Identifier

Qiulan was terrified of being punished by the Master and refused to let Chen Mo get out of bed.

Chen Mo shot her a hard glare. "The Madam isn't here. What I say goes."

Qiulan, mindful of her place, didn't dare defy the Second Young Master. "But Second Young Master, your leg..."

Earlier, Chen Mo's feet had been nailed into a wooden crate. Though the nails hadn't pierced bone or tendon, they'd left considerable flesh wounds. He couldn't walk.

But that didn't stump Chen Mo.

"Do you know which of the estate's guards is familiar with the County Office?"

Qiulan said, "Ma Tie used to be an old constable at the yamen. He lost his job after an accident while chasing bandits and came here to work as a guard."

Chen Mo said, "Go call Ma Tie to carry me, then prepare a carriage. Do it quietly—don't let Father or Mother see."

Qiulan and Chun Lan had both been Chen Mo's personal maidservants. Now that Chun Lan was gone, Qiulan was his sole personal maid. Whatever she did in the estate, everyone assumed it was on Chen Mo's orders and didn't dare question it.

Getting a carriage was no trouble at all.

As for the County Office, it was long past closing time. Ordinary people couldn't get in.

But the Chen family was a prominent clan in the county, so that wasn't an issue either.

Soon, a broad-shouldered, sturdy man with a blade at his waist hurried in. Seeing Chen Mo, he bowed respectfully. "Second Young Master."

This was Ma Tie, of course.

Being summoned by the Second Young Master late at night flattered him.

After all, the Chen estate had over thirty guards. Ma Tie was one of the unremarkable ones, rarely getting a chance to shine. Being called upon by the young master at this hour naturally pleased him.

Chen Mo knew this was Ma Tie. "Ma Tie, you've come at the right time. I want to go to the County Office's Archives Room tonight. Do you have a way?"

Ma Tie seized the opportunity to prove himself. "That's not hard, but it might take some silver to grease the wheels."

Chen Mo said, "If silver can solve it, it's not a problem. Hurry and carry me to the stables."

Because of the Red Lantern Society, Honghe County was a bustling, prosperous city.

Even at night, shops on both sides of the street were still open, with people coming and going—lively and noisy.

A carriage sped down the street, heading for the County Office at the end of Qingping Alley.

Qiulan and Ma Tie sat on the driver's board, urging the horses on. The cold wind on both sides made them hunch their necks.

Chen Mo sat alone in the warm carriage. The seat was covered in fluffy animal hide, very insulating. A lantern hung on the side, casting light.

Chen Mo gazed out the window for a long time at the scene outside. The rows of buildings lining the streets looked no different from ancient times.

Perhaps because he was weak, the biting wind made him feel a piercing chill, and he couldn't help coughing.

Qiulan's worried voice came from outside. "Young Master, are you cold?"

Chen Yin Fu had repeatedly instructed Qiulan to take good care of the Second Young Master. Going out like this already defied the Master's orders. If the young master caught a chill, she'd be in deep trouble.

"I'm fine. Drive faster."

Chen Mo replied, then lowered the curtain and shrank back into the carriage.

"This body of mine... so frail. The original owner must have been indulging in wine and women for a long time. Even without this Mad Demon Disease, he probably wouldn't have lived long."

Chen Mo sighed and shook his head.

Weak body and Mad Demon Disease.

What a miserable existence.

To be honest, Chen Mo was quite satisfied with his current status as the young master.

He could just lie back and inherit the family fortune—wealth, honor, beautiful wives, concubines—all within easy reach.

But only if he stayed alive.

The saddest thing in life was having money left but no one to spend it.

Chen Mo's mind churned with anxiety. He lifted his shirt again and, by the lantern light, examined his abdomen.

That faint, blurry baby face was still smiling with its mouth wide open, sending chills down his spine.

He reached out and rubbed it.

It wouldn't come off.

Chen Mo had no choice but to lower his shirt and stare blankly at the lantern, his thoughts spinning.

Just then, his vision suddenly blurred, and his head jolted violently. When he came to, he saw a white box shaped like a barcode on the lantern, with a black bar inside.

And three lines of text appeared:

[Current Original Understanding Essence: 0]

[Current Recognition Count: 1]

[Detectable object detected. Recognize?]

What the hell?

Chen Mo was startled, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He quickly blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, the barcode box and subtitles were still there.

As a seasoned internet surfer, Chen Mo quickly realized this must be his Golden Finger.

A recognition-type Golden Finger?

Did a lantern really need it to be identified?

I have eyes, you know.

Wait...

Soon, Chen Mo grew humbler.

It suddenly dawned on him that what the Golden Finger recognized might be... different from what his eyes saw.

Maybe the Golden Finger could pick up information invisible to him.

Even so, using it on a lantern felt like a waste of a recognition count.

After all, he only had one left.

With the Mad Demon Disease still lingering, Chen Mo was uneasy and didn't want to squander the chance.

"Let me tinker with this first..."

Chen Mo began to study it.

He quickly made a discovery:

First, when he willed the Golden Finger to appear, his vision changed. When he willed it away, his sight returned to normal.

Also, when he looked at other objects—like the beast hide beneath him or the carriage curtains—a corresponding barcode appeared whenever he willed it.

Even the most ordinary things could be recognized.

This excited Chen Mo. He wanted to try identifying something to see what unique information the Golden Finger would reveal.

But in the end, he held back.

After all, his Original Understanding Essence was zero, and he only had one recognition chance. Wasting it would be a shame.

"That first recognition chance has to be used on something critical... Why not use it to identify the Mad Demon Disease?"

"If I can recognize the pathology and cause of the Mad Demon Disease... then I might find a way to treat it."

The moment this thought surfaced, Chen Mo felt a surge of excitement. He realized this Golden Finger had come at just the right time.

He moved closer to the lantern and lifted his shirt.

Under the dim yellow light, the Infant Smile was still there, as if smiling faintly at Chen Mo, sending a chill down his spine.

Hah!

Chen Mo took a deep breath, clearing his mind, and summoned the panel.

Sure enough, a barcode box appeared over the infant face. But this time, it had three black bars.

"Three black bars?"

That hadn't happened before.

Whether it was the beast hide, the lantern, or any other ordinary object in the carriage, they all had only one bar.

Chen Mo felt something was off about the infant face.

When he looked at the subtitles beside the barcode box, he was even more startled.

Code
[Current Original Understanding Essence: 0]
[Current Recognizable Count: 1]
[Due to insufficient Original Understanding Essence, the current recognition level is too low. Recognition temporarily unavailable!]

The last four words made Chen Mo's heart pound, and a heavy weight slowly settled over him.