I Want It!

"Sorry, no, I'm busy, thanks."

At the docks, Ai Qing coldly rejected the man beside her, who had been chattering away and clinging to her like gum while insisting on treating her to dinner. She pushed her wheelchair straight past the cordon.

The man who hurried after her was stopped by the police guarding the blast site. After an awkward rebuff, he returned empty-handed.

"Wow, what a heart of stone."

Leaning against the wall, Liu Dongli clicked his tongue in admiration. "Don't always be so heartless, Miss Ai. If you ask me, it wouldn't hurt to keep a backup around."

Ai Qing's wheelchair stopped beside him.

The girl looked at him expressionlessly until his scalp began to prickle and he unconsciously looked away. Only then did she slowly say, "If I have even the slightest self-awareness about my circumstances, then I should understand one thing first: no one would sincerely fall in love with a rich crippled woman."

"Uh..."

Liu Dongli froze for a long while before forcing out a smile. "Don't say that. You're so pretty, and besides, love has never been reasonable."

"Right, so neither am I."

Ai Qing looked at him. "And I have money.

"I'm the one paying you to work, and you're currently under review by the Astronomical Society. You'd better not tell your examiner about your gigolo get-rich scheme again."

Liu Dongli helplessly shrugged and said nothing more. He obediently followed behind her, settling into the not particularly promising profession of thug and bodyguard.

After a night of torrential rain, the dockside scene was utterly unrecognizable. The original clues had also become a complete mess due to certain people's stupidity.

The blast site was a warehouse that had mostly collapsed. Mud was everywhere, seven or eight shipping containers had been burned into pools of molten metal, and coal ash mixed with blood had been smeared haphazardly across the ground...

"Excellent work."

Ai Qing nodded in praise.

"...Was that sarcasm?" Liu Dongli asked.

"No, I'm sincerely praising them."

Ai Qing raised her brows, unusually pleased. "Major incidents involving Border Relics are often bizarre and difficult to handle in the first place. Who knows where the clues might be? If it can't be resolved, it'll become a stain on my probationary record.

"Now that someone has voluntarily stepped out to take the blame, I don't need to bear any responsibility at all. When the Unified Bureau starts holding people accountable, let those self-righteous idiots take the fall."

"..."

The corner of Liu Dongli's eye twitched. He had no idea what to say. Compared to this swamp-like covert struggle, even a gigolo like him seemed pure as an angel.

Just then, Ai Qing's phone vibrated.

She had a message.

She lowered her head to glance at it, then froze, as though considering something.

After a long time, she turned off the screen.

"What is it?" Liu Dongli asked.

"They found several more bodies, all unemployed drifters with prior drug records." Ai Qing nimbly spun her phone around her fingers and remarked mockingly, "They must have been interrogated for quite some time before they died. Tsk, tsk. What gruesome deaths."

"Going to the morgue again?"

Liu Dongli sighed helplessly and touched his face. Going to the morgue all the time was bad for his skin.

"Why would I go out of my way to hurt my eyes?"

Ai Qing turned her wheelchair around and said calmly, "Now that we've seen the scene, we can all go home. Once they're at their wits' end, I'll graciously come out and save the day."

Liu Dongli was stunned.

"...You already have a lead?"

"Coming here was just a formality. The things that really matter can be understood from a quick look at the scene and the coroner's report.

"The goods declared in the containers were electronic products bound for Europe. The declaration was filed by a shell company. If we trace it further, we'll find nothing but scapegoats.

"Judging from the traces at the scene, it was an internal conflict between a group using Border Relics for profit in the warehouse... The specific reason was probably an uneven division of loot. What happened afterward is why we took over the case...

"These are things anyone can learn from a cursory glance at the reports. What concerns me more is this—"

Ai Qing reached out and pinched a tiny bag of powder from a compartment in her wheelchair with two slender fingers.

"What's that?"

Liu Dongli had now perfectly adapted to his role as the straight man.

"A hallucinogen found at the scene. A new type of drug," Ai Qing said. "The Technical Department's drug test results are out. It was mixed with Source Matter, which means..."

"This was made by that box-shaped Border Relic?!"

Liu Dongli felt a chill. If it could cause such severe consequences, then the seriousness of this incident would likely have to be upgraded again.

Ai Qing said quietly, "If I report this information after letting it sit for a while, the old men who have been secretly tripping me up will have quite an entertaining ending, won't they?"

"...Wait!"

The back of Liu Dongli's head suddenly went cold. "You're telling me this so casually? Aren't you afraid I'll spread it around? You're not planning to silence me, are you?"

"I'm telling you because I want you to spread it around."

Ai Qing casually swung the little bag from her fingertips and said lightly, "Weren't you always proud of your communication skills? Then hurry up and tell them this: their lives are in my hands. If they want to continue living happily as parasites, they should come begging at my feet as soon as possible..."

Damn!

Liu Dongli wanted to slap himself twice. Why did he have to ask so many questions? No, why did he have to mock her just now?

Wonderful. In less than ten minutes, she had dragged him into this mess.

Was this woman's desire for revenge really that intense?

After a long period of shock and regret, Liu Dongli keenly spotted the biggest problem. "But even if they're willing to bow their heads, you still need to be certain you can solve the case, right?"

"Who says I'm not?"

Ai Qing turned back. She was not smiling, but her eyes were full of mockery. "But do you really want to know?"

Sorry, I don't want to know at all!

Liu Dongli's expression twitched as he snuffed out his last urge to probe further. This woman was truly awful...

"I want it!"

Over at Huai Shi's home, faced with Crow's question, the boy nodded and answered without hesitation.

Do you desire a soul?

Faced with such a sudden question and a scene like a devil's temptation, Ordinary People might hesitate for a moment. Huai Shi did not even pause.

After experiencing a series of fantastical events over the past few days and understanding his own circumstances, he had grown a little bolder. If I can't get through this, I'm dead anyway, so what am I afraid of?

Although he did not know what a soul even was, that did not stop Huai Shi from wanting one. Not only that, he also wanted money, power, and boobs... But come to think of it, wasn't a soul something everyone was supposed to have?

Crow asked in return, "Everyone in Fairy Tales gets a happy ending too. Do you believe that?"

Not getting to enjoy the anticipated scene of hesitation made her a little unhappy, and even her explanation became listless. "The existence of the soul is what distinguishes Ordinary People from Ascenders.

"In this era, there exists a creation called the Silver Sea. No, it would be more accurate to call it a vast natural wellspring. It is also known as a miracle akin to a perpetual-motion machine, one of the origins that created this immense world.

"Its true core is the Silver Sea formed from the gathered projections of all humanity's Source Matter. It is said that this invisible sea is unimaginably vast, and all human intellect in existence is merely a branch flowing from it.

"To walk the path of Sublimation, allowing one's iron-and-stone nature to pass through the Silver Sea and sublimate into a Golden Soul—this was the original goal of alchemy.

"Only then can a person possess a soul and be granted the title of Ascender.

"Otherwise, one's cognition and consciousness can only be carried by clusters of wandering sparks within the neural synapses of the brain, unable to withstand the darkness and storms beyond the Present Realm..."

"You keep talking about the Present Realm and the border. Does another world exist?" Huai Shi interrupted.

"In a sense, yes. And not just one, but thousands upon thousands..." Crow gave a strange laugh. "But that isn't something you should concern yourself with yet. First, think about how to awaken your soul."

"..." Huai Shi could only listen attentively.

"Currently, the Astronomical Society is responsible for guarding the Silver Sea. Based on the rate at which all humanity's Source Matter accumulates, there are roughly three to four hundred slots every year. But that has nothing to do with you. Before those slots are even announced, the various branches of the Unified Bureau divide them up. The list has already been booked out ten years in advance... In truth, most Ascenders do not rely on the Astronomical Society's special permits. Instead, they awaken on their own, like stowaways. That is the path you must take."

Huai Shi swallowed and nodded seriously. "And then?"

"For others, this process is naturally fraught with countless difficulties, even more dangerous than a modern person leaving the city to survive in the wilderness. It is like boarding a rocket with scant supplies and flying beyond the atmosphere—not only must you break free from the gravitational pull of the Silver Sea, but you must also face all kinds of accidents and challenges. No one knows what awaits them.

"To succeed, both strength and luck are indispensable. Yet even possessing both cannot guarantee success.

"Not only do you need abundant Source Matter, intense stimulation, and the right opportunity, you also need some luck... More often than not, it is like winning the lottery, difficult to replicate. Fortunately, the population is so large that one or two people always succeed."

"What about those who fail?" Huai Shi asked.

Crow seemed to smile, but said nothing. A chill rose in Huai Shi's heart.

"But don't worry. You don't need to worry about that."

She raised a wing and patted Huai Shi on the shoulder. "You have uniquely favorable conditions, boy. With the Book of Destiny in your hands, you have a road to heaven beneath your feet.

"Others are Icarus. You're climbing a ladder. Steady as can be!"

"Then... what exactly do I do?"

"It's very simple." Crow said, "You just need to kill people."

"If you do it yourself, the Book of Destiny's records will surely become even more detailed, won't they? And not only that: kill one person, and you gain that person's skills. Kill ten, and you become a true genius. As long as you have it, Huai Shi, the more people you kill, the stronger you become."

She whispered softly into the boy's ear, "Aren't there so many people who look down on you? You must hate them to death, right? Not only your classmates and teachers, but also the parents who abandoned you... This world has not treated you well. Why should you treat it kindly?"

Huai Shi froze.

Ah, he was scared after all, wasn't he?

For a moment, Crow felt pleased. But when Huai Shi raised his head, she sensed a trace of... delight in those eyes?

"Really?" Huai Shi could hardly believe it. "I just have to kill people?"

"..."

"Then let's start with Li Wuyang."

Counting on his fingers, Huai Shi said, "Who told him to keep flaunting his good father and good uncle in front of me? The rich being heartless, he deserves to die! And that woman he keeps making eyes at—those two might have hooked up ages ago... The English teacher is third. She's always making snide remarks about me in class... Oh, and that fat bastard who thought I stole his money. His brother is no good either, always getting into fights at school. I'd be doing the public a service, right? That bastard broker Old Yang should die too. I work so hard at part-time jobs, but with a few words from him, he takes twenty percent of my pay..."

As he spoke, Huai Shi raised his head and looked at her expressionlessly.

"—They should all die because they offended me, right?"

After hearing the disabled girl's words, many people burst into tears.