You Want to Jump Out of My Car Too?

By the time Huai Shi came to from his fainting spell, it was already evening.

"By the way, what happened last night made the East Asia edition's headlines."

Crow fiddled with her phone screen and clicked her tongue in amazement. "It was an emergency mobilization, after all. Even the White Emperor Child was deployed. There was no way to keep it from those fly-like vultures."

"Tomorrow News?"

Huai Shi strained to crane his neck for a look. The moment he saw the app, he was dumbfounded. "Isn't that the lousy paper that tells anything but the truth?"

That garbage newspaper was always breaking unreliable stories about bizarre incidents and damned health tips. It was a miracle it had survived this long.

"Emmm, as long as you pay them, they occasionally tell the truth... probably?"

Crow sighed. "They're the largest, most expensive, and shadiest intelligence broker and intermediary group in the entire Border. As long as their businesses in the Present Realm can serve as transportation channels, that's enough. But their news about Ascenders is usually fairly reliable."

Crow handed him the phone. "They've even dug up the mastermind's identity. A Third-Tier Ascendant, formerly a Roman guardsman. He vanished mysteriously for several years, and when he reappeared in Baghdad, he was already a member of Green Sun, the infamous terrorist organization. After joining Green Sun, he erased his real name according to their rules and was left with only a codename—Red Glove. It really is fitting."

"There's even a front-facing photo?"

Huai Shi leaned closer and examined the face in the picture, narrowing his eyes. "He looks pretty approachable."

"Yeah. Apparently, he spent these past years running around the Present Realm for Green Sun and secretly pulling quite a few factions together."

"His Soul Ability is the Laughing Fish Tank. You've already seen it, so you should understand it well enough. He splits his Source Matter into goldfish, implants them into other people, and gives them orders in secret.

Before the goldfish fully hatch, they are extremely difficult to detect, but he can only give suggestive commands. Once they hatch, they can completely turn the host into his obedient puppet.

He only has seven goldfish. If he loses any, it takes quite a long time to make up for them.

The Stigmata implanted in his body belongs to the Taksin branch of the Tombstone School, which has already entered its third stage. It's the legendary living dead—extremely tenacious. They say that as long as the brain remains, there's no danger of dying. Its defining trait is the ability to dissolve one's sense of presence and achieve invisibility.

Once the Stigmata is activated, no one can notice him even in a crowded downtown area... This skill would suit a certain green forum quite well.

Its flaw is that the invisibility comes from distorting people's subjective consciousness, so it doesn't work on cameras, photographs, or reflections."

"They found out that much?"

Huai Shi was stunned.

"Of course. How else would they sell it?" Crow sighed. "With the money I have on hand, I could only buy this public edition. Luckily, this guy is pretty active, or I would've had to pay several more..."

"Wait—"

Huai Shi finally caught on. "Where did you get the money?"

Crow gave him a mysterious smile.

Huai Shi hurriedly pulled out his phone. Seeing the string of payment notifications, he nearly split his eyes with rage. The more than twenty thousand he had earned risking his life and working as a host these past days... was all gone!

And his Huabei balance had even been overdrawn by more than three thousand!

"You scammer! Couldn't you have bought a cheaper one?"

"Cheap stuff is never good." Crow countered, "Besides, since you're going off to die, there's no point keeping the money, right?"

"Who said I was going to die?"

Huai Shi widened his eyes and grabbed his phone. "Can't I call someone?"

Crow froze.

She stared at Huai Shi with utter bewilderment, shock... and the suspicion that he had to be fucking joking.

"Weren't you yelling about killing him two hours ago?"

Crow's eyes widened. "And who taught you that awful habit of calling for help whenever something happens? You're the recorded one of the Book of Destiny, for crying out loud. Don't you have any awareness of being the protagonist?"

Huai Shi got angry and grabbed her phone, pointing at the message on the screen. "He's already third-tier! Am I, a level-zero newbie, supposed to challenge a big shot and deliver myself on a platter? Even protagonists aren't that Iron Head!"

"He's crippled, friend. Don't you even know how to finish someone off? When in doubt, charge in! Killing monsters above your level gives double experience!"

Crow rolled her eyes at him, furious at his failure to live up to expectations. "And who are you planning to call? Liu Dongli is still lying in the intensive care unit!"

"Uh, Ai Qing?"

"She said before she left that she was heading to Jinling immediately. She's probably already on the plane. By the time she gets back, everything will be cold!"

"The Special Affairs Department?"

"Do you have their contact information?"

"Then..."

Huai Shi hesitated. "Would 110 work?"

Crow stared at him silently for a long time, then sighed helplessly. "...What are you planning to tell them? A modern fantasy story that people would call pretentious even if you posted it on Qidian?

"And even if you found the Special Affairs Department, how would you explain how you knew all this? They'd probably think you were a Green Sun undercover agent! Believe it or not, once you explained my situation, they'd immediately give you a VIP membership card for prison?"

"Fuck, this won't work, that won't work..."

Huai Shi slapped the table in frustration, then suddenly deflated. "Then... should we just forget it?"

"Sure."

Crow glanced at him. "From now on, you can take your broad sunny road, and I'll take my single-plank bridge. Red Glove can run free and keep screwing around. And you can climb to the pinnacle of life through hard work and your cheat code... If you can accept that, I don't care."

Huai Shi wilted.

Crow shook her head, raised a wing, and patted Huai Shi on the shoulder. "Young man, would big sis ever hurt you?"

"Yes!"

Huai Shi glared at her. "You've practically been screwing me over from beginning to end!"

"Ahem, let's not discuss the wanted criminal matter for now..."

She coughed awkwardly twice, then spoke earnestly. "Besides, think about it. This is revenge, sacred revenge! A classic plot! The kind of drama the people love to see! You only get an opportunity like this once in a lifetime, and you're still not satisfied?

"As the owner of the Book of Destiny, now that you've become an Ascender, you can no longer bind yourself with those weak doctrines.

"Before the Unified Bureau's Committee of Ten issued the Twelve Tables, there was only one law that applied among Ascenders: blood for blood, tooth for tooth!"

She stared at her contractor. Her scarlet eyes were filled with cold solemnity, without the slightest hint of teasing or laughter, as though she were proclaiming a truth:

"If there is truly anything I can teach you in this process, then this is the first lesson—this world has no warmth or sympathy for the weak, nor does it leave the cowardly any room to escape.

"Just like everything you've experienced—if you do not control fate, then fate will control you!"

"..."

Huai Shi was stunned. He stared blankly at Crow before him as though seeing her for the first time. Seeing his astonished expression, Crow immediately grew smug. "Well? Doesn't it feel like you've gotten to know big sis all over again? I spent the whole night thinking up words that badass! Hurry up and say something nice to praise me!"

"..."

The faint admiration that had rarely risen in Huai Shi's heart instantly vanished. From the bottom of his heart, he suspected that this big sister was all talk, someone who specialized in fooling rookies like him.

Though... what she said did seem to make some sense.

He thought for a long time, seriously studying Crow before him, when a bold guess suddenly came to him.

"Emmmm... Say, do you have some hidden combat power? Will you transform at the critical moment? We combine human and bird, you turn into armor, and I turn into a Saint Seiya..."

Crow rolled her eyes. She looked at him as though he were mentally disabled. "Spare your big sis. I'm just a bird right now."

"Then why did you say all that?" Huai Shi glared. "Are you telling me to go alone and chop that guy to death with an axe?"

"Relax, no guns, no cannons..."

Crow looked toward the car parked in the courtyard outside the window. "You can still mooch off friendly forces."

Looking at Liu Dongli's car, Huai Shi's eyes lit up as well. "Right! Old Liu has lots of good stuff!"

Very soon, he dragged his iron pick outside. After circling the car Liu Dongli had left at his house several times, he picked a spot on the rear window, raised the iron pick, and gave it a test swing.

"Old Liu, I'm going to avenge you now, so... don't fuss over something this minor."

Bang!

The flashy red sports car, which was clearly worth a fortune, jolted violently. The window shattered cleanly, setting off a burst of alarms.

When Huai Shi fished an iron case bearing the Astronomical Society's globe emblem out from behind the glass, he could not help grinning. "Aha, just as I thought it was here!"

Over the past two days, he had seen it clearly. Liu Dongli's host weapons, long and short, had all come out of this thing. Hopefully, he had left some spark of hope behind for his fellow sufferer.

And after opening the case, Huai Shi was not disappointed.

Aside from a short-barreled shotgun and two pistols that had already been taken out, there was still a military knife, a black bulletproof vest, and a handgun that looked absurdly badass...

He did not know the model or the place of manufacture. In any case, it looked incredibly badass.

He casually tucked the Matteba Automatic Revolver into the back of his waistband, scooped up some bullets, and stuffed them into his pocket. Huai Shi suddenly felt much more confident.

"I have a question..."

Behind him, Crow sighed helplessly and waved the thing in her claws. "His car keys were on the table. Why did you smash the window?"

"...I forgot."

Huai Shi awkwardly took the keys. It seemed he had even saved himself the cost of a taxi. Saving money was good, very good. Otherwise, he probably would not even have been able to afford a car.

After he climbed into the car, Crow, perched on his shoulder, asked one final question. "By the way, can you drive?"

"Yeah. Does playing QQ Speed on my phone count? My rank was pretty high."

Huai Shi thought for a moment, then grabbed Crow as she tried to get out and strapped her into the passenger seat with the seat belt. "Where do you think you're going? You want to jump out of my car too? Weren't you the one egging me on to get revenge? Sit tight, we're leaving!"

"Don't! I'm not ready to die on your road to revenge yet!"

Crow panicked too and struggled desperately. "Huai Shi, I get carsick, really! I'll lend you money, so could you please call a car? You could even call a luxury stretch Lincoln and still look badass! If not, just call someone! I have the Special Affairs Department's number..."

"Who has time to wait around?"

Huai Shi gave her one last look, hurriedly searched online for how to drive, shoved the key into the ignition, and twisted it hard, starting the engine.

"Time is short. Let's go!"

Vroom!

Like a mad dog breaking out of its cage, the car engine and Crow simultaneously let out tortured screams. The flashy red sports car scraped past half the iron gate and shot out of the Stone Marrow Hall, charging wildly onto a rough road of no return.

At some point, dark clouds had covered the moonlight. Dull thunder rumbled in the distance.

Wind blew in from afar.

It was going to rain.

My severe cold continues. The flu is terrifying, truly terrifying, everyone. Please take good care of yourselves. This salted fish is about to face the brutal end of having no chapters saved up...