Qian Yuliu's Rampage

"Meet at 30 minutes past the upper-left point, at three hundred and sixty degrees."

At first glance, Star Picker's letter seemed nonsensical, with no specific time or location. But Le Yu, having acquired Qian Yuliu's memories, knew how to decipher the coded message.

"30 minutes past the upper-left point" was a specific time: "upper-left" corresponded to "minutes past." "Left" indicated the hour hand's position, and "upper" indicated the minute hand's position. "Upper-left" initially meant 9 o'clock.

However, "upper-left" was a clear hint, so 9 o'clock wasn't the correct answer. It needed adjustment, and "sixty" referred to the angle by which the hour and minute hands needed to shift.

According to the cipher rules, since the minute hand was smaller than the hour hand, if the minute hand were to turn towards the hour hand (small approaching large), it would be written as "a fraction of a fraction." Conversely, since the hour hand was larger than the minute hand, if the hour hand were to turn towards the minute hand (large approaching small), it would be written as "tens."

Thirty was greater than one, so the minute hand remained unchanged, and the hour hand shifted by "thirty"—meaning the hour hand turned 30° towards the minute hand, which indicated 10 o'clock.

The "point" in "upper-left point" referred to the moon, corresponding to the "circle" representing the sun. Therefore, the correct answer was 10 PM.

"Three hundred and sixty degrees" indicated the meeting location. To decipher this hidden information, all that was needed was a map of Star Engraving Prefecture.

As a Statistics Department official, Qian Yuliu naturally carried a map with him.

Opening the Star Engraving Prefecture map, Le Yu easily found the city center of Star Engraving Prefecture—the Radiant Bell Tower, standing prominently in the city center's lecture square, was very conspicuous. As a prominent landmark present in every prefecture and county, using the Radiant Bell Tower as a reference for coded communication was naturally most appropriate.

"Three hundred" referred to a straight distance of three hundred meters from the Radiant Bell Tower, and "sixty degrees" meant sixty degrees clockwise from due north.

Le Yu first drew a circle on the map with the Radiant Bell Tower as the center and a radius of 300 meters based on the scale. Then, starting from the center, he drew a straight line forming a 60° angle with the true north line.

The intersection point of this line and the circle was the meeting location specified by Star Picker!

In Star Engraving Prefecture at night, every street was as bright as day. Le Yu walked confidently down the main avenue, striding with his head held high, not at all looking like someone going to a secret meeting. Yet, none of the Patrol Guards patrolling the roadside came over to question him; they merely glanced at him and looked away.

If Le Yu had worn a hat and dark clothes, acting suspiciously, he would have aroused suspicion. But Le Yu's overt and upright demeanor was his best camouflage, the so-called safest in the most dangerous... or so one would think.

The Steel-soled Boots Le Yu was wearing were standard Statistics Department equipment; no one else would wear such boots except Statistics Department officials. And the sound of these boots was very distinctive. The Patrol Guards could tell from the sound that the person swaggering down the street was a Statistics Department official.

Somewhat to Le Yu's surprise, Huiyao had already abolished the curfew system—at least in administrative areas like prefectures and counties; military zones naturally had different rules.

Thinking about it, it wasn't hard to understand: the purpose of a curfew was to prevent fires, theft, and vagrants. Essentially, it was because the light was poor at night, so they simply cut all activities. But in Huiyao prefectures and counties, there were solar streetlights everywhere. Although the night wasn't as bright as the day, it was by no means pitch black.

Moreover, the Star Engraving Dance Hall was bustling with people. Although most commoners weren't qualified to patronize it, just to cater to the nobles and wealthy, it was worth abolishing the curfew.

This also greatly facilitated Le Yu. Even if the Patrol Guards saw a Statistics Department official like him out strolling at night, they wouldn't suspect anything—either they'd think he was working overtime to catch Anti-Light Rebels, or they'd assume he was looking for a place to engage in illicit activities.

"You little brat, stop right there!"

As Le Yu turned from the brightly lit main street into a sparsely lit alley, it was as if he entered another world: the ground was filthy, churned with mud, buildings were haphazardly arranged but tightly packed, trash was everywhere, and a faint, putrid smell, like rotting corpses, hung in the air.

Right ahead on the path, a young boy in a short-sleeved linen shirt was frantically running, his hair disheveled, face smudged with dirt, shoeless, fleeing barefoot in the somewhat chilly night. In his right hand, he held a luxurious coin purse that completely clashed with his attire.

Behind the linen-clad boy, a burly, bald adult was giving chase. When the bald man saw Le Yu approaching from the other end of the alley, he brightened, shouting, "Help me stop him!"

With his path blocked, the linen-clad boy showed no fear. When he was less than five meters from Le Yu, he suddenly turned, stepped on the foul-smelling trash and debris, and leaped up. With a strong pull of his hands, he climbed onto the rooftop.

The escape route he chose was excellent—this spot was precisely in the middle of the alley. Whether the bald man ran forward or backward, he would have to make a significant detour to possibly catch him.

The bald man clearly realized this too, and angrily punched the dirt wall beside him, cracking it. He roared at the sky, "You little bastard! Don't let me find you, or I'll tear you to shreds!"

The dim lights in the nearby houses immediately went out. Although what was happening outside had nothing to do with these poor people, the wisdom of survival taught them to duck their heads—because beyond that, there was nothing else they could do.

Eighteen Streets.

This place had many names: the slums, the gambling dens, the red-light district... In short, seventy percent of Star Engraving Prefecture's poor lived here, with another twenty percent living by the docks and factories.

As an era where productivity had not yet reached material abundance, slums were an unavoidable presence in every city. Eighteen Streets was such a place. Streetlights were insufficient here, and there were no Patrol Guards, but in exchange, there were extremely low living expenses and roofs to shelter from wind and rain. Workers and laborers basically lived here.

Because the authorities didn't interfere too much, Eighteen Streets also had some explicitly forbidden facilities, such as gambling dens. Compared to the peaceful other areas, Eighteen Streets was a bit livelier at night—the gambling dens didn't dare to operate during the day and challenge the imperial authority; they only dared to fleece gamblers at night.

From this, it was clear that the Qian Family was actually quite wealthy in Star Engraving Prefecture—Qian Family's parents had died young, yet the Qian siblings were still able to study and attend school almost without working, until Qian Yiliu became an informant and the family finally gained a normal income.

As Le Yu was organizing his memories, the bald man suddenly turned and stared at Le Yu, a sinister grin spreading across his face after a few scrutinizing glances.

"You, kid, are you in league with that brat? Why didn't you stop him just now?" The bald man pulled out a pair of brass knuckles from his pocket, clanged his fists together, producing a metallic ring, and said menacingly, "Do you know who your grandpa is?"

Oh, wow.

Le Yu was stunned.

He never in a million years expected someone to… dare to pick a fight with Qian Yuliu?

How many cefalexin pills did he take to get this drunk?

"Wait!" Le Yu quickly called out to stop him.

"Want to beg for mercy?" The bald man licked his lips and gestured with his chin behind him: "Go to the alley back there and hand over the money, then let grandpa have some fun, and I might consider letting you go, I might even give you some money, hahahaha!"

"Allow me to ask first, who are you? Are you famous around here?" Le Yu asked cautiously.

"You don't even know your Grandpa Lei? You know Boss Ying from Xiangle, right? Boss Ying is my brother-in-law!"

"What's Xiangle?" Le Yu blinked.

The bald man was growing impatient. He charged at Le Yu like a wild boar, as if to gore him like a big cabbage: "Don't play dumb. People who come here either gamble at Xiangle or have fun at Gentle Embrace. You better give Grandpa Lei a good blow—"

Bang!

Le Yu delivered a powerful kick, sending the burly bald man flying through the air. His hundred-plus pounds hung suspended for a second before he crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, vomiting out a mix of red, black, and yellow.

"So,"

Le Yu stepped forward and stomped on his stomach, "you're just the little brother-in-law of a small gambling den boss?"

"N-no, that's right, you're f***ing dead…"

"You actually lied to me!" Le Yu stomped down hard, making the bald man throw up his stomach contents.

"I, I didn't lie to you!"

"You're so ugly, how good-looking could your blood-related sister possibly be? It's not that I don't believe you, but I believe Mendel more!"

"Men, Mendel? Who's that?"

Le Yu was furious: "How dare you insult Mendel?! Mendel's laws of inheritance were the best thing I learned in high school!"

"This stomp is because you insulted a scientist!"

"This stomp is because you bothered me!"

"This stomp is because you lusted after me!"

"This stomp is because you're bald and ugly!"

"This stomp is because you lied to me that you were so-and-so's brother-in-law!"

"I, I didn't lie…"

"Still lying to me? You deserve another stomp!"

Le Yu stomped more than ten times, feeling more and more pleased with each stomp. He wasn't a psychopath; it was just that too much had happened in the past two days, and he was too stressed. Especially today, he'd been beaten senseless by Mu Feihong in the morning, then subtly threatened by Chen Fu in the afternoon, and now he had to go home and deal with his sister at dinner…

Le Yu was suffering!

Le Yu could certainly distance himself, treating everything as if he were playing the main storyline of the character 'Qian Yuliu' from a first-person perspective, but he was still unhappy!

Now that a vicious monster had suddenly appeared, it would be a disservice to this gift from heaven if he didn't vent properly!

"You there, what are you doing?!"

At that moment, several gang members suddenly appeared at the intersection. They were shocked to see Le Yu brutally stomping the bald man. "Grandpa Lei! How dare you hit our man, let go of Grandpa Lei!"

"Kill this bastard and avenge Grandpa Lei!"

"Break his arms and legs!"

By this time, Le Yu had stomped enough, and his inner frustration had diminished considerably. He kicked the bald man, who was now unrecognizable, then stomped his foot heavily, raised his head, and said coldly, "Are you trying to pick a fight with me too?"

"Who do you think you are…"

Among the swaggering thugs, one man's face suddenly changed dramatically. He quickly pulled the others back and cautiously said, "Sir… Sir, you're not from Eighteen Streets, are you?"

The sound of the Statistics Department's Steel-soled Boots was a nightmare for countless people.

Le Yu didn't answer. He had already found the correct way to deal with this group of gang members from Qian Yuliu's memories: "I'll count to ten. If you and this bald pig are still in front of me after ten seconds, your casino can close down tomorrow. Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

Gangsters, casinos, thugs.

These things might pose a significant threat to ordinary people, but to the Statistics Department… No, they didn't even need the Statistics Department. Even a small officer from the Statistics Department was not someone this trash could afford to provoke.

As Prefect Ding's trusted department, and as the unrestrained Statistics Department, no one in Star Engraving Prefecture dared to provoke them openly. As for in the shadows… the Statistics Department disdained to dirty its feet in such places.

Aside from anything else, with just the reason of 'apprehending Anti-Light Rebels,' Le Yu could turn Eighteen Streets upside down. What casinos, what bosses? They didn't even have the right to lick Le Yu's boots.

By this time, the other thugs also realized something was wrong. They quickly helped the bald man up and swiftly fled, disappearing from Le Yu's sight before he finished counting down, not saying a single harsh word.

They might have had doubts, as wearing Steel-soled Boots didn't necessarily mean Le Yu was a Statistics Department officer. But they also had the cunning of thugs: if they charged, even if Le Yu was fake, they might not be able to beat him, and if Le Yu was real, they would be finished; but if they retreated, regardless of whether Le Yu was real or fake, they would have a reason to report to their boss, and only the bald man got beaten anyway.

Le Yu was also very measured in his stomps. Except for the first one, which used Combat Arts techniques, the other ten or so were just random kicks. Although he had given the bald man a bit of a facelift and fixed his teeth, it wasn't fatal. Hopefully, this beating from society would make the bald man turn over a new leaf.

Le Yu wiped the muddy blood off his Steel-soled Boots and continued walking along the path. At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the rooftop: "Hey, I'll split it with you."

A money bag was thrown down. Le Yu reached out and caught it, seeing the linen-clothed youth standing on the rooftop looking at him. Although covered in dirt, his eyes were as bright as stars.

Le Yu asked, "What do you mean?"

"You helped me drive away Fatty Lei. It's only right that I split it with you." The linen-clothed youth patted his thin chest. "This is called fairness."

"Thieves talk about fairness? Then you truly do have honor among thieves," Le Yu chuckled.

"Honor among thieves? I like that saying!" The linen-clothed youth's eyes lit up. "You were so impressive just now, stomping Fatty Lei like that, and Boss Ying's men didn't dare to bother you. How did you do it? Where do you hang out? Can I hang out with you?"

Le Yu smiled and stomped his foot: "Now you know where I hang out, right?"

"So you're Black Dog!" The linen-clothed youth suddenly understood.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. You can run away if you steal from thugs, but if you dare to talk about Black Dog in front of Black Dog… then you'll have to test your reincarnation skills."

"Tch, aren't you talking about Black Dog too?"

"When you're qualified to wear these Steel-soled Boots, you can talk too." Le Yu took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, feeling a bit pressed for time, so he ignored the boy and quickly walked out of the path.

The linen-clothed youth watched Le Yu's departing back, his eyes filled with longing.

Damn, I hope I'm not late?

Because of the unexpected detour, Le Yu found himself a bit short on time and felt anxious—after all, this wasn't a date, but an underground meeting between an informant and a contact!

If you stood up your girlfriend for a date, at most you'd break up; but if you stood up your contact for an underground meeting, the contact would probably suspect you'd been arrested, evacuate the city overnight, and even write you into the casualty list!

Le Yu naturally sped up. When he was two blocks away from his destination, a dim house next to him suddenly opened its door, and two bursts of dim light exploded.

Le Yu reacted quickly—Qian Yuliu's body instincts were very strong—but the opponent was faster and stronger than him!

Two hands, like iron clamps, locked onto Le Yu's throat and left wrist, dragging him into the pitch-black house!

In the darkness, Le Yu heard a chilling voice:

"Finally caught you."