The Days I Missed Calling a Thief Father

Xu Nan met Song Xiaocheng again, and she was filled with many emotions.

I never expected that this young man would have fallen so low after not seeing him for so long, and had to resort to selling pornographic DVDs to make a living.

Although his mother had given him all her assets, and he had no obligation to help the boy, Xu Nan still felt a little embarrassed seeing him looking so travel-worn with a full beard.

They're classmates from the same school, aren't they?

Besides, he had been Song Xiaocheng's father for a period of time, and it was Song Xiaocheng himself who said the saying "once you recognize a thief, you'll be his father for life."

Therefore, Xu Nan decided not to cause him any trouble, even if he might steal her business.

In fact, Xu Nan hadn't been completely oblivious to Song Xiaocheng these past few days. Using his power in the Special Ops Team and out of curiosity about Song Ying, he had done his homework.

After the Five Yang Lake Training Camp ended, Song Xiaocheng obtained a mediocre professional title and seemed to be working at the grassroots level in the nearby neighborhood, where everything seemed unremarkable.

However, this child doesn't have a good reputation within the Thousand Rays Society because of that "naked" running incident.

"It seems that after that 'streaking' incident made the news, Song Xiaocheng became completely withdrawn. It's all my fault; I shouldn't have kept trying to take advantage of him from the very beginning..."

Xu Nan reflected on his actions, but he still found it somewhat strange.

Logically speaking, Thousand Rays Society should be paying salaries, so it shouldn't be in such a miserable state, right?

As Xu Nan asked the question, she looked at Song Xiaocheng with a puzzled expression.

This kid is Curse Sorcerer, not Ron Sorcerer, so he shouldn't have any strange reasons like doing quests, right?

Song Xiaocheng looked at Xu Nan with a complicated expression. Both of them were dressed conservatively and could tell from a glance that they were in the same profession. For a moment, there was a strange atmosphere of mutual appreciation between them.

"This isn't the place to talk. There's a noodle shop over there. Let me treat you to a bowl of noodles... Don't worry, I'll pay."

Song Xiaocheng spoke to Xu Nan in a rare normal tone, and Xu Nan thought for a moment and readily agreed.

He had always been intensely curious about Song Ying and her son. Their motives were hard for ordinary people to fathom; anyone else would probably just think they were crazy.

But Xu Nan, who also has many secrets, doesn't think so.

Song Ying is very strong. Her development speed in the other world is no less than that of Senior A-Kun. As her son, Song Xiaocheng inherited such a rare profession Curse Sorcerer, so he should make a name for himself.

The two maintained a certain distance in the biting cold wind and moved forward slowly.

Occasionally, members of the Thousand Rays Society would patrol the area to crack down on prostitution, but the two of them would keep their eyes straight ahead and their expressions calm, and they would naturally get away with it.

It's clear that both of them are seasoned veterans.

Steam rose from the noodle shop. Due to global changes, despite the government's best efforts to control the economy, it remained sluggish, and prices rose involuntarily. While many wealthy people enjoyed crayfish, many ordinary people were anxiously hoarding food.

There aren't many noodle shops still open at night like this. The owner is the only one in the entire shop; he cooks, collects money, and serves the food himself. I heard that the shop is also his, but he hasn't been making any money lately. He's just keeping it open day after day out of habit.

The whole world is becoming absurd without us even realizing it.

The two sat down and each ate their noodles.

Xu Nan hadn't eaten, and he ate the bowl of noodles with great relish. He had also made up his mind that even if Song Xiaocheng really ripped him off for a bowl of noodles, he would let it go.

City Lord Xu now wealthy and powerful, why should he be so calculating every time?

Since returning from Stephenson, Xu Nan's perspective has been subtly changing.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, only a few sprigs of cilantro floated in the bowl.

Song Xiaocheng touched his mouth, coughed twice, and looked at Xu Nan with a complicated expression. "I heard you've been promoted to P5? Congratulations!"

Xu Nan pondered for a moment and said, "Given how rare Curse Sorcerer are, the Thousand Rays Society shouldn't be taking this lightly, right?"

Song Xiaocheng smiled and said, "Of course they value it very much."

There was a hint of unnaturalness at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's not talk about this. I've been thinking about a lot of things lately: I wanted to trick you, but I ended up tricking myself instead, and everyone thinks I'm a weirdo. I felt really resentful at the time, but thinking about it carefully, they weren't wrong."

Song Xiaocheng chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Having done so many strange things... aren't I just a pervert?"

Xu Nan hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

What he actually meant was that Lao Tzu also did a lot of strange things!

Song Xiaocheng was acting strangely today. It seemed that under the cover of night, he had shed his usual disguise and revealed his true self beneath the mask of cynicism.

But he couldn't very well ask Song Xiaocheng what his secret was, so he could only hint at it indirectly. "I've actually always been very curious."

What exactly do you want?

Song Xiaocheng glanced at Xu Nan and said strangely, "I thought you had already seen through everything. How could you ask such a question? Should I laugh at you for not knowing how lucky you are, or should I sigh?"

Xu Nan frowned.

Song Xiaocheng's eyes began to glaze over. "In this world today, what every professional is pursuing is power, isn't it?"

"It's simply a matter of how much each person is willing to pay for power."

Xu Nan looked at Song Xiaocheng: "And you? What are you willing to give up?"

Song Xiaocheng said seriously, "All of them."

Xu Nan understood somewhat.

Song Xiaocheng sighed, "The most terrifying thing is that after you've given everything, what you get in return is not what you hoped for."

That's why I envy you.

"The blood of the shameless, isn't it?"

Xu Nan frowned, his muscles tensing up.

He knew that Song Xiaocheng was not as simple as he seemed! Although he wasn't entirely right, he was probably the only non- Ron Sorcerer who vaguely deduced Xu Nan's bloodline!

"Don't be nervous, I won't tell anyone, because it won't do me any good."

Song Xiaocheng wiped his nose and chuckled, "Actually, I didn't understand at first either. It was only after the Bloodline Link took effect that I got some useful information."

"I really miss those days. Although they were absurd, at least we were ignorant and fearless... Time is really strange. It was only a month or two ago, but it feels like a long, long time has passed."

"Back then, I didn't understand reverence; I just thought I had discovered a broad and promising road. Who knew..."

Xu Nan stared at him intently. "What exactly is the purpose of the Bloodline Link of Curse Sorcerer?"

He didn't actually expect Song Xiaocheng to answer him, but to his surprise, Song Xiaocheng began to answer in a serious tone, "Copying power. All power, including skills, attributes, talents, spells, knowledge, and everything else."

"I can currently copy the power of three professionals as a backup [Curse Source]."

"However, the power and knowledge I gained from you were very limited, so I gave up on you."

Song Xiaocheng gave a brief explanation of the situation of Curse Sorcerer.

It turns out that his Curse Sorcerer uses incantations as the core and cultivates incantation sources to strengthen themselves; it is said that during the Arcane Empire era, their school of Curse Sorcerer was expelled for unknown reasons, but it was very likely related to the way incantation sources were cultivated and their side effects.

Because cultivating the source of the spell is an extremely dangerous process.

Take Xu Nan, the initial target of Song Xiaocheng's curse, as an example. Because the initial target of a curse is very important for Curse Sorcerer, Song Xiaocheng chose Xu Nan after careful consideration.

The reason is simple: warlocks are usually incredibly powerful in the early stages, with their bloodline power increasing rapidly, but their power only stagnates when they hit a ceiling in the later stages.

Song Xiaocheng wanted to leverage Xu Nan's power to improve himself and get on the fast track, but the Lost Paradise System discovered this and canceled the Bloodline Link, causing him to fail at the last minute.

Fortunately, that defeat gave him a lot of inspiration. Although he was greatly weakened, it provided him with enough experience for cultivating the source of the curse later.

For example, the most crucial element of the curse source is a stable relationship!

For Curse Sorcerer to steal power from a target, the relationship between the two parties must be very stable. He discovered that one-sided affection from one side did not increase the effect of the Bloodline Link —he had genuinely brainwashed himself repeatedly, treating Xu Nan as a stepfather, but all he got from Xu Nan, besides a few pieces of information about the Ron Sorcerer Bloodline, was the ability to transform into a goat...

In other words, being a "simp" never ends well.

Therefore, in the subsequent development, Song Xiaocheng carefully selected the source of the curse.

"Besides Ophy, there's that cousin you recognized in the Training Camp... who else?"

Xu Nan was actually very interested in Song Xiaocheng's source of curses.

He probably knew why this guy and the Council Speaker were having Online Dating and flirting every day; he probably wanted to replicate the power of the Council Speaker, Ophy, as a virtual lover.

With Ophy's strength, he naturally knew Song Xiaocheng's purpose, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

Who knows what he's thinking? But given Ron Sorcerer's shrewdness, Xu Nan doesn't need to worry about him suffering a loss.

"There's another one? A big shot from the Thousand Rays Society..."

Song Xiaocheng's smile was somewhat bitter, "But I recently had a falling out with him."

Xu Nan asked curiously, "Are the consequences serious?"

Song Xiaocheng laughed, "Of course it's serious, otherwise I wouldn't need to sell pornographic DVDs to raise money."

"Do you really need the money?" Xu Nan asked in surprise.

Song Xiaocheng's eyes were unfocused, but he still nodded. "I'm going to leave China for the time being."

Xu Nan remained silent. He had a bad feeling. After all, they were classmates. Although there had been misunderstandings, there was really no need to talk it out.

"Do you need my help?" he asked.

Song Xiaocheng got up casually and paid for the noodles. "I've almost raised enough."

"Alright, it's time to leave. It's rare to run into an old acquaintance, and we actually had quite a few heartfelt conversations... This feeling is really strange."

"I'm leaving, goodbye... Never mind, I'd rather not see you again."

Xu Nan watched his retreating figure and suddenly realized something. "What will happen to your girlfriend if you leave?"

Song Xiaocheng's back trembled slightly.

"Live well, I will take care of Qi Zijun for you."

Xu Nan smiled and said that on purpose.

Song Xiaocheng turned around, gave the middle finger, and walked into the darkness.

Xu Nan silently opened her phone and called Old Hai to ask about Song Xiaocheng.

To his surprise, Old Hai actually replied:

"Song Xiaocheng? You ran into him? The documents just came down; this guy has seriously violated organizational discipline, and they're currently secretly hunting him..."

"The reason? I'm not quite sure, it seems to be cross-dressing escort or something... It seems to be related to some big shot..."

Later on, it became difficult to hear Old Hai's words clearly.

Xu Nan's hands gradually became stiff from the cold wind.

Cross-dressing, prostitution?

What a heavy price to pay. Was it worth it for power?

Wait, that look he gave me before he left... will I ever end up like that?

Thinking of this, Xu Nan couldn't help but shudder, feeling that the cold wind of this month was even more biting.