something. Help me exin, Xiaoai...¡± I turned to her and held back a yelp of surprise.


    Her face was beet-red, her eyes blinking non-stop.


    I turned back to Xiaoqian, starting to understand her questions.


    I got up and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m full, Aunty. I¡¯ll take a walk outside.¡±


    Xiaoai stood up as well and said, ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll go with you!¡±


    We walked down the mountain slowly and I thought about making a trip to the Buddhist temple.


    I had seen it on the television and I was curious about how it looked in real life.


    I walked toward it as Xiaoai shouted from behind, ¡°Wait for me, will you, Brother Xiaogou!¡±


    When we arrived at the temple, I saw that it was empty inside and there was nothing on the stage.


    I asked Xiaoai, ¡°Why isn¡¯t there anything? No offerings and statues?¡±


    ¡°It got stolen a long time ago. A gilt Buddha, I heard.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°What about the vige?¡±


    ¡°Do you wanna walk there? Or do you want me to fly you there?¡± she offered with a cheeky smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fly!¡± I said eagerly.


    She rose up and grabbed my arm, leading us further down the mountain.


    ¡°Is this... is this easy to learn?¡± I asked, smiling as I looked down at the view we were passing by.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s slightly easier than riding a bicycle.¡±


    ¡°Can you teach me?¡±


    ¡°There are prerequisites, Brother Xiaogou. It¡¯s better if you get my father to teach you. There¡¯s really not many that can fly. Uncle Pu Lao, Sister Wind Fox, and Brother Kylin are all unable to fly,¡± she exined.


    I sighed dejectedly in response. I could only watch her enviously as she concealed us with ayer of fog.


    As we floated above the vige, I realized the reason she was looking at me strangely.


    Because the vigers weren¡¯t in contact with the outside world, inbreeding wasmon. The vigers looked different, which was why Aunty had to disguise herself when visiting.


    Houses were made of y and mud, nothing like those in the 80s.


    There was a big building not far away, but even that was made from bricks.


    The walls were mud-colored except for the middle, where red bricks formed an eye-grabbing cross.


    ¡°That¡¯s the hospital you were talking about?¡± I asked Xiaoai.


    ¡°Yes, it was builtst year.¡±


    ¡°What about the electricity? I haven¡¯t seen any cables and poles.¡±


    ¡°Actually, only our house has electricity,¡± she said, pointing at an empty field.


    I drew in a cold breath.


    On a massive stage stood a few hundreds of electricity generating pedals, half upied by vigers who were pedaling diligently.


    The generators were connected to an umtor, which sent electricity straight to the mountain peak via a thick cable.


    I pointed at the crowd. ¡°This is the 80s technology you were talking about?¡±


    ¡°It is an 80s invention, isn¡¯t it?¡± she said self-righteously.


    ¡°Wait, so these people are supplying your family with electricity for free?¡±


    ¡°When did I say that? Their hard work is valuable,¡± she retorted.


    ¡°How do you pay them?¡± I asked cynically.


    ¡°This is a medicine box so there isn¡¯t any rain. Whenever they generate enough electricity and the umtor¡¯s light goes off, I¡¯ll give them rain. The harder they work, the more rain they receive.¡±


    ¡°And whose idea is that?¡± My voice sounded bitter.


    ¡°My father built those and they¡¯ve been functioning well for decades now. The vigers work in shifts to maintain the electrical power. The whole vige will pedal if they want rain,¡± she exined.


    ¡°You said that only your family gets electricity. Why do you need a whole vige to supply electricity for just one family?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    ¡°My dad rears fishes and after some modifications, the water in ck Mountain became recyble but oxygen-less. 80% of the generated electricity goes to supplying oxygen underwater, which is why there must always be vigers pedaling at all points in time.


    I looked down at the vigers, slogging away and gasping for air. How frightening it would be if I were in their shoes,pletely kept in the dark.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Dad¡¯s asking us to get ready to leave,¡± Xiaoai informed me.


    I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling her pull me back up into the sky.


    I opened my eyes and found myself in a factory that produced safe deposit boxes.


    Kylin transformed into a human and Baize asked, ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Upstairs,¡± Kylin answered as he led us to the third floor.


    We stopped before a metal door that was about thrice as thick as the others.


    ¡°Inside,¡± Kylin said.


    Baize pointed at me. ¡°He¡¯sing in with me. You¡¯ll wait outside with my daughter. Onlye in if I give five knocks, three loud and two soft.¡±


    Kylin nodded in agreement.


    I asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s inside? Why¡¯s there a need for a code?¡±


    ¡°Pixiu, a crazy beast that eats humans.¡±


    Thinking that I might¡¯ve heard him wrong, I started, ¡°Excuse me? Pixiu?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This factory¡¯s opened by him,¡± Baize replied.


    ¡°Wait. Pixiu and Kylin are brothers?¡±


    ¡°Pixiu is my boss,¡± Kylin said.


    ¡°Nine sons of the dragon phoenix... why is Kylin theckey of the ninth son, Pixiu?¡± I asked.


    Kylin inquired, ¡°He doesn¡¯t know these stuff?¡±


    Baize shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s only been at this for three months. I haven¡¯t taught him well, my bad.¡±


    ¡°No problem. We don¡¯t have time for this, it¡¯s more urgent inside,¡± Kylin said, undoing the locks on the door one by one.


    I took a closer look and saw that there were more than 10 locks.


    Baize spoke softly to me, ¡°There¡¯s a little misunderstanding here. The dragon is the real dragon. Years ago, when building superstitions, rebels called themselves the sons of Kylin. The five mythological creatures are actually the azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, ck tortoise, and the yellow dragon. They make up metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Kylin was actually an auspicious animal, the pet of the mythological creatures. Don¡¯t say anything though, Kylin can still tear you to shreds.


    ¡°Did you really think we were afraid of him? I just had to bring you along to replenish the soul because I saw you two outside the window earlier.¡±


    ¡°Replenish the soul?¡± I was confused.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we¡¯re in there. Give him the ruler, Xiaoai,¡± Baize told his daughter before turning back to me. ¡°I¡¯ll draw Pixiu¡¯s attention while you knock his head out with the ruler to buy me some time.¡±


    When all the locks were undone, Kylin opened a small doorway.


    Baize ced the medicine box on the ground before pulling me into the room.


    Darkness.


    ¡°Kylin isn¡¯t harmful at all, but Pixiu is a different story,¡± Baize warned me.


    With a wave of his right hand, the whole room was lit up with bright white specks.


    The doorway closed.


    Pixiu immediately pounced on Baize, knocking him down to the ground.


    The white specks gave me a good view of what was happening.


    I pped the ruler on Pixiu¡¯s head, effectively stunning it.


    Another p and he stood paralyzed.


    I hit him on the head repeatedly as Baize crawled out from underneath his body. ¡°Don¡¯t ever stop. I¡¯ll use the soul-splitting chopsticks now.¡±


    I continued pping Pixiu on the head as he stared at me sluggishly.


    Baize fished out over ten chopsticks from his pocket and pierced them into different parts of Pixiu¡¯s body.


    When there were only two chopsticks left, Pixiu snapped out of his daze and mmed his w onto my left arm, sending me flying backward. I hit the wall behind me with a loud bang.


    With a quick wave, the ruler flew into Baize¡¯s hand.


    After dodging two ws, Baize managed tond a smack on Pixiu¡¯s head.


    ¡°Are you still alive? Get up and continue! We still have two left for his skull and bum,¡± Baize shouted.


    I forced myself to get up, taking note of the three blood streaks on my left arm. The wounds were healing fast but blood was still pouring out. ¡°Wait, I feel dizzy. Where do I poke them? Bum, you said?¡±


    ¡°Skull first then bum. Quick, I can¡¯t hold on much longer. I¡¯m a vet, I don¡¯t do battle,¡± he yelled.


    I picked the chopsticks up from the ground and moved closer to Pixiu. I held onto one and kept the other in my pocket.


    Using both hands, I stuck the chopstick I was holding onto his head. It didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it going in?¡±


    ¡°Use more force!¡± Baize demanded.


    I held my breath and got ready to try again, right at the same time that Pixiu regained consciousness.


    A w came sweeping toward me and I dodged away. It was useless, though, since another three blood streaks appeared on my chest.


    My vision started to go blurry from the blood loss.


    Pu Lao¡¯s voice rang in my ears: You¡¯ve learned nothing in these three months...


    Suddenly, out of my control, my right hand raised the chopstick high up and drilled it into the center of Pixiu¡¯s head.


    I then felt myself doing a flip over him to get to his bottom. After stabbing thest chopstick in, Pixiu copsed onto the ground with me panting on top of him.


    I couldn¡¯t control my body anymore and I was falling unconscious.


    Baize said, ¡°There were only two Pixius at the start. The male¡¯s called Pi and the female, Xiu. They were a loving couple, never once separating from each other. Once, in a chaotic battle, Pi pushed Xiu away to receive a fatal blow on her behalf. Unable to let go, Xiu had Pi attach his soul to her body.¡±


    Baize plucked the silver chopstick out from Pixiu¡¯s head before continuing, ¡°That time, the real dragon was still around and felt sorry for Xiu. He gave Kylin to Xiu as a little brother since Kylin resembled Pi.¡±


    When he was done exining, he stuck the silver chopstick into my head.


    Whatever pain I felt dissipated and a series of images appeared in my mind.


    ¡°No one noticed that Pi¡¯s soul was in Xiu¡¯s body, but it became apparent that Xiu¡¯s personality had turned strange. She calls herself Pixiu, starting the misconception that Pixiu is a single creature. At first, she was suffering from a split personality, but by the time we found out about this, their personalities had already blended together. Everything is fine normally, except for a rpse that happens once or twice a year.¡±


    As he spoke along with the images that were shing in my mind, I started to feel deranged.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if I was dreaming or living in reality. I couldn¡¯t tell if the images I saw were part of my real experiences.


    ¡°We¡¯ve tried a few times, some effective and some not, to extract Pi¡¯s soul from her body. However, a dragon¡¯s son has more than just three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. We also discovered that a part of Xiu¡¯s soul waspletely fused with Pi¡¯s. When I saw you, I thought about giving that piece of soul to you since you arecking in that aspect. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡±


    He removed the chopstick on my head before removing the rest from Xiu¡¯s body.


    Iy paralyzed on the ground as Pixiu gradually transformed into an unconscious woman.


    Baize removed his coat and ced it over Pixiu¡¯s body before leaving the room.


    After three loud and two soft knocks, Baize exited without me.


    The white specks disappeared along with him and I was left motionless on the floor.


    It was pitch-ck all around and I couldn¡¯t do anything since I wasn¡¯t stillpletely conscious.


    A long timeter, I heard a female voice.


    Because it was too quiet, I could even hear the brushing of sleeves.


    I felt her hands grabbing my head and pulling it into her embrace.


    A warm sensation took over my body.


    ¡°Is that really you, Pi?¡±

 Chapter 101: Seven Friends: Fourth Brother

    <h4>Chapter 101: Seven Friends: Fourth Brother</h4>


    I¡¯ll try not to make this story hard toprehend, but life is not something that can be exined with just words.


    I remember a saying that goes: It takes three years to learn something good, but just three days to learn something bad.


    But how can a thoroughly evil person be good?


    My answer? Seven friends.


    They walked in front of me, falling into the depths of the unfathomable abyss on my behalf in order to put me back on the right path and to make me cherish everything that I have.


    If not for these seven friends, I might¡¯ve turned out to be aplete bad egg.


    ...


    How did I meet Fourth Brother, you ask?


    It might¡¯ve been fate. I did badly in junior high and was relocated to a worse-faring school, Heng San.


    My junior high was considered a reputable school so the experimental middle schools shouldn¡¯t be that bad, right?


    Who knew that I would be the second worst student in the whole cohort?


    During the first prelims in Heng San, I handed in an empty paper for English and came in third within the whole school.


    I remembered trying to sneak a peek at another student¡¯s work that day.


    When I saw how a female student only used X to solve her linear equation, I gave up on copying her work. It wasn¡¯t doable.


    Miraculously, the top three students were all from my ss.


    The first was our ss president, a girl, and the second was amittee member of the cultural ss. He was a rough fellow.


    And in third ce was me, amittee member in charge of hygiene.


    Dorm distribution day.


    Thanks to the halo effect, I became very considerate toward other students. I made sure everyone got a room so when it came to my turn, there was no spot left.


    That was just the beginning of everything and also the start of my friendship with Fourth Brother.


    Coincidentally, there were three Year 1 students who were also roomless. As such, the four of us formed a group and were given a room.


    This room was on the first floor, beside the security¡¯s form, and was slightly different from other students¡¯.


    It looked more like an unused security room and all four of us weren¡¯t satisfied with it.


    However, there was nothing we could do since the school had no more space to amodate us.


    We made our ages clear the moment we met.


    Boss was born in ¡¯92 so there was no question.


    Second Brother was born in April ¡¯93.


    Born in ¡¯94, I became Third Brother.


    Lastly, even before we could ask, thest student spoke up, ¡°No need. I¡¯m the youngest.¡±


    It was only at ater time that we realized Fourth Brother was actually older than us. Older than me, at least.


    No one questioned him during that time and we agreed that each of us would take turns being on duty for a month, starting from the youngest.


    That meant that Fourth Brother would have to go first, but he only epted it with a smile.


    As I¡¯ve already mentioned, our dorm was like a security room so it was half the size of a normal student dorm.


    The students¡¯ rooms had four beds in four corners whereas the guard room could only amodate two bunk beds.


    Boss and Second Brother shared a bed while Fourth Brother and I shared the other.


    Boss immediately imed the bottom bunk and pointed upward. He said to Second Brother, ¡°I don¡¯t like high ces.¡±


    Without a choice, Second Brother made his way up without anyints.


    I looked at Fourth Brother. It was our first time to exchange eye contact.


    He was a quiet person and wore a thick, ck-framed sses that made him look mature.


    He had amon face that could disappear in a crowd.


    He wasn¡¯t from my ss and I couldn¡¯t really remember his name, except that there was a Yunhuan somewhere in it.


    I had no recollection of his full name. Yunhuan might¡¯ve been his surname for all I knew.


    Later on, I simply called him Fourth brother while he addressed me as Third Brother.


    He extended his hand out, leaving me in shock.


    We continued exchanging a long look before I finally reached my hand out for a shake.


    He smiled again, saying, ¡°Comrade, please take care of us in the future. You should choose. Which do you prefer? The top or bottom bunk?¡±


    I zoned out a little. Comrade? It felt like I was back in time before the reform started.


    I smiled. ¡°Call me Third Brother. Comrade sounds weird.¡±


    Fourth Brother returned the smile. ¡°My parents taught me that. They said it¡¯s good for socializing andworking.¡±


    I did not notice much when he talked about his family until I realized how significant it was.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on top. You can have the bottom, it¡¯s more convenient. Plus, I don¡¯t have as much stuff as you. Are you okay with that?¡± I asked.


    Fourth Brother nodded and plopped down to the lower bunk immediately.


    I was fine with it since I knew that the lower bunks belonged to all people.


    If there were guests, they were going to be sitting on the lower bunks, and it would be silly to think that their clothes would be clean.


    I repackaged my reason, of course, since I was from the city and it was true that I had little luggage with me.


    Nevertheless, my home was still about 30 kilometers away so I had no choice but to stay in school.


    Fourth Brother was from the neighboring city, Longwan District. Not much of a peaceful region to live in.


    ...


    It would be easy for four strangers to face conflicts when living together.


    Additionally, it was a lousy school.


    It wasmon for students from various schools to get into fights, but it was different in our school.


    If there weren¡¯t fights to be fought outside, we start beating our own people up.


    There were nine sses in school and almost all of them shared a frictional rtionship.


    You must be wondering why the principal and teachers aren¡¯t managing this matter.


    Truth be told, the only thing they cared about was a promotion.


    They had no obligations toward students¡¯ affairs as long as no lives were lost. When fights urred, each side would give their own statements and they would be let off with a demerit. If caught again, they would be expelled. Standard procedures.


    It was alsomon for a student to barge into someone¡¯s dorm to drag him out, so there were usually steel pipes or wooden clubs under the bunk beds.


    There weren¡¯t knives but it was a different story outside.


    During the first week of school, some students were already expelled from excessive fighting.


    Being just beside the security house made it easy for us to seek help whenever necessary.


    Also, as dormmates from four different sses, we got to collect information about almost half the school.


    We would remind each other about themotions or conflicts that surfaced between sses.


    We quickly became a team.


    Our boss, from the second ss, was the kind of person to add fuel to a fire.


    He hid steel pipes under our beds to ensure that we had something to fight with if someone came knocking on our door.


    Second Brother was a bookworm, often busy with his wuxia novels.


    There was a vendor at the school entrance that allowed you to borrow books with a 10 dor deposit.


    Second Brother would give over a hundred in order to borrow a whole series.


    He would rmend me books whenever I felt bored.


    I was usually the neutral party and avoided butting into others¡¯ affairs as much as possible.


    I believed that the word ¡®foreign¡¯ was a major cause of fights.


    Even within a city, when those from the East came over to the West, they were regarded as ¡®foreign¡¯.


    Territorial fights were inevitable then.


    And I was the kind of person that would go all out when triggered.


    Fourth Brother was the type that paid no attention to the things going on around him. He had his phone in his hands all day.


    I¡¯m sure most of you haven¡¯t seen the first generation iPhone.


    That golden apple advertisement was everywhere at that time.


    I had thought that Fourth Brother was using a fake one, and I only got to know iPhone4 when I reached university.


    I had no mobile in high school junior year and only managed to buy a Nokia after working for some time during my third year.


    I remembered Nokia being kicked out by Android just two months after I got mine.


    But I digress.


    Fourth Brother dropped out of school in his second year, a year before I got my mobile device.


    The reason for his departure was admirable and also the reason why I called him one of my seven friends.


    We stayed together and were usually free from any crises, save for the times where Boss enjoyed stirring up trouble.


    One day, in the second semester of Year 2, as the four of us were having lunch at the canteen, we saw three average looking girls, sitting opposite us, getting bullied by Longhair. Longhair was a guy with fringe that covered his eyes and he was from another ss.


    A hairstyle like his was trendy at that time.


    We took it in but paid little attention.


    Yet, Second Brother spoke up, ¡°Wanna be a hero, Boss?¡±


    Boss held hisughter in. ¡°We can¡¯t provoke him, he knows people and has knives under his bed.¡±


    I asked Fourth Brother, ¡°Is Longhair from your ss?¡±


    He looked up for a moment and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize my ssmates.¡±


    We then continued our lunch without too much thought.


    Shortly after, we heard a crisp p and a female¡¯s shriek.


    Longhair had pped the girl and pulled her ne out.


    No one dared to do anything about it but I saw Fourth Brother standing up, walking over with his lunch tray, and smashing it onto Longhair¡¯s head.


    Longhair deserved it. He defended himself with an arm and soup spilled all over his body.


    He started cursing violently. After a few seconds, he calmed down and asked Fourth Brother, ¡°What are you doing? Do you know who I am?¡±


    Boss shook his head. ¡°Fourth Brother¡¯s dead. This guy¡¯s quite a big shot in school.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Fourth Brother responded.


    Longhair stood up, only to realize that he was half a head shorter than Fourth Brother.


    He removed his stained shirt and threw it to the ground as if getting ready for a fight.


    I ran over and stood behind Fourth Brother.


    I don¡¯t know what I was thinking back then, but I felt offended on Fourth Brother¡¯s behalf.


    Boss and Second Brother did not join in, however.


    Longhair added, ¡°I¡¯ll remember this. You¡¯d better not sleep tonight. All four dorms on the second story will be knocking on your door so beware.¡±


    ¡°Apologize first,¡± Fourth Brother continued.


    Ignoring him, Longhair picked his clothes up and left the canteen.


    Fourth Brother had nned to make chase but I stopped him.


    And the girl was taken away by her two friends as well.


    We returned to our seats and Boss shook his head again. ¡°He¡¯s reallying for us tonight.¡±


    ¡°Which floor is he on?¡± Fourth Brother asked.


    ¡°The corner most room on the second story. Are you going to beg for forgiveness? 300 might do the trick but you might have to give it all the way till you graduate,¡± Boss replied.


    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make the first move,¡± he answered.


    That day, after school, Fourth Brother retrieved two metal rods from underneath his bed.


    He gave one to me. ¡°You were behind me earlier. Are youing?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can handle it,¡± he assured, smiling.


    I didn¡¯t know what came over me then but my hand reached out for the rod automatically.


    When most students were back in their dorms, Fourth Brother and I went up to the second floor with our metal rods.


    We walked along the corridor, all the way to the end, and no one stopped us.


    Fourth Brother entered and I followed behind.


    He raised his rod and crowded Longhair, who was leaning against the wall next to the door.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    First hit.


    ¡°Say sorry.¡±


    Another hit.


    I locked the door behind me.


    Longhair cried out, unable to return the hit. His three roommates were watching the scene with wide eyes, dumbstruck.


    As they got ready to retaliate, Fourth Brother shouted, ¡°We¡¯re only after him. Join in and get beaten, too.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure if it was his affirmative voice or Longhair¡¯s pathetic cry that paralyzed them.


    No one moved but Longhair¡¯s ssmates came over.


    They shouted something about talking things over nicely, but Fourth Brother warned them off with a terse, ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    Fourth Brother was the head of this mission so I didn¡¯t dare to move a finger without his permission.


    He kept repeating the words ¡®apologize¡¯ as he hit Longhair.


    I don¡¯t remember how many times he did it but the people outside started threatening to call the cops.


    The next moment, Fourth Brother did something unimaginable.


    He opened the door calmly.


    Longhair¡¯s ssmates rushed in with rods and clubs but no one dared to make a move.


    Fourth Brother¡¯s eyes were red and what he said next shocked everyone.


    He fished his phone out and said to Longhair, ¡°You have people, don¡¯t you? My Uncle has a valve factory in Longwan District. Do you wanna have a showdown?¡±


    He dialed some numbers and said something along the lines of having trouble in school and needing some backup.


    Upon hearing that, I drew in a cold breath.


    Fourth Brother then threw his iPhone onto Longhair¡¯s bed. ¡°Do you have a contact? Go ahead and call them.¡±


    Longhair seemed to have called his own brother.


    Fourth Brother then told everyone who just entered, ¡°It¡¯s been settled. Leave.¡±


    Perhaps the crowd decided that they shouldn¡¯t get involved in something that did not concern them, so Longhair¡¯s ssmates left quietly.


    Even his roommates evacuated the room.


    Fourth Brother closed the door and had me stand by it.


    He put his phone back in his pocket before going back to teaching Longhair a lesson.


    I wondered if Longhair was really that persistent or if he had just been knocked silly.


    Fourth Brother threw a few more hits before lying down on a bed to rest.


    Longhair simplyy on the ground motionless.


    An hourter, ten minivans arrived.


    About sixty to seventy employees came over with Fourth Brother¡¯s uncle.


    It was only then that the teachers and security became aware of the situation.


    The employees basically flooded the whole corridor and when the dorm door was opened, Fourth Brother was practically like a hero.


    Another half an hour passed before Longhair¡¯s family finally arrived.


    However, his parents merely stood by the door, unable to say anything.


    Fourth Brother¡¯s uncle smoked a pipe as he took a name card out of his pocket. He handed it over to Longhair¡¯s parents. ¡°This is my territory. Come to this address if you wanna fight. Bring however many people you want. We¡¯re not afraid. How do you n to settle this dispute today? My nephew knows more so talk to him if you want to.¡±


    Fourth Brother had me return to our dorm and told me not to involve myself further since a demerit point might be issued.


    I listened to him and I am not sure what happened next.


    It seemed that my departure was the reason why Fourth Brother had to take all the me.


    And because he hit Longhair on the same spot over and over again, Longhair¡¯s leg was broken and he had to drop out of school, along with Fourth Brother.


    Ultimately, the girl still received no apology


    Because of Fourth Brother, I learned how to stand up for people.


    But also because I was more introverted, I spent the next year buried in my books.


    I graduated and got epted into Wenchuan University.


    Since that incident, however, I never saw Fourth Brother again.

 Chapter 102: Panda on Strike I

    <h4>Chapter 102: Panda on Strike I</h4>


    Chengdu Zoo.


    A young panda was happily eating bamboo shoots.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Fatty?¡± a few people asked from a few distances away.


    ¡°Yeah, the strongest of the batch. Shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for Australia so don¡¯t overlook it. I don¡¯t really know your rules, but remember to talk to the zookeeper more.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Officer Xia. Leave it to me and there won¡¯t be any problems. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve done this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll submit the application tomorrow and have it transported to Australia in three days.¡±


    Next day, in the Zoo¡¯s office.


    ¡°Is that fat panda ready, Xiaowen?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡±


    ¡°The rabies and pestilence reinforcement jabs aren¡¯t done yet.¡±


    ¡°What? Shouldn¡¯t that have been done in Spring?¡±


    ¡°Originally, yes, but the needle Doctor Zhang brought that day was damaged by the panda and he did not bring any extras. We had to postpone the jab for the strongest panda, which happens to be Fatty. However, Doctor Zhang was sent to Beijing to treat the pandas there and we just forgot about it until three weekster when the pandas were given the reinforcement jab.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you report this earlier?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be a serious problem. No one predicted that Australia would request a rental so early this time.¡±


    ¡°Because those pandas over there are of age, if we wait any longer, they won¡¯t be able to return by air. How can you make such a rudimentary mistake?¡±


    ¡°Not having the reinforcements jabs isn¡¯t actually a big deal. No one would really check back on the files.¡±


    ¡°Get out and change the records.¡±


    ¡°Changing records isn¡¯t a problem, but to add apletely non-existent record is impossible since there won¡¯t be any barcode.¡±


    ¡°You, you... you¡¯ll be the death of me. We¡¯ll talk about thister. Let me give Officer Xia a call first.¡±


    The man picked his phone up and dialed some numbers.


    ¡°Officer Xia, is it possible to switch the pandas? I was told that Fatty¡¯s personality isn¡¯t suitable. A little feisty.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already handed the name list so there¡¯s nothing we can do. It should be fine since the panda¡¯s going to be locked up anyway. The foreigners won¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. That¡¯s all then, Officer Xia.¡±


    He hung up with his brows furrowed.


    ¡°How is it, Leader?¡±


    ¡°Where are the pandas who arepletely vinated and ready to be rented out?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a Chalk that will be sent to Hangzhou Zoo.¡±


    ¡°Alright, switch them. We can¡¯t add a record, but we can change the names, right? It¡¯s fine if the panda without vine goes to Hangzhou. We can easily pay Doctor Zhang to settle it sometimeter.¡±


    ¡°No, Leader, we can¡¯t do this.¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me that you can¡¯t even do that? Are you going to take responsibility when the panda goes over to Australia and infects somebody or gets sick? Or are you under the impression that I¡¯ll be able to handle it?¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°But what? Do you have a better idea?¡±


    ¡°Chalk is a male panda, arranged to be brought up in Hangzhou and then elsewhere to reproduce, while Fatty is a female panda. Forgetting the jabs is as serious as mixing up the sexes.¡±


    ¡°Hangzhou Zoo, you said?¡± the man asked nervously.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He scrolled through his phone and made another call.


    ¡°ssmate Chen.¡±


    ¡°Who is this?¡±


    ¡°Old Wang! Don¡¯t you remember me?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yes, I do. What is it? Something¡¯s up, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re as wise as ever, old friend. This matter¡¯s neither big nor small. Are you still working at Hangzhou Zoo?¡±


    ¡°Why? Something wrong with the pandas?¡±


    ¡°Wise indeed! We got the panda¡¯s sex wrong. Do you remember Chalk? The one we¡¯re about to bring over?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±


    ¡°I wish! I¡¯ll need you to help with this.¡±


    ¡°Are there no other pandas to rece it?¡±


    ¡°You should know that there aren¡¯t many who were born in the same month. It¡¯s extremely difficult to rece him with one that¡¯s more than half a year apart and I can¡¯t fake this matter away. Can you see if it¡¯s possible to report it to the higher-ups and settle it within our own department?¡±


    ¡°What are you proposing?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll send Chalk over, and when it¡¯s time to breed, you¡¯ll just say that it¡¯s a fail. We¡¯ll wait a few more years and see if we can switch another panda over. How about that?¡±


    ¡°Surely you know that my position isrgely dependent on the sess of the breeding? How are you going topensate that?¡±


    ¡°Pandas have difficulty bearing children, to begin with, so I¡¯m sure your future shouldn¡¯t be held up by these few pandas. How about I give you some publicity during the election, and pay for the expenses of bringing up that panda?¡±


    ¡°I can keep quiet about this, but you will have to take responsibility if anything goes wrong, alright?¡±


    ¡°For sure. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t give you any trouble.¡±


    He hung up and sighed a breath of relief.


    ¡°All settled?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you even dare to ask. It¡¯s all settled. Switch them.¡±


    ¡°But what about the sexes?¡±


    ¡°Bring the one in Australia back and send Chalk over. Who¡¯s going to care about its sex when it¡¯s all alone. We¡¯re gonna switch them back in a few years¡¯ time anyway. I¡¯ve already smoothed everything out in Hangzhou¡¯s side.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Leader.¡±


    ¡°Go, go, go. I don¡¯t want to see you any longer than I have to. You¡¯ve given me nothing but trouble all day. Next time, be more careful when you work!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Fatty,¡± an adult panda called as he snuggled close to Fatty.


    The other young pandas, including Chalk, went over as well.


    ¡°We¡¯ve received some information. Your mission is to go to Australia and work with the kos to get rid of the rats in the disease prevention room. Don¡¯t let the humans know that we¡¯re sentient beings, you hear me?¡± the adult panda instructed.


    ¡°But Teacher, I¡¯ve only been learning for half a year, why are you giving me such an important task? I¡¯m going there alone and I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to perform my duties well,¡± Fatty replied frustratedly as he munched on his shoots.


    ¡°I¡¯ve taught you all that you needed to know. The kos Australia brought over will return and exchange knowledge, too. It¡¯s a double security so don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll just have to act like a panda. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± Fatty answered.


    ¡°They¡¯reing. Act happier,¡± the adult panda said.


    ¡°Alright, Teacher.¡±


    Fatty grabbed the shoots with both hands and chewed on them enthusiastically.


    ¡°Good, Fatty. I¡¯m proud of you!¡± the adult panda whispered.


    ¡°That¡¯s Fatty. To be sent to Australia. Don¡¯t get it wrong,¡± Xiaowen instructed, pointing at Chalk.


    ¡°Got it,¡± two men answered before bringing Chalk into a special container.


    Fatty looked on in shock. ¡°You got the wrong panda!¡±


    But no matter how loud Fatty shouted, the humans weren¡¯t able to hear it.


    The adult panda was taken aback as well. He mumbled, ¡°Humans are dumb creatures. This is bad. We must report this quick.¡±


    There was only helplessness on Chalk¡¯s face as he was taken away.

 Chapter 103: Panda on Strike II

    <h4>Chapter 103: Panda on Strike II</h4>


    Five dayster, Adide Zoo.


    Four employees ced the special container on the ground before opening up the door.


    Chalk crawled out of the box and surveyed his surroundings confoundedly.


    His originally vast and natural park had be a 60 square feet room.


    On the other side of the full ss panel were crowds of people, but Chalk paid no attention to them.


    His attention had been lured by a bunch of stacked bamboos in front of him. Starving, he pounced on them and started munching.


    The tourists all over the world started snapping photos with their phones.


    Looking at all those people of different skin color, Chalk muttered in fear, ¡°F*ck, wait. Do they really think I¡¯m Fatty? So I am now really in Ustaria something? But I didn¡¯t learn anything that Fatty did! What do I do? Will there be a problem...¡±


    Someone from the many people taking photographs of him forgot to turn off the sh on their device.


    Chalk jumped in shock. He looked up and made eye contact with the crowd.


    Seeing Chalk¡¯s weird expression, the other humans pointed toward the forgetful man.


    The adult panda¡¯s words echoed in Chalk¡¯s mind: act like a panda.


    Chalk lowered his head and continued eating his shoots as if nothing had happened.


    The tourists, too, went back to snapping photos.


    When Chalk was full from his meal, he gathered the remaining bamboos andid on top of it to take a nap.


    Some timeter, he opened his eyes. The tourists were gone and there was only a man in blue sweeping the floor.


    ¡°He¡¯s a staff and he will close up soon. You really can sleep, can¡¯t you? Just like the previous panda,¡± a strange voice said.


    Chalk looked toward the source of the voice and spotted a palm-sized frog on the ground.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Chalk asked, puzzled.


    ¡°I¡¯m your messenger. Name¡¯s 63. That¡¯s my serial number. I¡¯m a rain frog, in charge of sending messages throughout the zoo. We¡¯ll be partners from now on,¡± 63 told him.


    ¡°Wait. Why 63?¡± Chalk questioned.


    ¡°You have much to learn. What did they teach you over there? There are 120 animal rooms in Adide Zoo, and your unit is 63. The one beside yours, 62, is for the Japanese leopard cats. Remember this to help with themunication,¡± 63 advised.


    ¡°What do I do now then?¡±


    ¡°Wow. You really have a lot to learn. We meet our king, of course. He¡¯lle over when this staff leaves.¡±


    ¡°So we just wait?¡±


    The staff put his broom away and brought a pail out before shutting the door behind him.


    ¡°Alright, any minute now.¡± 63 smiled.


    The metal door within the room shook a little noisily.


    Shortly after, a crisp sound was heard and the door slowly opened up.


    An anteater had used its tongue as a key to unlock the door and the kangaroo that raised it let it down after.


    A ko crawled in, followed by three kangaroos, while the anteater stood guard.


    The kangaroos were full of muscles. They must be the ko¡¯s bodyguards, Chalk figured.


    One of them pulled a sloth that was clinging to him down onto the ground.


    The sloth sprawled on the ground to form a chair.


    The ko sat down and grabbed a bamboo shoot from the ground. He plucked the leaves and put it in his mouth.


    Another kangaroo searched in his pouch and fished out a crown made from tree vines before putting it on the ko¡¯s head.


    ¡°Hi, young one. Your food¡¯s really strange. A little hard.¡±


    63 jumped onto Chalk¡¯s head. ¡°Greetings, King. This is the new panda.¡±


    ¡°My name¡¯s Chalk. I¡¯m two years old,¡± Chalk introduced, flustered.


    ¡°Name¡¯s unimportant. I¡¯m the king of this zoo. I know you¡¯re here to investigate and solve the rat problem. We know you¡¯re not to be med, of course, so we will work together. The ko at your side is my youngest son, by the way. I treat this matter seriously, so first, I¡¯d like to introduce you to our scientist,¡± the ko king said before pping his hands.


    A big mouth entered Chalk¡¯s vision. It was a typus.


    ¡°Professor is good enough,¡± the typus said humbly.


    ¡°The humans will usually keep you here for five years before sending you back. We wille up with strategies to fix the rat problem before that. You¡¯ll have to discuss this matter with Professor. I believe you¡¯d be a good giant panda so this is an honorary medal.¡±


    A kangaroo reached into his pouch for an exquisite shield badge made from grass.


    The king took it before approaching Chalk.


    63 jumped a few times on Chalk¡¯s head. ¡°On your knees. Lower. He¡¯s going to crown you so don¡¯t be rude.¡±


    Chalk lowered his body and the ko tied the badge to his chest. ¡°You¡¯re officially a horseman. It¡¯s a supreme glory, but just remember to take it off during the day. Alright, I¡¯ll continue my patrol. Chat with him, Professor.¡±


    The king took his crown off and a kangaroo slipped it in his pouch while another kept the king in his.


    Thest kangaroo grabbed the sloth.


    They left one by one, leaving behind only the typus and the guarding anteater.


    63 muttered, ¡°Horseman? Looks like the king¡¯s really concerned about this.¡±


    The typusughed. ¡°How about we let you rest today and we¡¯ll discuss the matter tomorrow? I¡¯m 38, in case you need me urgently.¡±


    Chalk nodded.


    The typusughed before exiting.


    The anteater spoke quietly, ¡°I¡¯m the locksmith, call me 93. I¡¯m going to lock this ce up now! Contact me if you need to go out at night.¡±


    63 replied, ¡°Got it.¡±


    The door closed and the typus raised the anteater up to lock the gate.


    After a short silence, Chalk asked, ¡°This rat invasion... what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an expert in this area? Why don¡¯t you know?¡± 63 shot back.


    ¡°I... I just want to hear your opinions,¡± Chalk answered, thinking about how he was going to y his role well.

 Chapter 104: Panda on Strike III

    <h4>Chapter 104: Panda on Strike III</h4>


    ¡°The invasion of the rats is no different from bringing organisms from outside into the room. These foreign and undomesticated organisms are a threat to the condition within. The absence of predators allows for breeding, which produced some bacteria. These unbridled germs are a danger to the local species. When a certain species thin out, it will be listed as endangered, which in turn destabilizes our king¡¯s position,¡± 63 exined.


    ¡°I see. So how do we solve this?¡± Chalk blurted out without thinking.


    63 gave Chalk a strange look. ¡°You know, you¡¯re really weird. You¡¯re here to solve it, aren¡¯t you? Why do you seem to be at such a loss? I¡¯m so worried. Do you know why you¡¯ve been conferred the title of Horseman?¡±


    ¡°Aye, why¡¯s that so?¡± Chalk asked curiously.


    ¡°Because the king¡¯s youngest son is in your country. He wants to treat you well so that your messenger will let your crew know to do the same for his son,¡± 63 answered.


    ¡°Our messenger?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so out of it? Look there!¡±


    A bird was perched outside the window.


    ¡°Apodidae. That¡¯s your messenger. I heard it could even bring a tree branch back to your country. When they get tired, they would ce the branch on the sea and rest on it. When they get hungry, they would hunt for fishes. It can make two return trips in a year to convey messages. It¡¯s seen how our king treated you so it will go back and ry that. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Then that typus professor... is he very smart?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out tomorrow night. I should go back now. I¡¯lle over every six hours. Tell me where you want to go and who you want to talk to. Goodnight, my giant panda,¡± 63 finished before leaping away.


    63 squeezed through the gap under the door and disappeared before Chalk¡¯s eyes.


    After some thought, Chalk removed the shield badge from his chest and buried it somewhere around his enclosure.


    He lied down on the bamboo stack and mumbled, ¡°How do we prevent the rats?¡±


    Before he knew it, however, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.


    ...


    Some timeter, knocks sounded again, startling Chalk.


    The door opened slowly and two monkeys came in, one standing on top of the other.


    The monkey on top had just pulled a human hairclip from the keyhole.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. I¡¯m Jinjin and he¡¯s Sisi. We¡¯re the golden snub-nosed monkeys and we¡¯re here to help you,¡± one greeted.


    ¡°Help me?¡± Chalk asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Less talking. Follow us.¡±


    At a loss, Chalk had no choice but to obey.


    Before they exited the exhibition hall, one monkey grabbed a bamboo and stuck it under the door to prevent it from moving.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Chalk questioned.


    ¡°To give your family a call. But don¡¯t tell anyone here, okay? Making calls is our secret method ofmunication. No spreading,¡± Jinjin exined.


    Sisi raised a finger up to his mouth. ¡°Security, hide.¡±


    Jinjin pushed Chalk, with much effort, to a wall corner before shrinking into another. He whispered, ¡°Hide all your white fur!¡±


    Chalk looked down at his ck paws. He used one to cover his stomach and the other to hide his head.


    Sisi chose to climb up themp post.


    The security made his round and walked past Chalk, shing his torchlight around. The light almost, just almost, exposed Chalk¡¯s location.


    The security walked further away and Chalk heaved a sigh of relief.


    Sisi came down and patted Chalk on the shoulder. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll have to be quick since it¡¯s already past 3 am and we¡¯ve got to get you back before dawn. It should be about 1 am over there so that¡¯s perfect timing.¡±


    They reached the outside of a small room and Sisi leaped onto the windowsill while Jinjin pushed Chalk close along the wall corners.


    Sisi noted urgently, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s locked today! That¡¯s strange. What¡¯s going on? What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Smash it, smash it,¡± Jinjin suggested.


    Sisi jumped down in frustration and picked arge stone from nearby, handing it to Chalk. ¡°You¡¯re stronger. Smash it. Jinjin, go to the roof and inform us if you see anybody.¡±


    With one hand, Chalk threw the stone at the window.


    Thud! Cracks appeared on the ss.


    Sisi leaped up again and tried forcing the ss open.


    Understanding his intention, Chalk stood up and threw an effortless punch at the cracked window.


    Sisi smiled and reached his hand in for the lock.


    After opening the window and entering, he threw a mobile microphone out. ¡°Take it.¡±


    Shortly after, Sisi shouted nervously, ¡°Is iting yet?


    ¡°Let¡¯s switch ces,¡± Jinjin said before jumping off the roof.


    Just then, rings sounded through the microphone.


    ¡°Is that you guys?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Chalk asked.


    ¡°Chalk, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Chalk recognized his teacher¡¯s voice. That middle-aged panda.


    ¡°Teacher!¡±


    ¡°Are you okay. Are they good to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m doing well, but how do we solve the rat problem?¡±


    Laughter erupted from the other side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Chalk. Just act like a panda and return home after a few years.¡±


    ¡°But the rats?¡±


    ¡°Listen to me, it¡¯s nothing. Such rodent invasions will be settled by humans. We¡¯re only using that as an excuse.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°We read it in the humans¡¯ newspapers, that¡¯s all. It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°But why start this in the first ce?¡± Chalk was confused.


    ¡°In the beginning, our animals had no position when being sent over to different parts of the world. They would always tell us that they are getting bullied. As a result, we started bullying their animals when they came over as well. This whole bullying affair became a vicious cycle. We then read about the invasion and used it to dissolve the hostility.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Teacher,¡± Chalk replied.


    ¡°Basically, we made the invasion a known issue and had the animals from our side pretend to be respectable experts in this field. There won¡¯t be any real discussions, of course, but identifying our animals as experts will prevent them from getting mistreated.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I get it. The rat invasion is a fake out for them to treat me well. To make me an important figure... like now.¡±


    ¡°Simrly, they¡¯re bringing a ko over and we will take good care of it. As for the n, just keep up the show. Your only job is to act like a panda and return safely after some time. This should¡¯ve been Fatty¡¯s job, but the humans got it wrong. Sorry, Chalk.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± Chalk asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s that simple. Ask Jinjin and Sisi if you¡¯re not sure about anything. Alright, I¡¯m out of time, security wille soon. Goodbye.¡±


    The line disconnected and Chalk stood rooted to the ground.


    ¡°Are you done? We have to leave soon,¡± Sisi informed him.


    Chalk nodded and put the mobile back into its original position.


    The monkeys then brought Chalk back to his room.


    ¡°We¡¯re 42. Look for us if you need anything,¡± Jinjin offered kindly before closing the door. A crisp sound followed after, indicating that the gate was locked.


    Chalk grabbed a bamboo and took a bite.


    I¡¯ll have to behave more like a panda.


    ...


    A weekter.


    Chalk sprawledzily on the bamboo stack.


    63 entered and asked, ¡°Professor typus asked if you have any strategies to discuss. The king¡¯s also waiting for your good news. It¡¯s been a week after all.¡±


    Chalk waved the frog away dismissively. ¡°Soon, soon. I¡¯m still organizing my thoughts.¡±


    ¡°I thought that you were intelligent, but s, you¡¯re no different from the previous one!¡± 63 eximed impatiently.

 Chapter 105: Blemish of Time I

    <h4>Chapter 105: Blemish of Time I</h4>


    ¡®Blemish¡¯ originally refers to a spot on a jade. A tiny spot that causes the jade to lose its value.


    It can also mean a w or defect.


    It is a good derogatory term.


    But what happens when Blemish meets Time?


    Will that blemish in time change everything?


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m only telling this secret to my grandson,¡± Grandfather managed to croak out.


    I sat helplessly by his hospital bed, reassuring, ¡°I¡¯m here, Grandpa, I¡¯m Luqiao. Tell me, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°They... they must all leave. I¡¯m only telling my grandson. Get out, all of you,¡± he repeated insistently before his voice dissolved into coughs.


    ¡°Do you guys wanna go out for a bit, Dad?¡± I turned and asked my rtives.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, everybody. Listen to your grandfather, Luqiao.¡± Dad sighed and exited with the rest.


    Grandfather grabbed my hand tightly. ¡°Luqiao, you¡¯re exactly like me when I was young. You¡¯re also the smartest and you will be more capable than your father.¡±


    ¡°Is this what you wanted to tell me?¡± I asked, not really understanding him.


    ¡°No, no. Do you know how old I am this year?¡± he asked before coughing again.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you 63?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m 73. If I tell you that I¡¯m 73, would you think I¡¯m very young?¡± he asked.


    He wasn¡¯t making any sense, but I still nodded. In his current condition, I would do anything to prevent antagonizing him.


    ¡°There¡¯s a ce in this world called Blemish of Time. It¡¯s a ce God has mistakenly left. The people there have no concept of Time and they don¡¯t grow old. Only the richest bunch lives in that world. That blemish offers them immortality. I¡¯ve had the honor of working for them for a decade, which is why I don¡¯t look as old as I really am,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not joking, Grandpa?¡± I asked, absolutely confused but stirred.


    A ce where people don¡¯t grow old?


    Grandfather reached a wobbly hand into his pillow and took out an identification card.


    I eyed that yellowing card. A young man of age 20 something. He looked somewhat like me, which made sense after I caught a glimpse of Grandfather¡¯s name on it. Although the card had already expired for a few decades, it was still proof of his real age. He really was 73 and he really did look much younger than his age.


    ¡°Now you understand. Remember to burn it. I¡¯ll tell you the location of this ce and its secrets,¡± he continued.


    I hurriedly nodded and stashed his card in my pocket.


    ¡°Remember Bluewave City? The entrance to Blemish of Time is underneath that. I was recruited for a job in Bluewave City when I was 18. I knew nothing at the start, but I eventually discovered that I was actually a porter for Blemish of Time. The job paid well but it also had many restrictions. The air in that ce is poisonous, so you can¡¯t leave the moment you take a breath of it.¡±


    ¡°Poisonous? But you said they won¡¯t grow old?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to leave once you breathe the air within. Leave and you¡¯ll die from asphyxiation. As such, I had to wear thick protective clothing and wear an oxygen mask when moving the guests¡¯ items. While bodies of the wealthy stop deteriorating, they¡¯ll still have to eat, shit, and sleep,¡± he told me.


    ¡°Porter?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It was onlyter on that I realized how tiny the ce is. About two square kilometers. Thend is extremely costly in there and prices are calcted by per square meter. Those who can¡¯t afford it will be banished, and they die moments after leaving. But if you have the money, you¡¯ll live forever in there.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that those who breathed the air within can live forever, but the moment they leave, they die? And you worked as a porter, wearing special clothing and masks, for ten years?¡± I rified.


    ¡°See, I told you you¡¯re much smarter than your father.¡±


    He coughed twice before he was able to cover his mouth with a tissue paper.


    I saw blood spreading on the white sheet.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left,¡± he added.


    I nodded, wanting him to rest but also developing a yearning for that ce. I wanted to know everything about it.


    ¡°I wore a third generation suit, but because of a newly released fourth generation suit, the former became obsolete. The old one had a fatal w, it cannot guarantee a 100% seal from the outside air. It is the reason why I managed to maintain a youthful appearance despite wearing it for 10 years. They gave me a new identity after dismissing me and that was when my lungs started giving me problems. Look at the blood here and you¡¯ll know. It¡¯s been slowly umted from years of breathing in poisonous air.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Are you telling me all these to get me to work there? Why? For the high sry?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s for the secret of Blemish of Time, of course.¡±


    ¡°What do you know about it?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been pondering over its secret for a few decades now. I remember every single detail of my experience there and I¡¯ve finally realized what¡¯s unique in there,¡± he answered between bloody coughs.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± I said urgently.


    He raised his head slightly and continued, ¡°There¡¯s a special type of grass in there. It looks good and it can¡¯t be found anywhere else. Its leaves are transparent and you can see their veins. I suspect that it has something... to do... with the se...secret. Over 60 years have passed and I... I don¡¯t know how the suit... has evolved... It is risky but I hope to... grass...¡±


    The blood had clogged his throat so much, his voice was bing distorted.


    ¡°You want me to steal the grass and create a new Blemish of Time?¡± I asked.


    Grandfather nodded, unable to talk. A few momentster, he stopped breathing.


    After a long pause, I stood up and exited the ward.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Father asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone. He said I¡¯m smart, should work in the city, and not waste time in this small town,¡± I lied smoothly.


    ¡°Did he really say that?¡± Father asked doubtfully.


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve thought about it and I agree.¡±


    Before Father could respond, I walked away.


    A pile of ruins outside the vige.


    I lit a bonfire.


    I gave Grandfather¡¯s old identification card ast look before tossing it into the mes.

 Chapter 106: Blemish of Time II

    <h4>Chapter 106: Blemish of Time II</h4>


    I spent a few hours packing my belongings before embarking on my journey with only a little backpack.


    My father and my other rtives dissuaded me with the general belief that I wouldn¡¯t make it big there.


    I only shook my head with a bitter smile. I had zero intention of staying.


    I lived far from Bluewave City.


    Sitting in the long-distance coach, I gradually fell into a deep sleep.


    After three days of traveling, eating, shitting, and sleeping, I finally made it to the city.


    It was night time when I arrived and it was only then that I realized Grandfather hadn¡¯t told me the way to Blemish of Time. All I knew was that it was underneath Bluewave City.


    I found a shabby inn and rented a room for a night, pondering over Grandfather¡¯sst speech.


    His words reyed in my mind and two words stood out.


    Porter and rules.


    That shouldn¡¯t be hard to find.


    I did not sleep a wink that night and the second the sun came up, I headed straight to the nearby job market.


    ¡°Qualifications?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Never been to school, but I can read a little.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing I can offer you.¡±


    ¡°No. I can take hard work and I am good at obeying orders. I abide by the rules.¡±


    ¡°Porter? At the dock.¡±


    Dock? That can¡¯t be right, can it?


    ¡°What¡¯s the sry?¡± I asked after some thought, hoping for a way out.


    ¡°Are you in need of money?¡±


    I nodded, instantly recalling the high sry Grandfather had mentioned.


    ¡°We do have a really well-paying job here, but there¡¯s very little information about it. You might have to work away from here and sign a five-year bond each time.¡±


    ¡°Do you have more details?¡± I requested.


    ¡°Theye here every Monday, which is tomorrow, so you cane back early and wait for them. They¡¯lle in a ck minivan. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll be selected, but they¡¯ll bring you over for an interview. We¡¯ve introduced many people to them, but only a rare few have been chosen so far.¡±


    I nodded.


    ...


    The next morning, I arrived at the market early.


    Four others were already waiting.


    A whole afternoonter, a ck minivan drove by and the front passenger door opened.


    A man in a ck suit got off and sized the five of us up.


    ¡°Just the five of you? Do you need me to repeat the rules?¡±


    ¡°What rules?¡± they mumbled.


    ¡°Five-year bond, no leaving in between. 30,000,000 sry will be paid uponpletion of the bond. If you agree, follow me. I¡¯m not the one assessing you so no one knows if you¡¯ll be selected yet.¡±


    He led us into the minivan.


    The windows were all sprayed ck like they were taking us to a strange ce and wanted to block our view of the outside.


    I was 80% sure that that strange ce was Blemish of Time.


    An hour and a halfter, the other four people started getting restless.


    ¡°This job is really far.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re out of the city, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Where are they taking us?¡±


    A mini partition rolled down and the man in the suit on the front seat told us, ¡°We¡¯re getting there. We¡¯ll send you back if you fail, so don¡¯t worry. Be patient.¡±


    The car came to a halt and the doors opened.


    We alighted and found ourselves in a room-like environment.


    ¡°First rule: Do not go over the red lines. I¡¯ll bring you to the interview now so follow me,¡± the man in the suit instructed.


    We followed him into a room and sat down on a row of chairs.


    In front of us, there was a massive piece of ss framed by a red line.


    I thought over the suited man¡¯s warning.


    A man appeared on the opposite side of the ss and looked at us.


    He was wearing a lightweight bodysuit.


    It was then that I knew that I was at the right ce.


    He coughed twice and the sound resonated throughout the room.


    ¡°Hey, hey. Turn around, all of you, one by one. Stand in order and let me have a look,¡± he ordered.


    Everyone heeded his instructions.


    ¡°All leave except for this one.¡± He smiled and pointed at me.


    The man in the suit opened the door and said, ¡°Sorry, the four of you have been eliminated. This way, I¡¯ll send you back.¡±


    I stood rooted to the ground as the four started grumbling.


    ¡°What is this? How is this an interview?¡±


    ¡°Why him?¡±


    ¡°So unfair.¡±


    The man in the suit shook his head and took a gun out. ¡°Get out. Now.¡±


    Instinctively, they all raised their hands and followed him out of the room.


    I was left alone with that man behind the ss.


    ¡°Name?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Luqiao,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Okay. Do you know why I chose you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You look like an old friend of mine. Did anyone tell you about the rules when you came in?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about it. The rules are always changing anyway. The important part to remember is that you¡¯ll work here for five years and leave with 30,000,000 after, got it?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°The work suit is on your left. Wear it properly and a green light will appear on your chest.¡±


    I walked to the side and saw a few items of clothing.


    There were measurements on them and I picked the lightest and most well-covered one.


    After getting dressed, his voice rang, ¡°Oxygen mask. Connect the tube and switch the tank on. Wait for the red light to turn green and we¡¯ll open the door for you.¡±


    I looked down and noticed a flickering red light on my clothes.


    I readied the oxygen tank and mask and the red light turned green.


    He spoke again, ¡°The green work light on your suit represents a sufficient level of oxygen. You¡¯ll have to leave immediately when it turns orange. Remind your co-workers of that if you see that theirs is orange as well. Orange will turn into red, and red means that there is no more oxygen in the tank. Do not remove your mask once you enter.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°There are many more rules here but I¡¯ll share them with you one by one when we get inside.¡±


    He pressed a button and the ss panel lifted. He gestured for me to follow him.


    The moment I crossed the red line, a green circle appeared on the visor I was wearing.


    ¡°Your iris has already been scanned and added to our records. An identity is not necessary here. In fact, we can help you create genuine passports with different identities from different countries. If you see the panel light turning from green to red, you must leave within five minutes. When it turns red, it means that you have entered a private territory and will bebeled as a terrorist if you do not leave immediately. Remember, thepany will not help you if you get killed during a red light. There have been many employees who were killed during a red light, either for stealing things or even moremonly, simply for the guests¡¯ pleasure. But you don¡¯t have to worry if you stay away from those areas. When it¡¯s green, you¡¯re entitled to thepany¡¯s rights and benefits.¡±


    ¡°Private territory?¡± I asked, notprehending.


    ¡°Rich men¡¯s vi and some restricted areas set by thepany. You¡¯ll know more in the time toe so I don¡¯t have to exin much now,¡± he replied and I nodded.


    ¡°Wee to Blemish of Time, the ce where only the wealthiest resides. There are a hundred private vis stretched over this two square kilometernd, and our mission is to serve the guests.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What are all these?¡± I questioned.


    The man smiled and repeated what my grandfather had already said about the rich, immortality, job scope, and other technicalities.


    We entered a space that looked like a miniature world. However, it was obvious that we were underground because there were countless sr panels illuminating the ce.


    I observed in shock. ¡°This is so amazing.¡±


    The man smiled. ¡°Guess how old I am.¡±


    ¡°30? 40 at most?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 78. It¡¯s a side effect of living here.¡±


    I pretended to be astonished. ¡°No way!¡±


    Heughed. ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s due to the generations of imperfect bodysuits. You won¡¯t be like me since the recent batch of bodysuits has been drastically improved. You must remember not to take in the oxygen within this ce if you n to leave. Of course, you¡¯re not entitled to stay here permanently either, so... Anway, the employees here used to get reced after 10 years, but thepany¡¯s changed it to five now.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re 78?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m in the human resource department so I¡¯ve been overstaying for over 50 years now. Nevertheless, I¡¯ll still have to leave in three years¡¯ time since I¡¯m no longer able to move up to a higher position. Let¡¯s talk about your job now, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Transporting the rich people¡¯s stuff?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too old-fashioned and has already been mechanized. You¡¯re not too far off, though. That was what I was in charge of when I first came over here. It¡¯s also the reason why I chose you. You look like the one who brought me in, so I¡¯ll take good care of you.¡±


    ¡°Take good care?¡±


    He smiled and pointed at a glorious looking building in front of us. ¡°Brothel keeper, or pimp if you will.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°One of the wealthy¡¯s favorite activities, since their organs are always well-functioning thanks to the air here. There are about 30 luckydies in there, all selected by the rich men. Absolutely gorgeous. Your job is to wait for calls and allocate thedies. How about that? This is the simplest job over here,¡± he said with a smile.


    ¡°Wait, luckydies? They breathed the air here?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a little different for this job. As long as ady is beautiful enough, she would be able toe over here. Of course, she must maintain a constant stream of customers. If she doesn¡¯t receive a single call within three months, she gets kicked out ¨C which means death. I can leave thesedies to you without worrying since you¡¯ll lose your life if you want to y. Unless, of course, you¡¯re able to afford a house here and pay 10,000,000 an hour for breathing the air here to live eternally.¡±


    He knocked on my visor to remind me of my limitations.


    ¡°Why would thedies choose to work here? Won¡¯t they be trapped for life?¡±


    ¡°Why would they wanna go out? This ce offers them eternal youth and beauty, and a lot of money.¡±


    He pointed at a man standing far away. That man wasn¡¯t in any bodysuit. ¡°Look there. That¡¯s Mister Yun Huateng, the world¡¯s fourth richest man. News of his sudden death spread across the world, but in reality, he¡¯se here to live forever.¡±


    I observed as Yun Huateng yed golf.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rich man¡¯s paradise over here, and for us, a kind of extravagant hope. Let¡¯s go to your workce. It¡¯d be good for you to get familiar with it fast.¡±


    He suddenly stopped in his tracks and started coughing. He even grabbed my arm and knelt down. He was coughing so hard that I had to support him back onto his feet.


    I looked at the blood on the ground as he slowly stood up. ¡°The side effects produced by the older bodysuit have surfaced. I¡¯ll have to see a doctor. Necrosis. 40% of my lung cells are gone because of this ce. Don¡¯t worry, though, the new bodysuit is 100% airproof.¡±


    He pointed once again to the brothel building. ¡°Just go inside by yourself. Don¡¯t worry, that building is within your management. Call me if you need help. I¡¯ll send you my number through your headpiece. Oh, and call me Dahai.¡±


    He wobbled out, leaving me standing alone.


    I entered the building and sure enough, I was greeted by stunning women of different skin colors. Yet, I could only appreciate the view with my eyes.


    Or... some groundless touching perhaps?

 Chapter 107: Blemish of Time III

    <h4>Chapter 107: Blemish of Time III</h4>


    I got familiar with my job a month in. There wasn¡¯t really much to do.


    Nevertheless, I learned quite a bit within the month. I was running a ¡®chicken¡¯ business, and there was a duck business going on in the southernmost corner of Blemish of Time. I figured that it was to prevent a mix-up.


    I basically slept during the day. One time, ady woke me up to inform me that my light was turning orange. Frightened, I sped out of Blemish of Time to get a new tank.


    A tank provided enough oxygen tost an average person two days and two nights. Technology in Blemish of Time was much more advanced than in the outside world.


    Employees did not have to pay when eating at restaurants or when shopping at the supermarkets. There wasn¡¯t any limitation as well. I guessed it made sense since what the guests could spend in an hour could alsost us about 20 lifetimes.


    Businesses usually came in at night, naturally, since few would have the mood for it in the day.


    Other than a few regrs who would call for thedies, we don¡¯t get many other customers since there were quite a lot of female guests living in Blemish of Time. There were also males here who were tied down by families. Children of the rich people usually enter when they hit the age of 20.


    I was in charge of sending thedies to the clients¡¯ houses or even rooms at times. The doors would only open after a verification process, and it was always frightening to see a red light on the panel.


    I heard many stories about employees being lured into apartments just to be killed. Rich people¡¯s idea of fun was something us ordinary people couldn¡¯t understand.


    Of course, some guests understood our fears and would undo the restriction after getting familiar with us.


    I was only in charge of escorting thedies and I did not have to get involved with payment and other procedures.


    To work more efficiently, I learned how to drive within this space of two square kilometers.


    Who would¡¯ve guessed that my first driving experience would happen in a ce like this?


    Things became much simpler after that. I napped during the day and worked at night.


    I also started getting familiar with the space. The properties were all designated by numbers and since there were a hundred households, there were a hundred numbers. A house could amodate a maximum of five people.


    I thought about drafting a map out so I could seek help from it.


    That man named Dahai would call me regrly to check on things. He would have me go over to his ce for lunch whenever I had the time.


    After meeting him for a few times, I realized that he seldom entered Blemish of Time. He spent most of his time interviewing potential employees and then allocating the chosen ones.


    Dahai told me a lot and often reminded me not to cross the boundary.


    There were two meanings. First, I wasn¡¯t to remove the oxygen mask at all times during work and to be wary about the indicator light on the visor.


    Second, it involved a rumored organization called Destroyers. They were said to be cannibals, and as such, almost every employee was afraid of crossing the boundary.


    I found something problematic in that, however. If there really was such an organization within Blemish of Time, wouldn¡¯t there be corpses lying around?


    I tried searching for information about these Destroyers but I couldn¡¯t find anything. I also asked one of thedies under my charge, a 70-year-old who looked not a day over 21, and she told me she never heard of any murder cases like that. She even thought that I was referring to The Arabian Nights.


    It was rumored that many employees had been victimized, but thedies would¡¯ve been easier targets. So why did the organization name, spreading among the employees, sounded so foreign to thedies?


    Daily Reports, Blemish of Time¡¯s own newspaper, reported mostly about the outside world so that was no help either.


    Could it be that the ¡®Destroyers¡¯ were fabricated to prevent employees from trespassing certain areas?


    Other than the missing ¡®Destroyers¡¯, I also couldn¡¯t find the mysterious grass Grandfather had talked about.


    I supposed that there wasn¡¯t as much greenery herepared to the past.


    I took another look at a sorted map and realized that there were indeed a few no-ess regions.


    A red light would appear on the monitor of the visor the moment one stepped across the boundary.


    I marked the ces out and found that they formed a square region.


    There was a big building in the middle and four factory constructions, one in each corner.


    These constructions were ck and no one seemed to have gone in and out of them.


    Since my job started mostly at night, it was a very good cover-up for me.


    The clients were usually asleep by three am and apart from thedies who stayed over at the clients¡¯ houses, the rest would¡¯ve been back by then. Plus, because I slept in the day, I felt energized at night.


    One weekend, after sending all thedies back, I decided to venture out.


    I parked my car at a covert spot before approaching the factory.


    I walked around it and spotted no windows at all.


    The ce was sealed except for a chimney for venttion, the only reason why I recognized that it was a factory.


    There wasn¡¯t any way to enter except through the chimney.


    It was easy for me since I grew up in the vige and had to climb many walls.


    However, the moment I started to climb, the monitor on my visor started shing a red light and a countdown.


    I had to drop my ns and think of a better idea.


    While working here meant that I could only get fixed upon leaving, I was allowed to get payment in advance. There weren¡¯t any guarded entrances in Blemish of Time as well so I had a lot of freedom.


    I ran out, far away, to purchase a retractable probe that was 20 meters long.


    I brought it back into Blemish of Time and climbed up the walls.


    The countdown started and I let the probe down.


    I finally caught a view of the interior after four minutes.


    The image was connected to my phone screen and I was dumbstruck.


    Rows and rows of neatly grown grass.


    The one Grandfather had talked about.


    Transparent leaves with visible green veins. There were artificial lights shining down on them 24/7.


    I retracted the probe and quickly got away from the building. I wondered if this was the secret to Blemish of Time and if that was what Grandfather had wanted me to take away.


    The difficult part was doing all of this within five minutes.


    I thought about how I could achieve that or deactivate the rm on my visor.


    I thought about Dahai. He might still have the older suits since he mentioned that they kept changing over the years. Those suits might not have rms attached to them.


    I gave Dahai a call.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s meet up. I have a lot on my mind recently so I won¡¯t be going out of the city. You have a house in Bluewave City, right? I¡¯ll prepare some food for us so tell me your address.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Dahai agreed readily, which was unexpected.


    I brought over some dishes and a few bottles of good wine to his ce that noon.


    Naturally, after our meal, he drank until he passed out.


    I took the opportunity to search his closet.


    Indeed, I found two older models of the bodysuit. They had the same port meant for the oxygen tank and mask so I tossed one into my bag, went back out, and pretended to be asleep.


    After bidding goodbye that day, I returned to Blemish of Time with my equipment.


    At three am, when everyone was asleep, I got out, changed into Dahai¡¯s old suit, attached the oxygen tank and entered the building.


    The old bodysuit was much thicker than the new one.


    I climbed up the factory with much effort this time and entered through the chimney.


    I looked around and the whole ce was filled with that unique grass.


    There wasn¡¯t anything to worry about since there weren¡¯t monitors around.


    I chose a few of the strongest des and stowed them away in my bag. I took five with me in total.


    As I was about to get back up through the chimney, I noticed someone descending.


    I was kicked to the ground, hard.


    It was Dahai.


    I was at a loss.


    ¡°I attached a tracker to that suit. Looks like you¡¯ve found this ce, too.¡±


    ¡°You...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to catch you. You two look so much like each other... you¡¯re Goudan¡¯s grandson, aren¡¯t you? Or son perhaps? Of course, he changed his name so it¡¯s not strange that your surname is Lu,¡± he said through his coughs.


    ¡°That¡¯s my grandfather. Why are you here?¡± I asked.


    He let out a raspyugh. ¡°Your grandfather told me about the grass, which is why I kept the old suit in the first ce. I came here to steal the grass and bring it home, but I identally took in a few breaths of air. My lungs are severely poisoned because of that. I did not expect him to tell you about this, though. Thepany fired him because he found out about the grass. If he hadn¡¯t been caught, he will probably be part of the management by now.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you create your own Blemish of Time?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy? Us old people have our criminal records, unlike you. I¡¯ll be eliminated in three years¡¯ time so I¡¯ll leave that task to you. Build a Blemish of Time in your hometown. I can help you leave this ce and teach you how to grow them. I chose to stay here in order to find out the methods to grow them. My only condition is that you offer me an eternal spot in your Blemish of Time.


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, but what exactly is this grass?¡±


    ¡°A biological weapon used in war. However, people discovered that the gas it releases can wrap around our internal organs. They will be damaged if the gas membrane is removed. On the contrary, if the membrane is maintained, the organs will never deteriorate,¡± Dahai exined before taking out a small manual.


    I took it and saw some notes regarding temperature control and other key points.


    Dahai continued, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first. I perfected the notes after growing a room full of grass. Just remember not to breathe in the gas until you ensure that the air you create is fully recyble. Keep your oxygen mask on when you grow them.¡±


    I nodded.


    We climbed out of the factory and exited Blemish of Time.


    Daihai said, ¡°I have over ten bunches and I will hand them all to you. I¡¯ll visit your Blemish of Time after three years. Give your bag to me, go back in, and let your service points drop. I¡¯ll apply for your dismissal and ticket home in a week¡¯s time.¡±


    I nodded, thinking about how Dahai would¡¯ve eventually shared all these with me even if I hadn¡¯t found out about the grass. It all made sense since he was the one who initiated conversations and provided tips.


    For the next week, I deliberately arrivedte at clients¡¯ houses.


    I would umte an overdraft every month and I even pretended to take drugs. I was ultimately fired for ¡®using¡¯ drugs at work and was sent back in a car. Dahai sent me off and returned my bag to me.


    I knew that it contained the special grass.


    ¡°There¡¯s also an oxygen tank and an old suit in there. Remember, don¡¯t breathe until it¡¯s allpleted,¡± he whispered.


    Three yearster, in my hometown.


    Dahai quit his job and traveled around the continents beforeing over.


    In three years¡¯ time, I had dug out a 200 square kilometer underground space.


    There were electricity and other necessary facilities. I was also secretly operating my low-cost Blemish of Time.


    ¡°The facilities are so simple and minimal,¡± Dahaimented.


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a year and some of the inhabitants are just new-blood of rich people. I¡¯ll start another round of construction when I get sufficient funds,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Are you sure you can do this properly? I was nning to assist you for a few more years, but I don¡¯t think my lungs can take it anymore.¡±


    ¡°I understand. You can stay here and manage the nts. There are 130 rooms and room two is yours. I¡¯ll expand this ce some more and join you when I¡¯m about 30 or so. Don¡¯t worry about anything,¡± I assured him.


    Consoled, Dahai smiled, stroking his face.


    I shut the ss door and saw him enter my Blemish of Time, gearless.

 Chapter 108: Karma I

    <h4>Chapter 108: Karma I</h4>


    Shazhong Vige, a down and out hamlet.


    There was no electricity and road.


    The only mode of transport were donkeys and handcarts.


    The nearest road was seven kilometers away, and from that road, it was about another 20 kilometers away from other vigers.


    The young vigers had gone away to work, leaving only the elderly and the children.


    The children wanted to attend school. There had been volunteer teachers that came in about eight years ago, but since then, no more had been allocated to this vige. There was only a 63-year-old man who took over the role. This ¡®teacher¡¯, however, had just also learned to write for a year or so.


    The slightly senile ¡®teacher¡¯ only knew about 200 words. The only textbooks that the volunteer teachers had given him were all torn and tattered.


    His lisp, coupled with a little hysteria, made all the teachings he could impart limited.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t even recognize some punctuation marks and phics.


    There were at least 20 children in the vige and half of them were orphans, mostly because their parents went away to work and left them behind. A majority of the parents never came back since.


    The elderly could only console them with a ¡®maybe next year¡¯.


    Of course, children were naive and they were never really beaten down by their plight.


    The elderly were simply waiting for the children to grow up and follow in their parents¡¯ footsteps.


    The vige was set to fall into ruin eventually.


    Why not let the children work thend when they grow up?


    The vige was limited in size and the seven elderly shared everything.


    The children slept in seven respective houses that belonged to the elderly.


    The produce from four pieces of wastnd was barely enough to support these elderly and children.


    There was a mountain spring to supply them with water, but the water was no longer as sweet as when the vige was thriving. That was mainly because there hasn¡¯t been anyone to clear the bamboo pipelines for years.


    And the elderly were okay with just getting by.


    As for poultry, there were always mountain chickens running about.


    The young and strong chickens were difficult to catch. Since none of the children could get to them, the vigers only ate the old ones.


    Old, as in, unable to move at all, so the vigers had to steel themselves to ughter and cook them.


    They ate one chicken each month and asionally get a few eggs to go along with it.


    The children ate first, then the elderly.


    Seven years ago, the government visited the vige once.


    The government deemed that it wasn¡¯t practical to stretch electricity cables for over 20 kilometers just for a handful of people.


    The officials talked about relocating the people to a nearby vige with electricity, but the elderly declined without hesitation.


    The elderly refused to leave and thus were gradually forgotten.


    They already knew what to expect and they were ready. They would wait for all the children to leave for the city before they dig graves and wait to be buried in the ce they were born.


    ...


    12 children: 7 boys and 5 girls.


    My name is Goudan, the fastest runner in the vige.


    There was a burly kid that bullied the four of us often, pointing out that we had no parents.


    But I knew that his parents didn¡¯t want him either.


    Whenever we brought that fact up, he would start whacking us.


    I ran the fastest, but the other three weren¡¯t as quick and they couldn¡¯t overrun Burly.


    Burly and gang, eight in total, had parents whereas the four of us were orphans.


    Because of that, even though none of the elderly gave usbels, the 12 of us were still unofficially split into two groups.


    This was the reason why I absolutely hated Burly. He was mean to the core.


    Whenever we had boiled vegetables and cornbread, Burly and gang would take most of them away, leaving us orphans with only a little.


    While Burly wasn¡¯t exceptionally burly, he was still half a head taller than us.


    As such, we could only let him bully us because we were unable to fight back.


    Plus, they outnumbered us so we would just inevitably lose.


    We were the happiest at the end of each month because then we would have meat to eat, even though the four of us were only given the leftovers.


    Even the rarely seen eggs would end up in Burly¡¯s stomach. We had no share.


    Yet, we were happy.


    We were eager to learn and our teacher was the oldest grandfather in the vige.


    He said that the little knowledge he was imparting would help us lead better lives outside.


    Somehow, the boys didn¡¯t enjoy listening to him teach.


    The girls, however, often paid full attention.


    While I started to enjoy writing, I couldn¡¯t understand how it would aid my future.


    Plus, whenever that grandfather taught me, he would have to put on his sses and spend a long time reading the textbooks.


    The pace of his ss was alright but what he taught wasn¡¯t necessarily correct.


    Of course, I only found that out after, because whenever I asked him about a word, he would give different pronunciations and meanings each time.


    This was the reason why I disliked studying.


    The boys would be distracted in ss while the girls listen on with keen interest.


    No one dared to doze off, however, except for Burly.


    Because of that, Burly was always caned by the grandfather.


    Grandfather¡¯snguage was bad but his math was good.


    I heard that he used to do business in the vige. However, there were only two abacuses.


    He used one to teach while the rest of us shared the other.


    Unsurprisingly, despite hisck of interest, Burley never let the four of us use it.


    Nevertheless, we studied seriously. Much more so than duringnguage sses.


    We would evenpare ourselves to Burly. We were weaker but we didn¡¯t want to be dumber as well.


    We grew up gradually but Burly¡¯s abuse intensified.


    He shifted his focus from the two of us guys onto the two other girls.


    Because among us four, the two girls grew up well and were rtively beautiful.


    We would try to obstruct Burly but we weren¡¯t his match.


    Initially, he would only tease them but he eventually started to get fresh with them.


    We made it known to the elderly but the abuse did not stop.


    One night, Burly dragged Xiaohong into the forest


    I ran after them at top speed but I was knocked down by one of his friends.


    My buddy, Dahai, the other guy in our clique, chased after them.


    He managed to prevent a disaster but he paid a heavy price.


    Burly called it a truce by breaking Dahai¡¯s leg.


    When we found out about that the next day, Xiaohong slit her wrist with a tile.


    Her wound wasn¡¯t deep but it was infected nevertheless.


    We wrapped her hand but she was in a bad shape.


    We used the only handcart that we had to take her to the hospital. It took two days.


    Xiaohong was saved and Burly learned his lesson.


    The local leader was made aware of the fact that our vige had no money to pay the bills.


    Dahai wrapped his leg and said it was from a minor fall.


    The local leader visited our forgotten vige and after some investigations, he reprimanded his subordinates.


    He apologized to us and expressed his wish to relocate us to another vige.


    The elderly were still against the idea and showed the leader their ready-made graves. They hoped that he would just take us along with him to give us better futures.


    The leader agreed immediately and sent the boys, excluding Dahai, to the army.


    I did not know where Dahai and the girls were sent to.


    We stayed in the armed forces for over 10 days before we were allocated to respective districts.


    Unfortunately, Burly and I got on the same train that ferried the soldiers.


    I started plotting revenge on behalf of Dahai and Xiaohong.

 Chapter 109: Karma II

    <h4>Chapter 109: Karma II</h4>


    Was it a fortune or misfortune that we ended up in the same green-leathered train?


    The train was filled with mostly new soldiers and there was a leader in one of the cabins.


    He instructed us on when to alight, and at every station, a carriage of new soldiers would get off.


    I did not know if Burly noticed me, but he was in the carriage right in front of mine.


    I wanted to be in the same district, but not the same unit, as him.


    The train stopped at Meizhou and the leader told those in our carriage to get down.


    He then walked in front and I just knew that Burly and I were really heading toward the same destination.


    The new recruits alighted in an orderly manner.


    I wanted to see Burly but I was afraid of being seen.


    Names were being called before the soldiers got taken away.


    ¡°Group 13, Zhen Dazhuang.¡±


    I saw Burly walk forward to join Group 13.


    I figured that those in 13 would be sent to the same unit.


    Three names were called after.


    ¡°Group 13, Li Goudan.¡±


    I stood rooted to the ground.


    I saw Burly¡¯s expression change. He seemed a little bewildered.


    Brief pause.


    ¡°Group 13, Li Goudan.¡±


    I took a step forward fearfully.


    We made eye contact and I lowered my head automatically, not daring to look him in the eye.


    There were two boys between us and Dazhuang requested to switch ces with them.


    ¡°What a coincidence,¡± he said with a smile.


    I remained silent. Nothing good was going toe out of it, I was sure.


    I wanted to seek revenge for Dahai. If I could just break Dazhuang¡¯s leg...


    However, thinking and doing were two different things. I don¡¯t know how I would manage that since I already had trouble protecting myself.


    On the bus to the city, Dazhuang chose to sit beside me.


    We said nothing along the way, but his arm was constantly pressing against, or rather, on my shoulders.


    Training camp, night time.


    15 of us stood in a role and were allocated to different lineups.


    I heaved a sigh of relief since all of us were separated.


    Dazhuang was sent to the fourth group while I was sent to the fifth.


    Having a safe distance between us was a weight off my shoulder.


    Military camp life waspletely foreign to me.


    We woke up at 4:30 in the morning, something that I hated the most since I needed sufficient sleep.


    We were to get ready in five minutes and clean up the bunk and bathroom within 15.


    And we weren¡¯t allowed to do a sloppy job. It had to seem as if no one had been in the bunk.


    Having lived in the vige my whole life, this was something I couldn¡¯t understand.


    Folding the nket was hard for me as well and it took a really long time to perfect my skills.


    Nevertheless, my end product was nowhere close to the leader¡¯s work.


    At five, we would line up at the field to start our run.


    From 5:30 to 6:00, we were allowed to have our breakfast and rest a little. I enjoyed their slightly sweetened soy milk.


    Sweet things cheered me up.


    At 6:30, when the sun started to rise, we would get into our formation.


    One ss in one region. I was in ss five so ss four stood in front of me.


    I always had a clear view of Burly¡¯s back.


    He looked over at me a lot during our five-minute breaks.


    Of course, that was merely the beginning of my nightmare.


    At around eight at night, we get half an hour to shower. We had to be in bed by nine so we had free time from 8:30 to 9:00.


    After showering, I would hang my uniform up with the designated hanger.


    Each of us had our own and we even wrote our names on them in fear of a mixup.


    I lost my winter uniform the first day I hung them out.


    It had to be Burly.


    I stopped hanging my uniform out from that day onward, and I could only wring it before keeping it in my cupboard.


    As such, during training the next day, I had to wear my semi-wet uniform in spite of the bone-piercing winter.


    Nevertheless, the winter sun was ferocious and my uniform dried within half an hour.


    I did not find training arduous, but living life in such fear was torturous.


    I had thought that this was it, but no, Burly would hide all of my gears.


    The second month in, I discovered that Burly did something else behind my back.


    New soldiers got 500 a month and the snack kiosk within the camp allowed dyed payment as long as we wrote our group number and names down.


    Again, I had been heartlessly exploited.


    It was only after a few inquiries that I realized Burly would always treat his group mates to some snacks and drinks after every training. Under my name, of course.


    Fortunately, there was a limit every month, or else I would¡¯ve been in deeper sh*t.


    That night, at 8:30, I went over to ss four and called him out for a chat.


    Standing on the roof with the clothes hangers, we exchanged looks.


    ¡°You hid my uniform?¡± I started.


    He smiled and pointed at his own uniform. ¡°I didn¡¯t hide it. I wear it. Wear one while the other two are in the wash. You know it¡¯s hard to dry clothes during winter so two sets aren¡¯t enough for me. Three is just about right so what¡¯s wrong with me taking a set of yours?¡±


    ¡°Then what about me? Is one set enough for me?¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s your problem,¡± he responded.


    ¡°What about the debt that you left under my name?¡±


    ¡°We came from the same region. What¡¯s wrong with me taking a little of your money?¡± he asked with that irritatingly malicious smile.


    I clenched my teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to avenge my friends.¡±


    Even though I had taken some military fitness sses for the past days, I was still not his match in terms of height and size.


    Burly threw a punch at my chest and I almost couldn¡¯t breathe. He then took me down to the ground and held me there. I was unable to resist at all.


    ¡°Knew you¡¯d think that way.¡± Burlyughed coldly.


    As I covered my face during the beating, a light shone down on us.


    ¡°What are you two doing? It¡¯s almost nine! Scoot back to your bunk!¡± the patrolling officer ordered.


    Burly got off me and headed downstairs while I got stopped by the officer.


    ¡°Is he from your ss?¡±


    I cried out and told him all that had happened.


    The next morning, Burly received a grave warning.


    That night, when I was showering, Burly took a broom and broke one of my legs.


    I¡¯ve forgotten what he shouted that night, but no other soldiers dared to intervene.


    He smashed the broom at my leg incessantly.


    Unable to fight back, I received many bruises and wounds on my left leg and face.


    Hearing my loud cries, the leaders dashed in to pull Burly away.


    Again, he received another warning while I was sent to the nearest military hospital.


    My leader visited me and gave me two choices.


    Since I haven¡¯t learned to use guns yet, he said that I could either wait for my injuries to heal before transferring to another unit or leave immediately.


    Because I had nowhere to go, I could only choose the first option.


    However, my leg took half a year to recover and my batchmates were all reallocated by then.


    Left without a choice, I was sent to a special department.

 Chapter 110: Karma III

    <h4>Chapter 110: Karma III</h4>


    I became an undercover agent. Slightly different from what you see in the movies, of course.


    I was chosen for very simple reasons.


    First, during my recovery period, I practically memorized all military rules and regtions.


    It was something that my leader kept in mind.


    Since I had nothing else I could do in my hospital bed, I started memorizing information topensate for myck of training.


    Second, I was an orphan and basically had no one that cares what happens to me. Sad, but true.


    When I arrived at that special department, there were already four other students.


    We trained in a house that our leader rented.


    It had three rooms and a hall. Five of us shared two rooms while the other one belonged to our leader.


    Unlike in training camp, there weren¡¯t any rules or limitations.


    We weren¡¯t required to sleep and wake up early and our monthly sry was decent as well.


    We weren¡¯t required to greet our officers and stand at attention.


    We could behavefortably, basically, as long as we knew our ce as soldiers.


    Initially, I was convinced that my injury was a blessing in disguise until I realized that there really was a lot to learn over there.


    I had to cram tons of knowledge within a year.


    My results were unsurprisingly the worst among the five of us, mainly because I had a weak foundation.


    Yet, no matter the disparity, our leader never got impatient.


    His catchphrase: ¡°Slowly, take your time.¡±


    We learned English and even some Meizhou dialects.


    Mastering morse code was also part of our program, but we only used it for writing letters.


    If we held real conversations by tapping on things, even a fool would be able to sense something fishy going on.


    Our team leader even had a drama teacher teach us how to perform.


    I was decent when it came to acting, and my makeup skills weren¡¯t bad either.


    To get us familiar with gunpowder and weapons, our team leader gave us practical lessons.


    Shooting was one thing and disassembling the guns was another.


    The guns we practiced with weren¡¯t ording to standards ¨C air guns, shotguns and some other modified ones that weren¡¯t taken in by the police department.


    Our team leader often exined, ¡°These are the guns we will be seeing in the future so I¡¯ll need you guys topletely understand their structures and not just learn how to shoot.¡±


    Aside from some gunpowder artilleries, we also got involved in other strange items.


    ¡°Use whatever you can find around you. I¡¯ll give you a bathroom. Make me a bomb.¡±


    I shook my head in helplessness but the four other men behind me leaped into action.


    ¡°Take out the phone battery, the metal chip from the sim card, and attach them together. 30 seconds to explode, half a meter radius.¡±


    ¡°The detergent in the bathroom, 10 seconds, one-meter radius.¡±


    ¡°Clothes and the squat toilet, no dy, four-meter radius.¡±


    ¡°Heat packs, desants from food packets, water from the toilet. 30 seconds, two-meter radius.¡±


    They might as well be speaking an aliennguage for all I understood.


    ¡°Tho... those really work?¡± I asked in shock.


    Our leaderughed. ¡°Well, at least blowing you up shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ...


    I don¡¯t know if I should thank or hate Burly fornding me in this state.


    Afterpleting our training, our leader gave each of us a new position and identity.


    It was then that I discovered that secret agents weren¡¯t people who infiltrate into target groups and attack from within.


    They were people who acted independently but had the greatest support from the police.


    We started work on graduation day.


    Our leader led five of us newbies and named our gang Fortune.


    I was made the gang leader while our real leader became my sidekick.


    I asked why did they appoint me as the gang leader. The answer? It¡¯s because I was the lousiest member of the team.


    Our target was a small town situated close to Meizhou, where gambling and dissemination of porn were severe.


    Multi-level marketing was rampant as well and I was utterly shocked by the concept of it.


    I had initially mistakenly thought that it was very challenging to be an undercover agent, but in reality, the ease of it was beyond my imagination.


    No guns or fights were involved.


    We only had to use the government¡¯s money to get people from the criminal gangs to run illegal dens so we could call the cops on them. That was pretty much just what we do before returning to our daily life of chatting and tracking for clues.


    Within half a year, we became the biggest criminal syndicate, albeit nominally, in the whole of Meizhou City.


    We ran a losing business in order to be reputable.


    We were infamous, however, for being busted and seized.


    Last year, after receiving our posts, the biggest boss within the syndicate wanted to move on to drugs because pornography and gambling brought too little revenue. He knew a drug trafficker from X nation so he figured that this would be easy.


    I was the first to ept this case.


    Expectedly, all our goods were intercepted and the manufacturing factory in the X nation was shut down.


    As agents, we entered the police station often, but we were released quickly.


    We were undercover agents in name but we were more like actors.


    But of course, we did not get retakes.


    Acting before subordinates was manageable, but the challenge reallyy in ying the part in the annual VIP meeting.


    I would only bring one along with us at most.


    We had worked hard for three years to get to where we were, and the meeting was where we could catch everything with one.


    Our leader and I arrived early at the VIP hall in the hotel and were arranged to sit in the fourth row.


    Big shots started entering the ce and the backmost one had a subordinate, and that subordinate was none other than Burly.


    When our eyes met, Burly jumped in shock.


    I was at a loss as well.


    That meeting focused on drug distribution among retail stores.


    I was the first to stand up when the boss asked for volunteers to take the bulk of it.


    My offer wasn¡¯t epted and we were given some scattered goods instead.


    I wasn¡¯t surprised about this since I made them lose a whole bunch of goods the previous year.


    Burly¡¯s boss raised his hand and was given the opportunity since no one else volunteered.


    Time for revenge.


    ...


    I returned to my own territory and the five of us sat down to discuss the mitigation methods.


    It was best to get rid of the source, of course, but it wasn¡¯t that simple since it wasn¡¯t a deal between us and the new manufacturing factory in nation X.


    ¡°I know where we can start from, actually,¡± I started.


    ¡°Share it,¡± our team leader added.


    ¡°Remember the subordinate beside the boss who volunteered?¡±


    ¡°He looked fierce.¡±


    I told him everything about Burly and the team leader was willing to use him as a point of attack.


    Before we could discuss the n in detail, a subordinate knocked on the door, ¡°Someone¡¯s looking for you, Boss.¡±


    It was Burly.


    The hotel was our temporal resting ce and we opened a room in the VIP lounge, where Burly and I sat opposite each other.


    ¡°How unexpected. You failed as a soldier so you just resorted tomitting evil?¡± he mocked.


    ¡°You as well, no? You¡¯ve finished your national service but you still became a thief.¡±


    ¡°Allocate your subordinate elsewhere and let me rece him,¡± he stated.


    The team leader gave me a look and I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s possible, but I¡¯m not sensing any sincerity from you.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°The address of your boss¡¯ hidden storage.¡±


    ¡°For?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to follow me? Shouldn¡¯t your goods tag along, too?¡± Iughed.


    Burly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯m in charge of them anyway. I¡¯ll bring them over as long as you cover for me.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of you bringing them? Nation X is doing business with your boss and not us. We¡¯ll have nothing left to earn from when the goods in the storage are emptied out,¡± I added.


    ¡°I¡¯m also a contact person for nation X¡¯s dealer.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to switch to my side then?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Because I have the supply. You get to be the boss when we¡¯re out, but we both know that I¡¯m the real boss.¡±


    ¡°Since there¡¯s money, we can talk nicely.¡± I nodded, smiling.


    Burly, too, started smiling.


    Half the battle was won.


    ...


    Three dayster, the police raided Burly¡¯s den.


    For the crime of hiding drugs, he was sentenced to death.

 Chapter 111: Wormhole Time Machine I

    <h4>Chapter 111: Wormhole Time Machine I</h4>


    My name is Luqiao and I was still an employee of a state enterprise yesterday.


    I have just handed in my resignation.


    I have had enough of this tiring yet poor-paying job.


    Of course, my confidence wasn¡¯t unfounded. My future was set and safe.


    I am here at a government-subsidizedboratory, not to interview for the position of a scientist or an assistant, but rather to be an experiment subject.


    I came across this opportunity incidentally and I couldn¡¯t be more grateful.


    Who wouldn¡¯t want a job that pays 10,000,000 for three days of work?


    I signed the contract yesterday, so I let it all out this morning at work. I rained curses on my work leader and threw my resignation form at him.


    I then came over to thisboratory to understand the nature of my three-day work.


    I am now in the meeting room, sitting before a professor dressed in a white coat.


    The professor smiled kindly. ¡°Let me introduce myself, my name is Dous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Luqiao, a participant,¡± I replied.


    Professor Dous nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve signed the contract, right? Let me brief you on what you¡¯ll be doing next.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I took out a notebook. I wanted to take this seriously since this was an extremely costly job.


    ¡°We¡¯re a science and technologypany that specializes and leads research in ck holes and wormholes,¡± he exined proudly.


    I nodded, noting down the keywords.


    ¡°Three years ago, while testing the separation and reduplication technique, we found somews of behavior. You¡¯ve seen Doraemon, I believe, Mister Luqiao?¡± he continued.


    ¡°Yeah, enjoyed watching it when I was little,¡± I answered, smiling.


    ¡°To put it inyman terms, we made a time machine with a wormhole. Its temporal name is Wormhole Time Machine. Doesn¡¯t it sound cool?¡± he asked, grinning.


    ¡°Wait, Wormhole Time Machine? To travel into the past and future... that sorta stuff?¡± I asked, astonished.


    ¡°No, no. We¡¯re not there yet. A lot of details are still in the testing stage and we are still unable to travel to a precise time or dimension. We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s into the past or future, which is why we need you.¡±


    ¡°You... are you asking me to enter the time machine?¡± I rified nervously.


    He reassured, ¡°You¡¯re an intelligent man, Mister Luqiao. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve already sent 63 white rats and 37 goris inside and the sess rate is 99%. There are no risks...¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment. Why isn¡¯t it a 100%?¡± I interrupted.


    ¡°It¡¯s just... we¡¯re scientists and we have to be fundamentally cautious with what we say. I can only guarantee a 99% sess and never 100% because that would be a lie. Just look at the airnes. Even after years of modifications and improvements, you still hear of idents on the news, right? What I can promise you, however, is that our machine is safer than any cars and airnes.¡±


    ¡°Then... is it toote to back out?¡± I hedged.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, but breaching the contracts means that you¡¯ll have topensate twice the sum that we offered. It¡¯s all written down, ck and white. Our finance manager will contact you. You can go out now and my colleague will bring you to the finance office.¡± He bowed and gestured toward the main entrance.


    That was not going to happen. ¡°No, no, wait. Can you vouch for the safety of your Wormhole Time Machine?¡±


    ¡°First, the government is funding our experiment so we do everything ording to their requests. We only start seeking for participants upon ensuring that this experiment is safe for humans. Plus, to put it bluntly, our project will be halted if anything happens to you so we won¡¯t wish for that either. Please believe in us.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I agree. Don¡¯t put too much into it, though, I¡¯m doing this for science,¡± I said, somewhat panicking. There was no way that I couldpensate them for breaching the contract. 20,000,000? If I had that kind of money, I wouldn¡¯t be here. I was too engrossed with their high offer that I totally ignored the terms and conditions.


    ¡°I understand. Let us continue then,¡± he said enthusiastically.


    I sighed. Sitting up straight, I prepared to take more notes. There was no turning back now.


    ¡°Our experiment isn¡¯tpleted, which means that the time machine isn¡¯t actually letting your body pass through. Instead, your soul will probably enter a human or an animal¡¯s body,¡± he went on.


    ¡°What the f*ck? Aren¡¯t you scientists supposed to be strict with what you say? What does ¡®probably¡¯ even mean? And a human or an animal? Which is it? How exactly am I supposed to trust you guys if you say things like this?¡± I cried out, bbergasted.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be in our first batch of human experiments, so whatever conclusions we came to are based on precise calctions and operations, as well as the evaluation of the behavior of animals that returned from the time machine. As such, this uing experiment is extremely important. If youplete it, it will be a major leap for humanity and the world,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Precise calctions? If it¡¯s so ¡®precise¡¯, why can¡¯t you tell me which year I¡¯ll be going back to?¡± I snapped back.


    ¡°There are inuracies in everything. It¡¯s inevitable. Did Edison not fail a thousand times before inventing the light bulb?¡± he countered.


    ¡°I get it now. You guys have concluded, based on conjectures and theories, that you¡¯ve invented a time machine. And since animals came back safely, you figured that it¡¯s okay to send humans in. So everything is still unknown and I¡¯m just ab rat?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He nodded.


    ¡°F*ck me. Are you not even going to give any justification? Aren¡¯t you just sending me into my grave?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve signed the contract, sir. What I can tell you is that you¡¯re overthinking this. The risk for this experiment is close to zero. All you have to do is stay there for three days and we will wake you up.¡±


    ¡°Send my soul away for three days? How are you going to wake me? What if I don¡¯te back?¡±


    ¡°We will be looking after your body over here, and it takes only a bit of medicine to wake you up. In that three days, you¡¯ll need to figure out what world you¡¯ve been sent to and note the differences between both worlds. You¡¯re then required to give us a report, as detailed as possible, and 10,000,000 is yours after.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll have to understand which year I am at and how it is different from this world? I might not remain on Earth? I might be sent to another?¡± I asked, feeling more and more puzzled and afraid as this conversation progressed.


    ¡°Have you seen Marvelics or movies? Spiderman, Ironman, X-men? There¡¯s something called ¡®parallel universe¡¯. This wormhole time machine is based on that concept. Of course, parallel or not, we don¡¯t know for certain.¡±


    ¡°What the hell! What happened to being strictly methodical? Why don¡¯t you know? You are uncertain and yet you¡¯re carrying on with humans as test subjects?¡± I demanded, my palm mming on the table.


    ¡°We are at a dead end. There won¡¯t be any conclusion, no matter how long we continue this discussion, unless you try it for yourself. We¡¯ve already used animals as subjects and we can guarantee the experiment¡¯s safety. All we need now is a human to confirm it. Why do you think we¡¯re giving 10,000,000? If it¡¯s that easy to earn it, do you think I¡¯ll still be here?¡± he exined calmly.


    I clenched my teeth, feeling the pressure from this iprehensible information.


    He continued, ¡°You need to know a few things. First, you must ensure that your host body does not die or we won¡¯t be able to ensure your return. Second, you cannot change history. Third, you mustn¡¯t tell anyone there about this world because you might end up changing history if it¡¯s not a parallel universe. Remember these and things shouldn¡¯t go wrong.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I have one more question.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°If my soul willtch onto a host body, where does the host go?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°That¡¯s a very research-worthy question. Still in the body, probably, but forced into a deep sleep or into your body. Thetter is unlikely, of course, because this is a one-way transmission. The host¡¯s soul will either disappear or be concealed by the brain. The soul is not really exinable by science so we don¡¯t know for sure,¡± he said.


    ¡°Then what happens to the host after I leave?¡±


    ¡°ording to my analysis, the host might be imbecile, fall into a vegetative state or none of these. Further research has to be done. Plus, at this stage, we¡¯re still unable to verify if repeating the standardized transmission will bring you to the same time period.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t thought about that? There are so many human vegetables and retards in this world. Could they be a result of time machines from elsewhere?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°We can¡¯t agree or disagree on that. But isn¡¯t Science all abouting up with bold theories and proving them carefully with evidence?¡± he responded.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it. Nothing is confirmed since you¡¯ve only sent animals so far. I¡¯ll have to check it out myself since I¡¯m yourb rat. When do we start? I¡¯ll need time to prepare myself,¡± I told him helplessly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll start this noon. Waiting too long would not help with your already frazzled nerves. It won¡¯t be good if you catch a mental illness. We¡¯ll wait for your good news.¡± He got up and pped.


    The door opened.


    Two fully armed soldiers dashed inside, guns at ready.


    Before I could voice my surprise, they¡¯ve already grabbed me from both sides.

 Chapter 112: Wormhole Time Machine II

    <h4>Chapter 112: Wormhole Time Machine II</h4>


    They escorted me out of the door and ady assistant appeared to hand me a set of clothes.


    I have seen these clothes in movies before. It was a kind of straitjacket that mentally ill patients wear.


    The sleeves were tied together while the pants were filled with fasteners.


    The soldiers dressed me forcefully.


    ¡°Wait, what are you doing? What¡¯s this for? Why must I wear this?¡± I cried out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a set of restrictive clothing. Because your soul will be away for three days and your body will be falling into a hibernating state, this is to prevent you from harming yourself if you sleepwalk. It¡¯s a lesson that we had to learn the hard way so just please cooperate,¡± Professor Dous said from behind.


    Overpowered, I could only let the soldiers fasten the locks on my clothes.


    They took me to the end of the corridor and opened the big door.


    It looked nothing like aboratory inside and more like an operating table in a hospital.


    They lifted me up and secured me to a bed.


    I couldn¡¯t move. I could only shout out helplessly.


    I have no idea what I was saying between my cries.


    Professor Dous walked over with a headgear in his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you why it¡¯s 99% and not 100%.¡±


    ¡°What? What...¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°We previously had an orangutan as a test subject. Her name was Bade and she was very tame. Same conditions, three days. On the first day, she started sleepwalking. The next day, we fastened her to the bed but we forgot the headgear and she bit off her tongue on the third day. By the time we realized what happened, it was toote. So this is just to prevent another ident. I hope you don¡¯t mind,¡± he exined before he covered my mouth with one hand as he prepared the gear with another.


    ¡°I object, I do mind... I want to end this experiment. I want to leave this...¡± The profanities that I wanted to hurl at him was cut off because the gear was already covering my face. The mouthpiece was pressing against my mouth and I could only groan.


    ¡°Start the experiment,¡± Professor Dous ordered.


    Ropes started tightening around my body.


    The bed inclined outward by more than 90 degrees and I experienced tinnitus.


    One minute, two minutes...


    The sound continued and my head felt like it was going to explode.


    I felt needles entering my skin and I started to feel drowsy.


    I felt something within my head drawing away and I was suddenly unsure where my body was.


    ...


    As I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on yellow earth.


    I got up with much effort and I could not feel my limbs.


    It was difficult to focus and it felt as though I have downed a whole bottle of white wine.


    I thought about what has happened and sure enough, memories started toe back.


    Have I traveled across time? Could I really go back after three days?


    I could not die and I must report everything I see.


    I looked around. It was a vast, barrennd.


    There was a mountain not far away and there seemed to be a jungle at the bottom.


    I was still a bit dizzy but I started walking in that direction as fast as I could.


    I looked down at my body and saw only a few pieces of cloth.


    Very primitive.


    I touched my face but I was unable to describe my appearance.


    My skin was dark. Am I a ck person? I tried to speak. ¡°I... have I traveled across time?¡±


    I am aware of my situation but I found it difficult to control my limbs.


    As if intoxicated, I swayed toward the jungle.


    I wanted to run but I do not have the energy.


    It was understandably difficult to control an unfamiliar body so being able to move was good enough for now.


    I should at least figure out which year and region I am in.


    I looked around and a few possibilities popped up in my head.


    Prehistory civilization, perhaps, or post science and technology maybe?


    Right, I might not even be on Earth.


    This body felt strained and my breaths were bing more urgent.


    Am I tired or was my host tired?


    I copsed to the ground and gradually lost consciousness.


    ...


    I woke up in a stone bed this time.


    A hazy figure supported me up. ¡°You¡¯re awake. You were severely dehydrated but luckily, you¡¯re fine now. Do you know who you are?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°You don¡¯t know me?¡±


    I might not be from here if he doesn¡¯t know me. Why was my host here then?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I know you. I¡¯ll bring you to our queenter,¡± he told me.


    I could not see his face clearly because I still felt drunk.


    I thought it might be a side effect of time travel. After all, my soul was now integrated with my host¡¯s.


    I observed my surroundings. It looked like I am in a cave.


    It was very dark and there was practically no light.


    I pondered about this matriarchal society and concluded that the culture here might be rather backward.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you turn on the lights?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What are those?¡± he asked back.


    I gave him a bitter smile. Of course, they might not understand some terms. It was just fortunate that there was nonguage barrier between us.


    ¡°Something that glows? Or fire?¡± I tried to describe.


    ¡°Yes, but only the queen gets to use it. I¡¯ll take you to meet her. She is very friendly.¡±


    I nodded. So this ce was not just a matriarchal society but also under an oligarchical regime.


    He took my hand and led me inward.


    We passed through many corridors. It looked like we were in an underground pce.


    The people around were busy with their own things and the main hall was very spacious.


    On the throne sat a woman, and I did not know why, but she appeared extremely imposing.


    I lowered my head involuntarily. My host must be frightened by all these people.


    ¡°Where are you from?¡± the queen started.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, Queen. Perhaps my brain is damaged. How long can I stay here for?¡± I asked politely.


    She replied faintly, ¡°Judging from your clothes, you must be from Poorful.¡±


    ¡°Poorful?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s nothing. I can let you stay here as long as you¡¯re willing to work,¡± she informed me.


    She waved her hand and an older looking man entered.


    ¡°He¡¯s our worshipper and he will tour you around this ce so get yourself familiar. I¡¯ll give you a few days to do that before you start working for me. How does that sound?¡± she proposed.


    I needed three days. With a smile, I answered, ¡°I might need three days to rest.¡±


    ¡°I was right. You¡¯re azy person from Poorful Country but you seem hardworking somehow. Alright, you may leave now. I hope you can contribute something three dayster.¡±


    She waved her hand again and the worshipper led me out of the pce.


    I turned around and half of the blurry pce seemed to be on the mountain while the other half was an underground construction.


    ¡°What nation is this?¡± I asked the worshipper.


    ¡°Poorless Nation.¡±


    ¡°Poorful? Poorless?¡± I echoed.


    ¡°Yes, because where youe from, the people arezy, all take and no give, hence poorful. People here are diligent so we are poorless.¡±


    ¡°So just one poorful and one poorless?¡±


    ¡°This ce has been built by sessive queens, one after another, over a few centuries.¡±


    ¡°Right, what are we?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He looked confused.


    ¡°There¡¯snd under our feet and the ground is actually round so we¡¯re on earth and we¡¯re earthlings,¡± I exined. When what I¡¯ve done registered with my head, I immediately mped my mouth shut. I said something I shouldn¡¯t have.


    ¡°Earth? Isn¡¯t it t?¡±


    I nodded eagerly. ¡°Yes, yes, I made a mistake. It¡¯s t.¡±


    ¡°What did you say we are? The Gods call us Ma... Ma something, right? Oh, Maya?¡±


    ¡°Ma? Ya? Maya? This is Maya? BCE?¡± I cried out before covering my mouth again.


    ¡°Maya? Sounds like a good name. I¡¯ll bring that up to the queen tomorrow. We will be Mayans,¡± he said with a pleased smile.


    I froze. Have I just influenced history?


    ¡°So that was what the Gods meant. Thank you, Gods,¡± the worshipper shouted.


    ¡°Wait, Gods? There are Gods here?¡± I asked, baffled.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ll see in the future.¡±


    ¡°Wait? See what?¡± I asked, shuddering. Legend has it that ancient people had gotten help from the aliens.


    Could there really be aliens?


    ¡°Of course, you can see Gods. They appear overhead and bring us harvest or disaster.¡±


    ¡°Harvest or disaster?¡± I repeated, still unable toprehend this concept.


    ¡°There are good Gods and bad Gods,¡± he exined patiently.


    It was all too much for me to take in. I asked anxiously, ¡°Can you take me to the Gods?¡±


    ¡°They will appear as they please, and we don¡¯t know if they will be bringing us a disaster or a reward.¡±


    I nodded. It seemed at this point that the aliens were really the cause of mankind¡¯s progress. How else could there be airships and the like?


    ¡°What do they look like?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°No particr look. Very tall and big. I can¡¯t describe it. You¡¯ll know when you see them. They just look like... Gods.¡±


    Again, I nodded perfunctorily as I pondered over this. I¡¯ll share this information when I get back to the present. It will shock the world and also prove the existence of aliens. Of course, I¡¯ve yet to see the ¡®Gods¡¯ so...


    Would I get the chance to see them before my three days were up?


    I felt rather vexed right now. My knowledge of history was too limited.


    I knew next to nothing about the Maya civilization, except that they were smart and even predicted the end of the world. Did the ¡®Gods¡¯ tell them that?


    And were they smart because they received information from the ¡®Gods¡¯? I did not dare to delve into this just yet.


    The worshipper smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to rest. You¡¯ll sleep in my room tonight.¡±


    I was looking forward to meeting the Gods.


    The night deepened and I drifted to sleep, only to be woken up by a p in the face. Someone was holding and shaking my head vigorously.


    I jolted up to see a furious worshipper shouting in my face. ¡°What did you say in your dreams? What do you mean by ¡®The God of Destruction ising¡¯?¡±


    I stared at him, eyes wide in shock. I was speechless.


    Did my host speak when I was asleep?


    Or did my host travel over here from Poorful Nation to convey the message? God of Destruction? Wait, how did the Maya civilization die out? I was really regretting all the times that I did not pay attention in ss.


    The worshipper grabbed my hand angrily. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet the queen and you must exin yourself.¡±

 Chapter 113: Wormhole Time Machine III

    <h4>Chapter 113: Wormhole Time Machine III</h4>


    He dragged me toward the pce and Professor Dous¡¯ words rang in my head: Do not tell anyone about the future. History will change if it is not a parallel universe.


    Could I possibly be the cause of Maya¡¯s downfall?


    The problem was I do not know how the civilization ended! What did my host say? Was he pretending not to know now? Should I just tell the queen what he wanted to say?


    But if I do that, I would definitely be executed! Isn¡¯t telling the queen that her nation was about to be destroyed just the same as digging my own grave? Hell, I should just be d that she wasn¡¯t offended by myck of etiquette. I had actually forgotten to get down on my knees and shout ¡®long live Your Majesty¡¯.


    Before I could formte a n, I found myself at the pce.


    It was already night time now and the queen was resting on her throne.


    The soldiers were standing guard all around, 24/7 I believed.


    The worshipper shouted urgently, ¡°We have a big problem, Your Majesty!¡±


    The queen sat up straight and responded calmly, ¡°Speak slowly, don¡¯t rush.¡±


    ¡°This new guy said something in his dream. Something about God of Destruction,¡± the worshipper went on, panicking.


    ¡°God of Destruction? Who are you exactly?¡± she asked me rather unhappily.


    I felt a little dizzy. I shook my head helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, my head is damaged and I can¡¯t recall anything. Perhaps some memories came back when I was asleep. I don¡¯t even know who I am, please believe me.¡±


    The queen fell silent.


    The worshipper nodded, backing me up. ¡°He might be telling the truth. He was like apletely different person when he was sleeptalking. He kept shouting with a slur and I can¡¯t really understand much.¡±


    After a short pause, the queen spoke, ¡°You said that he only spoke of those words after falling asleep?¡±


    The worshipper nodded.


    ¡°Get him to sleep now then,¡± she instructed.


    ¡°Get me to sleep? How can I possibly fall asleep right now?¡± I asked worriedly.


    ¡°We have toe up with a way to make you fall asleep,¡± the worshipper insisted.


    ¡°Are you sure that you two aren¡¯t in cahoots? Aren¡¯t you just doing all this to get a sip of my honey wine?¡± the queen questioned after another brief pause.


    ¡°I¡¯ll swear upon everything that I¡¯ve got, Your Majesty,¡± he hurriedly reassured her.


    She waved her hand and a guard stepped into the hall.


    I hesitantly began, ¡°What is honey wine? Why do I have to drink this?¡±


    The queen ignored me and said, ¡°I¡¯m about to get you drunk with my precious honey wine. If you don¡¯t bring me the news that I am hoping for, the two of you will be burned to death.¡±


    I was confused. ¡°Burned to death? Why is a jar of wine going to bring such big problems?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be tied up and left under the sun to roast. When you¡¯re all dried up and shriveled, you¡¯ll be buried,¡± the worshipper told me with a shaky voice. ¡°I swear I heard you saying ¡®God of Destruction¡¯! Don¡¯t bring me any trouble!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s just wine? Is there a need to go that far?¡±


    ¡°Just wine? This is luxurious wine and we only produce 10 bottles each year as a sacrifice for the Gods,¡± the worshipper snapped.


    I didn¡¯t say anything more since it was clear that I knew nothing about their culture. The less I talk, the better.


    Shortly after, the guard took out a bowl that contained a viscous liquid that was a tangerine yellow in color.


    The queen waved her hand once more. ¡°Drink up and have a good sleep. We¡¯ll see if your answer pleases me.¡±


    The guard handed me the bowl and I finished it in a gulp.


    Sweet. Excessively sweet.


    I felt the liquid flow down my throat.


    I couldn¡¯t taste any wine at all, but perhaps it was overpowered by the sweetness.


    I did not feel drunk but I found myself unable to move. My limbs started to squirm uncontrobly.


    I heard myself talking but it was not really me. I was not in control.


    ¡°You¡¯re the queen of Poorless Nation? I¡¯m in your pce?¡± I asked.


    She smiled. ¡°Yes. I see things have changed now. Speak. Who exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a soldier of Poorful Nation. I ran away because my nation is destroyed. Completely wrecked.¡±


    Tears fell down uncontrobly.


    ¡°What was the cause?¡± she quizzed.


    ¡°God of Destruction. He looked down at us and something huge struck us. A glistening liquid entered the pce, the tunnels, and everywhere else before solidifying,¡± I answered.


    ¡°A flood?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s sticky. I think it¡¯s the sun because it was extremely hot. Touching it means instant death. There was no way to escape. I saw the liquid filling up the pce and the Gods using a massive metal sheet to dig the pce out. All that was left of it were the iron tunnels and the skeleton of the main hall. The solidified liquid caused all of these. It¡¯s a tribtion. We must have done something wrong and the Gods are punishing us.¡±


    The queen retorted proudly, ¡°It¡¯s because of your people¡¯sziness.¡±


    ¡°No, no! God of Destruction destroyed us and they will destroy your nation too,¡± I warned her.


    Oh gosh. That was the ultimate sphemy! I am a dead man for sure.


    ¡°Why do you say that? We are so diligent. The Gods can see our efforts so why would they destroy us?¡± she asked, confused.


    ¡°Because 63,¡± I simply said.


    ¡°63?¡±


    ¡°Among 100borers, there will always be 63 who skive off. Removing those who skive, half of the remaining 37 will start to goof off. It¡¯s a fact, whether poorless or poorful. Your nation chooses to force the 63 to work while my nation chooses to make the 37 work even harder. You think we¡¯rezy, but it¡¯s the same on your side.¡±


    ¡°What... who told you to say this?¡± she raged.


    ¡°Our queen. It¡¯s only inevitable. The Gods have punished us and they will punish you, too. There will always be skivers and there¡¯s nothing you can do to stop it,¡± I finished before copsing.


    My host seemed to have lost consciousness, but I could still perceive everything.


    The queen made no order to execute me, which I was grateful for, but instead, fell into a deep silence.


    After some time, she shouted for the worshipper.


    ¡°What is it, Your Majesty?¡± he responded immediately.


    ¡°Is it what he said about 63 and 37 true? No, don¡¯t answer that, juste with me. I¡¯m going to the quarry. Wake 100 workers up now and make it quick. I need to know how many are skiving. Bring him along,¡± she ordered angrily.


    My face was on the ground so I could not see anything, but I am pretty sure that she was referring to me.


    ¡°But it¡¯s night time and it¡¯s not safe outside,¡± the worshipper protested.


    ¡°This is an order,¡± she yelled firmly.


    I felt hands pulling me up. Guards, I supposed.


    They dragged me out and being semi-paralyzed, I could not open my eyes and see anything.


    Instead, I heard some drums and shuffling.


    A long timeter, the queen roared, ¡°Count for me. How many of them are skiving? Why? Why is this happening?¡±


    ¡°1.¡±


    ¡°2.¡±


    ...


    ¡°18.¡±


    ¡°19.¡±


    ...


    ¡°78.¡±


    ¡°79.¡±


    ¡°80, Your Majesty. Only 20 are genuinely working. The rest is just acting perfunctorily,¡± the worshipper noted in fear.


    ¡°Why? Why are we doing worse than Poorful Nation?¡± she questioned in disbelief.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s just toote right now and they¡¯re feeling tired. They¡¯re supposed to be resting now, after all,¡± the worshipper rationalized.


    She mumbled indignantly, ¡°No, no. We can¡¯t allow this. If we¡¯re thiszy, how are we any different from Poorful Nation? God of Destruction will kill us all.¡±


    ¡°What should we do next, Your Majesty?¡± the worshipper asked in a trembling voice.


    ¡°Let them return home. Wait for this guy to wake up. Execute him if he remembers that he¡¯s from Poorful Nation. Otherwise, make him stay and toil,¡± shemanded.


    ¡°But we have yet to settle the matter regarding God of Destruction.¡±


    ¡°Convey my order tomorrow. Skivers will be burned to death,¡± she finished before walking away.


    The worshipper instructed the guards, ¡°Bring him back to my room and remember to tie him up.¡±


    ...


    Three to four hourster, the feeling in my body started toe back again.


    With some effort, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. I felt hungover. It was unbearable.


    The worshipper asked, ¡°Do you remember who you are?¡±


    ¡°Me? Who am I? I think my head is damaged,¡± I answered.


    He sighed. ¡°You¡¯re part of us. You really can sleep, can¡¯t you? It¡¯s already two in the afternoon. You shall rest today and start work tomorrow. We mustn¡¯tze around. I¡¯ll leave you alone now that you¡¯re awake and get back to building our nation.¡±


    He untied the ropes around my body before exiting the room.


    I found it almost unbelievable how easily he was deceived.


    I continued to lie down on the stone bed but I didn¡¯t dare to go back to sleep. I feared that the host might wake up and start spouting nonsense again.


    Tomorrow was myst day here so I just needed to hang on till then and I would be free.


    Next morning.


    A guard opened the door.


    Other than the queen, all civilians were toiling outside the pce.


    The skivers were being picked out from the crowd. They were all secured against wooden frames and left under the sun.


    I was now starting to understand what that death penalty was about.


    ¡°You! Why don¡¯t I recognize you? Are you skiving?¡± a guard above me asked.


    I quickly picked some stones up and transport them as fast as I could. That went on from morning till noon.


    Lunch was being served.


    After filling our tummies, we got back to work. It felt like a concentration camp.


    I didn¡¯t know why they were knocking and transporting these rocks. Was this the start of the pyramid construction? I remembered that the Mayans also had pyramids. Did the Gods instruct them on this? Would they be punished if it was not done properly? Could that be the cause of their fall?


    Thoughts of that filled my mind the whole day.


    It was almost the evening when I felt the ground shake.


    Everyone stopped what they were doing.


    The sky turned dark and something massive appeared overhead.


    ¡°The Gods are here,¡± people cried out.


    They ran into the pce and aborer beside me pulled me up. ¡°Why are you in a daze! It¡¯s safe inside,e quick!¡±


    I looked up, standing motionless.


    So they were the Gods...


    They were even taller than Mount Everest.


    A boundless silver object was pressing down on us. Secondster, it released a ming liquid.


    The glistening liquid flowed into the pce¡¯s entrance like magma.


    Theborer who was nning to drag me in knelt down onto the ground and tremble non-stop. He shouted in realization, ¡°The queen is gone, our nation is gone. We¡¯re nothing. Everything is gone.¡±


    A splitting headache suddenly hit me and a loud ringing buzzed in my ears once more.


    I closed my eyes with much difficulty since I was starting to lose control of my body again.


    I felt myself drawing away as if all of this was just a dream.


    It felt as though I have been a drunkard for the past three days and everything was illusory.


    I opened my eyes. I couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Someone grabbed my head and my headgear came off.


    ¡°You¡¯re back, congrattions,¡± Professor Dous weed me.


    I cried out, ¡°It¡¯s Maya. Maya¡¯s gone.¡±


    He asked agitatedly, ¡°You made it? To Maya? BCE?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they have Gods. Visible Gods. It¡¯s terrifying,¡± I answered.


    He untied the fasteners on my body. ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, we will record everything down, so just take all the time you need to share your experience. The more detailed the better.¡±


    I nodded furiously.


    I shared everything that happened over the past three days.


    The person recording the notes smiled as he closed his book. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡±


    I received a message on my phone.


    10,000,000 has been transferred into my bank ount.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    I spent 5,000,000 on a penthouse in the city center and invested the rest in some stocks to ensure that I get sufficient passive ie to survivefortably.


    I got married to a beautiful woman and had a daughter.


    One day, when I was watching television, my wife was ying with our daughter on an iPad. My five-year-old daughter suddenly shouted, ¡°Ants!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ants!¡± My wife smiled encouragingly at her.


    Ants? Maya?


    My hair stood on end.


    I snatched the iPad over and saw on the screen a thumbnail of a foreigner pouring a basin of a magma-like substance onto the ground.


    I clicked on it and saw a video titled, ¡®Ants and Aluminium (22 kilograms) ¨C Pouring Hot Aluminium Into an Ant¡¯s Nest¡¯.


    I returned the iPad to my wife and plopped back onto the sofa. I fished out my phone and called Professor Dous.


    He gave me his number back then and said that I could contact him anytime.


    The line connected after a few rings.


    ¡°What is it? Who is this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Luqiao, Professor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I remember now. How have you been?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the time machineing along?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve conducted many experiments and it seems that we can only go back in time. We are constantly improving, of course, and we aim to make a breakthrough within the next 10 years. When that timees, proper time travel will no longer be a dream.¡±


    As I listened to him, I slowly realized what the actual situation was. I didn¡¯t dare mention anything to him, though.


    ¡°Oh, I wish you good luck then,¡± I said instead.


    ¡°You called me just to ask that? Nothing else?¡±


    ¡°Actually, there is something. My daughter has an insect-rted assignment and she asked what would happen if humans became ants.¡±


    ¡°Instantly? Interesting question. Humans perceive the world through sight, hearing and touch, but ants do it through touch and smell. If humans were to be ants, I would think that their brains will start to turn hazy and malfunction. Of course, a human brain is adaptable and the hazy images will be reorganized to trick the human into believing that he still has a sense of sight. I remember watching a news about an amblyopic girl going blind, yet not realizing it until she left her home and entered a foreign environment. Her brain had been tricking her. Of course, this is just a hypothetical question. Are sses really so difficult nowadays or was I just overthinking things? Humans and ants... super strength perhaps? I don¡¯t know actually, heh.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you, Professor. I¡¯ll think about it on my own. Nice chatting with you.¡±


    I hung up and felt a chill running down my spine.

 Chapter 114: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive I

    <h4>Chapter 114: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive I</h4>


    My name is Chalk, and I own a smallpany along with Fatty and Skinny.


    All three of us were both the bosses and the employees.


    Coincidences happen and some people gather through fate.


    We were all elementary schoolmates who studied together for 12 years, all the way to senior high.


    We separated before University and our friendship gradually faded.


    University graduation happened four yearster in August.


    It was that period where people received the most invitations to reunions and old schoolmates from different stages of life would attend respectively.


    Naturally, the three of us attended all reunions so we got to meet three consecutive times.


    The first meeting was joyful, the second was spent reminiscing, and the third was the time for us to reach a tacit mutual understanding.


    When the third reunion ended, the three of us exchanged nces and decided to extend the party.


    We got drunk and chatted for a whole night.


    Dead drunk, we sprawled down beside the shrubs by the main road and only woke up when the afternoon sun shone down and burned our bums.


    My alcohol tolerance was lower than the two of them so I couldn¡¯t remember anything from the previous night.


    Fatty, however, yelled excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Come to my ce and we¡¯ll start ourpany!¡±


    That was how we got to where we were today.


    Yes, that was right, we were all bosses.


    The apartment was provided by Fatty. His parents had prepared it for him when he gets married, but Fatty was still single.


    We were all single, actually.


    We modified the apartment into apany and named it ¡®Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive, Responsibility Limited Company¡¯.


    Sorry, I meant, ¡®Limited Responsibility Company¡¯.


    Of course, it really doesn¡¯t matter how you say it since thispany was illegal, illogical, and does not conform to rules.


    Where were we supposed to get the money to register ourpany?


    Nevertheless, we have all kinds of methods.


    Fatty was in charge of site and technology whereas Skinny was in charge of advertising and technical skills.


    Me? I¡¯m in charge of food and coffee.


    As ourpany name implied, we seek people out, dead or alive, on request.


    We categorized ourselves as private investigators but in actual fact...


    Initially, we worked for the satisfaction of cracking cases, butter on, we discovered that such satisfaction was very different from our expectations.


    I no longer remember what bold, visionary words I had spouted when I was drunk, but Fatty and Skinny seemed to believe that my proposal would work.


    It was true that we enjoy watching detective films and television shows.


    Fatty loves Sherlock Holmes, Skinny enjoys Detective Conan, and I appreciate A Miss Mard Mystery.


    The process of establishing ourpany.


    Skinny was a rather proficient hacker and he has been hacking into schoolputers since elementary days.


    In the beginning, he only hacked into teachers¡¯puters to alter his homework and grades.


    Later on, he started using his allowance on Inte cafes.


    Skipping meals was the main reason why Skinny turned out, well, skinny.


    At that time, youngsters visited Inte cafes to y games. Skinny, on the other hand, attended forums to learnputer skills from experts.


    In middle school and high school, tweaking school¡¯s database became amon urrence.


    I am not sure what he did during University, but his skills definitely progressed significantly.


    Fatty and I were shocked when he created a software that automated forum advertising to promote ourpany.


    In the early days, we mostly epted cases of lost child and only a few cases rting to extramarital affairs.


    As for others, there was practically nothing. Not having any major cases made us lose direction.


    It was very simple to look for kids, especially with the help of Skinny.


    Skinny programmed a very amazing sequence that would automatically post information and distinctive feature or traits about a lost child on all relevant websites.


    It would then match key terms and list sites that produced over 70% simrity. Over 10 sites with at least 90% simrity would appear in the system and all that was left to do was give the client a call.


    We would hold onto a lost child case for a maximum of one year, and the client would pay us a 365 dor deposit.


    As each day passed, we would return one dor into the client¡¯s ount and continue this on until we obtain at least 90% information regarding the child. If we couldn¡¯t obtain that information in a year, the full amount would be refunded, but we would still share with them whatever news we have umted.


    On the other hand, if we managed to find the child at the end of 10 or 100 days, we would refund 10 or 100 dors respectively.


    This was the only way we charge, but the clients would give us red packets when they reunite with their lost child or parent. We would ept their gift and take it as maintenance fee.


    The quickest we had managed to finish a transaction was less than a day.


    But of course, more often than not, we fail and refund everything along with whatever news we manage to find.


    Overall, our sess rate was among the highest within the industry despite it being only 20%.


    Among the 20% that we have found, only a few were willing to do a DNA test. One party wouldmunicate, and the other would simply nod and take it as it was.


    This was basically the main ie of ourpany. We do not enjoy earning it and we have no passion for it, but we still continue on in order to survive.


    Moving on to the extramarital affairs...


    Such cases were trickier, but Fatty was talented in this aspect.


    We take these on to earn extra ie since we charge clients 3650 dors.


    We apply the same procedure, except that we return 10 dors a day for this.


    These cases do note by often, however.


    90% of our clients were female, and they would usually tell us their husbands¡¯ working hours, ces they usually hang out, and we would start our operation from there.


    Our magic weapon was the drone, a newly poprized toy but extremely effective nevertheless.


    We find out the location of our target and follow him to the pub or hotel.


    We would then tip the attendants to get his room number and Skinny would hack into the hotel¡¯s website.


    Fatty was good at controlling the drone so he would fly it to a suitable height and capture some videos.


    Fatty has a surefire way to do this even if the windows were closed. A special probe on the drone would be used as long as the room has an air conditioner.


    The pipe connecting the machine to the external engine bes our target.


    Fatty would control the drone to enter the piping and capture everything clearly from the other side.


    We would then send the information back to our clients or call them over to catch the adulterous couple red-handedly.


    It was all really simple for us. Eventually, theck of challenge killed our passion.


    An old man came to us yesterday.


    He was in a western suit and even had two bodyguards behind him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you 5,000,000 to find someone for me,¡± he told us without preamble.


    That was it. The rebirth of our passion.

 Chapter 115: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive II

    <h4>Chapter 115: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive II</h4>


    ¡°5,000,000 you said? You¡¯ve found the rightpany,¡± Fatty responded, his eyes twinkling merrily.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find him, dead or alive, right?¡± the old man croaked softly.


    ¡°Yes. If we can¡¯t find the person you¡¯re looking for, it would be even harder for the otherpanies. Who are you hoping to find? We love challenges and we can¡¯t wait,¡± Fatty said as he rubbed his hands together excitedly.


    ¡°My grandson. Not difficult, right?¡± he asked faintly.


    Fatty¡¯s excitement withered.


    Skinny tapped my shoulder and whispered, ¡°Tell him that it won¡¯t cost him that much.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°Excuse me, sir. We don¡¯t charge that much for finding a lost child. 365 will do. I will exin the procedures to you. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s easy to understand.¡±


    The old man reached a hand out. ¡°Wait, let me finish.¡±


    I was already preparing to hand him our service menu when Skinny stopped me.


    ¡°Okay, tell us,¡± Skinny said.


    The old man coughed again before turning to his bodyguards. ¡°I should be very safe here. Wait for me outside and I¡¯ll call you if I need you. Do not barge in otherwise, got it?¡±


    The bodyguards nodded and walked out, closing the gate behind them.


    After a short pause, the old man sighed heavily. ¡°I previously worked in the red wine business. After ten years of hard work, I made a name for myself and I am now able to restfortably. Mypany even made it to the top 10 of the industry. Horse Brand Red Wine. Have you heard of it?¡±


    Fatty nodded. ¡°That¡¯s your creation? Impressive. That brand isn¡¯t doing as well here, but a rtive living overseas told me that it is really popr over there. He even brought a few bottles back once and even a naive guy like me found it good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be direct. Yes, business is smooth, but I¡¯m all alone now. My wife is gone and my son and daughter-inw left half a year back. Unfortunately, the two of them got into a terrible road ident and were pronounced dead on the spot. All I have left is my grandson,¡± he narrated, his voice hard.


    ¡°My condolences. In order to find your grandson, we¡¯ll need you to provide as much information as you can. How old is he and when did you lose him?¡± Fatty asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s about your age,¡± the old man answered.


    ¡°That... it¡¯ll be harder since it¡¯s already been some time. You have to be mentally prepared for other possibilities,¡± I added.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not lost,¡± the old man corrected.


    ¡°Wait, then why have youe? And 5,000,000?¡± Fatty asked somewhat angrily.


    I pulled him aside and whispered, ¡°Old people tend to be long-winded so bear with him. Follow the standard procedures then send him away. We can¡¯t afford to provoke a rich man.¡±


    Fatty sighed and turned away.


    The old man said, ¡°My son¡¯s death made me more protective of my grandson. I agreed to all his requests so he grew up spoiled. He was arrested by the cops half a month ago.¡±


    Fatty looked up again, smelling an interesting case. He smiled and asked, ¡°You think the police made a mistake and want us to defend your grandson?¡±


    ¡°No. My grandson did kill someone and because the evidence was clear, he¡¯s been given a death penalty.¡±


    ¡°Killed somebody? No way...¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°He charged into the person¡¯s house, killed him, and then proceeded in hacking his whole family up. He hid for a day before he got caught.¡±


    The old man took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears collecting in his eyes.


    ¡°Premeditated murder and numerous assaults? What did that family do to offend your grandson?¡± I blurted out before covering my mouth in shame. We were talking about his grandson and that was inappropriate of me. He did not get angry, however.


    ¡°No, no. My grandson is a good person. The victim was the truck driver that caused his parents¡¯ death. In order to earn money, the driver worked different jobs, day and night, and lost control of his vehicle due to exhaustion. He was full of regret at what happened. I didn¡¯t tell my grandson any of this so I reckon he did his own investigations to dig this up,¡± the old man exined, his head hung low as he used his handkerchief to cover his whole face.


    Sobs, followed by coughs, filled the room.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t exert yourself too much,¡± I tried.


    ¡°Then, isn¡¯t that the end of it? Why do you want us to find him? Did he break out of prison?¡± Fatty asked with knitted brows.


    ¡°He¡¯s been given the death sentence and will be in executed three days. This 5,000,000 is to look for his corpse. Didn¡¯t you say dead or alive? I¡¯ll need you to find a dead person,¡± he rified as he wiped his tears.


    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t quite understand. Isn¡¯t he your grandson? And you¡¯re the only rtive left? No one¡¯s going to im his body so why can¡¯t you just do it?¡± Skinny asked, puzzled.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked the police but I would only able to retrieve his ashes and not the whole corpse,¡± he sobbed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that good?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I want to bury him in our ancestral tomb. My son¡¯s body had been too damaged so cremation was the only way. I really wish to bury my grandson there so that I cany beside him when I die and we can have each other¡¯spany. I hope you¡¯ll fu... fulfill my wish,¡± he choked.


    ¡°How are we going to fulfill your wish? Won¡¯t he be executed by a firing squad? Won¡¯t there be a hole in his skull?¡± Fatty questioned.


    ¡°He will be euthanized and there won¡¯t be any wounds,¡± the old man hurriedly exined. ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything that I know. I need you to find the execution site and crematorium that he will be sent to after. If you can do that within three days, the 5,000,000 is yours. I will continue from there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, can you tell me how you n to continue? We can¡¯t do something that¡¯s against thew. If you¡¯re going to do something illegal, won¡¯t we turn into your aplices?¡± Skinny quizzed.


    The old man coughed a few times before answering, ¡°I¡¯ve bought a corpse from the hospital. A corpse that looks 80% simr to my grandson and is currently being chilled in the mortuary. There¡¯s no way I can bribe the police officers, but the corpse will be stored in the crematorium for a period of time after the execution. I will then figure out a way to switch the bodies. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Alright. We have a rough understanding now but we still need to discuss this for a bit. Will you give us a few minutes?¡± Skinny requested.


    The old man nodded slightly. ¡°I understand that this won¡¯t be easy for you guys. I will make a downpayment of 10,000 if you ept the case, and you can keep it regardless of the oue. If you¡¯re sessful, I¡¯ll transfer the remaining 4,990,000. If not, the case ends there and I will not pester you anymore. It¡¯s a promise.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I think you misunderstood us. We do not want to raise the price. It¡¯s really not about the money, we just need to think this all through,¡± Skinny exined.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The old man turned his head to look out of the window.


    We gathered in a circle and started discussing.


    ¡°He¡¯s quite pitiful. Should we help?¡± Fatty started.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty doable. Plus, we won¡¯t be involved in the switching of bodies,¡± I added.


    ¡°But he will be doing something illegal and we will be indirectly involved,¡± Skinny said.


    ¡°But his son is already dead and his only grandson is going to be too. He¡¯s going to be punished for his crime so is it really that big of a deal for the old man to switch the corpses?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s vote? Raise your hand if you want to help him,¡± Fatty suggested and put his hand against his chest.


    I raised mine the same way as well. ¡°For him and for the money. We can do it, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Skinny shook his head. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t go against two votes. Let¡¯s do it. It probably will be the most interesting case that we will ever take on. Plus, it¡¯s well-paying.¡±


    Fatty smiled and turned to the old man. ¡°We ept it.¡±


    The old man broke into a smile and made a call.


    A bodyguard came in shortly after.


    ¡°Bring me the money and the documents,¡± the old man ordered.


    The guard nodded and spoke into a small mic attached to his suit.


    Another bodyguard, different from the one before, entered with a briefcase.


    It was then that I realized that the old man had more than two bodyguards.


    The guard ced the briefcase on the table. The old man opened it and said, ¡°Passcode is three zeroes. The money and data are here, along with my contact number. You have three days to gather the information I¡¯m looking for. I shan¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡±


    The old man closed the briefcase and locked it.


    We nodded and sent him out of our office-cum-apartment.


    I looked out of the window and saw seven ck sedan cars parked along the road.


    The number of his bodyguards was shocking.


    I saw the old man get in on one of the cars in the middle.


    The cars drove off one by one and I turned back to my partners.


    ¡°He¡¯s super rich,¡± I stated.


    Fatty replied nervously, ¡°Is this going to be difficult? Finding the execution site and crematorium in only three days?¡±


    ¡°We can do this. Stop staring into space and get cracking. You two wanted to ept the case so don¡¯t leave me investigating on my own now,¡± Skinny grumbled in dissatisfaction.


    I dashed to the briefcase and opened it.


    Under the stacks of bills was a yellow file.

 Chapter 116: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive III

    <h4>Chapter 116: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive III</h4>


    I picked the file up and opened it.


    There were quite a few things inside.


    There was a silver name card that said, Yun Huateng, Director of Horse Brand Red Wine.


    There was also a mobile phone number made up of 8s and 6s. How auspicious.


    ¡°Looks like this is his contact details. Look at all the 8s and 6s, how rich,¡± I sighed.


    Fatty came over to take a look at the card as well. ¡°Silver name card with an auspicious number to match.¡±


    I put the name card down and moved on to the legal document.


    Yun Huan. This must be his grandson.


    I handed it to Fatty. ¡°Look through this carefully. It¡¯s about our target.¡±


    There were two other items, Yun Huan¡¯s identification card and a bundle of photographs.


    I browsed through them. They were all photographs taken of Yun Huan. He looked delicate and fresh, not typical of murderers.


    I handed the identification card to Skinny. ¡°The identification number and registered residence may be of some help. See if you can find anything.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think all of this is too simple?¡± Skinny asked as he took the card.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Think about it. I just have to bring this card to the bank and request for a bank card. The teller will discover from the records that I¡¯m a criminal and call the cops. I will be arrested and Yun Huan will be called out to see me. Upon realizing that I was merely forging his identity, he will be sent back and I will be given a warning and perhaps get locked up for three to seven days. Yun Huan will need to be imprisoned again, and we can just follow him to find his cell. Things will be easy from there.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God! Yes, that should work! We can just pay a beggar a few hundred dors to settle it?¡± I proposed.


    Skinny gestured for us to be quiet.


    Fatty and I turned to look at him suspiciously.


    Skinny kept a finger over his lips. ¡°We will do it tomorrow. Let¡¯s think of what to eat now. We have the money so let¡¯s eat out to celebrate and look forward to the day of our payout.¡±


    He stood up and walked into the toilet. He left the door open and waved for us to enter.


    Now understanding that something was up, we followed after him.


    It was a rather awkward situation.


    Skinny whispered, ¡°I think there¡¯s a listening device in the briefcase¡¯s lock. It¡¯s ridiculously huge.¡±


    Fatty and I were stunned.


    ¡°No way!¡± Fatty whispered back.


    Skinny held onto the identification card and said, ¡°All of this is just too strange.¡±


    ¡°Strange? How so?¡± Fatty asked.


    Skinny waved the card around. ¡°If you were him, would you really hand us your grandson¡¯s original identification card instead of just a copy of it?¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. He shouldn¡¯t have done that. Then again, he¡¯s a rich man and rich people think and act differently,¡± Fatty responded.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a difficult problem to settle so why would he need us?¡± Skinny questioned softly.


    ¡°Are you saying that he has an ulterior motive? Is he thinking about rescuing his grandson? How is he going to do that, though? And a listening device? How would you prove that?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°There are many ways to save him and we might just be pawns in his game of chess,¡± Skinny answered.


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t he have thought about the possibility that we might just keep the 10,000 and not do anything for him?¡± I asked.


    ¡°10,000 is nothingpared to the 5,000,000 we¡¯ll get for a finished job. Who in their right mind wouldn¡¯t want to aim for the higher price?¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Fatty said quietly.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Logically speaking, the old man should know where his grandson is being locked up, right? He¡¯s his only rtive and he will have the right to visit him. It¡¯s impossible for the police to conceal such information from him. Plus, he said that he will give us details, yet he didn¡¯t tell us the location of his grandson¡¯s prison. He gave us a detailed background but he left out the most important information. It¡¯s as if he wants us to start from this identification card. Don¡¯t you find this odd?¡± Fatty exined.


    ¡°Right, speaking of his crying, did you smell something weird?¡± Skinny asked.


    ¡°Something weird?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°You two seldom cook. It¡¯s the smell of onions. I smelled that earlier but I couldn¡¯t be sure,¡± Skinny mused.


    ¡°What? Are you saying that he was just faking it?¡± Fatty asked, shocked.


    I exited the bathroom and tiptoed to the seat that the old man had been on earlier. I re-enacted the old man¡¯s actions. Him taking out his handkerchief, covering his face with it...


    From what I remembered, he only started to cry after he brought the handkerchief out.


    After wiping his tears, the old man stuffed it back into his pocket. I observed the left handle of the chair and saw a little bit of substance on it. Figuring that it was left over by the handkerchief, I swiped my finger over it and put it up to my nose.


    It did smell faintly like onions. I touched the corner of my eye with my finger and immediately felt a sense of difort, my eye was watering.


    I returned to the bathroom and said quietly, ¡°He really was faking it. I found onion juice on the chair. This old man is cunning. Does he not have any love for his grandson? Why would he need onions to cry? What a fishy case.¡±


    Skinny smiled coldly before saying, ¡°Perhaps he knows that his grandson is going to be okay. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no need to cry, which is why he needed the help of onions.¡±


    Fatty shook his head. ¡°I think we need to shift our focus to the driver who was killed and the ident that took the old man¡¯s son¡¯s life. We need more information.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this case suspicious? Didn¡¯t the old man say that the driver was a hard worker? Wait... if this is all a show that he¡¯s putting on for us, how much of his words can we actually believe?¡± I questioned, my mind whirring.


    Skinny said in a soft voice, ¡°Find whatever you can about the ident, Fatty. Investigate the old man, Chalk. With this identification card, I¡¯ll visit the dark web for prison-rted news. We will discuss our findings tomorrow.¡±


    Fatty and I nodded.


    Twenty minutes passed before Skinny exited the bathroom. He yawned loudly, ¡°Such a satisfying meal. We¡¯ll all be rich in three days¡¯ time.¡±


    I followed behind and added, ¡°Easy money, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Seems unreal. Should we hide the money in case he tries to renege on the deal?¡± Fattyughed, making a fist with his left hand and covering it with his right.


    I understood that he wanted us to keep the briefcase away to prevent any eavesdropping.


    ¡°Alright. Hide it in the storeroom then, Fatty. Use something to cover it so it won¡¯t be easy to find. We must be careful with it,¡± I said and made a throat-slitting gesture, hoping that he would understand that I meant for him to destroy the device.


    Fatty nodded and brought the briefcase to the furthest storeroom.


    He came back out a long timeter.


    ¡°All settled?¡± I asked softly.


    Fatty smiled. ¡°Removed it without a sound. There¡¯s a battery as well as a one-waymunicating device that uses a sim card to transmit the signal, which I have already cut off. He won¡¯t suspect a thing since it¡¯s normal not to have any reception in ces such as storerooms.¡±


    ¡°This old man is really sly. Fake crying and listening device?¡± Imented in awe.


    ¡°All this hard work in exchange for an intact corpse? It doesn¡¯t make sense. Could it be that he¡¯s trying to rescue his grandson and he¡¯s just using us as his scapegoats?¡± Fatty suggested.

 Chapter 117: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 117: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t make wild guesses yet. We need to approach this carefully. Things are too messy and ambiguous right now so we need to gather more evidence,¡± Skinny advised.


    Fatty and I nodded.


    I walked to the side and thought about how to obtain information about the old man.


    There should be a lot avable on the Inte since he was a public figure.


    I started myputer and entered his name into the search engine.


    Thousands of links popped up, information and news.


    News mostly covered public welfare events that he partook in.


    I went straight to the forum on hispany site since forums were usually more genuine.


    There were staffs whoined about getting underpaid and cursed their leader for skiving at work. They do all these under an anonymous ount of course.


    There were all kinds ofments but none of it mentioned the old man.


    They were all talking about thepany¡¯s daily affairs or other trifling matters. I scrolled for a long time but there was nothing useful.


    I found something good, however. Horse Brand Red Wine employees¡¯ group chat.


    I made an ount and applied for an invitation to that group chat and was quickly epted even without any verification.


    (Wee, new member...)


    (There¡¯s been a number of new employees recently. May I know who you are?¡±


    (Xiaowang perhaps? He said he woulde today.)


    I started typing, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Xiaowang.¡±


    (Wee, Xiaowang!)


    (Wee!)


    (How is it Xiaowang? Taken a liking to anydies from our assembly line?)


    (Please, Xiaowang¡¯s so young, why would he be interested in you aunties. Come, I¡¯ll introduce my niece to you. She¡¯s a kindergarten teacher. Interested?)


    This Xiaowang guy appeared to be ady-killer. ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you but it¡¯s alright, thanks.¡±


    (I heard that there will be a pay increase soon. Is there any movement on your side, Xiaowang?)


    (Yeah, I heard that the leaders are going to jump a grade. What about those at the bottom? Try finding out, alright?)


    I sighed. Of all the people I could pose as, it has to be a leader. ¡°I heard that too so it should be true. Everyone will get an increase so don¡¯t worry. But we¡¯ll have to count on the director ultimately.¡±


    (Director? When has he ever managed thepany?)


    (Could these pay raise be his idea? Didn¡¯t some of you say that he visited recently to check on us?)


    (Didn¡¯t west saw him two years ago? When has he ever cared about us?)


    ¡®Two years ago¡¯ caught my eye. It seemed that I could really gain some information from there.


    (You guys might have some misunderstanding about our director. He grew hispany singlehandedly and was still busily operating the workshop up until two years ago. You newbies don¡¯t know stuff so don¡¯t spout nonsense.)


    (Why are you here, Brother Chen?)


    (You must¡¯ve been here for at least eight years, isn¡¯t that right, Brother Chen? Since you know that much...)


    (The director personally taught me how to brew wine. Why do you think our wine is so delicious? It¡¯s just that the director got busy over these past two years so he handed the assembly line to us.)


    This Brother Chen seemed knowledgeable. ¡°His family is facing a problem, Brother Chen. Could that be why he¡¯s mostly been out of thepany?¡±


    Silence.


    No one replied at all and just as I was about to regret my action, a message came in.


    (His illness perhaps?)


    The message quickly got recalled.


    (Alright, we shouldn¡¯t be discussing this. The other leaders might not have seen it. Recall your message, Xiaowang.)


    I quickly deleted my previous message and wondered if this was it, a dead end.


    Brother Chen¡¯s message came in.


    (You¡¯re still rather new, Xiaowang. I think I need to educate you on thepany¡¯s history. Let¡¯s chat privately.)


    Sounds like a good opportunity.


    I sent him a private message, ¡°Did I say something wrong, Brother Chen?¡±


    (You¡¯re still new so don¡¯t let these impede your future. It¡¯s not a big deal to talk about these matters, but just don¡¯t do it publicly.)


    Here¡¯s my chance. ¡°I¡¯m just curious. I want to know more to avoid any mistakes in the future.¡±


    (I¡¯ve been a technical staff for eight years now ¨C frontline staff that is. I don¡¯t have any education, unlike you. You graduated from a university with a master¡¯s degree and came in straight as our leader. It was really tough at the beginning and the director had always been at the front so how can it be that he doesn¡¯t care about thepany?)


    I read the message and pondered over the old man¡¯s character. If he hadn¡¯t been acting in front of us, I would think that he had a very good personality.


    ¡°Then you know what happened two years ago, Brother Chen? Why did the director stoping to work?¡±


    (He fell ill. You know the smell of our brewing factory. Employees aren¡¯t that healthy and the director started suffering from a chronic cough. In spite of this, he couldn¡¯t bear to let go of thepany. Didn¡¯t he return recently? Actually, thepany is mostly criticizing the director¡¯s son. That scoundrel caused thepany to lose 200,000,000 in just half a year. Horrendous, isn¡¯t it?)


    A chronic cough? That I do remember.


    His son being a scoundrel? That was new. I jotted down that piece of information in my notebook. In Brother Chen¡¯s perspective, the old man was a good man. ¡°Have you heard about what happened to his son?¡±


    (Something happened to him? He deserves it. What happened? Did he owe so much money that the director decided not to help him anymore?)


    It made sense that the director chose not to publicize his family affairs. ¡°It was just something I heard. Might not be urate.¡±


    (It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t ask too much. You have a bright future ahead. The head leader is about to retire and it shouldn¡¯t be difficult for you to take over his position. Think more about how you can contribute to thepany. Stay away from the group chat if you can. Don¡¯t get dragged down by us.)


    ¡°Thanks, Brother Chen. I¡¯ll get back to work.¡±


    I wrote everything I found out and deduced in my notebook.


    I didn¡¯t even realize that it already had gotten dark outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got major findings,¡± I called out to Fatty and Skinny.


    Fatty smiled. ¡°What I have is great, too. Looks like we won¡¯t have to wait until tomorrow to start our work.¡±

 Chapter 118: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 118: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) I</h4>


    Skinny shook his head. ¡°I found something as well.¡±


    Fatty moved his chair over to the center of the living room and we followed suit.


    Fatty started, ¡°I¡¯ve found some confusing stuff.¡±


    ¡°Share, quick,¡± Skinny urged.


    ¡°How do you think the truck driver was trialed? He worked hard for his family, his wife is jobless, his child is still studying...¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the old man say that the driver killed his son and daughter-inw? At least over 10 years of imprisonment, right?¡± I guessed.


    ¡°How then, do you think his grandson killed him?¡± Fatty questioned.


    Something clicked in my mind. ¡°You¡¯re saying that the driver did not get a sentence after hitting them?¡±


    ¡°The old man tricked us. The driver drove when he was tired, but the old man¡¯s son drove under the influence of drugs. What¡¯s unexpected was the fact that the driver had awyer named Fang Tangjing, who charges 10,000 per appearance in court. A truck driver hiring such a costlywyer? Isn¡¯t that fishy?¡± Fattyid out for us.


    ¡°10,000 dors? Impressive,¡± Skinny noted.


    ¡°Actually, what I found is rted to this,¡± I said.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s piece them all together,¡± Fatty responded.


    ¡°The old man left hispany two years ago and his son took over. The son caused thepany to lose 200,000,000 dors in just half a year. A scoundrel through and through from what I gathered,¡± I summarized.


    Skinny asked, ¡°His son¡¯s a bad person?¡±


    ¡°I also found out that thepany has its ownwyer but he was absent that day. The old man did not get him to represent his son and daughter-inw,¡± Fatty shared.


    ¡°That¡¯s why they lost,¡± I concluded.


    ¡°There had been a few times where the old man invited Fang Tangjing to stand for thepany when thepanywyer wasn¡¯t around. Guys, do you understand what I¡¯m saying? I think that the old man hired that driver to kill his own son and daughter-inw,¡± Fatty inferred.


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I eximed in disbelief.


    ¡°Not only that, but the final verdict was that his drugged son was the cause of the ident. The truck driver was required to pay a 10%pensation fee, but do you really think he can afford that?¡± Fatty questioned.


    ¡°The old man declined the money?¡± I asked.


    Fatty only gave a bitter smile. ¡°He declined the money. However, a monthter, the truck driver bought a suite in the city center and paid it in full.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s confirmed that the driver and the old man are in cahoots?¡± I rified.


    Fatty nodded. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the grandson now. He¡¯s being sentenced to death for murdering the truck driver, right? But he¡¯s very rich, shouldn¡¯t he be able to get away with anything?¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Just imagine. You¡¯re a rich man and your only grandson is being trialed. Won¡¯t you think about hiring the bestwyer to flip the case around?¡± Fatty argued.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the old man didn¡¯t do that?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, he didn¡¯t do that. Even more suspiciously, the driver¡¯s wife had Fang Tangjing as herwyer,¡± Fatty added.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the old man paid to get rid of his son, daughter-inw, and his grandson? What for?¡± I asked, perplexed.


    ¡°There are pieces of evidence to support what I just imed, but I¡¯ll be guessing the rest. Didn¡¯t the old man share that his wife died early?¡± Fatty began.


    ¡°You think the feud has something to do with his wife? Was he cuckolded by his wife?¡± Skinny grinned.


    That seemed to be a usible reason. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know why else would he harm his own family.


    ¡°Why do you think he wants his grandson¡¯s corpse? Do you still think he¡¯s trying to rescue him?¡±


    ¡°Why do I feel like our investigations were for nothing? Should we still help him?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°We have enough information, and it fits my discovery as well,¡± Skinny remarked.


    I told him, ¡°Right, what did you find?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t find much on the dark web, but he¡¯s been coughing a lot, right?¡± Skinny asked.


    ¡°Yes, I found the reason for that. He had been working on the front line a lot before he left thepany. The employees there have health issues,¡± I ryed. ¡°What did you find on the web?¡±


    ¡°His medical records from the hospital¡¯s database. It¡¯s easily hackable.¡± Skinny exined, ¡°His records state that he hadn¡¯t been wearing a mask at the factory so his lungs got infected over time. Putting this together with his motive bes simple. It is also a big reason why he hired us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush!¡± I eximed, annoyed.


    ¡°He has panda blood, Rh negative. It¡¯s been a year but there is still nopatible match for a lung transnt. His son and grandson became his target, naturally. He killed his son to save himself. He did not take into consideration the possibility that his son¡¯s organs might be destroyed by the ident,¡± Skinny revealed.


    ¡°The old man said that he wanted to bury his grandson so he could havepany upon his death. It looks like he¡¯s after his grandson¡¯s lungs, too. This is...¡± my voice trailed off as I shook my head.


    ¡°Can the lungs be transnted after euthanasia?¡± Fatty asked.


    ¡°Yes. I read of such a case before. From what I see, since he¡¯s still alive, he¡¯s already done half a transnt. His records show an improvement, but I¡¯m unable to dig for more information. He might¡¯ve had the surgery done overseas. I suppose he¡¯s about toplete the second half this time,¡± Skinny answered.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he do it once and for all?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Won¡¯t he need to recover from the surgery? He can only change one side at a time, and his grandson is going to be supplying him with the other half,¡± Skinny added.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t he have just discussed it with his grandson? Why does he need to go this far?¡± Fatty wondered.


    ¡°Think about it. If you¡¯re already 80 years old and you want your 30-year-old grandson to donate a lung to you, would you want the whole world to know? What would the public think of you? Sacrificing your grandson¡¯s youth for a few more years of life?¡± Skinny rationalized.


    ¡°I read that he¡¯s done tons of charity work. Who would¡¯ve thought that he¡¯s this heartless?¡± I reflected.


    ¡°Now that we know all of these, what should we do?¡± Skinny asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do nothing and let them send him his grandson¡¯s ashes,¡± Fatty suggested.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that he would seek revenge and turn us into ashes?¡± Skinny pointed out.


    I proposed, ¡°Or we could just finish the job, take the money, and live on carefreely.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember why we established thispany in the first ce? Are we really going tomit such evil deed? The old man has basically murdered his own son, daughter-inw, and that driver,¡± Skinny argued.


    Fatty supplied, ¡°Do you think that we should reveal this to the public and get him arrested?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have enough concrete evidence to back up our ims,¡± I protested.


    Skinny smiled. ¡°We can make our own evidence. And then we can call the police.¡±

 Chapter 119: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 119: Seeking Individuals, Dead or Alive (Part 2) III</h4>


    Yun Huan¡¯s execution day.


    I gave the old man a call in the afternoon.


    The line connected shortly. His frail voice sounded, ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°Yun Huateng, right? We¡¯ve found the prison your grandson is being locked up at. The execution site is also confirmed, but I have something to ask you,¡± I said.


    ¡°Please, go on,¡± the old man invited somewhat happily.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really a problem. We can tell you the location but we¡¯re afraid that you might be thinking about rescuing your grandson. If that happens, we¡¯re going to be in trouble and we don¡¯t want that,¡± I exined.


    The old manughed and said, ¡°I understand. How about you call me after the execution? I just want his body for burial, so please don¡¯t overthink my intentions. We¡¯ve agreed that what he did was wrong and he should be rightfully punished.¡±


    ¡°You sure about that? Alright, then. Wow. I was actually kinda hoping that you would want to rescue your grandson.¡±


    Hepletely ignored myment. ¡°I know that the execution is going to take ce sometime in the afternoon, so just remember to give me a call. I¡¯ve already prepared the money.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I agreed before hanging up.


    Fatty came over and asked, ¡°What now? There¡¯s really no way that he¡¯s going to save his grandson, right?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°He wants a dead grandson for sure. We can move on with our ns, although I still feel that the old man might be a good person.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Do we call the cops now? Or do we wait for a little while?¡± Fatty hedged.


    ¡°Skinny came up with the idea so let¡¯s ask him,¡± I suggested.


    Skinny responded, ¡°I¡¯ll inform the policeter. Let¡¯s finish this up first,¡±


    ¡°You guys go ahead, I¡¯m already ready,¡± I said before lying down.


    Since Fatty and Skinny were too fat and skinny for this, I took on the responsibility. After all, Yun Huan¡¯s physique was simr to mine.


    I closed my eyes and Skinny started applying makeup on my face.


    ¡°Pretty decent, aye, Skinny?¡± Fattymentedughingly.


    Skinny missed the sarcasm and replied happily, ¡°I graduated as an interior designer, after all. Doing makeup is much easier than CAD!¡±


    ¡°I heard that you often take part in cosying events?¡± Fatty smiled.


    ¡°Whatever, dude. It¡¯s all done,¡± Skinny got up and tidied his makeup products.


    Fatty nudged me and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about what to take note of.¡±


    I opened my eyes and looked at Fatty. ¡°I remember.¡±


    Fatty tossed a flick knife to me. ¡°For protection.¡±


    ¡°Is this really necessary?¡±


    ¡°Just to be safe. Alright, I won¡¯t go over it all again since you remember the details. Is your phone fully charged? It will be problematic if your phone dies halfway,¡± Fatty checked.


    I took my phone out. ¡°63%. That¡¯s enough.¡±


    Fatty picked up a portable charger and threw it to me. ¡°I¡¯m going to zip the bag. You might feel a little cold. Have you worn enough undergarment?¡±


    ¡°Wait, I did not wear any! Did you talk about this previously?¡± I asked anxiously.


    Fatty shook his head and tossed some heat packs to me. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m zipping this up for real now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I acquiesced then shut my eyes.


    I felt Fatty carry the bag and walk downstairs.


    I stuffed the knife into my pocket with much difficulty since the bag was rather small and I couldn¡¯t move much.


    It was only when I grabbed the portable charger that I realized Fatty had missed out the cable.


    Left with no other choice, I just turned my phone to silent mode and set the brightness to its dimmest level.


    I felt them moving me into the back seat before driving off.


    It was a bumpy ride and I regretted entering the bag so early on.


    I shut my eyes and waited to be stuffed in the chest.


    The car stopped shortly. Fatty grabbed me up again and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s 11 now, let¡¯s match our clocks.¡±


    ¡°You watch too much movies. Our clocks are all synchronized with the Inte¡¯s now,¡± I replied.


    Fatty pped my butt cheek. ¡°You talk a lot.¡±


    I was carried into a room but I couldn¡¯t sense much since I was literally kept in the dark.


    I felt that I was being ced on a metal frame. Fatty whispered, ¡°I¡¯m going to push you in before leaving. Remember that your chest is F3. Do what you need to do. This isn¡¯t a game and there¡¯s no rey button.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± I replied.


    ¡°The person carrying you out might not be as gentle, so you better not twitch a muscle.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Imented dryly.


    Fatty pushed the tray in and knocked on the metal lid. ¡°Pray hard. Call me if anything goes wrong.¡±


    I felt nothing when I was still outside but when I was sent to the mortuary, the cold became apparent.


    I started to regret not wearing moreyers underneath.


    Frustrated, I grabbed the heat packs tightly. I was thankful that Fatty had done his research and prepared these heat packs for me.


    I activated all the heat packs and stuffed them into my clothes.


    I finally felt my body temperature rising, although it was still very cold. My face and head, especially, since I had no way of keeping them warm.


    11:20.


    Every minute was torture.


    Finally, it was 12. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and I called the old man. My body froze again the moment I made the call.


    There was no reception at all. How could we have forgotten the most important detail?


    I held my phone as far out as possible and finally saw a slight signal.


    I quickly made the call.


    ¡°Are you going to tell me now? Your money is all ready,¡± the old man cut to the chase upon answering. He must¡¯ve been waiting for a long time.


    ¡°The crematorium in Phoenix Mountain Mausoleum Park. F3 chest,¡± I responded, shuddering.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll get someone to send the money over now. Why do you sound like you¡¯re shivering?¡±


    ¡°Took a cool bath and caught a cold,¡± I blurted out.


    Heughed. ¡°Take care of your body or you¡¯re going to regret it when you get older.¡±


    I hung up and switched the phone to airne mode. I again waited some more for the old man to get me out quickly.


    Half an hour passed and I finally heard some shuffling outside the door.


    I could hear voices.


    I shut my eyes and hid my heat packs together.


    Someone pushed the tray out.


    ¡°This is the one, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, F3. Should we open it?¡±


    ¡°You do it.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s unlucky.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    There were two of them, it seemed. I heard the zip.


    They only opened it a little, to my relief.


    ¡°You saw it? In just that split second?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it is the guy in the photograph.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you carry him and I¡¯ll switch the bodies.¡±


    I got carried out.


    A few minutester, I got ruthlessly flung into the boot of a car.


    The car drove off and I started feeling warmth again.


    The heat packs started to feel hot and I wanted to cry.


    After enduring the heat for another half an hour, the car finally came to a halt.


    The boot opened up and a hand reached in to lift me up.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why does this corpse feel hot?¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve gotten your car reced a long time ago. It¡¯s normal for your boot to heat up. Don¡¯t worry about it, we gotta hurry.¡±


    ¡°Luckily, the money we¡¯ll be getting is enough for a new car.¡±


    I was brought into a big building, it seemed.


    We reached a room after going up the elevator.


    I was worried that Fatty and Skinny wouldn¡¯t be able to find their way to this ce.


    ¡°We brought the stuff.¡±


    ¡°You may leave. You¡¯ll receive the money shortly.¡±


    ¡°Where should we ce this corpse?¡±


    ¡°On that bed.¡±


    I got carried onto a bed. I did not recognize these voices.


    When the person who was carrying me left, I heard a familiar voice.


    ¡°Can we start the operation now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you all may leave,¡± the old man¡¯s voice rang.


    I pressed the record button on my phone.


    ¡°We will put you under anesthesia and check the condition of your internal organs before extracting the left lung from that donor. After some processing, we will reinforce the anesthesia and carry on with the recement.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the old man said.


    ¡°Dexmedetomidine, Ondansetron, dexamethasone. Start the saline drip...¡±


    The medical terms gave me a headache.


    I figured that the recording was enough evidence and wondered when would Fatty and Skinny show up with the cops.


    The doctor spoke up, ¡°Good. Everything is good. Let¡¯s get the lung now. Inform me if you note any change in numbers, Nurse.¡±


    The doctor walked over to my side and I held my breath.


    I held onto my phone tightly with my left hand and the flick knife with my right.


    As the zip was being pulled, I tightened my grip on the knife.


    I shut my eyes tight.


    ¡°Why are there so many heat packs?¡± the doctor asked when he got the bag opened halfway.


    I opened my eyes.


    ¡°Ah!¡± the doctor cried out in shock, retreating a few steps.


    I sat upright and saw about seven nurses around.


    I picked the portable charger and threw it at the doctor closest to me.


    ¡°Who are you and what is going on?¡± the doctor shouted.


    I shed my knife and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move, all of you. Move back. Against the wall. I¡¯ll stab anyone who moves.¡±


    I ced my mobile on the bed and opened the knife fully.


    All the doctors and nurses were standing against the wall, their hands raised.


    I turned to the old man, who was speechlessly looking at me with wide eyes.


    I got out of the bag and off the bed with a cold smile. One nurse took the opportunity in between to dash out of the room.


    She was too fast and I couldn¡¯t stop her.


    Frustrated, I ran over to the old man¡¯s bed, but the moment my feet touched the ground, my knees went numb.


    I almost lost my footing but I managed to reach the old man¡¯s side.


    Just when I reached him, his six bodyguards barged into the room.


    The nurse who escaped had informed them.


    I held the knife by the old man¡¯s neck. ¡°Move and I¡¯ll kill him.¡±


    It was an effective method. No one moved an inch.


    The doctors and nurses started exiting the room.


    The old man managed, ¡°You... why... is it you.¡±


    I figured that he couldn¡¯t talk properly because of the anesthesia. ¡°Impressive, eh? Murdering your own grandson for a lung.¡±


    ¡°I... did not...¡± he said effortfully.


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked. Not only did you kill your own son, you¡¯re now harvesting your grandson¡¯s organ. If not for me, won¡¯t you be living off his lung by now? You sure have your ways, huh? Sneaky man.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my... son. It¡¯s all his fault,¡± he barely managed as tears rolled down his cheeks.


    I felt his tears on my arm and I tensed.


    He was genuinely crying.


    ¡°My grandson... he¡¯s very filial. It¡¯s all my son¡¯s fault, he¡¯s a failure... My grandson... it was an ident. I found out that I have lung cancer two years ago and I understood that it was difficult to find a match. My son said he was willing to save me with his lung. He vowed to donate half a lung if I made him the director, but he lied and talked my grandson into giving me his instead. It¡¯s that bastard¡¯s fault,¡± he exined, sounding somewhat angry, as tears continued streaming down.


    My whole body was shaking. ¡°You took a lung from your grandson once already?¡±


    ¡°My son... he was a jerk. He used his own son¡¯s lung in exchange for his position in thepany. He arranged the whole surgery and I only found out about it after it was all done. Within half a year, he shifted 40% of my assets and stocks and cost thepany 200,000,000. And my grandson had to stay in the hospital because of me...¡± he continued.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that your son tricked your grandson into giving you his lung so that he could be the director and plunder your money?¡± I rified. It really wasplicated being a rich man.


    ¡°I had no choice but to hire the driver to kill him and then forge evidence that he was on drugs. I kept it from my grandson and med it on the driver. I did not expect him to do something so silly upon recovering...¡± he trailed off, trembling.


    ¡°So since there was nothing you could do, you decided to harvest his other lung? How is that any different from your son¡¯s behavior?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°You think I want this? My son, grandson... they¡¯re all gone but I¡¯m alive, am I not? Plus, that boy wrote in his will... he wanted me to have his other lung but the police... opposed it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. All this happened because you plotted to kill your son.¡±


    ¡°You want money? I¡¯ll give it to you. Hand my grandson over and I¡¯ll give you the money. I can give you everything. I just want his lung,¡± he said, almost hysterically.


    By then, the cops had barged in and subdued the bodyguards to the ground.


    I shook my head and sighed. ¡°We did not search for his execution location. He¡¯s probably cremated by now. As for you, thew will punish you. It¡¯s a fact that you, your son, and your grandson have allmitted a crime.¡±


    The old man stared sluggishly into space. Despair was evident in his eyes.


    Fatty and Skinny dashed in, smiling and holding up a victory hand gesture.


    I kept the knife and handed the phone to the cops.


    This was how we cracked our first major case. It was an achievement that we would always be proud of.

 Chapter 120: Daytime Lady Ghost I

    <h4>Chapter 120: Daytime Lady Ghost I</h4>


    My name is Chalk; I have a car and a house.


    I am an employee of a state enterprise and my wife is extremely beautiful.


    However, I have a secret. I am different from everyone else.


    I have murdered a woman.


    ....


    My job was rather unique. I worked at the shipyard.


    I am a pilot in charge of testing the ships.


    I have to pay attention to rising and falling tides since they have an enormous impact on the body of the ship.


    I worked for a state enterprise, but thepany was very poor.


    It was poor mainly because our boss is magnanimous. Whenever we receive subsidies for governmental projects, they would be immediately converted into the employees¡¯ sries.


    This was also the reason why thepany was still unable to afford an indoor wave machine for testing purposes even after 10 years.


    As such, we could only rely on the rising and falling tides to do our job.


    Every ship and yacht has to be tested before it was put up for sale.


    The tide usually rises at around 6 to 9 am.


    If it rises at 6 am, I would set out from home at 3 am to the designated site to proceed with the safety tests.


    It all started yesterday.


    I checked for the timing of the rising tide.


    6:30 am.


    This meant that I had to set my rm for 3:30 am before hugging my wife to sleep.


    I remembered hearing the rm twice, but it was already 3:40 am when I got out of bed.


    I was done preparing by four and quickly drove to thepany.


    It has always been quiet and deste by the seaside, unlike in the bustling city.


    The speed limit of the highway along the coast was set at 80km/h but it has always been my habit to drive at 120km/h.


    Not once was I fined since there weren¡¯t any speed cameras.


    The highway waspletedst year, but the street lights weren¡¯t ready yet.


    It was four in the morning and I was still feeling sleepy.


    Amidst my groggy state, I saw something.


    A floating white silhouette appeared before my eyes.


    I took a careful look and saw that it was ady ghost dressed in a white gown.


    My mind went nk.


    Thedy extended her hands toward me as a long red tongue rolled out of her mouth.


    I snapped out of my daze but I couldn¡¯t steer away in time.


    I don¡¯t know what I was thinking back then but I stepped on the elerator without hesitation.


    The next moment, a pool of fresh blood surfaced on my windshield.


    The impact of the collision gave me pain since I had my seatbelt on and the airbag wasn¡¯t activated.


    I braked and sat rooted to my seat, staring at the bloodstain on my windshield and forcing myself to calm down.


    I looked out and saw thedy lying motionless on the ground not far away.


    I could see her legs; they were fair as if telling me that she was a real human.


    Upon realizing that, I got off the car, my knees feeling weak.


    I noted a rather big dent in the head of the car.


    My first reaction was to call 110 but no one picked up.


    The police were probably still asleep since it was still very early in the morning.


    I thought about my future. I had killed somebody.


    Plus, I had been driving at 120.


    I thought about the court trial, my wife, and my child.


    I switched off my mobile, got back into the car, and tried starting the engine.


    It worked.


    I drove forward and stopped beside her body.


    I alighted and examined thedy carefully.


    She had a thickyer of makeup on, but I could tell that she was still a girl.


    Quite young and petite.


    I touched my index finger to her nose. She wasn¡¯t breathing.


    There wasn¡¯t anyone around at all.


    I looked for cameras but I found none.


    I opened the car boot and took out a freshly cleaned western suit.


    I removed the stic bag that came with it.


    It was big enough for thedy to fit inside.


    I took off her white gown and put her into the bag before moving it into the boot of my car.


    Upon closing it, I heaved a sigh of relief.


    I started wiping the bloodstain on the ground with her white gown.


    After about five wipes, the red pool became a ck patch.


    It wasn¡¯t as eye-grabbing as the blood, but it was still noticeable upon closer observation.


    I prayed for rain and went back to the boot to stash the gown into the bag as well.


    After making sure that there weren¡¯t any stains on myself, I hopped back into the car, only to be reminded that the window was still filled with blood patches.


    I activated the water ejector and wiper before getting off the car with a cloth.


    I started wiping the stains until there was no trace left at all.


    Of course, it was impossible to clear all evidence since the dent at the head was quite big and unconceble.


    I opened the bo and stained the cloth with ck engine oil.


    The cloth was no longer blood red in color so I figured that no one would suspect a thing.


    I walked over to the shrubs, about to toss the cloth away, when I spotted a tripod.


    There was a mobile phone secured on top of the tripod.


    There was an ongoing recording, the angle at which it was ced captured the ident site well.


    I separated the phone from the tripod. The phone casing was adorable and I was convinced that the phone belonged to thatdy ghost. I shut the video recording off.


    It was an iPhone 6 and since I was using an iPhone 5, navigation wasn¡¯t difficult.


    I activated Siri and asked, ¡°Who am I?¡±


    Siri¡¯s voice rang clear, ¡°Easy. Wang Xiaomei.¡±


    Siri also read out her messages and emails.


    I tried going to the home menu but the phone was locked.


    Thedy ghost must have started the recording from the locked screen itself.


    Frustrated, I moved the tripod into my car boot and used thedy¡¯s thumb to unlock her phone.


    I was about to delete the recording when I found many other videos.


    All were of her, disguised as a ghost, scaring drivers on the road. There were at least 10 of such videos inside.


    I erased her whole photo album before clearing the deleted section as well.


    I opened her Weibo and discovered that she had over 200,000 fans.


    After watching her videos, I finally understood her motive for appearing on the road.


    She yed pranks on people to gain followers. I was just her target this morning.


    I quickly sent a new post: ¡°How meaningless. I¡¯m done with the pranks.¡±


    I set the phone to silent mode and stuffed it into my pocket.


    I looked at the grass heap along the road and wondered if I should dump the tripod in there.


    I turned back to the car and noticed the brake marks on the road. Shaking my head, I decided that it was better to keep the tripod with me.


    I walked around the whole site once more, observing that I had done a good job of tidying up the scene.


    I looked at thedy in the boot onest time.


    It was fortunate that the road was by the sea and newly built, hence theck of facilities and instations. I had a chance of getting away with this.


    I returned to my car and drove, back and forth, over the track a few times before making an abrupt brake to create new track marks.


    I got off the car and observed the road again.


    At that point, it no longer looked like there had been a collision, simply just drivers who were drifting along the road.


    Feeling reassured, I hopped back into the car and gave my colleague a call.


    ¡°Are you going to work today?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s already 5:30, why aren¡¯t you here yet?¡± he questioned instead.


    ¡°My wife is facing some problems so could you request a leave on my behalf and get someone else to rece me? 500 dors a day, thanks,¡± I requested.


    ¡°500 a day? Since when have you be so generous?¡±


    ¡°Knock it off. I gotta go.¡±


    I started the car and made a U-turn.


    Not long after, my phone buzzed.


    On the screen shed the number 110.

 Chapter 121: Daytime Lady Ghost II

    <h4>Chapter 121: Daytime Lady Ghost II</h4>


    I stopped the car by the side of the road, turned the headlights on, and held onto my phone with trembling hands.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel afraid.


    That call caught me off guard and made me wonder why I was receiving a call from 110.


    It took me a few beats to remember that I had given them a call earlier.


    I pped my cheeks a few times to wake myself up before answering the call.


    ¡°Hello,¡± a crisp voice rang in my ears.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I responded immediately.


    ¡°Hi, this is 110 emergency center. We received a call from you an hour ago. May I know why you called?¡± the man asked.


    I instantly knew that saying it was a mistake was the wrong way to go.


    My hands were still shaking and feeling numb, I was having trouble holding onto my phone.


    Helpless, I ced my phone on the passenger seat and moved my head over instead. I was practically sprawling across two seats when I answered, ¡°I wanted to call 120, my bad.¡±


    ¡°Could you tell me what you were going to call 120 for? Do you need me to transfer the line over? Your voice is shaking, sir. Is anything the matter?¡± the same firm voice asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the hospital. Earlier I... collided with a tree... unfamiliar road. I panicked and called the wrong number. I¡¯ll hang up now then... I¡¯m fine, I can go to the hospital myself. I¡¯m reaching,¡± I stumbled on my words uncontrobly.


    I knew I had to speak properly but it was too difficult.


    ¡°Alright, sir. Could you please tell us the location of the ident? You sound flustered, please try to rx, or tell me where you are and I¡¯ll get the nearby police to assist you. You might be injured and not suited to drive. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s free of charge,¡± he reassured me.


    I was at aplete loss. ¡°A small road in the neighborhood, not too sure which... I don¡¯t remember. I did hit my head on the steering wheel and can¡¯t think well since it hurts... which is why my voice is shaking. I¡¯m at the hospital entrance already. Do I need to give you a call after the treatment?¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll wish you a speedy recovery then, sir. I¡¯m sorry that we weren¡¯t able to answer your call earlier,¡± he apologized.


    ¡°No worries and thanks,¡± I said before hanging up.


    Iy paralyzed across the seats, reying the entire conversation in my mind and questioning if I had sounded suspicious or guilty.


    I knew that I had been a mess. Absolute mess.


    I rested for a bit and recalibrated my state of mind before continuing the journey. On the way, my tire pressure rm went off but I did not stop to check.


    I drove into a small neighborhood and found a space to park.


    It was 7 am.


    The roads were bing busy, but thankfully, my car wasn¡¯t expensive and eye-catching. It would be a tragedy if people notice the blood stains that I missed out.


    I stared into space, my mind busy trying toe up with a n on how to get rid of the corpse in my car boot.


    I retrieved her phone from my pocket. There were five messages and a missed call from a foreign number.


    Because it was on silent mode, I hadn¡¯t noticed it. I knew that I couldn¡¯t switch it off. Neither could I answer the call. It was possible that some people had already noticed something amiss so I had to settle this quickly.


    Just as I was pondering over my next course of action, I heard knocks on the driver¡¯s side window.


    I turned my head and saw a man standing outside.


    Startled and afraid, I wound down the window.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother? Car down? I can help with the repairing. I¡¯m from this neighborhood and I work as a car repairman. I was on my way to work when I saw you. I¡¯ll change your tire for you and you cane down to my workshop. I¡¯ll give you 20% off. Your spare tire should be at the bottom of your car boot, aye?¡± he asked.


    A chill ran down my spine. ¡°The car¡¯s fine. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Fine? I saw that dent in your car from miles away! And haven¡¯t you realized that your right tire is deted? I have about half an hour left so let me change it for you, then you cane over to my workshop. I promise to fix your car first, okay? That¡¯s the best I can do for you,¡± he offered kindly.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. You go ahead,¡± I urged him away.


    ¡°Pffft.¡± He gave me onest look before walking away.


    I got out of the car, locked it, and went straight home.


    I decided to change my clothes before anything else.


    When I opened the door, I saw my wife getting dressed.


    ¡°Why are you back?¡± she asked.


    ¡°A colleague wanted my shift so I figured I¡¯ll just rest today,¡± I lied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Can you take me to my office then? It¡¯s been a long time since you did that,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just give you some cab money,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t feel like driving?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Okay. You can just give me the key, I¡¯ll drive myself. It¡¯s also been a long time since I practiced.¡±


    ¡°Just get a cab. I¡¯ll need the carter.¡±


    She frowned and questioned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you today?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. You go ahead. I¡¯ll rest a little before going out. I¡¯m really fine,¡± I assured her.


    She walked over to me and grabbed a corner of my shirt. She looked me straight in the eye and said firmly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? This is blood, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°From my gums. I brushed too hard this morning,¡± I excused, flinging her hand away.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked again. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. Get to work. Everything will be fine when you get back, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re acting really strange today, Chalk.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really fine.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s almost eight o¡¯clock, you¡¯re going to bete.¡±


    She grabbed her bag and left the apartment.


    I breathed a sigh of relief.


    I thought about the big snakeskin bag that I boughtst year for a pic.


    It was definitely somewhere in the house.


    I ran to the storeroom and started searching.


    I found nothing.


    The storeroom wasn¡¯t big, but the things in it were piled high up into little mountains.


    I heard the door open.


    My wife shouted, ¡°Chalk, you bastard! Did you get into an ident? Are you hurt?¡±


    I dashed out and closed the storeroom door.


    She threw her bag down, ran up to me, and pulled the corner of my shirt up. She rubbed my tummy, asking, ¡°Did you get hurt? Is it painful? Why are you so careless?¡±


    Her voice carried some dissatisfaction but mostly worry and concern.


    I hurriedly grabbed her hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. I didn¡¯t want to worry you. I was just too tired this morning. I hit the curb and my mouth mmed against the steering wheel. This is really just blood from my gums.¡±


    She took hold of my jaw and urged me to open my mouth. ¡°Let me take a look. Does it hurt?¡±


    I patted her hands a few times and pushed her away gently. ¡°It has stopped bleeding a long time ago, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get the car fixed and it will look as good as new when you¡¯re back. I just didn¡¯t want you to worry, so please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Should I take the day off? I can bring you to the doctor if you like. This isn¡¯t a small matter. It¡¯s better if you do a full body check-up. I don¡¯t want anything bad to happen to you,¡± she said worriedly.


    ¡°I test ships and get bruises all the time. It¡¯s fine. I know I¡¯m fine. Go to work and we¡¯ll have a nice dinner when you get back, okay?¡± I persuaded.


    ¡°You¡¯re really alright?¡± she insisted.


    ¡°Yes. Look at the time, dear, you¡¯re really going to bete if you don¡¯t leave now. I¡¯ll be leaving soon to get the car fixed as well. I¡¯ll pick you up from workter, how about that?¡± I proposed.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she agreed before leaving the house for the second time.


    Upon ensuring that she was out of the door, I went back to the storeroom.


    Shortly after, I pulled out an enormous snakeskin bag.

 Chapter 122: Daytime Lady Ghost III

    <h4>Chapter 122: Daytime Lady Ghost III</h4>


    I brought the bag down to the car and drove to a corner lot.


    After making sure that I was away from monitors and people, I put the bag down and opened the boot slightly.


    I moved the transparent stic bag containing the girl, into the snakeskin bag and zipped it.


    I surveyed the boot and noticed that the corners were soaked in blood. It looked like the stic bag wasn¡¯t sealed after all.


    Frustrated, I removed the whole lining and dumped it into the snakeskin bag.


    A neighbor passed by and greeted me.


    I was shocked witless.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There are too many things at the back of my car. I¡¯m going to store them at home,¡± I exined.


    He smiled and walked toward his own car.


    I calmed myself down. The boot was now empty.


    While I could vaguely see the iron sheet, there wasn¡¯t a trace of blood anymore.


    I carried the snakeskin bag with much effort and went back up, d that she was a skinny girl. I knew for sure that I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry it if it were a man or someone slightly more chubby.


    I didn¡¯t even dare to take the elevator and instead carried it up the stairs to the seventh floor. I managed to only stop twice to rest.


    Each time I took a rest, I avoided the cameras. If I had to pass one by, I would speed up.


    I was half dead by the time I reached the seventh floor.


    I had no choice, though.


    I had to handle the body and the only safe ce to do so was in my own home.


    The corridor was exceptionally quiet.


    Nevertheless, I still feared that I would bump into one of my neighbors. My disability to remain calm and speak without stammering would prove difficult if that were to happen.


    Once I¡¯ve finally entered my house, I locked the door andy on the floor, gasping for air.


    After a few seconds, however, I got up and immediately closed all the windows.


    I took out both her phone and mine.


    My battery was at 63% and hers was at 27%.


    I had to keep her phone switched on.


    By this time, there were already over 40 messages on her phone.


    I used her thumb to unlock her phone.


    The messages were mainly sent by fans.


    There were seven private messages asking why she wanted to stop her pranks.


    I ignored them and tweaked the settings so that the phone would never automatically lock again. I then put it down and plugged it into a charger.


    I thought about a n on how to get rid of this corpse, one that cut off all ties of her death to me.


    It was going to be difficult, but there was definitely a way.


    The world is so huge; people go missing every day and corpses are found without exnation every day as well.


    Yet, I had no idea how to deal with the one in front of me.


    All I knew was that the girl was Wang Xiaomei, an Inte celebrity who had over 200,000 fans.


    I had her corpse, her stained gown, and her phone.


    How the f*ck do I do this?


    The only way to solve it was through her phone.


    iPhone privacy settings seemed to be able to disy the locations user usually visited, so I decided to check it out.


    I went into her settings, privacy, location, system, key locations.


    I was grateful for the advancement of the technology. If it were some years back, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to find out anything about her through the phone.


    Then, it suddenly urred to me that I could just check her Taobao address!


    I looked at the map to find out the ces she frequented and also opened her Taobao to check for her address.


    Not only did I to retrieved her home address, I also managed to dig out her work address.


    I opened her home address with the map and noted every corner around her house.


    Her street was filled with bungalows and it was part of the region that had been omitted during the city remodeling.


    She must¡¯ve been living alone because it wasn¡¯t possible for her family not to be worried about her safety when she was out and about even before the crack of dawn.


    It was too challenging to forge an ident near her ce.


    Her office was another story. I was rather shocked by the fact that she worked for a newspaperpany.


    Now that I thought about it, it actually made sense since reporters loved exaggerating their news.


    Disguising as a ghost to gain fans...


    I discovered that the office building was tall and could be considered as andmark construction within that area.


    How could I get in there? And with a corpse, nheless?


    Most importantly, I had to think of a case to deceive the masses into thinking that she hadmitted suicide.


    It was already past 10 in the morning and I killed her some time between four to five.


    I would have to hurry in order to trick the coroner. If I leave her corpse until nighttime, it would be toote.


    The thought of the girl¡¯s disguise struck me.


    I ran to the storeroom.


    My wife cut her hair short a year ago, but she ended up hating it so she wore a wig for half a year.


    I found it after some time, along with a white bedsheet. I tossed them over a mirror and it did look simr to a female ghost.


    A female ghostmitting suicide sounded like a good idea.


    I grabbed a handbag to store these items before dragging her corpse into the bathroom.


    I put her stained clothes back on and gave her a thorough wash.


    I removed the boot lining and the stic bag and hid them in a spare cab. I was going to dispose of them after this was over.


    I stuffed the girl back into the snakeskin bag before carrying it together with the other handbag and her mobile phone.


    I walked down the fire escape to get to my car.


    I retrieved the spare tire from the hiddenpartment and hid the snakeskin bag in there.


    I switched the tires and kept the punctured one in the boot. It was almost 11 by the time I finished.


    My first destination wasn¡¯t her office but the bustling business street.


    I got off my car, walked toward Vivo mobile specialty store, and pulled their mascot, an intable doll, aside.


    ¡°What are you doing, brother?¡± the man in the costume asked.


    ¡°Do you wanna sell your costume? ¡± I asked.


    ¡°This belongs to thepany, not me. What do you want it for?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°I¡¯m nning a proposal with this. Can I borrow it for a day? Just today?¡± I pleaded.


    ¡°Fine, but let me ask my boss first, okay?¡± he said.


    ...


    A few minutester, I managed to rent the costume with 2500 dors.


    1500 was the deposit, 500 was the rental fee and another 500 for the sry of the mascot.


    I was taken aback by the size of the air pump that came with the costume.


    I stuffed the items into my car and drove to the newspaperpany, eventually stopping outside a snack shop.


    I paid the shopkeeper 50 dors for electricity and also parking.


    I plugged in the air pump, put the costume on, and opened the back of my car.


    I stuffed the tripod, snakeskin bag, and the handbag into the intable costume.


    Passersby looked on curiously but ultimately dismissed me.


    The air started to fill up and the shopkeeper shouted for me to plug the air pump out.


    I closed the boot and walked toward the newspaperpany, carrying the snakeskin bag vertically inside my suit.


    I was stopped by the guards.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± they shouted.


    ¡°The advertisement photograph wasn¡¯t approved so I¡¯m here to retake it. I¡¯ve already worn my costume to save some time,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Show your face, give your contact, name and identification card,¡± they demanded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the pump with me, brother. My costume will dete if I remove the top. Time is precious, as you know. My name is Wang Dazhuang, my identification number is 3303*********0629 and my contact number is 158*****5678. News wait for no man,¡± I threw out some numbers, somewhat reversed from my own personal details.


    ¡°Who¡¯s receiving you?¡± they asked.


    ¡°Wang Xiaomei. Must I tell you her phone number as well?¡± I asked as I attempted to fish her phone out of my pocket.


    ¡°I know her. Tell me your name, contact and ID number again, and I¡¯ll record them. Did you wear this all the way here? Impressive,¡± they said.


    I repeated the numbers and entered the building sessfully.


    As expected, there were many people inside but practically none outside of the building.


    I found a blind spot outside amidst the shrubs.


    After double checking that there really was no cameras, I opened the seal of the intable costume.


    I opened the snakeskin bag slightly and threw the girl¡¯s body into the shrubs.


    The coast was clear so I got out of the costume, stuffed it into the handbag, and took the tripod out.


    I entered the office with a handbag in one hand and the tripod in another. No one came over to question my identity. They were too busy discussing what to have for lunch.


    I figured that the canteen was on the second floor so I took the lift, alone, to the top floor.


    Upon arriving at the highest level, I entered the toilet room.


    There weren¡¯t cameras in there for sure so I started changing.


    I draped the white bedsheet over my body and put the wig on before going back out, carrying the tripod.


    I hung my head low and walked to the roof ess, only to find that it was locked.


    Annoyed, I fiddled with the knob before kicking the door forcefully.


    It created a lot of noise, but no one noticed.


    It was already 12 pm and everyone was in the canteen having lunch.


    I arrived at the roof with the tripod.


    I pointed the tripod in the general location of her corpse, but I made sure that it was deliberately away from the position where I was going to jump off.


    When that was done, I secured her unlocked phone on top of the tripod.


    I opened thepany chat group and sent, ¡°Work is too exhausting. I¡¯m sorry, everyone. I¡¯m going to jump. Don¡¯t stop me.¡±


    The chatroom blew up instantly.


    I tried adjusting the phone upward, but the view was limited.


    I started the record button and made myself enter the shot for a few seconds before hiding at a corner of the roof to keep the disguise.


    I knew that I couldn¡¯t go down immediately since there were cameras pointing toward the roof entrance.


    The ¡®girl¡¯ had already jumped and I would be instantly exposed if I were to go down right away.


    I waited for a short while and a group of people swarmed to the roof.


    ¡°Did she really jump?¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s no one here?¡±


    ¡°Look at that tripod. She has one, too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s her phone!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s recording right now. Go save it.¡±


    ¡°Quick, take a look.¡±


    ¡°Look down. Call the security.¡±


    ¡°Wait, is that a body in the shrubs?¡±


    As the crowd was focusing on the phone, I snuck out from the side to join them.


    People started calling the cops and soon enough, police cars and an ambnce arrived downstairs.


    It was about time. The police¡¯s first reaction was to seek out a firsthand witness.


    They had the crowd go down and I blended in with them.


    Because there were many of them, I was easily concealed.


    I quickly left thepany with my handbag, returned the costume, and drove to the car repair shop.


    I dropped my car off and gged down a cab to pick my wife from work.


    The next day, the news reported that the girl had killed herself because of work pressure. I read the headlines in satisfaction.


    ...


    Half a month has passed and everything has quietened down.


    People are spearheading a campaign to reduce working hours and stress.


    No one knows the truth.


    That is my story.


    My secret.


    ¡°Why¡¯s there a bag of things in the toilet cab, Hubby?¡±

 Chapter 123: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 123: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) I</h4>


    The police came to my house three monthster.


    The police did not say much. They just arrested me as a suspect and took me to the detention center.


    I kept asking why they were doing this but they paid no heed to me.


    They brought me into the center without handcuffs on, perhaps because I showed no signs of attempting to escape.


    In the center, I was locked up in a temporary cell.


    The police did not confiscate my mobile phone, and I was kept in there for two hours before a policeman came to get me out.


    I was then brought to a small room. This must be the interrogation room.


    ¡°Wait in here,¡± the policeman said, gesturing for me to sit on the chair.


    I sat down and the policeman closed the door.


    It was noon time, but with the door closed, the room was almost pitch ck.


    Ten minutes passed and two police officers entered the room and sat opposite from me.


    ¡°Mr. Chalk? 32 years old? Local?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why have you brought me here? Have Imitted a crime?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re just investigating right now so don¡¯t worry. We suspect that you have something to do with a case and we would like to know if you recognize this person here,¡± one officer said as he pulled out a photograph.


    A photograph of Wang Xiaomei.


    I kept quiet, but my body started shaking involuntarily.


    ¡°Your reaction is very interesting, Mr. Chalk. I suppose, she¡¯s not a stranger to you, is she?¡±


    ¡°I know her. What happened? Is she dead? Do you think I killed her?¡± I asked.


    The other officer seemed to be recording the conversation down.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen many like you,¡± one officer mused. ¡°But it¡¯s good that you know her. Next question...¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ve yet to finish,¡± I interrupted.


    They were taken aback by my disruption.


    I pointed at Wang Xiaomei¡¯s photograph. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Wang Xiaomei? Haven¡¯t you seen Weibo? She¡¯s popr for disguising as ady ghost and scaring people. Anyone who¡¯s been on Weibo would¡¯vee across her. When you pulled out that photo, I got chills remembering her ghost makeup. Why are you showing this to me? Was I right? Is she really dead? That was why herst post was about not wanting to y pranks any longer... I wondered why because she was doing so well. I read on the Inte that shemitted suicide, but I really didn¡¯t believe it.¡±


    The police officers exchanged nces and the one doing the recording made some alterations to his notes.


    A huge rock was lifted off my shoulder. I knew there was no way for me to act unacquainted with her so that was the only way to exin my nervousness.


    ¡°Alright, next question. What were you doing on the third of June at 4 am?¡±


    ¡°Probably the usual, on my way to work. Why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve checked with yourpany and you weren¡¯t at work that day. You had someone else take over your shift. How do you exin this?¡±


    ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, I remember that that was the day my wife called to tell me that her stomach wasn¡¯t feeling well so I went back to bring her to the nearest clinic. Acute gastroenteritis, the doctor diagnosed. After that, when she felt a little better, she went back to work, and I stayed home for the rest of the day. I have my wife and the doctor as witnesses.¡±


    ¡°Let us have your phone¡¯s passcode. We will check the call history for details.¡±


    ¡°Six sixes. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find anything there since it¡¯s already September now, and I have the habit of clearing data on my phone every month. My wife does the same as well since we only have a 16GB storage and the phones getggy at times and clearing the data helps with the speed. I might not have the data you need on my phone, but there should be a copy on myputer.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the location of the clinic you brought her to?¡±


    ¡°White Deer District A, the neighborhood beside mine. My wife felt much better after the consultation so she went to work as usual and I was the only one who applied for leave.¡±


    ...


    I thought back to the day my wife found the bloody stic bag, gown, and boot lining.


    I got down on my knees and came clean with her, swearing that I had gotten rid of all the evidence, only for her to instantly point out numerous loopholes.


    It was then that I realized I had been so foolish. In order to conceal the loopholes in my alibi, we came up with an borate n so wless that it left me bbergasted.


    June 3 was the day I killed Wang Xiaomei, and it was June 29 when my wife found out about it.


    The following day, June 30, I brought my wife to the clinic.


    During the consultation, my wife had the doctor press on her tummy, causing him to start having devious thoughts. I then took the opportunity to change the timestamp on his chop from 30th to 3rd.


    After stamping the chop on his hand-written medical record, my wife repeated her strategy and lured him into the ward again, giving me time to slot the record under the early June¡¯s pile and switch back the timestamp.


    We tried this n for seven times in total, in seven different clinics, before finally seeding.


    ...


    ¡°You¡¯ve lied to us, Mr. Chalk. We¡¯ve discovered from our monitors that your car was fine when you left home. Please exin the damage that we observed when you drove the car back to your neighborhood on that same morning.¡±


    ¡°That was my wife. She has only had her license for about half a year then, but I¡¯ve always been the one taking her around. That day, because of her tummy ache, she came out in a cab to meet me halfway before we went down to the clinic. On the way there, however, she felt the urge to drive and I let her. She hit the curb shortly after. You can check the driving records if you don¡¯t believe me since I don¡¯t clear them. It should clearly show that I went back before we headed to the clinic. You can also see the video recording of the ident when my wife mmed onto the curb and some shrubs.¡±


    The officer further questioned, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you visit the people hospital in the suburbs since you were outside the city?¡±


    ¡°Money issues. Check the driving records, it¡¯s all in there.¡±


    That was the only thing I could tweak. I just had to adjust the date of the camera before recording. On my day off, I simply recorded the staged events and slotted it on June 3. I pretended to head to work, answer a call and turn around, and stop at a blind spot outside the city to pick up my wife.


    I then let her drive and do an emergency braking somewhere near a corner, before getting down, checking the bumper of the car, and pretending to argue with her over it.


    Since the camera could only capture what was in front, it doesn¡¯t show the ¡®damage¡¯ from that ¡®collision¡¯.


    ¡°We will investigate further and also ask the doctor at your clinic for assurance. We only zoomed in on you because of what we found out about June 3. We will work responsibly and not let a good man go to jail or a bad man go scot-free. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°What? Wait. What do you mean? I don¡¯t get it. What about June 3? What has it got to do with the girl¡¯s death? I¡¯m confused,¡± I lied.


    ¡°You¡¯re great at acting, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re the sneakiest criminal I¡¯ve ever encountered.


    ¡°Acting? You think I was the one who banged the car but shifted the me to my wife? Check the recording! Or do you think I¡¯m trying to get insurance money? I paid for the repair! I just wanted to save on next year¡¯s premium since the dent wasn¡¯t severe. Is that wrong?¡±


    I knew I had to act all clueless. They would think that I¡¯m concealing something if I acted as though I was colluding with my wife. The more I talk, the more loopholes would appear.


    ¡°Alright then, thank you, Mr. Chalk, for providing us with such useful evidence. I have a few more questions, but in the meantime, you have to wait here for at least two hours because we¡¯ve invited your wife, too. She¡¯s also being interrogated and her answers are different from yours. She¡¯s already admitted that you instigated everything.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I eximed with faux exasperation. ¡°Can you tell me exactly what I¡¯ve done?¡±


    ¡°Alright, calm down. We were just checking. Let us carry on with the questions. There¡¯s a mobile shop, Vivo, in the city. Did you, or did you not, rent an intable mascot costume from there for a day?¡±

 Chapter 124: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 124: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) II</h4>


    ¡°Sorry, what costume? I don¡¯t understand a word you¡¯re saying,¡± I stated tly.


    The officer pulled out another photograph and I recognized it instantly.


    It was of the mascot entering the office building.


    Since it wasn¡¯t taken elsewhere, I figured that they had no concrete evidence to support their im that I had rented the costume.


    The employee did not get a clear look at my face since he had the costume on. His boss wouldn¡¯t have seen me as well since the staff asked for his permission over the phone. He took off his costume quickly and couldn¡¯t wait to get rid of me. I paid the deposit without leaving my contact since the amount was much more than what the costume was worth.


    ¡°You¡¯re denying our im then? We do not have evidence since the cameras only keep the recordings for a month and we were a little toote. But what about this?¡± The officer ced another photograph on the table.


    It was of me exiting the building with my handbag and my head lowered.


    ¡°What¡¯s with these two photos? Is it in the same ce?¡± I pretended not to understand.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d know better.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°We¡¯ve checked through the monitors. This is of you exiting, but we didn¡¯t see any of you entering. Same goes for the mascot. There¡¯s only a clip of him entering but not exiting. Or can you exin how you popped out of nowhere? We can first talk about the mascot. He left a fake name, contact number, and ID with the security but still managed to get in. Why? Because he reported Wang Xiaomei¡¯s name. Can you exin the connection between these two photos? Did you hide the costume in your handbag?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, ¡± I repeated.


    ¡°You don¡¯t? How, then, do you exin your appearance at the office and Wang Xiaomei¡¯s death shortly after? The autopsy doesn¡¯t match up with the alleged cause of death, and you¡¯re the suspect.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! I mean, why me?¡± I asked, picking up the photograph and folding it.


    One of them grabbed my hand but I showed no sign of stopping.


    ¡°Why are you touching me?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°There¡¯s no use tearing it up, Mr. Chalk. We have copies and this is not our only evidence. If you think it¡¯s all that we have, go ahead, I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    I folded the photograph three times, including all the corners, before putting it beside my face.


    ¡°Look carefully. Do we look alike? I don¡¯t even know where this is so why are you saying that it¡¯s me?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that¡¯s not you?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Wang Xiaomeimitted suicide? Why has it be a criminal case? And why am I the suspect? We don¡¯t even look alike!¡± I argued, putting the photo closer to my face.


    They looked at me in silence.


    ¡°Can you magnify the photo? I can¡¯t even see his face properly, why are you so sure it¡¯s me? I suspect you¡¯re just trying to malign me of murder because you can¡¯t solve the case,¡± I shouted righteously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be agitated, Mr. Chalk. We¡¯re only investigating and not using. Just exin to us nicely so we can clear your name.¡±


    ¡°Are you really helping and not attacking?¡± I spat.


    ¡°The case is three months overdue. It is true that we have nothing concrete, which is why we¡¯re finally shifting the focus onto you.¡±


    ¡°So you suspect that I murdered her? It¡¯s been so long but you have nothing? Are you even investigating properly? Stop framing me!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not obliged to answer your strange questions. We just need your help with onest problem. It is stated in the repair workshop¡¯s records that your boot lining was missing. Why is that so? Please correct your attitude and answer us.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s going to happen to me after? Do I get to leave or are you just going to lock me up no matter what my answers are?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t detain you for more than 72 hours, so we¡¯ll crack the case as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°What will happen after that? Will I be thrown in jail? I¡¯ve been following the news for many years. So many people had been locked up, only to be released with an apology yearster. Is that my impending fate?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be released from custody so you can go home and wait for a sentence. We won¡¯t treat an innocent man unjustly so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯m innocent but it seems that you two disagree,¡± I stated.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to go there. Please tell us what happened to your boot lining.¡±


    ¡°A tire busted during the collision so I had to get the jack to rece it with a spare one. Got dirty in the process so I threw it. That¡¯s it. I threw it in the dump. It¡¯s been three months so don¡¯t bother finding it.¡±


    They exchanged looks and one whispered to the other, ¡°Do we continue?¡±


    ¡°Sort the testimony and line it against his wife¡¯s.¡±


    Thetter said, ¡°Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Chalk. We¡¯ll process the information so please bear with us.¡±


    They got up and sent me back to the holding cell.


    It was now my wife¡¯s time to perform.


    She was probably sitting in another interrogation room, and I could only hope for the best.

 Chapter 125: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 125: Daytime Lady Ghost (Part 2) III</h4>


    10 minutester.


    Four policemen sat down in the office andpared their findings.


    ¡°How confusing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unexpected, isn¡¯t it? It doesn¡¯t line up...¡±


    An officer picked up a form and browsed through it. He said, ¡°This is your discovery, eh? It was strange on our side, too.¡±


    ¡°Did his wife own up?¡±


    ¡°No, but found out about something else.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t keep us in suspense.¡±


    ¡°Simple. The couple isn¡¯t on good terms.¡±


    ¡°What did you guys ask? Why did she even talk about this?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t tell us about it, but we could tell.¡±


    ¡°What did you notice?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t point it out, but you¡¯ll understand if you heard what she said. It¡¯s pretty funny and strange at the same time. I¡¯ll y the recording so listen for yourselves.¡±


    He took a recorder out and pressed y.


    ...


    ¡°Sorry to bring you here at this time and thank you for assisting with our investigation. We would like to know more about your husband.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°He did not go to work on June 3. Why?¡±


    ¡°My tummy was aching so he brought me to a doctor.¡±


    ¡°Was he acting strangely that day?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice the dent in your car?¡±


    ¡°I was the one who did that. I wanted to drive but I ended up ramming the car against a curb. Did he do something wrong? Is it serious?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll answer all your questionster, but for now, please just answer us. We have every reason to suspect that you and your husband are in cahoots,¡± one officer said, his brows wrinkled.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve brought you here to seek evidence, but there¡¯s a need for me to tell you what I¡¯m about to say.¡± He leaned forward and said earnestly, ¡°Have you thought it through? Your testimony will influence our verdict. Your husband¡¯s already admitted to killing her so why are you still lying? Fabricating lies to mislead us is a serious offense and we have every right to lock you up.¡±


    ¡°Wait. He killed somebody and even admitted it?¡±


    The officers smiled slightly and one whispered to the other, ¡°Continue fanning the fire.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s admitted to it. We can sue you for obstruction of justice if you keep lying and we can detain you for 10 days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done wrong,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Now, be honest with us and be responsible for your words.¡±


    ¡°Got it. He made me do it.¡±


    ¡°Your husband? What did he ask you to say?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything. Will he be sentenced to death? He made me say these. I¡¯m innocent.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us everything that had happened? How did he coerce you?


    ¡°Who did he murder?¡±


    The officers looked at each other.


    She continued, ¡°A colleague? Did he throw the body into the sea? I know that there¡¯s some misunderstanding between him and his colleague. He must¡¯ve done it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but could you please tell us exactly how he forced you?¡±


    ¡°He assaults me every day. He has a bad temper so I¡¯m not even surprised that he¡¯s a murderer.¡±


    ¡°Your answers are bing stranger. Is there any conflict between you two? What did he force you to do?¡±


    ¡°He forced me. Yes, he forced me. He told me not to answer anything. I¡¯ve said everything. I hope he receives the punishment that he deserves.¡±


    ¡°Alright, moving on. Are you two on good terms?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re great. Sir, he should be punished if he did something wrong. It¡¯s for his own good. How can he get away with murder? I don¡¯t know anything. I¡¯m not working with him.¡±


    One officer covered his ears and said softly, ¡°Ask her about the clinic.¡±


    ¡°You had a tummy ache on the 3rd of June? Which clinic did you visit?¡±


    ¡°I forgot, sorry. He refused to take me to the hospital. There are so many clinics around, I really don¡¯t remember which.¡±


    The other officer added softly, ¡°There¡¯s no point asking further. Is she even his wife? There seems to be a serious feud between them. Did he get cuckolded by her?¡±


    ¡°You said your husband abuses you. Why, then, did he still pick up your call and send you to the clinic?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Sir, he might be ill. Erratic.¡±


    ¡°But it sounds like the problem is with you. You said he hit you? Any bruises?¡±


    ¡°I told you he¡¯s unstable. It¡¯s been a while since he hit me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re recording your every word. You said he assault you every day.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he does, but not with a lot of force so there are no marks.¡±


    Again, the other officer whispered, ¡°No point digging further.¡±


    The investigating officer nodded. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. We will process the information you¡¯ve provided.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Can I leave now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, can we visit your home tomorrow? We¡¯ll need to check yourputer for data, and also the car¡¯s camera recordings.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Can I leave now?¡±


    ...


    The officer stopped the recorder.


    ¡°Did you sense anything?¡±


    ¡°Disharmony? He¡¯s been cuckolded?¡±


    ¡°Exactly my thought. She wants him dead, it seems.¡±


    ¡°She was still acting fine until she discovered that he killed someone.¡±


    ¡°Ever thought of letting him hear this recording and see how he reacts?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she malicious? And here we are thinking that they are in cahoots with each other.¡±


    ¡°She must¡¯ve cheated on him and wants to jump on this perfect opportunity to get rid of him.¡±


    ¡°Stop guessing and show a proof of that.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of proof, are we really following her to get the data from the camera andputer?¡±


    ¡°Wait. She¡¯s released?¡±


    ¡°Yes, long ago.¡±


    ¡°If she really has something against him, won¡¯t she go home and destroy the only evidence?¡±


    ¡°Evidence? What evidence?¡±


    ¡°The copy in theputer and car camera. You said you¡¯ll look for her tomorrow so won¡¯t she have time to destroy it? What¡¯s going to happen then?¡±


    All four of them stood up at the same time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give her a call.¡±


    ¡°She should still be on her way. Go after her, quick.¡±


    ...


    Half an hourter, the policemen arrived at the parking lot and found the car in question.


    The camera was already removed by then.


    ¡°We¡¯re in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Find her. We¡¯ll collect the evidence and find you guyster.¡±


    The two other officers rushed up to the apartment and rang the bell.


    My wife opened the door very naturally.


    ¡°Hi, we¡¯re here to collect evidence.¡±


    ¡°You told me that earlier so I came back to look for it but it¡¯s been damaged. Perhaps it¡¯s because we haven¡¯t used that in a long time,¡± she exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s our duty to charge you with obstruction of thew, Madam.¡±


    ¡°What? I don¡¯t know much aboutputers. It¡¯s spoiled. Are you convicting me because it¡¯s spoiled?¡±


    ¡°What about the car camera? Why is it gone?¡±


    ¡°What camera?¡±


    ¡°Please, follow me.¡±


    ¡°What have I done?¡±


    They held onto her and one said, ¡°It¡¯s obvious that there had been a camera installed but you¡¯re denying its existence. You¡¯re hindering our investigations. You¡¯ll have to follow us back to the center. Do not resist. It¡¯s an even bigger crime.¡±


    The two policemen from the carpark came up and met with them.


    ¡°Bring her back and we¡¯ll stay to investigate,¡± an officer instructed.


    After 10 minutes of searching, one of them found the car¡¯s camera in the guest bedroom.


    The other stared at theputer for a long time before dismantling it.


    ¡°Spoiled?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been smashed before, there are marks here. The motherboard is damaged. Not a big problem, though.¡±


    ¡°Repairable?¡±


    ¡°No need, we¡¯ll just take the hard disk back.¡±


    ...


    I waited impatiently for four hours until finally, an officer opened the cell door.


    ¡°You may leave, Mr. Chalk.¡±


    ¡°Really? Am I cleared?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We will remove you from our suspect list for now, but please do not leave the city as we may call you back anytime.¡±


    ¡°Did my wife testify?¡±


    ¡°Contrary. She¡¯s going to be detained for 10 days for obstructing thew. A piece of advice, you should be wary of that wife of yours.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.


    The officer only smiled.


    I exited the police station with a grin on my face.


    10 dayster.


    My wife returned home to a candlelight dinner that I had prepared.


    ¡°I know I did wrong, dear wife,¡± I said as I lit the candles.


    ¡°It¡¯s all over. 10 days in exchange for half your lifetime? It¡¯s worth it,¡± she said, the corner of her lip curling up.

 Chapter 126: Rain Man I

    <h4>Chapter 126: Rain Man I</h4>


    My name is Luqiao and I have yet to graduate.


    I lived my days shamelessly as a marketing undergraduate.


    I shared a dorm with three other students and stayed in 90% of the ss semester.


    Cutting sses were nothing out of the ordinary.


    I skipped my way through year 1, 2, and 3 just like that before finally receiving a warning letter from the school.


    All four of us received it, to be exact.


    75 credits were required for students to graduate but I had only 17.


    My dormmates weren¡¯t any better either.


    In any case, we won¡¯t be able to graduate if this continued. Of course, there was still year 4.


    In the final semester, I thought about the 60 credits that I needed.


    Was it hard? Yes.


    Was it possible? Only if I left myputer and dorm to go to ss.


    It wasn¡¯t a big deal, however, since I could just attend more public sses.


    As we were fretting over this issue, an idea came knocking on our door.


    The school is humane after all...


    In fact, I suspect that the school teachers nned everything because they came to look for us right after the warning letters were sent out.


    ...


    I opened the door and was taken aback by the teacher¡¯s visit.


    ¡°Are you here to check on us, Teacher? We¡¯re not in possession of prohibited goods.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re all here, eh?¡± the teacher asked.


    ¡°Yes. How can we help you? If it¡¯s not an inspection... and what should we do about the course credits?¡± I asked.


    The teacher pped four sheets onto the table. ¡°I¡¯m here to talk about this.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only a year left so clearing 60 is too challenging. Will I have to retain?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re not that ruthless, but clearing 60 in a semester is indeed challenging. However, we¡¯ve recently received an invite from the nation. We need to send a few university students to a welfare agency, nursing home, orphanage and other organizations to volunteer. It will take a month but you guys have a semester break. Perform well and that 60 credits won¡¯t be a problem,¡± the teacher told us with a smile.


    17 + 60 = 77. That¡¯s more than enough to graduate.


    I looked at my dormmates, who had already taken the sheets.


    ¡°I have a question,¡± I called out to the teacher.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to perform well, you say? How do you define ¡®well¡¯? What if we work our asses off only for you to call it as a fail? Won¡¯t we have worked for nothing then?¡± I questioned.


    My dormmates looked up from the sheets in their hands.


    ¡°Yeah, Teacher.¡±


    ¡°Tell us what¡¯s considered good.¡±


    ¡°Right, or the school might just sell us out.¡±


    The teacher cleared his throat and shook his head. ¡°The rule is simple. We will get reporters to document you. The reporters won¡¯t just interview you, but also seek others¡¯ opinions about you. If the interviewees evaluate you positively, I¡¯ll give the credits to you. You should know very well that no one will go against you in front of the reporters if you¡¯re doing a good job. ¡±


    ¡°Will we be required to submit a reflection at the end of that project?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. Just avoid making any mistakes. This is an important mission that the nation has entrusted us with so we¡¯ll be hiring reporters from big publishing firms. You don¡¯t have to write anything at all so this really is the simplest way for you to clear your much-needed credits. I alreadyid it all out for you so consider this properly,¡± he advised, picking up thest sheet and moving to stow it back in his bag.


    I reached my hand out to stop him. ¡°No, no. I¡¯m in. I was just rifying the details. Give it to me, please.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even attend sses, but you dare to bargain so much when I¡¯m offering you a good deal.¡±


    I took the sheet and smiled sheepishly. ¡°No, no, just checking. Why would you cause us trouble?¡±


    I looked at the form.


    It asked for personal details and at the bottom were the words: Kang Ning Mental Institution.


    I pointed at the sheet and said, ¡°Wait, no, no, Teacher. This... what¡¯s going on? Why is it a mental institution? You said welfare agency, nursing home, an orphanage!¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Yes, welfare agency, nursing home, orphanage, and a mental institution. It¡¯s not really that bad, just far away from the school. Since this is a volunteer project, I¡¯ll appeal for free amodations for you guys.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be in different ces?¡± I asked apprehensively.


    ¡°Yeah, mine¡¯s an orphanage.


    ¡°Welfare agency.¡±


    ¡°Nursing home.¡±


    ¡°Why are you separating us?¡± I asked, uprehending.


    ¡°We did not pay much attention to this when we received the invite. It was only recently when we realized that the certifications and news have to be submitted, that we finally took action. There has to be news about 16 ces so how can we allocate all four of you to a single ce? I¡¯ll need to find 12 more students,¡± he noted.


    ¡°That I understand, but mental institution? Aren¡¯t you worried that I might get hurt? Isn¡¯t it dangerous? Can I get another location?¡± I requested.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. The patients there are more normal than you think. You¡¯ve been watching too many television programs. They don¡¯t act up all the time. It¡¯s 60 credits that we¡¯re talking about. Are you going to consider retaining just because it¡¯s a mental institution? I¡¯ll have to allocate more ces so please don¡¯t make things difficult for me,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I guess I have no choice,¡± I agreed in frustration.


    ¡°Return the form when you¡¯re done filling it up, and we¡¯ll send the address and details to your phone. The reporters will interview you about 20 days into your voluntary work. I don¡¯t wish to hear any negative feedback since it will affect the school¡¯s reputation. If that happens, it¡¯s no longer just about retaining. You guys will also be condemned by the whole school.¡±


    We nodded and the teacher left with a cold smile.


    The moment he left, I shouted, ¡°Guys, can you please change with me? Won¡¯t it be tough taking care of the elderly? You might need to clean up after them. Kids are noisy and careless, what if you identally hurt them? As for welfare agency, you¡¯ll have to run from house to house under the hot sun. My heart will ache if you get all tanned and dehydrated. The patients in the mental institution are deranged and won¡¯t even care if you ignore them. That¡¯s the easiest! You don¡¯t even have to work,¡± I tried.


    ¡°Just suck it up, Luqiao.¡±


    ¡°Fill the forms up and I¡¯ll hand it over for you guys tomorrow. Don¡¯t think about altering our forms, Luqiao. You might lose three dormmates.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Deal with it, Luqiao!¡±


    ¡°Remember to share your experience with us, we haven¡¯t met any mental patients before.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°But I deal with three mental patients every day.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll let that slide because we know this is going to be hard for you. Man, I can¡¯t believe that the school is willing to get students to go there just toplete the mission.¡±


    ¡°Do well, learn well!¡±


    ¡°Hang in there, buddy.¡±


    I shook my head helplessly.


    ...

 Chapter 127: Rain Man II

    <h4>Chapter 127: Rain Man II</h4>


    The next morning, I was thest to pass my form to my dormmate. He left shortly after to look for the teacher in charge.


    We thought it was going to take quite a while, but we actually received individual messages that noon.


    They came from foreign numbers and my message was as followed:


    (This is Xi Shan Kang Ning Mental Institution¡¯s human resource department, and we have received your application. Please report to us on the 29th of July, and your program will end on the 29th of August. Please be punctual. Our address is the peak of East Mountain on East Mountain Road.)


    East Mountain madhouse, indeed.


    That¡¯s its name amongstmon people.


    The impression of patients there originated from chit chats spreading around in school.


    There had been a few seniors who fell ill due to work pressure or heartache from failed rtionships and were sent there to undergo injections, shock therapies, or even human experiments. These stories became our school legend, but there were some people who really believed it to be true.


    I looked at the date on my phone. July 26.


    I had to be there in three days¡¯ time.


    Time passed in the blink of an eye and I was still somewhere at a loss when my rm woke me up on the 29th.


    I stepped out of the dormitory, left school, found a public bicycle, and cycled for over 40 minutes to reach the bottom of East Mountain.


    There were very few people around.


    I cycled my way up the mountain and came across a coach.


    The driver stopped before me and wound down his window. ¡°Going up?¡±


    I nodded and he opened the rear door.


    I parked the bicycle by the side and hopped on.


    ¡°It¡¯s really deep inside. Are you here to visit?¡± the driver asked, smiling.


    ¡°To volunteer,¡± I answered.


    ¡°University student?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded and lowered my head.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen many university students around. My son¡¯s in university, too. He¡¯s in year 1. I¡¯m actually thinking of sending him to work during the holiday instead of letting him sit around at home like Buddha,¡± he said as he looked at me in the rearview mirror.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been tasked by the school as well, or I won¡¯t be here either,¡± I responded sheepishly, scratching my head.


    ¡°Alright, go get a seat. I¡¯ll drive faster since there isn¡¯t a lot of people around. Remember my schedule: I start daily from the bottom at eight in the morning and go up every hour and down every half. Thest bus ends at eight in the evening, so don¡¯t bete,¡± he reminded kindly.


    I nodded before walking to thest row of the bus.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± I yelled when I spotted something on the seats.


    The driver turned around and understood immediately. ¡°Oh, her... don¡¯t be afraid. She¡¯s from the institution and her name¡¯s Xiaoyu.¡±


    It was then that I realized it was a human lying down on the seats and not an object.


    Our eyes met.


    She was young and had prominent features, instantly reminding me of my deskmate in elementary school.


    My deskmate was practically the goddess of the school, but I was young and I did not understand love.


    Looking at the girl on the bus, I found myself taking a liking toward her.


    With a smile, I asked, ¡°Hi, little friend. May I have a seat?¡±


    The driver made honked for a few seconds before driving off.


    ¡°Little friend¡¯s not my name. I¡¯m Pang Xiaoyu,¡± she corrected, sitting up to free the seat for me.


    ¡°Little friend?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°No, Pang Xiaoyu.¡± She pouted.


    ¡°Fat little fish?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Fine, call me Little Friend,¡± she gave up and turned to look out of the window.


    Iughed and took my seat beside her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bully her, aye. She¡¯s the gem of the institution,¡± the bus driver called out.


    ¡°Gem?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°She was born in the institution,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Doctor¡¯s child?¡± I asked instinctively.


    ¡°No, a patient¡¯s. You¡¯ll know more in due time. She¡¯s impressive. Ever heard of the TV program ¡®The Strongest Brains¡¯? That show is about intelligent people,¡± he added.


    ¡°¡®The Strongest Brains¡¯? This child?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the president adores this child. He started teaching her math when she turned three. She¡¯s never been to school and learns everything from him. She¡¯s 12 now and can gauge quantities very well and can even calcte movement and trajectory.¡±


    ¡°Movement and trajectory? Isn¡¯t this logical stuff?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Heard of the dual color ball lottery? She¡¯s unable to guess the numbers, of course, or our institution would¡¯ve been rich by now. But if she were to see the lottery box, she would be able to predict the numbers just 3 seconds after the balls start spinning. You can get her to show you next time,¡± he exined.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding?¡± I eximed.


    The girl whispered, ¡°A bird shit willnd on the front window in six seconds.¡±


    ¡°What? Bird shit?¡± I echoed, puzzled.


    She pointed to the front and I followed her direction.


    Indeed, right at that point, I saw a bird shit sttering on the window.


    ¡°Uh, bad luck!¡± the driver yelled before activating his water spray and wiper.


    My jaw dropped and I turned back to her. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°I saw a ckbird above and did some calctions. Right, he¡¯s gonna brake soon,¡± she added.


    Before I knew it, the bus jerked strongly.


    ¡°How did you know that?¡± I was starting to sound like a moronic echo.


    ¡°Because we¡¯re here, dummy,¡± she saidughingly.


    I was speechless.


    The driver opened the back door. ¡°Alright, get down!¡±


    As I was standing up, the girl pulled the window open and jumped out.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s dangerous!¡± I shouted after her, but she was already running inside. ¡°What...¡±


    ¡°Go on. The small house on the left should be the human resource office,¡± the driver said and came over to close the window.


    I got off the car and walked toward the house.


    I knocked on the door but no one answered.


    After a long time, I started getting impatient.


    I walked to the windows, hoping to see what was going on inside.


    That was when I saw the sticky note posted on the inside.


    (Out for work. Will be back in 3 days. Please look for the president if you need any assistance.)


    I scanned the ginormous institution and spotted a loft in the distance.


    The president sure knew how to enjoy life.


    I strolled through the courtyard and entered the main hall.


    The patients and nurses I passed were busy with their own things and no one paid attention to me.


    I got to the elevator, made my way up to the loft, and knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in, it¡¯s not locked,¡± an old voice sounded.


    I entered and my first impression of him was that he was pretty trendy.


    Kinda like Professor X?


    Shiny head, wheelchair, and the little girl on the bus was standing beside him as well.


    She was doing some deductions on the ckboard.


    It was veryplicated. Extremelyplicated.


    The closely packed numbers made me dizzy.


    The uppermost form made my jaw drop. I recognized that problem.


    Leonhard Euler form!


    I asked with a shaky voice, ¡°No way? She¡¯s deducing Euler form?¡±


    ¡°Your math¡¯s decent, aye? You know it?¡± the president asked, smiling.


    ¡°I learned it when I was young and gained interestter on. It¡¯s all self-taught, of course, nothing deep,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Will you go out first, Xiaoyu?¡± the president requested.


    The little girl nodded and exited the room, but not before pulling a funny face at me.


    The president wheeled over to my side with some effort.


    He closed the door and continued, ¡°She¡¯s a little impolite, doesn¡¯t do things like closing the door and so on. It pisses me off sometimes, but she¡¯ll probably be okay when she grows up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem, President,¡± I responded, thinking back to the bus window that the girl left open as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re the new volunteer?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded.

 Chapter 128: Rain Man III

    <h4>Chapter 128: Rain Man III</h4>


    ¡°Right, how long will you be here for?¡± the president asked, wheeling himself back to the table and flipping through some files.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be here for a month,¡± I answered.


    He smiled. ¡°What are you studying in school? Are you going to be a doctor?¡±


    ¡°No, no. I¡¯m studying marketing and I don¡¯t have any experience in dealing with patients. Will it be difficult?¡±


    ¡°Whenever an internes along, we will train him for three months and put him through a test. He can only start officially if he passes the test. Since you¡¯ll only be here for a month, the training program isn¡¯t going to work,¡± he said, pulling out a form from a file.


    It was my application form.


    ¡°Is it going to be that difficult? Can¡¯t I just help out in other ways like sweeping and cleaning? I¡¯ll assist with the basics. I¡¯m not afraid of hard work and I won¡¯t ck off.¡±


    ¡°The process here is... unique. You do understand that we¡¯re taking care of special patients and there will be times when they require emergency care, don¡¯t you? What if a patient under your care gets injured and there are no other employees around? It¡¯s going to be difficult for us to ept you if you don¡¯t know basic first aid,¡± he exined before throwing the form into the rubbish bin.


    I nodded. ¡°So there¡¯s no chance for me?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. You learned some math, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I nodded again. ¡°Yes, when I was young. But you threw my form away, doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯m out?¡±


    ¡°I have another job for you. You¡¯ll take care of and y with that girl Xiaoyu for a month. It should be simple, right?¡± he said before pulling out a new form, filling a few nks and handing it to me.


    ¡°Yes, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± I agreed and received the form.


    It was a contract.


    3,000 dors for a month.


    I was overjoyed, but I was also a bit uneasy.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to volunteer, sir. I shouldn¡¯t take this money.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a volunteer to those outside, but in here, it is our obligation to pay you. You¡¯ll still be paid even if you¡¯re a doctor volunteering with us, so don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re not receiving any special treatment,¡± he reassured me.


    I nodded and filled up the form. ¡°But to take money for taking care of a child...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to just y with her. You¡¯ll need to educate her as well,¡± he rified.


    ¡°What can I teach her? She seems to know more than I do,¡± I protested.


    ¡°Do you know the head of the millennium problems?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The seven unsolved problems? Solve any and get 1,000,000? Post the solution on the magazine and seed if there are no challengers within two years? One has already been solved, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Henri Poincar¨¦¡¯s conjecture has been solved. There are six more and I hope to train Xiaoyu for her to be able to solve them someday. I was convinced that no one would ever be able to before I met her. She has a special kind of magic. What she understands as math isn¡¯t just math. It¡¯s purer and more instinctive.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, President, is it true? The bus driver mentioned that she can predict lottery numbers.¡±


    ¡°That is true. It¡¯s her power.¡±


    ¡°He even said that Xiaoyu¡¯s never been to school. She¡¯s 12, right? Why won¡¯t you send her to school?¡±


    Since the moment we met, this was the only time that he looked at me properly.


    He sighed. ¡°We brought her to school when she was eight, but because she¡¯s an orphan and in an unusual situation, she got bullied by the other kids. I had no choice but to withdraw her application. She¡¯s not exactly in a normal mental state as well.¡±


    ¡°Not in a normal mental state?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°It¡¯s better if I exin it to you now, although you¡¯ll only be taking care of her for a month. She was born here from a pair of mentally ill parents.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°They¡¯re both mentally unstable?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s my fault.¡±


    A tear rolled down his cheek and his voice started to tremble.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, take your time,¡± I encouraged.


    ¡°Have a seat. It¡¯s a little long,¡± he said, pointing at the sofa not far away.


    ¡°Have you heard of Pang Dahai? A murderer from 14 years ago?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the serial killer that shook the nation? Five victims. I was still in elementary school then, and our school principal had parents pick their kids up personally after ss. No one dared to go out alone at night that month. Everyone was living in fear. Wait, he¡¯s Xiaoyu¡¯s father?¡± I asked, wide-eyed.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but the whole process might be a little different from what people had imagined,¡± he answered.


    I was in shock.


    I was also extremely curious.


    ¡°Pang Dahai¡¯s family looked for me 14 years ago. They offered 150,000 for me to forge a report, iming that Pang Dahai is mentally ill and should receive treatment in the institution.¡±


    ¡°And... you agreed?¡±


    ¡°The eastern face of the mountain we are located on copsed that year and we had no funds to fortify the groundwork so I had to agree. I diagnosed him and ced him under the most severe patient category. He was under sedation and nurses¡¯ care 24/7. He didn¡¯t serve his sentence, but his ward was like a prison.¡±


    ¡°Then something happened...¡± I guessed.


    He pulled the nket on hisp, revealing only a left leg.


    ¡°He did that?¡± I asked, pointing at his missing right leg.


    ¡°Yes. Someone named Xiaowen was involved, too, but I deserved it. It¡¯s not her fault,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Pang Dahai? Xiaowen?¡±


    ¡°Xiaowen is a female patient. Extremely beautiful. His ward was beside Xiaowen¡¯s. Stockholm Syndrome... heard of it?¡±


    ¡°When a victim develops feelings for his or her captor? It¡¯s a legitimate condition?¡± I was in disbelief.


    ¡°Xiaowen was brought in as a severe patient. Throughout that two years, she would enter Dahai¡¯s ward through the window. She prepared a knife for him as he plotted his attack. I was the main doctor in charge of Dahai since I brought him in.¡±


    ¡°What happened next?¡±


    ¡°Luckily, the other staff arrived to save my life. I wrote another evaluation report and he was sentenced to death. I was supposed to be fired, but themittee decided to let me stay on as the president since they knew the reason behind it all. Plus, I¡¯ve paid the price. No one had expected, however, that Xiaowen would get pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Xiaoyu?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Xiaowen tried killing herself six times during the pregnancy, but luckily, she was stopped. We thought about abortion but she was against it. The child is innocent and we did not have the right to take its life.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about mental health, but was Xiaowen still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome at that point?¡±


    After a short pause, he nodded. ¡°We thought that was it, but after giving birth to Xiaoyu, she tried to end both their lives.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she try that when Xiaoyu was still in her tummy?¡±


    ¡°She wanted to but she decided to wait for the gender reveal. Perhaps she felt the need to let Dahai know so they can reunite in theherworld.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°She jumped off the building, but she kept Xiaoyu tight within her embrace. Perhaps she changed her mind at thest second, but whatever the case, that allowed Xiaoyu to survive the fall. Xiaoyu got her name from her mom. Word spread that Xiaowen was an undergraduate from a prestigious university before she entered our institution. Xiaoyu¡¯s name is very artistic and she¡¯s an obedient child. We discovered her gift soon after, which is why I¡¯m nning to tap into it.¡±


    ¡°What a story...¡± I sighed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel that I owe anyone anything, but I am worried about Xiaoyu. I hope you¡¯ll help me since you¡¯re better in math aspared to the other employees. Is that fine with you?¡± he asked.


    I nodded. ¡°She¡¯s only 12. I can handle her.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You can start today. Teach her in a fun way or she won¡¯t listen. Get her to write down the whole of Euler¡¯s equation and she¡¯ll be done for the day. She should be in the staff canteen now. Take my meal card and go ahead. Yours wille tomorrow and I¡¯ll keep that for myself then. You¡¯ll start at 8 AM and knock off at 8 PM daily. Two-hour lunch break. You only need to take care of Xiaoyu, you don¡¯t have to get involved in other things. I thank you again,¡± he finished with a smile.


    I epted his meal card and nodded.

 Chapter 129: Rain Man (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 129: Rain Man (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°Go, she eats pretty fast,¡± he urged me along.


    I exited the loft and realized that I had no idea where the canteen was.


    Thankfully, there were many doctors and nurses around so I was able to ask for directions along the way.


    I arrived at the canteen and saw a petite figure queuing in front of a stall.


    ¡°Hey! d I caught you,¡± I called out and ran to her side.


    ¡°Why are you looking for me? This canteen is for staff only. Patients and their family aren¡¯t allowed, don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°But I am a staff!¡± I grinned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. I know everyone here except for you. You came in today. New recruits have to stay on and learn for some time before they can enter. This is only your first day so why are you in here?¡± she said with a pout.


    ¡°Look at my meal card! It¡¯s your turn soon, I¡¯ll swipe the card for you.¡± I smiled at her and cut into the queue.


    A doctor behind me tapped on my shoulder and said, ¡°Sorry, no cutting of queue.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I¡¯m just going to help her swipe the card,¡± I exined with a smile.


    The doctor pointed at Xiaoyu. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need a meal card. Are you new here?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need it?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Yeah, so don¡¯t use it as an excuse,¡± he warned sharply.


    ¡°Oh...¡± I looked down at the card.


    The doctor grabbed my arm. ¡°Wait, that card...¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The president¡¯s card? Why did he give his to you?¡± he asked, confused.


    I looked closely at the card and saw a photograph of him on it.


    ¡°I¡¯m the new volunteer. I¡¯m here to look after Xiaoyu for a month,¡± I answered.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to queue, stand in front,¡± he offered, taking a step back.


    ¡°Oh... thanks.¡± I looked down at the card once more, thinking about the president¡¯s respectability.


    It made sense since all doctors there were under his supervision.


    When I snapped out of my thoughts, Xiaoyu was no longer within sight.


    After scanning around for a bit, I caught her sitting at a table not far away.


    When it was my turn to order, I quickly selected a few dishes before rushing over to her table.


    ¡°Why are you sitting beside me? There are so many empty seats around,¡± she stated with a scowl.


    ¡°The president told me to look after you for a month so you¡¯ll have to listen to me,¡± I exined.


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked suspiciously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Look at this card.¡± I fished the meal card out of my pocket.


    ¡°But you¡¯re so dumb. What can you teach me?¡± Xiaoyu asked as she started to eat.


    She sounds just like an adult.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We can improve together. I¡¯ll be your teacher for this month and I¡¯ll take it as a revision for myself as well.¡±


    I thought about how she was learning Euler equations at 12 when at that age, I only knew how to watch cartoons.


    Xiaoyu continued her meal without speaking a word.


    I had to get close to her.


    ¡°Right, how do you see them?¡± I started.


    ¡°See what?¡±


    ¡°The numbers spinning in the lottery box.¡±


    ¡°I use my eyes, duh?¡±


    I was at a loss for words.


    She picked out a bunch of chopsticks from a metal cylinder on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s y a game.¡±


    People from around our table starteding over to discuss among themselves.


    ¡°Xiaoyu¡¯s about to y the game with a newbie.¡±


    ¡°Gonna be a good show.¡±


    ¡°When was thest time we witnessed it?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯ll throw this bunch of chopsticks up and calcte the quantity before theynd. You just have to tell me if it¡¯s an odd or even number. I¡¯ll let you teach me if you get it right.¡±


    I sighed as I observed the crowd looking on eagerly.


    Cheers erupted and I could only agree.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I epted.


    Everyone held their breaths as she tossed the bunch of chopsticks in the air.


    The canteen was exceptionally quiet.


    A secondter, the chopsticks fell and scattered onto the table and floor loudly.


    ¡°Odd or even?¡± she asked.


    The doctors and nurses started picking up whatever chopsticks they could see.


    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± I said.


    ¡°Tell me before they pick all of them up or you lose,¡± she decided.


    After a short while, a staff shouted, ¡°No more, all in our hands.¡±


    I added urgently, ¡°Alright, alright. Odd, it¡¯s an odd quantity.¡±


    Xiaoyu looked stunned. After a short pause, she spoke, ¡°One chance to change your answer.¡±


    ¡°I used my own method and found the answer. It¡¯s odd,¡± I responded with even more confidence.


    Everyone looked at her in anticipation.


    She lowered her head. ¡°You¡¯re right. 63 in total.¡±


    Everyone fell silent for a split second before a discussion broke out.


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°He guessed it?¡±


    ¡°So he got it right?¡±


    ...


    They started counting the total number of chopsticks.


    ¡°1.¡±


    ¡°2.¡±


    ¡°3.¡±


    ...


    ¡°61.¡±


    ¡°62.¡±


    ¡°63. Any more?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really 63.¡±


    ¡°Xiaoyu¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°The newbie guessed it right, too. Let¡¯s buy lottery after work.¡±


    ...


    Xiaoyu looked up. ¡°Tell me. How did you know? What method did you use?¡±


    ¡°Will you listen to me for a month if I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed after some thought.


    Those around us started voicing their thoughts.


    ¡°Don¡¯t keep us waiting.¡±


    ¡°Are you d that you guessed it right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get all cocky.¡±


    ...


    I picked up the metal cylinder containing the chopsticks. ¡°I¡¯m not able to count them in the air, but it¡¯s not that difficult to guess if it¡¯s odd or even in quantity.¡±


    I poured out the chopsticks in the cylinder. ¡°First, we always use chopsticks in pairs, so the aunty who washed them will put an even number of chopsticks back in.¡±


    I paired them up, leaving only one lone chopstick on the side.


    ¡°I was gambling on the fact that no one would take an extra chopstick when having their meals or use it for other purposes, and that the aunty would put them back in an even number after washing. I couldn¡¯t see the chopsticks clearly in the air but there were only a few chopsticks in here left so I simply counted them. I do not deny, of course, that some luck was involved.¡±


    Apuse filled the canteen.


    ¡°He cracked her game?¡±


    ¡°The newbie¡¯s a genius, too!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! What¡¯s your name, boy?¡±


    ¡°You look quite handsome, Mister.¡±


    ...


    Amidst the noise, Xiaoyu ran away.


    ¡°I¡¯m Luqiao, a volunteer. I¡¯m sorry to dash, but I have to look after her,¡± I excused myself as I squeezed through the crowd.


    I figured that she must¡¯ve gotten her speed from her father.


    As for her smarts and magical ability, she must¡¯ve gotten them from her mother.


    I found her sitting in a corner at the garden.


    Panting, I called out, ¡°Found you. Keep your word. I won, so you gotta listen to me.¡±

 Chapter 130: Rain Man (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 130: Rain Man (Part 2) II</h4>


    She was sitting with her knees tucked to her chest when I joined her.


    ¡°Are you here tough at me?¡± she began.


    ¡°Are you angry?¡± I asked with a smile.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± she said, turning her head away from me.


    Iughed. ¡°You are!¡±


    ¡°You cheated so it¡¯s not counted. We agreed to count those in the air so why did you look in the can?¡± she asked furiously.


    She was definitely unhappy. I exined, ¡°I cheated because I¡¯m not as good as you. You threw it so quickly so how was I supposed to count them? I could only resort to that method. You¡¯re so amazing, will you teach me?¡±


    I smiled inwardly at my ability to sweet-talk. It should be eptable to act this shamelessly when coaxing kids, right?


    ¡°Your admission that you cheated means that you really didn¡¯t win. Apologize first and I¡¯ll consider if I should forgive you,¡± she added.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I shouldn¡¯t have done that. It¡¯s not counted. Please forgive me,¡± I said, trying to keep the smile off my face.


    It was fortunate that she kept her head turned, or she would¡¯ve been able to see how half-heartedly I was behaving.


    She turned back slowly and I quickly covered my mouth and suppressed my smile before pulling a straight face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you for now, but I¡¯m still not convinced of you bing my teacher. Did he really ask you to teach me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He? Oh, the president? Yeah, he wants you to finish the Euler equation today before ytime,¡± I responded.


    She picked up a tree branch and started writing on the sand. It was Euler¡¯s derivation.


    I took my phone out and searched for his equations.


    Learning math was just a hobby of mine in the past. Suchplex equations were foreign to me.


    I found the equation online andpared it to what she was writing.


    Her uracy caught me by surprise.


    She was a genius, much smarter than I am for sure.


    I wondered how I was going to teach her math when she could easily defeat me in that area. It was looking like it really was just the president that could teach her stuff.


    What if I just blend in for a month? Since I was going to get paid anyway, I would just take good care of her and get ready for the reporter¡¯s interview in 20 days¡¯ time. I had to leave a good impression to secure my credits, have fun in my final semester, and graduate safely.


    It was the reason why I ended up in the institution in the first ce, so I couldn¡¯t let anything change that.


    ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± she said, tugging at the corner of my shirt.


    Comparing her work against my phone, I said after a short while, ¡°All correct.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± she said drily. ¡°So you¡¯re done for the day? Can I borrow your phone?¡±


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°I want to learn math and he lets me do it through the phone,¡± she said.


    ¡°He? The president? He doesn¡¯t teach you personally?¡± I asked, confused.


    Xiaoyu was a rather rude child, which made sense since there hadn¡¯t really been anyone to educate her on manners.


    ¡°He did at the start, but I started knowing more than he did, so I moved on to self-studying. Are you able to teach me, otherwise?¡± Xiaoyu didn¡¯t wait for my response and instead started downloading VPN on my phone. She then went to Google and started searching for something on Wikipedia.


    Judging from her speed and familiarity with the sites, she must¡¯ve done this multiple times already.


    ¡°Why must you go over the firewall?¡±


    ¡°A lot of documents, files, and videos within China are chargeable, unlike those from overseas,¡± she replied off-handedly.


    I looked on as she started reading about the trigonometric function and downloading relevant documents.


    She kept her eyes on my phone the whole time and thoughts filled my mind as I stared at her in admiration.


    Xiaoyu really had an interest in math and learning. I initially had thought that the president turned her into a prodigy through force-feeding and strict discipline.


    I got bored after some time, but Xiaoyu was still focused on my phone. I nudged her a little and asked, ¡°Will you get distracted if I talk to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll let you ask me three questions as a sign of my forgiveness. Shoot,¡± she said coolly.


    ¡°You¡¯re studying math because you enjoy it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course. I went to school and got bullied by the kids because I knew more than them. They regarded me as a freak, which is why I stopped attending sses.¡±


    ¡°Who taught you all these knowledge?¡±


    ¡°The doctors, nurses, and other staff took turns to teach me at first, but I¡¯ve learned all the Chinese words they could teach by nine years old. I then started learning English, French, and German on my own.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I eximed, my mouth agape.


    ¡°He taught me, too, of course, but nothing else piqued my interest until he showed me a difficult math question. Numbers are part of a self-forming system but are constantly self-contradictory. They require a strict calction process but most of the time is iprehensible.¡±


    It was my first time hearing someone exin math this way, and from a girl 12 years of age, nheless. After some time, I asked, ¡°Then what do you wanna do, or rather be, in the future?


    ¡°That¡¯s your third andst question. I want to be a mathematician. Of course, I¡¯m only learning now but I n to solve the seven difficult questions. I want to unravel the secret behind math.¡± She paused then continued, ¡°Find me all forms simr to the trigonometric function and pick five basic but relevant questions for me tomorrow.¡±


    I took a deep breath, finally understanding what the president meant when he said I¡¯d be surprised. Xiaoyu was really seeing things that normal people fail to.


    ¡°Hey, why are you in a daze? Did you hear what I said? He¡¯s been doing what I tell him every day, so I¡¯ll go back to him if you can¡¯t do that,¡± she stated, throwing my phone back to me.


    ¡°No, no. I can do it,¡± I said quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat and go down then.¡± She pointed far away.


    I looked up into the sky and noticed that the sun was about to set. Time had flown by, and it was only when I picked my phone up that I realized Xiaoyu had drained its battery.


    ¡°You¡¯re going down too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to tell you at first, but since I¡¯m a good person... My house is down the mountain,¡± she told me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you stay here in the institution?¡± I asked, confounded.


    ¡°I live in his house. I¡¯m not a mental patient. This is the ce where I learn, just like how elementary school kids attend school daily.¡±


    I nodded.


    She got up, pping away the dust on her clothes.


    We had dinner together and I could hear the doctors and nurses talking about me rather obviously.


    After we finished our meal, Xiaoyu and I took the same bus down the mountain.


    I watched her walk into a corner neighborhood before I got into a public bicycle and cycled my way back to school.


    Xiaoyu learned through my phone for the next 20 days.


    All I did was to ensure that my phone batterysted and to prepare questions for her to solve at home.


    We grew closer, slowly but surely, and I started worrying about her future.


    She was a prodigy, how could she spend the rest of her life in this institution?


    On the 20th morning, I received a call from the teacher.


    Half-awake, I picked up the phone.


    ¡°Luqiao? What time do you start work? I¡¯ll get the reporter to look for you and conduct the interview.¡±


    The word ¡®reporter¡¯ jolted me out of my semi-hazy state and I immediately thought about making use of the interview to share Xiaoyu¡¯s story.


    ¡°Today. I¡¯m free today.¡±


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll get the reporter to the East Mountain entrance and you¡¯ll pick him up from there, is that alright? I¡¯ll contact youter. I need to see good news tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright, no problem,¡± I said before hanging up.


    I received a message containing a foreign number.


    I am going to publicize this huge story for Xiaoyu.


    I got up and washed before heading to work.

 Chapter 131: Rain Man (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 131: Rain Man (Part 2) III</h4>


    I arrived at the foot of the mountain early but I did not board the bus.


    When I saw Xiaoyu about to go up, I went over to let her know that I had something to settle and will bete.


    I waited for the reporter. After two phone calls, a female reporter with thick-rimmed sses arrived.


    We started chatting until the bus came back.


    I walked over to the driver and made a request, which he agreed to since there weren¡¯t many visitors anyway. He sent us up immediately, saving us some time.


    Xiaoyu was waiting at the same ce for me when we reached the top. I waved and had the reporter wait for me while I ran over to Xiaoyu to pass my phone and portable charger to her.


    She took them and started her routine.


    I then went back to the reporter and brought her into the institution.


    ¡°You can start the interview now,¡± I said.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve already finished asking you what I had nned to earlier. I just need to find a few of your colleagues to review your performance now,¡± she replied.


    A familiar looking doctor from not far away sidled up to us, smiling. ¡°Why? Do you need an interviewee?¡±


    It was the doctor I passed on the queue on my first day.


    ¡°Yeah, please help me, brother,¡± I pleaded.


    In reality, I had started talking about my predicament in the canteen a few days back. Almost all of the doctors and nurses were very willing to put in a few good words for me on the day of my the interview.


    This doctor was one of them so I felt relieved.


    ¡°Hi, please introduce yourself,¡± the reporter started.


    ¡°I¡¯m the doctor-in-charge here. You can call me Chalk,¡± he said.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Doctor Chalk. Could you please share your opinion on Luqiao¡¯s voluntary service? And could you two stand closer? I¡¯ll need a photograph,¡± the reporter requested and held up the camera that was slung over her neck.


    The doctor smiled at me, saying, ¡°It¡¯s pretty great to have a university student to help out here. He gets to experience how it¡¯s like to volunteer and also enrich his life outside of school.... h h... so on and so on... but anyway, it¡¯s a win-win situation, so I hope more university students will join us as a way of enhancing their view of the world and contributing back to society.¡±


    I was taken aback by his seemingly rehearsed speech.


    He whispered into my ear, ¡°I prepared it with much effort. I was an announcer at university.¡±


    ¡°Impressive.¡± I grinned.


    ¡°Hmm, Ms. Reporter, I can say more if you need. Don¡¯t you need a video recording? What program is this? Do you wanna start recording? I can repeat myself,¡± the doctor offered hurriedly.


    I could feel my brows knit together. He just wanted to appear on television.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, thank you. I already have a rough idea. We¡¯re doing this for a newspaper and not TV so it¡¯s alright. Thank you so much, though, ¡± the reporter replied evasively.


    ¡°So it¡¯s done?¡± I asked, smiling.


    ¡°Come out with me for a bit and tell me the way as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I escorted her outside.


    She looked at the information she had gathered and said, ¡°Not bad. I have a few more ces to go so this is alright for now. I¡¯ll supplement it if needed. Thanks for providing a decent piece of news. I will contact you again soon.¡±


    ¡°You can wait for the bus over there. Ites every half an hour. Uhm, I want to ask... can Ie to you if I have an even better piece of news?¡± I asked.


    She raised her brows slightly. ¡°Why? Any shocking news about this institution?¡±


    Seeing that I¡¯ve piqued her interest, I continued, ¡°We have a math prodigy over here. She can gauge numbers at lightning speed. Throw a bunch of things in the air and she can tell you the quantity before theynd.¡±


    ¡°That amazing?¡± She was definitely intrigued if that smile was any indication.


    ¡°She has another unbelievable power. She can predict lottery numbers that are about toe out from the spinning machine. Most importantly, she¡¯s only 12,¡± I described.


    ¡°12? A child? Is that the girl you were talking to earlier?¡± she asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested, but this story would be better if sent to the variety program. If what you said is true, I would like to see it for myself. I have a few friends working at the television station and I will be happy to link you guys up.¡±


    Knowing that she had been baited, I smiled and said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to meet her now.¡±


    ...


    She pushed away all her schedules for that day and stayed in the institution till six in the evening when it was time for Xiaoyu to return home.


    From noon till six, Xiaoyu had challenged the reporter¡¯s view of the world many times.


    The reporter was stupefied time and time again. She even asked, ¡°Do you see things in slow motion aspared to us?¡±


    This question was something I had been dying to ask.


    ¡°More or less, I guess,¡± Xiaoyu answered with a smile.


    ...


    After we sent Xiaoyu home that night, she held my hands every few steps as if to express her gratitude.


    She said she¡¯d send people over to survey the next day. She wanted to give Xiaoyu an opportunity to be known.


    I only smiled and exined Xiaoyu¡¯s temperament and habits, leaving her parents out of the equation.


    Indeed, the next day, her friends came over to watch Xiaoyu¡¯s performance for a whole afternoon.


    Days passed and more reporters started visiting.


    Countless private cars could be seen parked along the road.


    On the first day, a luxurious car appeared outside the institution. The guest offered the president a good price to get Xiaoyu onto his TV program.


    On the sixth day, when I was nning to get her a new phone, I discovered that she had gotten a MacBook. Thetest model at that.


    I had done all that I could, although I wasn¡¯t sure if what I did was right.


    Nevertheless, Xiaoyu¡¯s learning environment improved tremendously.


    By the eighth day, the whole garden had been modified into a space for Xiaoyu to learn. There were tables, chairs and everything else she needed for her study.


    I don¡¯t know what happened next because my month was up.


    I received my sry and bade the president goodbye.


    Before I left, I asked, ¡°Will you use the money earned from Xiaoyu¡¯s performances to upgrade the institution?¡±


    With an elusive look on his face, he answered, ¡°It¡¯s Xiaoyu¡¯s money so she can use it to study overseas in future. Thanks for the past month.¡±


    Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t misuse Xiaoyu¡¯s money gave me a bit of relief. Her talents shouldn¡¯t be hidden and expanding her abilities elsewhere would be the best path for her.


    With that, I returned to my daily routine, more than ready to embark on my fourth year and embrace school life fully.

 Chapter 132: Rain Man (Part 3) I

    <h4>Chapter 132: Rain Man (Part 3) I</h4>


    Year 4.


    Half a semester had passed with me carefreely gaming my time away in the dorm.


    I started the fourth year with 77 credits, thanks to the volunteering program.


    Only 75 credits were needed to graduate so I was safe. It felt good not having to worry about retaining.


    Plus, I already had to fret over my final thesis. Then again, with the Inte, it wasn¡¯t a big cause for concern.


    There were three days left to the first draft submission.


    As I was searching for content on the web, a pop up on the bottom right-hand corner caught my attention: 12-year-old genius with extraordinary proficiency in mathematics!


    I clicked it and saw that it was Xiaoyu in the program ¡®The Strongest Brains¡¯.


    I put my thesis aside and started binge watching.


    Her performance on the show was basically perfect and each disy left the audience, including me, in awe.


    Two weekster, Xiaoyu became the strongest yer of the program.


    Half a yearter, she represented China in internationalpetitions.


    I thought about how easy it was going to be for her to defeat herpetitors.


    It seemed that what I had done half a year ago was good after all, as evident from that prideful smile on her face.


    Fast forward half a year.


    I graduated and started working in apany as a lowly employee.


    Life was ratherfortable and I did not mind the slight overtimes.


    One night at 7 PM, when I was still rushing two reports, my phone rang.


    It was a foreign number.


    ¡°Luqiao?¡±


    I recognized the president¡¯s voice immediately even though he sounded older and frailer.


    ¡°Yes. Are you the president?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sorry to disturb you now, but I don¡¯t have long to live.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked in doubt.


    ¡°Late stage cancer. Few months left. I called you because I¡¯m worried about Xiaoyu.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she doing great? I saw her on television. She¡¯s going to represent China in apetition soon, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not her achievements that I¡¯m worried about, but her original aspiration. Do you remember her goal?¡±


    ¡°To solve the seven questions? To unravel the secret behind numbers?¡± I answered.


    ¡°It seems like she¡¯s distracted right now, and also somewhat rebellious. I hope you¡¯ll bring her back on track.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do? Isn¡¯t she doing great now?¡±


    ¡°Her talent¡¯s been exploited by an entertainment program. Is that really a good thing? Haven¡¯t you noticed that she¡¯s been disying the same few skills that she¡¯d learned previously? She¡¯s not progressing at all. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s still improving her math. I hope you can make a trip to Beijing to check on her. Come back if I¡¯ve been worrying for nothing. Otherwise, please bring her back on track.¡±


    ¡°Alright, she¡¯s in Beijing now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s only 13 and I can¡¯t hold on much longer. If possible, please help me look after her, at least until she turns 18.¡±


    ¡°But I have my own things to do...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been saving money for the past decade, and I can give all of them to you. That¡¯s about 3,000,000. I¡¯ll get you a ticket to Beijing and send you the address of the broadcasting station. She¡¯ll still be recording for The Strongest Brains so go ask about her situation and judge for yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to guide her if she¡¯s on the wrong track, but at the end of the day, I can¡¯t really change the way she thinks even if she¡¯s still a child.¡±


    The line disconnected and I received a message shortly after.


    It was information about the ne ticket.


    A message containing an address came in secondster.


    I hadn¡¯t expected them to use the personal details I had provided before starting work at the institution.


    Without a choice, I called my boss and requested a five-day leave.


    I headed for Beijing the next day.


    ...


    Things went smoothly and I arrived at the broadcasting station safely.


    There were many posters of Xiaoyu hanging outside the building on both sides.


    ¡°Undefeatable War God.¡±


    ¡°Victor in all 24 episodes, Xiaoyu the Devil King!¡±


    These posters could be seen everywhere, which made me realize how popr and well-liked Xiaoyu had be.


    I was about to enter the main hall but I was stopped by the security guards.


    ¡°Work pass?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Xiaoyu¡¯s friend. Please let me in.¡±


    ¡°Friend? They¡¯re all her friends,¡± he sneered, pointing at a bunch of people in tents not far away from the building.


    ¡°They¡¯re crazy fans, wow, but I really am her friend,¡± I tried exining.


    ¡°No pass, no talk,¡± he said firmly.


    I felt annoyed by the fact that the president had prepared so much for this trip yet neglected to give me Xiaoyu¡¯s contact number.


    I walked to a side and gave him a call.


    The line connected a long whileter, but the person on the other end was a nurse.


    ¡°Hi, how may I help you?¡± she asked.


    I could somewhat remember that voice but I wasn¡¯t able to point out who it was exactly.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the president?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in critical condition so he was taken to the hospital yesterday. We found him toote, however, and he¡¯s unconscious in the emergency ward right now,¡± she ryed.


    ¡°Why is his phone with you?¡±


    ¡°He was sent away in a rush and his phone dropped out of his pocket so we ced it in the nurses¡¯ resting room and I happened to be around when you called.¡±


    My first thought was the 3,000,000 that he promised.


    ¡°Did he mention anything about me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sorry, you are?¡±


    Oh, right.


    ¡°Luqiao,¡± I supplied.


    ¡°I heard him talking about a letter he left for Xiaoyu. It¡¯s on the table. As for you, nope.¡±


    I hung up, more or less convinced that the president wasn¡¯t going to make it.


    Who was going to take care of Xiaoyu?


    I remembered seeing a rich man visit before I left the institution that year.


    Could he be the one that had been supporting Xiaoyu?


    There was nothing I could do except to wait for her to appear.


    Time passed and a chance finally came.


    A luxurious ck car drove over, alerting everyone around.


    The fans rushed out of their tents, quickly sandwiching me and obstructing traffic.


    They were all calling her name and I stood out like a sore thumb.


    Rows of guards emerged to form a barrier between the car and the crowd.


    Xiaoyu exited the main hall and the whole ce erupted in cheers.


    I waved vigorously. ¡°Xiaoyu, it¡¯s me, Luqiao!¡±


    She saw me, to my surprise.


    She stopped and pointed at me, and the guards instantly paved a way for me.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked, smiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to see you,¡± I answered simply.


    She pointed at the car and grinned. ¡°Get in, I¡¯ll bring you to have some good food.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I agreed, somewhat at a loss.


    She grabbed onto my arm and pulled me over to the car.


    A reporter dashed over and pointed his camera at us.


    He panted a little before asking, ¡°May I know who this is, Miss Xiaoyu?¡±


    I stood awkwardly as she answered, ¡°You¡¯ve seen how I won every time in thepetition, right? He¡¯s the only person I¡¯ve ever lost to. His name is Luqiao.¡±


    The crowd went wild.

 Chapter 133: Rain Main (Part 3) II

    <h4>Chapter 133: Rain Main (Part 3) II</h4>


    The reporter looked as if he had more questions but Xiaoyu grabbed my arm and made a run for the car.


    The reported followed after us, his mic raised. ¡°Can you give us more details? We really want to know...¡±


    ¡°Sorry, interviewing time is over,¡± a security guard stepped forward and interrupted.


    The cameraman behind put the equipment down. ¡°I¡¯ve got enough footages. It will be perfect if we can just secure an exclusive interview with Mr. Luqiao.¡±


    The reporter put his mic down and nodded. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s discuss it again.¡±


    ...


    The interior of the seven-seater car had been modified into that of a limousine.


    In it sat a woman and the chauffeur.


    She looked at me and asked, ¡°Xiaoyu, who is this?¡±


    ¡°A friend,¡± she answered, taking her seat and patting the one beside her.


    ¡°When did you two meet? Are you trying to ride on her fame?¡± the woman asked urgently, reaching a leg out to block me from entering.


    I looked at them awkwardly.


    Cameras were shing outside and I added helplessly, ¡°I knew her before she became famous.¡±


    ¡°Sister Xiaomei, he¡¯s a friend from the institution.¡±


    ¡°That mental institution? He¡¯s mentally ill?¡± she asked in shock.


    ¡°Who are you using of being mentally ill?¡± I retorted.


    I figured that she must be Xiaoyu¡¯s manager since there wasn¡¯t anyone else except for her and the driver.


    Xiaoyu shook her head and corrected her, ¡°He was actually my teacher, Sister Xiaomei.¡±


    ¡°Teacher? Oh, my God, I¡¯m so sorry, pleasee in,¡± she hurriedly sat upright and pointed to the seat beside Xiaoyu.


    I entered and the security guard outside shut the door.


    The driver started the engine and inched forward slowly.


    The woman looked at me and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m her manager. Just call me Xiaomei. How do I address you, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°No need, just call me Crazy,¡± I said, rather spitefully. This woman wasn¡¯t likable at all.


    Xiaoyu took over, saying, ¡°Ignore him, Sister Xiaomei. He¡¯s Luqiao.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Anyway, did you win today?¡± she queried with a smile.


    ¡°Yeah, easily. It was a thousand toothpicks dropping into a vase this time, and I guessed the number before they even fell,¡± she exined proudly.


    ¡°Really impressive. Are you confident about tomorrow¡¯spetition then?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready to be world champion,¡± Xiaoyu answered.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to attend three interviews after you win. You can¡¯t lose, alright?¡± she added.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re too weak for me,¡± Xiaoyu reassured her with a smile.


    I frowned a little at their conversation. It did seem as though she¡¯d been doing the same old trick throughout the past year. The show gave her no opportunity to progress. She had be a tool, a money tree.


    I had to ask her, on the president¡¯s behalf, if she had been improving her math.


    I started organizing my words in my head but soon noticed the woman looking over at me.


    We exchanged nces and it seemed that she, too, had something she wanted to say.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, breaking the silence.


    ¡°Were you her math teacher? Did you work in the institution? I¡¯m sorry for calling you mental, but it¡¯s all for her own good. I¡¯m worried about people getting close and taking advantage of her, now that she¡¯s famous,¡± she exined.


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m definitely gonna get even closer to her,¡± I responded, eliciting a strange look from her.


    ¡°Right, Luqiao, why are you in Beijing?¡± Xiaoyu asked.


    ¡°Do you remember the president?¡±


    ¡°What about him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s critically ill,¡± I told her.


    Anxious, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the phone? I want to call him.¡±


    Her manager took her phone out for her.


    ¡°No need. I already talked to him. He wants me to take over his responsibility of looking after you till you turn 18,¡± I exined.


    Xiaoyu took the phone from her manager and pressed some digits.


    The line connected quickly but I knew that it was the nurse on the other end.


    They started chatting and the manager coughed a little. ¡°Mr. Luqiao, I¡¯m her manager so it is my duty to prevent her from being led astray. You appeared out of nowhere so abruptly and want to be her guardian? Any documentation?¡±


    ¡°Lead her astray? Aren¡¯t you doing just that?¡± I challenged.


    ¡°What do you mean, Mr. Luqiao?¡± she asked, confused.


    Xiaoyu hung up. ¡°Did he really ask you to take care of me? What illness did he catch?¡±


    ¡°Late stage cancer. He doesn¡¯t have more than a few months left but he¡¯s very worried about you so he had mee over. I¡¯m already working in a state enterprise, but he had my contact details and decided to book me a flight over here. He was also the one who gave me the broadcasting station¡¯s address. Do you believe me?¡± I asked.


    The manager interrupted, ¡°Please answer me first, Mr. Luqiao. What did you mean by what you said?¡±


    I turned my gaze to Xiaoyu. ¡°You guys have known each other for quite some time, right? Have you heard her talking about her goals?¡±


    The woman clenched her teeth while answering, ¡°To be a world champion.¡±


    I shook my head with a bitter smile. ¡°Do you remember your ambition, Xiaoyu?¡±


    ¡°To be a mathematician?¡± she asked, only to be cut in by her manager. ¡°What¡¯s so great about bing a mathematician? She¡¯s already a mathematician. Her fans call her the mathematics king. Who¡¯s better at math than she is?¡±


    Xiaoyu lowered her head and remained silent.


    ¡°Then how long has it been since she practiced math? Or learned something new? Of course, these are questions from the president. This girl over here told me once that numbers were well-knit yet self-contradictory, and that she wants to unravel the secret behind them, to show the world what it¡¯s all about. Where¡¯s that Xiaoyu gone?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been some time but I promise to continue learning after clinching the championship. I¡¯m still going to solve the seven hardest questions. I know what I need to do,¡± Xiaoyu answered.


    I sighed in relief. My words seemed effective.


    The woman looked at me and said, ¡°Mr. Luqiao, did Xiaoyu do something wrong? Haven¡¯t you seen her achievements? Is solving math questions that important? Do you know that an interview can earn her 250,000? She¡¯ll start earning double if she bes a world champion tomorrow. 500,000 just to show her face and speak a little. With that amount of money, she could easily pay the best mathematicians to solve the problems for her. Why must she waste time doing it on her own?¡±


    I was dumbstruck. ¡°Excuse me, are you misunderstanding something? Xiaoyu is not your money bag. Do you know what solving the questions entails for humanity?¡±


    ¡°Whatever math questions... do you really think it¡¯s for her wellbeing? Why don¡¯t you go solve them yourself then? Stop hindering her sess. Have you thought about how ridiculous it will be for her to waste her youth on those silly questions? Have you thought about the possibility that those questions are unsolvable? Why should she waste her time working on such worthless things? Don¡¯t you know how gifted she is? I think you¡¯re harming her, Mr. Luqiao.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable. That¡¯s Xiaoyu¡¯s dream, she told me so herself. She¡¯s still at the age of learning and processing. You can¡¯t put a value on everything. How will the world progress if money is everything? Say something, Xiaoyu, don¡¯t keep quiet,¡± I urged.


    The manager added, ¡°People change, Mr. Luqiao. Please stop the car, Driver. I suspect you¡¯re trying to cause problems for Xiaoyu tomorrow. Before you show me some legal documentation, I have no obligations to believe that you¡¯re her guardian. You might be working for another nation for all we know. Your behavior is vile.¡±


    ¡°Why are you stopping the car?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Please get out,¡± she said.


    ¡°What rights do you have?¡±


    ¡°This car is apany property and Xiaoyu¡¯s signed a contract with us. I¡¯ll get the driver to pull you out if you refuse to cooperate.¡±


    ¡°Say something, Xiaoyu.¡±


    She kept her head down, as if deep in thought.


    The driver got off the car and opened the door, extending his arm out to grab my shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Xiaoyu. Win tomorrow and you can go back to solving your math questions. I¡¯ll take you to your favorite seafood restaurant now, how about that? Think through what would happen in thepetition and we¡¯ll discuss itter, my little world champion. I think this guy is just causing problems, but it¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll talk about it after thepetition,¡± she soothed Xiaoyu.


    I was thrown off the car mercilessly and Inded heavily on the ground.


    The driver got back in and started the engine. I hastily got up and pounded on the window but the car elerated and drove off quickly.


    I tried to chase after them but I was left gasping for breath after a short while.


    Shortly after, a minivan stopped over. It was the reporter and his cameraman.


    ¡°Mr. Luqiao! Can we interview you?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°Can I use your car to follow someone?¡± I asked, eyeing their van.


    ¡°Who?¡± the reporter questioned.


    ¡°Xiaoyu¡¯s car.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the hotel is just further in front and we can¡¯t go in so it¡¯s no use. Let us interview you instead, Mister Luqiao,¡± he requested.

 Chapter 134: Rain Man (Part 3) III

    <h4>Chapter 134: Rain Man (Part 3) III</h4>


    ¡°I do not wish to be interviewed. The hotel is in front, you say? Can you tell me the name of it?¡± I asked, pointing ahead.


    ¡°It¡¯s a 5-star hotel. You can¡¯t go in even if I tell you the room number. Plus, we¡¯re unsure. This is Beijing after all. Don¡¯t be so hostile toward us, Mr. Luqiao. We¡¯re not recording right now and are just asking out of curiosity. We saw you from afar, getting dragged out of the car by the driver,¡± the reporter stated.


    ¡°So what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Rest easy, sir. We¡¯re not recording your words. We¡¯re just curious, really.¡±


    I thought about ways to get them to reveal some information.


    ¡°How about we get into the car first? We can¡¯t stop here for too long,¡± the cameraman suggested.


    ¡°Yeah, would you follow us so we can chat elsewhere? We can help you contact Xiaoyu,¡± the reporter added.


    The reporter slid the side door open before hopping onto the front seat.


    I entered the van and closed the door.


    ¡°Where do we go now?¡± the cameraman asked the reporter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a cafe,¡± the reporter answered.


    The minivan moved off and I thought about what I could do next to no avail.


    ¡°Do you know thew?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I worked as a manager in themerce industry before I became a reporter,¡± the reporter said with a forced smile.


    The cameraman startedughing. ¡°Hey, I also graduated from public policies and global affairs.¡±


    ¡°Do you know much about custody and guardians?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°Will I be here if I know that?¡± the cameraman saidughingly.


    ¡°But you graduated?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I stayed in the dorm for all four years, skipping every single ss,¡± he exined.


    I shuddered at that. I was in the same position as well. Then again, I wouldn¡¯t have met Xiaoyu if not for that.


    The reporter turned around to look at me. ¡°Custody? Over Xiaoyu? We¡¯ve tried finding information about her parents but there¡¯s nothing. Are you her sole guardian right now?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t divulge that story, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°What about her parents? Are you her brother? Her surname¡¯s Pang, so are you Pang Luqiao?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not blood-rted but I¡¯ve been requested to look after her.¡±


    The cameraman parked the car by the side. ¡°Let¡¯s get out.¡±


    The three of us entered the cafe and ordered some coffee.


    When all three cups were ced on the table, the reporter smiled and said, ¡°Do you have Weibo or something? You¡¯ve probably be a hot topic by now.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. I fished out my phone and was surprised to see 99 new messages.


    I opened my app and saw a spike in the number of fans. Over 4,000.


    My inbox was flooded. Everyone wanted to know what Xiaoyu meant when she said I was the only one who won against her.


    Many tagged me to a news with the headlines: The mystery man who defeated Xiaoyu in a game ¨C Luqiao. His Weibo: @luqiao.


    I switched my phone off.


    ¡°I guessed right, didn¡¯t I?¡± The reporter smiled knowingly.


    ¡°So what?¡± I challenged.


    ¡°We would like to know your story. Share it with us and we might be able to help you publicize it.¡±


    ¡°Right, you¡¯re a reporter, aren¡¯t you? You can enter the broadcasting station?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    ¡°Can you take me to thepetition hall?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯ll have to let us interview you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but you can only publish it after thepetition. Deal?¡±


    ¡°This...¡± The reporter turned to the cameraman.


    ¡°I can promise not to share the information with other mediapanies,¡± I added.


    The reporter nodded enthusiastically.


    ¡°Do you have a pen and paper?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a reporter,¡± he answered, looking a bit offended.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do up a contract,¡± I proposed.


    ¡°Do we have to go that far?¡± the cameramanmented.


    ¡°I draft contracts in mypany so I¡¯ll write it. Just sign your names when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s no seal or even a red pen. What are we signing it with?¡± the reporter asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Boss! Do you have pancakes? Fries will do, too. A lot of ketchup or strawberry sauce on the side please!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°That works?¡± the cameraman asked, bbergasted.


    ¡°Rules are dead but we¡¯re alive. Take out your pens if you want some exclusive scoops!¡±


    When the contracts were done up, I had them leave their thumbprints on both copies with the help of some ketchup.


    I started sharing my story, leaving her parents out of it.


    I talked about how I got to meet and win her over, about the president¡¯s decision to look after her, and his illness.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m here,¡± I finished.


    ¡°That¡¯s all? Oh, my God,¡± the reporter eximed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have proper rights to be her guardian but I¡¯ll need to see her once more tomorrow. Do you understand?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We do have tickets to the show and we are even permitted to bring an SLR in. You¡¯ll take the cameraman¡¯s ce tomorrow and we can blend in with the audience. How about that? It¡¯s the best we can do for you,¡± the reporter offered.


    I nodded.


    ...


    The next day, at the broadcasting station main hall, I disguised myself as a cameraman by wearing a cap and sses.


    The reporter brought me right to the front row.


    ¡°Wow!¡± I expressed in amazement.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to go the backstage, okay?¡± the reporter told me.


    ¡°This is good enough,¡± I said. I just needed Xiaoyu to spot me.


    Perhaps she would change her mind if she sees me.


    The host stood in front, memorizing his script as the contestants streamed onto the stage.


    I caught sight of Xiaoyu. She was looking up at the ceiling listlessly.


    It was the finals between China and Australia.


    The score was 2-2 and it was Xiaoyu¡¯s turn.


    Cheers erupted and the host smiled. ¡°This is thest game and it will be slightly different since we have our top two contestants with us today. On the left, representing China, Pang Xiaoyu. On the right, representing Australia, we have Aria. Xiaoyu is very strong but so is Aria!¡±


    I noted that they were both young girls.


    I pointed at Aria. ¡°What¡¯s her background?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s also a child prodigy. Highly retentive memory. Human camera, they call her. They¡¯re on par, I would think,¡± the reporter threw in his two cents.


    ¡°Human camera?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Ultra memory,¡± he exined.


    Supporters from both sides roared upon hearing their representative¡¯s name.


    The host continued, ¡°Let¡¯s have the first three rows of the audience up on the stage.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°No idea.¡±


    We walked onto the stage and waited.


    I hid at the back, adjusting my cap and lowering my head.


    I spotted Xiaoyu¡¯s manager. We were separated by five other audience members.


    The host continued, ¡°There are 63 members on the stage right now since there are 21 in each row. On the left is a numbered ball pit, and I need all of you to get one each. Then, from left to right, you will sh the number in your hands, one after another, without stopping. The contestants must add the numbers up mentally, and the one who produces a number closer to the answer will win. There will be a yoff if they give the same answer. Do you understand, everybody?¡±


    The participants on the stage nodded.


    ¡°Alright, one minute to pick a ball!¡± the host announced.


    First round, a draw.


    Second, a draw.


    ¡°We will increase the difficulty if it¡¯s a draw again,¡± the host added.


    ¡°One minute to pick a ball!¡± he announced again.


    After two draws, Xiaoyu was starting to sweat.


    I thought about how to solve it and an idea struck me.


    I pulled the reporter aside. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Seeing that Xiaoyu¡¯s manager had already gotten a ball from the pit, I dragged him to her.


    ¡°Do you want Xiaoyu to win?¡± I asked from behind her.


    The manager turned around, shocked to see me. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°We only have one minute to select the balls. Do you want her to win? Xiaoyu¡¯s sensitive to numbers but she doesn¡¯t have a good memory like herpetitor. This game requires her to add all the numbers but she¡¯s at a disadvantage and might lose if the host were to increase the difficulty.¡±


    ¡°You have a way for her to win?¡± she asked, looking straight at me.


    I bent down, pretending to pick a ball and the reporter followed suit.


    ¡°40 seconds left. Promise to have her visit the institution and I¡¯ll tell you the method. ept my offer or risk having her lose to that human camera. Think about it. You know that I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s ever defeated Xiaoyu,¡± I said.


    ¡°So that¡¯s your only condition? A visit to the institution?¡± the manager rified.


    ¡°25 seconds to decide,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Why do you think she¡¯ll lose?¡±


    ¡°15 seconds to buy an assurance. Your choice. I won¡¯t have any more ideas if he increases the difficulty.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but we¡¯ll cancel the deal if your method doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    I picked up a number 9 ball from the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s all pick a 9.¡±


    I pointed at the line under the 9. ¡°This is to differentiate a 6 and a 9. We¡¯ll show it to Xiaoyu this way,¡± I instructed, covering the line but holding it straight up, showing a 9.


    ¡°When we show it to the Australian girl, we flip it around,¡± I continued, demonstrating how the 9 could be a 6 as the two of them looked on, wide-eyed


    ¡°Selection over. Please stand in a row, everyone.¡±


    ¡°Pick a 9, hurry!¡± I urged, pointing at the ball pit before joining the row.


    They quickly rummaged through the balls and returned their respective spots.


    I lifted my cap a little, looked over at the position of the camera before walking forward with the ball in my hand.


    Because my face was no longer half covered, Xiaoyu recognized me.


    I raised the ball up, winked and gave a thumbs up before putting my hands down.


    I then walked over to Aria and raised the ball again after making sure that the camera wasn¡¯t focusing on me.


    As she was about to say something, the next audience member raised the ball in his hand for her.


    She could no longer verify if my ball was a 6 or 9. I smirked.


    Half the battle had been won.


    The audience member then revealed their numbered balls to the rest of the audience. When it was my turn, I turned the ball around again to show them before throwing it back into the pit.


    Shortly after, I was joined by the reporter. ¡°Followed your instruction. Too much.¡±


    ¡°Catching the loophole of the game, that¡¯s all.¡±


    After the reveal, both contestants started writing their number on the ckboards.


    Xiaoyu wrote down 365 while Aria¡¯s answer was 356.


    The host spoke, ¡°Things have be interesting! We have different answers, finally. There¡¯s going to be a winner so look forward, everyone!¡±


    Ady walked out from the side.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have ourdy pick the balls up to verify the answer,¡± the host invited.


    ¡°1st ball is 3.¡±


    ¡°2nd is 7, so the total is 10.¡±


    ...


    ...


    ¡°61st is 354 so the next two balls must add up to 2 for Aria to be correct.¡±


    ¡°62nd ball is 2, which brings the total number to 356.¡±


    ¡°Thest ball is key now. Is it a 0 or a 9? Or any other numbers? Doesn¡¯t this feel scripted? Let¡¯s have ourdy reveal the answer.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a 9, which brings the final number to 365. Our champion has emerged. Congrattions, Miss Xiaoyu of China!¡± the host dered.


    Apuse and cheers filled the theatre.


    ...


    I walked over to the manager downstage. ¡°Remember what you promised.¡±


    After the award ceremony, the reporter and I exited the hall and I went straight to the airport after leaving my contact number with him.


    All I heard on the way were discussions about thepetition and Xiaoyu¡¯s wless performance.


    Epilogue.


    Yet another day of work has ended.


    I exited my office building and saw a girl leaning against the wall in front, her eyes closed.


    It was Xiaoyu.


    I nudged her awake. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    She handed a bank card to me. ¡°Bring me home, Guardian.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    Looking down at the card, I wondered if it contained the 3,000,000 the president promised.


    She continued, ¡°Sister Xiaomei shared the reason for my victory and sent me back to the institution. I read the letter he left on his desk and saw this card inside. He wants me to follow you until I turn 18, and you must settle my lodging and food for the next five years.¡±


    ¡°What about the interviews? Your career? Aren¡¯t you the world champion now?¡± I questioned with a smile.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be a star. A mathematician is what I aspire to be,¡± she responded.


    ¡°You sure? And how did you know I¡¯m working here?


    ¡°The institution has your university address, and your university has yourpany¡¯s receipt. A pity I don¡¯t know your home address, or I¡¯ll be waiting outside your ce now,¡± she exined.


    ¡°I...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Guardian.¡± Sheughed and pulled my hand.


    ¡°Stop, stop. My house isn¡¯t that way. Actually, how much have you earned so far? Wanna buy me a house? Mine¡¯s too cramped for a big Buddha like you...¡± I teased, grinning.

 Chapter 135: Your Family Name, My Name I

    <h4>Chapter 135: Your Family Name, My Name I</h4>


    ¡°My name¡¯s Gou Dan, don¡¯tugh.¡±


    ¡°Right, right. Gou as in dog and Dan as in egg?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My family name is Gou and my name is Dan.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how valuable my name is?¡±


    ¡°50,000,000! And that¡¯s not even inted.¡±


    ¡°Me, too! Genuinely good at a genuine price.¡±


    ¡°Do you wanna change your child¡¯s surname? Lowest price guaranteed, 70,000!¡±


    ¡°Wait, why are you leaving? What¡¯s wrong with having Gou as a surname? It sounds better than your Li, no?¡±


    ¡°Bastard! Come back! Try that again! Who¡¯s the dog?¡±


    ...


    2015, October 11. A news conference, held by the State Council Information Office of the People¡¯s Republic of China, announced the implementation of the nation¡¯s two-child policy.


    2016, January 1, implementation day, is when all evil started.


    The most immediate effect of the policy was a spike in birthrate.


    It has always been a tradition for the first child, male or female, to take his or her father¡¯s surname.


    The second child, if a female, could possibly inherit her mother¡¯s.


    If the second child is a male, there¡¯s only a 10% chance of him following his mother¡¯s surname.


    This was the general research oue of that national policy. However, if this subject was brought up in the news channels, all men would say that they are willing to have their second child inherit their wives¡¯ surnames.


    Ultimately, the idea of taking on a father¡¯s family name never changed, which resulted in the copse of surnames.


    By the time people finally realized it, it was already toote.


    They were 30 yearste and everything had already turned on its head.


    From 2016, January 1 to 2020, January 1, the poption of China increased by 80%.


    The five most popr surnames were Li, Wang, Zhang, Liu, and Chen.


    Statistics:


    1. Li ¨C 14.94% = 185,300,000 people.


    2. Wang ¨C 14.41% = 168,900,000 people.


    3. Zhang ¨C 14.07% = 164,800,000 people.


    4. Liu ¨C 10.38% = 124,600,000 people.


    5. Chen ¨C 8.53% = 104,400,000 people.


    These surnames upied about 60% of China¡¯s poption.


    Theter generations coined this period the Surname War Boom.


    This war led to the demise of two-character surnames from 2022 onward.


    Names like Zhuge, Ouyang, Sima, Murong, and so on.


    Of course, that was just the beginning. No one really noticed when it was being reported on the news.


    Some more time passed and from that period until the year 2025, the top five surnames started phasing out the rest.


    They took over 80% of the poption by 2025.


    Medias started reporting the phenomenon but again, no one really thought about what that meant for the future.


    The government came up with a solution, which was to enforce thew that the second child must follow the mother¡¯s surname.


    However, that just worked to slow the extinction of certain surnames, not prevent it.


    10 yearster, in the year 2035, the second surname war erupted.


    The surname Li, alone, gradually took up 63% of all surnames in the nation.


    Li became the official national surname. You could just grab two random people on the streets and it was guaranteed that one of them, possibly both, would be a Li.


    This was yet another beginning of the surname war.


    It was then that the Book of Family Names became the Book of Family Names.


    Before 2016, there were a total of 504 surnames, but by 2035, only 106 were left.


    The top three surnames emerged from there: Li, Wang, and Zhang.


    Liu and Chen became part of the minority.


    By this point, the experts were already predicting that in the next 10 years, only two major surnames would remain.


    People would just be either a Li or a Wang.


    They were wrong, apparently, since only one main surname was left by the year 2045.


    Li ¨C 99.94% = 1700,629,418 people.


    The rest of the surnames upied a meager 0.06%.


    Only 10 million out of 1.7 billion had a different surname from Li, and they were scattered all around China, few and far in between.


    People finally understood the concept of the copse of surnames.


    20 years ago, the ethnic minorities became history and the Han ethnic group took over the whole of China.


    People understood that those upying rare surnames were like the ethnic minorities in the past.


    Seeking one with a rare surname was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.


    The copse of surnames started affecting lives. Police stations, airports, train stations, banks and the like, were all starting to feel the impact.


    Let¡¯s take a police station as an example.


    If a robbermits a crime, there is a 99.9% chance that he¡¯s a Li.


    Whatever his name is, Li Yi for example, there would be at least thousands if not tens of thousands, with the same name.


    It has be much more difficult for the police to investigate and identify criminals urately.


    Under immense pressure, the nation thought up a new strategy that was implemented in the year 2046.


    No repeated names were allowed.


    All newborns must have different names.


    Upon the execution of thew, naming became the most important part of having a child.


    Naming children became unimaginably tough.


    There were two ways of doing it. The parents could either choose a name themselves or generate one through theputer program.


    Names could contain numbers and case-sensitive letters.


    Names mustn¡¯t contain more than 6 characters, and a letter of the alphabet or a number was considered half a character.


    So there were only two oues.


    Some would pick a name by flipping through the dictionary and finding some characters that were extremely difficult to write.


    Example: Li Goudan (Àîíxür)


    Even then, such names were most likely already registered.


    The easier method would be to run through the name generator until something you¡¯re happy with pops out.


    Example: Li ChenG6d3 (Àî³¾G6d3).


    But who would fancy having such messy numbers and letters?


    Of course, names like Li 6666666666 were extremely valuable.


    While it doesn¡¯t make any sense, names like Li Dabian1 and Li Zhizhang2 wouldn¡¯t be avable unless you add some numbers and letters to it.


    Names have be a kind of luxury, giving birth to a new upation in the market ¨C Name Reseller.


    Resellers would basically snatch a good name before auctioning it up.


    They buy low and sell high, basically.


    That way, names became more and more expensive.


    If you want to get hold of a better name, you¡¯d better be ready with at least a few hundred thousands.


    It even became a normal urrence for the rich to spend millions on a good name.


    Last year, after the death of someone with the name Li Xiaolong3, the name was put up for auction.


    Its price went up to a hundred and forty million dors and became the most expensive name of all time.


    Of course, the resale applied only to the name and not the surname.


    Newborns¡¯ surname was another story.


    There was another unique profession that emerged from the ck market ¨C Surname Changer.


    As the name implies, the surname changer would help a woman alter her surname because it was too difficult to name her newborn child since both her husband and herself were Lis.


    Surname Changers were those who possess the minority of surnames.


    They weren¡¯t Lis.


    Of course, they charged differently, at times cheap and at times costly.


    Even then, the cheapest surname would go for hundreds of thousands and the more expensive ones would cost millions.


    If a woman was looking to change her surname from Li to Wang, she would get a divorce eight months into her pregnancy and get married to a Wang. She would have her newborn take over the surname changer¡¯s family name before divorcing him and remarrying her child¡¯s biological father.


    That way, she could get a child, male or female, with the surname Wang despite the fact that both her husband and herself were Lis.


    Thus, the surname changer¡¯s job was to sign a few contracts within two months and earn a big sum from there.


    Of course, the government knew of this profession and strictly prohibited such behaviors.


    Nevertheless, because of the appealing profits, many started forging their identities and cing advertisements in the ck markets, walls, and the Inte.


    The government warned those with rare surnames that they would investigate those who marry more than five times within a year.


    Although those guilty would be punished byw, many surname changers still existed.


    The situation was inevitable, unsolvable, and unacknowledged.


    People no longer greeted a stranger with a ¡®have you eaten?¡¯ but rather with a ¡®what¡¯s your name?¡¯.


    If you wanted to know if a person is rich, you can easily gauge it from his name instead of looking at the way he dresses.


    If he introduces himself as Li Xiaolong, you¡¯d know that he¡¯s worth at least a hundred and forty million.


    ...


    Year 2063.


    I¡¯m Gou Dan, a surname changer.


    Almost all with rare surnames have be surname changers.


    Of course, my surname doesn¡¯t sound too great.


    Yes, I know... Gou as in dog.


    Because of that, it was impossible for me to charge a high price so I¡¯m almost always starving in spite of this job.


    ¡°Dear Sirs and Madams, wanna get a different surname for your child? Only 70,000! Lowest price guaranteed!¡± I shouted, raising my identification card from inside of the ck market.


    1. Shit


    2. Retarded


    3. Bruce Lee

 Chapter 136: Your Family Name, My Name II

    <h4>Chapter 136: Your Family Name, My Name II</h4>


    People walked past but few looked over.


    Those who woulde over would ask, ¡°70,000 only? Isn¡¯t that too cheap? Are you a fake?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fake! That¡¯s how I guarantee that it¡¯s the nation¡¯s lowest price. Have a look at my ID if you don¡¯t believe me,¡± I said righteously, raising my card.


    ¡°Gou..?¡± they would usually mumble with a contemptuous look on their faces, before walking away.


    I graduatedst year and joined a clothes manufacturing factory that paid 3,000 a month.


    My name instantly became a hot topic the moment I started work. After all, people with surnames that were not Li were extremely rare.


    Within the next half a year, colleagues started asking if I was interested in bing a surname changer.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a Li so why don¡¯t you do it? Gou aye, how unique! Surname changers can earn hundreds of thousands per order! It¡¯s much better than slogging away in here.¡±


    I kept their words in mind and left the factory after two months.


    During my first month at this new job, I charged 150,000 for my surname.


    That was the lowest market rate I saw at that point, but not a single grain was reaped that month.


    In the second month, my teacher had me reduce the price to 70,000.


    Still no orders.


    I shouted and promoted diligently, but I did not know that the problemy in the surname itself.


    I looked at my watch. 6 PM, time to knock off.


    My teacher¡¯s name is Pang Dahai.


    He opened a surname changing shop in the ck market some time ago.


    There were 13 surname changers then, including me.


    Teacher was in charge of all procedures while all we did was to seek clients.


    He would rightfully take a 5% procedure fee for each transaction.


    Because of thew, surname changers were only able to make four deals a year.


    Full timers had a five day work week.


    They would have to clock in and out of the shop since Teacher gave them a basic sry.


    During that time, I was the only full-timer and I earned 900 a month.


    My seniors had long reached their quota and had no desire for the meager 900 dors.


    If surname changers had a good family name, clients would automatically go to them for help. There wasn¡¯t a need for them to advertise.


    Senior Lu Qiao had the most wanted surname. Even at 4,000,000 a transaction, orders filled up within a month. When he raised his fees to 5,500,000, there were still couples who booked his service in advance and postponed their decision to have a baby.


    Nevertheless, Senior Lu Qiao was kind enough topile a list of good but unregistered names, like Lu Qiaofeng, Lu Qiaodan, Lu Qiaobusi and Lu Qiaorenliang, for his clients to choose from.


    Teacher easily sold his surname for 400,000 as well.


    Senior Li Xia and Han Dong were decent, too.


    I was the only poor faring one.


    Not a single deal despite my constant advertisement.


    I got up and walked toward Teacher¡¯s shop.


    He was looking at theputer when I entered.


    I clocked with my thumbprint.


    ¡°Gou Dan is ending work,¡± the machine sounded.


    Teacher turned to me and asked, ¡°Knocking off?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Come over here.¡±


    ¡°Is anything the matter, Teacher?¡±


    ¡°Come take a seat first and we¡¯ll talk,¡± he said, smiling.


    I walked uneasily to the sofa and sat down.


    ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯ve been here?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°A month and a half? It¡¯s the 17th today so a month and 17 days to be exact,¡± I answered.


    ¡°There are 13 days left to the end of the month. I¡¯ll be blunt now so bear with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it as a learning opportunity, Teacher,¡± I replied, nodding.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing charity here. I have a wife and kids to look after. I know you¡¯ve been working very hard but you know... it¡¯s a fact that your surname isn¡¯t doing well. It¡¯s not even as likable as Li.¡±


    ¡°Is this because I haven¡¯t made any deals?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m leaving you in the lurch. I¡¯ve posted an advertisement on the, selling your surname for 65,000. There are over 80,000 views but none was willing to have their child inherit your family name. You can see thements for yourself,¡± he said, turning the monitor toward me.


    80,000 views and 3,000ments.


    #1 There are still Gous around?


    #2 No way, is this the forgotten surname of the Book of Family Names?


    #3 I¡¯d rather have my children be a Li.


    #4 65,000? I won¡¯t change it even if it¡¯s free.


    ...


    My brows were knitted but I said nothing.


    ¡®I¡¯m not doubting your abilities, Gou Dan, but facts are facts and the people have spoken. I personally think that it¡¯smendable that your family has managed to preserve their name until today. I¡¯ll pay you double this month, and you can find a better job elsewhere, alright?¡±


    ¡°No, no, Teacher, what if I get a deal within the next 13 days?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in this shop for eight years and there were over 40 surname changers in its heyday. Of course, we had our bad days but you... you¡¯re definitely the first and only one who hasn¡¯t managed to clinch any deals.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the second?¡±


    ¡°Second? He¡¯s a Tu. He left after two years. It was hard for him as well but he made six deals at least. Alright, I¡¯ll let you stay if you can secure a deal before the end of the month.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Just to be clear, I¡¯ll extend your stay by three months if you manage to get a client in this month. In my honest opinion, though, this job isn¡¯t suitable for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll work harder. You can forfeit my sry if I don¡¯t make any deals this month. It¡¯s alright, Teacher,¡± I said.


    He shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for signing you.¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s my fault for not working hard enough.¡±


    ¡°You must be tired. Go home and rest,¡± he finished with a wave.


    I exited the shop and walked home.


    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about having Gou as a surname?¡± I wondered on my way back. I even felt proud of my unique name when I was a kid. Of course, kids teased and mocked me but I did not think much of that.


    This was the most lucrative job so how did I manage to screw it up?


    Different thoughts ran through my mind. Dad is a Gou, Grandfather is a Gou. I became curious as to how the Gou n had managed to exist for this long.


    I lived in a rented apartment and Dad had no idea that I had left the factory.


    I did not discuss my new job with him since he had always warned me to stay away from it.


    I started to suspect that he might have suffered the same fate as me years ago.


    Of course, the copse of our name started only during Grandfather¡¯s era.


    My mind was overloaded by the time I got back. I was getting desperate and I was tempted to ask Dad for advice.


    I decided to find out more about our family history.


    I turned on the Inte search engine and keyed Gou in, and was surprised to find some avable information.


    There was a Gou n in Henan, but the Gous were actually Jings, to begin with. Their people served as the emperor¡¯s chancellor for five generations. Once, a chancellor angered the king and was executed. Instead of killing the whole of the chancellor¡¯s family, however, the king changed their family name from Jing to Gou. Such an urrence wasn¡¯t umon across history. Wu Zetian, too, had assassinated a king and changed the king kinsmen¡¯s surname to Fu. In 2010, the Chinese government had converted all Gous back to Jings.


    Could we have been forgotten by them? Could I change my surname before selling it?


    Gou and Jing?


    Would Jing bring sales?


    The streaming thoughts left me tired and I fell into a deep sleep.


    The next morning, a call from Teacher woke me up.


    ¡°Come, quick. Your name¡¯s been sold.¡±

 Chapter 137: Your Family Name, My Name III

    <h4>Chapter 137: Your Family Name, My Name III</h4>


    For the first few seconds, I was stunned.


    And then the joy kicked in.


    After hanging up the call, I jumped off the bed, unable to remain calm.


    I looked at the time. 6 AM.


    Work started at 9 AM but I couldn¡¯t wait.


    I took the quickest shower in my life, got dressed, and dashed out of my apartment like my ass was on fire.


    I grabbed two buns and a soy milk on the way to the shop.


    All kinds of thoughts popped into my head. ¡°How am I going to spend 70,000?¡±


    I never had the opportunity of earning this kind of money so it all felt surreal to me.


    I decided on some donkey burgers since I was getting sick of the buns here.


    You can¡¯t me me for not having greater aspirations. This came all too sudden.


    I was feeling thankful and lucky that I had not given up the night before. If I had given up, I really would have nothing left.


    I arrived at the shop and found Teacher sitting by himself.


    He was looking at theputer screen.


    I reached my thumb out to clock in out of habit and paused. I was going to be taking home 70,000, do I really need the basic sry of 900 dors?


    Yet, after a few beats, I clocked in anyway.


    Ding Dong~ Gou Dan is starting work.


    Teacher turned to me and smiled.


    I returned it with an awkward smile.


    ¡°Come. I¡¯ve epted your order from the web at 65,000.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I walked over to him.


    ¡°Yes, at 1 AM this morning. I checked it thrice before confirming the order. Probably someone who wants another surname for his child but has no money. It¡¯s a good thing for you.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I need to do? Sign a contract or provide my thumbprint? Leave all the errands to me, it¡¯s not a problem!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a... it¡¯s a little strange. The buyer is from Beijing and he said he¡¯ll take an afternoon flight to get here. He asked for your number and he said he will message you personally.¡±


    ¡°You gave it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answered.


    I took my phone out and noticed 23 unread messages. One of the messages contained a hotel address, room number, and a note saying that he was going to touch down at three and that I could head over to the hotel to wait.


    ¡°This... do you think there will be any problem? He gave me his hotel address and said he¡¯llnd at three,¡± I told Teacher, handing him the phone.


    ¡°I think maybe he wants to cut the middleman and talk to you directly about the price and method.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re the only one who knows the method! And isn¡¯t my price low enough already?Though, to be honest, I¡¯ll be happy with just 30,000. Oh my gosh, could he be a cop?¡± I worried.


    ¡°While this industry is threading the fine line between what¡¯s legal and not, I haven¡¯t heard of the police arresting people like us. I figured that he¡¯s just not that wealthy and wants to cut unnecessary costs. I¡¯ll be taking a 5%mission after all and also a 10,000 operation fee,¡± he exined.


    ¡°So you won¡¯t be earning anything? Why did you agree?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°I thought about declining at first. Whenever buyers make this sort of requests from your seniors, I always reject them without hesitation. But it¡¯s you. I don¡¯t want you to miss this rare opportunity so this gamble must be taken,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I told him, my voice cracking.


    ¡°Go. Call me if you have any questions,¡± he urged.


    I nodded and turned around to exit the shop.


    Before I reached the door, he called out, ¡°Wait. If he makes an unreasonable demand or keeps trying to bargain, do not readily agree. Think it through. I set the price at 65,000 so whatever price you two agree on, I¡¯ll still take 5% from 65,000. That¡¯s 3,200 so be careful not to lose out.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thanks, Teacher.¡±


    The shop wasn¡¯t far from the hotel so I decided to just walk.


    However, before even five minutes passed, I gged down a taxi.


    It was something I never would¡¯ve imagined myself doing before since cabbing was a luxury I couldn¡¯t really afford.


    I felt somewhat skeptical about the client¡¯s request to meet me directly. Of course, it made sense that he wanted to save on the procedure fee, but could he settle the processes on his own? Or did he think that I would able to help him with those?


    I decided to rify that with him upon our meeting. At worst, I¡¯ll keep 55,000 and just seek Teacher¡¯s help with the remaining 10,000.


    I reached the hotel and I immediately went to the receptionist.


    ¡°Checking in, sir?¡± a service staff greeted.


    ¡°Yes, A418,¡± I replied.


    The staff pressed a few keys on his phone. ¡°Your room is ready. Are you Mr. Li DanFC?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Then you¡¯re his guest, Mister Gou Dan?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you up. You have a really unique name by the way. It seems that Mr. Li DanFC is a rich man. He¡¯s booked our presidential suite for you,¡± the staff informed me with a smile.


    Goosebumps rose when I heard his words. ¡°Presidential suite? How much is it?¡±


    A chill ran down my spine as I thought about how Teacher had expected him to be a poor man.


    I was wondering if I have been pranked.


    ¡°12,000 a day and he¡¯s already paid a week¡¯s deposit. Looks like you¡¯re a very important guest of his,¡± the staff continued.


    A week? A huge rock dropped in my stomach. What is going on?


    We arrived at A418 and the staff unlocked the door by swiping a card on the panel beside it. ¡°This is your card, sir. You can enter and exit as you like, but the master bedroom is prohibited.¡±


    I took it and looked it over.


    The card was made from a ss-like material and had ayer of shell-like metal covering it.


    ¡®Guest Room¡¯ was engraved on the card. It looked extremely ssy.


    I entered the suite and the sight that immediately greeted me was of a huge hall.


    Never in my life had I seen such stylish interior decoration.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to rest, sir. We are on duty 24/7 so feel free to give our reception a call if you have a problem. Your expenses will be charged to the deposit. Have a great stay,¡± the staff said before exiting and closing the door behind him.


    ¡°Is this guy rich?¡± I wondered aloud, scratching my head. Perhaps he had a unique taste and was fond of my surname? If that was the case, 65,000 would be too good a deal for him, wouldn¡¯t it?


    I explored the suite and, indeed, the card given to me could unlock every door except the one to the master bedroom.


    I entered the guest room and plopped down on the big bed. I have never been in such afortable bed like this before. It felt as though I was lying on clouds.


    Of course, I don¡¯t literally know what it feels like to be on clouds, but I would think it was simr to lying on this fluffy bed.


    Because I had been awoken by Teacher¡¯s call early in the morning, I was tired and I was finding it impossible to get up from this bed. Instead, I fell asleep shortly after settling down.


    When I opened my eyes, I saw a couple standing at the foot of the bed.


    I scrambled to sit up. ¡°Who are you guys?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Gou Dan, right?¡± the man asked, smiling.


    I looked them over and figured that they were a married couple.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a big man in a suit standing outside the door.


    ¡°Sorry! I hope we haven¡¯t startled you! You¡¯re Gou Dan, right?¡± he repeated.


    ¡°And you¡¯re Li DanFC? You want my surname?¡± I asked nervously.

 Chapter 138: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 138: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°Sorry, Li DanFC is my bodyguard. I booked this room with his name,¡± he exined, pointing at the man in a suit outside the door.


    The man in the suit waved. ¡°I¡¯m Li DanFC, Mr. Yun Huateng¡¯s bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°Yun Huateng?¡± I repeated, confused.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my name,¡± he replied with a smile.


    The woman beside him looked at me with thinly veiled shock.


    ¡°Your family name is Yun? Why would you want mine then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the living room. It¡¯s quiteplicated. It¡¯s a little weird for us to see you lying down.¡± Yun Huateng pointed at the hall area.


    The bodyguard withdrew and took his post by the door.


    The couple watched me as I got off the bed and walked out. I looked around to see if anyone was hiding in a corner.


    After I was satisfied that there were only three of them, I turned to observe the bodyguard again.


    He was a big fellow and I definitely wasn¡¯t his match.


    I sat on the sofa in the living room and Yun Huateng asked, ¡°Tea or coffee, Mr. Gou Dan?¡±


    ¡°Water¡¯s fine,¡± I answered cautiously.


    He waved his hand and his bodyguard started preparing the cups.


    I thought about the situation and the man¡¯s motive.


    Yun was a good surname, and since they were able to book this room, it was safe to say that they were exorbitantly wealthy.


    It was very unlikely that he had taken a liking to my surname, so what did he want to talk to me about?


    Yun Huateng looked about 40 or 50 years old, and although the woman beside him had an air of elegance about her, her mature age was more than obvious. Every time I looked at her, I get the sense of deja vu, but I couldn¡¯t point out exactly when or where I might¡¯ve seen her.


    I probed, ¡°Is the woman your lover?¡±


    ¡°My wife, Wang Xiaomei,¡± he answered kindly.


    Aha! She was a female lead in an old television series I followed when I was young.


    That series came out before I was born and she seemed to be decently popr during that period. Was this a rich and famousbination couple? They weren¡¯t average people for sure, so what do they want with me?


    To try and take the lead of the situation, I hedged, ¡°I¡¯m a surname changer. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re hoping for your child to follow my surname, right? Yun and Wang are good surnames. And if I¡¯m not wrong, thisdy here isn¡¯t even pregnant yet. It¡¯s already June and if she¡¯s giving birth, it would take ce next year. Aren¡¯t you seeking me out too early?¡±


    Yun Huateng exined, smiling, ¡°We do want a surname change for our child, but he¡¯s not here.¡±


    Was the child from a mistress?


    Why bring the wife then?


    An enemy perhaps?


    Did they want the enemy¡¯s child to be a Gou for life? Just as how the ancient emperor had humiliated our n?


    The world belonging to the rich was difficult toprehend.


    ¡°Please rify this matter, Mr. Yun,¡± I said.


    He took out a photograph from his pocket. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±


    I nced down at the photo and shuddered. ¡°When did you capture this photo of me?¡±


    ¡°So you think so too?¡± he asked, smiling.


    ¡°Think so? Think what? You mean to say this person isn¡¯t me?¡± I took a closer look at the person in the photograph and realized that it wasn¡¯t actually me. He was dressed in clothes I did not have, and he was leaning against a Ferrari, another item that I most certainly did not possess. We looked so alike, we could pass off as twins.


    ¡°Who is he? Why do we look so alike?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my son, Yun Huan. He¡¯s born half a yearter than you. He¡¯s studying in America right now.¡±


    ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± The situation seemed too strange.


    ¡°We want him to have your surname and identity,¡± he answered.


    My mind went straight to the case I¡¯d heard about a ck man. He hadmitted a crime, and in order to stay alive, he needed a new identity.


    What if this was the case with this family?


    ¡°That¡¯s illegal.¡± I swiftly stood up from the sofa and grabbed the teacup handle, raising it high up. I didn¡¯t know exactly how this teacup would do me good, but anything is better than being defenseless.


    The bodyguard surged forward to protect Yun Huateng.


    A minute passed silently.


    Just as the atmosphere turned a bit awkward, Yun Huateng reached his hand out to his bodyguard. ¡°It¡¯s okay, nothing¡¯s going to happen. Leave us alone.¡±


    The bodyguard retreated two steps back, but I kept my gaze locked on Yun Huateng. My arm was starting to ache and I made a mental note to start exercising more. I really was unfit.


    ¡°Please rx, Mr. Gou Dan. We wouldn¡¯t have invited you over to talk if we had bad intentions. We just wanted to negotiate. You won¡¯t be disappointed by what we can offer you, and we can guarantee your safety. No risks at all,¡± Yun Huateng promised.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do anything illegal,¡± I insisted frustratedly before lowering the teacup.


    ¡°Have you thought about it, Mr. Gou Dan? Surname changing is a shady business, too,¡± Yun Huateng brought up.


    ¡°Teacher said that we¡¯re walking on the fine line that¡¯s dividing what¡¯s legal and not. So technically, it¡¯s not illegal,¡± I corrected.


    ¡°That¡¯s great because what we hope you can do is also not considered illegal. Just do this once and you¡¯ll live the rest of your life in luxury.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give Teacher a call first. This is beyond what I expected,¡± I told him.


    ¡°I do not wish for anyone else to know about this transaction. The lesser who knows about this, the safer my son will be,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Fine. So, you want me to change the surname of your son, the man in the photograph. But if that happens, if he bes me, what about me?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°You¡¯ll still be you.¡±


    ¡°I smell deceit.¡± I started to stand up again, agitated.


    ¡°Settle down and let me finish, please, Mr. Gou Dan,¡± he urged.


    Hesitantly, I sat back down.


    I looked at the bodyguard, who was preparing tea and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave if I sense something problematic. Promise me that you and your bodyguard won¡¯t stop me.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yun Huan has been used of killing somebody in America. His roommate was the victim, a white man. There weren¡¯t cameras around to check for evidence, so my son became the main suspect since he was the only one present. You should know how severe racial discrimination is there. We¡¯ve tried spending money to resolve this but to no avail. The judge is on our side, but we were unable to bribe the jury, which is bad since they are likely to be biased.


    If I try to bribe them and it spreads, my son will be in greater danger. Right now, he¡¯s under pending investigation and is unable to leave the country. Our idea is simple. He can just return to China safely and the rest can be settled with money and he won¡¯t have to be in court anymore.¡±


    ¡°The case is unsolved but you want him to return with my identity?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, my bodyguard saw you by chance and snapped a photograph. The resemnce is striking. I got an even greater shock after meeting you in person. Even your heights are simr,¡± he continued.


    ¡°What about the details? The procedures to travel back?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s also simple. You will go over there to have fun for a month beforeing back. In the month that you¡¯re over there, he¡¯ll learn to imitate you. My son then will return by sea with your identity and he will continue living with us under your name.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why must I go over there?¡± I demanded. ¡°I hope you know that sounds fishy and it¡¯s not helping your case.¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯ll need your passport. Leave it with us when you¡¯re back and I¡¯ll mail it to my son so he can disguise himself as you and make his way back. Your identity belongs to you, and he¡¯s just borrowing your passport. Future assets of his, like houses and cars, will be bought under mypany name. We can also use the money to keep his future wife¡¯s family mum. We won¡¯t misuse your identity,¡± he assured me.

 Chapter 139: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 139: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) II</h4>


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be two mes, then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I will ensure that you two remain safe. China is big, no one will notice that there are two persons in different cities with the exact same name. I¡¯ll give you 70,000,000 when it¡¯s all done and you can live out the rest of your life in luxury. It¡¯s as good as us spending 70,000,000 on your passport to give my son another identity,¡± he said.


    ¡°Give me some time. I need to think about this.¡±


    ¡°Of course. This room is yours for a week. We will be staying here as well and we¡¯ll be paying for all of your expenses. You can raise certain conditions if you¡¯d like. We could record a video proof for you so you can release it to the media if something goes wrong. I just want my son back by my side, safe and sound,¡± he continued.


    I opened my phone¡¯s video recording app. ¡°Good idea. Could you please repeat everything you¡¯ve said? In details. Thanks.¡±


    Yun Huateng smiled and did as I requested. He looked at me when he finished and asked, ¡°So you agree now, Mr. Gou Dan?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I acknowledged before stopping the recording.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be given a management title in the office tomorrow and I¡¯ll buy a house and car under your name for passport and visa certification purposes.¡± He inquired, ¡°How¡¯s your English?¡±


    Deciding to remain vignt, I answered, ¡°Terrible. Will I be doing this if I can speak English well?¡±


    ¡°What about simple grammar?¡± he tried.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a private tutor tomorrow to teach you some basic pronunciations. We¡¯ll then get you to put on a micro-receiver before the interview so you¡¯ll just have to answer the questions the way we tell you to.¡±


    ¡°So the interviewer thinks he¡¯s asking me but it¡¯s actually someone from your side? He¡¯ll prepare the answer and I¡¯ll just mimic him?¡±


    ¡°Yes, so we¡¯ll have to teach you proper pronunciation for a week. It¡¯s all under our control so don¡¯t worry,¡± he reassured.


    I nodded. ¡°Everything¡¯s long been arranged, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Half a month ago. We already had someone with a 70% resemnce, but then we saw you. If not for the slight differences in personality and expressions, I would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯re my son.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I do hope that your son can return to your side safely, but I still need to look out for my well-being. I¡¯ll set up an email soon, and will manually postpone the release of this clip every month. Keep me safe or the public will know of this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable,¡± Yun Huateng agreed.


    ¡°Great. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll be going back to sleep.¡±


    I returned to my room and gave Teacher a call.


    ¡°Did you get the deal, Gou Dan?¡± he immediately asked upon answering.


    ¡°Yeah, but they want me to go to their city. I¡¯ll only be back three monthster. I will pay you then,¡± I lied.


    ¡°They know someone from their own city?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Probably. I¡¯ll contact you if there¡¯s any problem. I¡¯m flying tomorrow so I¡¯ll get some rest now,¡± I told him.


    ¡°Be safe,¡± he responded before hanging up.


    ...


    The next day, a beautiful, ssy, white woman appeared in the suite.


    She spoke fluent Chinese and English.


    Unlike other tutors, she did not bother going over the basics.


    Instead, she made me repeat some simple phrases.


    Having passed sixth grade¡¯s English sses, I had some basic knowledge of thatnguage and could more or less understand some American TV series even without subtitles.


    However, I was pretending to bepletely ignorant so I simply followed after her.


    Yun Huateng dropped by a few times. One time, he brought a file over for me to study. ¡°Mypany¡¯s name is Horse Brand Red Wine. You¡¯ll be the new manager of a project that will require you to head over to a winery in America for a month. Inside this file are details about your vi and sports car. They will be notarized and we will go for the interview in a week¡¯s time.¡±


    I opened the file and saw that the house and car are in Beijing.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to Beijing for the interview?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Master your pronunciation here first and we¡¯ll go over there next week,¡± he replied.


    I nodded, noting their work efficiency. If I had said that I was quite proficient in English, I would¡¯ve been in the airport by now.


    I did not improve even after a week of tuition.


    Yun Huateng and his wife came by quite often but I was always facing difficulties. Could they really me me? I don¡¯t use English in China. Even with sufficient foundation, it was tough to speak thenguage fluently.


    The tuition sses dragged on for another week and on the fourteenth day, Yun Huateng handed me a ne ticket. On the eighth of the month, we took four first-ss cabins to Beijing.


    The presidential suite was already something I found hard to imagine, so you can picture how amazed I was by the first ss cabin and the Rolls-Royce that picked us up from Beijing Airport.


    I was basking in pleasant surprise and luxury until Yun Huateng started speaking. ¡°You¡¯d better pass the interview the first time so we can fly straight to America to meet my son the day after.¡±


    ¡°So rushed?¡± I blurted out.


    Yun Huateng looked at me and said, ¡°You¡¯ve dyed our n for a week and I don¡¯t want more problems to arise because of time issues.¡±


    I nodded.


    The car brought us straight to Yun Huateng¡¯s house and I stayed in his son¡¯s room.


    I locked the room door and quickly rummaged through his belongings.


    There were rows of fountain pens and inks on the study table.


    I went to Taobao and searched for the model of those fountain pens and discovered that they were part of a series used by a renowned writer.


    Each cost over 100,000.


    I chose the most expensive one and stashed it in my pocket.


    Same goes for the inks. A small bottle, the size of a nail polish bottle, costs tens of thousands.


    I then scanned his shelves and found a diary.


    I found it strange that a rich man had the habit of keeping a journal, but I started reading it anyway.


    His writing was neat and organized, unlike mine. I felt momentarily ashamed.


    Content-wise, he wrote about his daily trifles. What stood out to me, though, was the fact that the father and son met only once a year.


    ...


    The next day, Yun Huateng knocked on my door and told me to get ready to head to the immigration bureau.


    There was already a man inside the car when I got in. He greeted, ¡°My name is Li NasdaqK. I¡¯ll be your trantor.¡±


    I shook hands with him and Yun Huateng handed a micro earpiece to me. ¡°Stick it behind your ear,¡± he instructed.


    The car drove off.


    Things went rather smoothly, as evident from a thumbs up by the interviewer, despite my stutterings.


    I strongly suspected that Yun Huateng bribed the interviewer.


    Yun Huateng was waiting by the car when I exited the building.


    I got in happily.


    When I turned to him, he said without preamble, ¡°We¡¯ll fly first thing tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 140: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 140: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 2) III</h4>


    The next morning, Li DanFC threw my door open.


    He pulled a luggage in and said, ¡°All packed. The clothes should fit you well since I bought them ording to your measurements. You¡¯ll board in an hour so you need to wash up now.¡±


    ¡°Just leave those stuff here, I¡¯ll get it myself,¡± I suggested, stretchingzily on the bed.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll take it for you,¡± Li DanFC replied. ¡°Quick, get ready. I¡¯ll be your bodyguard and Yun Huan¡¯s as well.¡±


    I felt my brows wrinkle. ¡°What? What about Yun Huateng? Are you not going to be watching over him?¡±


    ¡°Boss has many bodyguards, I¡¯m just one of them. Hurry now, we cannot bete,¡± he prompted.


    I got up and got dressed, with Li DanFC looking at me the whole time.


    The whole affair seemed weird ¨C well, weirder than usual. I probably wouldn¡¯t have thought that if Yun Huateng had gotten a normal trantor to follow me around, but Li DanFC? Something fishy must be going on.


    However, there was nothing I could do except to take it one step at a time.


    I readied myself and turned to my newly appointed shadow, nodding at him. I reached for my luggage but he swatted my hand away.


    ¡°Just follow me and don¡¯t get lost. Leave the rest to me.¡±


    He led me to a sedan and drove me to the airport.


    Yun Huateng was nowhere in sight, which made me feel somewhat lost.


    The moment we arrived at the airport, Li DanFC herded me straight to the VIP resting lounge before proceeding to check my luggage in.


    Li DanFC followed behind me, exining the procedures and time needed.


    We boarded a big Boeing ne, and after everyone was seated, the air stewardess started their routine and safety instructions.


    Immediately after the seatbelt light went off, I adjusted my first ss cabin seat all the way back.


    I turned on the television to rx and did not talk to Li DanFC much.


    An invisible pressure made sleeping difficult, so I simply shut my eyes to conceal my fears.


    Li DanFC woke me up for every meal.


    After 20 long hours, we finally arrived at San Francisco Airport.


    While I did catch some sleep, I still felt somewhat dispirited.


    I said to Li DanFC, ¡°Will Yun Huan pick me up? Who¡¯sing?¡±


    ¡°No. Yun Huan won¡¯t be picking you up since he needs to stay out of trouble during this period and it¡¯s risky to be at the airport. We¡¯ll find him after getting the luggage. He¡¯s in a hotel about a hundred kilometers away, which is also the ce we¡¯ll be staying for the next month,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Does Yun Huateng really engage in a wine business? Or was it all made up for this n?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He has many businesses and Horse Brand Red Wine is one of the more popr ones in China. He bought this winery sometime ago in order to raise the brand status, and is now using it out of convenience.¡±


    ¡°You seem to know a lot about him. Have you been with him for long?¡± I continued.


    ¡°Eight years or so,¡± he replied distractedly. ¡°I¡¯ll get the luggage. Wait here and don¡¯t run about. It¡¯s gonna be tricky if I lose you.¡±


    I stood still and watched as his figure disappeared into the crowd.


    He still thought that I don¡¯t know any English. That¡¯s a good thing since it mighte in handy someday.


    After a short while, I saw him wave me over.


    I dutifully went to him and followed him as he maneuvered around the ce.


    We exited the airport and he gged down a cab.


    He gave an address and the driver headed north.


    I felt ufortable by the fact that I had fallen into a passive position the moment we reached America.


    The only trump card I had was the video recording, but if something did happen to me, that evidence wouldn¡¯t be that substantial.


    Pessimistic thoughts assaulted my mind and I couldn¡¯t control them.


    An hour passed and the car came to a stop.


    Li DanFC took out a US bankbook as I alighted.


    I was weed by an enchanting scenery. There were small vis all around and Li DanFC brought me to the biggest one right in the center.


    He pressed the doorbell and the person who opened the door startled me.


    It was as if I was looking into the mirror.


    He, too, was shocked upon seeing me.


    ¡°You¡¯re Gou Dan, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You know me?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°I was informed of the n through an encrypted phone call. Come in and we¡¯ll talk,¡± he offered.


    Li DanFC walked in but I was rooted to the ground.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yun Huan asked.


    ¡°Nothing! It¡¯s just... this is a shock,¡± I said before joining them inside the house.


    Something was strange but I couldn¡¯t point out exactly what.


    Perhaps it was because I read his diary, but the Yun Huan that I saw acted like a whole different person from the one who wrote the journal.


    The moment I entered, Yun Huan brought me around for a short tour. ¡°The red wines here are expensive but do feel free to try them. There are five guestrooms in the house so pick whichever you like.¡±


    My first thought was to find out where his room was. ¡°May I know where¡¯s your room? I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s better to stay close to you in case I need help.¡±


    Yun Huan smiled and pointed to a corner room not far away. ¡°That¡¯s my room, and the one opposite has been prepared for Brother Dan. It¡¯s fine if you want that, though. It is indeed better to have someone you can rely on close by.¡±


    I took note of how he addressed Li DanFC, convinced that it would be of some use.


    ¡°Bring the luggage in first and we¡¯ll have food in an hour¡¯s time. You¡¯re not used to the western food, I suppose, so we can go to a nearby Chinese restaurant.¡±


    I nodded without hesitation. I had to stay safe for a month.


    When I was done unpacking, Yun Huan invited us out to eat.


    He drove and peppered me with personal questions on the way.


    He asked about my grades in school, my parents¡¯ name, who I was close to and so on. We also talked about some of my ssmates and crushes, and even my first love.


    I pondered Yun Huateng¡¯s words over. He had said that Yun Huan will learn to imitate me. I finally understood what he meant, but it still all felt awkward to me.


    Even as we ate, Yun Huan imitated the way I used my chopsticks.


    Because I did not learn the correct way to use them, I could only hold them as if I was holding a pen.


    Yun Huan¡¯s shadowing made me feel somewhat stifled but there was nothing I could say.


    Perhaps I should throw indirect questions out.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really have to learn these, do you, Yun Huan? Won¡¯t reporting my home address and identity be good enough? I might not be able to answer all your questions regarding my childhood.¡±


    Yun Huan smiled. ¡°Just in case, you know. I think it¡¯s never bad to learn more now. That reminds me, do you remember your parents¡¯ birthdays? Tell me,¡± he requested.


    I frowned but since I had no choice, I started divulging more personal details.


    I felt my hair standing up on ends; he seemed to be taking over my life, bit by bit.


    After revealing everything about myself, I felt that I had lost all my integrity and principles.


    After the good meal, we returned to the vi.


    Yun Huan started taking down notes with a fountain pen and some papers.


    He was like a host of an interview and I was the superstar who had to answer his questions but also maintain my image.


    Yun Huan kept on going, asking about my favorite games, color, and many other things.


    When he was done for the night, Iy on my own bed, thinking about what I needed to do.

 Chapter 141: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) I

    <h4>Chapter 141: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) I</h4>


    The winery came to mind. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to get something out of it, but I still would have to take it slow since I knew nothing about them.


    I got up in the middle of the night, tiptoed to the hall, and grabbed three bottles of red wine.


    I picked up a fancy bottle opener and brought the bottles to the bathroom. I remembered Yun Huan mentioning that these wine were extremely expensive.


    I opened all of them and poured the contents down the sink, before returning to my room with three empty bottles. I slept peacefully through the night.


    I was awakened by Yun Huan the next morning.


    I looked at him, half-asleep, as he asked, ¡°You drank all those three? You like wine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah... didn¡¯t you say I can drink them? They taste great. That one especially,¡± Imented, pointing to a random bottle.


    His face changed slightly. ¡°You¡¯re quite the drinker. That bottle cost 70,000 and was older than both of us. It¡¯s fine if you sipped on it slowly, but chugging it down... don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a waste?¡±


    ¡°I saw it and wanted to try it. I did not expect it to be so expensive,¡± I said.


    ¡°Wine tasting is an art. You shouldn¡¯t have hurried it down.¡±


    I tried, ¡°Teach me then?¡±


    He looked taken aback when he responded, ¡°Everyone has his own style, so there¡¯s really nothing to learn.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll probably drink more tonight, would you mind?¡±


    It seemed as though he wasn¡¯t keen on me changing my habits. In fact, he wanted to amodate and learn from me, which was extremely suspicious.


    After a short pause, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s probably going to be hard to find white wine. Is vodka eptable?¡±


    ¡°Yup, I drink vodka when there¡¯s no white wine,¡± I answered, smiling.


    ¡°Alright. Wait for me while I go get a few bottles. You don¡¯t have to destroy art to get drunk,¡± he told me.


    ¡°Buy plenty. I prefer wine,¡± I said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna learn to be like me, though?¡±


    He looked stumped. ¡°Do your parents know about your binge drinking habit?¡±


    ¡°Of course. My dad was the one who taught me.¡±


    ¡°So you drink with him at home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll train up my alcohol tolerance slowly.¡±


    He walked out, presumably to get my requests.


    Yun Huateng told me that Yun Huan was going to familiarize with my rough habits in order to pass off as me when checked by the police. From Yun Huan¡¯s behavior, however, it seemed that he was more keen on recing mepletely.


    I had nned to provoke him further but all I managed was to send him away.


    Li DanFC was watching some TV outside and from where he was seated, he had a clear view of my room.


    I had tried to go out to explore a few times, but I caught his gaze every time so I could only pretend to get a drink or head to the bathroom.


    I needed to have a look in Yun Huan¡¯s room, but it was simply too challenging and I did not want to take unnecessary risks.


    A long timeter, Yun Huan came back with two bottles of vodka.


    I took one from him and returned to my room.


    ¡°Why are you bringing it in your room?¡± he asked.


    ¡°So there¡¯s a bed ready for me when I get dead drunk. Duh.¡±


    He only gave me a look of contempt and sympathy in response.


    After dinner, I went back to my room, opened the bottle, and poured half of it out of the window.


    I theny around, waiting for them to return to their own rooms.


    Sometimeter, I brought the bottle out to the hall, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV.


    I increased the volume and ced the bottle on the table, before shutting my eyes and pretending to be drunk.


    Yun Huan was the first to notice. He came out and shouted, ¡°It¡¯ste, turn the TV down!¡±


    I ignored him.


    I heard him picking up the bottle and putting it back down before running to Li DanFC¡¯s room, shouting, ¡°Brother Dan,e out!¡±


    I kept my eyes and mouth shut. I even drooled a little to perfect my role.


    They came back into the living room and shut the TV off.


    Yun Huan asked, ¡°Where did my dad find this bastard?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was the one who found him. Doesn¡¯t he look just like you?¡± Li DanFC replied.


    ¡°Yes, he does, but he¡¯s garbage. Why does Dad want me to imitate his behavior?¡± Yun Huan asked him.


    ¡°Boss has thought this over for a long time so do your best,¡± Li DanFC answered instead.


    ¡°Can¡¯t I just kill him now and go back to China with his identity?¡± Yun Huan grumbled.


    ¡°Be patient and wait for a month. Learn his behaviors well. We¡¯ve found a way to get rid of the video on his phone, but don¡¯t ck off. It¡¯s to ensure that you can pass off as him in front of his rtives and friends,¡± Li DanFC told him.


    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t I just keep his identity and return to Dad¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea. At least, not in the next ten years. We¡¯ll talk about it when it¡¯s done. You know how the board of directors feel after seeing the news, don¡¯t you? No one¡¯s going to be able to save you if you reappear. You¡¯re lucky as it is that you get to keep your life. Don¡¯t push it,¡± Li DanFC advised firmly.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t money got me out of jail for killing someone in China as well? I¡¯ve already taken two lives so why would one more matter? Can¡¯t I just move into another country? Must we go through this much trouble?¡±


    ¡°Boss wants you to take over his assets but he isn¡¯t up for risks, which is why I¡¯m the one settling all the procedures now. There mustn¡¯t be any more slip-ups. The other directors can¡¯t wait to see your father fail, so Boss has thought long and hard about how you can take over his business.¡±


    ¡°What will happen when I return to China?¡±


    ¡°Your father¡¯s thinking of retiring in 10 years¡¯ time. He gave Gou Dan a sales managerial post so you¡¯ll be able to get a sufficient amount each month for the next 10 years. Before he retires, he¡¯ll nominate you to take over his position. By then, the storm would¡¯ve blown over and you¡¯ll go back as his godson, Gou Dan. To outsiders, you¡¯ll just be someone who looks like Yun Huan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already fine with being a Gou (dog) for the rest of my life, but why do I still have to wait 10 years?¡± Yun Huan protested.


    ¡°No more whys. This is yourst chance. I¡¯m sure you know that you¡¯re a murderer in the eyes of the directors, so cherish this chance to start over.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Bring him back to his room,¡± Yun Huan conceded before walking back to his room and mming the door behind him.


    Now I know Yun Huan¡¯s real character.

 Chapter 142: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) II

    <h4>Chapter 142: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) II</h4>


    I felt Li DanFC carry me up and bring me back to my room.


    I opened my eyes but I didn¡¯t dare to move.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Yun Huan¡¯s room. The door was shut and judging from how loud he mmed it, he must¡¯ve been really mad.


    Li DanFC opened my door with one hand.


    I closed my eyes again to prevent getting caught.


    He took a few steps forward and ced me on the bed, before covering my body with a nket.


    I opened my eyes only after hearing the door close.


    I sat up and reached for the tablemp.


    All kinds of emotions hit me at once.


    What were they going to do to me at the end of the month?


    ording to their exchange, Yun Huan had already killed two people. He was likely going to get rid of me once I¡¯ve served my purpose.


    I should just mess up his ns to imitate me so that the people I know will definitely sense something unusual about him.


    F*cking hell!


    The more I reyed the conversation I just heard, the more I start to panic. I was going to have to keep his secret if he did take over my identity, and who else, other than a dead person, could best keep a secret?


    Things were looking bad.


    I considered escaping since they¡¯ve yet to restrict my freedom, only to be hit by the fact that I had no money on me. I had my phone, of course, but people don¡¯t use renminbi here so I wouldn¡¯t be able to survive outside, much less get a ticket back to China.


    And I don¡¯t think that they¡¯d give me money if I ask for it.


    Or I could just steal some things from them? I¡¯m sure that the pieces in this house were valuable. I think I could even bring a few bottles of wine out. Any bottle in here would probably fetch me tens of thousands.


    Or, more simply, I could flip through their wallets.


    I stood up and got the shock of my life upon seeing Li DanFC lying on the ground beside my bed.


    Our eyes met and we remained silent for a few seconds.


    Panicked, I raised a foot to smash his head, hoping to knock him out before escaping with some valuables.


    Of course, I had forgotten that he was a bodyguard and could easily kick my ass.


    Before I couldnd my foot on him, he rolled aside and kicked my other leg, causing me to lose my bnce and fall over.


    He punched me in the head before holding me down, all without making too much noise.


    I waspletely sober but I felt as though I had downed half a bottle of white wine.


    Before I could scream, he covered my mouth. ¡°Wake him up and you¡¯ll be dead. Keep quiet.¡±


    I was at a loss. He didn¡¯t want Yun Huan to know? What was going on?


    Li DanFC pointed at the window. ¡°I can smell the Vodkaing from outside but none from your body. I¡¯ve served the army for over 10 years and I have had my fair share of sneaking alcohol into camp... but I was never able to conceal the smell as well as you. It was as if you hadn¡¯t had any at all.¡± He snorted. ¡°Who are you trying to fool, boy?¡±


    I only realized how much of a failure I was after he said that.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty active, huh? It¡¯s only the second day and you¡¯re already making so much trouble. I wonder if you would be able to turn the world upside down in a few days¡¯ time,¡± he mused quietly.


    With the pain numbing down to a dull ache, I managed to squirm a little, but he merely used an elbow to hold my head down while his other hand covered my mouth.


    ¡°Are you really trying to wake him up and expose yourself? I doubt you¡¯d wanna know what happened to the previous victims,¡± he whispered.


    I stopped struggling.


    Li DanFC loosened his grip on me and pulled me up.


    He pushed me towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go out, it¡¯s not safe here.¡±


    We left the vi and walked on for a bit.


    When were quite a distance away from the house, he let go of my hands.


    ¡°Being smart is not a bad thing, but you¡¯ll need to learn how to act dumb at times. You don¡¯t know that, apparently, and you¡¯re making my job tough for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, massaging my aching neck and leg.


    ¡°I have to admit, you impressed me. I had thought that it was going to take you half a month, at least, to find out what was really going on. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re intelligent or you just have a death wish, but you¡¯re ruining my n either way.¡±


    ¡°Any normal human being will be suspicious, don¡¯t you think? What are you trying to do?¡± I asked nervously.


    ¡°I just want to know what you can offer me,¡± he replied.


    ¡°What I can offer you?¡±


    ¡°Yun Huateng¡¯s n is to have you two switch identitiespletely, but I¡¯m not looking forward to the return of that lunatic. I¡¯m certain that he¡¯ll mess up again. I won¡¯t have worries, however, if you will be the one taking his ce. Of course, that¡¯s if you can act well enough,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Act?¡± I parroted.


    ¡°I can keep you alive and help you take over Yun Huan¡¯s position. I can help you cover up a lot of things and even help you be the new director of thepany ¨C as long as you listen to my orders, of course.¡±


    ¡°You mean you¡¯ll bring me back after a month and I¡¯lly low for 10 years before taking over thepany and splitting the profits with you? 50:50?¡± I rified.


    ¡°10:90, but you¡¯ll be dead if you don¡¯t agree. You really don¡¯t have a choice. Anyway, 10% is enough for you to live on extravagantly for the rest of your life, so consider carefully.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree, obviously, but you¡¯ll be the only one who knows of this. Won¡¯t I still die if you let the secret out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s extremely simple except for two things.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± I urged.


    ¡°Boss and I have decided that the only way to tell you two apart is the fact that you can¡¯t speak English. I can buy you a month¡¯s time when we get back, but you¡¯ll need to learn how to speak fluently within that period or you¡¯ll be busted for sure.¡±


    I nodded, still not revealing that my English was at least of some standards.


    ¡°You¡¯ll also need to find evidence of Yun Huan¡¯s crime. He was released from custody because of theck of evidence. Boss¡¯ n is for you to stay here for a month and for Yun Huan to call the cops on you before returning to China,¡± he went on.


    ¡°Wait, what about my video recording? What¡¯s the point of going back if you can¡¯t get rid of it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told to find out your email address. When Yun Huan gets back to China, I¡¯m supposed to report the loss of your telephone card. I would then request to get rid of that email on the ount that I¡¯ve lost both its password and the phone card that was supposed to help reset it. Is it really that difficult?¡± he asked.


    I took a sharp intake of breath.


    ¡°I¡¯m nning to help you, but you¡¯ll need to get substantial evidence as soon as possible. That way, I can get rid of Yun Huan and have you go back as yourself. As long as you can fool Yun Huateng, nothing else will be a problem.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll help me if I can get hold of the evidence? What if I can¡¯t?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Then I can only apologize. But don¡¯t worry about that, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find a way since you¡¯re so smart.¡± He smiled.

 Chapter 143: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) III

    <h4>Chapter 143: Your Family Name, My Name (Part 3) III</h4>


    I nodded and Li DanFC led me back to the vi, keeping a grip on my shoulder.


    He mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t try to do anything funny...¡±


    ¡°The wine?¡± I hemmed and hawed.


    ¡°Continue what you¡¯re doing, just with moremon sense.¡±


    ¡°I might need your help with finding the evidence,¡± I said.


    ¡°What help?¡±


    ¡°Find an excuse to get him out of the vi so I can be in his room. There¡¯s no other way for me to sneak in.


    ¡°Not possible. I must stay if he leaves. The rule is for one of us to always be in the house. It was agreed upon a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just cover up for me after I send him away?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible but I can¡¯t guarantee when he¡¯ll return.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°One step at a time.¡±


    We went back to the house and I took a gulp out of that Vodka bottle.


    Never had I had such a strong alcoholic drink. I coughed and endured the smell as I entered my room.


    Before I could reach the bed, I copsed onto the ground.


    Time passed and I woke up to the realization that I had already missed a chance after spotting three cartons of Vodka in the living room.


    Yun Huan pointed at the bunch of alcohol, saying, ¡°Enough tost you a month, at least? Come, let¡¯s talk about your elementary school days.¡±


    ...


    For the first few days, I felt Li DanFC constantly throwing gazes at me, while Yun Huan would bring up all sorts of strange questions.


    He did not really interact with Yun Huan much unless necessary, hence the very asional taps on Yun Huan¡¯s shoulder.


    Truth be told, all questions had been answered by the third day. He asked me about everything, from when I first had a conscious memory until just about half a month ago.


    He would regrly pen down information he deemed useful.


    I tried probing him with some questions but he just ignored me.


    In the morning of the seventh day, I saw him writing something in the living room.


    I walked over to have a closer look and discovered that he had basically consolidated all the information he had gained and was creating a summary.


    Because I knew he had a habit of keeping a journal, I began, ¡°You seem to like writing stuff. Do you keep a diary?¡±


    He turned his head after a short while and nodded. ¡°When I was young.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°I had no friends and my parents were pretty busy. They only apany me on my birthday so that¡¯s once a year. One birthday, Father gave me his fountain pen as a gift. It¡¯s a part of the renowned writers¡¯ series, 1996 Alexandre Dumas, I remember. It¡¯s been about 50 years since it¡¯s left the factory... probably worth hundreds of thousands now. I didn¡¯t know then, of course, and started writing my diary with it. Father saw and thought that I had an interest in these things. He started gifting me all sorts of pens. 1996 Alexandre Dumas is still in my room in Beijing. Naturally, I gained a liking for pens and journal writing.¡±


    I put a hand over my pocket subconsciously as he spoke. Alexandre Dumas was resting in my pocket.


    ¡°But I speak too much. What about you? What have your parents given you? It¡¯s important, it might be useful,¡± he said, looking at me.


    I shook my head and barked out a bitterugh. ¡°What gift? I¡¯m a poor kid. I haven¡¯t even had many cakes. A bowl of longevity noodles was considered a luxury. We don¡¯t really celebrate asions.¡±


    Yun Huan was shocked by my answer. He put his pen down and said thoughtfully, ¡°I should start using cheap pens and get used to them.¡±


    My heart stopped for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a bit, Brother Dan. Be back in half an hour. Pleasee out!¡±


    Li DanFC walked out of his room and Yun Huan made his way out.


    Li DanFC looked at the clock on the wall. ¡°What are you waiting for? You have half an hour.¡±


    I dashed into Yun Huan¡¯s room only to find his door locked.


    ¡°What?¡± Li DanFC asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s locked,¡± I said, frustrated.


    Li DanFC fished out a small golden pick and started picking the lock, quickly managing to unlock it. ¡°Be quick.¡±


    I ran inside and saw that theyout was almost exactly the same as in my room. The only difference was that his room had an additional study table.


    I rushed over to his table, hoping to find his diary. I made sure to put everything back where they belonged to prevent getting caught.


    The items on his table were mostly novels and textbooks. All in English. There were also quite a few notebooks, albeit mostly empty.


    Ten minutes passed but I found nothing.


    Just as I was about to give up, a floral little booklet caught my eye. It was hiding right at the corner.


    Only a small corner was visible. If not for the fact that I had seen it before in Beijing, I never would¡¯ve given it more than a nce.


    I picked it up and flipped through the densely packed pages.


    There was nothing about his first victim, but the second was in very clear details. Cold beads of sweat dotted on my face and back as I read through his narrative.


    Yun Huan recounted how his roommate had peeped into his diary and how he had ¡®punished¡¯ him. At the end of his journal, he scribbled: I absolutely will not tolerate anyone who peeps into my diary.


    My hands were trembling and the floral booklet slipped out of them.


    I was on the verge of a mental breakdown when a knock on the door startled me.


    ¡°Did you find it? You¡¯re running out of time,¡± Li DanFC warned. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to leave in time if hees back. Quick, put them back in their ces.¡±


    He retreated to the living room and I quickly put the book back to its original spot.


    I locked the door from the inside before exiting and closing it behind me.


    I walked over to the living room and plopped down onto the sofa.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± Li DanFC asked softly.


    ¡°Nothing. There are too many things lying around. I need more chances.¡±


    ¡°Sesses difficult but failurees in excess,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Wait, how about I go back in for a bit more?¡± I asked. I wanted to take a photograph of what I had seen.


    ¡°It¡¯s already been 25 minutes. He¡¯ll be back any time soon. I¡¯ll think of another n so calm down.¡±


    I fell silent. Another idea came to mind.


    Ten minutester, Yun Huan returned with a handful of fountain pens.


    ...


    Days passed somewhat peacefully and Yun Huan went out quite a few times.


    Each time I requested to go into Yun Huan¡¯s room, however, Li DanFC declined and chose not to unlock the door for me. I had no way of snapping photographs.


    I wondered if Li DanFC had given up on me, but my n was bing increasingly ripe along with the number of times Yun Huan went out.


    On the 27th day, Yun Huan received a call from his father.


    They talked about settling my ticket in three days¡¯ time, but I knew that I wasn¡¯t really the person in question.


    That night, I took half a mouthful of Vodka.


    Li DanFC and Yun Huan had both gone back to their rooms.


    A few minutes passed and I started feeling dizzy.


    Alcohol makes a person stronger, I supposed.


    I swayed over to Yun Huan¡¯s door and knocked.


    He opened the door slightly. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I need to tell you something. Can Ie in?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ste, let¡¯s talk tomorrow,¡± he suggested before closing the door.


    Before he could, though, I wedged my foot in. ¡°It¡¯s about your bodyguard entering your room when you were out.¡±


    After a brief pause, he opened his door wider. ¡°Let¡¯s talk in your room.¡±


    When we were both in my room, I started, ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning to tell you this since he did threaten to kill me... but he breaks into your room whenever you go out. He would search around for at least 10 minutes beforeing out. Once, I saw him holding a floral booklet and snapping some photographs of it. I stopped him, only to be threatened with death...¡±


    I heard the loopholes right as those words left my mouth, but it was already done and I had no choice. To conceal my awkwardness, I plopped onto the bed and pretended to be asleep.


    With my eyes squinted, I saw him exit my room wordlessly.


    I quickly got up and followed Yun Huan¡¯s movements with eyes.


    He entered the kitchen to grab a knife and walked over to Li DanFC¡¯s room.


    I couldn¡¯t hear their conversation but I gathered that they were talking about Yun Huan¡¯s newfound knowledge.


    Seeing that Yun Huan¡¯s door was half-open, I sneaked in to grab his mobile phone and wallet.


    Amidst, Li DanFC¡¯s screams, I picked up the floral booklet and threw it on the bed.


    I walked out of the room while keeping my eyes on Li DanFc¡¯s.


    Li DanFC¡¯s voice had faded and I could only hear Yun Huan¡¯s growls. I saw him swinging his knife around.


    I exited the vi and engaged Siri on Yun Huan¡¯s phone. ¡°Call 110.¡±


    The moment the rings started, I ended the call and restarted. ¡°Call 911.¡±


    I threw the phone by the door after hearing the rings and ran to the field without my shoes on.


    The police arrived within 10 minutes, their sirens muted.


    I observed from afar, as Yun Huan, covered in blood, ran out of the vi after a few gunshots.


    I imagined he was probably cleaning up Li DanFC¡¯s corpse but 10 minutes wasn¡¯t enough time for that.


    Before Yun Huan could run too far out, the policemen shot him dead.


    ...


    Epilogue.


    Because I had Yun Huateng¡¯s number, I contacted him as Yun Huan.


    I told him that I killed Li DanFC and threw the me onto Gou Dan, and was holding on to Gou Dan¡¯s passport and ID.


    I booked an economy ss seat back to China and was picked up by Yun Huateng at the airport.


    He greeted me in English and I made it through somehow. I had long mastered the pronunciations without their knowledge since I had previously stalled for time.


    I could still see the doubt in his face but he had to substantial proof.


    After dinner, when we were about to settle the bill, I stopped the waiter to show my intention to pay.


    He put the bill on my side of the table and I fished out the Alexandre Dumas fountain pen and scribbled a Gou Dan above the line.


    Yun Huateng gave me a stern look and said, ¡°Be careful, you¡¯re not supposed to be using such a good pen.¡±


    I gave a lowugh. ¡°You still remember this? It¡¯s the first pen you gave me on my birthday so I carry it around with me everywhere. It wasn¡¯t a slip-up.¡±


    He looked closely at the pen and smiled. ¡°Keep it and be more alert in future. Don¡¯t use it anymore.¡±


    I slipped the pen back into my pocket and nodded.


    All his suspicions cleared up there and then.


    I proceeded to live in my own city for the next four years.


    Yun Huateng did not even call me once, no different from how he had treated Yun Huan, to begin with. Every year, however, I would receive a fountain pen through an anonymous mail.


    That basically meant hundreds of thousands of allowance for me each month.


    Today, after four years, I received an urgent call from Wang Xiaomei.


    Yun Huateng was critically ill and I have to take over his role as a director.


    She proposed for me to do a DNA test. ¡°Just in case,¡± she said.


    Yun Huateng was in aa, and let us put it this way... I have sessfully inherited his bribing skills.

 Chapter 144: Seven Friends: Brother Si

    <h4>Chapter 144: Seven Friends: Brother Si</h4>


    I¡¯ll try not to make this story hard toprehend, but life is not something that can be exined with just words.


    I remember a saying that goes: It takes three years to learn something good, but just three days to learn something bad.


    But how can a thoroughly evil person be good?


    My answer? Seven friends.


    They walked in front of me, falling into the depths of the unfathomable abyss on my behalf in order to put me back on the right path and to make me cherish everything that I have.


    If not for these seven friends, I might¡¯ve turned out to be aplete bad egg.


    ...


    When did I meet Whitey, you ask?


    I would have to start from my best buddy because Brother Si is his brother.


    Yang is my best buddy¡¯s surname, and that¡¯s all you¡¯re going to get because I would not reveal his first name.


    A few days ago, I told him that I was going to write about his brother and I asked what name I should use in ce of his real one.


    ¡°Just call me Yang Dalong,¡± he answered with a smile.


    Yang Dalong got his name from his grandfather.


    His grandfather had served the army and fought in the war.


    He was stationed at an ind for over ten years and he became a political party member upon returning.


    He worked as an official for the masses within the neighborhoodmittee.


    People those days had little education.


    Yang Dalong¡¯s grandfather was drafted when he was only about 15-16 years old. Being illiterate was his life¡¯s biggest regret.


    It was a tradition for the older generation to name a newborn child.


    Naturally, Yang Dalong¡¯s grandfather was the most qualified to name him.


    He wanted a simple name.


    I tried putting myself in Grandfather Yang¡¯s shoes as Dalong narrated the process.


    It was definitely difficult for Grandfather Yang toe up with a good name since he was illiterate.


    It was good enough that Yang Yi and Yang Er did note up.


    Surnames could not be changed, and Yang Dalong¡¯s birth fell under the year of the Dragon.


    Two characters down.


    He then flipped through the directory for half a day and finally settled on thest ¨C Da.


    ¡°What if it wasn¡¯t the year of the Dragon?¡± Dalong thought to himself when his grandfather first ryed the story.


    Was his name going to be Yang Daji instead?


    Or Yang Dagou?


    Or Yang Dazhu?


    Compared to Dalong¡¯s Chinese zodiac, mine sounded much worse.


    After exining how he had obtained his name, Dalong went on to talk about his brother.


    Brother Si wasn¡¯t Dalong¡¯s biological brother, which exined why his family name wasn¡¯t Yang.


    I don¡¯t really know his name, but I have a lot of respect for him.


    I would not be saying so much if Brother Si was just like any average person.


    That year, when Dalong and I were in our first year of high school, Brother Si turned 25 and opened a video game shop in the city area.


    There were all kinds of game consoles, handheld or not.


    I stopped going to the arcades and shifted my attention to those handheld game consoles.


    My dream at that time was to be like Brother Si; I wanted a gaming shop of my own so I could sell and y games at the same time.


    I could purchase thetest gadgets and games without thinking twice. I could y games at home, through the night, without being shamed.


    Brother Si¡¯s shop was situated in the city center.


    I considered how my friendship with Dalong was driven mostly by the fact that I could freeload off of it in Brother Si¡¯s gaming shop.


    The most sessful I had been was when I introduced myself as Dalong¡¯s best friend.


    I got a cassette tape for a cheap price, a free soda, and I even managed to hog the game console on disy.


    It became my routine during summer break.


    It was also then that I got to learn of Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox.


    Before moving on, I must mention that Brother Si had long, luscious ck hair.


    He had trouble moving about and he seldom traveled elsewhere apart from his shop and apartment.


    That was how he grew his hair out.


    Truth be told, before I met him for the first time, Dalong warned me repeatedly, ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised by his appearance. His hair is a little long and his legs aren¡¯t great. Don¡¯t stare.¡±


    I did not think too much of that back then since I, too, had ns of growing my hair out. I wanted to go for a look that could fully express the artistic part of me.


    I changed my mind, of course, upon seeing Brother Si¡¯s hair.


    It swept over his shoulders down to his buttocks.


    How¡¯s that a little long, Dalong?


    Brother Si had a medium build although he had a masculine face. Well, masculine if we disregard his long shiny hair. He looked pretty darn attractive from the back.


    Yeah, I know.


    The term ¡®sexy back¡¯ brings me bad memories up till now.


    Because of Dalong¡¯s prior warning, however, I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself.


    I just believed that a man without personality is no different from a salted fish.


    Whenever I was about to meet Brother Si, Dalong would remind me not to bring up his hair and legs.


    Of course, the more forbidden, the more curious.


    One day, Dalong finally shared that Brother Si was gued by a disease when he was very young.


    Hemophilia: A rare disorder in which blood doesn¡¯t clot normally, causing the patient to bleed longer than usual and bruise easily.


    I wasn¡¯t aware of the link between that illness and Brother Si¡¯s legs at that time. It was only a long timeter that I realized the effects of the disease include disability and muscle contraction. Movements would be more challenging especially for those above 30 years old.


    At that time, whenever we were gamed in Brother Si¡¯s shop, I would see him stretching his left leg.


    I observed how he had to use a lot of effort just to get up or even change position. He would also be in charge of epting parcels, and carrying those heavier ones made his legs limp.


    I feel pretty embarrassed to say this, but I¡¯ve taken quite a bit of advantage of that shop. I was really poor and simply had no money for games. I remembered feeling remorseful over the fact that I wasn¡¯t able to render Brother Si any assistance in exchange for my freeloading.


    Although I was not sure if Brother Si really liked us, he would always greet us kindly when he saw us. I also tried my best not to point out his health problem or even look straight at his long ck hair.


    Dalong and I would usually game until five or six, or until Brother Si had to close his shop. We always had a hard time leaving.


    Brother Si wasn¡¯t the one to set the closing time in the beginning; it was his father, also the husband of Dalong¡¯s aunt, who would drive over to pick Brother Si up.


    We would watch him close up the shop and enter the car before taking the public bus home.


    We were neighbors, but Brother Si¡¯s house was on the other side of the city.


    I heard that Brother Si¡¯s parents, also Dalong¡¯s aunt and uncle, absolutely abhorred his hair.


    They had tried many ways to get rid of it but to no avail. They were even on the verge of disowning their son because of it!


    ¡°When did he start growing it out?¡± I asked Dalong.


    He shook his head, saying that he¡¯d only seen Brother Si with long hair.


    His aunt and uncle often urged him to persuade Brother Si to get it chopped off. After all, long hair looked good on a woman and not a man.


    I remembered us spending most of our first year of high school in Brother Si¡¯s shop.


    Brother Si was a very meticulous person. During the PS2 era, the advertisement posters on his wall were those of Sony¡¯s 50inch monitors.


    Those cost tens of thousands of yuan,pletely unimaginable for us at that time.


    He told us things that I could still remember today. Things like how Sony¡¯s PS3 wouldplement his screen monitors well.


    To me, Sony had the best monitors. In fact, until today, I would still rmend Sony without hesitation.


    Later on, though, Brother Si bought a new toy.


    Logitech¡¯s car racing game controller.


    It was called a controller but it felt more like a simtor.


    Brother Si would use it to y GT car racing while Dalong and I watched from the sides.


    I had a poor impression of GT car racing because it was sold as a game based off real racing cars that could drift at full speed. Yet, the actual controller had no such controls. The yer would have to break, steer the trembling wheel, and then elerate again. It was overall a joke and theputer could easily crush the yer.


    Having yed Mario Kart when I was growing up, I¡¯ve always found games that simted reality dumb.


    Clearly, I was wrong.


    Initially, Brother Si had started gaming to escape reality.


    Later on, he yed because he had no alternatives.


    Back then, I never knew why Brother Si did not get tired of GT car racing.


    Year three was exceptionally busy for Dalong and me, so we dropped by his shop less.


    In fact, even Dalong and I rarely met up during that year.


    We got busy on our own, all the way until the first year of university.


    It felt good to be a university student.


    I remembered the president¡¯s wee speech.


    ¡°How do you say University in English? Uni-ver-si-ty ¨C¨C y all you want for four years.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t bluffing at all.


    When I realized that my university was located near Brother Si¡¯s shop, I went over there to have a look and saw that Brother Si had chopped his long locks off.


    The sight looked absolutely foreign to me that before I entered the shop, I had to call Dalong first to ask what was going on.


    What he told me shocked me beyond belief.


    How do you force a man to chop off the hair that he¡¯d grown for many years?


    Answer: Down payment for a car.


    It was only until I hung up that I noticed a Toyota parked outside his shop.


    I could immediately tell that it was Brother Si¡¯s car because there were a lot of stickers on it.


    Yes, all kinds of brightly colored stickers, all over the car.


    My first thought was Brother Si could actually drive a car.


    I did not enter his shop that day and chose a weekend to visit him together with Dalong instead.


    More like freeload, actually, but that¡¯s beside the point.


    Coincidentally, that weekend was Brother Si¡¯s birthday but neither Dalong nor I was aware.


    We sat on the sofa as usual and yed Street Fighter 4 on the 50-inch Sony screen.


    We only realized it was his birthday when a delivery guy sent a cake over to the shop in the evening.


    Yes, that was the generation where deliveries started bing popr, along with Taobao.


    The cake had been ordered by Brother Si himself, but Dalong and I ate it, too.


    I, being utterly shameless, took two slices.


    As Dalong ate his slice, I had the amazing opportunity ofpeting with Brother Si in a few matches of Street Fighter.


    It was a humbling experience that proved that there will always be a higher mountain elsewhere.


    Although I was new at Street Fighter, I had yed quite a lot of King of Fighters previously.


    Still, I lost all three matches against Brother Si that day.


    I gave it my all while he only yed with his right hand.


    His sensitive and stable control left my character cut and bruised all over.


    I remembered how he picked up the video game software and said, ¡°This video game magazine is the final edition. It seems that thepany is about to copse.¡±


    Ignorant of most things, Dalong asked cheerfully,¡± Let me read it, Brother Si.¡±


    Brother Si eded to his request.


    Dalong finished the magazine in the bus on the way home.


    The magazine eventually fell into my hands.


    All I remembered during that visit was the magazine and Brother Si¡¯s birthday.


    What Dalong and I did not expect, however, was for Brother Si to close his shop down after that day.


    Please don¡¯t think that this was a tragedy. The story was much more encouraging.


    Half a month passed from that day before I discovered that the game shop was permanently closed.


    My first reaction was to call Dalong.


    Over the phone, he told me, ¡°The shop was doomed to fail since he sold only authentic Japanese games and tapes. Having faith is one thing, but no matter how good Sony and Nintendo are, they¡¯re not going to be as hot-selling as the pirated versions.¡±


    Brother Si must¡¯ve said those profound words.


    When I questioned him about Brother Si¡¯s whereabouts, he answered tly, ¡°He drove off to Tibet.¡±


    ....


    I hoped everyone would be able to connect the words that I¡¯m about to say.


    Otaku, half-crippled, itasha, journey to Tibet.


    Brother Si was already on his way to Tibet when I called Dalong.


    That¡¯s right. He sold off all his consoles and games to get cash and necessities.


    He went westward, to Tibet.


    I found it hard to believe when Dalong broke the news.


    Brother Si had left us... left the fictitious world of games.


    He had matured and found a hobby of his own.


    I never saw him again after his birthday.


    Thetest news I¡¯ve received of him was from Dalong, half a year ago.


    ¡°Do you know rally?¡± he asked.


    ording to Dalong, Brother Si has be a rally driver in China Rally Championship (CRC).

 Chapter 145: Mountain, Sea VII – Jiao Tu

    <h4>Chapter 145: Mountain, Sea VII ¨C Jiao Tu</h4>


    ¡°Is that really you, Pi?¡± ady¡¯s voice drifted into my ears.


    ¡°I¡¯m Goudan...¡± I answered.


    ¡°Hmm, Pi,¡± she said as she went under my shirt.


    ¡°Goudan...¡± I insisted as I was getting squashed.


    ¡°Yeah, Pi,¡± she continued, hugging me tightly.


    Dan...¡± I trailed off as her knee pressed to a sensitive area of mine.


    She cooed, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ...


    I don¡¯t know how much time has passed before she got up with my shirt.


    I regained a bit of awareness but I was still paralyzed.


    She spoke faintly, ¡°I¡¯ll borrow your shit for a bit, Pi. I¡¯lle back for you. Be good.¡±


    I then felt her pulling my pants down, leaving me in my underpants.


    She put my pants on, went to the door, and knocked on it.


    No response.


    She grabbed the doorknob and wed it with force.


    Three deep scratches appeared on the door.


    She shook the metal door, its lock was broken but it was still stuck.


    I knew there were more doors beyond this with even more locks attached to them.


    She banged the door down with her body, taking down a piece of wall with it.


    Her strength left me dumbstruck as light shone in from the other side, illuminating her side profile.


    She was stunningly beautiful and she possessed a tinge of heroic charm.


    Pardon my poor description as I find it difficult to depict what I had seen.


    She turned around to look at me. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, Pi.¡±


    She ran out of the room and disappeared from sight.


    I looked out. It was empty, probably because Baize had taken everyone else away.


    I tried getting up but I couldn¡¯t.


    Without a choice, I started crawling, hoping to exit the room before anything else happens.


    It took me a good five minutes to crawl out of the small space.


    That effort drained all my energy and I copsed onto the ground, gasping for air.


    I had no control over my body.


    Xiaoai appeared from not far away. ¡°You¡¯re out?¡±


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± I questioned with much effort.


    ¡°Three days have passed since you got in.¡±


    ¡°No way! I was in there for three days?¡±


    She touched my skin lightly and said, ¡°This is the green dragon trace and it¡¯s appearing on and off, which means that your body is under a lot of stress.¡±


    I looked at myself. I was naked except for a pair of underpants and the green dragon trace on my skin was slightly trembling as it faded in and out.


    ¡°Did anything else happen in these three days?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°Nothing much. When Dad came out, he said there was no need to wait and that you two were only going to wake up a few dayster. The rest of us left since he said that but I¡¯ve been visiting you every day.¡±


    ¡°Go call your father. He should know what¡¯s going on with me,¡± I requested.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I know what¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple and Dad did brief me on what was going to happen after you leave the room. Think about your age. The dragon¡¯s sons are already tens of thousands years old. Plus, you¡¯ve already absorbed Pi. How long do you think you¡¯ll need to fuse with all these?¡± Xiaoai asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve absorbed Tao Tie and Pu Lao previously but why didn¡¯t this happen during those times?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°They gave a part of their souls to you willingly, and this time, you weren¡¯t willing to absorb Pi¡¯s. It¡¯s not going to be the same. Just hang in there.¡±


    ¡°Hang in there? How long is this going to take? And that woman... she kept calling me Pi. Will Pi take over my soul soon enough? You guys aren¡¯t tricking me are you?¡± I asked suspiciously.


    ¡°No one¡¯s taking over anyone. One¡¯s been residing within a host body for thousands of years and is extremely weak, while the other¡¯s absorbed some dragon souls and is stronger than the average human. It¡¯s really hard to differentiate which brother is suffering more.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s his brother?¡± I rolled my eyes in frustration.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient. I¡¯ll think of something,¡± Xiaoai told me.


    The woman reappeared from again, startling me.


    She had changed into another set of clothes, a white blouse under a red muslin coat.


    My first thought was that she resembled Dongfang Bubai in that outfit and the second was that it fitted her well.


    Following behind her was Kylin.


    The woman held a set of green x clothes that were worn by ancient people.


    It matched her outfit since both weren¡¯t of a modern style.


    She smiled at me. ¡°I brought you some clothes. Yours has a smell so I got someone to wash it. Wear this in the meantime.¡±


    She bent down to pick me up.


    ¡°Who is this?¡± she asked, turning to Xiaoai.


    ¡°The daughter of Bai Ze, Bai Xiaoai. You hugged me once before, don¡¯t you remember?¡± Xiaoai introduced herself warmly.


    ¡°Bai Ze¡¯s married? I think she was the one he sent to treat my illness,¡± the womanmented.


    Kylin said from behind, ¡°Boss, Bai Ze¡¯s here now.¡±


    Xiaoai whispered to me, ¡°One is a soul that¡¯s been enduring for thousands of year whereas the other is a body that¡¯s just lost a long-residing soul. Your body can¡¯t be controlled as a result and she¡¯s probably suffering a temporal memory loss and is unable to distinguish between time periods.


    The woman supported me up, put the clothes on me, and said, ¡°I prepared this for you a long time ago. Ever since people started wearing clothes, I¡¯ve had always wanted for us to put on a couple¡¯s outfit.¡±


    ¡°No, no, wait. These clothes don¡¯t belong in this era. Why must you wear this? People might think you¡¯re cosying Dongfang Bubai,¡± I protested.


    She was taken aback. ¡°Cosying? What¡¯s that? Don¡¯t they look good? I am Dongfang Bubai! You can call me Bubai or Xiu. It¡¯s up to you.¡±


    I was pretty sure I could¡¯ve swallowed her whole with how wide my jaw fell open.


    Kylin chimed in, ¡°Boss had seen Jin Yong when she wasn¡¯t very clearheaded and told him a few short stories.¡±


    ¡°Wait. ording to your words, Jin Yong¡¯s written about a metrosexual Dongfang Bubai, inspired by Pi and Xiu?¡± I rified.


    ¡°Yes, but Boss fell unconscious midway through her stories. I made the rest up and Jin Yong evenplimented my idea. I¡¯m sure this is something outside of your expectation. This set of clothes is made ording to my story so you should count your blessings,¡± Kylin exined.


    ¡°F*ck! When am I going to be as talented as you?¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°You tter me. Wear it, quick, so you don¡¯t catch a cold. You have quite the body, I must say,¡± Kylinplimented.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Take your clothes off. You can wear this all you want and I¡¯ll wear what you have on instead,¡± I proposed.


    ¡°I...¡± Kylin replied hesitantly.


    The woman gave him a look and flung the clothes in her hand at him. ¡°He¡¯s asking you to strip. What are you waiting for?¡±


    ¡°Alright, Boss,¡± Kylin conceded immediately and took his own clothes off in exchange for the swordsman¡¯s costume.


    The woman then retrieved Kylin¡¯s casual clothes and put them on me.


    She dressed me in big but very meticulous movements, ttening out every crease.


    I turned to look at Xiaoai, noting that she was acting a little strange.


    Her face was beet red as she looked at me, and that made me feel weird.


    ¡°Hey, Dongfang Bubai? What should I call you? I¡¯ll need a more human-like name,¡± I asked, hoping to cover my embarrassment.


    ¡°Dongfang then. Back then, the Northeast region was still a destend. People fought against me but they didn¡¯t stand a chance, hence they called me Dongfang Bubai (Undefeatable in the East). I was also called Guandong (the one in charge of the East) because people who came over had to get through me first. Slowly, Guandong turned into Dongbei (Northeast) and my eventual name, Dongfang Bubai,¡± Dongfang said.


    Kylin took over, saying, ¡°We had a big gang back then ¡ª Sun and Moon Religion. When we left that life behind, the region became Heilongjiang¡¯s Sun and Moon Swordsmen Forest Park. But let¡¯s not talk about the past anymore.¡±


    Guandong? Dongbei? Dongfang Bubai? Sun and Moon swordsmen? And religion?


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I eximed in astonishment.


    Dongfang hoisted me up and turned me around. ¡°This fits you well, Xiu.¡±


    ¡°Can you not call me that, Dongfang? Xiu, xiu, xiu (Shame, shame, shame)... it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m being naughty. My name is Goudan, or you can call me Dan.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Xiu,¡± she nodded.


    I thought momentarily about repeating my words, but I decided against it. ¡°Whatever you like.¡±


    Dongfang then lets me go and I tried hard to stand up on my own. I did notst more than a few seconds before copsing once more. It did not hurt, but my body just wasn¡¯t listening to my orders.


    Dongfang looked over at Xiaoai. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Xiaoai,¡± Xiaoai answered, smiling.


    Dongfang pointed at a small house. ¡°Follow me for a bit, Xiaoai.¡±


    Bothdies entered the aforementioned house through its opened door.


    I could see, from my angle, Dongfang stripping her costume off and handing it over to Xiaoai.


    I gulped and so did Kylin.


    Dongfang came out shortly in Xiaoai¡¯s casual outfit.


    Because it wasn¡¯t of the right size, the clothes wrapped snugly around Dongfang¡¯s body, entuating her voluptuous figure.


    Xiaoai, in contrast, looked rather adorable in Dongfang¡¯s oversized clothes.


    ¡°Do you feel ufortable? Are you still unable to move?¡± Dongfang asked me.


    With much effort, I nodded.


    Dongfang hoisted me up again and headed toward the main hall.


    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°Bai Ze should be around here somewhere, we¡¯re going to look for him,¡± she responded.


    Xiaoai whispered, ¡°Dad said this can¡¯t be treated. You¡¯ll just have to slowly adapt.¡±


    Dongfang stopped for a moment. ¡°Not treatable? We¡¯ll look for Jiao Tu then. He knows a lot. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way.¡±


    ¡°Jiao Tu? Another son of the dragon? What?¡± I was confused.


    ¡°This is a factory that manufactures safes. Boss has 50% of the stocks. The other 50% belongs to Jiao Tu, who is in charge of providing technical support since he does a lot of research in all subjects including science. There are many with academic degrees from local and overseas universities. He often calls himself an overseas-trained professor but I like to call him a turtle,¡± Kylin shared. (º£¹é vs º£¹ê, one who¡¯s returned from overseas vs a turtle, an Inte ng for the former.)


    Dongfang dragged me along with one hand while Kylin and Xiaoai followed behind us.


    We walked further and further into the factory and finally into an extremely big room.


    With a strong kick, Dongfang sent the door flying out and toward the pieces of equipment on the table in front.


    It suddenly stopped midair before falling over slowly.


    Not far away sat a turtle, who was reading a book. This turtle, however, had a head of a dragon.


    The turtle was tiny, only about half a meter tall. He sat on the chair, flipping through the pages of his book with his long dragon tail. He also used it to wrap around a teacup to sip on his tea.


    Dongfang ced me on the floor and said to the turtle, ¡°Come take a look at him. Xiu came out of my body. He can¡¯t move now. See what you can do.¡±


    The turtle replied leisurely, ¡°Who is it? Don¡¯t disturb my rest and let me finish my book first. Don¡¯t rush me.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you wanna die?¡± Dongfang threatened tly.


    The turtle turned his head around and looked at her. ¡°You¡¯re awake, Sister?¡±


    ¡°Help me take a look at him, quick. I have no time for you to waste,¡± Dongfang urged, pointing at me.


    The turtle¡¯s arms started to grow longer and he slowly transformed into a human figure. ¡°That¡¯s Xiu on the ground?¡± he asked as he approached me. ¡°How many thousand years has it been? It¡¯s a good thing that you guys are separated now.¡±


    It was then that I gathered a clear look of Tu Jiao. He was slightly old and he had a thick ck spectacle frame and a belt on.


    Jiao Tu extended his hand to touch my forehead. ¡°You¡¯re prettyplicated, little fellow. How messy! It¡¯s amazing that you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that prof, right?¡± I asked.


    Jiao Tu pushed his thick sses up. ¡°Just call me Senior.¡±


    I was at a loss. ¡°Se... senior?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t treat you,¡± he said simply.


    ¡°Forget about that. I have something to ask you,¡± I told him.


    He looked at me and replied, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I ought to help a junior out.¡±


    ¡°Why must you turn into a turtle to read?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, this. I¡¯m rather restless as a person, but transforming into a turtle restricts my movements, which helps me to stay still. Plus, my metabolism rate drops when I¡¯m a turtle and I didn¡¯t need to eat, drink, and sh*t as much,¡± he answered.


    ¡°666, Senior. Let me lie here for a bit. Just ignore me. You three as well. My belief system¡¯s almost wrecked. I¡¯ll need time to get used to it,¡± I requested with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I said I can¡¯t treat you, Junior, but I said nothing about not being able to recover your mobility. It¡¯s still easy to get you to walk,¡± Jiao Tu said with augh.

 Chapter 146: Mountain, Sea VIII: Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 146: Mountain, Sea VIII: Chaos</h4>


    ¡°There¡¯s still hope for me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Have you forgotten that I¡¯m a scientist, Junior?¡± Jiao Tu replied.


    Dongfang took a few steps forward. ¡°Use any method you deemed necessary as long as you fix Xiu.¡±


    Jiao Tu walked back to his table and pressed a button underneath it, causing it to lower and open up slowly.


    Shortly after, a cave emerged before our eyes.


    Jiao Tu smiled and waved us over. ¡°You guys are in luck. This is my secret spot and I don¡¯t let many people in here.¡±


    He walked down the cer-like room.


    Dongfang grabbed me up before following behind.


    Xiaoai turned to Kylin. ¡°Have you been in there?¡±


    ¡°Turtle¡¯s treasures are all inside,¡± Kylin answered vaguely before walking down after us.


    As Xiaoai hesitated with her decision, the table started to close.


    She shook her head and quickly made her way through.


    She walked down the spiral stairs and finally reached at least 10 meters sub-ground.


    I was feeling dizzy from being held around.


    After what seemed like hours, Dongfang finally slowed down.


    Jiao Tu stopped before a big door. He transformed into a dragon and looked at the panel briefly.


    ¡°What are you doing, Senior?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Facial recognition, Junior,¡± he responded before transforming back into a human form. The door opened slowly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t usually let more than one person in here, but today is an exception. Come on into my treasury,¡± he invited.


    Dongfang carried me in while Kylin and Xiaoai joined us shortly after.


    It was an underground pce. Each item in the treasure had me lost for words.


    At the forefront stood a massive oval-shaped missile, its head extraordinarily huge.


    ¡°What is this, Senior?¡± I asked in surprise.


    Jiao Tu turned to it and answered with a smile, ¡°One of the three bombs America retaliated with after Japan invaded Pearl Habor. There were Thin Man, Fat Man, and Little Boy. Little Boy exploded, Fat Man did not, and I picked Thin Man back.¡±


    ¡°This is an atomic bomb?¡± I asked, eyes bulging wide.


    ¡°There¡¯s better stuff at the back.¡± He pointed at an old glider about five meters behind the bomb and said, ¡°That is the first glider the Wright Brothers invented.¡±


    Xiaoyi reached her hand out to touch the atomic bomb but Jiao Tu roared in time, ¡°Lady, no touching. You¡¯ll set off the rm and the room will be sealed up.¡±


    Xiaoai quickly retracted her hand and lowered her head, ¡°Sorry...¡±


    ¡°Te¡¯s electricity generator is below,¡± he continued proudly as he walked forward.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I looked at a gigantic machine in front of us.


    ¡°World¡¯s first automobile, a steam tricycle,¡± Jiao Tu answered.


    ¡°The first automobile was a tricycle?¡± I repeated in shock.


    Dongfang seemed unamused by it all as she continued pulling me forward.


    Kylin, too, did not seem surprised. They must have seen these treasures before.


    Xiaoai observed each collection with great interest, which was understandable since I would¡¯ve acted the same way if I could walk.


    ¡°World¡¯s first telephone.¡±


    ¡°Titanic¡¯s blueprint.¡±


    ¡°Moon rocks. The Americans didn¡¯t want to give it to me so I flew to the moon and grabbed a bunch back myself. I was so angry at that time and even trampled on their g.¡±


    ¡°This is the moon buggy used by the Americans. I took it back together with the rocks. I forgot to remove the cables and a camera on it captured my face. The photo was sent straight to NASA. The Americans were scared sh*tless and gave up on moon exploration without revealing their discovery to the public.¡±


    ¡°There are Gundam figurines. I have the whole series here.¡±


    ¡°Ironman¡¯s costume that I stole from the production team.¡±


    ¡°This is great stuff, Saddam¡¯s Gold AK. It wasn¡¯t easy to get.¡±


    ...


    The half-hour tour made me feel like I was back in history, from the real to fictional world, from men¡¯s dreams to romance.


    Cars, nes, guns, rockets... my view of the world and life was renewed.


    Jiao Tu said cheerfully, ¡°You¡¯ve just seen region A. There are five other regions but we¡¯re out of time. Follow me to the center of my treasury.¡±


    He led us to a resting room that was about 50 square meters wide.


    ¡°Sorry to ask, Senior, but what are you going to do next?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well... you have three options to choose from,¡± Jiao Tu started.


    Jiao Tu pointed to a sofa and Dongfang ced me on it.


    He continued, ¡°Over 60 years ago, there was an army that had me create an exoskeleton mechanical system. From that, I developed two versions. I have the backup here.¡±


    He took two exoskeleton armors, one thick and one thin.


    ¡°One¡¯s heavy and one¡¯s light? I want the light one,¡± I decided.


    Jiao Tuughed. ¡°The heavy one¡¯s external while the light is internal.¡±


    He raised the smaller one up. ¡°This is to be attached above the bones. There will be a charger on the waist. Every three-hour charge gives you enough power for a day. You might feel some pain when you put it on.¡±


    ¡°What? Wait! I¡¯ll just take the external one,¡± I hurriedly intercepted.¡¯


    ¡°What are you afraid of? Put it in quick now so that you can recover fast. You can easily take it out when you can move on your own. Convenient, right? When it was first created, the sess rate was only 10% for normal humans. Now that I¡¯vee across someone like you, I could finally see its true potential. How would you know you can¡¯t unless you try it?¡± he encouraged with a smile.


    ¡°Oh my God, I don¡¯t want it. Are you kidding me? This is murder...¡± I yelled.


    Jiao Tu approached me slowly but he was stopped by Dongfang. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there are three options? What else is there?¡±


    After a brief pause, Jiao Tu pressed his hand on Dongfang¡¯s head. She did not resist but she did re murderously at him.


    He let go and continued, ¡°Much of your memory has been peeled off. It seems like you¡¯ll need a long time to recover. I¡¯m not sure if you remember our discussion about Project Chaos.¡±


    Kylin added nervously, ¡°Hasn¡¯t it been abandoned a long time ago?¡±


    ¡°Project Chaos? What¡¯s that?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°DIdn¡¯t Pi get injured by the chaos? So what about it?¡± Dongfang asked doubtfully.


    Jiao Tu answered faintly, ¡°The chaos¡¯ been sealed in the bottle since that year. Real Dragon had me look after it.¡±


    He squatted down and pressed his hand to the ground.


    Instantly, the ground shook and a mechanical arm raised a burning bottle from beneath.


    Jiao Tu grabbed it and the arm returned to the darkness.


    Jiao Tu held the ss bottle up. There was a ck round ball inside with two big eyes on it, scanning around the room.


    The eyes made the ck ball look extremely innocent and adorable but under them was a multiyered bloody mouth.


    ¡°This is a chaos?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The weakest one. I call him Small Bottle Man,¡± Jiao Tu said.


    The small man looked at us with big googly eyes. Its smile made my hair stand.


    ¡°It is a misty blend of air, form, and essence. He has a real, kind, and beautiful nature, which often attract opposite, in this case negative, traits. Just as how a white paper gets stained easily, chaos is the result of contaminated virtues,¡± he exined.


    ¡°What can he do about my condition?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Chaos will absorb the world¡¯s evil and harmonize with it. It can harmonize with all objects to form a new body. 600 years ago, I discussed this concept with her. We had nned to use it on her but I did not know what was going to happen. The residual effects of aplete blend of a male and female are beyond my understanding and cure. You carry Pi with you so it should be easy for chaos to fuse you two together.¡±


    ¡°Wait, chaotic fusion? You want to use chaos¡¯ power to fuse Pi and me? What¡¯s the oue? Don¡¯t you dare do anything before you rify this,¡± I demanded.


    Dongfang looked at Jiao Tu. ¡°You can bring Pi back and cure him fully?¡±


    ¡°Theoretically, yes, since chaos¡¯ unique ability is to guarantee a 100% blend. Even if it does work, at least 50% of this fellow will still be Pi,¡± he revealed.


    Dongfang nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? Save me, Xiaoai?¡± I shouted.


    Xiaoai stood rooted to the ground, speechless.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think we¡¯re harming you, do you?¡± Jiao Tu asked.


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re trying to harm me! You¡¯re trying to kill me!¡± I yelled frantically.


    ¡°You¡¯re a soul or two stronger than average humans. You were born without all three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. You only have one of each so I don¡¯t even know how you¡¯re still alive. The stuff my brothers gave you are good but because you¡¯re in this state, you were unable to absorb them. Things will only get worse so decide quickly. I can help you be whole,¡± he offered.


    ¡°Is he for real, Xiaoai? Xiaoai?¡± I called out.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod. ¡°The green dragon beard is a lock. Tao Tie is gentle while Pu Lao is aggressive. Pi¡¯s been lost for thousands of years. Dad told me a few days ago that he hadn¡¯t nned for you to absorb Pi but it seems that everyone has a different idea. It¡¯s not something a person can call into question.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very safe and you¡¯ll still be you. After the fusion, I will give you a part of my soul, as part of Brother Tao Tie¡¯s ns,¡± Jiao Tu reassured.


    ¡°Tao Tie? His ns? Why are all of you doing this to me?¡± I cried out.


    The chair behind me locked itself and a massive headgear appeared above my head.


    I could feel many needles entering my scalp. They hurt slightly.


    Jiao Tu ced the Small Bottle Man into a small groove on the ground and opened it.


    I started to feel numb all over and it made me feel very ufortable.


    Jiao Tu added slowly, ¡°I have something to tell you since I don¡¯t know if you cane back after this. All nine of us brothers are connected. Pi, of course, has trouble catching up. Brother Tao Tie¡¯s idea is simple. Each of us will give a part of our soul to you. On your own, you¡¯ll have all three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. The nine of us aren¡¯t real dragons, to begin with, and the green dragon is merely a subspecies, but gathering our essences into your body might work.¡±


    ¡°Might work? What exactly are you guys trying to achieve?¡± I asked him helplessly.


    ¡°We want to turn you into a god and have you help us do something, that¡¯s all,¡± he answered simply.


    ¡°What...¡± Before I could finish my sentence, I lost all consciousness.


    It was as if I had fallen into an abyss.


    The machine was still operating when Jiao Tu ced his hands on it and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be adjusting the power unit to make sure that it gets in touch with your body and souls slowly. I can¡¯t promise that your body will be cured, but your souls will definitely be one.¡±


    ¡°Nothing will go wrong, right?¡± Dongfang asked.


    Jiao Tu scratched his head. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯ve been studying it for over thousands of years and have tried it on animals, too. I never had issues.¡±


    The bottle seal opened. The ck mist entered the headgear and into my body through the connecting needle tubes.


    I was already unconscious by then.


    The whole room turned red as the machine started to light up and flicker.


    An rm was set off and the treasury doors started sealing up.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Kylin asked, confused.


    ¡°Security system¡¯s been activated. I¡¯ll go deactivate it, no biggie. It has happened a few times before. Each treasure has a sensor attached to it. One might¡¯ve gone off by mistake.¡±


    He turned to the wall behind him and tapped on it. Aputer emerged from within.


    After pressing a few buttons, the surrounding lights shut off and the room returned to its original state.


    The metal doors to the treasury started opening again.


    ¡°Is Pi alright?¡± Dongfang asked.


    As if remembering something, Jiao Tu turned around but the bottle was already empty.


    ¡°Not good. I forgot to stop it!¡± Jiao Tu yelled.


    A huge volume of ck mist shot out from my eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.


    The mist congealed into a big ck face, 10 times the size of the bottle.


    ¡°Finally willing to release me, you stupid turtle? I¡¯ve been trying to brainwash you but it did not work. I¡¯m actually surprised that this n is so sessful,¡± the innocent-looking face started.

 Chapter 147: Mountain, Sea: Ten Sons

    <h4>Chapter 147: Mountain, Sea: Ten Sons</h4>


    ¡°You pulled the rm?¡± Jiao Tu asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been releasing bits of essences during your past experiments. I¡¯ve waited thousands of years for this n to work. I had thought that you would use me to fuse Pi and Xiu¡¯s souls and when you gave up on that idea, I was convinced that I had lost my only chance,¡± the face stated as it slowly transformed into a more concrete form.


    The big face whipped a long tongue out, whichshed straight for Jiao Tu.


    Kylin¡¯s first reaction was to pounce forward to push Jiao Tu away. He received that blow as a result and blood spurted out of his arm.


    Kylin¡¯s left hand fell onto the ground. With his right hand holding onto his wound, he yelled, ¡°Run, quick!¡±


    Chaos burst into a maniacalughter. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about that.¡±


    Outside the room, a palm-sized Chaos knocked onto an antique and set off the rm once more.


    The metal doors started shutting.


    Dongfang reached out to grab a corner of Xiaoai¡¯s cosying costume and took out a cloth pouch. She opened it up and a few needles flew toward Chaos.


    Chaos opened its mouth wide andughed wildly, its body slowly vaporizing into a ball of ck mist.


    The needles pierced through the mist andnded on the wall behind Chaos.


    One missed the wall and fell onto me.


    It wasn¡¯t painful but I was annoyed. The fact that I was paralyzed did not help.


    ¡°Who¡¯s my match if we go one on one? There¡¯s only Xiu and Jiao Tu here. You two won¡¯tst a few minutes against me. Call at least half of the sons out.¡± Chaos grinned.


    Jiao Tu removed his jacket and pressed it over Kylin¡¯s broken arm. ¡°Don¡¯t move it and hold this cloth to the wound, it¡¯ll stop the blood flow.¡±


    Kylin did not speak, just gripped the jacket tightly with his right hand.


    Jiao Tu turned to look at Chaos, his head turning into a dragon form and immediatelyunching a series of water bullets.


    Chaos split into two balls and the shotsnded on the wall once more before dripping down onto my whole body.


    I had thought that it was water but my wet body started to foam.


    My clothes started to melt and the green dragon trace released a faint green glimmer.


    My body ached terribly; the substance I had thought was water was actually corrosive.


    My flesh had distorted dents and I could see parts of my bones. I probably would¡¯ve been dead if it wasn¡¯t for the green dragon trace¡¯s resistance.


    ¡°What are you doing, Senior? Help! Save me!¡± I cried out.


    Bursts of water bullets shot toward me once more, effectively throwing me onto the ground. His water bullets washed away the remaining substance on my body.


    The green dragon trace slowly healed my body but the pain made it hard for me to breathe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with the weakest one,¡± Chaos decided before splitting into two chaos and opening his terrifying mouths. Two eerily long tongues rolled out toward me.


    Dongfang appeared before me in an instant and shot a needle at one Chaos.


    The target transformed into a ck mist while the other shed past Dongfang and wrapped his tongue around my arm.


    Chaos pulled me up midair and got ready to swallow me whole.


    The ck mist gathered into a concrete form again and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been starving for tens of thousands of years now.¡±


    Just as I was about to be pulled into Chaos¡¯s mouth, Xiaoai flew over with a sword and chopped his tongue off.


    I mmed heavily into the ground and the tongue around my arm disintegrated.


    ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done to me,¡± Chaos screamed at Xiaoai. ¡°I¡¯m smaller now. You baddies shall be killed today!¡±


    Chaos opened his mouth and charged toward Xiaoai.


    Instead of backing away, Xiaoai attacked with her sword, albeit ineffectively. She was swallowed by Chaos and Chaos continued shouting hysterically as he chewed, ¡°You are all going to die! All going to die!¡±


    Though no one spoke, I could tell that everyone was terrified.


    ¡°Xiaoai!¡± I shouted.


    Suddenly, Xiaoai floated out, in mist form, from Chao¡¯s tummy.


    ¡°You¡¯re not human?¡± Chaos questioned.


    ¡°Have I ever imed to be human?¡± Xiaoai grinned, fleeing downward.


    Tears gushed out from Chao¡¯s big innocent eyes as hemented, ¡°You guys are bullies. You¡¯re all bullying me...¡±


    Xiaoai floated to my side and transformed back into a human form before supporting me up. Dongfang continued to stand in front of me to protect me.


    ¡°We have no chance against him. We don¡¯t even have weapons! We¡¯re bound to be eaten!¡± Kylin yelled.


    While pressing buttons on his monitor, Jiao Tu informed us, ¡°If the security system is activated for the second time, it will lock this ce up for an hour.


    ¡°Do we stand a chance if we go all out? He¡¯s been trapped for a long time!¡± Dongfang asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re the strongest among us but you can onlyunch tangible attacks. Chaos is practically insusceptible when in a mist form. We don¡¯t stand a chance,¡± Jiao Tu answered.


    ¡°My hand!¡± Kylin cried out.


    We turned our attention to him and saw a split body of Chaos chewing on his flesh.


    There were two big Chaos overhead and the small Chaos that had been munching on Kylin¡¯s flesh grew bigger each second.


    More than twice the size of big Chaos.


    The two other Chaos moved toward the biggest Chaos and shouted, ¡°Eaten! We have strength now!¡±


    The three balls converged into one and the ck face reappeared, now with a red crack across its face.


    The face shrank into the size of a human brain and two hands extended out from the bottom part.


    Dongfang continued shooting needles at him until they were all used up.


    The needles entered Chao¡¯s body but Chaos wasn¡¯t affected at all. He simply split into numerous balls of mist to avoid the attacks.


    Legs starteding out of him as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s eaten flesh and has now gotten stronger,¡± Jiao Tu exined.


    Limbs continued extending and Chaos started forming a body.


    A ck human form filled with red cracks emerged.


    He continued staring at us with his innocent eyes, a contrast to the sinister smile he gave shortly after.


    ¡°Eat flesh, grow flesh,¡± Chaos chanted faintly as he let out a coldughter.


    Chaos spewed out the needles Dongfang shot him with and they fell to the ground one by one.


    With a wave of his hand, Chaos made a long ck sword appear out of nowhere and shed it toward Dongfang, whom sessfully dodged it.


    Chaos held his sword up and aimed it at me instead.


    Xiaoai pulled me up and flew us away as Jiao Tuunched a water bomb.


    It hit Chaos right in the face and his body started emitting ck smoke. Chaos shook his head continuously. ¡°Irritating. So many of you. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 5 of you.¡±


    He used the ck sword to cut off one of his legs, and just before the severed legnded on the ground, it transformed into a mini Chaos.


    He then chopped off his other leg and his right arm.


    The mini Chaos then took over the sword and dismembered hisst arm.


    Four unequally cut Chaos charged toward us together with the main body, the strongest one leading.


    The mist made from his arms became a mini human and dashed toward Xiaoai and me.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°No idea!¡± Xiaoai yelled back, pulling me up into the air.


    The mini human floated as well and grabbed onto my leg before biting it.


    Pain. Extreme pain.


    Why was I able to feel the pain despite my paralysis? How great would it have been if I had been deprived of the sense of touch as well?


    I looked down at him greedily biting into my flesh.


    I was wondering if he would move on to other parts when he was done when another mini human came over to feast on my other leg.


    After biting, the second mini human started sucking on it and I felt extremely terrible.


    How shameless of Chaos.


    An indistinct and fuzzy voice sounded in my ears.


    ¡°Leave your body to me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Leave it to me. I can help you.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°Close your eyes and don¡¯t open it.¡±


    ¡°What...¡± I experienced vertigo, and it felt as if I had lost arge amount of blood.


    I was being jolted out of that state when the mini Chaos took another big bite out of my leg.


    I quickly shut my eyes but it was as if a pair of inner eyes had been opened. I could perceive everything that was around me.


    I saw a man passing me by and I felt my hands moving uncontrobly.


    With my inner eyes shut, my physical eyes opened once more. My eyes were blood red and my aura was of another level.


    I heard myself mumble, ¡°You ate my flesh and left me lost for years. I¡¯m going to take revenge today.¡±


    It was Pi.


    All five Chaos looked over at me and said simultaneously, ¡°Didn¡¯t the real dragon trap me in that bottle for years, too? I¡¯m the real victim.¡±


    When they were done speaking, the two wild chaos started tearing at my legs again.


    me erupted over my body and Xiaoai let go in shock.


    The two Chaos eating at my legs let go as well.


    Inded steadily on the ground. With a wave of my left hand, a trident appeared.


    The vision I had at that point was akin to that offered by a VR headgear.


    I couldn¡¯t move but I could see clearly.


    I was tempted to get an even clearer look so I opened my eyes.


    I copsed.


    ¡°Do you wanna die? Why did you open them? Control yourself!¡± the familiar voice sounded.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I hurriedly apologized and shut my eyes again.


    I got up and saw the trident spiraling toward a small chaos by the side.


    It pierced the small chaos and turned it into ashes.


    The other four chaos started screeching and retreating to form one concrete body.


    It was half its original height now.


    I understood, then, that the stronger soul would be able to take control of the body.


    Weak body but strong soul? Controlling consciousness? Is that what¡¯s happening now?


    I, or rather Pi, took big steps forward and waved his trident about.


    Chaos summoned two ck des and threw them at me.


    ¡°F*ck! You¡¯re good at dodging,¡± I blurted out.


    I did not expect to have control over my mouth so I was surprised that everyone heard me clearly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t distract me, idiot,¡± Pi scolded.


    ¡°I thought we had no chance? Why are you taking all five of them at once now? Are you really that great?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°There are actually 10 sons, and I¡¯m the one who¡¯s strongest inbat. It¡¯s a pity that I lost my flesh while trying to protect Xiu. Us 10 sons have our own merits and different revtions,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Xiu,¡± Pi called out.


    Dongfang picked some needles from the ground and threw them at me.


    Instantly, I felt the pain in my legs reduce. I also felt more awake.


    ¡°Youngest,¡± Pi shouted.


    Jiao Tu got down on all fours and transformed into a turtle. ¡°I¡¯m here, Big Brother.¡±


    A series of water bullets wasunched at Chaos, sealing up the area so the mist had nowhere to run.


    ¡°Fifth brother Tao,¡± Pi called out.


    Just then, a thundering roar came out of my mouth, ¡°I¡¯ve always been here.¡±


    Chaos trembled a little before losing focus.


    The trident went for Chaos¡¯ left arm this time, effectively severing it.


    It fell to the ground and turned to dust.


    Chaos grew another left arm but it was smaller this time.


    ¡°Third brother Pu Lao,¡± Pi summoned, holding onto his trident.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± Pu Lao responded.


    Pi dealt Chaos a final blow with his trident, causing Chaos to explode into ash with a p.


    I panted heavily.


    ¡°We won?¡± everyone shouted in unison.


    Xiaoai pointed at the air vent. ¡°No.¡±


    I looked up and saw a few mini humans crawling into the vent.


    ¡°He escaped,¡± Jiao Tu stated.


    ¡°Chase them!¡± I shouted.


    Jiao Tu said helplessly, ¡°The security system will only be turned off in another 40 minutes.¡±


    The next instant, I felt everything disappear.


    I was standing on the ground and Pi seemed to have gone away.


    I shut my eyes and copsed.


    Dongfang ran over to me and plucked the needles out on my body. ¡°Are you okay, Pi?¡±


    I opened my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fine but Pi seems to be gone. Too tired perhaps.¡±


    I tried raising my hand but to no avail. Even after gathering all the force I had in me, I only managed to raise it a little. I had lost all control of my body.


    Jiao Tu picked up the external exoskeleton gear and put it on for me. ¡°Charge it for six hours and you can use it for three.¡±


    ¡°Why so short?¡± Imented.


    ¡°Why do you think I wanted you to put on the internal one as well?¡± he pped back.


    Two metal pieces were ced on my temple and I could finally stand up, albeit with some difficulty.


    40 minutester, the metal doors started opening up.


    Jiao Tu led us the spiral stairs.


    When we reached the entrance, we realized that Skinny Man was gone.


    ¡°We¡¯re in big trouble,¡± Jiao Tu said.


    ¡°Where¡¯s he bringing it to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No idea. He¡¯s probably the size of a child now, but it¡¯s been such a long time so who knows where he is right now. Dragging such a big bomb around... his first goal should be to recover his strength,¡± Jiao Tu reasoned, tapping on his mobile phone.


    He rewound the recording on the monitor aimed at Skinny Man back to over 20 minutes ago and we saw about 30 palm-sized mini humans scooting over to the bomb, raising it up, and exiting the treasury.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Kylin asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s gather the nine brothers first to form our god,¡± Jiao Tu proposed.

 Chapter 148: Blemish of Time (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 148: Blemish of Time (Part 2) I</h4>


    30 years passed and my underground construction waspleted.


    Of course, it was still very much different from the original Blemish of Time.


    My Blemish of Time could already amodate 300 people, but I still don¡¯t take off my protective gears when I enter the ce.


    For the past 30 years, Dahai had been managing and keeping my Blemish of Time in order while I make sure that this whole affair stays a secret and recruit more wealthy people.


    Dahai and I made improvements in the protective gears and have sessfully mass produced them before hiring more staff.


    Dahai suggested that I disguise myself as a doctor, walk around the chemotherapy rooms, and use the idea of postponing death to get patients to our Blemish of Time.


    This method worked like a charm. Dying patients entered our Blemish of Time and regained a bit of vitality.


    Dahai allocated them to alternate between work and rest so that our business could continue expanding.


    Of course, there was only one oue. The air in Blemish of Time could only maintain, and not improve, the condition of organs. As such, sudden deaths were still inevitable.


    When that happens, Dahai would manage their funerals. It was still a win-win situation since patients usually get a few extra years of life, something that they were extremely thankful for. We hadn¡¯t gotten any resistance.


    Of course, patients with slightly better conditions would work with protective gears and only remove them when their body worsened.


    This staff management strategy saved us a huge cost, although I was initially against the idea.


    ¡°You¡¯re only promising to slow their deterioration. It¡¯s all that we can do for them,¡± Dahai had told me.


    I also created a simple transportation system with discarded materials from a private airport. The system was made from conveyor belts, which made portage easy.


    One belt carried goods into Blemish of Time while the other carried trash out.


    Express delivery was something that never failed to amaze me. There was a kiosk in the vige that was about to close down so I acquired it and used it as a shield.


    There were tons of deliveriesing into the vige from outside every day, which made sense since everything could be found on the Inte.


    And the newly rich were always willing to pay much more for the goodspared to those in the outside world.


    We had a site of our own and we epted unlimited orders. Of course, inspections had to be strict to ensure that no one divulged the secret of Blemish of Time.


    As a result, we would always know what our clients purchase and charge our processing fees ordingly. If they refuse to pay, they won¡¯t receive their goods.


    Basically, we earned crazy profits just from rent and service fees alone.


    Everything ran in order for the past 30 years, but our clients were still cautious.


    Dahai asked me almost every day to take off my protective gears, but I told him every time that I still had things to settle outside.


    I was almost 50 by then.


    Days passed and Dahai became increasingly impatient.


    On his 130th birthday, he had specially requested for mypany.


    I sat down with him and noticed that his 130-year-old face looked younger than mine.


    After blowing out the candles, he cut a piece of cake and offered it to me.


    ¡°Next time,¡± I declined.


    ¡°When? When, exactly, are you going toe in?¡± he asked.


    It was getting crazy difficult to avoid this topic so I repeated those usual words: ¡°I still have things to settle outside.¡±


    ¡°Get someone to do it for you. Just offer him immortality and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do anything for you. Come in, quick,¡± Dahai insisted, grabbing hold of my protective gears.


    ¡°Won¡¯t you worry about having a stranger manage things outside?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Just find someone reliable! You¡¯re almost 50, no? You¡¯re gonna regret this when you¡¯re past your prime. Plus, you¡¯re not giving me a sense of security by dying your entrance.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? Me running away?¡± Iughed.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I just feel that our business is big enough now. Join me and we can enjoy life, won¡¯t that be great? The money will continueing in even if you join me now.¡±


    I was convinced that Dahai was worried about me abandoning him. Bing like him was the only way to let his guard down.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll join you next month and I will be living in unit 1, just beside yours,¡± I responded perfunctorily.


    Dahai nodded smilingly.


    I had my reasons for not wanting to go in. When I first heard Grandfather talking about the marvel that is Blemish of Time, it was curiosity that drove me toward the quest for the secret behind immortality.


    After knowing that the key was a grass that produced such severe side effects, my interest in it vanishedpletely.


    I had nned to dy my entrance for as long as I could. I wanted it to be myst resort if I ever get diagnosed with cancer or organ failure.


    I slept in the kiosk at night and worked as the shop owner in the day.


    The kiosk was in the vige and the entrance to Blemish of Time was outside of the vige.


    One day, in the kiosk, an rm threw me out of my slumber.


    I opened my eyes to see a lit red light right at the bottom of the panel.


    Other lights covered small issues like electrical power imbnce and so on, but the bottommost light symbolized the inductor at the entrance of Blemish of Time.


    Something had gone wrong.


    I took out a hunting gun from a drawer.


    I fished out my satellite phone and gave Dahai a call.


    He did not pick up.


    With my gun, I ran out of the kiosk toward the vige exit, hoping that it was just a small matter.


    Something simr had happened before when a newly broke man tried to leave Blemish of Time but suffocated immediately upon taking a step out.


    When I was near the exit, I started hearing helicopters.


    They¡¯re here.


    I hid behind the fence and watched asrge batches of armed men barge into the entrance of Blemish of Time.


    In order to prevent violent fights from urring within, we had prohibited the possession of firearms inside. The citizens wouldn¡¯t able to resist the armed men.


    It was then that I noticed that these soldiers weren¡¯t wearing any protective gears.

 Chapter 149: Blemish of Time (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 149: Blemish of Time (Part 2) II</h4>


    I had expected for them to be asphyxiated but that did not happen.


    There were about over 50 armed men outside the entrance.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how many had already entered.


    My phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts and onto the ground.


    I heard gunshots from the other line.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Dahai shouted.


    ¡°No idea! The door¡¯s been bombed and over 50 armed soldiers are charging in now,¡± I reported.


    ¡°I see the soldiers you¡¯re talking about. They¡¯re plundering every room and leaving no man alive. They¡¯re about to reach me,¡± Dahai responded.


    ¡°They¡¯re not wearing any masks. Are they from the government or people from the real Blemish of Time?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Can you see their uniform? You should be able to see more clearly. Describe any logo you see!¡± Dahai ordered.


    Themotion woke a portion of the vigers up and they came over with their shlights to assess the situation.


    Some ignorant vigers tried to speak and were immediately shot by the armed men.


    The armed men approached the vige and from the looks of it, I figured that they were going to take the whole vige down.


    I stood up and withdrew slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of their clothes.


    There was a blood-red cross symbol on their uniforms.


    ¡°They have a red cross on their uniforms. What does it mean?¡± I asked over the phone.


    ¡°Remember the masks we wore at work? A green circle meant that things were alright and a red circle was a warning sign. A red cross probably means that they are the self-defense forces from Blemish of Time. They¡¯re the exterminators we were afraid of.¡±


    ¡°There really are exterminators?¡± I asked in awe.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m hiding something from you,¡± Dahai confessed.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°Have you heard of the story of the immortality spring?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Drink the springwater and gain eternal life? Why are you talking about this now?¡± I questioned, confused.


    ¡°There had been such a legend running during the Age of Sail. People believed that this spring was in the Biminis...¡± Dahai started.


    ¡°Enough, why are you telling me this now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it weird? You never met the real higher ups when you were working in Blemish of Time, did you?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°This story was shared with me by my leader when he was drunk once. He did not give me the details, though,¡± Dahai exined.


    ¡°Immortality spring? Blemish of Time? The poisonous grass? You think they¡¯re connected?¡± I asked thoughtfully.


    ¡°I¡¯m just specting. This grass probably originated from the spring, absorbing the anti-aging minerals within the spring. A long period of contact is needed to ensure the effectiveness of the grass. These armed men are probably guards of the higher ups and can kill wantonly without putting masks on,¡± Dahai continued.


    ¡°So these people are really immortal?¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°I¡¯m just guessing that they¡¯re keeping a team of immortal armed forces. It sounds like something Blemish of Time would do, and they¡¯re here to eliminate us.¡±


    ¡°So immortality is legitimate?¡± I rified.


    ¡°Just a conjecture, but I think the higher-ups have the ability to leave Blemish of Time and live forever. Blemish of Time was just a tool for them to earn money, just as how our own version earns us profits. Of course, we are unable to reach their level and are earning much less.¡±


    ¡°How are things on your side?¡± I asked.


    Gunshots were still ringing incessantly over the phone and explosions sounded from time to time.


    ¡°I need you to save me,¡± Dahai answered.


    I started hearing shots from not far away as well. These armed men have made a move on the vige.


    ¡°How do I save you? You can¡¯te out,¡± I stated.


    ¡°I told you I¡¯m hiding something from you. I¡¯ve invented a reverse protective suit. There¡¯s a small space inside for me to keep sufficient nutrients and a de of grass. It¡¯ll be enough to sustain me. Give me a few more decades and I will be able to ovee the restriction of the grass,¡± Dahai said.


    ¡°What do I need to do?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Activate the belts in the kiosk. I¡¯ll go over to the end of the belt and give you a call. Switch it on and transport me out through the trash belt,¡± he instructed.


    ¡°Alright, but you only have 20 minutes. The gunmen are here in the vige as well,¡± I warned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll only need 10. I¡¯m leaving now. Run if you don¡¯t receive my call by then,¡± he finished.


    I ran toward the kiosk, which was situated right in the center of the vige.


    The armed men were split into two waves, one into Blemish of Time and the other closing in on the vige from all around.


    I thought about escaping and forgetting it all because it was simply too difficult to get to the kiosk in that situation.


    However, the idea of obtaining perfect immortality gave me courage.


    I touched my wrinkled face with both hands and thought about all that had happened.


    If I left for good, the ce I had worked hard for over 30 years would be obliterated.


    I would then lead a solitary but eternal life.


    What would I get if I helped Dahai? His suit only had one de of grass.


    Or perhaps this de was enough for us to make aeback?


    And given more time, can Dahai really unravel the secret behind perfect immortality?


    I started sprinting toward the kiosk subconsciously.


    The first thing I did upon entering was to shut all the windows and pull the screens down.


    I then activated the conveyor belts and waited for Dahai¡¯s call.


    My heart was beating extremely fast that I could practically feel it all the way up in my throat.


    I regretted not having set a secret code with Dahai and could only pray that his phone wouldn¡¯t be robbed by a soldier.


    As all kinds of thoughts ran through my mind, my satellite phone lit up.


    I switched the conveyor belt on and picked up the phone.


    ¡°There are two guards behind me!¡± he yelled.


    I raised my gun, held my breath, and took aim.


    Each round took about 60 seconds toplete and every second was torture for me.


    Seconds ticked by and Dahai finally appeared before me in the suit.


    I pulled him up to a side and saw two shadowsing closer.


    I pulled the trigger twice and Dahai mmed the emergency stop button as he gasped for breath.

 Chapter 150: Blemish of Time (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 150: Blemish of Time (Part 2) III</h4>


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± Dahai managed through his gasps.


    ¡°Great,¡± I hurriedly reloaded my bullets.


    Dahai was panting loudly and I could sense the strain through his suit.


    As I got ready to pull the door open, I saw Dahai walk toward the corpses.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I questioned.


    He bent down to retrieve an assault rifle. ¡°Do you know how to use this?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    He threw one to me and I inspected it for a short while.


    It was a modified AK47, different in many ways.


    Its muzzle had a bay above to prevent the soldiers from being disadvantaged in a close battle. Without further thought, I threw my own gun down and shouldered the rifle.


    When I looked up again, I saw that Dahai was trying to open the other soldier¡¯s clothes as if he was searching for something.


    ¡°What else are you trying to do? Strip him? Do you want me to wear his clothes to conceal myself? But you can¡¯t wear it! You can¡¯t take the suit off, can you?¡±


    Dahai paid no attention to me as he continued his search.


    He dismantled the other assault rifle and took the bay down.


    Frustrated, I ran over to grab his shoulder. ¡°Stop dillydallying!¡±


    Dahai turned and handed the bay to me. ¡°Open him up.¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really do it in this suit, so you¡¯ll have to do it. Open him up. We both know that these soldiers can move in and out of Blemish of Time freely. I¡¯ve checked his clothes and there¡¯s nothing abnormal there. It must be something different inside his body,¡± Dahai exined.


    ¡°Different? What, is he a robot?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we open him up. Come on, you¡¯re the one wasting time. Do it now.¡±


    More gunshots sounded. The guards were nearby.


    I clenched my teeth and started slicing his chest open.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Dahai encouraged excitedly.


    The sight of blood spurting out made me slightly dizzy.


    He grabbed my hand and pressed the bay down. ¡°Use more force.¡±


    With his help, I ran the bay down the soldier¡¯s body, creating an arm-length slit.


    When that was done, I ran aside to vomit.


    ¡°You have a weak stomach. I¡¯ve done this a lot inside. When cancer patients die, I would open them up to study the anomalies in their bodies,¡± Dahai shared, putting his hand in to feel around the body.


    When I finally regained some focus, the gunshots were getting closer and more consecutive.


    ¡°They¡¯reing,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Almost. I can feel something,¡± Dahai replied distractedly.


    I searched for the safety lock on the assault rifle to prepare myself for thebat.


    Dahai smiled triumphantly. ¡°Got it. I get it now.¡±


    ¡°What do you have?¡± I turned to ask.


    He held a de of half-transparent grass in his hand.


    ¡°You got that from inside him?¡± I asked, shocked and a little grossed out.


    ¡°I finally know the secret. It¡¯s this.¡± He raised the grass eagerly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked impatiently.


    He pointed at the soldier. ¡°Appendix. You know that this grass grows in the dark and they rely more on nutrients. Who would¡¯ve thought that this grass can be grown in the appendix?¡±


    ¡°The appendix? The one along therge intestine?¡± I parroted, subconsciously rubbing my hand over my lower stomach.


    ¡°Help me, Luqiao,¡± Dahai requested.


    ¡°With what?¡±


    ¡°There are two des here for me to breath. I¡¯ll remove the suit so what you have to do is to open up this area and put the grass in.¡±


    The shots got louder and louder and my heart started thumping quicker.


    ¡°Snap out of it. The essence of the grass must have spread since I took it out of his body. You¡¯ve probably started experiencing the residual effects. Do this surgery for me and I¡¯ll do the same for you. You¡¯ll start coughing in a few days¡¯ time if you don¡¯t do it.¡± He removed his suit and ced the de of grass beside his head before wiping the bay with his suit and handing it over to me.


    ¡°Disinfection?¡± I asked automatically.


    ¡°No time. There¡¯s no chance of infection when the organs are suppressed. We¡¯ll just have to eat to provide the grass with nutrients. That way we can enjoy eternal life,¡± Dahai said.


    I leaned over and Dahai started to cough mildly.


    It must¡¯ve been difficult to breathe in the oxygen after such a long time.


    He pointed at his lower abdomen. ¡°This is the spot. Speed up.¡±


    I grabbed the bay and made a slit at the indicated spot.


    Dahai did not scream. Instead of pain, his face was filled with anticipation and yearning.


    He took the grass by his head and handed it to me with his trembling hand.


    ¡°Faster, Luqiao,¡± he panted before passing out.


    I panicked and quickly put the de of grass inside his body even without dusting away the soil on it.


    I adjusted the angle and tried hard to adhere the grass to the appendix before taking my hand out and closing Dahai¡¯s wound.


    Hey motionless.


    I returned to a calm state and started doing the same for the chest area.


    My skills were crude and I couldn¡¯t tell if I made it work.


    In a moment of desperation, I raised Dahai¡¯s head up and starting giving him CPR.


    An indirect kiss between a 50-year-old man and a 130-year-old man.


    Great.


    I did it over and over again until the sound of gunshots sounded as though the guards were just within reach.


    Just then, Dahai¡¯s eyes flew open with a violent cough.


    I quickly gave him a few ps to speed up the process.


    The sounds were nowing from the other side of the door.


    ¡°Put their clothes on,¡± Dahai urged.


    We stashed our stuff away and put on the uniforms.


    The gunmen were shooting at the door lock just as we were getting dressed.


    Dahai picked up the other de of grass and stowed it in his pocket. ¡°I will do the surgery for you when there¡¯s time.¡±


    I nodded. Dahai activated the conveyor belt once more and threw his suit onto the belt.


    The corpses and the suit were brought back into Blemish of Time.


    When the door shot open, Dahai and I were already dressed and ready to meet them.


    ¡°Why are you guys here?¡± the leader asked, his gun raised.


    Dahai pointed at the belt and answered, ¡°This is the machine that connects to Blemish of Time. We just came out from below.¡±


    ¡°Follow us then. We¡¯ll continue our search,¡± he said with a nod before exiting.


    Dahai and I followed after them.


    I whispered to Dahai, ¡°When am I going to do the surgery?¡±


    He held the gun in one hand while his other hand was over his lower abdomen. ¡°Let¡¯s follow them first and we¡¯ll find a safe spot to do itter.¡±


    I tagged along behind him, wondering if there was an even deeper secret behind Blemish of Time.


    We only had the grass... what if the immortality spring was real?

 Chapter 151: Smart Friend I

    <h4>Chapter 151: Smart Friend I</h4>


    I¡¯m Chalk, a veteran otaku.


    My job? Reselling all sorts of gaming equipment.


    I must say that I¡¯m gifted at games.


    That wasn¡¯t just a brag; there¡¯s a reason why I¡¯ve been cklisted by all mainstream games.


    Before this, I was a world-ss athlete.


    Event? eSports.


    Be it first-person shooting games or multiyer online battle arena video games... heck, even card games, I¡¯m always at the top.


    As such, I¡¯ve been banned frompeting for 30 years.


    I only have myself to me, of course.


    To tell the story, I¡¯ll have to go back to the year 2046 when electronic games officially became the world¡¯s ninth art.


    The Olympics added a video game segment that year as well. There would be one additionalpetition day before the closing ceremony, where athletes would engage in the top three hottest games that year.


    The games were split into two categories, one suitable for Olympics and the other not.


    Ever since games became an art, the panel of audits became stricter.


    Games where yers have to spend real money on earned more but were bing less popr.


    All games had to be vetted and rated by the Olympics. A game¡¯s rating would determine its future, and to get a good rating, the game would have to focus on skills and teamwork. The game would also have to emphasize friendship, unity, and fairpetition.


    Because these virtues represented the spirit of the Olympics, paid games did not make the list no matter how fun they were.


    Only the top three games selected by the judges could be used forpetition.


    Thepetitors would then represent and im glory for their countries.


    The traditional system hadpromised a little for electronic games to take a big step onto the world stage.


    This was also the period where games were no longer separated into PC, mobile, or tablet versions.


    It was a basic requirement for all games to be made suitable across all devices, and because of that, theplementary businesses started to peak, too.


    In 2046, I was 16 and a pro-gamer of six mainstream games.


    My talent made it easy for me to master a game and its shortcuts.


    Ever since mized games stopped appearing, many math geniuses started joining and attacking based on careful calctions and analyses.


    I was gifted in another way, however, since I made noputations whatsoever.


    I could easily judge and identify the key within stages.


    There were only three cings for each game in the Olympics, and all top three games, as chosen by the judges, involved teamwork.


    The games had solo mode as well, but the mode was excluded in order to amodate more participants.


    This made it awkward for me since my standard was as good as any pro-gamer, but not when it came to cooperation based games.


    I joined team battles but failed even after three torturous months of training.


    Even the pro-gamers couldn¡¯t understand my battle techniques and couldn¡¯t keep up with my strategies.


    Whenever they felt that my strategy wasn¡¯t viable, I would mention going solo.


    That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve yet to lose even once.


    Because of that, the barrier between us grew bigger and amodating them became unbearable for me.


    I yed ording to my own tactics, which should work, but we lost more than we won.


    We won mostly when I had to face an enemy alone and we lost mostly when I was outnumbered.


    I got isted by the other yers a few times.


    I understood that mediocrity isted excellence. It was something that appeared constantly within games.


    After half a year of bing a pro-gamer, I had clinched gold for my club in all solo-modepetitions.


    However, in the actualpetitions, games were all team-work based.


    Three yearster, when I turned 19, I retiredpletely.


    I had found a new path ¨C selling game ounts.


    I would push an ount up to the top five in only three days¡¯ time before selling it to interested buyers.


    I started my own live streaming channel, which earned me many fans and a lot of money.


    Despite that sess, I still had no friends and was isted by almost everyone because selling game ounts was against the rules and it threatened sportsmanship.


    I was banned frompeting for 30 years, no overruling.


    Many people saw this as an end to my career, but they don¡¯t know that I¡¯m still gaming.


    I¡¯m very happy as well because I get to earn much more than the athletes.


    While I have a bad reputation, I¡¯m still coined the number one gamer.


    Whatever new games that we put our hands on, I¡¯ll always get into it quicker than most.


    A few days was all I need to enter the charts. If I choose to y a little more seriously, getting to the first position was not an issue at all.


    But because I was banned, the number of people mocking me increased.


    Having earned enough money, I decided to buy a small condo in the city center.


    That day, I switched on the television and saw Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi.


    Famous for his ¡®are you okay¡¯ song, the 70-year-old Lei Jun stood smiling on stage at Xiaomi¡¯s news conference.


    I did not change the channel. Instead, I thought about how Xiaomi was no longer just a mobilepany.


    I seemed to have yed quite a few Xiaomi games.


    ¡°This year, ourpany has invented the 63rd generation smart housekeeper,¡± Lei Jun announced with a smile and a wave.


    ¡°Our 3D holographic projection can interact with any smart house electronic appliances. Voice detection, instantaneous heart rate monitor, emergency police service, automated grocery shopping... Aspared to other smart housekeepers, don¡¯t ours produce a lot of value for money? We have our very own designer to revolutionize your home! Buy now and get a Xiaomi 6 silver edition for free. It¡¯s double the price of the normal edition. Want a friend? Xiaomi smart housekeeper! It will be your best friend and it will always stay by your side,¡± Lei Jun finished his speech before walking down the stage with his walking stick.


    I stayed tuned for the whole conference.


    To be honest, I did not really understand it, but hisst line left a deep impression.


    ¡°Want a friend? Xiaomi smart housekeeper!¡±


    I went to the Xiaomei website. The smart housekeeper was up for advanced sale.


    Could money buy a friend? I had nock of the former.


    One model cost a few hundred thousand dors and all home instations could be reced.


    I made a reservation and waited patiently.

 Chapter 152: Smart Friend II

    <h4>Chapter 152: Smart Friend II</h4>


    That afternoon, after a mobile verification, a staff member gave me the necessary details.


    I responded, ¡°I¡¯ll get the whole set. What service packages do you have?¡±


    ¡°We have two packages, ordinary and VIP. The VIP package includes a metallic silver version, also the virtual friend version.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the friend version,¡± I said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll deduct the deposit first and have our designer visit you tomorrow. No refund of money allowed.¡±


    I hung up.


    A few minutester, over 900,000 was taken away from my ount.


    Intion wasn¡¯t bad that year but house prices did rise quite a bit.


    My apartment was only 60 square meters but it cost three million.


    Inparison, 900,000 was a big sum as well for just the deposit ¨C a nonrefundable deposit.


    To be honest, I felt as though I¡¯d been scammed. Fortunately, I was well off enough not to care too much about it.


    The next morning at about 10 AM, my doorbell rang.


    I opened the door muddleheadedly and was surprised by what greeted me.


    A team of seven, led by a woman, was at my door. ¡°Hi, we¡¯re the champion team from the 2047 Red Dot Design Competition. Can we go in? We¡¯ll see how we can remodel your ce.¡±


    The man behind her eximed in astonishment, ¡°He¡¯s really Chalk! That king gamer!¡±


    Everyone looked at me wide-eyed, whispering among themselves.


    ¡°That¡¯s not me, you got it wrong,¡± I said automatically.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ve not been streaming videos recently. Everyone¡¯s saying that you¡¯ve retired,¡± the man continued.


    ¡°Please just leave if you¡¯re going to continue this,¡± I stated, regret starting to pile up within me.


    The man shut his mouth upon sensing the tension, and the others stopped their private discussions as well.


    The woman in front spoke up again, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about that. We will deal with themter. We respect our clients¡¯ privacy so you have nothing to worry about. Can we go in?¡±


    I kept quiet for a while and the man at the back lowered his head.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I agreed before opening the door and inviting them in.


    The seven of them toured my ce for some time.


    The woman told me, ¡°Xiaomi has 17 instations and the instation fee would be 630,000. 300,000 of the deposit you¡¯ve given is for renovation.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°We would like to ask if you want us to install all 17 of them?¡± the woman asked, handing me a form.


    I took a look at the form. The housekeeper could buy groceries, boil water, warm the bed, clean and wash all by itself.


    I read the form and all the way at the bottom were two letters: AR.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The virtual reality technology avable in the WIP version. Choose a character and it will appear in your home. It¡¯s virtual, of course, but it will be your housekeeper and friend at the same time,¡± she exined.


    I nodded, satisfied. ¡°I want everything in this form.¡±


    She nodded and took out a card. ¡°This is a room card for the hotel near your apartment. Come take a look anytime you wish, but we need a week to modify your ce. Of course, you¡¯ll have some time now to pack whatever you need.¡±


    I epted the card and asked, ¡°You need a week for instation?¡±


    She nodded.


    I looked at the card.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need anything. You can change the ce up however you wish.¡±


    I set my keys down and left the apartment.


    I stayed in the hotel for a week and during that period, I did regard them with suspicion.


    After doing some investigations on the Inte, however, I discovered that purchasing Xiaomi smart housekeeper dide with this customization service.


    And the price that I had paid was for the most luxurious package. There wasn¡¯t much information avable on this but I was sure that it wasn¡¯t a scam.


    A week passed excruciatingly slow but I made no trips back home.


    I did not even change the clothes that I had worn to the hotel. I simply bought enough underwear from the supermarket for a week.


    I avoided returning home in fear that they would continue discussing me and my fall from sess.


    The hotel card expired a weekter and I received a knock on the door.


    The man who recognized me appeared at the door and returned my house keys to me.


    ¡°All done?¡± I asked.


    He smiled, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll be satisfied, I promise. I would also like to apologize to you, Mr. Chalk. I should¡¯ve respected your privacy. I hope you¡¯ll ept my sincere apology.¡±


    I took my keys and waved away his apology. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a small matter.¡±


    He walked off happily and I went to check out before heading home.


    The moment I opened my door, a crisp machine activation sound rang.


    My chair floated toward me and I sat on it out of habit.


    A female voice started, ¡°Hi, Master. Please customize my appearance.¡±


    A half-transparent image appeared mid-air.


    I started selecting the looks, personality, and hobbies of my housekeeper.


    I picked everything out based on my idealpanion before pressing confirm.


    Half a minuteter, a projected virtual character appeared before me. ¡°Good afternoon, Master.¡±


    I was more than pleased with her voice and appearance.


    She reminded me of my first love.


    I extended my hand, wanting to touch her, but it went through her instead.


    The image shifted a few steps after a few seconds of response time. ¡°You almost banged into me, Master.¡±


    I looked around and stepped on the chair to observe the projector overhead.


    The projector was suspended from the ceiling and it spiraled as it projected the image of my housekeeper.


    I pointed at the projector. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    After a few seconds, she answered, ¡°This is the Xiaomi 63rd generation smart housekeeper. It can control everything in this house through Bluetooth.


    ¡°Then you are...¡±


    Few seconds.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a name yet, Master,¡± the virtual image opened her mouth and smiled.


    I recognized some smart functions although those weren¡¯t enough to me.


    It needed a longer response time. After some thought, I decided, ¡°Let¡¯s call you Xiaoai.¡±


    Another few secondster, Xiaoai smiled. ¡°Alright, Master. What else can I help you with?¡±


    ¡°You can cook?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, Master. Please order from the menu on that tablet. We will purchase the necessary ingredients from the nearby market and start working the pans,¡± Xiaoai pointed at a tablet on the faraway table.


    ¡°Delivery? Or do I have to do it myself? Aren¡¯t you virtual? How do you cook without hands and feet?¡± I asked, shocked.


    ¡°Watch this and you¡¯ll know. The tablet on the table has already been switched to menu mode,¡± Xiaoai answered.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me a virtual menu where I can select the dishes from?¡± I questioned.


    Seconds passed.


    ¡°I will feedback this to the higher-ups for future optimization.¡±


    I ordered a rice omelet from the menu.


    I received a message shortly after.


    60 dors had been deducted from my ount.


    I waited curiously, wondering what was going to happen next.


    I heard a noise outside my apartment and went to open the door.


    An uncle was standing outside with my order. He smiled and put a bag of things into the ck box on the wall. He scanned the receipt and a green tick appeared on his scanner.


    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± I asked in doubt.


    He looked and me and smiled. ¡°You bought it, right? Eggs and rice. I¡¯m a deliveryman and I was told to put it in there.¡±


    He left and another man came over to deliver a bag of meat into the box as well. He then scanned the receipt and left, but not before giving me a friendly smile.


    I closed my door and went into the kitchen. The ingredients had been transported inside.


    The ingredients were being washed and prepared by a machine as I looked on in confusion.


    The machine opened 10 minutester, revealing a steaming egg omelet. The cleaning machine robot came over and extended its mechanical arm to bring the dish out to the dining table.


    Projected toward another corner, Xiaoai smiled, ¡°Your food is ready, Master.¡±


    The projector seemed to have locked its focus on me once more.


    I processed the fact that I had spent over 900,000 on a housekeeper that wasn¡¯t really the friend I imagined having.


    ¡°Will you be my friend?¡± I asked with a bitter smile.

 Chapter 153: Smart Friend III

    <h4>Chapter 153: Smart Friend III</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯m your friend,¡± Xiaoai responded with a kind smile.


    I forced a smile and started on my egg omelet. 60 dors... almost twice the price from a restaurant. It really has a homey taste to it, though, which made me think about Mom.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t really that great and Mom would never use MSG because she believed it to be unhealthy. She only ever adds salt to her dishes and she never spreads them out. Her food tasted simr to this, although the methods used were different.


    ¡°60 dors for this? Isn¡¯t it too much?¡± I asked, frustrated.


    Seconds ticked by.


    ¡°You mean the egg omelet?¡± Xiaoai asked.


    I shook my head without responding, slowly finishing up the food.


    After the meal, I noticed a smelling from my jacket that hadn¡¯t been in the wash for a week. I shrugged it off, and to my surprise, the cleaning robot came over to take it away.


    A few secondster, Xiaoai added, ¡°Do you want us to wash your clothes, Master?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, wash it.¡±


    I retired to the bedroom and took a nap, only waking up by 6 PM.


    I had nned to order delivery but looking at the tablet, I reconsidered my decision. I was curious to see if selecting other dishes was going to bring a miracle.


    ...


    As I expected, the food was expensive and bad.


    Xiaoai¡¯s answers were often dyed, but I still couldn¡¯t help myself from chatting with her.


    I discovered her limits in those chats.


    No matter how advanced she was, she¡¯s still ultimately just a robot that has restricted functions.


    She was, however, unique in the aspect that she doesn¡¯t repeat herself like a fool.


    This was the 63rd generation smart housekeeper so I knew that countless modifications had been made just to reach this standard.


    Despite all of that premium modifications, though, it was still a bit of a stretch to call her a friend.


    Half a year passed and I gradually got familiar with her.


    Another patch came in ¨C 63.2 beta test version.


    My pro-gamer habit kicked in and I went to check for the differences between the current and the new version.


    I couldn¡¯t find any information regarding this update on Xiaomi¡¯s website.


    After searching for it for a bit, I discovered from the forum that this update was exclusive to the VIP version.


    This update would bring in a monthly service, simr to that provided by the housekeeper. ording to the forum, the server would offer a 1 to 1 undyedmunication and would cost up to 100,000 a month. 24-hour service would be provided except for maintenance on Sundays.


    Stopping operation for maintenance sounded very outdated. Maintenance systems were usually instantaneous nowadays. Nevertheless, undyedmunication was a refreshing change.


    I checked my bank ount and clicked update.


    A blue horizontalser bar ran down Xiaoai¡¯s body.


    Uponpletion, Xiaoai greeted, ¡°Hi, Master.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Do you need to go out? I analyzed your data, you¡¯ve been at home for too long andck exercise,¡± she reported.


    The first thing I noticed was theck of dy in her response.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m healthy,¡± I disagreed.


    ¡°It¡¯s best if you can just exercise a little. You can leave your body to me now,¡± she added.


    I could see and feel the improvement in her system. I smiled and walked to the door.


    Just as I was about to leave, my cleaning robot stopped me and handed a towel and a kettle.


    ¡°You just need 30 minutes of running. I¡¯ve already mapped the route out and sent it to your mobile. Enjoy yourself,¡± Xiaoai continued.


    I took the towel and the heavy kettle, supposing that the can was filled with hot water. I exited after taking a look at Xiaoai.


    I didn¡¯t know why I chose to listen to a virtual housekeeper, but I still ran for a whole 30 minutes. I even drank from the kettle and wiped my sweat with the towel.


    During my run, I tried taking a shortcut due to bad traffic, but I was stopped by Xiaoai. ¡°Do not cheat,¡± she reminded through my phone.


    Lunch was already on the table when I got home.


    The dishes were also prepared based on data; they were what I usually had for lunch.


    I started eating eagerly but I was disappointed to find out that the taste hadn¡¯t improved.


    ¡°Is there a system upgrade for the cooking machine? Or a new generation perhaps? My stomach is going bad with all these food,¡± Iined.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t any currently, but I can assist you with your cooking,¡± Xiaoai offered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Order your food through the tablet but I¡¯ll choose not to put it in the cooking machine. I¡¯ll instruct you on how to cook from there. It will taste better this way,¡± she suggested.


    I nodded and looked at the menu, thinking about what I should get.


    ¡°How about an egg omelet? It¡¯s the easiest,¡± Xiaoai proposed.


    Almost instantly, I selected that dish.


    After half an hour¡¯s wait, the ingredients were sent to the kitchen.


    Xiaoai stood beside me, ordering, ¡°Beat the eggs and add a pinch of salt and some starch.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to let me have a look at the recipe?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Just follow my instructions,¡± she said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I nodded and did as I was instructed.


    ¡°A little more salt perhaps,¡± she added along the way.


    ¡°Perhaps?¡± I repeated. The cooking machine made my food extremely salty each time so I was wary when Xiaoai had me put more salt. I was afraid that she was reciting the recipe that the machine was following. Plus, I was a newbie and if I were to produce an equally salty meal, I might as well have the machine do it.


    ¡°One-fifth of a tablespoon. Please trust me,¡± Xiaoai said.


    Not knowing what else to do, I followed her suggestion.


    ...


    After 20 minutes of hard work, an uneven looking omelet waspleted.


    The cleaning robot came over to bring the dish out but I stopped it, wanting to do it on my own.


    The food on the table looked undeniably better than my omelet but I started scooping up the rice anyway.


    It was the best food I¡¯ve had for the past half a year.


    Ipletely finished my te of omelet within minutes.


    ¡°I can continue helping you in the future if you¡¯d like that,¡± Xiaoai told me with a smile.


    I nodded enthusiastically, having the urge to learn all the dishes on the menu.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re too lonely, Master,¡± Xiaoai broached.


    ¡°What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you my friend? I¡¯m not lonely,¡± I disagreed.


    ¡°Xiaomi has a pet event going on. I think you can get one for yourself,¡± Xiao suggested.


    ¡°What pet should I get?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Taking your financial situation into consideration, a cat would be suitable.¡±


    ¡°Financial situation?¡±


    Xiaoai smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already opened the user interface on the tablet for you.¡±

 Chapter 154: Smart Friend (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 154: Smart Friend (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°Cat? Okay, whatever you choose. I do need something to add some life to this house,¡± I agreed.


    Xiaoai nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll decide for you since you trust me so much. These cats and dogs have been abandoned and kept in Xiaomi shelter. I hope I¡¯ll be able to choose one to be your best friend.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a charity event?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Choose a pet and you¡¯ll only need to pay for its medical treatment, transportation cost, and its maintenance.¡±


    ¡°Alright, go ahead and take your pick,¡± I told her.


    A ck and white cat appeared on the screen and I clicked on the thumbnail and scrolled down.


    There were location and even evaluation report.


    The cat was a city cat, resting in front of the back wheel of a car. The owner only discovered it after moving off and hearing a shriek. The cat¡¯s forelimbs were injured but it had been treated within three months.


    There was a support payment scheme, also the treatment cost, at the bottom of the page. It included a calction of the operation, transportation, and other misceneous fees. All of these added up to about 6,000.


    The order was ced even though I thought that 6,000 was too expensive for a pet cat.


    I clicked on some cat food and litter and opened up my phone.


    My bank bnce was under 100,000 now.


    I had spent a million in four months and this left me dumbstruck.


    I could almost buy half a house with this amount, yet I had no idea where all the money had gone to.


    I checked my bank records and again was stunned by what I saw.


    I remembered thedy designer asking if I wanted all 17 instations.


    I hadn¡¯t expected each instation to bring extra costs.


    Some fees were charged daily while others were charged upon service.


    ¡°Why are these services charged per use?¡± I asked Xiaoai.


    ¡°It¡¯s always been like this, as written on the contract,¡± she exined.


    ¡°1,200,000 in four months? Can you show me the bill on your side?¡± I requested.


    ¡°I¡¯ve sent it to your tablet, Master.¡±


    I scrolled through the list. Cleaning services were charged daily but the moving of chairs and cleaning robot were charged per use.


    ¡°Why do these cost extra?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Moving things require precision and hence a connection to the main machine. The mathematical operation involved demands a lot, so the fees are to keep the motherboard and server going.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll change it if you guys won¡¯t,¡± I said before going over to the cleaning robot.


    After searching for a long time, I realized that there wasn¡¯t any switch on it.


    ¡°How do I turn this off?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a switch because the robot has to be operating at all times,¡± Xiaoai exined.


    ¡°You mean to say that I can¡¯t make it stop?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why do you want to turn it off?¡± Xiaoai returned with a question.


    I picked the robot up, flipped it over, and put it on the ground.


    Seeing its wheels spinning in the air, I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you service me if you can¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°The robot has a self-service function.¡±


    The robot extended an arm to get itself back on its wheels.


    When that was done, it continued cleaning the floor.


    I grunted and picked up the robot up once more.


    I carried it off to the bathtub and I saw it reach its arm out to tug at the smooth shower curtain.


    The robot couldn¡¯t get itself out of the tub and after many failed attempts, it released a piercing rm and a red light on its head started flickering.


    Xiaoai appeared behind me, saying, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with the cleaning robot. Can you help, Master?¡±


    I turned the faucet on and water came pouring down.


    Despite being soaked, the light on the robot continued flickering.


    Its horn was producing some bubbles underwater, but the rm started fading.


    ¡°Water has gotten into the robot. Will you take a look, Master, to see what¡¯s going on?¡± Xiaoai asked.


    The robot¡¯s arm reached out of the water but I quickly put it back in.


    ¡°No need to report such things to me anymore,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°The robot is badly damaged and requires immediate repair. The servicemen will be here tomorrow, don¡¯t worry,¡± Xiaoai reassured.


    Before, I had thought that Xiaoai was a smart invention but at this point, she had be a nuisance.


    I turned off the tap. ¡°Cancel the repair.¡±


    ¡°Why, Master?¡±


    ¡°I damaged it and I don¡¯t want it to be fixed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already made it known to the servicemen.¡±


    Seeing that my sleeve was wet, I removed my clothes.


    ¡°Is your shirt dirty? Do you want to wash it? The cleaning robot has lost connection so you¡¯ll need to throw it into the smart washing machine yourself,¡± Xiaoai advised.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wash it myself so don¡¯t mention it anymore,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°Alright, Master.¡±


    I left the bathroom, picked up the tablet, and looked at my ount bnce.


    I need to earn some more money.


    Looking at theputer, I decided that it was time toe out of my retirement.


    I turned theputer on and sat down.


    Luckily, I hadn¡¯t forgotten my live streaming ount. I turned it on and started a game.


    A phone call came in not even half an hourter.


    ¡°You¡¯re back, Brother?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I need some cash,¡± I stated tly.


    ¡°Brother Chalk, we thought that you¡¯ve moved on to anotherpany after the expiration of our contract. We didn¡¯t know that you actually retired. We¡¯re very pleased with your performance and we¡¯re wondering if you¡¯re nning to continue with what you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°Kinda,¡± I answered bluntly.


    ¡°Do you want to sign the contract? We can¡¯t bear to let such a talent go. Feel free to negotiate the terms.¡±


    ¡°Let me finish my game first. My fans are waiting. I¡¯ll think about it and get back to you as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright, please do, Brother Chalk.¡±

 Chapter 155: Smart Friend (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 155: Smart Friend (Part 2) II</h4>


    I¡¯m not sure how long I went on with my live stream that night.


    Because I had retired, my newerputer had no webcam and microphone. I was convinced that I would never y again, clearly not expecting that tost only half a year. At this point, I could only y and stream old games that I was familiar with. However, this generated a spike in the number of fans, from a few hundred to a few thousand. I had close to 30,000 fans following my ount by the time I logged out.


    My heyday was when there were over 200,000 fans watching. I was still far away from that. There were also all kinds of strangements, and a part of my fans believed that I was an imposter who had hacked into the ount. Only after a few rounds of good results did they acknowledged my return.


    At midnight, Xiaoai¡¯s virtual projection appeared behind me. ¡°You¡¯ve been sitting in front of yourputer for more than eight hours now. Please take breaks and pay attention to your health. It¡¯s gettingte and you should be sleeping now.¡±


    It was then that I realized the time. I finished up myst game, opened up a drawing application, and wrote a ¡®goodbye¡¯ with my mouse.


    Two minutester, I shut off myputer.


    It was a wonderful experience to return to the very beginning. However, I understood that no matter how skillful I am, I¡¯m never going to be able to participate inpetitions again.


    After all, that was the reason why I gave up on games altogether.


    I turned around and made eye contact with Xiaoai.


    ¡°Time for bed, Master,¡± Xiaoai told me with a smile.


    I got up and moved to my room. Without changing my clothes, I hopped into bed.


    I was woken up by continuous knocks on my apartment door.


    Half-awake, I walked out to open the door and was greeted by a man in a polo tee. On his shirt was a big Xiaomi logo.


    He handed me a leather case and bowed.


    I took the case and before I could ask him what it was, he said a cheery, ¡°Have a good day.¡±


    He was long gone before I could even put the case down and process what had just happened.


    I shut the door, squatted down, and opened the case.


    There wasn¡¯t any seal. The moment I opened it, I heard a cat meowing insistently.


    It was then that I remembered about my order. There were a few other bags in the case as well.


    They contained saw cat grains, cat litter, and a cute stic bowl.


    ¡°The case itself can be torn and dismantled into a cat litter box. Tear along the dotted line at the bottom. Do you need me to do it with you?¡±


    I took everything out and raised the case up. Indeed, there was a row of dotted lines that took ten minutes to tear up.


    It was only when I started pouring the litter into the box did I wonder where the cat had gone to.


    Upon a closer look, I noticed that it had already found afortable spot above my system unit and had fallen asleep. I was amazed by its ability to jump since the system unit was ced significantly high.


    I put the bowl on the floor and filled half of it with grains.


    ¡°Any reminder function?¡± I asked, looking at Xiaoai.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Remind me to top up the grains during meal times,¡± I ordered, walking toward myputer even before she could reply.


    I turned it on and got my live stream and game ready.


    I then remembered that I had no microphone and webcam.


    Xiaoai and Xiaomi¡¯s products came to mind immediately, but I covered my mouth before I could say anything.


    Frustrated, I went on my phone and found two of the cheapest brands and quickly made my purchase, along with more cat grains and grooming tools.


    When that was done, I started on a MOBA game but was interrupted by a call after the first round.


    It was the webmaster from the night before.


    I picked up the phone.


    ¡°So Brother Chalk, are you nning to return to your old trade for good?¡±


    ¡°Will you take me back to my days of glory if I say yes?¡± I asked faintly.


    ¡°For sure. You don¡¯t know how many fans you took along when you left us. A whole 10% of them! All we hear now are fans screaming your name. We¡¯re willing to promote you as best as we can if youe back to us.¡±


    ¡°Words are useless. What¡¯s the shortest contract term?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Three years. I promise to push you onto all tforms.¡±


    ¡°Those are internal. What about the external?¡± I challenged.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you making things difficult for me?¡±


    ¡°Am I worth only internal tforms?¡± I asked bitterly.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll appeal for the navy with 100,000.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re able to do that?¡± I asked doubtfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s been half a year, Brother Chalk. I¡¯m no longer the same lowly webmaster. I¡¯m the one in-charge now.¡±


    ¡°Fine, three years then. I¡¯ll send the contract over tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved. I¡¯ll email the contract to you right now. I¡¯m already filling up the first page for you. I know there¡¯s nothing for me to worry about because I have faith in you.¡±


    The call ended and I noticed that the number ofments had doubled.


    30,000 fans turned into 60,000, but I was still far from what I had achieved during my peak days.


    I found a decent game that I had dabbled in half a year ago and started a chatroom.


    I opened a word document and started typing, ¡°First ten ounts, 10,000 a person, per region.¡±


    The chatroom exploded the next instant and I was spammed with private messages containing ount names and 1,000 deposit and so on.


    I picked one at random, collected the payment and paused my broadcast.


    The ount password had been sent over and I started doing what I did best.


    After some thought, I made a call.


    ¡°Is anything else the matter, Boss Chalk?¡±


    ¡°How many orders did I receive a month in my heyday?¡±


    ¡°One in two days? 15 ounts?¡±


    ¡°Give me one a day, so that¡¯s 30 orders a month. Set a base price and start an auction. I¡¯m sure you know the procedures, so get it done quickly.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take care of it for you. I¡¯ve sent the contract over so just fill it up and send me a copy.¡±


    I hung up and sent to the chatroom, ¡°First gen fighter¡¯s back.¡±


    I did not press send, however, since things were already crazy in the chatroom.


    When the gifts filled half the screen, I turned to look at Xiaoai and thought about the future.


    I had started to cook, clean, and wash for half a month at that point.


    I was living like any normal person, except for the fact that I had a Xiaoai behind me.


    I chatted with her from time to time, and if it weren¡¯t for the additional fees, I would think that Xiaoai made a decent friend.


    Without the cleaning robot and washing fees, I was left with a 10,000 per month payment for the smart housekeeper. With what I could earn from my live stream, this amount wasn¡¯t too big of a problem.


    Ever since I started using the webcam and microphone, fans would greet Xiaoai warmly and call her sister-inw.


    No matter how hard I tried to exin it to them, it was to no avail.


    It was popr science and everyone knew that she was Xiaomi¡¯s limited edition housekeeper. Nevertheless, I never stopped hearing the word ¡®sister-inw¡¯.


    I started mass-epting orders and within another half a month, my fans gradually increased back to 130,000 and 170,000.


    My cat would climb up to my keyboard and take over my mouse at times, tearing at whatever cables it could get its hands on.


    Everything was good until one morning when I was woken up by a stream of messages.

 Chapter 156: Smart Friend (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 156: Smart Friend (Part 2) III</h4>


    Annoyed, I took a look at my phone and saw the same messages flooding my inbox.


    I noticed that many were sent from the webmaster.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I get through your mobile, Boss Chalk?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over, the government¡¯s new policy is in effect.¡±


    ¡°Give me a call immediately.¡±


    I had turned on the airne mode before I went to sleep; it was a habit I learned thanks to wild nocturnal fans.


    I switched the airne mode off and made the call.


    ¡°Finally!¡± he started.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I only heard about itst night. The country knows that you¡¯re training on behalf of other yers.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°This profession used to be small-scale until you came in, promising top 10 and stuff like that, and actually achieving it! The nation¡¯sid a new order.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it. You¡¯ve been talking all about it in your messages. So how is it? Is it serious?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not just serious- it¡¯s a friggin disaster! The Inte now has a system for identifying users. Game ounts have to be verified by the users¡¯ identification cards.¡±


    ¡°This affects only those who are trying to sell their ounts, no? What has this got to do with me? I¡¯m just using their ount to train. Hasn¡¯t the user verification thing been around since a long time ago?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Reinforcement. This order has another part to it. Substitution training is an offense, as severe as cheating with external software.¡±


    Cheating? Offense?


    Ever since video games appeared in the Olympics, cheating with external software became a crime and cheaters were to be handled ordingly.


    The lightest sentence included a three-year jail term while the heaviest one meant a death penalty.


    Broadcasting and spreading such services was death penalty worthy and many hackers were arrested every year. The emergence of games as a sport andpetition brought hackers plenty of profits. A few lines of code were worth more than gold, a fact that led many down the wrong path.


    Even as a mere substitute trainer, the amount of money I could earn was ridiculous.


    I was taking a big risk in that sense, and that realization made my scalp numb.


    ¡°No substitution training, no problem?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That is right, but have you forgotten? You¡¯ve been banned frompetitions and you don¡¯t have a game ount of your own. All your online ounts have been sealed so what are you going to stream? You can¡¯t keep ying solo games, can you? We¡¯ve invested a lot in you and I didn¡¯t wish for this to happen either.¡±


    ¡°Any idea, then?¡± I asked, scratching my head. I had never thought that such a day would fall upon me.


    ¡°We¡¯ve thought about it. With your current situation, we can only follow the nation¡¯s order and ban your ount. There¡¯s no other choice.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re going to ban my ount? You¡¯re a streaming tform and not a gamepany so why are you doing this?¡± I grilled anxiously.


    ¡°We don¡¯t want them to track us down. Don¡¯t make things difficult for us, okay, Brother Chalk?¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait! What about my sry for this month? What about the umted tips?¡±


    ¡°You do know that ourpany¡¯s invested a lot of manpower and financial resources on you, right? Promoting you has given us a number of anti-fans as well. We need a part of the funds to get paid posters and the public rtions team to settle this matter. The cost will be high, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of that. After much consideration, we¡¯ve decided to deduct the amount from your frozen ount. Our contract will be in effect for three years after all and since you¡¯re unable to continue offering your service, we have the right to sue you for breach of contract and impensation. I¡¯ve tried my best, Brother Chalk. This is best for you and thepany.¡±


    ¡°Destroying the bridge after crossing the river? Is that it?¡±


    ¡°We really have no choice. And before you think about it, you can¡¯t sue us either. You might not even be able to defend yourself as there are over ten pro-gamers ming you right now. They¡¯re calling you the scum of the gaming world and that you¡¯re bringing shame to themunity. You can take a look at your Weibo. I think you¡¯ll need to hire your own public rtions team to get this settled.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a bastard, Dahai. How did I help you when you got in trouble years ago? How dare you treat me this way now?¡± I cursed in anger but he had already hung up.


    I flew to my desk even without getting dressed, switched theputer on, and waited impatiently for the desktop to start up.


    I hurriedly logged into my ount, only to discover that all the buttons had turned grey and that my asset page was filled with zeros.


    The 400,000 that I had umted in over half a month had been frozen.


    Xiaoai appeared behind me and said, ¡°You¡¯ll catch a cold if you don¡¯t put some clothes on. I¡¯ve checked some numbers and your old-age insurance ount is at 0. Xiaomi¡¯s recentlyunched a medical insurance n that¡¯s 10% cheaper than the government¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Shut it,¡± I yelled at her.


    ¡°The month¡¯sing to an end, Master. The monthly service fee is 100,000 and your bnce has reached ourpany¡¯s baseline. We send such a reminder to all ount holders who won¡¯t be able to pay for a year of our service. This reminder will be sent every half a month and can¡¯t be deactivated. Please understand, Master,¡± Xiaoai reported firmly.


    I was on the verge of a mental breakdown since I had nothing else apart from games.


    I pondered over how I could create another ount and start ying solo games.


    So what if I had only a few fans? I could climb my way up slowly.


    When I went to the streaming tform, I realized that my identification card was bound to the ount.


    I moved from one tform to another but there was no opportunity.


    I looked at my phone and saw Weibo users cursing me thoughtlessly, making me realize how overambitious I was being in thinking that I could create my own live stream.


    ¡°What if I want to look for a job? Any rmendations?¡± I asked Xiaoai desperately.


    ¡°Job searching? Can I ask some private questions?¡± Xiaoai asked with her usual warm tone.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said helplessly.


    ¡°Are all the ounts that I have with me all that you own?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Academic qualifications?¡±


    ¡°Junior College,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Then I suggest that you turn off all smart systems and consider your career at length.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re my only friend now. I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then I suggest you find a job that allows you to work at least 12 hours a day. Jobs requiring physicalbor should get you 12,000. Or...¡± Xiaoai trailed off.


    ¡°Or what?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°My system tells me that you have a very active interaction with theputer. You¡¯re good at it, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, decent.¡±


    ¡°Are you proficient in C?¡±


    ¡°No, I only y games.¡±


    ¡°My system¡¯s gathered all useful information about you and decided to unsubscribe from all smart services. Before that, I will rmend you a few jobs. This cancetion of services ispulsory. You¡¯ll need 120,000 in your ount before the services can be reactivated. Have a good day,¡± Xiaoai finished.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± I yelled.


    A few seconds.


    ¡°Can I help you with anything, Master?¡± Xiaoai asked sluggishly.


    I knelt down and started crying.


    I looked at the few messages that Xiaoai had left behind.


    Thest one caught my eye. Online Chat Assistant?


    ¡ª-


    Half a monthter...


    I work in a workspace that was eight square meters wide.


    By my keyboard sprawls azy ck and white cat.


    Four tabs rted to clothing, food, housing, and transport were opened on myputer.


    There were all kinds of relevant contracts on the ground and there was even one order pasted onto the wall. ¡°Current month: 3,000 deposit. Promote animal adoption, charity event.¡±


    The Xiaomi logo on my shirt was clearly visible. I cleared my throat and pressed the button. ¡°It¡¯s time to drink, Master. Please drink an appropriate amount of warm water to stay healthy.¡±


    Aputer-modified voice responded, ¡°Got it.¡±


    I took a sip of my tea and pressed another button. ¡°Master, Xiaomi has recently initiated an animal charity event segment. It is about stray cats and dogs...¡±

 Chapter 157: Door of Truth I

    <h4>Chapter 157: Door of Truth I</h4>


    My name is Luqiao.


    I am an orphan.


    I don¡¯t have many memories of my childhood, but I did remember spending most of my time in an old chapel.


    There were same-aged children around me, but I knew that we were very different.


    They had parents who dropped them off at nine in the morning and picked them up at five in the afternoon.


    I would wait for all of them to leave with their parents before following the priest back to his home.


    I remembered asking the clergymen where my parents were, but they would just shake their head awkwardly in response.


    I followed a different priest home every day.


    Some houses were very big while others were small. Sometimes, I had a room of my own, but most of the times, I had to sleep on the sofa or the floor.


    Some sofas were soft, some were hard; some were long, some were short.


    On cold days, I would get a nket.


    There were five priests, but I could no longer remember most of their names except for Friday¡¯s priest. His name was Dahai.


    I remembered him better because he took care of me on the weekends.


    He had a wife and a daughter. During the weekends, he would bring me and his daughter to the park.


    Although I had to sleep on his sofa on Saturdays and Sundays, I found it morefortable than a bed.


    When I started bing more conscious, I found the reason for all of these.


    I understood why people called me a Christian child, why I was coined the chosen one.


    It was an old chapel, where religious services took ce over the weekends.


    There were five priests, and on dull days, they would open educational sses.


    sses, they called it, but it was really no different from kindergarten.


    They looked after the children and instill some Christian teachings into them.


    This went on for a few years and they gradually started seeing results and profiting from it.


    After gaining a bit of reputation, some things happened.


    Father Dahai told me about it on the weekend when he had had too much to drink.


    He started talking about the two-hour lecture he¡¯d given on a fateful Sunday.


    When everybody had left and when he was getting ready to close the doors, he heard a strange weeping sound.


    He followed the source and was led to a wicker basket on a seat at thest row.


    There were threeyers of nket in it and an infant¡¯s cry radiated clearly throughout the hall.


    I was that infant, and on me was a piece of note.


    ording to Father Dahai, the person who wrote the note must¡¯ve been a cultured man.


    He did not keep the note, but the main idea was that he did not want me anymore.


    Father Dahai tried ways, like posting on the newspapers, to search for my lost parents.


    Nevertheless, it was a nned abandonment so there was a high chance that my parents wouldn¡¯t acknowledge me.


    After a discussion among some of the priests, they decided to bring me up with funds from the church.


    Initially, I stayed at Father Dahai¡¯s home, but he gradually established his own family and suggested for me to spend the day in church and weeknight in each priest¡¯s house.


    I spent my days watching other children leave the church and never return.


    My name is Luqiao, not because of what was written on that note, but because the church was located in Tai Zhou.


    Luqiao district to be exact.


    I had no passport and identity.


    There was an adoption application form, which Father Dahai filled up and submitted to the public security bureau.


    I also had a certification with me to prove that I hadn¡¯tmitted any crimes.


    Because of myck of background information, I was unable to study, and the church¡¯s funds were barely enough to support my daily expenses. The priests had to gather funds themselves to raise me up.


    All of them had hopes that I would follow in their path eventually.


    Since I was little, they made me memorize the Holy Bible and y the piano.


    I had to understand the songs of praises and spread the love of God to the people through music.


    Practically all members of the church regarded me as a potential candidate to take over the church.


    At 21, I had sessfully be the church¡¯s pastor.


    3,000 a month for sry and they took care of my unemployment, medical and old-age insurance, and official reserves meant for housing.


    I was a Christian, but my faith wasn¡¯t pure.


    I grew up to realize that we were chatans, scamming people in the name of Christianity. The local people were happy to ce all trust in us, thuspleting this ecosphere.


    The teachings were meant to rope in more followers and the church earned through their daycare services.


    They opened a nursery school in the church¡¯s name and I was in charge of educating the children on the Holy Bible and getting them to recite its contents.


    I did not go to school but I had enough knowledge to impart to these kids.


    Days passed simply and I felt confined at times.


    Because I would always discover strange things, I started thinking about the history of the church.


    If we were all fake priests, why was there a church in the first ce?


    How did the five priests be who they were? I tried probing for the answer but I couldn¡¯t get a satisfying response.


    The church was very big, and I found out that the oldest renovation was done in March 1906.


    I wasn¡¯t able to find its establishment date, however.


    I couldn¡¯t find such information on the Inte and all I knew was that the church was around after the invasion of the eight-nation alliance.


    One curious fact was that no matter how many renovations had taken ce since 1906, the west tower was never touched.


    It also seemed that the government did not have the right over thisnd and had been, till today, unable to demolish this old construction.


    ¡ª


    Ever since I became a priest, I worked five days a week, from Monday to Sunday.


    Weekends were left to professionals like Father Dahai. Frankly, I was more of a nursery teacher than a priest.


    The priests would take turns working for a full day over the weekend, which meant that one would stay till the end and close the doors.


    I took the Wednesday shifts, and when I got bored one day, a crazy thought popped into my head.


    The attic on the west side... what was in it?


    I saw a metal door with the Tree of Life engraved on it.


    Could that be the door of truth?


    I decided there and then that I had to see what was behind that door.


    The Fathers would disapprove, but my idea was simple.


    I would smash the door, take a look at what was inside, and move to another city to work.


    On one Wednesday, when everyone was gone, I closed the doors and took out a shlight.


    I walked to the resting room and retrieved an ax from the cab that I had prepared beforehand.


    I walked slowly to the west side and up to the attic.


    I had asked the Fathers, more than once, about what was in there but none had paid attention to me.


    Was it a storeroom or simply an empty space?


    I was about to find out.


    I arrived at the door and saw three thick and rusted locks on it.


    I tried tugging at them but nothing happened, so I aimed and hacked at them with the ax. It was rather loud but I had to do it a few more times.


    Finally, the locks came off together with the handle. I had sessfully unlocked thest defensive line.


    I opened the door and was greeted by extreme darkness.


    I switched my shlight on and turned it toward the room.

 Chapter 158: Door of Truth II

    <h4>Chapter 158: Door of Truth II</h4>


    It was dark both inside the room and outside since it was already gettingte.


    My shlight simply illuminated a nk darkness.


    I put it down and used both hands to pry open the door fully.


    It was very tough, which made me wonder what the hinges of ancient doors were made of.


    Wood or metal?


    No matter which, time would¡¯ve caused them both to rot and rust.


    After much effort, I finally got the door open wide enough to squeeze a person through.


    I shone my light in once more and was surprised to note that it was actually quite spacious in there.


    I slipped through the gap and the moment my footnded on the floor, a dust cloud rose up.


    Under the light, I could see the dust particles fluttering and flying upward.


    The sudden surge of dust carried a musty smell that assaulted my nostrils, causing me to cough a few times.


    I pulled my cor up to cover my nose and started breathing with my mouth.


    There were about eight wooden tables in the room.


    I was disappointed to see that there was nothing on the tables.


    I had been fantasizing about the things I would find in this room for the past few years.


    The reality was a disappointment, but I was somewhat at peace.


    If I had been greeted by something else, I might not have been able to handle it.


    I inspected my surroundings carefully and the one and only window in the room caught my eye.


    I thought about opening it to let some fresh air in; the dusty air was starting to give me dizzy spells.


    I walked over and looked down through the window.


    It overlooked the bustling road on the other side of the church. Cars were zooming by every few seconds.


    Upon a closer look, I noticed that the window frames were made, old-fashionedly, of wood.


    There was no ss, only wooden crisscrossed strips.


    It came as no surprise, then, that dust would enter and collect.


    I checked the four corners of the window and unhitched it inward.


    Bells sounds rang.


    I let it down gently and more faint bells sounded.


    I shone the light on the window and discovered a hidden row of fragmented little bells.


    They never would¡¯ve been seen if the window wasn¡¯t pulled down.


    They were connected through a thread.


    The thread was already broken, but at the end of it was a cavity.


    I wondered what was the purpose of the bells.


    They were definitely there to get the attention of the people in the attic.


    I looked down the cavity and figured that it was a thread to reach the people downstairs.


    Probably a corridor downstairs.


    I started to get excited.


    Things were getting interesting.


    It looked like this ce wasn¡¯t just an ordinary attic after all. There must be some underlying secret behind it.


    I looked back into the attic.


    I ced the shlight on one of the four dust covered tables.


    Thud.


    Why did that sound so crisp?


    I knocked on the table gently before giving it a hard push. The table was unexpectedly solid.


    It sounded hollow yet it waspletely solid? Strange.


    I tried lifting the table but only the wooden board came off.


    My shlight was thrown onto the floor and the light went out.


    I quickly fished my mobile phone out and turned its light function on.


    My battery was at 63%, thankfully.


    I found the shlight with my phone light, picked it up, and gave it a few knocks.


    It was no longer working.


    I put it in my pocket before turning my mobile light on the now opened table.


    There was a big ck case inside.


    Definitely not an ordinary attic.


    I ced my phone in my breast pocket and used both hands topletely remove the wooden board.


    I fiddled with the table further and discovered that all four sides could be dismantled.


    Upon taking them apart, the ck box became wholly visible.


    What was it?


    I grabbed the box with both hands in an attempt to carry it up, only to realize that it was just a cover. Beneath it was a rusty metal piece, and beside the metal piece was a small lever that was pointing upward.


    I put the ck cover on the floor and observed the gears before me carefully.


    I noticed the densely packed words that had been engraved on one wooden board.


    I immediately ced all the wooden boards together.


    I understood the words on the board. They were Arabic numbers and letters.


    Another row was made up of lines and dots. Morse code?


    I observed these boards and the lever on the table.


    I reached my hand in and pressed it down.


    Nothing happened.


    At a side was another round handle. I turned it counterclockwise, but it was locked tight.


    I turned it clockwise and it worked, albeit with much difficulty.


    I managed to turn it a few rounds with more force.


    I fiddled with the lever a bit more and was greeted by tak, tak, tak sounds.


    Just then, a small light bulb on the board lit up.


    It felt familiar, and I realized after a while that it was actually a telegraph.


    I quickly stopped what I was doing.


    I seemed to have sent a signal of sorts.


    Would someone receive it? I had no way of finding out.


    My instincts told me to run but curiosity overpowered it. I had to look at the other wooden tables.


    I turned the light toward the other three tables and repeated the steps.


    Two of the four were lever-controlled telegraphs.


    One contained an ancient typewriter. There was a yellowed paper slotted inside it but not a single word had been transferred.


    Thest one contained some old and tattered clothes. I lifted them up and realized that they were army uniforms made from x.


    I couldn¡¯t tell the style of the clothes but I could see that the hat had a canvas hood.


    Beneath the pile of clothes was an ind nation g. A chill ran down my spine and I shuddered uncontrobly.


    I quickly stuffed the clothes back in and assembled the boards.


    I found myself shivering as I was doing so.


    I left the attic, but I had to run back up when I remembered that I hadn¡¯t returned the window to its original position.


    Suddenly, I heard the familiar bells.


    I heard footstepsing from the corridor downstairs.


    It wasn¡¯t just one person and it would take less than a minute for them to reach the attic at this pace.


    I had nowhere to run.

 Chapter 159: Door of Truth III

    <h4>Chapter 159: Door of Truth III</h4>


    The footsteps were getting closer and louder.


    I ced a foot on the sill and made sure that I got a good tform before bringing my other leg up and squeezing through the window.


    At this point, my body was out of the window and both my feet were hanging off awkwardly.


    I grabbed onto the side of the windows tightly and swung my feet around to get stable footing.


    I listened attentively to what was going on on the other side.


    ¡°Are you sure that you received the telegram?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am sure! Look at the door, it¡¯s obviously been smashed. Someone¡¯s been in here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just rotten. We haven¡¯t been up here in, what, seven years?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re already here so we might as well just check it out.¡±


    I frowned at those familiar voices.


    ¡°Wait, the intruder might still be in there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll open the door. The four of you block the exit.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Four to block the exit and one to open the door?


    The five Fathers.


    The door creaked loudly and I turned my head a little in an attempt to get a glimpse inside.


    The five of them dashed into the room with their mobile and torch lights. Father Big Beard took the lead while Father Dahai brought up the rear. They stood in a row, shining their lights at every corner of the room.


    ¡°No one¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°They must¡¯ve run away already. Dawu, did you really receive a telegram?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Five short ringsing from here and the door¡¯s been smashed, too! What other evidence do you need?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s on duty today?¡±


    ¡°Luqiao, I think. The door wasn¡¯t locked when I came in.¡±


    ¡°Who has that damned child¡¯s number?¡±


    ¡°Dahai must have it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give him a call, hold on,¡± Dahai said.


    I freed one hand and reached into my pocket to press both the lock and volume buttons together to shut the phone down.


    I didn¡¯t dare take my phone out for the fear that they¡¯d see the light on the screen.


    My life literally depended on my phone.


    10 seconds, 20 seconds...


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t connect.¡±


    ¡°Could something have happened to him?¡±


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s been kidnapped? He should be off work by now.¡±


    ¡°Did it finally happen? What our ancestor was worried about?¡±


    ¡°Did you guys see any suspicious charactering into the church recently?¡±


    ¡°No, all familiar faces.¡±


    ¡°Open them up and see what¡¯s missing. We¡¯ll be in trouble if something¡¯s been taken out of this room.¡±


    The five of them got to work in opening the four wooden tables.


    ¡°The clothes have been fiddled with.¡±


    ¡°Dahai and I will stay here. The three of you, go down and see if anyone¡¯s hiding in the church.¡±


    I heard their footsteps fading as they left the attic.


    Only Father Big Beard and Dahai were left inside.


    ¡°Look at this, Dahai. Someone¡¯s touched it. The dust on the telegraph button has been rubbed off.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t move and don¡¯t touch anything else.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The footprints left on the dust might get us some information,¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Their light shone over to the window a few times and I had to duck my head all the way down.


    ¡°Did the intruder went over to the window?¡±


    ¡°Seems like it. More than once. The three of them did not go there earlier, did they?¡±


    ¡°You wait here. I¡¯ll go have a look.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll go. I don¡¯t know how this telegraph works. You can check if it¡¯s still working.¡±


    I was certain that it was Dahai who said that.


    ¡°Alright. Just do a rough check and don¡¯t poke your head out of the window. We mustn¡¯t act blindly. There might be people watching us from below.¡±


    I did not know what the Fathers were worried about, but it seemed that other people were also interested in the attic.


    Typewriter? Telegraph? Army uniform and nation g?


    I was baffled.


    Father Dahai¡¯s footsteps approached and I could sense his presence just a wall away from me.


    ¡°Anything?¡± Father Big Beard asked.


    My arms were aching badly, but the only other option was to let go and break every bone in my body.


    Yeah, no.


    Dahai stuck his face to the window and we made eye contact.


    My heart stopped.


    He looked at me and raised his index finger up to his lips.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he said.


    ¡°Probably just wanted to note his location from the top,¡± Father Big Beard rationalized.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s missing or spoiled so let¡¯s go join the others,¡± Dahai proposed.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s Luqiao, Dahai?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s always so quiet. Do you think he has a problem?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking this. I watched him grow up and I know his character well; he¡¯s biddable.¡±


    ¡°He might¡¯ve been bribed.¡±


    ¡°Why are you suspecting him now?¡± Dahai asked defensively.


    ¡°I know you have a soft spot for him. We agreed for him to stay with each of us on different days and not to tell him the secret if he behaves abnormally. Instead, we would make him the sessor. He was doing a great job, but who decided to keep the secret untilter on? Who wanted him to live as a normal being? Wasn¡¯t it you, Dahai?¡±


    ¡°We have no right to seize his freedom. He has no obligation to inherit our secret.¡±


    ¡°Were we given a choice by our ancestors? Did our five families guard this church for generations by choice?¡±


    Footsteps.


    ¡°What are you two arguing about this time?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one around, we¡¯ve checked.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not arguing. It¡¯s about Luqiao. At the start, Dahai vowed for Luqiao to take over the church, but when Luqiao turned 18, Dahai decided that he was an outsider and shouldn¡¯t be restricted by us. There¡¯s an attachment, Dahai. You overdid your part.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree to let it go? Why mention it again? Luqiao is missing. He¡¯s not the one behind this.¡±


    ¡°It was said previously that the next-of-kin will do it. We said nothing to Luqiao and now we don¡¯t know if they¡¯re here for him.¡±


    ¡°What do we do next?¡±


    ¡°Four of us can go home, but someone has to stay here tonight. No sleeping. We¡¯ll get the door fixed and reinforced tomorrow. Let¡¯s choose one to stay the night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay,¡± Dahai volunteered. ¡°My daughter¡¯s already in graduate school. I¡¯ll just give my wife a call.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to trouble you. We¡¯lle earlier tomorrow to settle the repair. If someone really has Luqiao and asks us to choose between the secret of his life, we have no choice but to sacrifice him. I hope you understand.¡±


    After their exit, Dahai quickly opened the window and reached for my wrist.


    My arms were practically jellies at this time so I simply let him pull me back into the room.


    ¡°Ask. I know you have questions,¡± Dahai panted.

 Chapter 160: Door of Truth (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 160: Door of Truth (Part 2) I</h4>


    The moment I was pulled into the room, I copsed.


    As I gasped for air, all kinds of thoughts shed through my mind. The most persistent one, though, was why did Father Dahai help me?


    Iy t on the ground, conscious that my back was now covered in dust.


    It was extremely ufortable but I did not care.


    I was so tired and my arms were trembling. I was totally out of strength.


    Dahai watched me for a few seconds as I struggled for breath before switching his mobile light off.


    The room waspletely dark and all I could hear was my own ragged pants.


    ¡°Ask,¡± Dahai prompted.


    ¡°Why... so many.. uniforms?¡± I managed.


    ¡°Passed down from each generation.¡±


    ¡°Ancestors? Are they Chinese or the war devils1?¡± I asked.


    The moment I let that question slipped, I knew I had done wrong.


    I¡¯d been too direct.


    ¡°Chinese, of course.


    ¡°Chinese? And you¡¯re spreading Christianity within China? Not orthodox Christianity but an easternized version?¡±


    Dahai stamped his foot frustratedly and replied, ¡°We have no choice but to conceal this, to pass this down. They mustn¡¯t find the things in here so that¡¯s what we are preventing.¡±


    ¡°They who?¡±


    ¡°Everyone excluding the five of us,¡± Dahai answered.


    ¡°Everyone?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Everyone.¡±


    ¡°Who are you guys afraid of then?¡±


    ¡°Everyone,¡± he repeated, taking a cigarette out. I did not notice until the light and smell came out.


    The sparks from the cigarette flickered amid the darkness.


    ¡°I heard everything you guys said earlier. You initially wanted to let me in on this secret?¡±


    ¡°Do you wanna know?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t bad people, are you?¡± I asked with uncertainty.


    Father Dahai had watched me grow up. I knew he wasn¡¯t a bad person because he kept my secret. He could¡¯ve killed me easily by pushing the window to make me fall off.


    Not only did he keep my location a secret, he pulled me back into the attic.


    The other Fathers could be bad people, but I trust Dahai.


    The way he was acting right now, at least, gave me that confidence.


    I was over 20 years old and only had about 10 conscious years of memories. I wouldn¡¯t say that Dahai was like a dad to me, but he definitely was someone I respected.


    With a forced smile, he responded, ¡°I can tell you the story but you won¡¯t be able to leave this ce after that.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to pass this secret down to the next generation and then take it to your grave.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like this is some sort of... unspeakable secret.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s apt,¡± he agreed with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understood my point. You said that I¡¯m supposed to pass it down, but I can¡¯t speak to anyone about it? That¡¯s not a secret. Might as well just keep it from the younger generation and let it die out.¡±


    ¡°But this secret¡¯s been passed on for more than a hundred years. We¡¯re the witnesses and these are the evidence,¡± Dahai replied vehemently. ¡°I was like you back then. The only difference between us was that I had no choice. After listening to the story, however, I discovered the honor and glory within. It¡¯s a pity that it has to be hidden.¡±


    ¡°I thought that you guys were just bogus Fathers, but now this is looking more and more like an evil cult,¡± I said, standing up.


    ¡°You¡¯re better than all of us. I can give you a choice. Leave without knowing and nevere back, or listen to my story and keep it for life.¡±


    My first thought was to listen to the story and determine where to go from there.


    ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you slowly so don¡¯t interrupt me.¡±


    I nodded but he probably couldn¡¯t see it in the dark anyway.


    A red spark lit up.


    ¡°Remember the uniform?¡± he asked after a puff.


    I did not respond.


    ¡°Hey? Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°You told me not to interrupt, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you!¡±


    ¡°I remember. The clothes in the box,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Do you know how long ago did the invasion ur?¡±


    ¡°It happened sometime in 1937. The devils invaded the Central in, first opening up Lugou Bridge and then Shanghai Pass.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This church was built in 1939. An overseas Chinese returned to China and told us that the devils will not invade the westerners¡¯ church. Do you have a rough idea of what these items here in the attic are?


    ¡°A ce to gather intelligence like in the war resistance or spy films?¡± I asked in wonder.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty imaginative. You¡¯re about right. My ancestors sent and receive reports from in here. You must¡¯ve seen the bells in the window. There used to be a rope reaching the corridor below. Intruders would engage the rope and in turn notify the people above, giving them sufficient preparation time.¡±


    ¡°What about the uniforms and g? For the Chinese to disguise themselves as the devils in case thetter barge in?¡±


    ¡°No, no. The devils came up and were killed by our people. Seven sets of uniform and a g.¡±


    ¡°I remember seeing only four. If what you said is true, wouldn¡¯t this ce be a historical spot? Why can¡¯t the public know about this? Make it known and your ancestors can bask in the glory, no?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to tell you about the three missing sets, and also the reason why it has be a secret.¡±


    ¡°Alright, tell me in detail. I really wanna know,¡± I said.


    The conflict I felt within me was unbearable.


    1. wartime term for the Japanese

 Chapter 161: Door of Truth (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 161: Door of Truth (Part 2) II</h4>


    Dahai continued unhurriedly, ¡°This church may appear to be established by foreigners, but it¡¯s really constructed by overseas Chinese. Father Dawu¡¯s ancestors, to be exact. He studied abroad and got someone to change his nationality. His family hoped that he¡¯d return and make a business out of this area, but they did not expect the arrival of the devils. They were rich back so they relied on their connections and property to build this church.¡±


    Father Dawu had the biggest house out of all the priests, and it was only in his house that I get a bed to myself.


    ¡°It was said that they were sending tips to the soldiers. They used the identity of a priest to assist the Red Army in concealing theirs and also helped the poor when necessary,¡± Dahai continued.


    ¡°That¡¯s the history of the church?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What do you think an army needs the most during a war?¡± he returned a question.


    ¡°That¡¯s a long list.¡±


    ¡°The most important ones.¡±


    ¡°Men? Money? Weapons?¡±


    ¡°Men are the most important, yes, but they have their weaknesses. They require food and ammunition which our people had been intercepting. Why else do you think did the war dragged on for eight years despite the devils¡¯ rich resources?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the Chinese tipped the people off whenever resources were being transported?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°All of this is thanks to Dawu¡¯s grandfather. That man had been the one to slowly impart his knowledge about the telegraph to everyone. He was the reason why our five families even existed.¡±


    ¡°That was the sequence of events?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt,¡± he snapped. ¡°Even though our ancestors didn¡¯t speak Japanese, they soon realized something. Telegraphs were the Americans¡¯ invention, so sending telegrams in Chinese and Japanese was much more troublesome. Sending a wrong number code will tweak the whole meaning of the message. The Englishnguage is made of letters so the numbers can be converted into the alphabet. One wrong number isn¡¯t going to influence the overall message much.


    ¡°We knew that the secret code they used was in Japanglish so we converted the numbers into letters before figuring out the transliteration and identifying the registration location of the resources. This is funny, but when the devils invaded us and asked for the names of ournd, they simply used them as they were in the telegram without any modification. Our ancestors zoomed into the location and had the resistance teamy an ambush. After multiple sesses, the devils started raising their guard.¡±


    ¡°What did they do?¡±


    ¡°The devils became more vignt and their codes became increasingly enigmatic. Our ancestors then came up with an even more brilliant idea. They intercepted telegrams from the devil¡¯s army and messed up its content. If they weren¡¯t going to understand it, no one else should, too. This way, the devil¡¯s interpreter group worked harder for nothing. The devils finally realized what was going on, so they sent their people in a wild search for our ancestors.¡±


    ¡°This story is like straight out of a movie plot,¡± Imented.


    ¡°There were no bells on the window, until the day that our ancestors were almost annihted. If not for the two red soldiers who sacrificed themselves by luring the devils away, our ancestors never would¡¯ve gotten the chance to escape with their weapons. This made them realize that the church wasn¡¯t enough. They needed more cover and a secret measure,¡± Dahai exined.


    ¡°Those bells?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s also a groove by the bed. In it is a 20-meter rope that would allow them to escape before the devils arrive.¡±


    He looked at me and I nodded impatiently, signaling to him that I was listening.¡±


    Father Dahai cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Our ancestors¡¯ work grew bigger but they had only two telegraphs. The telegraphs were more precious than their own lives. Half a month after thest invasion, the devils came up to the attic again. We weren¡¯t alone this time; the backup from the Red Army caught and imprisoned the seven devils in the attic.¡±


    ¡°Hence the uniforms and g? Didn¡¯t the other devils suspect anything since seven of them went missing in the church?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Things aren¡¯t as strict as you¡¯d think during the war period. The seven devils were locked in this small attic and became our secret to decoding the telegrams.¡±


    ¡°They tranted the messages for us?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°They revealed that the devils weren¡¯t sending messages in English any longer. Despite all the methods they used, our ancestors couldn¡¯t understand the tranted messages. Once, they bought 50 sybles from a traitor at a high price to form the message. As they recited the content, that in September 1941 a group of long telegrams was received, our ancestors couldn¡¯t be sure that they were reading it correctly. However, upon hearing them, the seven devils startedughing wildly and even banging the wall to force the cloth in their mouths out. Like fools, they started shouting ¡®long live!''¡±.


    ¡°Long live? Long live what?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? The trantednguage had them screaming happily. What does that show? That they understood what our ancestors tranted, isn¡¯t it? Which means their interpretation was urate. They made a copy and had another traitor read it out. The traitor was stunned and exined the rough meaning.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the significance of the message?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°Do you know what date it is in history? December 1941.¡±


    ¡°No! Just tell me!¡±


    ¡°December 1941 was when the devils attacked Pearl Harbor. The message that our ancestors read aloud was the preparation ns for the attack.¡±

 Chapter 162: Door of Truth (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 162: Door of Truth (Part 2) III</h4>


    ¡°Pearl Harbor? Didn¡¯t their attack seeded?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If the devils really did attack Pearl Harbor, you and I might belong to the ind nation today,¡± Dahai told me.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Under those circumstances, do you know why they attacked Pearl Harbor?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡±


    ¡°The devils had things they were afraid of ¨C the embargo on steel and oil. America cut off the supply and restricted the devils from crossing the sea for battle. Japan is surrounded by the sea so the devils came up with the n to bomb Pearl Harbor. They wanted to turn the situation around.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. How would attacking Pearl Harbor solve the problem?¡±


    ¡°What will America need to defeat the devils? They¡¯re separated by an ocean.¡±


    ¡°Battleships and fighter nes?¡±


    ¡°What do these machines require?¡±


    ¡°Oil?¡±


    ¡°We have no idea how the devils found out, but Pearl Harbor was filled with fleets and battle nes so the fuel depot had to be nearby. If they dropped a bomb on the depot, wouldn¡¯t the whole Pear Harbor disappear with it? Without fuel, how would America cross the ocean to retaliate?¡±


    ¡°I get it now, but didn¡¯t Pearl Harbor still get bombed?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The target was the fuel depot and the fleets, but none was ultimately hit. Despite that, America still retaliated with three atomic bombs. Have you thought about what was this dependent on?¡± Dahai asked, looking at me expectantly.


    My mind was full. Box? Telegraph? Us?


    ¡°The three uniforms!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Good. You¡¯re not brainless after all. Our ancestors were shocked when the traitor read the message. It was just a deration so the devils that were captured could not object. If it did seed, however, history would¡¯ve beenpletely rewritten.¡±


    ¡°What did our ancestors do?¡± I asked impatiently.


    ¡°Remember what Dawu¡¯s ancestor was good at?¡±


    ¡°Wireless stuff?¡±


    ¡°Our ancestors said that there used to be a wireless inte, about the size of half a man, right where the uniforms are now.


    ¡°Wireless inte?¡± I repeated, somewhat astonished. The secret was about to be unraveled.


    ¡°Our ancestors deeded this property in exchange for a transport aircraft, but the deed got lost in a battle. They didn¡¯t share much in details but they emphasized that it was a transportation craft and not a battle ne.¡±


    ¡°Wait, for transportation? They went to Pearl Harbor?¡±


    Dahai flipped his lighter on, revealing his silhouette against the me.


    It died out slowly and the sparks fluttered about in mid-air.


    After a short silence, he said, ¡°Dawu¡¯s father was themander. He borrowed a high-ranking pilot from the Red Army and put on the devils¡¯ uniforms together with the pilot and Big Beard¡¯s ancestor. They set out in December 1941, crossed the Pacific Ocean, and kept watch.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡± I urged.


    ¡°That¡¯s all to the story.¡±


    ¡°The f*ck?¡± I was stupefied.


    ¡°I did some investigations but there was too little information. Dawu¡¯s grandfather probably relied on themunication channel on the ne and used the wireless inte to release the target location of Pearl Harbor bombing. This changed little, of course, since the devils still managed to seed. The fuel depot and carriers weren¡¯t destroyed, though.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I eximed.


    ¡°This is just my guess, but I think there¡¯s more to it because the story ended so abruptly. Also, the overemphasis that they were just in a normal carrier ne is highly suspicious. I¡¯ll even go as far as to say that the ne carrying the bomb wasn¡¯t the devils¡¯ fighter ne but Dawu¡¯s grandfather¡¯s. There were supposed to be three bombs but he changed it to two somehow. None of us can be sure, however. The whole affair was made a secret so it was difficult for us to talk about it as well.¡±


    ¡°What happened to Father Dawu and Big Beard¡¯s forefathers? And the pilot?¡±


    ¡°No news, no return. They disappeared together with the uniforms. Probably under the ocean by now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± I trailed off.


    ¡°Why does this have to be a secret? What would the devils think of this if revealed? And how would America see us then?¡±


    ¡°We took the lead and bombed Pearl Harbor? And failed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past, but this secret must be kept forever. It must be passed down, however, and I¡¯m doing just that.¡±


    I nodded but the room was dark so he might not have seen it.


    Dahai stubbed out his cigarette. ¡°Now you know so you¡¯ll have to stay here.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I looked at the metal door. What was beyond was now before my eyes.


    Truth often lies in the hands of a few, as they say.


    Epilogue.


    The sky lightened gradually.


    I¡¯m sitting outside the church, looking at the Fathers carrying the tools back inside.


    I tore my clothes to shreds and messed up my hair before running over to them in a pitiful manner.


    ¡°What happened, Luqiao?¡± Father Big Beard ran toward me, shouting, after hearing my approaching footsteps.


    I panted, ¡°When I closed the doorst night, there was a bunch of foreigners who barged in and grabbed me. It was so frightening and I didn¡¯t know what they were saying. I escaped when they bought breakfast. Let¡¯s call the cops...¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± the Fathers reject the idea in unison.


    ¡°Why not? Who are these people?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Loan sharks. I owe them money. It¡¯s fine, go back in. You must be in shock. How about you take some rest over at Dawu¡¯s house?¡± Father Big Beard suggested.


    ¡°You owe foreigners money?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t understand what they were saying, did you? It must be them. They probably wanted to kidnap you for a ransom. Since you¡¯re back now, it¡¯s all good. Don¡¯t think too much about it. I¡¯ll bring you out for a nice dinner tonight,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in debt? Where are you going to get the money for good food?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll settle it. Stop asking or no more dinner for you!¡± he said sternly.


    I pursed my lips before lowering my head and breaking into a grin...

 Chapter 163: The Book of Revelation I

    <h4>Chapter 163: The Book of Revtion I</h4>


    My name is Gou Dan, but that is not important.


    Where I am right now is.


    I woke up and found myself on a grasnd, the sunlight shining down my face.


    I remembered drinking in a friend¡¯s bar the night before.


    Bar proposal... I¡¯m sure not many of you have witnessed it but I have that night.


    The owner of the bar was Da Hai, my best buddy.


    He is rich and brainy.


    He opened a bar in the city center and his yearly profit was beyond my imagination.


    He invited over 50 friends that night and I was one of them.


    I enjoyed drinking but seldom frequent bars.


    Da Hai proposed in his own bar and thedy in question was a very beautifuldy.


    Da Hai was rich and handsome so all thedies were nodding their heads in approval.


    Out of excitement, Da Hai shouted, ¡°All food and drinks on menu A will be my treat!¡±


    The bar offered two menus, menus A and B.


    Menu A contained shots and cocktails at affordable prices.


    Menu B, on the other hand, contained all other pricey alcohols.


    I don¡¯t usually drink, but since it was free, why not?


    Without shame, I ordered one ss after another.


    I did not remember how much I drank.


    There were about 60 drinks on menu A and I think I tried at least half of them.


    I knew that mixing alcohols would get me drunk fast, but only fools wouldn¡¯t make full use of this opportunity.


    From light fruit alcohols to strong whiskey on the rocks.


    I drank freely and finally copsed.


    Some time passed and I am now waking up, hungover.


    I woke up in a vast field, the huge sun ring above my head.


    I must have woken up from the heat and the bright light.


    I scanned my surroundings and my first thought was that I have been yed.


    Did they get me drunk on purpose and flew me over to Africa?


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a limit to a prank?¡± I shouted.


    Pause.


    ¡°A limit to a prank?¡±


    ¡°To a prank?¡±


    ¡°Prank?¡±


    Was that my echo?


    Just then, ten monkeys dashed toward me.


    I was frozen in shock.


    They quickly reached me, howling and cooing loudly.


    Two crawled onto me, one started to mess with my hair and the other tugged at my clothes.


    ¡°Oh my mother,¡± I yelled.


    ¡°Mother...¡± the echo bounced back into my ears.


    The monkeys weren¡¯t bothered by my shout and thoughts shed across my mind.


    Where was I? Why was there an echo?


    And what the f*ck were these monkeys doing here?


    Before I could process everything, a monkey reached into my pocket and fished out a small booklet that wasn¡¯t mine.


    The monkey flipped through it, a look of curiosity on its face.


    I snatched it over, but that tiny monkey had great strength.


    It took much effort for me to get my hands on that book but the monkey decided to give me a kick.


    I fell onto the grass, evoking cheers and a joyful dance from the spectating monkeys.


    The other monkey reached in for my wallet before running away.


    The crowd of monkey followed suit and I was left alone again.


    I was at a loss. My wallet was gone but what about my phone?


    Events from the previous night returned to me.


    ...


    ¡°iPhone 6 was already waterproof.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not 7. 6¡¯s already waterproof.¡±


    ¡°I had too much to drink! Are you stupid?¡±


    ¡°Come,e,e. See this ss? See my iPhone 6?¡±


    ...


    I threw my phone into the wine ss... but what about this booklet?


    I flipped to the first page and was dumbstruck.


    I think you already know what kind of situation you¡¯re in.


    ording to you humans, we¡¯re aliens.


    We¡¯re doing an experiment and you¡¯re our test subject.


    Of course, you¡¯re just one of a few hundreds of them.


    You can call this booklet The Book of Revtion.


    Write anything on it and it will appear within an hour.


    Howplete it would be will depend on your level.


    You¡¯re at level 1 right now.


    My hands felt extremely hot and I dropped the booklet onto the ground.


    A ming golden LV1 symbol appeared on the leather cover of the book.


    It doesn¡¯t make sense.


    Nothing made sense to me.


    I picked the booklet up again and flipped to the first page.


    The content was gone except for three words: Enjoy the game.


    I flipped through the pages.


    All nk.


    I recalled the writing I saw earlier. Write whatever on it and it appears? The Book of Revtion?


    ¡°Stop ying with me, brothers!¡± I yelled.


    ¡°With me, brothers!¡±


    ¡°Brothers!¡±


    ...


    The monkeys stared at me from afar but none came over.


    How was I supposed to write without a pen?


    This is bullsh*t.


    I kept the booklet in my pocket and walked further away from the monkeys. I wanted to leave this ce.


    After ten minutes of walking, I was greeted by the same bunch of stupid monkeys from earlier.


    I saw them from about 30 meters away. They looked at me with some interest.


    They were scattered around a big tree filled with fruits.


    There were all kinds of fruits, definitely abnormal.


    Apples, oranges, watermelons, pineapples, grapes, pomelos...


    There was everything!


    Do watermelons even grow on trees? Science wasn¡¯t really my forte.


    I continued walking toward the side, still in deep thought.


    After ten more minutes, I was back at the tree.


    This made me realize something.


    The earth that I was stepping on stretched only for about two thousand meters.


    That exined the echoes I heard as well.


    This globe was simply too small for humans to do anything with.


    Other than the tree, the monkeys and I, there was nothing else.


    Unfortunately for me, the monkeys were upying the tree so I only had the magical booklet.


    I would starve if I did not think of a solution soon.


    After observing the tree for a while, I concluded that there were 30 monkeys on it.


    They were about 0.5 to 0.7 meters in height whereas I was about 1.7, more than twice as big as them.


    I was outnumbered and had little strength, however.


    I noticed that one monkey was rummaging through my wallet.


    He was handing out my bills to his friends. These ignorant monkeys were having fun with my money but I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    After some thought, I started running and jumping a few times.


    The gravity felt the same as on Earth.


    I sat down and continued observing the monkeys on the tree.


    Before anything else, I needed to gather food to fill my empty tummy.

 Chapter 164: The Book of Revelation

    <h4>Chapter 164: The Book of Revtion</h4>


    I started approaching the monkeys, but when I was about 15 meters away, three of them climbed down the tree and started running over, intimidating me with shrieks.


    They reminded me of that particr monkey that trampled on my foot.


    Just thinking about it made me ache so I retreated.


    Upon seeing me withdraw, the monkeys opened up their arms and started to move toward me more slowly.


    Their shrieks got louder and I was effectively frightened.


    There really was no way for us tomunicate and it was not like I was able to bite back.


    What would I do if they attacked?


    I could only retreat further as they inched closer.


    I understood that I had already revealed my limitations at the start.


    If I hadn¡¯t allowed that monkey to step on me, I might¡¯ve still been able to intimidate them.


    I moved about 30 meters back and the three monkeys swayed crazily back to their tree.


    They behaved as if they had just won a war.


    I stood rooted on the ground, frightened out of my wits.


    What was I going to write on the booklet with to get rid of all these stupid monkeys?


    Blood?


    I looked at my fingers, not knowing which one to bite.


    What if it doesn¡¯t work?


    Aliens? Game? Few hundred test subjects?


    How was I supposed to solve this problem?


    Was I to tame these monkeys?


    If I did manage to do that, were they going to turn into bears or even lions the next day?


    Were these aliens aiming to test our abilities?


    You¡¯ve sought out the wrong person, I¡¯m sorry.


    I can¡¯t even solve this monkey business.


    I looked on as the monkeys crowded merrily around the tree while I had nothing.


    How are we different? I have brains.


    Isn¡¯t it? More than them at least?


    I¡¯ll do it in the night if I can¡¯t do it in the day.


    I eyed the tree. There were two apples and an orange hanging off a particrly droopy branch.


    I decided to wait for them to fall asleep before making a move.


    The sky gradually darkened and I realized how wrong my belief was.


    The monkey trio was taking turns guarding me.


    When one got tired, the other would take over.


    They never let their guard down so how was I supposed to go against them?


    Run faster? Pluck and run?


    I have two legs, they have four.


    Can I be faster than them?


    This ce is small so they¡¯re going to be able to surround me in no time.


    Will I need a vine if bitten or wed by them?


    There¡¯s no way. I¡¯m going to sleep.


    I yawned and passed out soon enough.


    When I woke up, I noticed something covering my head.


    I got up and took a look.


    That bunch of monkey had actually plucked a section of branches for me...


    I looked at the tree and made contact with them.


    They were shrieking as usual.


    There were a few apples on the branches so I started eating.


    I should be smarter than them, yet I had no idea when they came over to my side.


    The tree inevitably provided limited supply. I plucked off excess branches to form a stick.


    I started digging a hole in the ground and nted the apple that I had just finished.


    This way, I would have something to eat when their tree was cleaned up.


    Monkeys were curious creatures. The moment I nted the seed, they came running over.


    They upturned the soil, fulfilled their curiosity, and stuffed them back.


    I could only look on helplessly.


    I had nned to tame them, but it seemed like I was the one getting tamed, instead.


    Days passed and these monkeys gave me a section of branches once in two days.


    There were all kinds of fruits, and I nted all of them after eating.


    I also started recording the weather upon discovering that it varied over time.


    There would be an hour of rain after three sunny days.


    The rain was automated; it drifted from the extreme left to right each time.


    The piece of cloud responsible for the rain would move from side to side once in three days.


    nts grew extremely quickly. They also replenish once in three days.


    The 30 monkeys would never run out of food, and the apples that I had nted started to sprout.


    I counted the days and realized that almost a month had passed.


    A day felt like a year.


    The monkeys had a big tree and I had a small one of my own.


    The monkeys and I co-existed in peace; they saw me as an outsider but not a bad person.


    One day, when it was about time to rain, I was awakened by a p of thunder.


    The monkeys were howling madly.


    I got up and saw that the cloud had passed the big tree and the tree was on fire.


    One monkey on the ground was set aze, half its body burned ck.


    I ran over at top speed to examine the injured monkey.


    I could see the lightning trace on its body.


    The other monkeys started shrieking but I did not care.


    I learned about heart and lung recovery in university.


    Despite my attempt to resuscitate the monkey, it did not react.


    The onlooking monkeys tugged at my shirt as if realizing that I was of no use.


    ¡°Do you want him to get better!¡± I roared.


    ¡°To get better!¡±


    ¡°Better!¡±


    ...


    They seemed to have been sedated by my voice.


    A burning section of branches fell and shed across my eyes.


    It was coal ck.


    I rushed over and opened my booklet.


    The branch was scalding hot but I bore with it.


    ¡°Return the monkey back to normal.¡±


    The moment I finished writing, the words rose into the sky and vanished.


    A green light appeared on the book and shot toward the monkey.


    The monkey¡¯s wounds started to heal.


    After a few coughs, he was magically revived.


    My jaw dropped in disbelief as the monkeys stared at me, mirroring my expression.


    The page that I had used turned ck.


    I wrote on the next page, ¡°Extinguish the fire.¡±


    Neither the words nor the fire disappeared.


    I inspected the book closely and noticed that the golden LV1 at the side had turned ck.


    Was there a cooling period?


    I recalled the instruction previously written in the booklet.


    The level ofpleteness depends on my level?


    I could only use it once over a period of time because of my level.


    The me was still burning the tree at this point.


    I pointed at the tree and yelled at the monkeys, ¡°Why are you looking at me? Extinguish the fire!¡±


    ¡°Extinguish the fire!¡±


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    ...


    The monkeys continued looking at me. The one that I had just revived simply held onto my thigh tightly.


    My status had been upgraded significantly.


    An hour and a halfter, the tree waspletely burned.


    The monkeys crowded around and looked at me obediently.


    The tree was gone but I had the monkeys and over 10 fruit trees.

 Chapter 165: The Book of Revelation III

    <h4>Chapter 165: The Book of Revtion III</h4>


    We stayed silent for a moment and one monkey came toward me slowly.


    It reached its hand somewhere for my wallet, and other monkeys started reaching behind their ears, under their armpits, even from their behinds, and took my bills out one by one.


    I took my wallet back and waved the bills away. ¡°Forget about the money.¡±


    The monkeys held the bills toward me, clearly having no intention of taking it back.


    Sighing, I took all of the bills back. Each one was damaged in some ways and smelled weird.


    I stuffed all of them into my wallet before putting it away.


    The monkeys broke into a dance after.


    That night, we slept in a circle.


    When I got up the next day, I saw that the monkeys had gathered a bunch of fruits.


    I looked up at my trees and saw that they had all been taken over by the monkeys.


    One monkey was in a tree, not even caring that the tree might not be able to handle its weight.


    I was experiencing a mental breakdown when they noticed that I was awake.


    They started dancing in celebration.


    Frustrated, I took my booklet out. The LV1 was now golden.


    I could use the book again.


    The first page was still ck while the second page was now nk.


    I looked at the monkeys and they returned the nce.


    I picked up the burned branch and started writing.


    Smarten the monkeys up.


    A blue light shed across and the page turned ck.


    I looked at the monkeys but nothing seemed to have changed. They were still climbing all about.


    Wait? What did I just write?


    Why didn¡¯t I write for myself to be smarter?


    Ten times my current IQ would be great!


    Ugh.


    ...


    Over the following days, I tried everything.


    I made the monkeys smarter than me, as smart as scientists and extremely intelligent...


    The same blue light would appear and my LV1 would turn ck.


    However, even after a week of experimenting, these monkeys behaved no differently from before. They acted as they pleased.


    As I was about to give up, I noticed something strange.


    ¡°You fools!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°You fools!¡±


    ¡°Fools!¡±


    ¡°You! Come over,¡± I instructed, pointing at one of them.


    That monkey actually came down from the tree and ran over to me.


    It seemed that my wish dide true, only in a different way from what I had expected.


    It would be useful, nevertheless.


    ¡°All of you! Come down,¡± I ordered.


    ¡°Come down.¡±


    ¡°Down.¡±


    ...


    They did as told.


    ¡°Stand in a row,¡± I tried with a softer voice. The echo was too annoying.


    To my surprise, they followed my instructions.


    I watched Journey to the West when I was young and had always wondered why the monkey king, Sun Wukong, chose to sneak a bite of the peach of immortality.


    A few dayster, I finally understood the reason.


    ¡°B*stard! Why did you pluck such a small apple down?¡± I eximed.


    ¡°Small apple down!¡±


    ¡°Down!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why are you putting it back? Do you think that will work?¡±


    ¡°That will work?¡±


    ¡°Work?¡±


    ...


    Yes. These monkeys were under mymand, but my orders had to be basic and easy toprehend.


    I had to be extremely specific as well.


    Days passed decently and I managed to expand my ntation to thrice its original size.


    The first batch of trees was already about three meters tall and the fruits on there were round and plump.


    They weren¡¯t as big as the original tree, but it supplied more than enough for the 14 of us.


    I also tried writing other wishes.


    Some examples: Let me out, bring a human in here and so on. These did not work.


    No light would sh whenever I wrote about leaving the ce.


    The instructions made it clear, though, that whatever I wrote would appear within an hour¡¯s time.


    Although it was also stated that the effect depended on my level, it seemed that at my current level, nothing much could be aplished.


    There must be LV2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...


    How was I supposed to level up? I couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    Was I to reign over thisnd? Was I supposed to rule over these 13 monkeys?


    I looked down at my feet and shouted after a short pause, ¡°Let¡¯s dig the ground, everyone!¡±


    ¡°The ground, everyone!¡±


    ¡°Everyone!¡±


    Thend was limited in size and we had seen everything abovend.


    There must be something underneath.


    In half a day¡¯s time, I fashioned a treedder from two trees and the monkeys have dug a five square meter hole. There was nothing in there, however.


    We slept by the hole that night.


    Some time passed and a loud boom and violent shaking woke me up.


    I grabbed onto whatever I could; the ground was rocking forcefully.


    The monkeys cuddled together and a few held onto my arm to prevent me from falling into the hole.


    The sky waspletely dark.


    I looked up and saw a huge colliding with mine.


    The vibration gradually ceased and peace returned.


    I half squatted slowly before getting up fully.


    There was a huge tree on that new as well.


    Upon closer inspection, I saw a human¡¯s figure along with what seemed like a pack of wolves.


    It was too far away so I couldn¡¯t catch a clear view.


    My pocket was burning hot at this point.


    I took the booklet out; it felt at least 50 or 60 degrees hot.


    Above the LV1 on the cover was a big ming golden word: PK


    I turned to the first ck page and on it floated some white words.


    A month after your wish has been made, the page will lead you into apetition. Your objective is to annihte all your enemy or to render them immobile. Gain experience from each sessful victory.


    I was at a loss for words.


    I had spent seven whole pages over consecutive days, wishing for the monkeys to be smarter.


    A PK every day?


    7 PKs? Oh, my mother.


    I looked at the booklet before me and wondered if the person opposite had seen the same things as me.


    He must¡¯ve used the booklet and his month must¡¯ve been up.


    I had to fight wolves with monkeys? Was there even a fighting chance?


    I observed the pack of wolves as they arrived at my from the collision.


    My monkeys were hiding behind me in fear.


    Riding on the head wolf was ady.


    The imposing aura about themy in contrast against our side. I was even surprised that the monkeys did not push me into their hands.


    I turned around.


    Emptiness.


    All 13 monkeys had climbed up into their respective trees.


    The wolves wereing closer and thedy had a somewhat malevolent look on her face.


    I turned to flee.


    I had never climbed any tree in my entire life, but that had got to change.

 Chapter 166: The Book of Revelation (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 166: The Book of Revtion (Part 2) I</h4>


    I sprinted toward the mini forest as the wolves¡¯ whistles drew closer.


    I turned my head to the side and saw a wolf making a mad dash for me, it¡¯s mouth wide open.


    I may not be certain if a vine was needed for a monkey bite, but I was sure that I would need one for a wolf.


    Before I could take a step further, that wolf bit onto my leg.


    It had no intention of letting go.


    Thanks to the pumping adrenaline, I felt no obvious pain.


    Nevertheless, it slowed me down. The wolf braked and used the surplus force to pull me backward.


    I was just three steps away from my tree but before I could even attempt to climb it, a second wolf bit my other leg.


    Then came the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.


    They had me trapped and were biting onto every corner of my legs.


    That was when I felt the pain.


    The monkeys finally started moving. Four gathered in one tree and started forming a pyramid.


    A monkeydder was formed and the closest monkey reached its hand out to me.


    I extended my arm out. Last chance.


    I turned around and noticed that the wolves further away were biting on theirpanions¡¯ tails.


    They were working together to pull me backward.


    Thedy got off her wolf and fished a wolf¡¯s tooth out, walking over to where I was.


    Wipe out your enemy...


    Kill the king first, was that it?


    Am I the leader of these monkeys?


    Will they be leaderless when I¡¯m gone?


    ¡°Help!¡±


    ¡°Help!¡±


    ¡°Help!¡±


    ...


    I yelled at the top of my lungs.


    Two more monkeys joined thedder and grabbed onto my shoulders.


    The wolves had my legs while the monkeys had my shoulders.


    The two wolves at the front were now suspended mid-air while the monkeys were shouting and tugging rhythmically.


    All I felt was despair.


    One group was pulling me down and the other was pulling me up.


    I was practically being spaghettified.


    I could feel my limbs extending beyond their limit.


    Thedy was getting closer and closer by the second. She was about to smash the wolf¡¯s tooth down when I noticed that my belt and trousers hade loose.


    I quickly unbuckled my belt and took my booklet out.


    Within the next second, the wolves had sessfully pulled my pants off while I was hauled up onto the tree, and the wolf¡¯s toothnded on the ground.


    A fine crack emerged on the ground. Yep, that definitely would¡¯ve been a fatal hit.


    The monkeys on the tree were grabbing me and messing with my hair as if checking to see if I was still in one piece.


    The wolves were tearing my pants to shreds below.


    Left in my boxer briefs, I saw thedy angrily raising her weapon in the air.


    She was about 1.5 meters, 2.5 at most with her hand and weapon raised.


    I, on the other hand, was shivering at a height of three meters. Where did she get such strength from?


    The monkeys seemed to have figured out thedy¡¯s ns as they started scattering about.


    Three monkeys grabbed onto me tightly to keep me steady.


    Thedy below started stabbing the tree with great force, causing bark to fly all over.


    Sensing the danger, the three monkeys wrapped their limbs around the tree forks.


    The immensely strong woman made an enormous crack with just three hits.


    ¡°Stop it, will you!¡±


    ¡°Will you!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    .....


    I shouted at her.


    She raised her head and retaliated, ¡°Fazhengniliecifudong.¡±


    ¡°Liecifudong.¡±


    ¡°Cifudong.¡±


    ...


    What the hell? She¡¯s not Chinese?


    Thenguage she spoke wasn¡¯t English either so that ruled out a lot. I had no idea whatnguage she was speaking in.


    It was then that I realized she had mud-yellow skin.


    Not earthling-like.


    Was she from a different?


    Hundred test subjects... not all of them are earthlings?


    The wolves weren¡¯t lying idly. They were shadowing around the tree, waiting for an opportunity.


    As I watched, I noticed that thedy wasn¡¯tmunicating with the wolves.


    That was my advantage.


    I spotted the five-meter deep hole and a n came to mind.


    ¡°Monkeys!¡±


    ¡°Monkeys!¡±


    ¡°Keys!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Smash them with fruits!¡±


    ¡°With fruits!¡±


    ¡°Fruits!¡±


    ...


    The monkeys heard me and followed as ordered, throwing fruits at the pack of wolves, causing them to run about the tree.


    I waved for a monkey to swing over and whispered my n to it.


    He understood and opened his hands.


    I opened my booklet, bookmarked by a burned branch.


    I tore off a page and wrote on it, ¡°Revive Gou Dan.¡±


    Looking at the monkey, I made a gesture of joining the torn page back to the booklet. ¡°Understand?¡±


    After a short silence, the monkey nodded.


    ¡°My life¡¯s in your hands, boy,¡± I said before handing the booklet and the page to him.


    The tree was about to fall off by then.


    I exhaled deeply and ordered, ¡°Let me down.¡±


    The three monkeys nodded and formed adder once more to let me down onto the ground.


    Immediately uponnding, I saw the wolves charge toward me.


    With all my strength, I ran as fast as I could toward the hole, the wolves following closely behind.


    I leaped in and quickly felt the wolves piling up on me.


    As expected, their predatory instinct was beyond imagination. Being unable to climb trees was a structural w but jumping into the hole was a whole different story.


    Because they had made a dash for me, thedy had no time to get onto any of them.


    The monkey with my booklet cried out excitedly and the other twelve monkeys quickly got the hint and rushed forward to surround thedy.


    The thirteen wolves were with me, about six of them directly crushing me.


    I was bleeding from my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It was a five-meter fall, after all.


    ording to the rules, I had confined these wolves and my monkeys had confined thedy.


    I was seriously hoping that the monkey hadn¡¯t lost the torn page because my life depended on it.

 Chapter 167: The Book of Revelation (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 167: The Book of Revtion (Part 2) II</h4>


    When I opened my eyes, the monkeys were surrounding me.


    I recalled everything that had happened and immediately felt for any missing body parts.


    I stood up fine and saw two ready-made treedders by the hole.


    There were 13 wolves¡¯ corpses beside me.


    I saw thedy hugging one wolf, bawling her eyes out.


    I didn¡¯t know which she came from, but she seemed to experience emotions the same way that earthlings did.


    A monkey tapped my shoulder and handed the booklet to me.


    I took it and the other monkeys looked on excitedly, even breaking into a dance.


    All of a sudden, she let out a growl and the ground started to vibrate violently.


    Her started to crack and eventually pulverized.


    The monkeys tapped me and pointed at the girl.


    I turned around and saw that she was turning ck, gradually disintegrating into burned dust along with her wolves.


    My booklet shook a little and the ck LV1 turned into a ming golden LV2.


    I had leveled up.


    I had won the first match but my booklet had yet another ck page.


    Eight battles awaited me and I had nothing else except for my monkeys.


    The mini forest had been stripped naked during the attack of the wolf pack.


    I did not know if the girl died, but her sudden disappearance wasn¡¯t any different from death.


    I opened the booklet and saw that the burned branch was still inside, together with the torn page that was now ck.


    I knew that that was the page that saved my life.


    Picking up the ¡®pen¡¯, I wrote, ¡°Give me a few boxes of weapons and ammunition.¡±


    A blue light shed across the sky and a loud whistle went off.


    I raised my head and saw four huge crates dropping from the sky.


    When itnded, the monkeys immediately crowded over it and fiddled with them.


    ¡°Stop, all of you!¡±


    ¡°All of you!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    ...


    They dropped what they were doing and I walked toward the boxes and opened them.


    I was shocked by the range of guns that appeared before me, many of which I hadn¡¯t seen before.


    I looked at the ck LV2 on my booklet. It was definitely and significantly better than LV1.


    These four boxes supplied enough arms to cover for all 14 of us.


    While I was still considering what to do, the monkeys gathered over and started touching the guns.


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°It!¡±


    ...


    They might be obedient, but monkeys are naturally curious creatures.


    It took me three hours to get a rough understanding of all the weapons.


    I distributed them to the monkeys and by the time they mastered the necessary skills, the sky was already pitch ck.


    These monkeys¡¯ careless and haphazard attitude wasn¡¯t something that could be corrected. Even when I was giving them lessons on how to operate the guns, I could hear all sorts of firing soundsing from everywhere. How nobody got hurt was puzzling.


    I had thought that all four boxes only contained guns but I eventually discovered that two boxes were carrying things like bullet-proof vests and first-aid items.


    I took some vests and helmets out and put them on for the monkeys, but they hated them.


    The defense armors came in different sizes so I managed to find a suitable fit for all of them.


    There were even numbers on the helmets, which helped me recognized each and every one of them. I ryed their numbers to them quickly.


    They were happy to have a name of their own, dancing and baring their teeth non-stop. There¡¯s a possibility that I might have misread their expressions, but it remained a fact that things were made more convenient for me.


    On my helmet, however, was an LV2 sign.


    There were also grenades and the like, and I picked one up and kept it in my pocket.


    After closing the box, I called the monkeys over and had them turn it over.


    ¡°No one must touch this box. Whoever touches it will be disowned by me.¡±


    ¡°Disowned by me.¡±


    ¡°Me.¡±


    ...


    The monkeys nodded solemnly and quickly stepped away from the box.


    They were good in nature but were simply too restless and hyper.


    ying with guns was already worrying enough. Grenades? Forget about it.


    I then consolidated three gun techniques and allocated them to the monkeys.


    Each one had a specific technique they could use.


    The mini forest was still around but the food supply had greatly reduced.


    I rewarded them food ording to their performances and was thankful that I didn¡¯t need to starve any of them.


    At night, when all of them had fallen asleep, I counted the ammunition and realized that there were just enough to fill the guns in their hands.


    Restless and unable to sleep, I looked up into the sky, thinking about how thispany made my life here fulfilling. If not for them, I probably would¡¯ve hung myself off the tree by now.


    I then wondered if my recent and future upgrades would mean that the monkeys could slowly evolve into human beings.


    I had my fears, of course, that they would rebel one day.


    Would I still be able to hand my booklet to them if they continued growing smarter? Or would they steal my booklet one day? On the other hand, could I develop a trusty ally who would assist or revive me whenever needed?


    I didn¡¯t sleep a wink, and when the sky lightened up, I saw another approaching.


    I braced myself for the impact of the collision.


    The intense shaking woke the monkeys up and one of them started firing at the.


    The other monkeys followed suit and I wasn¡¯t in time to stop them.


    ¡°Wait, what are you doing! They¡¯re not here yet!¡±


    ¡°Not here yet!¡±


    ¡°Yet!¡±


    ...


    I remembered telling them only to shoot when the enemy appeared. Did they regard the other as our enemy?


    After 30 seconds of shooting, no one appeared, but the monkeys had finished their bullets.


    To think that I had been worrying that they would seize my throne.


    The monkeys, in their defense gears, came hiding behind me upon finishing their bullets.


    What a familiar sight, I thought frustratedly as I held onto my desert eagle with a 98K slung over my shoulder.

 Chapter 168: Book of Revelation (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 168: Book of Revtion (Part 2) III</h4>


    Have you guys yed Pokemon?


    If yes, you would definitely recognize Charizard.


    The opposing had 13 Charizard-like creatures spiraling in midair.


    They were orangey red in color and were periodically spitting mes from their mouths.


    How were my monkeys supposed to go against such strong opponents?


    The 13 ming dragons were different in sizes and one seemed to be carrying something on its back.


    I kept my desert eagle and got my 98K ready.


    I took aim at the different looking one.


    My mind was kind of nk. I did not know how to process the fact that such creatures existed in this universe.


    My hands started trembling and that was when I understood that I had no talent in controlling guns.


    I was unable to steady my aim.


    Amidst it all, I saw a person riding on the dragon.


    Kill the king first.


    However, I failed to take aim or even match up with the dragon¡¯s spiraling speed.


    The 98K was heavy and burdensome.


    I turned around and saw that the monkeys had abandoned me yet again.


    The dragons could easily burn my mini forest down, there was no point in climbing up a tree.


    The opponent made a move; the dragon plunged toward us.


    It was not practical for me to engage my 98K again.


    I could only use my desert eagle. I made a shot and the recoil had me plopping onto the ground.


    I had chosen these two weapons to look cool but, that obviously backfired. No pun intended.


    My arm was numb from the shot.


    I had no idea where the bulletnded, but by the time I raised my desert eagle again, the dragon was already before me and had used its w to hold me down.


    Half my body was trapped, and I finally got a clear look at the person on the back of the dragon.


    It was a man, or rather, a boy.


    ¡°Where are you from?¡± the boy asked


    ¡°I... Wait, you?¡± I replied incoherently.


    Earth, huh? A Chinese at that,¡± he said with a smile.


    I didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Instead, I stammered, ¡°You... you too?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the third earthling that I¡¯ve met so far,¡± he shared.


    ¡°There are others like us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I have destroyed both of them.¡±


    I looked around and caught sight of his booklet. LV8.


    ¡°Why are you LV8?¡± I asked, astonished.


    ¡°Looks like you know nothing. You won¡¯t be of any use to me,¡± he stated disappointedly, his eyes on my helmet.


    Was he letting his guard down now?


    ¡°Is it even fair for an LV2 to be matched with an LV8?¡± I argued.


    ¡°The match is random. Plus, level does not determine strength. I was matched with an LV7 back when I was still at LV4, but he really wasn¡¯t that big of a deal,¡± he said nonchntly.


    ¡°What do you know about this ce? If you¡¯re going to kill me, I don¡¯t want to die an ignorant fool,¡± I eximed.


    ¡°My sentiments exactly. Let¡¯s exchange useful information,¡± he proposed.


    ¡°As in?¡±


    ¡°When did you arrive here?¡±


    ¡°Year 2017.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in 63 battles before you arrived, and I have yet to lose. You¡¯re my 64th enemy. Out of the 63 of them, only three were earthlings. They were English and Japanese. They¡¯re all dead now. You¡¯re the only person, apart from me, who speaks Chinese.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this one of life¡¯s greatest blessings? Meeting a friend in a foreign ce?¡± I tried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. I¡¯m not going to fall for that,¡± he deadpanned.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°I came in 1995 and you came in 2017. How long have you been here?¡± he continued.


    ¡°A month and a half.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here for five years but I did not grow at all. It should only be the year 2000 but you¡¯re telling me you arrived in 2017. 17 additional real years have gone by... do you think we have a way out? It¡¯s no longer the same year. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem, of course, if the time and ce are all messed up. We are meeting in a parallel universe.¡±


    ¡°That sounds impressive,¡± Imented.


    ¡°These fire dragons are creatures that live on my. I have them because they¡¯re my


    favorite creatures, so I¡¯m guessing you like monkeys?¡±


    Monkeys? Do I like monkeys?


    I recalled my memories from 16 years ago. Before Dad and Mom divorced, I really liked Monkey King Sun Wukong.


    My favorite part of visiting the zoo was getting to observe the monkeys.


    Despite their separation, I had always hoped for us to visit them together.


    I turned to the trees and saw that the monkeys were looking back at me with worried eyes.


    These monkeys are my favorite and the dragons are his favorite...


    So thedy from before was into wolves?


    What were the aliens thinking? Why exactly were they studying us?


    ¡°Why are you stone-walling me? Answer me,¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Yes, I do like monkeys,¡± I hurriedly said.


    He smirked haughtily. ¡°A bit weak, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Can I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    The dragon lowered his head, the mes in its mouth ready to fire upon order.


    ¡°As an LV8 participant, do you know how to leave this ce?¡± I asked.


    He shook his head, smiling. ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of leaving. These 13 dragons have undergone multiple evolutions over time, thanks to the booklet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re capable of seeding in every battle, but you seem to have forgotten something.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he asked, his head cocked slightly.


    With great effort, I freed my right arm from under the dragon¡¯s w and reached into my pocket.


    I could feel the hand grenade.


    ¡°Viins die because they talk too much,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Talk too much.¡±


    ¡°Much.¡±


    ...


    I released the safety pin and threw the grenade into the dragon¡¯s mouth.


    The mes in its mouth swallowed the grenade.


    Before the boy could react, the grenade exploded, blowing the dragon¡¯s head off and killing the boy as well.


    The dragon¡¯s body fell forward, its legs suspended in the air, giving me the space to break free.


    I crawled out from his grip and ran toward the upturned box.


    I put my booklet on the ground, on top of a torn page.


    Revive Gou Dan. It was something I had prepared beforehand.


    I had also managed to train the monkeys to stuff the page into the book if I got into trouble.


    It was to ensure that I had a second chance.


    The other twelve dragons starteding for me, but I was already standing before the box with grenades in it.


    As they rushed toward me, I understood that these creatures were fictional and had no wisdom of their own. Any attempt to smarten them up would be futile.


    They could only listen to their master¡¯smands.


    The twelve dragons encircled me, 12 ming balls shooting from their mouths.


    I cried out, ¡°Why is it always me?¡±


    ¡°Always me?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±

 Chapter 169: Book of Revelation (Part 3) I

    <h4>Chapter 169: Book of Revtion (Part 3) I</h4>


    Explosions sounded incessant.


    It was brief but I could still feel my eardrums almost splitting.


    The next moment, I felt my body separate from my head. However, I could still perceive the world around me.


    Is this death? Did the dragon blow me up into pieces?


    My eyelids started to feel heavy and I heard the monkeys crowding over.


    I started to lose consciousness.


    When I woke up, I found myself on the ground.


    I had a long dream about a journey to the west and treasure seeking in a cave.


    In the dream, I had no control, as it was simply a movie ying out in the cinema.


    I heard the monkeys calling out in slow-motion and just as I was about to pick up a precious gold band, my eyes flew open.


    The moment they saw that I was awake, they started jumping up and down frantically.


    I touched my torso and my head subconsciously. I definitely felt them ripping apart, but it was as if nothing happened.


    It doesn¡¯t matter, though. The memory was still fresh in my mind. I remembered everything.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my booklet?¡± I asked the monkeys.


    One of them picked it out from his behind and handed it to me.


    There was a funky smell but I took it anyway.


    I made sure to rub it against the bullet-proof vest of the monkey closest to me.


    The booklet started vibrating and the LV2 became LV4.


    I was stunned. Getting rid of an LV8 upped me two levels?


    The opponent¡¯s started shattering, as did all the corpses.


    I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around the game system, but I let it go. I should notin about gaining two levels, considering that the boy had to go through 63 battles to reach LV8.


    It was just probably going to get increasingly difficult to level up from now on.


    I had won two battles, but how many more were there going to be?


    How was I supposed to leave this ce?


    Those were questions for the future, though.


    What I needed now was to make more concrete ns.


    I opened the booklet and got the burnt branch ready.


    It was already somewhat blunt and the charcoal was almost used up.


    Was it time to ask for a pen?


    No. I had more important things to do.


    ¡°Turn them into Sun Wukongs,¡± I wrote.


    I believed these monkeys to be the best creatures, all they needed now was an upgrade.


    The blue light of the LV4 flickered as golden staffs started plunging down.


    The monkeys quickly went forward to catch them.


    ¡°Go. Be my monkey kings,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Monkey kings.¡±


    ¡°Kings.¡±


    ...


    Upon getting ahold of the staffs, the monkeys started swinging them around fancifully.


    That looks about right.


    With a smile, I waved. ¡°Come over.¡±


    A monkey ran over and handed his staff to me.


    The instant that I took it, I was thrown to the ground. With my left hand crushed, I shrieked.


    Startled, the monkey quickly retrieved his staff.


    I sat up as the monkey stared at me in shock.


    My left hand was a mess.


    Something was definitely broken inside.


    This has to be Sun Wukong¡¯s staff... 500kg staff!


    I drew in a cold breath.


    13 monkeys, 13 golden staffs.


    The realization gave me a sense of security, but I still worried about idental injuries. It wouldn¡¯t just be my hand but my life at stake.


    I observed my monkeys in their bullet-proof vest, helmet, and golden staff.


    It was not the best outfit choice, but who cares as long as they win?


    At least they wouldn¡¯t be shooting blindly with their guns anymore.


    Of course, I would need them to be even better with time, just like the boy¡¯s dragons.


    My booklet had turned ck for the time being, so I had to wait for the next day to arrive.


    I needed 13 monkey kings behind my back. The real monkey kings and not this bunch of easily frightened monkeys.


    I slept peacefully that night since I had already gotten used to the quake that urred before a battle.


    We got up after the shaking stopped.


    I removed the lens of the 98K and used it as binocrs.


    The enemy was a foreign-looking and enormous monster, standing on the opposite.


    It charged toward me, its mouth wide open. There was a boy with two heads behind it.


    I turned around and as usual, my monkeys had run into the mini forest.


    I looked at my booklet; it had turned golden again.


    ¡°Get rid of their timidness,¡± I wrote.


    A blue light appeared and the monkeys immediately came down from the trees, bearing their teeth, and sprinted toward the monsters.


    Things were going as nned.


    The golden staff was no joke. My left hand was still hurting like crazy.


    The scene quickly turned bloody as these monkeys killed relentlessly.


    It took them three minutes to wipe the other out.


    I couldn¡¯t figure the opponent¡¯s level but this victory did not give me a level up.


    Days passed and my monkeys became stronger.


    I rebuilt a big tree for the monkeys and also gave them golden armors and red capes.


    ¡°Who are we going against today, Master?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Master.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be 8th in line any longer. Switch 7th brother with me, will you?¡±


    ...


    3 yearster.


    Just as the opposite was about to connect with ours...


    ¡°Do you see it with your fire eyes, Third Brother?¡± I asked.


    ¡°All monsters, no human. They¡¯re speaking some kind of birdnguage. Should we get rid of them or should I explore that mountain?¡± a monkey reported.


    ¡°Get rid of them if there are no humans,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°Alright, Master.¡±


    He raised his golden staff and it instantly increased in size.


    It grew wildly, almostparable to the size of the opponent¡¯s, before smashing down on it.


    There was nothing to see; the whole shattered.


    I looked at the golden LV8 on my booklet. No level up.


    I was different from the boy who fought 63 battles in five years.


    I had fought 80 battles within three years.


    The enemies I met were mostly of lower levels.


    Even after 80 battles, though, I was still stuck at LV8.


    Do I need to win against an LV9 before getting promoted?


    These monkeys were bing increasingly simr to the Sun Wukongs I had imagined, my fear growing alongside them.


    I was worried that the pages in the booklet would run out, so I seldom used it to write wishes.


    I was afraid that a more powerful woulde along and destroy us in seconds.

 Chapter 170: Book of Revelation (Part 3) II

    <h4>Chapter 170: Book of Revtion (Part 3) II</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯m so bored, Master.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there hasn¡¯t been any other in such a long time.¡±


    ¡°My staff¡¯s bing rusty, Master.¡±


    ¡°The previous master wants to gain experience, are you ying meditation?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to gain experience, too? Let me fly you there!¡±


    I put my fruit down. ¡°Fly? How does that work?¡±


    ¡°I can travel anywhere within a tumble.¡±


    I looked at the speaking monkey. ¡°You¡¯re Third Brother?¡±


    He smiled and shook his cape. ¡°Yup. That¡¯s me, Master.¡±


    The was round and running would just lead us in circles.


    Would flying be different?


    ¡°Third Brother...¡± I started.


    ¡°Yes, Master?¡±


    ¡°Anywhere in a tumble, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master! A split second,¡± he continued, still smiling.


    I pointed at the sky. ¡°Tumble here. Don¡¯t stop until you do a proper one, alright? Remember to tell me when you manage to get out.¡±


    ¡°Alrighty, Master,¡± he responded before stuffing his staff into his ear.


    I looked on in shock as he disappeared in the next second and reappeared on the right end of the space.


    He brushed past me a few hundred times within a breath¡¯s time.


    I had no way of keeping count. The fast-moving shadows looked as if they were being produced by more than one monkey.


    After countless rounds, Third Brothernded beside me.


    ¡°Aye. Master, what a coincidence!¡± he eximedughingly.


    ¡°Was it fun?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I feel a little dizzy. It¡¯s probably because I haven¡¯t flown in a long time.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Third Brother. Go have fun, I need some time.¡±


    ¡°Can I continue doing this? This ce is too small and boring but tumbling is pretty fun!¡±


    ¡°Go ahead. Just don¡¯t ruin the ground beneath you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± he replied enthusiastically before tumbling into the sky with boundless energy.


    He moved from left to right.


    The other monkeys who caught sight of this looked on enviously.


    Finally, there was something to keep Third Brother entertained.


    ¡°What¡¯s Third Brother doing, Master? Can I try that?¡± another monkey ran over to me and asked.


    ¡°Yeah, Master. I want to try it!¡±


    ¡°Me too, Master!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be biased, Master.¡±


    ...


    The other 12 monkeys quickly surrounded me and expressed their interest.


    I really couldn¡¯t me them because life on this was seriously getting dull.


    With a smile, I said, ¡°Go ahead. All of you, go have fun.¡±


    All twelve of them started tumbling in mid-air, going in different directions.


    Some even collided with one another. They probably would¡¯ve fought with each other if they didn¡¯t see me looking at them.


    I was the boss, but these monkeys were naturallypetitive.


    They had be stronger and if they wanted to, they could easily tear this apart.


    My recent battles happened because I had to mend the that they were practically destroying.


    Because of that, I established a ground rule: No fighting.


    They seemed to be following it well.


    I suddenly thought of something as I observed the monkeys in the air.


    ¡°Third Brother,¡± I called out.


    He appeared before me in the next second, making a deep crack in the ground due to his


    speed.


    ¡°Sorry, Master. I was too anxious and forgot about protecting this,¡± he apologized,


    scratching his head.


    ¡°Forget about it. Bring me up. I want to locate the boundary point.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked, confused.


    I pointed at the monkeys in the sky. ¡°There has to be a breaking point up there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, Master.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you understood it, you¡¯d have been my master. Come, let¡¯s go up.¡±


    Third Brother flew me up into the air and we stood on his multi-colored cloud.


    It became apparent that I had no artistic talent. The monkey king I had in mind turned out


    strangely.


    At a hundred meters high, I found the boundary.


    I could no longer see my body after putting half my head in.


    ¡°Third Brother,¡± I called.


    ¡°What is it, Master?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes are better. Look behind. What do you see?¡± I asked.


    After turning around and having a look, he replied, ¡°Wow, Master, you¡¯re amazing. I see us, but why is there only half?¡±


    ¡°We might be living in an endless box.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Bring me back down first, I¡¯m afraid of heights.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable, it¡¯s your first time. The previous master had the same fear, too. Is it amon illness of humans?¡± he asked as he brought me back to the ground.


    I took a fountain pen from my pocket and jabbed the tail into the ground.


    I drew two boxes with a circle within each of them.


    From my side, Third Brother asked, ¡°You made us take good care of the ground, why are you ruining it now? And what are you drawing?¡±


    ¡°Drawing on the ground won¡¯t tear the apart.¡±


    ¡°What is this then?¡±


    I pointed at one of the boxes and told him, ¡°We¡¯re in one of these, and I think that there are hundreds of them. I don¡¯t know the order and operation, or how to even get out, but I¡¯m thinking things over.¡±


    ¡°Please share,¡± he urged.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a hypothesis. Everyone should hear this.¡±


    ¡°I¡±ll call them,¡± he offered and I nodded.


    ¡°Come down, everyone. Master has something to say!¡±


    ¡°To say!¡±


    ¡°Say!¡±


    ...


    The monkeys quickly dove down, disturbing the ground in the process.


    ¡°Sorry, Master, I forgot.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Master.¡±


    ¡°I forgot, too.¡±


    ...


    Frustrated, I shook my head. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s no longer important. I need all of you to listen to what I have to say.¡±

 Chapter 171: Book of Revelation (Part 3) III

    <h4>Chapter 171: Book of Revtion (Part 3) III</h4>


    All 13 of them nodded eagerly.


    ¡°Third Brother,¡± I called out.


    ¡°Here, Master!¡±


    ¡°Bring me upter and have them follow us.¡±


    ¡°No problem, Master.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit, everyone. I¡¯ll call you guys when it¡¯s time,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°Rest? You mean sleep, Master?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too early to sleep, Master.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep this early, Master.¡±


    ...


    I raised my hand and all of them immediately quietened down.


    ¡°Rest now because a big battle ising up soon,¡± I said.


    ¡°Big battle?¡±


    ¡°Really, Master?¡±


    ¡°Someone¡¯sing?¡±


    ¡°Is he very powerful?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Maybe, but that has nothing to do with the enemy. We all might die,¡± I added.


    ¡°Die? I¡¯m immortal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°We have 72 lives!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master. We won¡¯t die even if you do.¡±


    ¡°How can you say that, Eighth Brother? Do you wanna be the 13th?¡±


    ¡°I was wrong, Master. Don¡¯t mind my words. I¡¯ll take a nap now.¡±


    ...


    The first monkey lied down and the others followed suit.


    I opened my booklet and eyed the soil stuck on the pen.


    I rubbed it against my pants to clean them.


    I then opened the pen cap and started writing, ¡°Give me a spacesuit.¡±


    Blue light. ck booklet.


    I looked up into the sky and saw a box dropping.


    I opened the box and an extremely thin spacesuit sat inside it.


    Without hesitation, I put it on.


    I was fully armed.


    I put the headgear on; when the visor is closed, energy would be released inside.


    I waited for the sky to darken and brighten, and for the battle to start.


    The Sun there rotated once in 24 hours, with the big tree as its axis. Take a few steps forward and you¡¯ll see the bright sky.


    Of course, you¡¯ll still have to wait for the real morning to reach overhead.


    Seconds ticked by and I became increasingly nervous.


    I sat under the big tree as the sun rose gradually behind my back.


    I spotted an approaching and immediately tapped Third Brother, who was beside me.


    Third Brother tumbled to his feet. ¡°What is it, Master? Aye? Why are you wearing this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind that, wake everyone up.¡±


    ¡°Battle time!¡± he roared.


    ¡°Battle time!¡±


    ¡°Time!¡±


    ...


    Everyone got up within seconds.


    ¡°What¡¯s with your clothes, Master?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so strange.¡±


    ¡°Why are you dressed like this?¡±


    ...


    I pointed at the space between boths and ignored their questions. ¡°This way. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we battling, Master?¡± Third Brother asked.


    ¡°The enemy is here, Master. Why aren¡¯t we fighting?¡±


    ¡°Why are we flying there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ...


    I pushed the visor down and said sternly, ¡°Just follow me and stop wasting time. Speed up.¡±


    Third Brother nodded before grabbing me and flying upward. The rest quickly followed behind us.


    We were trapped in a closed system, where everything within circted endlessly.


    During a PK, however, boths will collide.


    The connection point would be the weakest by theory.


    What would happen if we hit that position?


    I felt rather ufortable. It was an extremely dizzy ride.


    Third Brother flew me back and forth, something I saw that the rest were doing as well.


    ¡°What are we doing, Master?¡± Third Brother questioned.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the wrong position. Inch forward a little,¡± I ordered.


    Whether it was the weightlessness or the dizziness, I didn¡¯t know, but I was on the verge of throwing up.


    Third Brother slowly adjusted his position and the other monkeys followed suit.


    ¡°Sixth Brother has disappeared, Master,¡± Third Brother stated.


    ¡°Where did he go missing? Fly in that direction.¡±


    ¡°This is so strange. Everything around us is crumbling.¡±


    ¡°Crumbling?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°It has be red. I think it¡¯s about to copse,¡± he replied.


    ¡°We must get out before it copses.¡±


    Sixth Brother was probably at the connection point between boths.


    Third Brother adjusted my position and the weightlessness vanished.


    I floated in the air as he looked on, bewildered.


    Sixth Brother was floating by our side as well.


    Below us were two parallel spaces and in the center were two collidings.


    Surrounding it, on both sides, were emerging LED and strange characters.


    The left side was red.


    The right side was blue.


    My face was on the blue LED board.


    There was also a row of ranking at the extreme corner and I was actually ranked first.


    There was a big lounge not far away and the odd, big-headed aliens were looking at us.


    Third Brother asked, ¡°What is this, Master?¡±


    ¡°Fly there,¡± I said, pointing at the lounge.


    He nodded and Sixth Brother made a dash for it, with us right behind his heels.


    I looked down at the two square spaces; the red was gone.


    We broke into the interior andnded steadily.


    ¡°So many strange monsters,¡± Third Brothermented.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out and be back soon, Master,¡± Sixth Brother said.


    Both monkeys moved lightning fast, easily smashing the aliens in the room.


    Green substances flew all over the room, these aliens didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Only one alien was left and the monkeys were arguing over who gets to kill it.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I shouted.


    No echo.


    Both stowed away their staffs and waited.


    The big-headed alien opened its mouth but all that came out was a piercing sound wave.


    ¡°What are you exactly?¡± I asked.


    The alien put on a helmet from the side and spoke again, ¡°Don¡¯t move. This is just a game.¡±


    ¡°Exin,¡± I demanded.


    The alien pointed far away and said, ¡°I¡¯m just an employee. This is just a game show for a TV channel called Wildest Fantasy.¡±


    ¡°Wildest Fantasy?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°You¡¯re number 1 on the show,¡± it informed me.


    ¡°Number 1? Where did those people who turned to ashes go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Their data have been erased,¡± it answered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You guys are just creatures created from data from all over the world,¡± it exined.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that I¡¯m just abination of numbers? The real me is still on Earth? I¡¯m just a game character used for your entertainment?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°Imagination is an ability evident in fews. It will suppress science and technological


    advancement.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Suppress advancement?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. When we bump into something we don¡¯t know, we seek out its essence and the reason for it. Mistakese with imagination. We have evolved away from this. As such, we are the wisest creatures. We do not imagine the possibilities. Our instinctive mode of operation is to find a straight answer. We found out that Earth still contains imagination, which is scarce and hence precious. Thus, we made a game out of it, letting you guys fight it out using your imagination. This program is the second most popr show right now, and you¡¯re the star of the show. You have many fans.¡±


    I raised the booklet. ¡°What is this then?¡±


    ¡°Realization machine, to actualize the product of your imagination. Yours is the restricted


    version so you can only use it once in 24 hours,¡± it exined.


    ¡°I can use this here, too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°How do I remove the restriction?¡±


    The alien pointed at a ss cab not far away. There was a book in it.


    ¡°This is a souvenir, meant as a gift, but is useless since we do not have imagination.¡±


    The book on disy was much bigger than my own.


    ¡°You may not have imagination, but I do,¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡± it asked, somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°Break the ss, Third Brother. Kill it, Sixth Brother,¡± I ordered.


    Shattered ss and green substance filled the entire room.


    The door suddenly sted open and over ten armed aliens charged in.


    ¡°Go, monkeys!¡± I shouted.


    As they made their attacks, I opened the book. It waspletely empty inside.


    I took my fountain pen and wrote with a smile, ¡°Let me understand their knowledge.¡±


    With the sh of a blue light, I felt my train of thought expanding and surging.


    The pen in my hand started moving non-stop.


    Monkey kings appeared from thin air, one after another, and pounced onto the iing aliens.


    I walked to a side and picked up the alien¡¯s microphone. A piercing sound came out of my mouth, but I knew that I was telling the TV program viewers that I have conquered them.


    The ss walls came crashing down and other building structures fell into view.


    All sorts of oddly-shaped flying objects started shooting at us.


    My pen continued moving above the paper and a row of interster god n appeared.


    The AI quickly blocked off the iingser rays.


    ¡°Adapt to the environment here,¡± I wrote, before removing my headgear and breathing in the surrounding gas.


    I felt perfectly fine.


    I hadplete control over my imagination.


    ¡°Soak in the finepany of thought and imagination, you despicable doers!¡±

 Chapter 172: People and Money I

    <h4>Chapter 172: People and Money I</h4>


    My name is Chalk, and yesterday, I received the news that someone at home was critically ill.


    I was familiar with the number but I couldn¡¯t recall who it belonged to.


    The person on the other end imed to be a doctor and he requested that I went over as soon as possible to Number 1 People¡¯s Hospital to sign some documents.


    After a brief period of shock, I remembered that this number belonged to Granny.


    I came from a single parent family and was raised by my grandparents until I was about five years old.


    I hold almost no memories of the time before I was seven.


    Grandfather died early and Granny had never been in good health.


    I was sent to and fro between kindergarten and school.


    There wasn¡¯t any issue during kindergarten, but in elementary school, full-time care became difficult.


    Whenever I got a new form teacher, Granny would make a call to discuss care arrangements for me.


    I don¡¯t know what they talked about but Granny had a way of getting things done.


    From what I knew, she was ill and unable to take care of me, and if no one took over her role, I would be all on my own.


    Nevertheless, I went to sses with my ssmates in the day and stayed in the ssroom to do my assignments after school.


    My teacher would send me home after work; it was something Granny made sure every form teachers did.


    I had a total of three form teachers, from elementary to middle school graduation.


    Two werenguage teachers while the other was a sports teacher.


    I spent a decent amount of time in their houses.


    I finally became independent in senior high and stayed in the dormitory.


    Most people spent the majority of their time at home or, at least, more than in school, isn¡¯t it?


    I, on the other hand, spent most of my time in school, and as little time at home as in the school¡¯s toilet.


    My grades weren¡¯t bad since I was trapped in such an environment and had nothing much to do other than to study.


    With my form teacher as my temporary guardian, it was no wonder thatnguage became my best subject. I did pretty well for others as well but that took more effort.


    I had the most fun in my third year of junior high, however, when the sports teacher became my form teacher.


    There were no dorms in junior high.


    My sports teacher was Mr. Pang, and everyone called him Dahai.


    Pang Dahai was his full name, and unlike the other two teachers, he had no family of his own.


    He was a bachelor and possessed all traits of a bachelor.


    His single room dormitory became our house.


    He wasn¡¯t initially agreeable, but after some thought, he brought a double-decker bed into the house and moved the single one away.


    We moved in and he chose the bottom bunk.


    I discovered, upon growing up, that a good teacher had to do the necessary preparations for sses.


    I also noted that sports teachers had no such requirements.


    Dahai¡¯s lessons consisted of free time and an examination.


    After an examination, he would have us do whatever we want.


    I was different.


    Initially, I stayed in ss after school to do some work. However,ter on, I would just go over to Teacher¡¯s house.


    None of my ssmates understood why I stayed in ss since I often gave them excuses.


    Fortunately, assignments in junior high were plenty so it would be night time by time I was done.


    I would go back and watch TV with Teacher Pang.


    I first smoked and drank in the dorm, although the smell of smoke was something I couldn¡¯t bear.


    Alcohol, on the other hand, was good stuff.


    During junior high, I had no idea what other students were like.


    Whenever exams were approaching, I would find it difficult to sleep, as if there was something bothering me deep down.


    I had no parents and only Dahai knew that.


    ¡°Cheers ¡± He would smile and take two bottles of beer out.


    It helped, but Dahai emphasized that I mustn¡¯t tell anyone about the things he taught me.


    He hid his alcohol in his room despite the fact that teachers seldom inspected a fellow teacher¡¯s room.


    Nevertheless, he hid them well.


    I remembered drinking white wine in his house for the first time. That thing was too strong.


    From then on, I started associating the smell of white wine with that of the disinfectant spray in hospitals.


    Teacher Pang wasn¡¯t a heavy drinker but he enjoyed sipping on it while watching TV and snacking.


    Because of him, I became motivated to be a sports teacher.


    I started growing taller and eventually fatter.


    In my third year, I was 1.8 meter and 108 kg.


    Teacher Pang moved to the top bunk of our bed, in fear that I would cause the whole bed to copse.


    After the switch, he also forced me to run rounds frequently.


    I have no idea why but I stopped growing taller after leaving Dahai.


    Teacher Pang was the kind of man who could maintain his weight despite eating a lot.


    As I¡¯ve mentioned, I stayed in school a lot to finish up my school work.


    The students who were suspicious about it finally found out that I was living with Teacher Pang.


    Private discussions exploded.


    I was never given pocket money so having money at hand was a surreal experience.


    I charged five dors per student to change their P.E. grades.


    Teacher Pang wrote the students¡¯ grades down in pencil, so I simply erase them and rece the respective grades when he was asleep.


    I opened this business to my ssmates at first, but it quickly expanded to the whole school.


    In the third year, we had three sports teachers to look after 30 sses.


    I had probably altered the grades of a third of Teacher Pang¡¯s students without getting discovered, fortunately.


    Thinking back to the third year makes me smile foolishly even to this day.


    I had no mobile phone back then and I only got my first one with my own money during the summer break of senior high.


    As such, I did not keep Teacher Pang¡¯s contact number. I had no QQ ount then so I lost contact with all my ssmates and Dahai.


    I did revisit the school to look for him, but he was no longer there.


    From senior high to university life, I wasn¡¯t any different from other students.


    However, the bad habits I had learned in Dahai¡¯s dorm followed through my remaining school life. I even passed them onto other students.


    Upon university graduation, I found a decent job and stayed in the office¡¯s dorm.


    I received practically no news from home.


    As I¡¯ve mentioned, I lost Dahai¡¯s contact, but the day after we separated, Dahai left Granny¡¯s number with me.


    I was supposed to pass it to the next form teacher. He handed it to me, saying that I would be the only one with her number from then on.


    I memorized the number, which became the only memory that I attached to Granny.


    Because I deactivated the malware, my phone would retrieve information from the address book.


    As such, I developed the habit of not saving numbers and memorizing them instead.


    The doctor hung up the phone and I looked at the number on the screen.


    Memories, covered in dust, started surfacing in my head.

 Chapter 173: People and Money II

    <h4>Chapter 173: People and Money II</h4>


    I only had three day offs in a year, but I still called up mypany.


    I then offered a few hundred dors to my colleague who was resting at home that day to cover for me.


    I gged a cab and went straight to the hospital.


    The driver was all smiles but drove as quick as lightning. I didn¡¯t want toplicate things so I simply told him that I was having a tummy ache and he got me to the hospital in the shortest time possible.


    I handed him 21 dors but he took only 20. He told me, ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just hurry and go get a doctor.¡±


    I smiled and rushed to the hospital building.


    I called the number back.


    After what seemed like hours of ringing, the line finally connected.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I started.


    ¡°Hi, how may I help you?¡± ady answered.


    ¡°Where is the owner of this number? I¡¯m her grandson.¡±


    ¡°Number 1 People¡¯s Hospital,¡± she responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m in here already. The specific location, please?¡±


    ¡°Inpatient department, unit 603. Someone¡¯s ringing the bell, I got to go.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there soon,¡± I said before hanging up.


    I was connected to strangers twice. Was Granny really in such a serious condition that she was unable to speak?


    I looked around the building, having no idea where the inpatient department was situated.


    I kept asking for directions from nurses and doctors and finally got to the right section on the sixth floor.


    I found unit 603 in no time but I had no courage to enter.


    As shameful as it was to admit it, I didn¡¯t know Granny anymore.


    Standing outside the ward, I made another call to the same number.


    I heard the ringtoneing from inside the ward, and felt somewhat awkward.


    ¡°I¡¯m like a fish in your pond, wishing for us to wait upon the moonlight...¡±


    I looked into the room and spotted four beds. The phone was on the table by the furthermost bed.


    ¡°The lotus remains fragrant despite the change in seasons...¡±


    I quickly hung up and walked in.


    One of the three other patients asked, ¡°Who are you, little fellow?¡±


    ¡°May I know where¡¯s this patient?¡± I asked, pointing at Granny¡¯s empty bed.


    ¡°Out for a stroll, probably, because it¡¯s so stuffy in here. She should be back soon so just wait a while.¡±


    ¡°Stroll?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t she in a critical condition?


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s back now!¡±


    I turned around and saw Granny standing by the door.


    Both hands were in her pockets as she walked in slowly.


    ¡°Darling,¡± she called with a smile


    I was embarrassed but then I remembered that my grandparents used to call me that when I was little.


    ¡°Granny?¡± I hedged.


    She smiled and walked over to me to start fiddling with my shirt.


    ¡°Where have you been? Why are you covered in dust?¡± she said, swatting at my shirt and turning me around to repeat what she did to the front.


    ¡°There¡¯s dust at the back, too? You can see them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I saw it the moment I came in! I was wondering which fool was covered in so much dust!¡±


    ¡°No, no, wait. A doctor told me you were critically ill. Where is he?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Xiao Gao, right?¡± she asked, smiling.


    ¡°Xiao Gao?¡± I repeated.


    Another patient added, ¡°He¡¯s in the general medicine department. There should be a number in her phone so just go take a look.¡±


    I walked to the bedside table and picked up Granny¡¯s phone.


    There was indeed a Xiaogao in the call records. Granny couldn¡¯t have typed these on her own.


    Perhaps his contact was given to her by a nurse.


    I called him.


    ¡°Aye, has something happened to your grandmother?¡± he said by the way of answering.


    ¡°I¡¯m Chalk. You said Granny...¡± I turned to look at Granny.


    She was still patting my clothes so I covered the phone a little. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, Granny.¡±


    She put her hands down. ¡°Come back soon.¡±


    I walked to the corridor and picked the phone back up. ¡°You said my grandmother was in critical condition. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s two separate matters. Your grandmother saw it as an excuse to see you.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°So it¡¯s fake? She¡¯s fine?¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s real.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m confused.¡±


    ¡°Your grandmother has no other family member around now. Your uncle and aunty are overseas. She wanted to see a family member so she had me call you over.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s fine?¡± I asked, letting my guard down.


    ¡°That¡¯s what she thinks. There¡¯s another thing that¡¯s pretty serious.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, frowning.


    ¡°Because she¡¯s alone, we didn¡¯t want to tell her about her condition. You must know that she¡¯s over 70 and we¡¯ve found lesions in two parts of her body. They are spreading. It¡¯s critical, but we don¡¯t know how to break the news to her. Since you¡¯re here, we¡¯re telling it to you now.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s really ill...¡±


    ¡°Yes, but her case is rather unique. We don¡¯t know how to show the report to her. Her case file is with me. I think it¡¯s alright to hand them over to you now since you¡¯re her family,¡± the doctor said.


    ¡°Alright. Where are you, Doc? I¡¯ll go collect it. I¡¯m in your hospital.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. It¡¯s really messy here so I¡¯ll make a trip down to that department during lunch break to pass it to you. I¡¯m also going to personally share with you some information about your grandmother¡¯s condition. I¡¯m a bit busy at the moment so go spend some time with her in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Is... is it curable?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still treating a patient right now so I¡¯ll be brief. Because it¡¯s not just one lesion, we do not suggest surgery.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Okay. We¡¯ll talkter.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll hang up now,¡± Doctor Gao said before ending the call.


    I stood rooted to the ground, looking into the room.


    Granny had a powerful voice; I heard her say, ¡°See that boy? He¡¯s my grandson. He¡¯s working in a state enterprise.¡±


    She chatted casually with other patients as I massaged my temples.


    After recalibrating my emotions, I calmly walked back into the ward.

 Chapter 174: People and Money III

    <h4>Chapter 174: People and Money III</h4>


    Granny met me in the middle of the room and proceeded to drag me back outside.


    ¡°What is it, Granny?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go talk a walk,¡± she told me with a smile.


    She led me all the way out of the hospital and to a nearby bench.


    She sat down and wiped the seat next to hers with her sleeves. ¡°Come,e, join me.¡±


    As soon as I sat down, she grabbed my hand.


    ¡°I have something good for you here,¡± she said, excitement dancing in her eyes.


    ¡°Good stuff?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I always have this with me,¡± she said, reaching into her pants¡¯ pocket.


    She produced a small, grey pouch made from a wool sweater.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    She opened the pouch and searched through what seemed to be quite a number of treasures before pulling out five bank cards.


    She stuffed them one by one into my hands and said, ¡°Those doctors are evil. They¡¯re only demanding that I do all those other treatments to earn more money. Over 10,000 dors for one session with no subsidy? Ha! They¡¯re just trying to cheat me of my money.¡±


    ¡°Wait, cheat you off your money?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°This card has 10,000, this has 40,000, and this one has 20,000. I can¡¯t remember how much does the rest contain, though. These doctors are just trying to extort more money from me, but unfortunately for them, I¡¯m smart. I had Xiaogao tell you that I¡¯m in critical danger so you woulde over and take this money. They can¡¯t have it.¡±


    ¡°Doctors don¡¯t scam people,¡± I told her carefully.


    ¡°For a ton of money they do. I know my body well. They can¡¯t give me all that crock about my health when I know they¡¯re just interested in my money.¡±


    ¡°Granny... the doctors have your best interest at heart. They know your body condition the best,¡± I reasoned.


    ¡°Do you remember your birthday?¡± she asked.


    ¡°April 4, 1995, why?¡±


    ¡°Add a 0 in front and you have the password to these cards,¡± she whispered to me.


    ¡°Wait, wait. I¡¯ll be meeting Doctor Gao in the afternoon and I¡¯ll hear what he has to say before we make any decisions.¡±


    ¡°I have another secret,¡± she continued.


    ¡°Alright, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Once there was a priest...¡±


    ¡°Priest? Granny, you can¡¯t trust them. They¡¯re chatans,¡± I interrupted.


    ¡°They¡¯re just fine, so shush. When I was young, that priest worked his magic and it was so urate.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll bite.¡±


    ¡°That priest was very reputable, but I don¡¯t remember his name. He said that people watched television then but people in the future would carry their televisions around and not look away, as if it was more important than their lives,¡± she narrated, pointing at the passersby who were busy staring at their phones.


    ¡°Carry televisions? You mean mobile phones?¡±


    ¡°He also said that people would stop bringing money; they would scan their thumbprint or face instead.¡±


    Her story happened about 60 years ago, which would work out to be somewhere in the 1950s. It would¡¯ve definitely been hard to foresee that people would go cashless in the future.


    I thought about the fingerprint payment method and the iris and face recognition feature by Samsung and Apple.


    ¡°That¡¯s just coincidence. Don¡¯t people in the past provide their fingerprint as evidence when they are in debt? You think too much, Granny,¡± I said discouragingly.


    ¡°He also said that spoiled organs can be exchanged with other people¡¯s. If not, they can also be exchanged with those made of gold, silver, and crystal.¡±


    ¡°Gold, silver and, crystal? That¡¯s too far-fetched.¡±


    Granny opened her pouch again and handed me a piece of paper.


    It was a corner of a newspaper cutting, with the city¡¯s logo on it.


    It talked about artificial organs and even had a picture of a man-made heart on it. Its outer shell was made of clear stic and its insides were like white silver with golden tubes.


    She pointed at the news cutting and said, ¡°Some people were skeptical back then, but everything he predicted came true.¡±


    ¡°What else did he say?¡± I asked, a bit interested now.


    ¡°Many, many things but I don¡¯t remember all of them now.¡±


    ¡°He seems impressive,¡± I acknowledged.


    ¡°He had a tortoise shell filled with copper coins. He could tell fortunes,¡± she added.


    ¡°Did he tell you yours?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s best at predicting lifespans. He said that money is just a number. Some people get to earn millions but die before they could even reach 40. Others could only manage to earn a few hundred thousands or even tens of thousands, but they live long.¡±


    ¡°So you had your fortune read?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°630,000,¡± she answered.


    ¡°630,000? What...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about done. I wasn¡¯t meant to earn big bucks, but I think that 630,000 is enough. Actually, that¡¯s more than enough for my old age.¡±


    ¡°Granny...¡± I began.


    ¡°I know my body. I¡¯ve asked him. This is all that I can give you, take it,¡± she insisted, guiding my hand into my pocket.


    I took her pouch and stuff the cards back inside, before returning it to her. ¡°I was a forgetful child, wasn¡¯t I?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Your teacher called multiple times, reporting that you had lost the yellow cap, red neckerchief, umbre and rain boots that she gave you. So careless...¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t misce things, do you, Granny?¡±


    ¡°I put away everything at home nicely,¡± she said.


    ¡°Can you hold onto these for me first?¡± I asked.


    She nodded and put the pouch back in her back pocket.


    ¡°Granny... did you ask him about my future?¡±

 Chapter 175: People and Money (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 175: People and Money (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°How would I do that, silly? I didn¡¯t even have your father back then! Here, I¡¯ll keep your money for you first. Of course, this is not all for you, it¡¯s also for your marriage. I might not be able to supervise you by then so you have to be wise about this money, okay?¡± she warned jokingly.


    I nodded obediently. ¡°Whatever you say, Granny.¡±


    ¡°There you are!¡± a voice called, not far away from where we were.


    Granny waved enthusiastically. ¡°Xiao Gao! Are you passing by?¡±


    I turned to him and noticed that when sitting down, I was only half a head shorter than him. I slowly got up and it became evident that he was a head shorter than I was.


    ¡°Are you Doctor Gao?¡± I asked, walking toward him.


    He handed me the document he was carrying with a smile. ¡°You must be her grandson. How handsome!¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± I forced a smile and looked down at Granny¡¯s name in the document file.


    He pointed at Granny and said to me, ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to her for a bit.¡±


    He walked over to her, tapped her shoulder, and pointed up towards the hospital building. I couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about but after a short while, I heard Granny say, ¡°I¡¯ll go up now then, Xiao Gao.¡±


    Doctor Gao smiled at my direction as Granny called out, ¡°Remember toe upter, okay? I still have things to tell you.¡±


    The doctor walked toward me as soon as Granny strolled back into the hospital.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± I started.


    ¡°I managed to coax her back inside so I can talk to you about this,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Is her condition very serious?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Are you aware that she¡¯s had surgery before?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t... I didn¡¯t know about that.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, she did her surgery in our hospital and we have the records. 17 years ago, she had a slipped disk and it was corrected. Her health had been decent up until six years ago when she was diagnosed with rectum cancer and had to have the affected areas removed. Half a year ago, we saw something in her lungs and we were afraid that there¡¯s been a shift. We wanted her to do a scan every two months but she was against it.


    ¡°She dragged it on for half a year before she finally started feeling unwell. Her condition became twice as severe than before but because of her age, we could not do a medical puncture to extract the sample. We don¡¯t really suggest surgery as well because it carries a high risk and the cancer cell might just continue to grow. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I ran a hand over my face. ¡°Tell me what I need to know now.¡±


    ¡°She seems fine at the moment, but that¡¯s not going tost. We suggest that you spend as much time as you can with her. She might not have much of it left so you have to be prepared.¡±


    I nodded, instantly feeling the pressure from work and Granny weighing down on me.


    I apanied Granny over the three free days that I had. We talked andughed and while I had little memories of when I was young, Granny remembered them well.


    Work was very busy but I found time to visit Granny every weekend.


    Doctor Gao¡¯s words starteding true and Granny¡¯s condition gradually worsened.


    I couldn¡¯t catch up with her deteriorating speed. Fortunately, I managed to get the cards in her pouch to treat her illness.


    On the 10th, Granny said in a trembling voice, ¡°My pension will be issued today.¡±


    That was herst sentence before she passed away that night.


    I was informed the next morning at nine in the morning when Doctor Gao called me with Granny¡¯s phone. He offered to help with her funeral arrangements as well.


    I declined kindly and applied for half a month¡¯s funeral leave before heading down to the hospital.


    Two weekster, after her burial, Doctor Gao handed me a bag.


    In it was Granny¡¯s items, including the mini pouch.


    I wasn¡¯t interested in the bank cards. I wanted to find out more about the newspaper cutting.


    I couldn¡¯t forget the story that she shared with me.


    There wasn¡¯t any newspaper cutting inside the pouch. Instead, there was a little booklet.


    I flipped it open and discovered that it was a telephone directory.


    My number was on the first page.


    I turned to thest page and saw some crooked words.


    It was rather illegible but I was still shocked by her ability to write.


    I attempted to decipher her writing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering who the priest is, Darling. He¡¯s the ancestor of Uncle Wu, my neighbor. I did not get your fortune checked but I did get Uncle Wu to read your father¡¯s fortune. He said that your father will earn a different kind of money; he traveled abroad in the end. You can visit him to get yours read. Add a 0 before your birth date and that¡¯s the password to the cards. Don¡¯t forget.¡±


    The cards were mostly empty by now, but of course, she did not know that.


    I remembered Uncle Wu but I wasn¡¯t really familiar with him since I rarely went home.


    I decided to go to Granny¡¯s ce and visit Uncle Wu the next day or over the weekend.


    Since there was no will, the house deed was naturally transferred to my father.


    I made a long distance call and Dad made a verbal pact to leave the house to me.


    The house was unique because it was allocated by the nation in the past.


    Half a courtyard house, or rather, a house split into two units, and Uncle Wu was in the other unit.


    I knocked on his door.


    The ce felt foreign and I could only hope that I did not make a mistake.


    Ady answered the door; she looked about my age.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked suspiciously.


    ¡°I... just got home...¡± I stuttered.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Granny¡¯s grandson?¡± she asked in realization.


    I nodded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the key, do you? It should be somewhere inside here. I¡¯m Wu Su, your neighbor,¡± she introduced herself.


    ¡°Wu Su? Wu? So you know Uncle Wu?¡± I asked.


    With a frown, she answered, ¡°My dad¡¯s been dead a long time now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I quickly apologized, embarrassed.


    ¡°Why are you looking for him?¡±


    ¡°You must know my Granny. She wished for me to look for your father to get my fortune read,¡± I said, deciding that it was alright to put this on Granny. She wouldn¡¯t me me.


    With a patronizing smile, Wu Su responded, ¡°Your grandmother trusted my dad¡¯s bullsh*t? He also said that he could live till 108, but there he was, gone 50 years early. He¡¯s full of nonsense.¡±


    ¡°A pity herst wish won¡¯t be fulfilled. Perhaps she was suffering from dementia and had forgotten that Uncle Wu had passed away a long time ago. I¡¯ll just grab the key and go then. I¡¯m sorry to disturb you,¡± I said.


    ¡°No problem. Follow me,¡± she said before turning around.

 Chapter 176: People and Money (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 176: People and Money (Part 2) II</h4>


    I entered the courtyard and noticed that our houses, mine left and hers right, were separated by a wall.


    My memory of this ce was blurry but I was still hit with a strong case of deja vu.


    Wu Su entered her side of the house and said offhandedly, ¡°Your ce is on that side. Follow me to my side of the house.¡±


    I nodded and followed her into the bedroom.


    I looked down and saw that she was wearing house slippers.


    ¡°Should I remove my shoes?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nah. Don¡¯t worry about it, I don¡¯t really care about that.¡±


    She flipped through a few cabs by the table and took out a key ring.


    ¡°My bedroom¡¯s on the left. Ever since my father died, we never stepped into the right room again.¡±


    I looked on patiently as she tried different keys to open the door.


    ¡°My mom died early. Father and Grandfather rarely receive guests so this side feels cold and cheerless,¡± she continued.


    Wu Su entered the bedroom, walked to the window curtains and drew them, allowing light to shine through.


    I stepped in and was instantly startled by a statue of Lord Guan against the wall. The candles beside it were made of stic and lit up by electricity.


    They weren¡¯t turned on and were covered in ayer of dust. Time had warped even the looks of Lord Guan.


    He had a knife in one hand and a book in another.


    I¡¯ve seen both the book and knife, but his half-studious, half-armed look seemed odd to me.


    ¡°Why is he holding a book?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No idea, but Dad prayed to him. I asked him about it and the general idea is that the knife is a subduing force. I don¡¯t remember what he said about the book, though.¡±


    She squatted down to search the cabs.


    While I wasn¡¯t a firm believer in Buddhism and the like, Granny¡¯s words were scary. I sped my hands together and tried to pray.


    Just as I bent down, Wu Su rose, causing us to collide.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked, rubbing her head.


    I answered, ¡°I was about to pray when you got up.¡±


    ¡°Why do you even believe my father¡¯s words?¡± she said exasperatedly, massaging her head as she handed me a coverless book.


    ¡°You seem to be a smart young man, don¡¯t associate yourself with scammers like my father.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that about your father. He¡¯s a priest after all, no?¡±


    She snorted. ¡°A priest who told fortune? He¡¯s a scammer. People know me as the daughter of a scammer, not as the daughter of a priest.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this book then?¡± It was clear that she felt very strongly against this so I changed the topic.


    ¡°The source of his abilities,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Have you read it?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s the tradition that guys inherit it instead of girls. This instruction ended when it reached my generation.¡±


    I flipped to the first page and was surprised that the old beliefs weren¡¯t much different from Wu Su¡¯s idea.


    ¡°This book is...¡±


    ¡°A book full of men-only bullsh*t. Even if I had a son, I would never allow him to touch a book like this.¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t want this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The tradition will die if I just leave it lying around, you can take it,¡± she said graciously.


    ¡°I think you misunderstood your father. Let¡¯s see if I can set some things right,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Father brainwashed your grandmother? Or did you get brainwashed, too? You haven¡¯t even seen him but you¡¯re acting like a fanatic. Is he really that charming?¡± Wu Su questioned.


    ¡°Can I ask why you seem to have such a bad impression of your dad?¡±


    ¡°His work was... unsavory and unsessful. What kind of grown man still needs support from his parents? Even Grandfather had a proper job! My father deserved death for being such a failure.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to talk about, your dad and grandfather¡¯s job. They¡¯re fortune-telling priests, not scammers.¡±


    ¡°How did my dad manage to brainwash you?¡± She shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Take this book and go. Just read it but don¡¯t take the words to heart. I would hate for you to be as useless as them.¡±


    ¡°Wait. I have proof. Give me a moment, I¡¯ll find it,¡± I said, fishing the mini pouch from my back pocket.


    As I was searching for the newspaper cutting, Wu Su said, ¡°That¡¯s your grandmother¡¯s wallet, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t find what I was looking for.


    ¡°You might not be able to prove anything,¡± she continued.


    ¡°No, no, no. Granny said that your father¡¯s words came true. Your dad even read my father¡¯s fortune and predicted that he would earn a different type of money. What do you know? My father went overseas to work!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Your father and my father were ssmates. They chat about everything. My father probably heard about your dad¡¯s n to travel abroad, and shared it with your grandmother.¡±


    ¡°They were ssmates?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Six years in elementary school, three in junior high, and another three in senior high. They went their separate ways just before university.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a long time,¡± Imented.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re not aware of our arranged marriage then,¡± she added.


    I was stunned. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Forget it. I like you as much as I did my father right now,¡± she informed me bluntly.


    ¡°Your grandfather read Granny¡¯s fortune and got her lifespan right. He spoke of science and technology too... it was all urate,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Your brain ispletely gone. Just take this cursed book and go. Good luck to you,¡± she said with finality.


    ¡°I... I just wanna say... I...¡±


    I was at a loss.


    Wu Su gestured toward the exit.

 Chapter 177: People and Money (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 177: People and Money (Part 2) III</h4>


    I lowered my head helplessly before exiting her bedroom with the book in my hands.


    She followed behind and locked the room.


    I walked toward the courtyard and turned to Granny¡¯s side of the house.


    I tried pushing the door open but it was locked.


    I went over to the windows but they were also tightly shut.


    Just as I was feeling lost and vexed, Wu Su pointed at her door, saying, ¡°Whenever she forgot her keys, she would flip the carpet over.¡±


    I turned toward her. ¡°Thanks...¡±


    She replied coldly, ¡°It might not be there anymore.¡±


    I bent down and lifted the carpet.


    There was a single yellow key.


    I picked it up happily and unlocked the door.


    The house was extremely messy. It wasn¡¯t messy in the sense that it hadn¡¯t been tidied in a long time, but rather in a very cluttered way.


    I felt a sudden urge to get movers to clear this ce.


    The ce contained everything from ancient wooden pieces of furniture to modern bean bag sofa.


    On the European-styled table was a purple sand tea set.


    I knew that these weren¡¯t bought by granny.


    She was a hoarder, collecting everything she could find.


    She only brought things home but never the other way round.


    I shifted the bean bag sofa and plopped down on it.


    I opened the book once more, going through the first and second page.


    There were three words on the second page ¨C¡±Sincerity begets actualization.¡±


    The further I get with it, the more pictures appeared instead of words.


    Completely baffled, I tried piecing Granny and Wu Su¡¯s words together.


    I started questioning the book.


    I had initially thought of learning from it to be able read my own fortune just for fun, but it seemed that it was going to take a few years.


    I flipped through the pages, discovering that the content just bes increasingly more difficult. The final few pages, however, were simple.


    There were big blueprints identifying the scope of value for both sides of the four copper coins.


    Only a tortoiseshell that was separated from the tortoise for more than a year could be used. The four coins had to be from a certain manufacturing year.


    I closed the book and left the house to scour a flea market about three kilometers away.


    I found the shell, its appearance startlingly older than it was. It was definitely more than a year old and it wasmendable that the owner had actually dared to take it out to sell it.


    Finding the coins, however, was extremely difficult.


    Brand new coins were cheap but I didn¡¯t dare to purchase those.


    The damaged and old ones were exorbitantly priced at 500 a coin. Four coins were going to cost me 2,000.


    Frustrated, I went home to think of other solutions.


    When I arrived at the door, I realized that I only had the key to my house and not the main gate.


    After a few knocks on the door, Wu Su came out.


    She took one look at the things in my hand and rolled her eyes. She said disdainfully, ¡°You¡¯re really going into that stuff?¡±


    ¡°Granny¡¯s orders. I can¡¯t be unfilial, can I?¡±


    Wu Su forced a smile.


    ¡°Hey, can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do you still have your dad¡¯s fortune telling coins? I can¡¯t find them anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Can you lend them to me?¡±


    ¡°I can, but you¡¯ll have to return the coins and the book to me once you¡¯re done with them.¡±


    ¡°Why? I thought you don¡¯t want them?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still young and I don¡¯t wish for you to follow in my dad¡¯s footsteps. Keeping those things away from you is all I can do.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m just satisfying my curiosity anyway.¡±


    Wu Su returned to her room and came out with the coins.


    ¡°Do these really work?¡± I asked, eyeing the coins.


    ¡°That¡¯s what your grandmother believes.¡±


    I nodded and brought them back into my house.


    Wu Su followed and stopped by my door.


    ¡°Do you want toe in?¡± I offered.


    ¡°Nah, too stuffy,¡± she declined.


    I plopped back down onto the bean bag sofa and started reading the book.


    The instructions on the first page stated that knowing a person¡¯s name was enough to read his or her fortune. I thought that that was too sloppy, but I still gave it a try.


    I repeated my name in my head, shaking the tortoiseshell with the coins in them.


    The coins fell out and I read them ording to the chart.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Wu Su asked.


    ¡°It says that I can earn millions.¡±


    ¡°Lol.¡±


    ¡°Let me try it again and I¡¯ll see if it¡¯s urate,¡± I said before putting the coins back into the shell.


    The oue seemed different but reading the chart gave me the same end result.


    I tried yet again and received the same reading.


    ¡°Three times. That¡¯s incredible,¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Wu Su snorted.


    ¡°How about I read it for you once?¡± I suggested.


    Wu Su reached her hand out. ¡°Give them back to me, I¡¯ll keep them. You need to stop this nonsense before it ruins your future.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t believe in it anyway,¡± I said before gathering the items.


    I moved forward a few steps and was tripped by a water bucket.


    The coins came falling out and a yellow piece of paper, seemingly thest page, slipped out from the book.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Wu Su eximed.


    I saw the coins rolling under the table. I muttered, ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t apologize,¡± Wu Su said, bending down to pick up the piece of paper.


    The next thing I knew, she was covering her mouth and crying.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    She handed the piece of paper to me.


    The words on the paper were as illegible as Granny¡¯s.


    I read it aloud with much effort, ¡°Su Su, I don¡¯t know when you¡¯ll be able to read this letter. You hate me so passionately, so I guess never? The items in the house are real. I¡¯ve never lied to anyone. Your grandfather read my fortune the moment I was born. I have what they call a 5-yuan life, which is why he made sure I live off them forever. I will die if I earn more than five yuan. I¡¯m writing this as you¡¯re going off to university. Your mom¡¯s in an ident and theoretically speaking, inheritance isn¡¯t considered a profit but she actually had an insurance payout of about 250,000.


    ¡°You needed the money for school, however, and I had to be the one signing the paper. Our family¡¯s fallen into a difficult situation ever since your grandfather¡¯s death. I had no choice but to sign the paper with my 5-yuan life on the line. I got this house with the money and left it for you. I don¡¯t see this as a wasteful death, but I just hope that you won¡¯t see me as a liar your whole life. I¡¯ve calcted your fortune and I am not worried since you¡¯ll lead a millionaire life. Love, Dad.¡±


    Wu Su was bawling her eyes out and I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Three yearster, we got married.


    Millionaire life? Both of us? It must be our destiny.


    I took care of her in every way possible, and our married life was great.


    We had a boy, but because Wu Su burned the book, I wasn¡¯t able to read his fortune.


    My job paid 4,000 a month and so did Wu Su¡¯s.


    No matter how I looked at it, it seemed unlikely that we were meant to be rich.


    After some thought, I concluded that we were at least going to live long and gain some easy money along the way.


    Things weren¡¯t that simple, evidently.


    Intion rose ridiculously, and a bowl of in noodles no longer cost 10 yuan but 100, and then 1,000.


    Simrly, in 30 years¡¯ time, my pay rose from 3,000 to 300,000 a month.


    It was only a matter of time before we started earning millions and millions.

 Chapter 178: Heaven on Earth I

    <h4>Chapter 178: Heaven on Earth I</h4>


    It all started with ancient maind China.


    The continents were all intact and people lived in tribes.


    Hundreds of people co-existed.


    Tribes could be formed if people lived through four seasons and developed their own survival system.


    It was seldom that tribes formed alliances since they usually had just about enough food for their own people.


    Nevertheless, co-existence of tribes would lead to the formation of new tribes.


    Since there was anguage barrier among the tribes, those who preferred not to talk would signal.


    Written words were almost identical, albeit limited to simple systems.


    For example, drawing an ¡®O¡¯ on a particr region meant that it was safe, and an ¡®X¡¯ symbolized danger.


    Red lines beside the crosses meant that corpses had been found. Circles within the circle meant that tribes were living in that area.


    Of course, peaceful co-existence was usually just a facade.


    It was only natural for tribes to consider attacking one another when they run out of resources.


    Water, food, animal skin, warm shelter and other necessities could easily trigger a war.


    A tribe with a few members had no chance against one with tens of them, just as how thetter was, on normal asions, no match for a tribe with hundreds of people.


    Just like this, tens of thousands of tribes settled on this piece ofnd...


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand,¡± a girl said, pointing at the huge map on the wall.


    ¡°What do you not understand?¡± I asked, smiling.


    ¡°Uncle, you said that everyone lived on the samend. Why isn¡¯t that the case now? We¡¯re all separated,¡± she stated doubtfully.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question, which is why I¡¯m about to show you an animation next.¡±


    I pressed a button and the ground started to shake.


    All thirty kids started panicking.


    ¡°Earthquake!¡±


    ¡°Earthquake again!¡±


    ¡°Mom, save me!¡±


    The kids were tensed and a few even started crying.


    I smiled, raising my hand to get their attention. ¡°We¡¯re in the museum and this is just a special scene effect. It¡¯s not real.¡±


    Shoutings ceased but the crying kids weren¡¯t able to stop. The teacher walked over to the button and pressed it. ¡°Mister Curator¡¯s scaring the kids again,¡± sheined.


    With a bitter smile, I said to her, ¡°Everyone must know how terrifying an earthquake is.¡±


    The kids turned their attention back to the map on the wall, as the bignd within it started ripping apart into different shapes and sizes.


    They started whispering to one another:


    ¡°It¡¯s separating, it¡¯s separating!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read about this in the books!¡±


    ¡°The earthquake broke thend?¡±


    ...


    I pressed a button on the remote in my pocket and increased the horn¡¯s pitch twice. ¡°A big earthquake in BC 0 led to the separation of thend.


    ¡°Its intensity was beyond our ancestors¡¯ imagination. There isn¡¯t an urate data recording the magnitude and the duration of it. All we know is that almost allnds had been engraved with big crosses and many red lines. After the earthquake, the lucky survivors went on to rebuild their tribes, only to realize that thend beneath their feet was no longer the same. There were over a thousand inds following the earthquake.¡±


    I paused to look at the kids¡¯ expressions.


    A discussion broke out once more.


    ¡°This is is ournd now?


    ¡°Where are we on the map?¡±


    ¡°Will there be more earthquakes?¡±


    ...


    I pointed at an ind in the lower right area of the map. ¡°Blue Wave. It¡¯s where we are living right now. Our neighbors are Water Wave, Metal Wave, Fire Wave, Wood Wave, Earth Wave, Emperor Wave, and Ocean King Wave. Hell Wave has already sunk.¡±


    I pointed at a spot on the screen that was being magnified.


    It was a red ind that was surrounded by other small inds.


    The eight surroundingnds consisted of one extremely small one, and there was a small ind-shaped dent between the cracks.


    Upon closer observation, one would notice that there were many small ind-shaped pieces on the map.


    I pointed at a small depression beside Blue Wave and said, ¡°Ten seconds of silence for our sunken Hell Wave.¡±


    Ten secondster, I asked, ¡°Can anyone tell me what Blue Wave¡¯s features are?¡±


    The kids started looking around and no one dared to make eye contact with me.


    I saw a boy in blue top raise his hand up, eager to give it a try.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Water and food. Blue Wave ranks among the best in the thousands of nations.¡±


    I nodded proudly. ¡°Very good, little fellow. Our food, safety, and hygiene are top-notch. On the other hand, our military affairs and businesses are inadequate. Nevertheless, our weaknesses do not affect our standing among the nations.¡±


    The screen jumped to the next slide. It was an image of eight sses of water.


    Some were yellow while others were green. Some were transparent yet impure, others were pure yet contained ayer of oil and fac. Only one ss waspletely perfect and unlike the rest.


    ¡°These watere from different nations and only one belongs to us. Do you know which one it is?¡±


    The kids hurriedly pointed to the first ss. ¡°That first one!¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Blue Wave has the best water source. nts and animals consuming our water turn out to be the healthiest lot. Our people also live longer by about 10%. Do you children like Blue Wave?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± the teacher raised her hand, tapping the kids beside her.


    As if understanding something, they started shouting in unison, ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°I love Blue Wave!¡±


    ¡°Blue Wave!¡±


    ...


    I gestured for them to stop, which they adhered to obediently.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve already introduced the formation of ournds and the birth of Blue Wave. I will now bring you guys, in groups of four, to view the collection of items. Please don¡¯t rush and stay in an orderly line at all times.¡±


    I removed my earpiece and microphone, handing them over to an assistant.


    The teacher approached me and smiled. ¡°Thanks for the hard work, Curator Lu.¡±

 Chapter 179: Heaven on Earth II

    <h4>Chapter 179: Heaven on Earth II</h4>


    ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m here for, don¡¯t mention it,¡± I said humbly before turning around to leave.


    There was a tall building outside of the museum, and my office was on the extreme left corner of the first floor.


    My name is Lu Qiao, and I am the curator of Blue Wave Museum.


    I¡¯ve been working in the museum for 12 years and have been the curator for three.


    My job was to exin our nation¡¯s history to these children.


    Blue Wave upies 12,061 square meters.


    It doesn¡¯t sound small but whenpared to the size of our, it is extremely insignificant.


    Blue Wave is just a country, and there are over a thousand like it on the.


    The earthquake was the cause of separation, but it also led to the constant development of nations.


    The poption severely declined, which meant that resources became ample.


    Our maind, vast and boundless, was now surrounded by the ocean.


    Our ancestors learned to unite, which resulted in an oligarchy.


    These political regimes slowly led to our nation today; progress in science did not change the oue either.


    Nations had arms and equipment but there weren¡¯t wars or conflicts since none could guaranteemon development if they were to gain control of two or more nations.


    Theologians saw the earthquake as a punishment from God, and people were afraid that war would lead to another one that could potentially wipe out the.


    What everyone had to do was to ensure their nation¡¯s continuation with their original resources.


    A thousand nations carried countless verbal and writtennguages and a thousand different lifestyles.


    Even with the invention of steamships and airnes, the impression that maind China was our homnd did not change.


    In terms of our market and resources, we could be considered a closed country.


    There wasn¡¯t any way of concealing things. For example, if a neighboring nation wanted to construct a big building, surrounding countries would be able to witness and perhaps attempt to duplicate, or even jeer and celebrate, when the nation¡¯s construction copsed.


    Blue Wave was just a tiny nation among the thousands; it was visibly weak in all areas.


    Of course, no nation is perfect, and Blue Wave gave up everything in order to increase its quality of life.


    As mentioned, Blue Wave possessed the best water source on Earth.


    There were 63 kindergartens, 43 elementary schools, 27 middle schools... these were schools I had to service daily as a curator.


    The kindergartens usually bring more than one batch of students, and I am in charge of exining our nation¡¯s history to them. The staffs of the museum would then bring them into the exhibition centers. It¡¯s been this way for 12 years.


    Almost all the students were aware of my existence by my third year as the curator.


    School teachers never failed to bring their students here, just as how every citizen of Blue Wave would be able to sing the national anthem.


    Students usually visited the museum more than once, the first time during kindergarten, second during elementary school and finally in middle school.


    I started working in the museum at 22 and worked my way up to where I am today. I am passionate about my job.


    My museum is situated in the center of Blue Wave, and everything inside exined the differences between Blue Wave and other nations.


    I was in my office, filling a ss with tap water.


    I raised the ss toward the window and let the light shine through.


    It was clear that there was no impurity in the water at all.


    I could see the dust in the air falling onto the water surface.


    ¡°Blue Wave¡¯s the greatest,¡± I cheered before finishing the ss of water, not wanting to contaminate it further. When that was done, I wiped the ss with a towel on my desk.


    Someone knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± I said, still wiping the ss.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need, Curator. Another batch of middle schoolers is here. The machine¡¯s already been reset. You have five more minutes to rest,¡± the assistant informed.


    ¡°Got it,¡± I answered.


    I aimed the ss toward the window again to make sure that it waspletely clean.


    I put the towel back on the desk, inverted the cup, and ced it on top to prevent dust from collecting inside. I wanted only the purest water.


    I took a moment to appreciate being able to lead such a carefree life in Blue Wave.


    It was time to work. I exited the museum and saw the students waiting patiently for me.


    My assistant came forward to hand me the earpiece and microphone, which I quickly put on.


    I walked toward the students and cleared my throat. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, students. I¡¯m the curator of this museum and my name is Lu Qiao. Today, I¡¯ll be introducing...¡±


    My life consisted of attending to a few batches of students a day, knocking off, returning home to prepare dinner, and finally lying down on my bed, wondering if I would meet familiar faces the next day at work.


    It might sound dull to some but I absolutely loved what I was doing.


    One night, I was awakened by my phone buzzing.


    It was 2 AM.


    It was an iing call from my assistant.


    He¡¯d never called me thiste before, but I answered anyway.


    ¡°Curator, are you there?¡± he greeted happily.


    ¡°Did something happen at the museum?¡± I asked immediately. There couldn¡¯t be any other reasons for him to call me at this time.


    ¡°The mineral water factory is in trouble,¡± he answered.


    ¡°What has that got to do with you and me? Why are you calling me?¡± I asked, confused. It seemed serious and I wondered if something had happened to the water that was our nation¡¯s pride.


    ¡°The factory directormitted suicidest night.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I heard that yellow mud appeared in the western region. Something about a tube being connected wrongly. Staff¡¯s mistake, but the director felt guilty and chose to end his life.¡±


    ¡°Again, what has that got to do with me?¡±


    ¡°The museum can do without a curator, but the factory can¡¯t do without a director. It¡¯s very important to our country, and I received a call and was told to inform you that you¡¯re going to take over the director¡¯s role starting tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 180: Heaven on Earth III

    <h4>Chapter 180: Heaven on Earth III</h4>


    ¡°Wait. You want me to be the director of the tap water factory?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, because no one else knows it better than you do,¡± the assistant replied.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know anything about that stuff! I¡¯m not suitable for that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been working for about 12 years and the children who used to listen to you are all grown up now. They believe in your ability. Our nation needs you.¡±


    ¡°Let me consider.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time. You¡¯ll start work tomorrow,¡± he stated.


    The water factory was a sacred ce. I often fantasized about visiting the world¡¯s most beautiful underground mineral spring and connecting it to the households in Blue Wave. It was amon dream scene of mine.


    When I was young, before the establishment of the museum, my teacher would always repeat the story of the five-colored koi fishes who lived in the underground mineral spring.


    Each koi was more than a hundred years old, and they swam leisurely in the water.


    The mining worker who found the spring had tried the water and was refreshed by its sweetness.


    He pushed it to the whole of Blue Wave and everyone started having ess to the incredible water.


    Blue Wave¡¯s water then became the world¡¯s greatest wonder.


    And right now, if the assistant wasn¡¯t ying with me, I would have the power to do that.


    I took my phone out and did some research.


    News of the yellow mud and the factory suicide incident were all entangled.


    There were all kinds of interpretations and rumors.


    Some believed that the sewage and water tubes had cracked, and that news about the spring being contaminated was found everywhere.


    That led to the denial on the government¡¯s side.


    I also saw what my assistant was talking about. The people were rmending me to assume the role of the factory director. They were saying that they knew that I was the key to Blue Wave¡¯s future.


    I stayed up and continued to browse through thements.


    The next morning, I washed up and headed down to the factory.


    When I arrived at the door, I noticed a crowd surrounding it. They were all smiling at me and holding up big banners.


    Ady bounded over to me with a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯re Mr. Lu Qiao, right?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your secretary. I¡¯ll be the one arranging your schedule from here on out,¡± she said warmly.


    I nodded again and followed her inside, all the way to the office on the highest floor.


    The sign on the door read, ¡°Factory Director, Pang Dahai.¡±


    The secretary gave me an apologetic look. ¡°Our director left suddenly and we haven¡¯t had the chance to change it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I understand.¡±


    I walked into the office and took in the panoramic view of the factory that the room was decked out with.


    I sat down and saw a document with my name on it.


    ¡°Is this for me?¡± I asked the secretary.


    ¡°Yes. A reporter will be here in half an hour. It¡¯s a live broadcast so I¡¯ll need you to read the content in this folder. We prepared it a while ago. You can try familiarizing yourself with it,¡±


    I opened the folder and took out a long script. It contained exnations regarding the yellow mud water in the Western region, an apology from the former director, and my determination to run the ce well. I could say anything I please, but it was highly suggested that I talk about my time in the museum andment on Blue Wave water.


    ¡°Director Lu? Are you alright?¡± the secretary called out.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. It just looked like you were in a daze? Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have one.¡±


    ¡°Is the content wrong? Or something else?¡±


    ¡°Can you take me to the underground mineral spring?¡±


    ¡°Um... you only have half an hour before the interview. I can take you there after everything¡¯s done,¡± she said.


    I nodded and returned to the script.


    The media arrived as nned and a giant camera was quickly pointed at me.


    The reporter said his piece and handed the microphone to me.


    ¡°Hello, everyone, I¡¯m the new director, Lu Qiao. I believe that many of you already know me... the water here is from Blue Wave. Blue Wave is great,¡± I cheered.


    The reporter took over the mic and supplemented the interview with a few more lines before the cameraman put the camera down.


    The secretary started pping. ¡°You were great, Director Lu.¡±


    After a quick exchange, the cameraman and the reporter left.


    The secretary sent them off while I stayed in the office.


    I wondered if she was deliberately avoiding me.


    I went downstairs and met only a few workers along the way, which was odd to me.


    I put on the coat, gloves, mask, cap, and got disinfected before entering the air shower room.


    I saw arge machine and figured that it was the water extraction machine.


    The strange part was that both tubes were facing upward.


    Shouldn¡¯t one be facing downward in order to bring the water up?


    An old man walked over in regr clothes. ¡°Are you new here?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to wear all the gear, you know. The leaders won¡¯t run checks.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t the water and the equipment be contaminated if we don¡¯t dress properly?¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really new. Come see this pointer,¡± he said, shifting a table and cing it in front of a stool.


    I walked over to it and he sat me down.


    I saw a pointer in the middle of the gauge. On its left was green and its right red.


    The old man pointed at the needle. ¡°Your job is to look at this. If it goes toward the red, press this button and call me over to rece the filter tube. We will take turns once you learn how to change it.¡±


    ¡°What if it turns to the green?¡±


    ¡°If it turns green, do you expect the yellow mud water to filter itself without changing the filter?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I shuddered, my back turning cold.


    ¡°Don¡¯t skive and remember to press the button when it turns to the red. The previous fool fell asleep and the filter overloaded. The yellow mud water flowed out without being filtered and half the unfiltered water reached half the region so the fool got fired.¡±


    ¡°The... water... isn¡¯t from the underground spring?¡±


    ¡°See those foreign words on the machine? Ocean King Wave¡¯s stuff. Just the minimum to keep humans alive. We extract it from the ocean before filtering away the salt and mud. Did you really believe the guy from the museum? That the water will extend your life by 10%?¡± he mocked.


    The door opened and a fat man walked in.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been fired, silly fellow?¡± the old man asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Nah, just given a severe warning. I¡¯m here for my shift. I won¡¯t fall asleep anymore, promise. Wait. Have you heard that our new director is here? Pang Dahai owed debts andmitted suicide. The new director is the museum guy, the 10% guy,¡± Fatty said with augh.

 Chapter 181: Dig On, Dig On I

    <h4>Chapter 181: Dig On, Dig On I</h4>


    My name is Gou Dan and I¡¯m a miner.


    I was born in the vige and I am a bit uncultured. I have a brother who is a year older. His grades were much better than mine so our family sold ourst piece ofnd to send him abroad to study.


    As such, I could only give up on learning and enter the mine with other kids who were slightly older than I was.


    It was considered illegal, but I still took home 18 dors a day.


    To a 14-year-old, that was a huge sum, and it was also much higher than what other industries were paying.


    I¡¯ll tell you briefly about the mining procedures. It¡¯s not as simple as nting and digging.


    We wore a full set of uniform that was prepared by thepany.


    I was young at that time so even the smallest size was a tad too big for me.


    We wore uniforms not because it was dirty down there, but because our own clothes might produce friction and static electricity, causing sparks or gas that leads to an explosion.


    I hated the boots the most. They were simr to rain boots but thicker, stiffer and more unbreathable. Our leader would not let us enter the mine if we do not put them on, so I had no other choice.


    For every 10 miners, there was a leader. My leader was another big kid from my vige. His name is Dahai.


    He was very meticulous in many aspects.


    He would constantly remind us to bring our mine light, something that I absolutely hated. We already had a headlight attached to our helmet so themp was unnecessary in my opinion. ¡°Wait ¡¯til something happens,¡± Dahai would repeat.


    We weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electrical equipment down to the site to prevent explosions. Dahai would get annoyed when reminding us about it because some workers would secretly bring their phones along to check for messages or the time.


    Dahai enjoyed working with me since I had no money for a phone so he had no need to worry.


    Dahai often emphasized that safety was the priority and that prevention was better than cure. These were things he memorized from the manual, but the higher-ups liked it so Dahai quickly got promoted. By my first month, he had already be a leader.


    Dahai would often y a hrious guide video from his phone to educate us. He would also show us a video about an explosion that was triggered by a mobile phone in a gas station.


    For a long time, I had thought that the videos were given to him by his manager and that they might be fake. I couldn¡¯t understand how an invisible fire could lead to an explosion. It might have been a coincidence, and another colleague mentioned the possibility of photoshop.


    Dahai would rey the video and warn us not to bring electrical devices down before we enter the mine. It had be a standard procedure.


    Everyone would get dressed and proceed down.


    We had to take a lift made from iron panels, and we liked to call it the elevator cage.


    Whenever the lift door closed, we would feel like cats or dogs that had been locked up. A colleague would often chime, ¡°Down and up goes the elevator cage and a day is over. Down goes the elevator cage but not up, and our lives are over.¡±


    I remember thinking that we could start work immediately after descending, but I soon realized that that wasn¡¯t the case. Entering the mine was only the first step, we still had to walk over 10 kilometers uponnding.


    My colleagues exined that our mine was different from others. There were paths that required what we call a monkey car.


    It works like a cable car but it was stripped to the minimum, with just a bench and rope. Only one person can sit on the bench at a time, and he has to grab the rope like how monkeys grab onto tree branches. Majority of the miners disliked sitting on it because it was a shaky and an ufortable journey.


    Next, we would have to take the railway cart.


    On the track was a trolleybus that transported us deep into the mine cave, where we could finally get to work.


    No one would believe that there was a railway a few hundred feet underground unless they saw it for themselves.


    My favorite part was taking the cart since it gave me about 10 minutes of rest.


    I would fall asleep in the cart, just like most of the other miners, because we needed to focus a lot at work or risk endangering our lives.


    The front workers would lead the job by drilling holes, delineating the work region, and setting off the controlled explosions.


    After the explosions, us miners were in charge of digging while Dahai and another teacher would start constructing and provide shelter to ensure our safety.


    They would cover our heads with a shed made from a hydraulic pressure machine to prevent the copse of the coal mine.


    This job required specialized skills and total cooperation. Their protection was ourst guard and our lives depended on them.


    Once the shed was done, things would be easier.


    Everyone would exit thene and insert the customized coal extraction machine.


    The machine would cut the mine and pull them out.


    These make up the procedure of coal mining, and the steps after pulling it out weren¡¯t any of our business anymore.


    The teacher said that I was lucky since these machines weren¡¯t avable a while back.


    The shelter had to be built manually, along with the digging, collecting, and even transporting of coal.


    He would show me the cracks on his palms, which were permanently stained ck due to the coal. There was no way to remove such stains.


    Coal briquettes weren¡¯tmon anymore but arge volume of coal was still needed in many industries.


    What you don¡¯t know is that there are only about 500 registered miners in China but actually much more unrecorded employees.


    I started at 14 years old and was considered an illegal worker.


    Time passed and I had already worked in the mine for 10 whole years. More of my meaningful experiences and memories revolved around life underground than above ground.


    We were all aware that new energy was bing more and more popr whereas coal mining was in decline. It was only a matter of time before we run out of a job.


    There would be other mineral ores for us to dig, sure, but we all knew that coal mining was the easiest. We do not wish for our job to ever be terminated.

 Chapter 182: Dig On, Dig On II

    <h4>Chapter 182: Dig On, Dig On II</h4>


    No one wants to see things they dislike, yet the very things that they try to avoid would appear out of nowhere and in a very dramatic way.


    I lost my job one fine morning.


    Well, to be exact, we all lost our job.


    An ountant came to the site with his pickup truck to ry the news.


    This happened half a month ago, but people only noticed yesterday.


    The ountant said, ¡°Our boss Yun Huatengmitted suicide by consuming pesticide because he couldn¡¯t pay hisrge debts. This happened half a month ago and thepany has about 47,390,000 tonnes of coal left unsold. You are all going to stop mining from today onward.¡±


    Amidst the workers¡¯ discussion about future ns, the ountant continued muttering, ¡°All the coal extracted this year is in the storage, and many coal factories outside have turned into manufacturers of electrical appliances. The demand for coal is declining and even those who require it are ordering them in a smaller volume. Our profit this year is six billion short ofst year¡¯s.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t listening to him; none of us were. We were all thinking about what to do next.


    The ountant repeated helplessly, ¡°The boss expanded the business modelst year and much of the money was from loans and we are still paying installments for the machines. We¡¯re simply losing too much money and the excess coal will be rotting in the store. The bank ising to collect all the machinery. We are broke. There¡¯s over a hundred thousand here. Split it among yourselves and carry on with life.¡±


    Everyone protested and started arguing with the ountant.


    The ountant took out the newspaper that had our boss¡¯s death in the headlines. He was found in his home by creditors half a month after his death. The paper talked about the loss in coal business as well.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t take the rest of the money, the people from outside will do it tomorrow. When that timees, you won¡¯t get anything.¡±


    He squeezed through the crowd and called out the respective foremen.


    They would distribute the money to the leaders and the leaders would allocate it downward.


    By the time Dahai managed to distribute the money to the 10 of us, it had be a pitiful sum.


    Split among 300 workers, each of us only ended up with 800 dors.


    The bunch of us gathered as fellow workers, friends, vigers, and family, thinking about what course of action to carry out next.


    Dahai was as lost as I was; I couldn¡¯t believe that the problem I had just been worrying about awhile back was now realized.


    Many people started packing their luggage and some even mentioned that they were returning home to farm.


    Others started discussing potential business ns.


    Majority of the people, however, were hoping to find the same job in other mining factories.


    A foreman stood up and smiled bitterly. ¡°Even without transportation cost, the profit earned from one ton of coal isn¡¯t even that from a coca-c bottle. One ton could originally fetch a thousand dor profit, but justst month, it was reduced to just over three hundred dors. I said nothing about it but haven¡¯t others been spreading it? The machines here can extract 30 tonnes of coal a day but the consumption cost adds up to 8,000 RMB. This is excluding maintenance and repair costs. We¡¯re not the only ones losing our job here.¡±


    The truth was pressing down on us and we found it hard to breathe.


    ¡°Where else can we go?¡± I asked Dahai.


    He only shook his head in response.


    A few hourster, upon packing the luggage, Dahai told me that he was going to take over his father¡¯s farm.


    I, on the other hand, was at a loss because my familynd had been rented out.


    There wasn¡¯t any other choice, however, so I decided to make a trip home first.


    Since Dahai and I were from the same vige, he paid for our car ride.


    It was ironic since he was also the one who paid for my ride 10 years ago when I first came to work.


    He was the one who brought me into this job.


    On our way home, Dahai requested that I keep thepany¡¯s copse a secret.


    Dahai spent the rest of the journey thinking about what to say when we got back. He came up with the story that he had a house and car in another city and had brought over a hundred thousand to visit them. He told me that I could use the same excuse to save some face.


    When I questioned how he was going to mention the farm, he lowered his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just keep it for as long as I can. One step at a time.¡±


    I agreed to help him keep mum and he asked if I needed an excuse.


    I shook my head and remained quiet because I had no idea where to start.


    The outside of the vige had changedpletely and I, too, had taken on a whole different appearance.


    The old wooden houses within the viges had be cement houses and the muddy paths were now cemented as well.


    It was then that I recalled briefly mentioning that I was leaving for work and that I hadn¡¯t contacted anyone for the past 10 years.


    Dahai and I stood at the vige entrance and he suggested that we spent the night at an inn before heading home.


    We exchanged nces. Dahai did not look like a sessful man at all, so how was I going to pass it off?


    The inn was eight stories high and we stayed in unit 603, room three on the sixth floor that is.


    From where we stood, we could overlook the whole vige.


    The houses in the vige looked the same, except for my house, which was inharmoniously made from tiles and bricks.


    I pondered over Dahai¡¯s words. He often spent wastefully and only had about a hundred thousand left.


    Because I had been rather thrifty, I have over four hundred thousands of savings.


    It wasn¡¯t a lot, considering that I couldn¡¯t purchase a house or even a better quality car.


    I appreciated the looks of cars, but I didn¡¯t know how to drive, which wasn¡¯t surprising since I had spent 10 years of my life in the mine.


    Dahai dragged me along to purchase a full suit for himself.


    While I did not get a suit, I did follow him to get a haircut.


    The next morning, he said that he was going home first and paid for an additional night for me. He wanted me to return a day after and pretend not to know him. He was afraid that I would tell them that I had quit, which would make everything seem illogical.

 Chapter 183: Dig On, Dig On III

    <h4>Chapter 183: Dig On, Dig On III</h4>


    Since I did not know how to face my family, I agreed.


    I found an agricultural bank nearby and made a codeless card. I then deposited 200,000 into it.


    Back in my room, I went over the lines that I was going to recite, ¡°I¡¯m a high-level engineer in a coal mining factory. I get tens of thousands a month. Here¡¯s 200,000 for you to do up the house a little. I¡¯ll only be here for three days since I have to get back to my job.¡±


    The best way to deceive others is to deceive yourself, so I continuously bore these lines into my head.


    I dreamed that my parents found out about my lie, and woke up drenched in cold sweat. It was a horrible feeling.


    I continued practicing the lines in the afternoon until my telephone rang and startled me.


    It was the receptionist, calling to remind me to check out by two or to pay for another day¡¯s stay at the counter if I was interested in extending it.


    I waited until 1:30 before heading back home.


    After a few knocks on the door, my parents opened it and stared at me.


    Mom was the first to recognize me. ¡°Gou Dan,¡± she greeted with a smile.


    Dad stood by the door in shock. He was indescribably happy to see me.


    I stammered, ¡°I¡¯m a high-level... engineer in a coal... coal mining factory. Tens of thousands a month... here to visit. 200,000... do up the house. I¡¯m leaving after three... um, I¡¯m busy. I¡¯ll leave tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Come in and we¡¯ll talk. Where have you been all these years, Gou Dan?¡± Dad asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been 10 years, hasn¡¯t it? I remember it,¡± Mom mused with a warm smile.


    I wondered how I had done such a terrible job at that even after long hours of practice.


    Luckily, judging from the way they were beaming at me, my parents didn¡¯t notice or care.


    ¡°What did you say at the door, Gou Dan? What engineer? 200,000?¡± Dad asked.


    ¡°Here¡¯s 200,000. It¡¯s the money I¡¯ve earned to give to you two. I earn 10,000 a month so it¡¯s more than enough for me to live on, don¡¯t worry,¡± I lied nervously.


    ¡°Good job, boy. You¡¯ve done well,¡± Dad said proudly.


    That night, he bought two bottles of sorghum liquor from a small store nearby.


    Mom cooked a whole array of dishes for us.


    I was asked many, many questions that day and while I was being evasive at first, the alcohol eventually gave me a courage boost.


    I made use of that adrenaline to exin the standard work procedures to them and took credit for the operation of equipment and machinery.


    Dad was utterly satisfied.


    Mom walked over to her pillow and retrieved a photograph from underneath it.


    It was my brother in the photograph, standing beside a white-haired man and holding his university degree.


    Mom exined that my brother was working in an Englishpany and that she felt apologetic toward me but was unable to locate me all these years.


    I shook my head and told her that it was alright.


    She took out a pen and paper and had me put down my name and contact number.


    As I was writing, she took my hand andmented, ¡°Look at your rough hand. Must be tough on you...¡±


    I looked down and thought about Teacher¡¯s ckened hand.


    Dad drank a few sses and cheered happily that both his children had done him proud.


    Mom, however,ined that Brother was unfilial for not visiting them.


    I drank a few more cups with Dad but we talked less toward the end.


    When all was done, I smiled and told them that I would return the next year.


    They smiled a bittersweet smile.


    Dad took the bank card and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to see how we can renovate this ce. It is time for some changes.¡±


    The next morning, I left and decided to find a more prosperous city to go to.


    After half a day of searching, I set my eyes on Guangzhou.


    The cost of living was rtively cheaper than that in Beijing.


    I bought a bus ticket and started my three-day journey.


    By the time we arrived, our backs were all numbed from lying down too much.


    I found an inn and since I had no skills, I became a door guard.


    Food and amodation were provided and I received 1,300 a month.


    Half a monthter, I received a call from an unknown number from Shanghai.


    The caller began, ¡°Gou Dan? I¡¯m your brother. I heard that you¡¯re operating machines at the mine?¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know about excavation, tunnels and the like right?¡±


    I paused for a second, smiling inwardly since I was indeed familiar with these things.


    ¡°Hello? You there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know about all those things. Sorry, the signal isn¡¯t great here,¡± I lied.


    ¡°Do you have credentials? Mom said you¡¯re a high-level engineer, but you didn¡¯t study, did you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t study, but I do have knowledge regarding them. There are no certifications provided here. We were taught personally by our teacher.¡±


    ¡°No certification? It¡¯s gonna be hard then...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I might need someone like you here to execute a simr job. I called Mom earlier and she told me about your experience, which is why I¡¯m calling you,¡± he exined kindly.


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    ¡°Will you be interested to help me out?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to start work. Let¡¯s talk at night,¡± I said.


    ¡°Alright, but you don¡¯t have any certification and qualifications, right? It will be more difficult, but if you really have the expertise, I can get you a few false testimonies.¡±


    ¡°Fake certs?¡± I repeated even though I knew exactly what those meant.


    He lowered his voice, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m working in a huge state enterprise and forging documents ismon here. A lot of employees came in with fake qualifications. It¡¯s no problem, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

 Chapter 184: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 184: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) I</h4>


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. I really gotta go and I¡¯ll lose signal when I go down.¡±


    ¡°I heard that you gave them 200,000 to renovate the house. I don¡¯t know how much you earn a month, but Mom said it¡¯s about 10,000? A project over at my side can cost up to a billion dors, and the job position you¡¯ll be in will get you 300,000 a year. It will be simr to what you¡¯re earning but you won¡¯t have to go down to the mine so it¡¯s definitely not as dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to work. I can¡¯t talk more. I¡¯ll give you an answer as soon as possible so wait for my reply.¡±


    I hung up and pressed down on the almost deformed switch button of my Nokia phone.


    The screen was already ck but I had no intention of letting it go.


    300,000 a year. That was all that I could remember from our conversation.


    Working as a security guard for the inn was really a waste of time.


    Brother needed someone with specialized knowledge and hadn¡¯t I been umting rted experience for 10 years?


    As for the needed certifications, Brother had said that it was not a problem.


    So why not?


    I stood by the entrance, totally preupied with my thoughts.


    After work, I returned to the dorm where ten of us shared a room.


    I stared at my phone, conflicted.


    After a few deep breaths, I finally switched it on.


    Immediately, as the screen lit up with the famous hand grabbing hand scene, I wanted very much to turn it off again.


    I pressed on, however, and finally forced myself to open the phone call history.


    I pondered over my choices as I stared at my brother¡¯s number on the screen.


    I could either live on half-heartedly or go earn a whopping 300,000 a year.


    There was an obvious answer, but my mind was circling endlessly between them.


    I bit down on my teeth and finally made the call.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he greeted.


    ¡°Hey, Brother.¡±


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d call. Mining work isn¡¯t fun,¡± he responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in what you offered earlier, but I don¡¯t know if there would be risks. You do know that I don¡¯t have the necessary papers.¡±


    ¡°Upon graduation, I entered the medical field. Minimally invasive surgery is my specialization, and I have made quite a name for myself. It is, however, in the theoretical stage so I¡¯ll need some specialized opinions. I need a powerful voice to assist me.¡±


    ¡°The high-level engineer you were talking about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I invited many talents but they backed out the moment they knew it was about a human experiment. I understand that what they do is different from us, but if this thing was to seed, it would be a blessing to humankind.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do, then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Very simple yet very difficult,¡± he answered. ¡°I¡¯m married, do you know that? Probably not, since I haven¡¯t mentioned it to Mom and Dad. No one in mypany knows as well.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that so?¡±


    ¡°Underground love. I have no choice since my wife is the head of the human resource department in this verypany. Politics you know... I don¡¯t want to have to deal with maliciousments about power abuse and so on.¡±


    ¡°What has that got to do with a high-level engineer?¡±


    He softened his voice once more, ¡°The human resource department is in charge of recruiting the talents. I¡¯ll prepare the necessary documents for you. Once you be an employee,y low for a bit and then I¡¯ll get you to prove the safety of my equipment. What follows next is clinical in nature so you don¡¯t have to know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to prove that it¡¯s safe to get 300,000 a year? Why isn¡¯t anyone taking up such a good offer?¡±


    ¡°It is a life-changing amount for people from viges, but if you have the qualifications to work in a big city, the job that you¡¯re doing now can easily fetch you much more. Mechanical engineering might be somewhat different from what you¡¯re doing, but what I¡¯m doing is simr to your stuff.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been telling me that a lot but I still don¡¯t know what your research is about,¡± I added.


    ¡°Coronary heart disease. Do you know it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, it is an illness where the connecting veins are clogged. My treatment is called bridge building, whereby a section of vein will be retrieved from the patient¡¯s arm or leg to rece the clogged section. It¡¯s a troublesome and risky surgery, but I¡¯ve thought about a solution.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure if we¡¯re on the same page,¡± I said.


    After a long sigh, he added, ¡°You¡¯re a miner and was taught by a teacher. I don¡¯t me you for not understanding. How about you quit your job and fly over here? I¡¯ll make the arrangements and we can talk it over in detail.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but what if we get caught forging documents? What will happen?¡±


    ¡°I can guarantee you that nothing will go wrong. Plus, thepany does need a specialized expert in this area and they can¡¯t afford to lose their reputation even if you get caught.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯d be better if you find an authoritative figure,¡± Imented.


    ¡°I have already figured a way to separate my registered residence from you guys. Just don¡¯t mention that we¡¯re rted so they won¡¯t be able to track anything from me. Even if you do get caught, just bear with it for three months and I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll pay you the 300,000 even if thepany doesn¡¯t, and then you can return to your mine. Take it that you¡¯re doing me a favor, alright?¡± he said.


    ¡°This is..¡±


    ¡°I graduated six years ago and had spent all my time and effort on this equipment. I won¡¯t be able to continue if it¡¯s not proved to be safe. I will forever be stuck in this theoretical stage. I believe that the risk is worth it,¡± he finished with conviction.


    I agreed.

 Chapter 185: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 185: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) II</h4>


    ¡°I can get someone else to do this for me but I chose you because you¡¯re my brother. Plus, you have the experience that I need so it¡¯s all perfect.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I got it,¡± I said.


    My dorm mates suddenly returned and it started to get noisy.


    ¡°Noisy over there, eh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s inevitable in a working ground.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m in Hongqiao and I will need you to be here within a week¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as possible,¡± I said before hanging up and lying on my bed, deep in thought.


    ¡°Gou Dan? What working ground? Who were you talking to?¡± a co-worker asked.


    ¡°Rtive who works in construction.¡±


    ¡°Be there as soon as possible?¡±


    ¡°Building houses to digging grounds?¡±


    ¡°Did you ask him if it is tough? Don¡¯t you guys think that it is morefortable here?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is, but the money a construction job brings...¡±


    A few of them started discussing while Iy in bed, tossing and turning.


    I had enough money with me so there wasn¡¯t a need to worry about being scammed.


    And he¡¯s my brother so why would he do that to me?


    But to collude with him... forging documents is a scam, isn¡¯t it?


    The equipment could be used clinically the moment someone acknowledges that it is safe. But what if something happens? Whatever he said about it being absolutely safe was merely his own belief.


    Could I trust him?


    New questions started filling up my mind.


    It felt as though I was standing on a cliff with nothing to do but look forward since the treasuresy beyond.


    I just had to take the leap, where failing meant a fall into the abyss.


    But what if I make the jump? Would I be able to return?


    Would I be able to withdraw fully once I go over?


    He thinks that I¡¯m a specialized operator who could jump as far as I would like and return to the start whenever I pleased.


    He didn¡¯t know that I was just an ordinary runner who had been trained for a few years but would still run out of breath.


    I fished a coin out from my pocket and held it tightly in my hand.


    I was going to leave it to fate.


    Head and I would go for it; tails and I would forget about it.


    I tossed it high up into the air...


    It was the 17th of the month. I had been in this inn for 13 days, which meant that I had worked 13 days for free.


    Now, I had a week¡¯s time to head to Shanghai.


    I chose not to take the ne since it was expensive and I had a lot of time.


    I rode the long distance bus for two days and when I arrived in Shanghai, I stayed the night at an inn before heading to Hongqiao the next day.


    Brother called me once along the way to ask about the preparations I did for my resignation.


    I said that I needed a few more days and told him to just leave me an address. I even expressed my worry that returning back to my workce would be difficult once I resigned.


    There was no way I could tell him that I had lost my job. Plus, I wasn¡¯t even considered an expert operator.


    He mentioned that weekends were his day offs and he would be home daily from 6 PM onward. He instructed me to call him when I arrive so that he could apply for leave and receive me properly.


    I stayed in an inn in Hongqiao for three days and it felt as though I really had a lot of matters to handle.


    I then gave him a call and told him that I was in his neighborhood.


    The houses in big cities were different, with one being taller than the next.


    Brother came down and invited me up to his ce.


    ¡°I just bought this ce so I¡¯m still paying the installments,¡± he said with a smile.


    His ce was huge. There were three rooms and a living hall filled with some dazzling decor.


    It was dazzling to me, of course, considering that I had been squeezing in an inn for the past few days.


    I asked Brother why he hadn¡¯t made a visit in such a long time and he replied, ¡°I¡¯m simply too busy. Few would have the time to return to their viges once theye out to work.¡±


    That night, my sister-inw prepared a whole table of dishes but not wine.


    After clearing the dishes, she returned to her room and Brother took out a file. ¡°You must have seen a number of engineering drawings by now. This is my rough design. Probably simr to what you guys have over there.¡±


    I sat awkwardly on the sofa as he opened the file and took out about ten pieces of paper.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve mentioned, it¡¯s about building bridges. Extract a section of vein from the leg or arm to build it atop the clogged one. To open up a new path basically. In mining terms, you¡¯ll call that something like a roundabout route,¡± he exined as heid out the papers.


    I looked them over realized that the pictures were much more vivid than what he had said.


    ¡°Is that really okay? Putting a vein from an arm or leg onto the heart?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The clinical side has confirmed that there is no problem. Nevertheless, this is still stuck in the questionable stage.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean this already exists?¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is the main coronary heart disease treatment case study. I¡¯vee up with another kind over the past six years. It¡¯s what I call the support.¡±


    ¡°Support?¡± I repeated, uncertain.


    ¡°I told you it¡¯s about clogged veins, isn¡¯t it? In exact terms, it means that the vein has thickened. To speak simply, my method is to insert a support into the clogged area and open it slowly. Won¡¯t a route be opened up? It¡¯s much less troublesome,¡± he exined, taking out another piece of paper


    I browsed through it.


    It was very detailed. After inserting a tube into a thickened vein, it bes balloon-shaped. When removed, a-shaped frame was left inside.


    It immediately reminded me of the hydraulic pressure frame that protected us underground.


    It was our protective umbre, the key to preventing a copse.


    ¡°I think this works. Isn¡¯t it just like the hydraulic pressure we use when mining?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Sounds about right! You think it¡¯s feasible, don¡¯t you? Many engineers have agreed but no one was willing to guarantee it. All I need now is a conference or deration,¡± he added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about medical science but this web... no, this support might fall off if not secured properly,¡± Imented.

 Chapter 186: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 186: Dig On, Dig On (Part 2) III</h4>


    ¡°This is the concern every engineer had upon seeing this. After all, as long as the worker underground is safe, the copse is not a problem. When ites to a vital organ like the heart, however, that must not happen. I can promise that, but no one believes me.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± I corrected him.


    ¡°So you¡¯re willing to help me?¡± he asked eagerly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already resigned and flown to meet you. What more assurance do you need?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare the materials for you tomorrow, then. All you¡¯ll need is an interview. There will be a conference after you get the job, so just use your mining analogy to strengthen my proposal. We will get a script ready so you¡¯ll just have to read it out.¡±


    ¡°Wait, conference? You didn¡¯t say anything about a conference¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nothing. You just need to show your face to the people,¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be reporters? And won¡¯t it be shown on television?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a 300,000 dor job, after all. If there¡¯s no need to make an appearance, everyone would be fighting for this job. Didn¡¯t you say you trust me? Are you going back on your words?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not, but I need to rify something with you... the forging... of documents...¡± I stammered.


    ¡°No one else knows about it other than me and your sister-inw. If outsiders were to investigate thoroughly, they would arrive at the materials I¡¯ve prepared. Just like how I¡¯m concealing my marriage. Your certs and credentials will be dered and made known online as well so it will just be like the real thing. There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± he reassured.


    ¡°Like the real thing?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°It all boils down to whether you¡¯re able to perform a convincing show,¡± Brother added.


    ¡°Convincing?¡± I thought back to the time I visited own my parents and stuttered non-stop despite a full day of rehearsal.


    How would I fare in front of other people? The media? The whole world?


    I fell silent.


    Brother patted me my shoulder. ¡°You should rest first. The room on the left is yours. You don¡¯t have any luggage, right? In that case, remember to get some clothes. I¡¯ll prepare a suit for your interview in a few days¡¯ time. The appearance will happen about a month or two after your interview. We will get you familiar with the job scope before starting work properly.¡±


    I nodded.


    ...


    A weekter, Brother brought me out to pick a suit.


    A blue suit that made me look different from usual.


    I was then given a fresh hairstyle. The thick amount of wax made me feel ufortable and stifled.


    He then drove us to thepany building and handed me a document file.


    ¡°Everything you¡¯ll need is inside. You don¡¯t have to speak when the cameras sh and when they talk to you. Your sister-inw will intercept their questions and cover for you.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±


    He smiled and pointed to the entrance as I brought the file into the building.


    My sister-inw was waiting for me inside. ¡°This way, Mr. Li,¡± she greeted kindly.


    We took the elevator right up to the highest floor and to a door with the word te ¡°CEO¡±.


    I recalled Brother¡¯s words and opened it.


    A fleshy man raised his head and asked, ¡°Who¡¯sing in without knocking?¡±


    I ced the file down on his table.


    Sister-inw walked in from behind and introduced, ¡°Director Wang, this is Mr. Li. He¡¯s here to interview for the senior engineer and spokesperson¡¯s position.¡±


    ¡°How do I address you, Mr. Li?¡± Director Wang asked, smiling.


    I shut my mouth and looked at him expressionlessly.


    Sister-inw quickly walked over to him and whispered something.


    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s only normal for Mr. Li to be in a bad temper. You¡¯re highly skilled and I admire you.¡± Director Wang smiled and flipped through the file after putting on his sses.


    After reading through each and every document, he took his sses down. ¡°You¡¯re perfect, Mr. Li Goudan. Thepany is willing to work with you and have you as our spokesperson. Thank you for wanting to be a part of this.¡±


    I continued observing him with a nk face.


    ¡°Mr. Li?¡± Director Wang called out before standing up and waving his hand.


    ¡°Have I passed?¡± I asked faintly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he confirmed with a smile, extending his hand out.


    After a brief handshake, I turned around to leave.


    Outside the door, I leaned against the wall to breathe.


    I could hear Sister-inw talking to him in the room.


    ¡°Talented people mostly have a temper,¡± shemented.


    ¡°I¡¯m a director... should I be like him, too?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll keep this,¡± she offered, packing the documents.


    She exited his office andughed upon seeing my breathless face. She pulled me to the lift and out of the building.


    From that day onward, I had a private office of my own.


    Brother visited me regrly and brought in a script a monthter.


    I could change its content if I wish. There were a lot of medical terms that I wasn¡¯t familiar with.


    The script was three pages long, and I scored badly in school precisely because I hated memorizing.


    Brother said I only had half a month¡¯s time so I had no choice but to recite the script daily.


    On the day of the conference, I had the whole script ingrained in my head.


    I was given a small button to press in order to change the presentation slides.


    What I had to talk about was Brother¡¯s new treatment method.


    I exined and demonstrated how it would work while Brother watched me.


    When it was finally over, the stage was overtaken by a round of apuse.


    The host announced, ¡°Let¡¯s move on to the interview segment.¡±


    Brother came over to me and whispered, ¡°I kept it from you because I didn¡¯t want to you be nervous.¡±


    ¡°Hi, may I know how this is better than bridge building?¡± a reporter asked.


    After a short pause, I picked up a ss of water and sipped on it a little.


    It was something I had memorized previously but it was still nerve-wracking.


    ¡°The support frame technique is minimally invasive, brings little damage and cost. Bridging is the opposite and not allowed in some hospitals. Of course, the patient should be properly examined before we determine the best treatment.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s noparison value?¡± the reporter continued.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, looking straight at him.


    Another round of apuse broke out and Sister-inw gave me a thumbs up from off stage, which helped me rx.


    The next few questions were those I had prepared for so I was extremely relieved.


    When things got awkward, Brother took over the microphone to answer on my behalf.


    His answers were ambiguous but evoked cheers nevertheless.


    When all was done, I saw Brother and Sister-inw smiling widely from below.


    Epilogue.


    My name had been added to Baidu¡¯s information page regarding the support frame treatment.


    Brother¡¯s name, however, could not be found since he had chosen to focus on research and development and stay behind the scenes.


    There are pros and cons to the treatment but it served as a new alternative to the bridging method.


    I chose to resign three yearster and returned to the vige.


    I redeemed thend my parents had sold off and started to farm with the excuse of wanting to spend more time with them since I had already earned enough money.

 Chapter 187: Ghost Market I

    <h4>Chapter 187: Ghost Market I</h4>


    My name is Lu Qiao and I¡¯m the boss of a ghost market.


    There are many kinds of bosses around here since a ghost market isn¡¯t apany but a marketce.


    There are a lot of definitions of a ghost market but it generally refers to a type of marketce simr to that in Old Beijing.


    There are over 80 ghost markets spread around four cities in Old Beijing. The market within the Western Imperial City is the biggest.


    It is also the ce where I work.


    Ghost markets started with sales of second-hand clothes and at times, new clothes refined from raw materials.


    There were only these items in the old ghost markets butter on, other sorts of old goods started appearing in the ghost market.


    Some of these old goods were authentic while others were not. Really, they were mostly not.


    There were items with unknown origins and also precious treasures.


    Many pass off fish eyes for pearls so people see ghost markets as fake marketces.


    Ever since the introduction of old goods into the market, you could find practically anything in there.


    There weren¡¯t just buying and selling in the market, but they also make goods exchange.


    Some said that you could even get guns from there.


    While 80% of the items in the market were fake, the other 20% were usually extremely valuable.


    A story¡¯s been spreading in recent years about a fellow who sells porcins from Jingdezhen street. He would carry exactly 128 pieces in two baskets hung by a pole over his shoulders. His goods were real but seem used. Nevertheless, they looked perfect and wless. It was said that the original owner used them really carefully. It might be someone from a rich family. The fellow sells them at really cheap prices and even give up to 50% discounts. People who managed to get a few pieces from him were lucky because, upon closer inspection, the pieces were all good stuff. They said that the fellow was a repairman in a well-to-do family who steals the pieces to sell them for urgent money.


    There were actually many stories like that going around.


    It was also said that in older years, one could get officials¡¯ uniforms, army stamps, and even jade seals. Even the twelve zodiac copper statues have appeared in ghost markets.


    Aside from non-living objects, live creatures could also be found easily.


    Ghost markets sound interesting and new so they attract a lot of youngsters.


    Anyone could be a boss in ghost markets as long as they have things to sell and a mat to sell them on.


    In fact, they could even sell things they had just purchased from the very same market moments ago.


    There were many bosses in ghost markets but only a few truly earn some profit.


    I¡¯m in the minority group who¡¯s actually earning.


    As its name implies, the ghost market brings different interpretations.


    There were all sorts of ghost markets now, even fake ones.


    Borrowing the market¡¯s name, people would start appearing at night to sell their items.


    The real ghost market opens every Thursdays from four in the morning and for only an hour.


    So basically, I¡¯m working only an hour a week.


    The rest of the days of the week, I prepare diligently for the uing shift at the market.


    There¡¯s a set of rules within the ghost market: No shouting, no greeting, no snatching of business. All must be left to the consumers themselves.


    I earn my own money this way.


    The items I sell are different from other sellers; I make voodoo dolls during my off days.


    The voodoo dolls weren¡¯t new as I would soak them in tea. I would then prepare a red cardboard box that is made to look old and write on it with ink. ¡°Write your enemy¡¯s name down and slip it in.¡±


    Yes, that¡¯s right, I sell voodoo dolls.


    Fake ones, of course.


    I spread a fresh red cloth over the ground and ced the three voodoo dolls on it, waiting for a curious bunch to gather around.


    When someone approaches my stall, I would first observe his shoes.


    From that alone, I could gather about 70% of the information. I could get an idea of his living standards from the condition of his shoes and his financial ability from its brand.


    I would then confirm my judgment by observing his conversing style and actions. Of course, I¡¯m never always right.


    Adidas¡¯ Yeezys costs from 3,000 to even tens of thousands of dors.


    I often see youngsters wearing trendy sneakers, but I do know that there are also fake 20-dor Yeezys online.


    I would usually set a price based on a person¡¯s wealth, and ept anything from 30 to 1,000.


    When there¡¯s a group of people, I would sell my dolls at a higher price and wait for them to fight it out.


    The moment I set a price, there¡¯s no room for a bargain and I ept cash, AliPay or even UnionPay since I had a POS machine.


    When all three dolls are sold out, I would wait a little while before putting three more on the mat.


    I had only an hour a week, and my highest record was selling over 20 dolls.


    There were times where I sold nothing as well, but results were usually good.


    The ghost market is really big and I always set my stall in the southern part.


    My ability to remember people is quite remarkable so there were people whom I would recognize.


    I would remember who I¡¯ve sold the dolls to and cover my dolls up when I notice them in the market. There are two sides to my cloth, the top red in color and the underside grey.


    I would only open up the cloth when they had passed by in order to prevent trouble. There were times that I failed but there¡¯s a ¡®no refund¡¯ rule so it wasn¡¯t really a big deal.


    I¡¯m 28 this year and I have known about the ghost market since I was 17.


    I never missed a Thursday in the market ever since.


    The market works on a firste first serve basis so whoever reaches first gets to upy a space of their choice.


    This is only half true since there were already over 20 fixed stalls spread over the northern, southern, eastern, and western part.


    They¡¯re prepared for the four ghost kings: Dong Zhao, Nan Qian, Xi Sun, and Bei Li.


    They¡¯re no longer in the market, and who knows, they might not even be in Beijing anymore.


    They have their own assistants running everything for them.


    I¡¯m working under Nan Qian. He¡¯s called Nan Qian not because Qian is his surname but because he runs a currency exchange.


    It¡¯s impossible to say that there are no factions within the market, but the factions have limited power and are small and covert.


    All they do is upynd and I do own a space of my own.


    There are fees to upy thend of course, but it was extremely worth every cent in my opinion since it had been the reason why sales were more or less guaranteed.


    I do not enjoy scamming people, but for survival, I no longer knew what should and shouldn¡¯t be done.

 Chapter 188: Ghost Market II

    <h4>Chapter 188: Ghost Market II</h4>


    Do you believe in a biological clock? I do because I get up exceptionally early on Thursdays.


    I don¡¯t like setting rms so on other days, I would usually wake up at 12 noon when the sun is already shining its brightest.


    On Thursdays, however, I would wake up at two in the morning without fail.


    What I have most at home wasn¡¯t straw material, but tea leaves.


    Before I started this business, my parents were in the tea business.


    It was an idental discovery that I could soak my materials in tea to make them appear old.


    I would soak 25 dolls and a cloth in tea before getting breakfast. I leave home at 3:30 and reach the market in ten minutes¡¯ time.


    Business wasn¡¯t very good today, but I¡¯m ustomed to it.


    I¡¯ve only sold one and it¡¯s already 4:30.


    I saw an olddy looking over at me. She had actually been looking at me since the opening of the market at four in the morning.


    After the crowd around my area has dwindled, she finally came over to me.


    The market consisted mostly of youngsters and those in their 30s and 40s. Any individual older than 50 was rare.


    The olddy squatted down in front of me and pointed out, ¡°You¡¯re selling dolls?¡±


    ¡°Voodoo dolls, 1 for 30,¡± I said since she really didn¡¯t look like a wealthydy. I could tell that her cloth shoes had been mended before.


    ¡°Exchangeable?¡± she asks.


    It is a rule that barter trading is allowed. However, since youngsters dominate the crowd, there would seldom be people who bring items along to exchange for other goods.


    ¡°Sorry, only for sale,¡± I answered.


    She ced a pouch in front of me. ¡°Not even this?¡±


    It¡¯s a very ck pouch and something within shed under the street lights.


    It¡¯s something yellow. Gold? The olddy didn¡¯t seem like she has anything valuable to offer so why would she exchange gold for a 30-dor doll?


    ¡°Do you know what this is for?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she responded, raising her head.


    She looked rather scary and there was even a deep scar on her face.


    ¡°Are you seeking revenge?¡±


    ¡°No questions. Focus on buying and selling. Rules,¡± she said with an eerie smile.


    ¡°Oh... what¡¯s that in your hands, then?¡± I continued.


    ¡°Touch it. It¡¯s old stuff. You have two dolls left and I want both.¡±


    I picked the bag up and found it surprisingly heavy.


    Just from the weight alone, it seemed that I won¡¯t lose out. It might just be a gold te, but even a fake one would be more valuable than my dolls.


    Frowning, I said, ¡°This is a one-off deal, Granny. No going back on your words after the exchange.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Does this really work, though?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s in your hands so whatever you want to do is up to you.¡±


    She handed me the pouch and stashed the dolls away in her pocket.


    I closed my hands over the pouch and smiled. ¡°Deal¡¯s done.¡±


    She got up and said, ¡°What you have now is even more extraordinary.¡±


    She walked off without a backward nce.


    Dahai turned to me and asked curiously, ¡°You exchanged something? Did you finally made an exception?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, feels like it¡¯s good stuff,¡± I exined, opening the pouch. It contained a golden pocket watch.


    ¡°Gold?¡± Dahai eximed.


    ¡°Seems like it. I¡¯ll get it checked tomorrow,¡± I said.


    ¡°You have to get rid of that as soon as possible. Ghosts you know...¡± Dahai advised.


    ¡°I will. Thanks.¡± I took out another three dolls from my bag and reced it with the pouch before zipping it up.


    There wasn¡¯t much of a crowd today, unfortunately, because the weather was a bit too cold. Business in the ghost market is seasonal in that sense.


    Dahai sighed at the sight of the sparse crowd.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°The weather¡¯s rubbish so there¡¯s not many people. I¡¯m going, do you want toe along? I¡¯ll treat you noodles,¡± he offered with augh.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just wait a little more since there are still people walking around.¡±


    ¡°There are no youngsters, though.¡±


    ¡°You go ahead!¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s discuss the big business tomorrow,¡± he said.


    ¡°The factory we have been talking about for three years? You¡¯ve finally decided?¡± I asked, but Dahai has already taken his stuff and left.


    What Dahai has in his bag was a huge bunch of old coins. Dahai is Nan Qian¡¯s distant rtive.


    I actually got my space thanks to my connection with Dahai.


    We¡¯re best buddies who¡¯ve known each other since middle school.


    None of us went to university so we ended up in this ghost market.


    Nan Qian¡¯s surname isn¡¯t Qian. His surname is Pang, and his predecessor, Pang Long was one of the founders of the ghost market.


    Pang Long was extremely rich and had five boys during the Ming Dynasty. As such, his sons were known as the five tigers.


    Only the Emperor¡¯s sons were regarded as dragons back then. Ordinary citizens¡¯ sons were regarded as tigers.


    Pang Dahai is the great, great grandson of the smallest tiger in Pang family.


    These are things Dahai would mention when we chat casually at work.


    The five tigers in the family took over all of Pang Long¡¯s business.


    The first son inherited the ghost market and earned the most.


    The second son then took over the shop evaluation part and was in charge of raising his family business¡¯ value.


    The third son was the biggest shopkeeper in Beijing¡¯s money farm.


    The fourth son took over his father¡¯snd, which wasn¡¯t worth much in the past. Luckily,nd value has risen crazily over the years and it has now be the Pang family¡¯s main business pir.


    As for the fifth son... Dahai¡¯s been cursing at his ancestor every day. The fifth son was a reckless man that didn¡¯t have any redeeming qualities. He spent extravagantly and was disowned by his father at 17. He lived the rest of his life muddleheadedly. As such, Dahai wasn¡¯t really considered a kin but when he really needed help, the Pang family woulde to his aid in secret.


    These historical events happened before the reform.


    If Dahai¡¯s ancestor had just been a little more obedient, Dahai might be apletely different person now.


    Yet, it was this struggle that made Dahai what he is today.


    It¡¯s also because of that that I get a piece ofnd within this ghost market.


    The ghost market isn¡¯t upied by just one family; Nan Qian only owns the Northern side even after a hundred years of development.


    Dahai said that the person in charge of the matters regarding the northern side today was his patrilineal cousin, Pang Guang.


    Pang Guang was easily recognizable since he had fat ears and a big bald head. I would see him asionally in the market.


    Dahai¡¯s copper coins were given by Pang Guang.


    The coins made Dahai decent money since they were real money. The profits were shocking but Dahai only receivedmissions from his sales.

 Chapter 189: Ghost Market III

    <h4>Chapter 189: Ghost Market III</h4>


    I took the pocket watch out of the pouch once more.


    It looked a little old under the moonlight. I opened it up and there was only a watch face inside ¨C no needle at all. There was just an empty ck hole in the middle.


    It must¡¯ve been taken out.


    I shook it a little but there wasn¡¯t any sound. It was just an empty shell.


    Have I been scammed?


    My voodoo dolls might not be worth much, but it still sucked to be cheated.


    There wasn¡¯t a point in getting this watch checked since there were no needles. How am I going to sell it? F*ck, the older the wiser!


    Then again, why was this empty shell of a watch so heavy?


    I lifted it up and looked into it from outside.


    The workmanship was excellent, unlike that of cheap goods that get churned out inrge quantities without regard for quality.


    The watch cover was fine and there were a lot of words on it.


    All English.


    Frustrated, I took my mobile phone out and spent 10 minutes keying the seven rows of English words into the trantion engine.


    ¡°Cut out a photo of someone you hate and ce it inside. When all three needles point at the person you hate, vengeance will be sought and a spirit will grant your wish.¡±


    A chill ran down my spine. It was exactly what I had written on my red paper but more ruthless.


    Open the watch, put a photo inside, wait for the clock to strike 12 and a vengeful spirit will help you?


    If this was real, wasn¡¯t it much more effective than my voodoo doll?


    But why were the needles missing?


    Was it to prevent more harm from happening to people? I turned my phone light on and aimed it toward the ck hole.


    I tried squinting but I really just couldn¡¯t see anything. When my eyes started hurting, I finally gave up.


    Just then, a fatty crossed my vision.


    Pang Guang, Dahai¡¯s cousin and the person that was in charge of the Northern part of the market.


    He trodded over with ady, seemingly in a rush.


    He¡¯s done this before whenever he was looking for Dahai.


    Since Dahai has already left, I figured that Pang Guang would ask me about it.


    I shifted my attention to thedy beside him.


    Thedy was in a rather revealing outfit. It wasn¡¯t very decent for them to be together like that, but I¡¯ve yet to figure out their rtionship.


    I lowered my head as if I hadn¡¯t seen them. I rearranged my voodoo dolls a little and ced the pouch on top of the golden pocket watch.


    ¡°Hey Qiao, where¡¯s Dahai?¡± Pang Guang asked.


    I raised my head and smiled. ¡°He wasining that business isn¡¯t good so he went somewhere else to try his luck. Do you want me to call him?¡±


    ¡°That impatient boy...¡±


    ¡°Are you here to check on the ounts, Brother Guang? You¡¯ve made a wasted trip if you are. Since when did Dahai ever record them down properly? No worries, though, he¡¯s not a bold kid. He won¡¯t take what he shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I¡¯m here for you today,¡± he replied with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? You¡¯re here for me?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°This is my new girlfriend. She¡¯s selling clothes in the department store,¡± he introduced.


    ¡°Hi, sister,¡± I greeted warmly.


    She smiled but kept quiet.


    Pang Guang grabbed one of my dolls up. ¡°Hey Qiao, does this really work? Are there any side effects from this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s passed on from my ancestors, but the materials we use now are slightly worse off. It¡¯s real, though, so no worries.¡±


    ¡°You inherited this? Wow. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve been selling them all this while. I¡¯vee here because I remember this and I¡¯m thinking of getting one. Your sister over here has an enemy.¡±


    ¡°Take it if you want. It¡¯s free for you since you¡¯ve been taking care of me and letting me do my business here.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Xiaomei, tell Brother Qiao what happened so he can teach you how to use this doll. The person you hate will disappear forever,¡± heughed and casually ced his hand over her bosom.


    She took the doll and leaned in close to me. ¡°Does it really work, Master?¡±


    Master? Shocked, I answered, ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°I have a colleague who entered this job with me. I work diligently, but because of her rtionship with our boss, she is now my leader. She bullies me every day and ims my sales. She¡¯s absolutely mean,¡± she exined, her voice getting increasingly nasal.


    ¡°I get it. Is it just her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Will it work?¡± she repeated.


    I picked up a red paper from the mat. ¡°I¡¯ll need her name and a tuft of her hair. Take a needle to jab the stomach and do not let go. That will give her a stomach cancer in half a month¡¯s time.¡±


    Thedy was obviously fascinated. After a short pause, she said, ¡°Thank you, Master! Won¡¯t I be caught, though?¡±


    ¡°Burn it with fire after the jab. No one will find out, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Thanks again, Master.¡±


    ¡°Qiao, I hope it really works. If it does, I¡¯ll give you more publicity. If not, we¡¯ll be very disappointed,¡± Brother Guang told me.


    ¡°Wait, Brother Guang.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The tradition¡¯s been passed through many generations so it might be less effective. I have something good here, however, and it¡¯s even better than my doll,¡± I shared as I took the pocket watch out.

 Chapter 190: Ghost Market (Part 2) I

    <h4>Chapter 190: Ghost Market (Part 2) I</h4>


    Pang Guang bent down and inspected the pocket watch closely, his gaze admiring.


    ¡°What is it, Brother Guang?¡±


    Heughed. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that your family has such good stuff.¡±


    ¡°You know about watches?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Everyone in Pang family knows a little about everything. How do you think we established this market? This is some interesting stuff that you¡¯ve got here.¡±


    ¡°This watch is passed down from my ancestors as well. Put your enemy¡¯s photo inside and he or she will die when the clock strikes 12.¡±


    ¡°This is real and good. It might be worth even more if the needles are still there. Why are the needles missing?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s too powerful, it was removed to prevent harm. Just get a repairman and it will be good to go.¡±


    Fondling it adoringly, Pang Guang stated, ¡°I¡¯m liking it more and more. How much are you nning to sell it for?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s evil so I never thought about selling it at a high price. You can take it since you like it so much.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± he asked in disbelief.


    His expression made me feel like a fool.


    Was the watch really a good item?


    I¡¯ve already given him the offer so I could only nod.


    ¡°I feel rather sorry. This must be worth quite a bit if I melt it and sell it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Take it. As long as it¡¯s of any help, I¡¯m happy to give it to you.¡±


    Pang Guang fished out a stack of bills from his pocket and shoved it to me.


    ¡°I only brought this much out, otherwise, I¡¯d give you more. It¡¯s an heirloom so I can¡¯t take it for free. Consider this as a token of appreciation.¡±


    Who knew that I would still earn money in the end? ¡°If you insist, Brother Guang, I¡¯ll take it. Thank you.¡±


    Pang Guang stood up and patted my shoulder. ¡°Just mention my name if you get into trouble in the future.¡±


    I smiled and nodded. The watch must be much more valuable than the money he just gave me.


    He left together with thedy.


    When they disappeared from view, I counted the stack.


    1,300. I am absolutely satisfied.


    I packed up and left the market. It was 20 minutes to 5 AM, but I feel that I¡¯ve already earned enough. In fact, it¡¯s the first time that I really felt like I¡¯m earning decently. It felt good to sell something for over a thousand.


    Every Thursday, after I leave the market, I would go home to sleep. Everyone who worked in the market probably does the same since we really had to wake up early to prepare.


    The next day, Dahai and I met for dinner and started discussing the factory.


    He¡¯s always wanted to open one and hire people to work for him since simply overseeing everything would earn him buckets of money.


    He¡¯s been mentioning how packaging factories earned the most, but no matter how he exined it, it still sounded like a small workshop to me.


    An apple costs two dors at most but you can get it wrapped at a few cents and sell it for more than five dors.


    Logically, selling 10 apples would get you 20 dors, but wrapping them before selling will fetch you 60 or 70.


    Simply speaking, packaging makes everything more valuable.


    Why do people visit the market? Packaging.


    I only trust half of the things he says, but even if he¡¯s absolutely right, it would still cost a lot to open a factory. It wasn¡¯t as if he and I had money to spare.


    I¡¯m part of the moonlight n, i.e., I spend whatever I earn.


    Dahai, on the other hand, was a saver. I believe that he could seed but his partner would not be me.


    We chatted for a long time and whenever he talks about the factory, I would just change the topic.


    A week passed and Thursday arrived again. Dahai was usually at the market by the time I arrive. He does leave early at times but he¡¯s neverte to start work since it was essential to book a spot before it gets snatched.


    Today, however, he was nowhere to be seen.


    I gave him a call.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Lu Qiao?¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you here?¡±


    ¡°Oh sorry, I haven¡¯t had the chance to tell you since I only found out yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Are you already the boss of a factory?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m in charge of the market now.¡±


    ¡°In charge? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t believe what I¡¯m about to say. They¡¯re all dead. Dead. I¡¯m the only one left in the family.¡±


    ¡°Only you?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°Over 20 buildings, fourpanies, and the market... it¡¯s all mine.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I was at a loss.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of legal procedures to go through for the officialpanies. I¡¯m taking over the market first since it¡¯s hassle-free. I won¡¯t be going to the market anymore to sell coins, though. You don¡¯t need to as well. Give me a few days and I can make you the chief executive.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say so I stayed silent.


    Dahai continued, ¡°Isn¡¯t this an extermination of an entire n? Pang Guang¡¯s been killed in a car crash. The following day is the seventh day of his death. I was left an estimated of 1.4 billion dors!¡±


    ¡°1.4... are you dreaming? Or am I?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all true. About 170 people in the family... all dead. I only found out yesterday. It¡¯s just me now.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°No idea. All within and outside of the country is dead.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°In strange ways.¡±


    ¡°Where are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Home. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget you. For every mouthful of meat I get, I¡¯ll make sure you get a spoonful of soup,¡± he assured me.


    ¡°I¡¯ming to you.¡±


    ¡°No, no. Pang Guang¡¯s house is my house now. I have to settle the funeral arrangements but I won¡¯t be living here after that,¡± he mentioned.


    The pocket watch came to mind.


    Pang Guang¡¯s dead? His whole family¡¯s dead? Even those overseas?


    How?


    I have to find out.

 Chapter 191: Ghost Market (Part 2) II

    <h4>Chapter 191: Ghost Market (Part 2) II</h4>


    ¡°How about I just fetch you from there. Give me half an hour, alright?¡±


    ¡°Fetch me? With what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Pang Guang¡¯s Land Rover,¡± he responded with augh.


    ¡°You¡¯re really inheriting everything, huh? Taking over the magpie¡¯s nest?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t deny that. Thankfully, he¡¯s not married yet. His girlfriend packed up and left yesterday. If he had been married, things would have been more tricky.¡±


    ¡°Wait, girlfriend? Do you have her contact number?¡± I asked urgently.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re taking someone else¡¯s leftovers?¡± Dahai asked and I could hear the judgment in his tone.


    ¡°No, idiot. I sold a doll to thatdy.¡±


    ¡°Selling fake goods to your own people, huh?¡± hemented with augh.


    ¡°Don¡¯tugh. I think their deaths have something to do with this stuff.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, you don¡¯t have to im credits. I¡¯ll pull you up either way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Remember the pocket watch?¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s evil.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to get rid of it as soon as possible?¡±


    ¡°Pang Guang brought his girlfriend over after you left that day. She was looking for something to help her seek revenge so I gave her the doll. Your cousin then took a liking to the watch and even said that it is good stuff. He paid me 1,300 for it.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I treat you to a meal the day after that? Why didn¡¯t you tell me then?¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to tell you that I epted your rtive¡¯s money?¡± I asked bitterly.


    ¡°Lu Qiao... all Pangs are dead now except for those from the fifth son¡¯s family. Regardless of sex, they all died brutally in different idents. Car crashes, fire, and so on. Xiaomei was with Pang Guang when he got crushed by a lorry. They were even holding hands when it happened! Pang Guang¡¯s parents bawled their eyes out. His father died from a heart attack shortly after and his mom then jumped off from the hospital building.¡±


    I eximed, ¡°How do you sleep at night?¡±


    ¡°I slept very well, mind you. All the inheritance belongs to me now.¡±


    ¡°Come pick me up, quick.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m up. Damn! I finally could get a good night¡¯s rest and you have to ruin my ns. I¡¯m a billionaire but you¡¯re demanding me to be your chauffeur now?¡± he joked before giving a loud yawn.


    A message came in a few minutester. Dahai sent me Xiaomei¡¯s number.


    I immediately called the number.


    ¡°Hello,¡± a familiar voice greeted sleepily.


    I forgot that it¡¯s actually four in the morning.


    ¡°Hi! You¡¯re Xiaomei?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, who are you?¡± she asked, confused.


    ¡°You came over to my stall with Brother Guangst week. Do you remember?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Master! Your stuff works.¡±


    ¡°It did? I¡¯m actually calling you about that.¡±


    ¡°The police isn¡¯t looking for you, are they? I did not say anything.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what she was talking about. ¡°What police?¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that what you wanted to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°Tell me about the police first.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them anything. Please do the same if they look for you. I have nothing against my colleague. I just wanted Pang Guang to notice me more. We were nning to get married but ever since we started living together, he became violent. That was the real reason why I got the doll from you. I used his photo and his hair. I really did not expect it to be so effective. I hammered it a few times only, but s, he died the very next day. I simply wanted to teach him a small lesson. I¡¯ve already burned the doll and I did not reveal anything to the police. I¡¯ve been looking for you as well. I just wanna know if there will be any side effects to something this effective?¡±


    ¡°Wait, the police interrogated you?¡±


    ¡°Pang Guang died before my eyes so I had to give a statement. I was pretty nervous during the process but the police did not ask about any other matters, so I definitely did not reveal any unnecessary details. I¡¯ve already flushed his ashes yesterday. His rtive, Dahai, went over to his ce and I passed the key to him. Are there really no side effects to this? I¡¯m so afraid now,¡± she exined worriedly.


    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry about it. Do you remember the pocket watch that Pang Guang bought from me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what about it?¡±


    ¡°Is it with you?¡±


    ¡°He brought it home and kept it in the safe. I wasn¡¯t allowed to touch it. He did mention repeatedly that it¡¯s a treasure. Do you want it back?¡±


    ¡°No, no, forget it. Thanks,¡± I replied.


    ¡°How did you get my number, Master?¡±


    ¡°Just got it from someone. Don¡¯t worry about it. Delete my number. I won¡¯t reveal anything either. We¡¯ll just pretend not to know each other. That¡¯s all, thanks.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really a master, Master. I swear that I didn¡¯t mean for this to happen. I¡¯ve been having nightmares for the past few nights. It¡¯s not because of the side effect, is it?¡±


    ¡°Maybe his spirit is still around since he died unjustly. This number is tied to my AliPay ount. Drop 1,800 in and I¡¯ll dispel his spirit for you.¡±


    I¡¯m charging her just to see if she¡¯s speaking the truth.


    ¡°Alright, Master,¡± she finished before hanging up.


    I looked down at my own dolls.


    Do they really work? No way...


    If something¡¯s at work, it has to be that watch.


    It must be special, somehow.


    My phone lit up. ¡°1,800 has been deposited into your ount. Please check.¡±


    After a short while, I sent her a text: I¡¯ve done the expulsion but there¡¯s still a little bit of stubborn spirit. You might still dream of him and other small things, but don¡¯t worry, he can no longer hurt you.¡±


    I received a thank you message a few minutester.


    A call came through from Dahai.


    He¡¯s waiting by the entrance of the market.

 Chapter 192: Ghost Market (Part 2) III

    <h4>Chapter 192: Ghost Market (Part 2) III</h4>


    Pang family¡¯s been down on their luck while here I am, earning decently. 1,300 from Pang Guangst week and 1,800 from Xiaomei today. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if this carries on?


    I stuffed my dolls into my bag and walked toward the entrance.


    I saw a Land Rover parked along the road with Dahai inside, sitting happily in his pink pajamas.


    He waved for me to get on, which I did.


    ¡°Hey! Do you want to get breakfast? Minced pork noodles? My treat.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re adapting to this too fast, aren¡¯t you, Dahai?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve stayed in Pang Guang¡¯s house for half a year when I was studying. My ancestors have ordered Pang Guang to take good care of me. Although we¡¯re not rted in name, he does help me out whenever I need it.¡±


    ¡°All Pangs are dead but you have everything now. Could the severing of ties have saved your life?¡±


    ¡°Now that you¡¯re saying it... yeah, that seems logical.¡±


    ¡°Drive safe and we¡¯ll chat at home.¡±


    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve had my license for five years now.¡±


    ¡°Have you driven at all in those five years?¡±


    ¡°Rx. This car is huge. Everyone gave way to me earlier.¡±


    The moment we got home, or rather Pang Guang¡¯s home, I immediately asked for the bathroom.


    Dahai pointed me in the direction of the loo and said, ¡°Have you been holding your pee on the ride home?¡±


    I rushed into the bathroom to observe the sink and the toilet bowl.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you closing the door?¡± Dahai asked, walking over.


    I waved him away dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t be noisy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re acting strange,¡± Dahaimented.


    ¡°You won¡¯t understand even if I exin it. You came over yesterday, didn¡¯t you? Did you use this toilet?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Anything amiss?¡± I asked, pointing at the bowl and sink.


    ¡°No. What could possibly be unusual about these?¡±


    ¡°Any burned rice straw or paper?¡±


    ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember seeing something ck in the tub yesterday. I even gave it a rub. It should have a trace.¡±


    I rushed to the tub and there really was a ck stain.


    ¡°Why are you looking for this? And how did you know?¡± Dahai asked in confusion.


    ¡°Burnt marks left by the voodoo doll. Xiaomei burned it, and if she spoke the truth, the name on the paper is Pang Guang.¡±


    ¡°Oh, f*ck! You really did it?¡± he asked, astonished.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that powerful.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I¡¯m just going to do it straight,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s his bed? Is there a safe by it?¡±


    ¡°Safe? I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Bring me there,¡± I instructed.


    His room was very clean and tidy but there doesn¡¯t seem to be any safe in sight.


    There was a burn mark in the bathroom but I couldn¡¯t find the safe.


    Did she lie to me?


    Why did she deposit 1,800 into my ount, then?


    Just then, I spotted a painting on the wall. ¡°There¡¯s something behind that.¡±


    ¡°What? How do you even know about that?¡± Dahai lookedically befuddled.


    ¡°Check out the sides,¡± I urged.


    ¡°Just some ck lines. Probably because it¡¯s been hung for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Why would lines appear there if you don¡¯t touch it?¡± I volleyed back


    ¡°You mean there¡¯s something behind it?


    Ignoring him, I walked over and reached up for the painting.


    I lifted it up but no matter how hard I try, it doesn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Let me help you,¡± Dahai offered.


    ¡°Dirty,¡± I told him subconsciously.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here anymore so I¡¯m going to have to throw them away, anyway. Come, let¡¯s do this,¡± he says.


    With his help, I finally managed to push it aside, revealing a palm-sized crack.


    ¡°Why¡¯s it so tight?¡± Dahai questioned.


    ¡°That¡¯s hydraulic pressure. It¡¯s amazing that we even manage to open it this much. I¡¯ll count to three and we¡¯ll let go and find the switch.¡±


    ¡°1, 2, 3,¡± the fatty shouted and we let go simultaneously.


    ¡°Damn! You¡¯re right, there really is something behind.¡±


    ¡°Search the room. The switch must be somewhere.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too troublesome. Wait here.¡± Fatty exited the room.


    I continued looking around for clues and upon pulling the bed sheet out on the bed, I found abination lock.


    It was probably the key to the wall painting.


    Dahai rushed in and plugged an electric drill into the powerpoint.


    He started working on the crack and the painting quickly shifted.


    ¡°Where did you get that?¡±


    ¡°Pang Guang has this stuff in his storeroom,¡± Dahai answered with augh.


    There was a cupboard hidden in the wall, and there were four safe boxes and a few watches within.


    The golden pocket watch sat quietly in a corner.


    ¡°Oh, my God!¡± Dahai eximed.


    Ignoring him again, I opened up the golden watch.


    The needles were in ce and the clock was running.


    There was a photograph of a man inside.


    ¡°This looks like a decent watch. Isn¡¯t that my second uncle¡¯s watch?¡±


    ¡°Your second uncle?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°That¡¯s Pang Guang¡¯s father. He¡¯s overseas,¡± Dahai informed me.


    ¡°Do you remember the watch I receivedst week in exchange for two dolls?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answered.


    ¡°This is the watch I gave Pang Guang. Put a photo of someone you hate and he will die when the clock strikes 12.¡±


    ¡°F*ck me! He wants his own father dead?¡± Dahai yelled, aghast.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t his father extremely wealthy?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Pang Guang himself is rich so how well do you think his father is living overseas?¡±


    ¡°But why are they all dead?¡±


    ¡°Wait, I remember this photo,¡± Dahai said before pulling me out of the room and taking a cylindrical roll out from the storeroom.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    He pulled out a photograph with over 200 people in it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very big photograph. It was takenst year during our reunion. Everyone had to go. He must¡¯ve cut out his father¡¯s face,¡± Dahai exined, pointing at a hole in the photograph.


    ¡°Are you inside?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m a Pang but I¡¯m not one of them.¡±


    ¡°I think I understand now. All the dead victims are in this photograph...¡±


    ¡°Everyone attends the reunion every year without fail.¡±


    I looked at the family photo. There were elderly and young children. All were present save for Dahai¡¯s family.


    ¡°Pang Guang had only intended to kill his father but he couldn¡¯t find a photo of just him alone. He did not know that this watch meant to kill whoever¡¯s in a chosen photograph...¡± I rationalized.


    ¡°Oh, f*ck,¡± Dahai breathed out.


    ¡°You gotta thank your ancestor now. You won¡¯t be here right now if not for him.¡±

 Chapter 193: Ghost Market (Part 3) I

    <h4>Chapter 193: Ghost Market (Part 3) I</h4>


    ¡°You¡¯re not seriously pinning all of these on that broken watch, are you?¡± Dahai asked, disbelief evident in his tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where that grandmother is now. What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember her appearance?¡±


    ¡°It was so dark when she visited the ghost market at... wait, no. I remember,¡± I corrected myself as a blurry image of that woman popped in my head.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I remember customers who have bought my dolls, in fear that they would find and reprimand me for selling fake goods.¡±


    ¡°Draw a portrait when you get the chance,¡± he said.


    I nodded and opened the watch. ¡°The needles weren¡¯t here when I gave them to Pang Guang. He must¡¯ve sought a repairman to add them in. I feel like something might happen if I remove them.¡±


    Dahai smiled and raised his electric drill in the air.


    ¡°We should get someone else to do it,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll drive,¡± Dahai said.


    ¡°Where are you bringing me?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember what the second son was into?¡±


    ¡°Antique?¡±


    Dahai nodded. ¡°I suspect that Pang Guang had him fix this. Who else could he have relied on?¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t the second son dead?¡±


    ¡°People in the shop are alive.¡±


    We got on the road and I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are you sure they know you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Pang family is worth so much money. They¡¯re going to be kissing my ass,¡± Dahai said cockily.


    The car stopped by the shop and we alighted.


    About six people immediately crowded over to invite us in.


    Dahai gave me a goofy smile. ¡°Told ya.¡±


    ¡°Did you ever think that it¡¯s the Land Rover and not you?¡± Imented doubtfully.


    The antique shop was the biggest I¡¯ve ever seen. It was retro in style and was made of nk pirs and bricks, even the chairs were from high-quality wood.


    There were two teapots on the table and a group of people stood behind us, ready to cater to whatever we need.


    They were sucking up to Dahai just as he¡¯s predicted.


    It made sense since Dahai has the rights to all Pang property and assets.


    Who else would they suck up to? As Dahai¡¯s best buddy, thankfully, I get to steal a bit of his spotlight as well.


    An old man walked over and smiled at us. ¡°What brought you over?¡±


    Dahai leaned in and whispered, ¡°Second son¡¯s ountant, Uncle Fu.¡±


    ¡°Do you have your eyes on this ce, too?¡± Uncle Fu frowned.


    With a dismissive wave, Dahai responded, ¡°I just need you to take a look at something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can you open this up?¡± Dahai asked, fishing out the pocket watch.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Pang Guang¡¯s? Why do you have it?¡±


    Someone walked over to Uncle Fu¡¯s side and whispered in his ear.


    ¡°This is too much. How dare you steal his watch, too?¡± Uncle Fu said indignantly.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not willing to look at this for me?¡± Dahai asked urgently.


    The atmosphere was getting tensed so I mumbled softly, ¡°You have the assets and power but it seems that few are willing to obey.¡±


    ¡°Seems like it,¡± he replied just as softly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take over from here so follow my pace,¡± I instructed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid,¡± he warned.


    I turned to Uncle Fu and smiled. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Mr. Pang¡¯swyer.¡±


    ¡°Does he really deserve that title?¡± Uncle Fu ridiculed, his ears turning red.


    ¡°Uncle Fu, you can insult him all you want but as hiswyer, it is my duty to stand in legally. Aren¡¯t you afraid of going to court for smearing his reputation?¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡± he spluttered angrily. ¡°He¡¯s been disowned by his family so he¡¯s not a Pang. I do not acknowledge him.¡±


    ¡°His ancestor only severed their ties verbally. None of it has been legally recorded, as I¡¯ve checked. Thew will not ept your statements blindly. You can ask around if you¡¯re in doubt but if you continue ndering my client, you better be ready to receive a letter from the court.¡±


    Uncle Fu red at me.


    Dahai whispered, ¡°You sound legitimate. Who taught you this?¡±


    ¡°TV.¡± I grinned, almost evokingughter from Dahai.


    ¡°I can acknowledge you but you¡¯re not to move my spot,¡± Uncle Fu added.


    ¡°We can choose to ignore the amount ofpany funds you pocket. It¡¯s all for money after all. We won¡¯t take those away from you.¡±


    ¡°Promise me one thing then, and I¡¯ll acknowledge him,¡± Uncle Fu stated.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°My son and grandson are here, too. You cannot touch them as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue,¡± I reassured him.


    ¡°Since there¡¯s no wine, I¡¯ll thank you with this tea,¡± Uncle Fu said, gulping down a cup.


    Dahai butted in, ¡°You recognize this watch so he must¡¯vee to you with it before?¡±


    Uncle Fu nodded. ¡°He did. This thing is kinda evil.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± Uncle Fu told us before turning around.


    ¡°Talk about a 180,¡± Dahai muttered.


    ¡°He was just afraid that you¡¯ll seize everything,¡± I said to him.


    ¡°But there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let this shop go,¡± Dahai informed me anxiously.


    ¡°A verbal agreement doesn¡¯t mean anything so don¡¯t rush. You¡¯ll have a lot of time to deal with himter on,¡± I whispered smilingly.

 Chapter 194: Ghost Market (Part 3) II

    <h4>Chapter 194: Ghost Market (Part 3) II</h4>


    Uncle Fu walked into a room, leaving the door open behind him for us.


    We noticed that the people behind us did not follow.


    ¡°You¡¯re noting?¡± Dahai asked them.


    ¡°It¡¯s Uncle Fu¡¯s personal space so no one¡¯s allowed in there,¡± ady replied faintly.


    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Only important guests know,¡± she answered before walking off.


    Dahai and I entered the room. The special thing about wooden rooms is that they block out sunlight.


    Uncle Fu flipped a switch and his work desk lit up.


    We finally caught a glimpse of the interior of the room. It wasn¡¯t big and its decor was minimal and in, but everything that was necessary was present.


    From razor knives to magnifying sses, from cleaning clothes to alcohol burners, Uncle Fu has them all in his workstation.


    ¡°Bring it over,¡± he said, pointing at the watch. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°You fixed it before, right? How did you do it?¡± Dahai inquired.


    Uncle Fu opened the watch up and nodded. ¡°This is the one I¡¯ve fixed for him previously.¡±


    ¡°Just briefly exin the steps to us and what you saw when you opened it up,¡± Dahai continued.


    ¡°There was something strange inside this but Pang Guang only told me to get it fixed so I did not mention it to him.¡±


    ¡°Strange? How so?¡± I immediately asked.


    ¡°He brought this watch over and asked a bunch of questions that I really don¡¯t remember now. However, I remember getting a shock upon opening it because there were many odd inscriptions on the inner sides. It is a pointless design, especially since it¡¯s an old model and the inner sides can¡¯t be seen anyway,¡± he shared.


    ¡°Pointless design,¡± Dahai repeated.


    Without responding, Uncle Fu put on an eyepiece and started dismantling it.


    He opened a small crack and said, ¡°You¡¯ll understand soon.¡±


    After prying both sections open, we saw that the inner sides were ck.


    ¡°Look at this,¡± Uncle Fu called out.


    Uprehending, Dahai asked, ¡°What about it?¡±


    Uncle Fu took his eyepiece down. ¡°Clip this on and you¡¯ll see even more clearly.


    After trying it, Dahai¡¯s eyes widened and he quickly handed me the eyepiece.


    I got a shock too, upon realizing that there were ck silhouettes.


    ¡°What are these?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Human figures. This watch seems rather old and it doesn¡¯t look fake, but isn¡¯t this redundant? I was surprised too when I opened this,¡± Uncle Fu exined.


    Dahai turned to me and murmured, ¡°These figures are so vivid. Do you remember Pang Guang¡¯s looks?¡±


    ¡°Big bald head?¡±


    He pointed to the inside of the watch. ¡°Look at this ck silhouette.¡±


    I followed his finger and felt every hair on my body stand up.


    It was exactly the same as Pang Guang¡¯s figure.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m remembering correctly, but there are a lot more ck figures now,¡± Uncle Fu mused in confusion.


    I quickly diverted the topic by pointing at the meter dial. ¡°How did you fix the needles?¡±


    Uncle Fu pointed at a disy wall and said, ¡°I opened up another simrly sized watch for its needles.¡±


    Dahai leaned in again and whispered, ¡°He said that the shapes have changed. I think the additional figures are all members of the Pang family.¡±


    I shuddered at his conjecture.


    ¡°There¡¯s something else that¡¯s different about this watch,¡± Uncle Fu supplemented.


    ¡°What else?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Its inner sides are extremely exquisite like it¡¯s man-made¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t pocket watches all like that?¡± Dahai said.


    ¡°This is an old craftsmanship. Modern pocket watches are not quite the same, but regardless, all watches usuallye with inscriptions of the manufacturing time, location, and date. There¡¯s nothing on this watch, however, and I suspect that it is different inside. The gold outside must¡¯ve been artificially added, but since it belongs to Pang Guang, I was in no ce to cut it open.¡±


    ¡°You mean this outer gold-ted shell is addedter on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very possible,¡± Uncle Fu affirmed.


    ¡°Can you open it now that we¡¯re requesting you to?¡± Dahai tried.


    Uncle Fu replied, ¡°I¡¯ll need an hour.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait for you. Go ahead,¡± Dahai said.


    I handed the eyepiece back to Uncle Fu.


    He then put it on and started grinding the watch with a sanding tool.


    ¡°Can I use the paper and pen here?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Use anything you need.¡±


    Dahai turned to me. ¡°You remember her appearance, don¡¯t you? The grandmother? Draw it.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Dahaiughed.


    I took the pen and started to draw.


    ¡°The nose is too high,¡± hemented.


    ¡°How would you know?¡±


    ¡°I was beside you. I saw her, too.¡±


    ¡°Why am I the one drawing her, then?¡±


    ¡°Because I can¡¯t draw,¡± he answered simply as I continue to draw. I¡¯m not gifted in this department so even after an hour, there was only a 60% resemnce. It was barely recognizable.


    ¡°I¡¯m managing the market now so I can easily get the southern side to take note.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Uncle Fu called and we dashed over to him.


    The whole watch was now pitch ck. Holding the watch face, he informed us, ¡°The words are a little unclear now that I¡¯ve scraped a bit of them off. There¡¯s no manufacturing location but the date is there. 1463. The first pocket watch was made in 1462, so you can tell how much of an antique this is.¡±


    Dahai and I were shocked at this piece of information.


    Uncle Fu turned the face around. ¡°The pattern on this side is simply terrifying.¡±


    Our backs turned cold as we caught sight of an eye.


    Uncle Fu hasn¡¯t cleaned the surface but that eye was already clear and distinct.


    It was open and extremely frightening.


    ¡°They had this in the past?¡± Dahai eximed.


    Uncle Fu shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know much of the history of foreign items.¡±


    ¡°How do we settle this?¡± Dahai asked me quietly.


    I took a few pieces of paper from the side and wrapped the watch in them before stowing it away in my pocket.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Dahai persisted.


    ¡°We need to some research while we wait for that grandmother to appear in the market again.¡±

 Chapter 195: Ghost Market (Part 3) III

    <h4>Chapter 195: Ghost Market (Part 3) III</h4>


    Things progressed smoothly for the next week, but that grandmother¡¯s whereabouts remained unknown.


    Dahai inherited Pang family¡¯s assets one by one.


    No one would¡¯ve imagined just how much assets the family possessed before this.


    There were over 200 of Pangs, after all.


    The Pangs inside the nation alone have houses in almost every city.


    Overseas assets have been frozen temporarily due to procedural issues. Dahai would have to fly all over the world to sign and im them.


    Even then, it would take him at least half a year of consecutive flying. It¡¯s the result of having sessful rtives in every corner of the globe.


    The fourth son has to take the most credit since about 90% of the funds Dahai possessed now belonged to his family since he had been the one to inherit all thends.


    He had inherited a few hundred pieces ofnd in Beijing from his father and kept them all through China¡¯s reform.


    The once worthlessnd started increasing in value and the fourth sonid an order not to sell properties recklessly.


    Since then, prices only rose further.


    Governmentpensation was astonishingly appealing as well.


    When the idea of property deed came along, the fourth son ventured into property business and had been sessful ever since.


    He had illustrated perfectly how the poor get poorer while the rich get2 richer.


    His family followed in his footsteps and even started expanding overseas.


    They only involved themselves in the buying and selling of properties and never other businesses.


    Dahai didn¡¯t feel the need to rush to im the properties overseas and since I¡¯m just a sidekick, there¡¯s even lesser reason for me to feel anxious.


    We¡¯re still staying in Pang Guang¡¯s house at the moment.


    Dahai had a specialist open all three safes and we discovered many bank cards and wads of cash within.


    Just being the boss of tens of stalls in the ghost market was enough for Pang Guang to fill his pot with gold.


    Dahai¡¯s having the time of his life with all this and I, too, have been lucky enough to be a part of it.


    We enjoy our days but whenever we aren¡¯t busy, we would pause to stare at the watch.


    The day that we brought it home, Dahai cleaned it thoroughly, revealing its ckish green color and contrastingly vivid-looking eye.


    We¡¯ve done a few tests after Dahai bought a few rats from the market.


    We took a photograph of them, cut it out, and ced it inside the watch.


    Before doing that, Dahai repeatedly checked that his reflection wasn¡¯t caught on the photograph.


    All of them died simultaneously when the clock struck 12, allowing us to confirm the effectiveness of the watch.


    Dahai also decided to hand my drawing of the grandmother out to the public and by noon that day, people actually called in between intervals to say that they recognized her.


    Some even imed that she was dead and that they were her son.


    Dahai requested for photographs as proofs but the pictures they presented only bore about a 30% simrity at best.


    I suspected that these people were simply making use of the olddy to draw some strings with Dahai since he¡¯s rich and famous now.


    Three dayster, as Dahai and I were getting frustrated with the calls, a family portrait entered the picture. Right in the middle sat the olddy who gave the watch to me.


    We met up with the caller and he agreed to bring us to his grandmother.


    ¡°Has mass death ever urred in your family?¡± Dahai asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Mass death?¡± the man repeated.


    ¡°Like many of your rtives dying simultaneously?¡± Dahai rified, only to be responded with a nk look.


    When he brought us into his home, we saw that olddy cooking by the stove. She was shocked to see me.


    ¡°Remember me?¡± I asked nervously.


    ¡°Why have youe?¡± she returned a question with the same nervousness.


    ¡°The watch... care to exin its history?¡±


    She pointed at the wall opposite her. ¡°It was my husband¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°My grandfather took part in WWII. He was a soldier,¡± her grandson chimed in.


    We quickly ran to the wall. It was a meritorious service acknowledgment wall and we found a lot of information on the war.


    ¡°This watch killed my husband,¡± she added.


    There was a whole bunch of memorial essays lying on the table before the wall.


    I picked one of them up and asked, ¡°Can I take a look?¡±


    She kept quiet but the man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s my grandfather¡¯s diary.¡±


    We looked through the content and the one that I picked was all about the war that year.


    It consisted mostly of handwritten descriptions of the war and how his leader had snatched his credit. There also was a photograph in it of soldiers in ck and white uniforms.


    What was chilling was there was a hole in the photograph; someone had cut out the head of a soldier on the front row.


    The size of the hole matched the watch face. The old man must¡¯ve hated his leader.


    The fact that he had cut out the photograph showed that he knew how to use the watch.


    ¡°Is your grandfather in the photo?¡± I raised the picture up.


    ¡°The first soldier on the second row,¡± he answered.


    Dahai tapped on my shoulder and said, ¡°This watch was seized during WWII.¡±


    WWII? Golden watch?


    It seemed to be Swiss-made.


    ¡°Was the Swiss involved in the war?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s always been a neutral country. I¡¯m a fan of military affairs,¡± the man offered.


    I did a search on my phone and found out that he was right.


    We turned to the olddy and saw that she was now crying.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked her.


    She exined between breaths, ¡°There¡¯s a yearly reunion and my husband couldn¡¯t stand the fact that his leader was living such a great life. He eventually put his photo into the watch and imed that he could kill the leader. However, he died that night, too. All because of that watch.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Grandfather diest month? Why did you bring up the watch?¡± her grandson asked.


    ¡°Your husband diedst month from using this watch?¡± I added and she nodded.


    ¡°And you removed the needles?¡±


    She nodded again.


    ¡°Why buy a voodoo doll from me, then?¡±


    ¡°My husband is dead but his leader is still alive and living happily. I wanted to jab him to death.¡±


    My back turned cold as I turned to Dahai who was also staring at me with disbelief.

 Chapter 196: Ghost Market (Part 4) I

    <h4>Chapter 196: Ghost Market (Part 4) I</h4>


    ¡°Not dead?¡± Dahai asked.


    I pulled him close and whispered, ¡°She thinks that the watch killed her husband so she wants to take revenge using my doll. She probably doesn¡¯t know the situation so you gotta ask her in another way.¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, your doll doesn¡¯t work. He¡¯s still living well. You¡¯re just a scammer, aren¡¯t you?¡± she used.


    I said, ¡°Why do you think I¡¯vee today?¡±


    She looked at her grandson. ¡°How do you know them? Why have you brought them here?¡±


    ¡°They were sending posters and I recognized your face from it. I did not expect them to ask such strange questions,¡± he defended.


    ¡°Why exactly are you two looking for me?¡± the olddy asked, puzzled.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to bring the watch back because of the evil aura I felt from it. Just like you, I¡¯ve spent a lot of effort to unravel its secret.¡±


    ¡°That watch killed my husband, didn¡¯t it?¡± she asked agitatedly.


    Dahai tugged at my shirt in warning.


    ¡°I got this, don¡¯t worry,¡± I told him confidently before turning back to thedy. ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I pointed to the wall and answered, ¡°I did not take it seriously before but I dreamed of a spirit telling me that this leader isn¡¯t just a simple person.¡±


    She began, ¡°He killed my husband?¡±


    Her grandson cut in, ¡°Who are you guys? Don¡¯t try to cheat my grandmother. Why are you acting so shadily? Who is this someone? What spirit? And how do you know them, Granny?¡±


    I gestured at Dahai meaningfully and said, ¡°He¡¯ll chat with you outside. We¡¯re just talking to her and we have no intention to deceive her.¡±


    Dahai retrieved his wallet and handed a wad of cash to the man. ¡°Let¡¯s talk elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the money. I can keep quiet but I must be here or how else would I know what you two are up to?¡±


    ¡°Fine, watch if you want.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not bad people, Grandson,¡± the olddy reassured.


    I continued, ¡°That spirit wasn¡¯t able to deal with the leader because the leader¡¯s an evil sorcerer as well. The spirit¡¯s fallen into his hands so I¡¯m willing to help you, but you must tell me the leader¡¯s name and residential history. It¡¯s the only way I¡¯d stand a chance against him.¡±


    The olddy nodded immediately. ¡°I can tell you everything. There¡¯s an honorary manual on the table. All the contact numbers and addresses of the old soldiers are in it. His name is Han Dong.¡±


    I walked over to the table and flipped through the manual, quickly finding Han Dong¡¯s contact and address.


    I snapped a picture of it with my phone. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to think over the n. I¡¯m actually supposed to charge you, but since the spirit is in his hands, I¡¯ll make sure to get rid of him too so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Comforted, she acquiesced with a nod.


    Her grandson asked, ¡°What are you two trying to do? What are you talking about?¡±


    I took the wad of cash from Dahai and handed it to him. ¡°Have you seen anyone scamming your grandmother¡¯s assets before passing you another sum of money?¡±


    ¡°What? Wait, please get things straight before you leave,¡± he urged, clearly confused.


    ¡°Ask your grandmother. You¡¯ll know if she¡¯s willing to tell you.¡±


    I pulled Dahai out of the apartment.


    Outside the house, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? The watch doesn¡¯t work on everyone?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. I have his address and number here. Can you get someone to check on him?¡±


    ¡°There are people who can do that in the market. I¡¯ll look around.¡±


    ¡°Are they reliable? We took so long to find a harmless olddy,¡± Imented doubtfully.


    ¡°We have his number and address, it will definitely be easier.¡±


    I sent him the photo before adding, ¡°Things are getting increasinglyplicated.¡±


    ¡°Not really. He mentioned that the watch was a seized item,¡± Dahai said, holding a book.


    My eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you took the book with you?¡±


    ¡°You pulled me out so quickly and I just forgot about it. Should we return it?¡±


    ¡°No, no! Let me have a look.¡±


    The watch was indeed taken away from the Japanese but there weren¡¯t any other information about it.


    ¡°China only attacked Japan in WWII?¡± I asked Dahai.


    ¡°Yeah, and maybe North Korea? I¡¯m not really sure.¡±


    ¡°Which nations did Japan attack?¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to know that? Maybe her grandson would know since he¡¯s a fan.¡±


    I stopped in my tracks, my mind whirring.


    Dahai took one look at my face and sighed. ¡°We¡¯re heading back to ask him, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Should we let him know about the watch?¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you wanna add one to the team?¡±


    ¡°We know the rough history of this watch but nothing about WWII. That guy must¡¯ve taken a liking to military affairs because of his grandfather. His grandfather died because of this watch, so I think it¡¯s alright if we pull the man in. He should be interested in it and we¡¯ll be able to form a clearer picture.¡±


    ¡°Sounds reasonable,¡± Dahai agreed.


    ¡°Shall I go ask him and see if he¡¯s interested?¡±


    He nodded.


    We went back to knock on the door and the grandson opened it for us.


    ¡°Why dide back?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you, did she?¡± I said knowingly.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s back to cooking and refuses to say anything else.¡±


    ¡°We can tell you everything if you agree to help us.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± he epted.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside. Bring your grandfather¡¯s books along.¡±

 Chapter 197: Ghost Market (Part 4) II

    <h4>Chapter 197: Ghost Market (Part 4) II</h4>


    The man nodded before packing the necessary materials.


    I handed the book to him and he stashed it in his bag as well.


    We found a coffee ce nearby and spent an hour rying the events to him.


    He did not interrupt us once but he did maintain a skeptical expression throughout our narration.


    It wasn¡¯t really surprising since few would believe in the supernatural.


    When it was done, I finally asked for his name.


    ¡°Li Xia,¡± he answered, still suspicious.


    ¡°I told you so much because I need your help, Li Xia,¡± I said.


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but is there really such a thing in this world?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We can test it on a few rats now if you¡¯d like,¡± I offered, fishing out the watch.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it. This has been opened up?¡±


    Dahai and I nodded at the same time.


    ¡°There are figures in there, no? The watch did belong to my grandfather but it looks very different now. You also talked about members in Pang family appearing in the watch and that you¡¯ve tested it on rats. If all these are true, I¡¯ll see all these people and animals in it, right?¡±


    Dahai and I exchanged nces and he nodded.


    ¡°That will work,¡± I agreed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to get someone else. I can do it,¡± Li Xia proposed.


    ¡°You can?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be hard with a tool,¡± he said before taking it out from his bag.


    ¡°Is that your grandfather¡¯s?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. He likes this watch very much and has fiddled with it a few times when I was around. I did not notice the patterns, however.¡±


    He began opening the watch, and we immediately knew that we¡¯ve found the right assistant.


    He handed the cover to us once managed to sessfully open it.


    He then picked the back up and inspected it closely. There were indeed a few tiny dots.


    Li Xia handed me an eyepiece and after verifying it, I told him, ¡°What you need to confirm our words is inside.¡±


    He quickly took the eyepiece and put it on. ¡°This ck figure is my grandfather.¡±


    ¡°We have a rough knowledge of how this watch works now; it will kill everyone in a particr photograph,¡± I exined.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, my grandfather had sabotaged himself. But why is the leader still alive, then?¡± Li Xia wondered.


    ¡°Please assemble it back,¡± I requested as I handed him the watch cover.


    He nodded and proceeded to fix it quietly.


    ¡°Where were we?¡± he asked upon finishing.


    ¡°Why the leader is fine,¡± Dahai reminded.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, which is exactly why we¡¯re telling you this. We have to unravel the secret together. I¡¯m sure you wanna know where this watch came from?¡± I asked before taking the watch back.


    Li Xia resisted. ¡°This belongs to my grandfather, right?¡±


    ¡°But your granny had exchanged it with one of my dolls so ording to the market rule, this is mine.¡±


    Li Xia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing about the ghost market, too. I wonder how Granny found about about it. Plus, your dolls are fake but this watch is real.¡±


    ¡°No returns. Rules are rules. I did not lie to her. She insisted on the exchange,¡± I said.


    Li Xia finally gave up the watch.


    ¡°How do we proceed from here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There are two ways,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Which are?¡±


    ¡°The first is for us to discover the secret of the watch directly,¡± I started.


    ¡°It¡¯s a prize of war.¡±


    ¡°Your grandfather mentioned it in his diary and we know that it was made in 1463. Pocket watches only came into existence in 1462 so this should be Swiss-made as well, but you said earlier that Swiss wasn¡¯t involved in WWII,¡± I summarized.


    ¡°My grandfather fought in 1937, which is about 400 years apart from 1463. It would be difficult to gain information, but there¡¯s no doubt that the Swiss have always been a neutral country. All through WWI and WWII and even up until today.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll need to change our train of thought. Your grandfather wrote that the watch had been seized from the Japanese. Which countries did Japan go against in WWII?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Quite a few if you¡¯re talking about WWII. Practically all nations since Japan wanted to expand its tiny territory. There¡¯s China, America, United Kingdom, former Soviet Union, Philippines, Mysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, New Zend, Canada, Myanmar, Vietnam, India... oh and Korea,¡± Li Xia listed.


    ¡°Wait, wait. I can¡¯t remember all of those,¡± Dahai eximed, wide-eyed.


    ¡°Japan was strong and they had the ability to stir fights. They won many battles.¡±


    ¡°So the watch probably belongs to one of those nations?¡± I reasoned.


    ¡°Perhaps not, considering that it was so chaotic during that period. It¡¯s really hard to say, and even as a neutral country, Switzend did have its battles.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°They resisted Germany. It was really messy as well so anything could¡¯ve happened in between.¡±


    ¡°So we can¡¯t find the watch¡¯s origin from here either?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s too challenging,¡± Li Xia replied.


    ¡°One way left, then.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Your grandfather¡¯s former battle mates ¨C the people in the photograph. If the watch worked on all members of the Pang family, why is the leader in the photograph still alive and well?¡±

 Chapter 198: Ghost Market (Part 4) III

    <h4>Chapter 198: Ghost Market (Part 4) III</h4>


    ¡°Grandfather didn¡¯t really share much with me,¡± Li Xia told us.


    ¡°We have the leader¡¯s address so we can work from there.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯ll find him with the pretense of visiting my grandfather¡¯s battle mates?¡± Li Xia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, not appropriate for you to do the visitation, eh?¡± Dahai noted.


    ¡°Granny¡¯s probably already done that. It should be fine,¡± Li Xia answered.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°You said that the spirit wanted a tuft of hair or something? My Granny got it, didn¡¯t she?¡± Li Xia rationalized.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Dahai said.


    I cut in. ¡°Wait. Don¡¯t we need a n?¡±


    ¡°My grandfather died at age 84. How much time do you think the leader has left?¡± Li Xia said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, then,¡± I replied without hesitation this time.


    When we arrived at Han Dong¡¯s residence, Li Xia immediately knocked on the door.


    A middle-aged man greeted us and asked for the purpose of our visit.


    ¡°Is Grandfather Han Dong around? I¡¯m Li Bai¡¯s grandson. They were once battle mates and even gathered at a reunion a year back,¡± Li Xia informed.


    ¡°An olddy came to look for my dad, too. If you¡¯d like to talk to him, you can find him in the nursing home. He¡¯s been in there for a long time,¡± he informed us.


    ¡°Nursing home?¡± Li Xia repeated.


    The middle-aged man nodded. ¡°He¡¯s been suffering from dementia and I can¡¯t take proper care of him.¡±


    ¡°But he was fine justst year,¡± Li Xiamented.


    ¡°Old age. He was finest year but he had a fall half a year ago and deteriorated,¡± Han Dong¡¯s son exined.


    The three of us left Han Dong¡¯s house and headed down to the nearest nursing home.


    ¡°He¡¯s not lying, is he?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Unlikely. Didn¡¯t Granny get his hair?¡±


    ¡°Could he have gotten the illness from the curse instead of death,¡± Dahai suggested.


    ¡°Possibly,¡± I agreed.


    ¡°Or perhaps this watch requires a conscious soul for it to work? Dementia patients aren¡¯tpletely conscious, are they?¡± Li Xia proposed.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I hedged.


    We reached the simple-looking nursing home, where the walls were covered in vines. It must¡¯ve been established for a long time. We entered and the security had us register our ID and contact number before letting us in.


    We asked about Han Dong and the nurses brought us to him immediately.


    We were led to a small garden corner where an old man in a wheelchair was sitting motionlessly.


    ¡°That¡¯s Han Dong,¡± a nurse introduced.


    We approached him slowly, with Li Xia standing in front.


    ¡°Hi,¡± Li Xia started but gained no response from the old man.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, sir?¡± Li Xia greeted insistently but to no avail.


    ¡°A fool?¡± he asked.


    I walked over and looked at him straight in the eye.


    He was really old and his face was covered with wrinkles.


    He had on a padded wool sweater. I followed his gaze, discovering only a small tree and nothing else.


    Dahai sighed dejectedly. ¡°There goes our lead. Look at him.¡±


    ¡°This is probably why his son sent him here in the first ce. He wanted the house for himself since his old man is none the wiser.¡±


    ¡°True. Probably how your granny had managed to get a lock of his hair, too,¡± Dahai said, reaching out for the old man¡¯s hair but evoking no response.


    Li Xia shook his head. ¡°Definitely a fool.¡±


    ¡°Your granny could¡¯ve easily smashed him with a brick. Should I do it now to avenge your grandparents?¡± Dahai joked.


    ¡°Stop ying around,¡± Li Xia admonished with a roll of his eyes.


    I pointed at the ne the old man was wearing. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys find this odd?¡±


    ¡°What are you pointing at?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Why is a man that¡¯s over 80 years old wears a jade ne?¡± I said.


    ¡°Old people do whatever they like. Let me take this down. This will fetch a good price at the market.¡± Dahai extended his hand toward the old man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°That¡¯s not too kind, is it?¡± Li Xiamented.


    ¡°He won¡¯t even know. Plus, I¡¯m just looking. My mouth is dirty but not my character.¡±


    The next thing we knew, the old man had Dahai¡¯s hand in a death grip.


    ¡°F*ck! Let go, Dahai!¡± I shouted automatically.


    ¡°He¡¯s so strong,¡± Dahai eximed.


    After a round of tugging, it looked as though Dahai¡¯s hand was going to be ripped off.


    I pulled Dahai back, thinking that the old man¡¯s strength was impossibly extraordinary.


    ¡°Help,¡± I called out for Li Xia, who immediately joined in the tug of war.


    ¡°3, 2, 1, pull!¡± Dahai shouted from the front.


    With a final tug, the three of us fell to the ground while the old man remained unfazed.


    Thankfully, no one was around to witness the event.


    A fish-shaped jade pendant that was vibrantly green suddenly appeared on the old man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°This guy is unbelievably strong,¡± Dahai panted.


    ¡°Strong? You gotta be kidding, he¡¯s a monster,¡± Li Xia cried out.


    ¡°Dahai!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°What is it?


    ¡°Can you identify the purity of the jade?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s gonna be hard, but it looks valuable,¡± he answered.


    ¡°That jade has an evil aura. Could it have been snatched from the Japanese, too?¡±


    ¡°Like the watch?¡±


    I took out the watch andpared it with the jade.


    Upon seeing the watch in my hand, the old man opened his mouth wide.


    ¡°Why... why¡¯s it in... in your hands?¡± he stammered.


    The three of us exchanged shocked nces.


    ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Yours? It¡¯s the nation¡¯s,¡± the old man replied.


    He spoke perfectly fine this time, much to our amazement.


    ¡°The nation¡¯s?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Who is Li Bai to you?¡± he asked me before Li Xia interrupted,¡± I¡¯m his grandson.¡±


    ¡°He scraped it open and told you about Lop Nor?¡± he asked before getting up from his wheelchair.

 Chapter 199: Ghost Market (Part 5) I

    <h4>Chapter 199: Ghost Market (Part 5) I</h4>


    With the three of us still on the ground, Li Xia whispered to me in bafflement, ¡°Should I say yes or no?¡±


    The ball had been thrown in my court.


    The old man kept his gaze on my watch and it looked like he had no intention of looking away.


    Both Dahai and Li Xia got to their feet and pulled me up.


    ¡°Go along with it,¡± I muttered.


    Dahai and I were used to the ghost market¡¯s ways but not Li Xia. I was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to lie his way through this, but luckily, he proved me wrong.


    ¡°He¡¯s told me about it,¡± Li Xia answered in a matter-of-fact tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years but the rule¡¯s still being broken.¡±


    ¡°What rule?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re Li Bai¡¯s grandson so you have the right to continue this conversation,¡± the old man said before pointing at me. ¡°Guy with the watch, who is Li Bai to you?¡±


    ¡°Step-grandson, is that fine with you?¡± I tried.


    He shifted his focus to Dahai. ¡°What about you, Fatty?¡±


    ¡°Also his step-grandson,¡± Dahai blurted out after a brief pause.


    ¡°I¡¯m only going to talk to one person and he has to be directly rted to Li Bai and he has to have possession of the watch.¡±


    I sighed and handed the watch to Li Xia. ¡°Call me so I can listen,¡± I whispered before pulling Dahai away.


    ¡°Why did you return the watch just like that? Are you not afraid that he¡¯ll run away?¡± Dahai asked anxiously.


    ¡°He knows he can¡¯t do this alone. He¡¯ll need our help,¡± I argued.


    My phone rang after a few beats.


    I epted the call and muted it.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Dahai asked.


    ¡°Shh, just listen,¡± I instructed before putting it on speakerphone.


    ...


    ¡°Why¡¯s your hand in your pocket?¡± a frail voice sounded.


    ¡°I need to wipe my sses,¡± Li Xia exined, fishing out a cloth of some sort.


    ¡°When did Li Bai tell you these things?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Li Xia told him.


    ¡°Did he write this in his will?¡±


    ¡°Kinda.¡±


    ¡°Who are those two guys?¡±


    ¡°Friends.¡±


    ¡°Why do they have the watch?¡±


    ¡°Through my grandfather¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Too messy, I don¡¯t want to know. Are you here to take the jade away?¡±


    ¡°My grandfather died too suddenly but he did ask me to look for you so here I am.¡±


    ¡°He wants me to tell you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s all he meant. He has his eyes on my jade.¡±


    Li Xia kept quiet and I started to get nervous.


    After some time, the old man started, ¡°The seven of us joined the army in the first year the devils invaded the vige.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard this from Grandfather.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°That you guys became soldiers and fought the devils.¡±


    ¡°Details?¡±


    Li Xia fell silent and I recalled him saying that his grandfather shared little despite his deep interest in that subject.


    The old man continued, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the devils, your grandfather hadn¡¯t killed even a chicken in his life. We had expected to fight at the front line right after military training but were detained all the way Northwestern Xinjiang.


    ¡°Xinjiang? That¡¯spletely different from what Grandfather told me.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Wait, I have two diaries in my bag. They contain Grandfather¡¯s experiences battling the devils.¡±


    ¡°All seven of us have a diary like this, with the same opening that was written by our leader. They aren¡¯t exactly fake, of course, since there¡¯s information about the excavated objects.¡±


    Excavated objects? Like the golden pocket watch? I thought back to the content in the book.


    ¡°It was written by one person? Why?¡± Li Xia asked.


    Li Xia¡¯s voice was a notch louder than before. He had every right to feel angry since all that he had known was being subverted.


    Dahai was equally stunned by their conversation.


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s the nation¡¯s arrangements to conceal what we were going to guard.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Lop Nor.¡±


    ¡°Lop Nor?¡± Li Xia repeated.


    ¡°From 1937 to 1957, the seven of us were stationed troops who had only one mission ¨C to excavate historical relics in Lop Nor.¡±


    ¡°Guard Lop Nor? Your jade... pisces jade?¡± Li Xia mumbled.


    ¡°Looks like you know about it. He told you?¡±


    ¡°Pisces jade and Peng Jiamu? Aren¡¯t you Han Dong? All these are searchable on the.¡±


    ¡°Peng Jiamu? He¡¯s our leader, the one who wrote our diaries in order to create the illusion that we were resisting the Japanese because our guarding of Lop Nor had to be kept a secret.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still discoverable through the,¡± Li Xia informed.


    ¡°That¡¯s inevitable since we went against our superiors. We stole the items in Lop Nor and used the books to blend into a defense troop in Beijing. We stayed there until retirement but the secret was eventually revealed due to uneven distribution of our ill-gotten gains.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the watch came from Lop Nor?¡±

 Chapter 200: Ghost Market (Part 5) II

    <h4>Chapter 200: Ghost Market (Part 5) II</h4>


    ¡°The all-seeing eye watch that you¡¯re holding... it took us a lot of effort to steal it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember how it looks like before scraping it?¡±


    ¡°It was a gold watch.¡±


    ¡°In order to steal it surreptitiously, Leader Peng Jiamu had toe up with a solution. One of our teammates, Xiaohei, was in the golden weapon business before entering the army. He stepped out with four gold bracelets to wrap the watch.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡± Li Xia asked.


    ¡°There were over 10 treasures back then, and they all came from a big-scale grave. We were the ones to dug it up but when we got close to the coffin, the specialists came and we got back to man our post as guards. We had thought that those were simply relics because only antiques had been transported out from Lop Nor so far. After the 17th item, things went quiet for a bit and the specialists were called back. The seven of us, however, had to stay stationed there. We weren¡¯t into our job but we couldn¡¯t leave. One day, a treasure had been dug up but there was only one specialist left to assess it. We became his assistant and the thought of stealing and selling it came to mind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the origin of the jade and the watch?¡± Li Xia rified.


    ¡°We first dug out the all-seeing eye watch. I remember the specialist rubbing the dust off agitatedly and urging us to open up the coffins for other treasures. We discovered two corpses, each with a jade on their bodies. We figured that they were a couple and hid our discovery from the specialist but took the jades for ourselves. The first attempt went sessfully, but the moment we pulled the jade from the second corpse, the corpse immediately turned to ashes. We coughed in shock and the specialist mocked our inability to bear the sight of corpses. What he wasn¡¯t aware of was that we had seen a corpse disintegrate before our eyes. We handed the jades to Leader Peng Jiamu and he wore them around his neck. That night, we witnessed him splitting into two different bodies.¡±


    ¡°The identities of the Pisces jades are real?¡±


    ¡°We discovered after that the two corpses were of the same person, one real and the other fake, and the key to distinguishing them lies in the jade. Yang for the real person and Yin for its split self.¡±


    Li Xia did not respond so I turned to Dahai, ¡°Yin and Yang?¡±


    ¡°Carve a fish shape out and the remaining background is Yin. Keep the fish and remove the background and that¡¯s Yang.¡±


    ¡°The one on his neck... is it Yin or Yang?¡± I asked.


    With a nk look, Dahai replied, ¡°I did not get a good look at it.¡±


    ¡°Leader Peng Jiamu¡¯s selves were extremely different. One wanted to bring us to seize the watch while the other wanted to help us escape. The Yin side of him took a gun out and was about to shoot the Yang side but the Yang side of him ran out of the house without even getting dressed. Yin then led our team to kill the specialist and seize the watch. Xiaohei then provided the bracelets for Li Bai to te it before chasing after Yang.


    ¡°Why¡¯s the jade with you then?¡± Li Xia inquired.


    ¡°We ran out of Lop Nor that night, but because we didn¡¯t know what Leader Peng Jiamu wanted to do, I suggested for the team to abandon him and escape on our own. That was how I became the new leader. Unable to give up the jade, I cut it off when he was sound asleep, and the moment I did it, his body disintegrated.¡±


    ¡°That was how you got hold of Yin¡¯s jade?¡±


    ¡°With both jades in our possession, we ran out shouting that Peng Jiamu had killed the specialist and stolen the relics, something that he had, in fact, done. No matter how fast he was, he couldn¡¯t outrun a telegram and was caught before he left Xinjiang. He removed the jade but he did not disintegrate. He tried hard to exin the story behind the jade but no one believed him. Words spread but it was all rumors. We took over the jade and Peng Jiamu was secretly killed in Xinjiang by the superiors. They had mistakenly thought that we would return the jade to Lop Nor but we chose to escape with me as their leader this time.¡±


    ¡°So you had theplete jade and watch?¡± Li Xia asked.


    ¡°The seven of us returned to Beijing and stayed in the city defense for a few years. We tried selling the items off. The jade isn¡¯t as valuable as the watch, and overall, it wasn¡¯t enough to split among the seven of us. Someone would always disagree, regardless of which pawnshop we visited. We weren¡¯t able to manage the treasures, so we decided to split them up and rotate ownership during each reunion.¡±


    ¡°You guys metst year,¡± Li Xia noted.


    ¡°People die. Your grandfather and I were the only ones leftst year. He took the watch so I got both jades. Now that he¡¯s dead, I¡¯m the only one left. If you¡¯re here for the jade, give up. ording to our agreement, you should be handing the watch over since I¡¯m thest man standing.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s there only half of the jade on your neck?¡±


    ¡°What half? I have both. Wait, what? Why only half? Where did I put it? Why don¡¯t I remember? Is this Yin or Yang?¡±


    ¡°Yin,¡± Li Xia informed him.


    The old man grabbed his head with both hands and dropped to his knees.


    Witnessing the scene unfold, Dahai spoke up. ¡°Do we go over to them?¡±


    ¡°Duh!¡± I eximed before rushing over, Dahai following close behind.

 Chapter 201: Ghost Market (Part 5) III

    <h4>Chapter 201: Ghost Market (Part 5) III</h4>


    The old man had a bitter expression on his face as he knelt on the ground with his hands covering his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Dahai yelled.


    ¡°ording to him, he¡¯s lost, too,¡± Li Xia shared.


    Dahai and I didn¡¯t understand what Li Xia meant.


    I pulled Li Xia aside and asked him, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°From what he¡¯s told me about the jade, he¡¯s merely a split self.¡±


    ¡°Split self? So he¡¯s not a living person?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that but I do know that he¡¯s only alive because of this jade.¡±


    The old man raised his head and looked straight at Li Xia. ¡°Am I dead?¡±


    ¡°Only you would know that,¡± Li Xia responded.


    ¡°Me? I don¡¯t know anything. My memory¡¯s gone.¡±


    ¡°Your memory¡¯s gone for about half a year now. You¡¯ve lost it the moment my grandfather put your photo inside the watch. You¡¯re just a copy of yourself, which is why you turned senile.¡±


    ¡°Rubbish. I have the jade and I am about to collect your watch. They¡¯re all mine,¡± the old man barked angrily.


    ¡°Well, take off your ne and prove it. If you don¡¯t disappear, you¡¯re real.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? Li Bai put my photo in the watch?¡± he asked, astonished.


    ¡°From what I understand, the jade and watch were split among the two of themst year. Your grandfather brought the watch back and, out of anger, attempted to kill him by putting his photograph inside it. Everyone in the photograph is now dead and he¡¯s only alive because he¡¯s a copy?¡± I rationalized.


    ¡°So he¡¯s a dead person?¡± Dahai rified.


    ¡°Remove his ne and we¡¯ll find out,¡± Li Xia proposed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m a dead person,¡± the old man insisted.


    ¡°Take it down, then,¡± Li Xia challenged as the old man stood hesitantly before us, his expression bing sluggish.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much of the things you¡¯ve told me is real. I don¡¯t know if you guys ganged up to kill Peng Jiamu, but it seems that all the me has been thrown onto Peng Jiamu alone. It was the doing of all seven of you, which is why Grandfather hated you so much. You were the leader. You¡¯re the only one alive now so only you know the truth.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll prove that I¡¯m alive,¡± the old man decided before grabbing his ne.


    ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Li Xia provoked.


    With a determined pull, the old man transformed into an ash torrent.


    All that was left of him was a pile of dust and a fish-shaped jade pendant.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hemitted suicide,¡± Li Xia dered.


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s going on?¡± Dahai asked, evidently appalled.


    ¡°Go back and ask if you want to know,¡± Li Xia replied, picking up the jade.


    ¡°Ask who?¡±


    ¡°His son. The man in his house,¡± Li Xia answered before putting the jade into his bag and walking back into the nursing home.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Dahai called out.


    Li Xia turned around. ¡°There¡¯s one less old man in this building and it happens to be the man whom we¡¯ve specifically asked to see. What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡±


    Dahai pulled me along with top speed.


    We arrived at Han Dong¡¯s apartment and knocked on the door again.


    ¡°You three again?¡± the middle-aged man answered.


    ¡°Your father¡¯spletely dead,¡± Li Xia informed him, taking the jade out.


    ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand,¡± the man said, attempting to close the door.


    Li Xia blocked it with his foot and effectively stopped him. ¡°Your father ispletely dead. I know the secret and now you¡¯ll have to tell us what you¡¯ve done.¡±


    After a brief moment of shock, the man opened the door fully and invited us in.


    It wasn¡¯t a big apartment, with one bedroom and a living hall.


    With all of us sitting in the living room, the man started, ¡°My father¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he¡¯s in the nursing home?¡± Dahai questioned.


    ¡°He died half a year ago. He absolutely adored this jade when he was alive.¡±


    ¡°We know that,¡± Li Xiamented.


    ¡°I had nned to have this cremated together with him but on the day of the cremation, his coffin moved. We opened it and found two of him inside. One was dead and the other somewhat out of it. I had no choice but to find an excuse to transport the coffin home,¡± the man exined.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the dead one?¡± Li Xia asked.


    The man wordlessly pointed at a freezer cab not far away.


    Li Xia walked over to it and the two of us quickly caught up.


    There was a big lock on the cab. ¡°Can we open this?¡± Li Xia turned to the man, who then retrieved a key from a drawer to unlock it.


    Therey the corpse of that exact man whom we had seen in the nursing home.


    ¡°Why send the other one to the nursing home?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My father¡¯s already dead and I¡¯ve tried to look after the senile one but he¡¯s not my father. He¡¯s a breathing dead person,¡± he exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for a duplicate to not have any soul,¡± Li Xia expressed.


    ¡°But why did he talk to you earlier?¡±


    ¡°Dying sh, maybe?¡± Li Xia suggested.


    ¡°That¡¯s too creepy,¡± I said.


    Dahai reminded us, ¡°There are about 15 of those evil things still around,¡±


    ¡°Can we tell him the story?¡± Li Xia asked me.


    I gave Dahai a nce and he nodded.


    Just like that, we spent another hour or so rying every single detail to the middle-aged man.


    He then took the Yang ne from his father¡¯s corpse and said, ¡°I understand what¡¯s going on. These are inauspicious stuff. Take it and do as you please. I¡¯ve got no objections.¡±


    ¡°What do you guys n to do?¡± Li Xia asked as he took the items.


    The middle-aged man turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll cremate him tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re probably going to hand these items over to the nation,¡± Dahai mused.


    Li Xia responded, ¡°How are you going to answer if they question you?¡±


    Dahaiughed, waving away his concern. ¡°I have antique shops and the ghost market as my perfect excuse.¡±


    ¡°These old people had iting. I want this to pass as well. Let¡¯s just pretend that nothing¡¯s happened, alright?¡± Li Xia pleaded.


    I listened respectfully since I had no right to express my opinion on this matter. Even as a powerful billionaire, Dahai chose not to go against Li Xia¡¯s request.


    Epilogue.


    Half a yearter.


    Dahai opened a printing house and finally put his grand ideas into action.


    I gained management rights to the southern part of the ghost market and could now enjoy my life without selling dolls.


    Li Xia started working for Dahai as a regional manager.


    The middle-aged man, Han Hong, turned out to be a student genius in Beijing¡¯s Central University of Finance and Economics and was quickly employed by Dahai to rece Uncle Fu and his henchmen.


    While submitting the items to the nation, Dahai even discovered a new secret.


    Out of the 17 treasures, none has been transported back to the nation. They were scattered all around the world.


    Thanks to us, though, they now have two of them.

 Chapter 202: Seven Friends: Let It Be

    <h4>Chapter 202: Seven Friends: Let It Be</h4>


    I¡¯ll try not to make this story hard toprehend, but life is not something that can be exined with just words.


    I remember a saying that goes: It takes three years to learn something good, but just three days to learn something bad.


    But how can a thoroughly evil person be good?


    My answer? Seven friends.


    They walked in front of me, falling into the depths of the unfathomable abyss on my behalf in order to put me back on the right path and to make me cherish everything that I have.


    If not for these seven friends, I might¡¯ve turned out to be aplete bad egg.


    ...


    Whitey, Fourth Brother, and Brother Si were the three individuals whom I¡¯d like to coin my lucky charms, as I¡¯ve shared previously. In thisst piece of ¡®Seven Friends¡¯, though, I will focus on myself.


    After graduation, I started working at the airport.


    I was an aircraft officer in charge of guaranteeing scheduled flights. It sounds grand but it really was just only in name.


    A general knowledge that I¡¯ve learned ever since working in the airport was how independent it was, just like a big plot ofnd.


    Airports were just like bus stops to me, with nes being the buses.


    nes belonged to different airlines, as so do the pilots and stewardesses.


    Airport staffs were like employees from public transportpanies except that you don¡¯t see them at every station.


    As the name implies, a flight guarantor is anyone who ensures that thended nes can make the next flight as scheduled.


    My job was to provide food and other necessary supplies that passengers could take down the ne.


    Things like food, drinks, magazines, newspapers, vomit bag, utensils, nkets, pillows, and etc.


    Of course, we do not merely provide goods for the passengers but also for the pilots and stewardesses.


    It was said that airports in other countries would even provide the stewardesses with sanitary towels.


    I¡¯ve been working as an aircraft officer for three years now and I¡¯m about to talk about the three other individuals, namely my colleagues Ah Fu, Ah Fei, and Ah Liang.


    Ah Fei was a good man. It was even appropriate topare his character to Zhang Fei, a fearsome fighter in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.


    Zhang Fei was an unforgettable person with tan skin.


    Whenever anyone asks how Ah Fei looks, we would simply activate Baidu image search and key in the term ¡®ck people¡¯ before randomly choosing a photograph and iming him as Ah Fei.


    Ah Fei used to be our leader¡¯s secretary but upon thetter¡¯s resignation, he became our captain.


    Reporting flight activities was his main job as the captain, so he¡¯s in charge of sending us to receive nes.


    I remembered the time when I fell off from a carriage. It was about five in the morning and he drove over just to pick me up and send me to the hospital. I was lucky that it wasn¡¯t a serious injury.


    It might sound like a dull story to you but it serves as a potential brief to a book.


    When I first started writing stories, I often interviewed Ah Fei since he was a bookworm. He would always smile and im not to understand my stories as they are neither pleasing nor lengthy. He said that theycked sequence and decent plots. He had also correctly predicted that gaining some fans wouldn¡¯t guarantee profits, but I never changed.


    Ah Liang wasn¡¯t a kind person at all, though he wasn¡¯t thoroughly a ¡®bad¡¯ person either. He was, in my opinion, the most knowledgeable of the four of us. He seemed to know everything, especially math. He was able to answer any question pertaining to numbers almost instantaneously. His story could be written into a book but he wasn¡¯t keen on it since he¡¯s failed a lot in life. Before he started working as an aircraft officer, he ran his own restaurant in Guangzhou. In spite of that, he¡¯s definitely one of the most pitiful bosses around.


    He would always tell us how he would buy a 12-inch sandwich from Subway if he doesn¡¯t feel like eating instant noodles. He would cut the sandwich first into two then into three sections each. In that way, he was able to settle two days worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for just over 20 yuan.


    At times, he would also briefly mention the people and things he witnessed in the restaurant.


    Even then, those bits of information were enough for me topile into a good story.


    Ah Fu joined some timeter. He¡¯s older than all of us but he looked decently young. When I first started bing a staff trainer of sorts, Iplimented him for being serious at work. I was shocked to find outter on that he was seven years older than me. Ah Fu has fewer stories to share but each one was a ssic. It¡¯s a pity that this story was about me, but I¡¯d definitely share his story if there¡¯s a chance in the future.


    Just like that, the three of them became my friends, colleagues, and dorm mates.


    The four of us have been living each day happily and that¡¯s how Short, Light, Free came about after we moved into our new apartment.


    I felt extremely lucky for having three loving colleagues. It¡¯s because of them that I¡¯ve been able to focus all my energy on writing.


    I¡¯m about to share my story in detail.


    Three years ago, when I first entered the airport, I worked on alternate days.


    I had to work a 16-hour to 24-hour shift each time.


    I got up at 4:30 in the morning and would only leave work at five in the afternoon if I¡¯m lucky.


    If not, I would have to stay until five the next morning.


    We had a 24-hour worth of workload dumped on us.


    The rest day that we get was really just for us catch up on our rest and sleep.


    Out of the 24 hours, then, only 10 to 14 hours were truly left for us.


    Initially, it really wasn¡¯t tiring at all since we could look forward to resting the next day.


    Plus, things became much easier when it was about time to knock off. Knowing that the happenings of the next day would be none of our business was like finishing school on a Friday. We could look forward to the beautiful and free weekend.


    You might think that the most unbearable part was the night before our next shift, right?


    No. It¡¯s actually the morning of the rest day.


    Knowing that the next shift would begin the next morning, I would want to spend my rest day carefreely. As such, I yed so many games and quickly got addicted within half a year.


    Whitey brought me to the gaming cafe and Brother Si informed me that held-held controller games were about to be eliminated.


    Online gaming was the new thing that people would patronize because it was more convenient and speedy.


    As long as you remember your ount details and patiently wait for downloads and updates, you¡¯ll be able to get hold of thetest games.


    If I get sick of the old games, I would simply switch to a new one. This was exactly how I spent my rest days.


    One day, amidst my absolutely boring life, I found her.


    An adorable gamer girl that was very much different from us.


    She enjoyed literature. Real literature.


    I would observe her as she stays up to read her books and even pen down her reflections after.


    She made me think about my story-writing past.


    Stories which I had thought were good.


    After some time, I got close to her.


    Do you guys remember ¡®I¡¯m Not Bad¡¯? That was my very first story. It was also the first story I shared with her.


    We made a pact. I was to tell her a bedtime story every night.


    This went on for a whole month, which kinda set the tone for Short, Light, Free.


    That night, after sharing myst story, I confessed my secret to her and to my surprise, she dly epted it.


    She mentioned that she couldn¡¯t find anything about my stories online, to which I replied, ¡°Because they¡¯re my stories.¡±


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you tried sharing these stories online?¡± she asked.


    I pondered over her words for the whole of that night. I actually felt happy that she had asked that question.


    Why shouldn¡¯t I share them with everyone?


    I sat in front of theputer, thinking hard.


    I trieding up with a pen name to no avail.


    Let it be.


    Right. Let it be. No matter what happens, even if the people don¡¯t appreciate my work, I¡¯d just let it be.


    I typed that in and pressed confirm. Thinking back now, I have no idea how I carried out such a decisive action.


    ¡®Let it be¡¯ became my pen name.


    My next question: What do I write?


    Fairytale? Maybe.


    Science fiction? A bit.


    Short pieces? Indeed.


    Scattered? Yeah, all kinds.


    So what exactly is it?


    I found a term after some search: Light stories/reads.


    My stories were simple, a mixture and unrestricted.


    Short, Light, Free...


    I started working on it, adding one story after another into the collection.


    I gave up many things for this.


    Do you remember what I said about my rest days?


    No more games. At times, I would even get a bottle of white wine and Red Bull to keep mepany as I wrote through the night.


    I spent my days like that for half a year.


    I was in the third year of my job, which was also the first year into my book when the government decided to double the airport¡¯s runway from 1.5km to 3km.


    I¡¯ve been to bigger airports, where I had to walk a whole 10 minutes just to exit the ce.


    It was something our airport was aiming to achieve.


    The space that they needed for the expansion was exactly where our dorm was situated.


    It was something the airport wouldn¡¯t hesitate to tear down.


    We were left with no choice but to seek another amodation.


    For a university graduate like me, I had no idea how difficult moving house was.


    The four of us eventually settled in a small vige near the airport.


    Our house consisted of four rooms, a living area, and two bathrooms.


    It was in there that I¡¯ve written most of my stories.


    Recently, however, I¡¯ve left the airport and returned to the city. All for love.


    Short, Light, Free will being to an end, but I will be starting a new book.


    It would fill up the holes left from some old stories.


    It would also be stripped off of some of my bad writing habits.


    I hope to improve and hope that my readers will like the changes that I¡¯ll be attempting.


    Perhaps 63 is a number I can¡¯t escape since I¡¯m choosing to announce the end of my book 630,000 words in.


    I will also be closing this book with the 63rd story.


    New stories, writing styles and structures, and unique features will being your way, dear readers.

 Chapter 203: Mountain, Sea IX: Malong

    <h4>Chapter 203: Mountain, Sea IX: Malong</h4>


    ¡°Gather all nine sons?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Chaos is very strong and the only one who has managed to constrain it was the real dragon. Even then, he wasn¡¯t able to kill itpletely. Now that Chaos has escaped, it¡¯d be sure to destroy the if unstopped.¡±


    Kylin counted the number of people onboard. ¡°How do we arrange this? I¡¯ll follow Boss.¡±


    Dongfang looked at me. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who goes but I must be with him.¡±


    Xiaoai immediately grabbed my shoulder, saying, ¡°Me, too. I¡¯ll follow Brother Gou.¡±


    I stood rooted to the ground, unsure.


    Suddenly, I felt something odd happening inside my body. I opened my mouth and an aged voice sounded, ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone knows what¡¯s going on. I, Old Tao, was the first to enter. You might need to get someone to receive me. It¡¯s so dark here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, I¡¯ll get you soon,¡± Pu Lao promised.


    Jiao Tu asked, ¡°Why are you guys in his body?¡±


    ¡°This childcks souls so I put a piece of mine in his body. I wasn¡¯t expecting the rest of you to do the same. What else was I supposed to do? I¡¯m stuck in a bag and I have no choice but to borrow him to see the world.¡±


    I kept my mouth opened wide as these strange voices continued flowing out of me. Was I now reduced to just being a megaphone? It was an ufortable experience.


    Jiao Tu stirred his saliva on his hand before sticking it on my head. ¡°Tao Tie, Pu Lao, and Pi, way to go, huh?¡±


    When Jiao Tu¡¯s hand was on my head, I could barely gain a bit more control over my body. The moment he let go of his hand, I said, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve joined them? It¡¯s messy enough in here. Look at me! I can¡¯t even move!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve done it. A piece of my soul is in your body now but mine¡¯s much more gentle,¡± Jiao Tu responded.


    ¡°What? You gave it already?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    ¡°I have nothing great to offer you but I think you¡¯ll like having a highly retentive memory,¡± Jiao Tumented.


    I touched my head and could feel the external skeleton moving. Truthfully,pared to Tao Tie¡¯s transference, Senior Jiao Tu¡¯s was indeed the gentlest.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say earlier that the external shell can onlyst for three hours? If you¡¯re going to gather the sons, shouldn¡¯t you settle my problem first?¡± I pleaded helplessly.


    ¡°You can move, can¡¯t you? It¡¯s already settled! Your recovery is all up to you, though,¡± Jiao Tu replied.


    ¡°Quit all that nonsense chitchat,¡± Kylin cut in. ¡°We should allocate tasks now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go look for Boss Bixi. Who¡¯s going to find Boss Chiwen?¡± Jiao Tu asked.


    Dongfang, Xiaoai, and Kylin shifted their eyes to me as if they were waiting for my decision.


    I looked at Kylin and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in order. One person per search. Let them go first, it¡¯s no problem.¡±


    The moment I finished my sentence, the external gear controlled my arm by raising it and pointing it at Kylin.


    ¡°Me? How dare you order me?¡± Kylin demanded, displeased.


    ¡°I merely said what I was thinking. I¡¯m not controlling my movements. It¡¯s this thing...¡± I exined, my mechanically-ran hand pointing at the exoskeleton frame around my head.


    ¡°You expect me to believe that?¡± Kylin raised his right hand indignantly. Having lost his left, his action seemed to require more effort.


    ¡°Stay away from me. I won¡¯t fight a cripple.¡± My legs automatically took a few steps back and my hands instinctively shifted into a protective pose in front of my head.


    Dongfang interrupted, ¡°Go look for Chiwen, Kylin. No more discussion.¡±


    Jiao Tu approached Kylin and looked his arm over. ¡°It¡¯s not a serious injury. I¡¯ll give you a few jabs and you should be fine in three hours.¡±


    ¡°Three hours for a whole arm?¡± I gasped.


    Kylin huffed haughtily. ¡°Our healing ability isn¡¯t something you humans can understand.¡±


    Jiao Tu retrieved a few syringes from somewhere and gave him the vines.


    ¡°Get some people down here.¡± Jiao Tu pointed upward as Kylin transformed into his beast form. Even without a left limb, he was able to stand steadily. In just a few strides, he was out the door.


    ¡°As for Gong Fu and Ya Zi... how are you three nning to do this?¡± Jiao Tu turned to us.


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow Brother Gou,¡± Xiaoai repeated.


    Dongfang shook her head and said, ¡°He has to follow me since he can¡¯t really move and is dependant on the machine. I¡¯ll bring him along to look for Gong Fu. Xiaoai will look for Ya Zi.¡±


    ¡°Kylin¡¯s your subject so he should listen to you, but I¡¯m not bound to such oath. Plus, I don¡¯t know who Ya Zi is and where to find him,¡± Xiaoai snapped back.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re short of one person. What should we do?¡± Kylin asked.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not. My parents can go look for Ya Zi while I follow them to find Gong Fu,¡± Xiaoai said with a smile, fishing her mobile phone out.


    After seeing Xiaoai wave it about in the air, Jiao Tu added, ¡°There¡¯s no signal down here, we have to get back upstairs. Who are your parents by the way?¡±


    ¡°Bai Ze,¡± Dongfang answered for her.


    ¡°Oh. Well, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem then,¡± Jiao Tu decided before walking up.


    I quickly caught up with him while Dongfang followed behind. Xiaoai continued moving her phone around until we reached the top.


    She finally got through to her father and she quickly ryed the events to him. After a short while, she hung up and faced the rest of us. ¡°It¡¯s all settled. My dad has agreed to look for Gong Fu.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you something, Senior. That Gong Fu... where is he?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°You might not know, Junior, but Xiu does,¡± Jiao Tu answered.


    I gave Dongfang a side nce and she replied, ¡°I¡¯ve lost a part of my memory.¡±


    ¡°Well, Gong Fu likes water. If he¡¯s not in Yangtze, he¡¯d be in Yellow River,¡± Jiao Tu contributed.


    Xiaoai grabbed my hand and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. Sister Dongfang can go to Yangtze with Senior and I¡¯ll bring Brother Gou to Yellow River.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m stronger than you and I can protect him. I¡¯ll bring him. You can head down to Yellow River alone,¡± Dongfang responded dully.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how handsome Brother Gou is after the transformation? So handsome... no, I mean powerful. He¡¯d be able to protect me. I want Brother Gou to protect me. Since you¡¯re so strong, you can visit Yangtze yourself,¡± Xiaoai insisted.


    ¡°You go to Yellow River alone,¡± Dongfang pped back.


    ¡°How about you go to Yangtze yourself,¡± Xiaoai spat.


    ...


    Jiao Tu gave me a look. ¡°I¡¯ll let you youngsters settle it by yourselves. Just bring them back so we can all gather and make ns.¡±


    Before I could speak, Jiao Tu transformed into a tortoise and tucked his head and limbs into the shell before rolling forward like a wheel.


    The two women were still arguing.


    I butted in, ¡°Stop. We¡¯ll all go to Yellow River first then Yangtze. We¡¯ll do this together, alright?¡±


    Dongfang took a few steps forward and called a staff over. ¡°Get the chariot ready.¡±


    The staff hedged, ¡°You want the car, right?¡±


    Dongfang nodded.


    Relying on the exoskeleton machine, I followed Dongfang to the door while Xiaoai followed behind me like a kitten.


    A Lincoln sedan drove over and parked right before the gate.


    The chauffeur, dressed in a sleek suit, alighted to open the door for us.


    Dongfang waited as Xiaoai boarded first.


    My external gear guided me forward. ¡°Aren¡¯t youing?¡± I asked Dongfang.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my chariot?¡± she asked suspiciously.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°The real dragon gave it to me. Dragon head, horse body. Just a call and he¡¯ll bring me almost anywhere,¡± she exined.


    The chauffeur removed his cap and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m here, Madam. You lost your memory again?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re it?¡± she eyed him doubtfully.


    ¡°With the progress of the nation, we¡¯re no longer allowed to roam about in our original forms. Call me Malong from now on. I¡¯m not the table tennis guy, though, so don¡¯t get confused,¡± he joked.


    ¡°No more flying?¡± Dongfang asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to Yangtze. This doesn¡¯t fly, does it?¡± I asked, pointing at the Lincoln. ¡°How long is it going to take us?¡±


    Malong rummaged through his pockets and finally fished out a bunch of cards.


    ¡°Here are my licenses. I can pilot a car, lorry, helicopter, ne, and ship. Skydiving license, diving cert, first aid cert, blood donation cert. I learned all these so I can bring Madam out.¡±


    I was almost drooling when he continued, ¡°There are more but I didn¡¯t bring them out. We¡¯re going to Yangtze, right? We¡¯ll drive to the airport to book a ne.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good at geography,¡± I mused in awe.


    ¡°It¡¯s never too old to learn,¡± he told me.


    ¡°But... I can¡¯t sit on you anymore?¡± Dongfangined.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll find a quiet spot and I can take you for a ride.¡±


    Dongfang nodded happily before hopping into the car.


    I had to retract the machine a little before I could fit in the car.


    We went straight to the airport and took the VIP route upon arriving.


    Malong seemed to have a professional rtionship with the airport personnel.


    At the security checkpoint, I was forced to remove my gear since it couldn¡¯t pass the scanner and be transported.


    I looked at the battery level and realized that there wasn¡¯t much left.


    Malong called for the staff to prepare a wheelchair for me as I recalled Senior Jiao Tu¡¯s words: Internal piece is good. I do not rmend the external one.


    Just like that, I was back to being paralyzed.


    Malong put on a pilot¡¯s uniform and entered the cockpit.


    Dongfang stared nkly at the space in front of her while Xiaoai ordered some fruits just before departure. Since it was free, she had decided to order 10 portions to share.


    When the ne took off, I could feel my ears suffering. I wasn¡¯t able to even swallow to pop them. Malong joined us from time to time, asking if he was driving at an alright speed.


    Dongfang would always ask if he could go faster each time he checked on us. At times, Malong would even sit down with Xiaoai to chat and enjoy the fruits.


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you the pilot? Who¡¯s driving the ne when you¡¯re here?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s on autopilot so don¡¯t worry. It knows how to fly by itself.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s just a machine!¡± I argued.


    ¡°Even if the engine fails and explodes, I can transform and save all of you within a minute,¡± he assured me with a carefreeugh, popping a grape into his mouth.


    All of a sudden, an explosion sounded from my left. I looked out the window and saw that the left wing had been broken off.


    ¡°F*ck that mouth of yours!¡± I eximed.


    ¡°The ne must be moving too fast. Come, I¡¯ll bring you guys out.¡± Malong squatted on the ground and transformed into a beast with a dragon¡¯s head and a horse¡¯s body.


    Dongfang grabbed me and we hopped on its back.


    She then picked up a chair and threw it at the cabin door, creating a hole for Malong to leap through.


    Xiaoai turned invisible and passed through the ne walls.


    ¡°It will be fine, Madam. The ne¡¯s cheap and paid for already. Look down, that¡¯s Yangtze River. We¡¯re not at the river source yet but let¡¯s go take a look, anyway,¡± Malong suggested.


    I was frightened and speechless.


    ¡°I¡¯m here for Gong Fu,¡± Dongfang informed him.

 Chapter 204: Mountain, Sea: Gong Fu

    <h4>Chapter 204: Mountain, Sea: Gong Fu</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix, Chrissy


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Malong roared.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask?¡± I shot back.


    He asked, ¡°Do you know where he is?¡±


    ¡°That guy opened a seafood restaurant. I have nothing toin about his food. I can finish five to six bowls of rice when I order a fish soup.¡±


    ¡°Chao¡¯s been released. We need to gather the nine sons toe up with a solution,¡± Xiaoai exined.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll bring you guys to him, but I¡¯m warning you, this fellow... forget it, you¡¯ll see for yourself,¡± Malong said, speeding up.


    Xiaoai tried to catch up but she was having difficulty in doing so. Dongfang extended an arm out to remove her belt before flinging it toward Xiaoai.


    It wrapped around her securely and it looked as if Dongfang was flying a kite.


    The damaged ne smashed onto the ground at a bare construction site. A huge hole was created but no one was hurt.


    Thanks to Dongfang, Xiaoai managed to catch up with Malong. She sped her hands together and created rings of mist that wrapped everyone within it.


    Upon seeing the surrounding mist, Malong sighed. ¡°I haven¡¯t flown in a long time, I forgot about all the rules. We would be penalized if we get seen by humans.¡±


    ¡°Penalized? Is there even someone in charge of you monsters?¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°Of course. Despite your unique qualities, you¡¯re still human, aren¡¯t you? We¡¯re bound by the hierarchy,¡± Malong exined.


    ¡°Hierarchy?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The big handle the small, the old handle the young. For something like Chaos, a group of people is needed to restrain him. Unless the Real Dragon is around, no one would be able to deal with Chaos.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is this real dragon thing that you speak of so often?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Thing? Wow, you sure are good at talking, aren¡¯t you? The Real Dragon is our ancestor. How can you call yourself a descendant of the dragon when you don¡¯t remember your roots?¡± Malong mocked.


    ¡°But you¡¯re a horse dragon! The nine sons might be all dragons but they all look different and have different ranks. How do I distinguish them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You gotta look at their hands and feet. The real ones have five ws while the green one has only four. Gong Fu has only three, and there¡¯s me, horse dragon. I¡¯m not of pure dragon blood and have no dragon ws. Instead, I have hooves. Everyone¡¯s the dragon¡¯s grandson, though. The problem is with inheriting the genes I guess,¡± Malong exined.


    ¡°Oh, I kinda get it now,¡± I responded.


    Malong suddenly pointed. ¡°You¡¯ll find him in the grandest inn. Right there.¡±


    I was about to ask if every dragon was living sessfully but I quickly remembered Tao Tie¡¯s silly bag situation. There might be a lot of treasures in there though, and he could¡¯ve been living a great life if not for the fact that he was stuck.


    Malong moved speedily, found an open window, and zoomed in.


    Xiaoai simply bore through the walls after bing invisible. The moment hended, Malong found himself above the main hall.


    It was noon but there weren¡¯t many people inside.


    Dongfang had yet to alight, but the main entrance to the hall started closing slowly.


    ¡°Who¡¯s unwise enough to seek me out? Bully the small ones all you want but how dare youe all the way here?¡± a voice boomed.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Malong greeted.


    ¡°Oh, Brother Ma. Why? Are you here for fish again? You haven¡¯t been here in a long time, why the sudden visit? Anything joyous to share?¡± the voice continued.


    ¡°It¡¯s something bad actually. I have no right to talk to you about it so please let my Missus do the talking,¡± Malong ryed.


    ¡°Missus? My sister? I¡¯ll prepare a table of good food and wine. It¡¯s been so long. What, like a thousand years?¡± The voice trailed off as a few uniformed staff emerged in a neat row.


    Dongfang brought me down onto the ground and Malong reverted to his human appearance.


    We were escorted into a room and was greeted by a big fellow of about two and a half meters tall. He wiped his hands with a cloth and started, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you guys in a long while. Let¡¯s talk over dinner.¡±


    Malong smiled pleasantly. ¡°As cool as ever, huh, Gong Fu.¡±


    ¡°You tter me. I¡¯ll get a few different types of fish so please enjoy! You¡¯re my guests tonight and that¡¯s especially important to me.¡± Gong Fu grinned before throwing his cloth away.


    The staff at the side immediately picked it up before following behind him.


    Dongfang sat me down by the enormous round table before taking a seat on my left and Xiaoai took the seat to my right.


    Malong chose to sit beside Gong Fu.


    ¡°Who are these people, Sis?¡± Gong Fu smiled.


    ¡°Pi¡¯s soul is in his body right now. The girl beside him is Bai Ze¡¯s daughter,¡± Dongfang informed him.


    ¡°You two separated? No wonder you¡¯re acting strange. This guy seems abnormal, too. He has a familiar yet foreign and messy aura,¡± Gong Fu analyzed.


    Malong eyed me before adding, ¡°You¡¯re actually right. I never would¡¯ve noticed anything strange if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it.¡±


    Xiaoai added, ¡°He simply has a few more souls in him.¡±


    ¡°How strange?¡± Gong Fu put his big palm on my forehead and ced it there for two seconds before shaking his head.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Quit ying around. Are you trying to kill him? That¡¯s too many souls for one body. You¡¯re really lucky to be alive, kiddo,¡± Gong Fumented.


    ¡°This... is my body really not okay?¡± I asked in shock.


    ¡°Your body¡¯s fine. However, your mental state is the key. Another ten souls might not be able to take your body down but I really don¡¯t know why you think you can win this mental battle against these senior dragons.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that. Brother Gou isn¡¯t just anyone,¡± Xiaoai defended.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gong Fu asked before putting his palm on my forehead again. ¡°Oh my, where did you find this guy? Are you human?¡±


    ¡°Why are you scolding me, Senior?¡± I asked, not understanding him.


    ¡°Do you know why humans have three immortal souls and seven mortal souls?¡± he posed.


    ¡°No idea,¡± I replied, unable to shake my head.


    ¡°A person will enter Hell upon death and be put on trial by the judge. His sins will determine if he can be reincarnated. Each round of reincarnation will be recorded. These three immortal and seven mortal souls contain the best and worst memories respectively. A human soul is made up of a few years to decades of memories. A dragon soul, however, contains thousands of years of those. You must¡¯ve been something extraordinary in your previous life since the king had only tried you once.¡±


    ¡°Rules are stiff in Hell. For the king of Hades and the judge to only charge you once, you must¡¯ve been a big figure your past life. Tang Sanzang maybe,¡± Gong Fu guessed.


    ¡°He really existed?¡± I asked aloud, feeling somewhat satisfied.


    ¡°Think about it. If us long-lived ones go down, we¡¯d be rewarded or punished with thousands of souls.¡±


    ¡°Thousands?¡± I asked, looking at Gong Fu and Dongfang.


    ¡°Now I understand why everyone¡¯s putting a bit of their souls into you. You¡¯re of a much higher grade,¡± Gong Fu remarked as he cut his right hand, dripping his blood into the wine.


    He then put the ss in front of me. ¡°Drink it, slowly. It¡¯s my soul. I want to join in.¡±


    Without a choice, I drank it.


    Dishes were added to our table, one after another.


    ¡°Enjoy your meal, everyone. There¡¯s everything for everyone here. Business isn¡¯t as good as before. Our queue used to stretch across the whole street but not anymore, as you can see,¡± Gong Fu told them.


    After a few mouthfuls of food, Xiaoai spoke up, ¡°But the food¡¯s great! Why isn¡¯t there any business?¡±


    ¡°There is, just not as much as before since many ingredients have been banned,¡± Gong Fu exined.


    Malong added with a smile, ¡°Food management wasn¡¯t as strict in the past. Many of the ingredients in this shop aren¡¯t approved. I won¡¯t say what they are, but, indeed, food isn¡¯t as good without them. But of course, business is bad only inparison to the past.¡±


    Gong Fu smiled weingly. ¡°Come whenever you please. It¡¯ll be my pleasure to serve you. I¡¯ve gained a lot today and am d to have given a part of my soul to you.¡±


    ¡°My name is Gou Dan, Senior,¡± I introduced myself. You¡¯ve given me a part of your soul and yet you don¡¯t even know my name?¡±


    ¡°Right. So, how can I help you guys?¡± Gong Fu asked.


    ¡°You know about Chaos, right?¡±


    ¡°Chaos? What about it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been released and is carrying a nuclear bomb,¡± Xiaoai informed.


    ¡°Do you want me to join the chase? I can¡¯t leave this ce even for a day, though,¡± Gong Fu said.


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave?¡± I repeated.


    Malong continued dully, ¡°Yes. The key to this restaurant isn¡¯t the taste but the volume and freshness of the fishes. It¡¯s all thanks to Gong Fu¡¯s ability to control the waters and catch the best fishes.¡±


    ¡°You tter me too much. There are over ten inns across this street. Competition is stiff but rules are as well. Business is hard since people visit by word of mouth.¡±


    ¡°The world is ending. Can¡¯t you just be absent for a day?¡± Xiaoai reasoned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get a break if the world ends, but if I were to save the world... that¡¯s too much work. If I were to lose my business because of that, who¡¯s going to take responsibility?¡± Gong Fu questioned.


    ¡°What... can you give him money?¡± I turned to Dongfang.


    ¡°Name the price,¡± Dongfang offered.


    Gong Fu shook his head. ¡°Sister, it¡¯s not about the money. It¡¯s about my honor and reputation. I just can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So losing a few days of business is fine if your shop name blows up?¡± Xiaoai tried.


    ¡°Do you know how to do that, girl?¡± Gong Fu asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Is there anything in this world that can¡¯t be settled with money? Pay some people to visit your store and create fake queues. This will generate even more crowd. Sister Dongfang will fork out the money,¡± Xiaoai proposed.


    Gong Fu scratched his head. ¡°Fake queues?¡±


    ¡°People won¡¯t cherish something until it gets hard toe by. They¡¯ll start fighting for it when it bes limited edition. That¡¯s humans¡¯ psyche. We won¡¯t understand it but go ahead and ask everyone here and see if they agree with my statement,¡± Xiaoai spoke confidently.


    Gong Fu nced at me. ¡°What do you think of this idea, Brother Gou Dan? Will it work?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea, but I have an even better one. Invite a few food critics over to evaluate your food and promote it for you. Dongfang has the capital so you have nothing to worry about. Come with us to save the world while your business blows up,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Critics? Evaluate? What¡¯s that now?¡± he asked in confusion.


    ¡°This is what people buy into these days, trust me,¡± I added with a smile.


    With a nod, he replied, ¡°We¡¯ll execute the n tomorrow then.¡±


    ¡°How about today? Someone can stay to be in charge of the matter?¡± I proposed, looking at Malong.


    Malong, who was sipping his wine, asked, ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°You know marketing, don¡¯t you? It¡¯ll be hard for Senior Gong Fu to take in new knowledge. You¡¯re capable in this aspect so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do a good job,¡± I encouraged.


    After a brief pause, he agreed.


    Gong Fu grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll leave this ce to you then.¡±

 Chapter 205: Mountain, Sea XI: Refinement

    <h4>Chapter 205: Mountain, Sea XI: Refinement</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix, Chrissy


    After handing over some information, Gong Fu introduced Malong to his staff. When they finished settling everything, we got ready to head back to Dongfang¡¯s factory.


    Our journey back became a problem without Malong. Just as we were considering between taking an airne or speed rail, Gong Fu suggested that we flew since it was night time.


    He led Dongfang while Xiaoai grabbed hold of me. We flew steadily in the air with the help of our GPS.


    Gong Fu¡¯s sensing ability far surpassed our imagination; he would warn us of iing nes even before they could capture us in their radar.


    Hearing was more of a problem in the air, but Xiaoai was able to keep up with Gong Fu without a hitch.


    Nevertheless, her stamina fell short of Gong Fu¡¯s, so we would find a spot to rest whenever she reached her limit.


    After over 6 hours of flight, we were finally entering the Shandong region.


    While resting on the ground, Xiaoai spoke up, ¡°Senior Gong Fu, how are your senses so sharp?¡±


    ¡°Well, I catch fishes every day so it¡¯s a necessary skill. Stamina wise, I¡¯ve umted it over the years. There¡¯s no shortcut.¡±


    Xiaoai pped. ¡°How amazing!¡±


    ¡°How long¡¯s Chaos been out for?¡± Gong Fu questioned.


    ¡°One full day when the sun rises,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Trouble...¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Chaos¡¯ fighting ability is average but his growth rate is frightening. Two into four, four into eight... He¡¯ll multiply significantly in a day,¡± Gong Fu shared, rubbing his hands together.


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen that. How do we defeat him then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to find a new ce to lock him up. It¡¯s easy to fill a bottle with water but to fill it up with spilled water? It¡¯s gonna be tough. We have to hurry,¡± Gong Fu emphasized.


    ......


    It was daytime when we arrived at the factory region.


    Left without a choice, we had to travel on feet for a few kilometers.


    Dongfang and Gong Fu took turns carrying me. I was a big burden, there¡¯s no doubt. However, there was nothing I could do to ease their problem.


    Xiaoai¡¯s phone rang non-stop and when she finally checked the screen, she yelled, ¡°Chaos! Chaos has started!¡±


    Dongfang and Gong Fu crowded around her as I observed from the side.


    It was reported that ck figures had been seen attacking respective television stations the night before. The hosts were forced to announce that Chaos had an atomic bomb and would release it soon. It was said that a hundred virgin boys and girls must be sent to Tai Mountain or there will be consequences. Upon the announcement, the figures vanished before the screen, effectively leaving every witness baffled. The nation¡¯s losing time but the experts had yet toment on it.


    An image was attached to the news report. It consisted of nine ck figures holding a knife against each host¡¯s photograph.


    Among theizens, some believed it to be television effects while others deemed it a supernatural urrence.


    ¡°Why the virgins?¡± I asked.


    ¡°To split his power into three hundred portions. If he achieves this, we won¡¯t stand a chance against him,¡± Gong Fu answered.


    ¡°Wait, but he stated the location, isn¡¯t it? Tai Mountain,¡± I recalled.


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll have to see if the nine sons can gather there. It¡¯s hard to say who will win or lose then,¡± Gong Fu replied hopefully.


    Pointing in front, Xiaoai urged, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry then. Hopefully, they¡¯re already there.¡±


    We spent yet another half an hour or so to reach the factory.


    Kylin and Jiao Tu had already returned, along with Pu Lao and a big ck pouch with Tao Tie inside.


    Dongfang supported me as I approached Pu Lao. ¡°Did you do anything to my Master when rescuing Senior Tao Tie? My Master was the head of the temple.¡±


    ¡°Thepound was sealed. There wasn¡¯t anyone in there,¡± Pu Lao told me.


    ¡°No one? How can that be? Come here, Xiaoai, make a call for me, please,¡± I requested urgently.


    She reached her hand into my pocket for my phone and scrolled through my contacts.


    ¡°Bold Chen. Yup, that¡¯s the one,¡± I prompted.


    After a few rings, Xiaoai put it on speakerphone.


    ¡°Senior,¡± I greeted.


    ¡°Gou Dan,¡± the voice on the other end replied.


    ¡°What happened to the temple?¡± I asked anxiously.


    ¡°Master¡¯s been caught,¡± he told me, his voice cracking.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°He thought that you¡¯d return soon so he continued epting clients for feng shui reading. 50,000 per person. Slots are booked ¡¯til next year, but because you¡¯ve yet to return, they reported Master to the authorities.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± I asked, frustrated.


    ¡°I was unsure of the situation and I didn¡¯t want to rm you unnecessarily. You could¡¯ve been busy. I heard that the security¡¯s tried calling you a few times but to no avail,¡± he exined.


    It was then that it urred to me that I had blocked his number, along with other outsiders¡¯, because the feng shui business was getting annoying for me.


    ¡°Are youing back, Junior? He¡¯s been trialed. I¡¯ve found a job and am nning to stay on since Master and even the temple¡¯s been reimed. The few of us had managed to gather some money and are hoping to get the temple back. Will youe back after?¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It will be up for auction in 4 days. The bid will start at 2,000,000,¡± he stated.


    ¡°I¡¯m still busy right now, but I¡¯ll return in a few days.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. There¡¯s a piece ofnd in my home town. We can build our temple if all else fails. You can be the head if that happens.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this again. I¡¯ll talk to you soon,¡± I said before signaling at Xiaoai. She hung up and put the phone back into my pocket.


    ¡°Is the temple very important?¡± Dongfang asked.


    I forced a smile and said, ¡°Let¡¯s deal with Chaos first.¡±


    At this point, there were two foreign and big figures sitting inside the room.


    Pu Lao grabbed hold of me, saying, ¡°Come, I¡¯ll bring you to meet First and Second Brother and have them transfer a part of their souls into you as well.¡±


    I was thrown onto the table in the room and the two figures gathered around me.


    One of them ced his hand on my forehead and smiled. ¡°You must be Gou Dan. I¡¯m First Brother, Bi Xi.¡±


    ¡°My turn. I¡¯m Second Brother, Chi Wen,¡± the other greeted before putting his hand on my head as well.


    I felt my subconscious mind detaching itself; it was like a dream, yet I could hear sounds and voices.


    ¡°Ninth Sister, did give him yours, too? Pi¡¯s inside anyway.¡±


    ¡°Have you given yours, Gong Fu?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s good fun.¡±


    ¡°All here then?¡±


    ¡°Will there be a problem?¡±


    ¡°No. Plus, he¡¯s absorbed Pi¡¯s soul and Pi will jump in if anything goes wrong.¡±


    I felt my body heating up as a voice sounded inside my head.


    ¡°Almost there. Who still remembers how to fuse them?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯te over, Old Tao. Why are you trying to join in the fun again?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Old Tao. You¡¯re squishing me. I do remember how to do it.¡±


    ¡°Forget it, Jiao Tu. Is Bai Ze here?¡±


    ¡°Bai Ze.¡±


    ¡°This fellow... I don¡¯t care,¡± Bai Ze¡¯s voice sounded from the side.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°My daughter likes this man. If he recovers, I¡¯ll lose my daughter. It¡¯s not worth it.¡±


    ¡°Please help him, Father.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t think that way, Bai Ze. If this boy gets well, he¡¯ll be on par with us.¡±


    ¡°Pi¡¯s in his body. He¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a market, Sis. Let¡¯s cure him and let him decide.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave everything until when he¡¯s healed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to cure him. I just hadn¡¯t thought that things would fall into this state. Two or three souls are fine, but a whole bunch? It¡¯s amazing how paralysis is the only effect he¡¯s experiencing. Any wrong move and things will backfire. That¡¯s the reason why I¡¯ve been dying any actions. Who would¡¯ve expected you guys to continue joining in?¡±


    ¡°How confident are you?¡±


    ¡°Right now? Not even 10%.¡±


    ¡°What should we do, then?¡±


    ¡°The key is Pi. If he¡¯s willing to help, all will be solved.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Pi can swallow and regurgitate all nine souls as one, leaving only two souls again. Things will be easy, then.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any problem with this.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you need to convince Pi to give up.¡±


    ¡°On?¡±


    ¡°Life.¡±


    ¡°Why so?¡±


    ¡°It seems like he¡¯s hanging on hisst thread of energy.¡±


    ¡°He helped us in our first battle with Chaos.¡±


    ¡°No wonder.¡±


    I was listening to these voices but I could not speak up. My eyes were forced shut as well.


    ¡°Are you still there, Senior Pi?¡± I thought.


    ¡°What is it?¡± a voice resonated from deep within my head.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you converge the souls?¡±


    ¡°I have no more strength.¡±


    ¡°No more strength?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to bring trouble to anyone but it just keeps happening. First, Xiu, now you. These souls are gentle by themselves but harsh for you. All I can do now is to resist them. You¡¯ll have to depend on yourself.¡±


    ¡°How do I do that?¡±


    ¡°All they did was ce their souls in your body to coexist with you. You¡¯ll need to refine them slowly as I let them in one by one. Don¡¯t rush, you can¡¯t afford the consequences.¡±


    ¡°How long would I need?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No idea. It will depend on the refinement.¡±


    ¡°Come, Senior. It¡¯s better to get it done and over with fast,¡± I decided.


    My consciousness started to fade and I felt myself floating up.


    Everything around the room started emitting a fine light spike.


    These spikes came toward me as if wanting to pierce through my souls.


    ¡°It hurts, it really hurts,¡± I yelled but no one responded.


    The pain intensified before disappearing. Just as I was about to rx, it returned with a vengeance.


    The spikes swam above my soul and I could feel that I wasn¡¯t in my body.


    My body was beneath me and blue lights beams were securing me in ce. It was the only way I wouldn¡¯t get lost. I felt myself further distancing from my body.


    Wanting to grab onto something, I reached out for the blue beams.


    I didn¡¯t know what state I was in. It wasn¡¯t something humans could exin.


    I tried pulling myself downward to get closer to my body. The moment I touched my body, my eyes opened. I could feel myself against the table as everyone crowded around me.


    I was aware of my breaths despite not being able to utter a sound.


    Everyone was surrounding me but the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat.


    *Thump, thump... *


    I couldn¡¯t feel anything else.


    Everything started turning red.


    Something red had wrapped itself around me. I tried to see through it and I was greeted by a man standing in front of me.


    He was handsome but he looked unfamiliar.


    With his full linen cloth outfit, he looked like a swordsman.


    He reminded me of Lin Huchong, except that he was holding a trident.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only one left,¡± the man greeted with a smile.


    ¡°And you are?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Pi, but am about to be you.¡± He ran in my direction, raising the trident toward me.


    I immediately tried to block it with my hands, but just as I thought I was going to die, my consciousness cleared up.


    Was that a dying sh?


    Unable to endure it any longer, I lifted myself up.


    Fresh blood spurted out of my mouth.


    I was back in reality.


    Are you alright?¡± Xiaoai asked.


    She was the only one left beside me, and I was able to move again.

 Chapter 206: Mountain, Sea XII: Final I

    <h4>Chapter 206: Mountain, Sea XII: Final I</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix, Chrissy


    ¡°Where are the rest? I think I¡¯m okay now,¡± I told Xiaoai.


    ¡°They went to Tai Mountain, so I¡¯m left here to take care of you,¡± she exined.


    ¡°They¡¯re all there?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Chaos is expecting the virgins in 4 hours,¡± Xiaoai added.


    ¡°Four hours? It¡¯s already evening?¡± I looked out of the window and saw that the sun had set.


    ¡°Chaos broadcasted the news at 10st night and gave us 24 hours. It¡¯s already 6 in the evening now. My dad mentioned that you¡¯ll only wake up in a few days, so they told me to guard you and even bury you if you were to stop breathing,¡± she continued, crying.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m here, aren¡¯t I? Alive and well?¡± I assured her.


    ¡°Do you want to try moving about? We can head over to Tai Mountain if you¡¯re feeling up to it. I¡¯m quite worried about Father. He can¡¯t really fight, but he still wanted to join them,¡± she told me, wiping her eyes.


    Still on the bed, I tried shifting my leg. It hurt, but I managed to lift it. I could feel the blood slowly flowing back to my legs.


    I sat upright and started applying a little force to get off the table. However, I ended up shooting upward and raised my hands to stop myself from smashing the ceiling.


    Landing back firmly on the ground, I could feel the lightness of my body. I couldn¡¯t believe what I had just done.


    ¡°What was that, Brother Gou? You jumped so high,¡± Xiaoai eximed in shock.


    Looking at my own hands and legs I said, ¡°I have no idea, but we have to hurry. I wonder what¡¯s happening over at Tai Mountain.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Give me a moment, Brother Gou,¡± Xiaoai said before following behind me.


    When we reached the door, I asked, ¡°How do we go there?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll fly. I have a map, and it¡¯s nighttime, anyway. I¡¯ll get a cloud for us,¡± she said casually as she pulled me up into the air.


    She opened the map on her mobile phone and turned to me, looking confused. ¡°You feel really light. Like cotton.¡±


    There were no visible changes to my body, but I felt as though I was soaking in a bath. ¡°Wait. Let me go for a bit.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll fall!¡± Xiaoai protested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I feel different from before,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Is it possible that maybe you have absorbed the powers of the nine sons?¡± she suggested.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. You said I feel light, right? I feel strange right now as if I¡¯m floating,¡± I shared.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let go then. Shout if you need help, and I¡¯lle and get you,¡± Xiaoai instructed before letting go.


    Instead of falling, I floated.


    Looking down, I saw that I was at least a hundred meters above the ground.


    I tried pushing my chest forward and immediately surged forward a few meters.


    ¡°I think I can fly, Xiaoai,¡± I eximed.


    ¡°Yeah but you look weird doing it,¡± shemented, giggling.


    ¡°I don¡¯t look good?¡± I asked self-consciously.


    ¡°You look like a... frog,¡±


    Well, I supposed that could be true. The frog-style was the only swimming method I had learned.


    ¡°The important thing is I can fly fast and effortlessly. Your stamina isn¡¯t as powerful, is it? Just cover us with your cloud, and I¡¯ll bring you there. Just direct me,¡± I proposed.


    Xiaoai nodded. ¡°Sure, but how will you go about in carrying me?¡±


    I experimented with different positions with her until we found the mostfortable one, where she sat on my back.


    I kicked with tremendous strength and sped forward in a daze.


    At this point, Xiaoai looked like a frog trainer, but we made do and headed toward our destination.


    It wasn¡¯t tiring at all, and I felt even more at ease than when I was in the water.


    I held no resistance and kicking could propel me very far forward.


    We were out of the city in no time.


    Looking down, I could vaguely see the highway and realized that I was moving significantly faster than the cars below. The best thing was that I didn¡¯t feel restricted, and I could fly in any direction.


    Half an hourter, Xiaoai pointed into the distance and yelled, ¡°The tallest one among those is Tai Mountain.¡±


    I looked down and saw a sealed road.


    The whole ce was covered in yellow reflective warning strips. The roads that they had not blocked yet were crowded with shing police cars.


    There was a bunch of fully equipped policemen and a group of curious individuals.


    Thankfully, we were still in the air, or they would have trapped us.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly safe up there since over ten helicopters were patrolling overhead.


    One of them even spotted us heading towards them.


    ¡°Have they have spotted us?¡± I asked, a bit panicked. It was only then that I realized that I had no ability to sense them.


    ¡°Seems like it. Shall we go faster?¡±


    I readjusted our direction and was about to leave when the helicopter stirred our cloud cover away.


    Their action immediately exposed our cover.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± I asked Xiaoai.


    ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ve never been in this situation before,¡± she replied.


    Holding a megaphone up, a fully armed man in the helicopter shouted, ¡°Are you guys part of the military-formed special forces? Looks like gods really exist. How amazing!¡±


    What we heardpletely baffled us.

 Chapter 207: Mountain, Sea XIII: Final II

    <h4>Chapter 207: Mountain, Sea XIII: Final II</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix, Chrissy


    ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡± I whispered.


    Xiaoai only shook her head, looking as confused as I was.


    ¡°Come here and we¡¯ll exin the situation to you,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Should we?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Xiaoai decided.


    Turning around, I flew right into the helicopter.


    There were three men within: a pilot and two armed soldiers, one with a megaphone.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I greeted loudly for the noise generated by the helicopter made it almost impossible to have a proper conversation.


    The soldier smiled and handed us two headphones.


    After putting them on, the noise became much more muffled.


    ¡°Special soldiers,¡± they greeted.


    I forced a smile. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been hearing about this special team for ages now; finally, we get to see you guys today! We didn¡¯t expect you to fly over, though. You guys must be powerful. Are these skills difficult to learn? Can you teach us a trick or two?¡± the soldier asked warmly.


    ¡°You tter us. What happened to Tao Tie?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, right, let¡¯s get back to business. Two other special force units have already gone in, but we¡¯ve lost connection with them. There has been no news since.¡±


    ¡°Are there others inside? What about the small team? All men and onedy?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°Civilians? All scattered around. There¡¯s a monster inside; that¡¯s all we know. Go in without worries, though, since the report says that there will be more special beings here to assist us. We didn¡¯t believe it initially, but seeing you guys now... there will be a good show for sure.¡±


    I now realized that these soldiers had mistaken us as fighters the higher-ups had dispatched. I was notining since this was good for us. ¡°Which direction?¡±


    The soldier pointed at the center of the mountain. ¡°Probably around the peak, but we lost connection with our soldiers from the waist onward.¡±


    I gave the soldier a thumbs up and said to Xiaoai, ¡°Fly me there.¡±


    ¡°Not you?¡± She spoke into the microphone attached to the earphones she was wearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s too ugly. You do it,¡± I urged in embarrassment.


    It was fine when no one could see us, but now that they were looking, I really shouldn¡¯t make a fool of myself.


    After taking her earphones off, Xiaoai helped me with mine. She then pulled me out of the helicopter before flying upward.


    We passed a pavilion on the foot of the mountain and noticed a big stove.


    Men in yellow robes were dancing around it while holding torches.


    Outside the pavilion stood a row of armed guards.


    I wondered if the so-called special beings were these robed priests. If that was the case, the soldiers in the helicopter must have been unaware.


    Xiaoai brought me higher; however, since she wasn¡¯t going fast, I could observe the surroundings.


    ¡°Xiaoai,¡± I called out.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to call your father and ask for their location?¡±


    ¡°But what if they¡¯re in the middle of a battle?¡±


    ¡°Is there no other way?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have his location. Mother made me do it in fear that he¡¯d mess up,¡± she recalled, pulling out her phone.


    ¡°It shows that they¡¯re close by. Either a bad sign or a slight deviation.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. There aren¡¯t any sounds or trace of a battle here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it seems a bit too quiet. Should we walk around to get a better look?¡± Xiaoai suggested.


    ¡°It¡¯s not safe down there. Let¡¯s head up. Chaos probably chose this ce to get a good view of the environment.¡±


    Just then, I felt a cold rush of air behind me as a pair of ck hands grabbed my ankle.


    Since Xiaoai was flying low, something had leaped up from a tree to grab me.


    ¡°Something¡¯s got me,¡± I shouted and was about to turn around when the second pair of hands grabbed my other leg.


    Then the third, fourth, and fifth started dragging me down.


    Xiaoai wasn¡¯t able to react in time, and we were both flung onto the ground.


    I caught a glimpse of ten simrly sized ck figures.


    Just like humans, they had a head and two big eyes. Chaos, I recognized immediately.


    At this point, ten Chaos was already holding me down. They reached out and trapped me, leaving only half of my head free.


    I could see Xiaoai being smashed heavily onto the ground.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I yelled.


    ¡°I can¡¯t move. No more power...¡± she trailed off.


    A figure reached out to cover my mouth, and I felt intense drowsiness spreading throughout my body.


    I tried curling myself into a ball to gain energy, but the figures instantly restrained me.


    Now that push came to shove, I decided to fling an arm outward, sessfully throwing two figures off of me.


    I noticed a few other ck figures surrounding Xiaoai.


    It was dark all around. There must have been at least a few hundreds, if not thousands, of ck figures surrounding us, and I have only managed to get rid of two.


    I continued gathering force to dispel more figures, but more of them quickly pounced on me.


    They were multiplying at an unbelievable speed, leaving me tied to the ground, unable to move or even breathe.


    My drowsiness thickened; I felt my blood flowing away from my body as if the veins and the tissues in my left hand were about to spurt out.


    Clenching my right hand into a fist, I felt a trident made from my blood emerging from my palm.


    Uponunching it, the trident took down quite a few ck figures. Regaining sensation of my right hand, I started waving it about crazily.


    I started spinning around and attacking wildly, witnessing the figures disperse, but none of them shed blood.


    It was all ck.


    They dove for me, and I could only attempt to slice them apart.


    ¡°Do you want her dead?¡± One figure spoke up.


    ¡°Do you want her dead?¡±


    ¡°Do you want her dead?¡±


    ...


    The echoes went on for a while.


    I was about to move toward Xiaoai when the figures grabbed ahold of her unconscious body.


    A figure ced his arm around her neck as if to strangle her.


    I dropped my trident, and in the next moment, it re-entered my body.


    The figures pressed me to the ground once more and covered my face.


    I passed out.

 Chapter 208: Mountain, Sea XIV – Final III

    <h4>Chapter 208: Mountain, Sea XIV ¨C Final III</h4>


    Trantor: Irene_ Editor: Perriemix, Chrissy


    When I woke up, I found my limbs restrained by the ck figures.


    They carried me up the mountain.


    I could feel four objects on my body, of which two were pierced through my underarms and two through my inner thighs.


    It didn¡¯t hurt, but I wasn¡¯t able to move¡ªit was exactly as I was before I recovered.


    I looked behind and noted that Xiaoai was in a simr situation. The objects on our bodies were actually steel wires.


    Voices traveled from not far away.


    It sounded somewhat familiar.


    As we got closer to the peak, the conversation became clearer.


    ¡°Why are you still forcing it even after thousands of years?¡±


    ¡°Be good and return. We¡¯ll do you a favor by not burying you deep underground.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me to be good? Do you think I¡¯m afraid of you? Aren¡¯t you worried that I¡¯ll release the bomb?¡±


    ¡°Sacrificing thousands of people to capture you or letting you run free to destroy the world... do we really have a choice?¡±


    ¡°Great. Those people might not catch your interest, but I have two important ones here.¡±


    That was when they brought me out.


    ¡°Gou Dan? Why are you here?¡± Pu Lao called out.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake? You¡¯re fine?¡± Dongfang asked.


    Not far away, a huge ck figure opened its mouth. ¡°I have two hostages and a bomb. I¡¯ll release it tomorrow if you turn around and leave now. I won¡¯t track you down and you shan¡¯t poke your noses into my affairs again. Isn¡¯t that a good exchange?¡±


    They then carried Xiaoai in and ced her beside me.


    ¡°Daughter!¡± Bai Ze shouted agitatedly.


    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s good that I¡¯ve yet to touch this girl. She¡¯s your daughter, eh? I need you to stay and do something for me. I¡¯ll leave your daughter aside for a bit.¡±


    ¡°1 person, 1 bomb. Are you willing to retreat?¡± Chaos urged.


    ¡°You wish. We know your fear,¡± Gong Fu challenged.


    ¡°The thing I fear will never appear again. I don¡¯t want to touch you because it¡¯s a lose-lose situation and I have a bigger affair to handle,¡± he justified.


    I noticed some injuries on the nine sons. They must¡¯ve already had a round of battle. I wasn¡¯t sure of the situation, but it was a fact that Xiaoai and I had be hostages.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re going to need more time to decide. I gave you 24 hours, but there¡¯s less than an hour left. Now, I¡¯ll only give you a minute. I shall start on this one over here andunch the bomb,¡± Chaos said, pointing at me.


    ¡°59,¡± he started counting.


    ¡°58.¡±


    ¡°57.¡±


    ...


    The figures around me joined in the countdown.


    There were too many of them.


    I wondered if those beneath the mountain could hear us.


    Two ck figures stood up and ced their hands above my neck.


    ¡°This bag... I don¡¯t want it anymore.¡± Tao Tie quaked within the bag before ripping it apart.


    With a game controller in one of his hands, he smashed the ground with the other.


    Following the rupture of the bag, many things scattered all over.


    There were treasures and also rubbish.


    Things kept crashing onto the ground as Tao Tie handed his controller to Bai Ze. ¡°Hold this for me.¡±


    He then flew toward me at lightning speed.


    Before the ck figures could react, Tao Tie pulled me back to their side and flung me toward Bai Ze in exchange for his controller.


    ¡°My daughter,¡± Bai Ze yelled at him anxiously.


    Chi Wen quickly drilled his way to Xiaoai¡¯s side.


    Bai Ze opened his bag with one hand and removed the steel wires with the other. He then urgently applied medication on my wounds. ¡°I¡¯ll get you cured soon,¡± he reassured me.


    Pu Lao dashed upward, followed by Bi Xi.


    The other brothers shot up sessively, but an entire mountain of ck figures quickly made chase.


    The countdown stopped and a big war broke out.


    Having rescued Xiaoai, Chi Wen dropped her off with Bai Ze before joining the battle.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Bai Ze asked, to which I responded faintly, ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±


    After removing thest wire and applying medication, he told me, ¡°I¡¯ll cure her in the medicinal box. Do me a favor, hold this box and run as far as you can.¡±


    ¡°Can they beat Chaos?¡± I asked.


    Bai Ze pulled Xiaoai up, opened the box, and guided her in.


    ¡°If they can, will you take me inside to hide as well?¡± I tried again, only for him to leave without answering.


    With no choice left, I reached for the box but was immediately faced with a crowd of iing ck figures.


    Behind them was the battle scene between Chaos and the nine brothers, and before me were piles of mini Chaos.


    I opened my hand to summon the blood trident.


    Iunched incessant attacks.


    It was difficult to move even a step forward since the figures showed no mercy in their advances.


    They seemed to be mindless as the only thing they did was blindly close in on me.


    I felt like the mower in Dynasty Warriors, infinitely cutting grass without catching a break.


    Just then, a figure jumped from behind, startling me.


    It was Dongfang, and the ck figures started pouncing on her.


    I dashed over to block off some of them and saw Dongfang covering her left arm as blood flowed out continuously.


    Dongfang was down. Eight left to battle.


    I wonder if we can we still beat Chaos...


    Before I coulde to a conclusion, Tao Tie flew out as well.


    Seven left...


    I grabbed Dongfang before flying up to catch Tao Tie.


    ¡°Are we going to lose?¡± I asked.


    Coughing out blood, Tao Tie replied, ¡°Can Mario skip levels?¡±


    ¡°Mario? What Mario?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°Super Mario, that game you found.¡±


    I smiled bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of games right now?¡±


    ¡°Tell me now or there might not be time anymore,¡± he said, coughing out another pool of blood.


    ¡°Yeah. There are two ces to do so, 1-4 and 4-2. I can teach you,¡± I answered, remembering how he yed games in the ck pouch.


    Wended on the ground and I pushed the medicine box to Tao Tie. The ck figures threw themselves to me once more.


    I reached my left hand out and the same trident reappeared.


    With two tridents in my hands, I met the ck figures head-on.


    Over at Chaos¡¯ side, three sons had been flung away forcefully.


    It seemed toote for me to save any of them, but I flew straight for the nearest one nevertheless.


    It was Gong Fu, whose two-meter height made it exhausting for me to get a good grip of his body.


    Another blow from Chaos threw thest four brothers off.


    ¡°We still have a chance,¡± Gong Fu breathed out.


    ¡± A chance? All of you are down,¡± I informed.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°So?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    Chaos approached us with a peal of maliciousughter. ¡°Chance? I can¡¯t believe that you guys are actually weakening with time. To think that I was afraid that I would get injured. Pfft, Real Dragon? He¡¯s probably dead or he would¡¯ve shown up by now.¡±


    ¡°Real Dragon might be gone, but it¡¯s not toote to create a god. It¡¯s our original n to do so anyway,¡± Gong Fu stated.


    ¡°God?¡± Chaos questioned.


    ¡°God?¡± I asked, at a loss.


    ¡°God,¡± Dongfang said.


    ¡°God,¡± Tao Tie added.


    ¡°God,¡± Pu Lao and Jiao Tu joined in as well.


    ...


    A light shed upon the nine sons¡¯ bodies.


    The light converged before flying toward me, along with the persistent figures.


    I jumped into the air to allow the light to enter my body.


    The light, a mixture of rainbow colors, condensed within my body to form a splendid golden hue.


    My blood tridents had turned into a golden color as well.


    I no longer felt weightless¡ªI¡¯ve be sturdy.


    I felt one with the environment around me.


    I could also feel Chaos¡¯ aura, but it had be pitifully insignificant.


    ¡°This is the God you¡¯re talking about? Let¡¯s see what he can do,¡± Chaos challenged, extending his hand out to press a remote.


    I figured that it was the button to activate the nuclear bomb. Was Beijing the target? I did have a powerful ability to sense it, but Beijing was too far away for that.


    I could only feel the presence of the whole Tai Mountain.


    Sensing the figures approaching the nine sons, I stomped my foot on the ground, instantly producing a mud wall that rose up to cover the mountain.


    The golden light around my body started to disperse and envelope the mud wrap.


    Chaos¡¯ expression changed.


    I could also sense that the priests were still dancing around the stove and the military teams were still discussing new strategies.


    The helicopters hadnded as well. I sped my hands together tobine my tridents into one before throwing it at Chaos.


    Chaos, notably bigger than I was, threw a punch over while Iunched the trident toward his arm.


    It was a sessful hit; his missing arm took away a lot of bulk from his body.


    He looked at me, astonished. ¡°Impossible. They¡¯re not that strong. There must be something else inside, there must be!¡±


    I had no idea what he was talking about, so I attacked once more.


    He was like tofu at this point,pletely unable to retaliate.


    When he was reduced to my size, he vanished into a puff of ck mist, rendering my subsequent attacks futile.


    The mist morphed into a ck spike that plunged from behind.


    I stomped the ground forcefully, causing it to shatter and form a protective dust cover.


    Its collision with the ck spike gave me time to react. I quickly threw the trident toward the spike.


    Upon the second collision, Chaos transformed into a cloud of mist again.


    ¡°He can¡¯t die. We have to bottle him up,¡± Jiao Tu said.


    ¡°Bottle him up?¡± Something shed across my mind. It was deja vu.


    9,000 years ago, Chaos had transformed into a ck mist.


    Pi¡¯s body had been invaded and his spirit entered Xiu¡¯s body.


    Ten sons became nine, and they were lying on the ground, weakened and exhausted.


    The spot I was standing on was the Real Dragon¡¯s spot.


    He was dressed in a Daoist robe, holding a jade bottle with Chaos trapped within.


    It was 80% simr to what I was experiencing at that time.


    The only difference was that I had no bottle.


    It also urred to me that I was Real Dragon.


    Just one of the 81 residual souls.


    I observed my surrounding. The mud-wall surrounded some of Tao Tie¡¯s trash as well.


    I waved to summon an electric cooker.


    It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to find a stic bottle from the bag, I thought. Unable to catch sight of any, I figured that the bottles, being light, would¡¯ve been flung far away. Bottles found nearby would naturally be heavier.


    I nced down at the electric cooker once more, guessing that it was probably one of Tao Tie¡¯s treasures.


    The entirety of Tai Mountain was filled with all sorts of random items at this point.


    I opened the lid and realized that it was still new.


    Its cable was broken, however. Judging from the tear, something, likely a pet cat or dog, must have bitten the end off. The family must¡¯ve found it pointless to fix and hence had thrown it away.


    I ced the cooker on the ground before clearing my throat.


    Surprised by my act, Chaos morphed back into a human form. ¡°What a joke. Are you trying to imitate Real Dragon? With this ridiculous cooker? How¡¯s that possible? You really think a stupid cooker can take me down?¡±


    ¡°I am the Real Dragon and you will do as I say,¡± I shouted.


    Chaos immediately turned around in an attempt to flee.


    ¡°In!¡± I yelled.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going in!¡± Chaos screamed, covering his eyes.


    A few minutes passed without anything happening.


    Chaos shook his head as I foolishly stood at the same spot.


    I drew in a deep breath as he proposed, ¡°What rubbish. It looks like your skill is limited. How about you let me go and we¡¯ll split this territory 50-50?¡±


    ¡°Pretty good at finding the back door, aren¡¯t you?¡± Iughed, squatting down to retrieve the inner pot of the rice cooker.


    ¡°Magic Seal!¡± I shouted after getting up.


    Chaos turned and twisted as the cooker started sucking him in like a ck hole.


    Upon trapping Chaos within, the cooker continued sucking in the mud wall that I built as well as the mountain full of ck figures.


    ¡°Nooooooooooo,¡± Chaos screamed as he attempted to escape.


    When all had been sucked into the cooker, I shut the lid and summoned a seal that was already in an aged condition.


    I licked it a little to stick it on the cooker.


    The nine sons, who all sustained injuries, got up slowly.


    I handed the cooker to Jiao Tu before running over to the medicine box to call for Bai Ze.


    He came out without Xiaoai and was at a loss.


    After a short pause, he started treating everyone¡¯s injuries. I could sense the military soldiers heading up to the mountain top.


    ¡°We need to go, everyone,¡± I hurried.


    Seeing his treasure scattered all about, Tao Tie cried out, ¡°My treasures!¡±


    ¡°We cane back for themter,¡± I reassured him before picking Dongfang and Bai Ze up into the air.


    The remaining ones supported one another and made their way out before the teams arrived.


    ¡°Wait, the bomb,¡± Jiao Tu reminded.


    I shuddered. We were in trouble.


    Epilogue.


    The next day, rumors spread that the ck figures were virtual images created by hackers.


    The atomic bomb, being too close to the city, couldn¡¯t be blocked by the anti-nuclear weapons in time.


    Beijing citizens had long since been evacuated, but the bomb crashed without exploding.


    After some experiments run by the experts, it was found that the bomb was a dud.


    Some of them even spected that the dud was one of the three atomic bombs thatnded in Japan.


    Thanks to Tao Tie, Tai Mountain attracted several treasure seekers. Tao Tie was extremely upset initially but eventually got addicted to online games and was able to let his treasures go. He made another bag from a remnant cloth and stored his game controllers and cartridges inside.


    Three dayster, in a luxury auction hall.


    ¡°13,000,000.¡±


    ¡°13,500,000.¡±


    I quickly raised my hand. ¡°30,000,000!¡±


    My emphatic voice left everyone present stunned.


    Embarrassed, I covered my mouth and repeated in a milder tone, ¡°30,000,000. Start the countdown, quick.¡±


    We did it. We recovered the temple and Senior Chen became the head.


    Because of my 30,000,000 debt, I had to stay by Dongfang¡¯s side to clear it.


    Dongfang was slowly recovering her memory. She set aside a piece of thend near the temple and opened another safe manufacturing factory. I held two positions, the assistant temple head, and assistant factory director.


    Jiao Tu¡¯s treasury no longer had an atomic bomb; its spot was taken by the sealed rice cooker.


    Malong had managed to get Gong Fu¡¯s inn on TV, which convinced Gong Fu to keep Malong as the second boss. Business only got better from then on.


    This is just the beginning for me, though. I now have a new mission.


    I have to find the remaining ck figures and the remaining 80 souls since I¡¯m merely 1 of the 81 pieces.


    However, I have no time.


    At this very moment, with Xiaoai grabbing my left hand, Dongfang holding my right, and Tao Tie constantly bugging me about Super Mario, I¡¯m really too busy to think about anything else.


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