Curfew

Chen Jin snapped his eyes open. A steady, drizzling rain fell from the sky, pelting his face and body.

The air was heavy and oppressive.

Thump—thump—!

Heavy drumbeats pierced through the curtain of rain, echoing between heaven and earth.

Almost simultaneously, the pedestrians on the street, who had been moving at a leisurely pace, suddenly quickened their steps. They lowered their heads, expressions panicked, and scrambled toward their respective homes.

Chen Jin instinctively looked up at the sky—

Beneath the gray, overcast rain clouds hovered countless massive eyes, constantly scanning the world!

Those eyes were densely packed, covering the entire sky, each one the size of a house.

They hung in silence, rotating slowly and erratically, peering down at every inch of land and every living soul below.

The rain seemed to drip from the gaps between these eyes.

Chen Jin felt a wave of intense nausea and dizziness and quickly lowered his head.

Where his gaze fell, the puddles on the ground were rippling from the impact of the raindrops. And within those murky ripples, lines of small, faint bronze-colored characters emerged and flickered:

Time: 215 BC

Location: Langya, 35.5 degrees North Latitude, 119.5 degrees East Longitude

The world is unified; the four seas submit.

The First Emperor tours the east to the sea, gazing at the boundless mist.

Life and death have become the only unfinished hegemony.

Xu Fu submits a memorial, claiming there are immortal mountains upon the sea.

Three thousand boys and girls, grains and artisans, towering ships and massive fleets.

A silent fleet, carrying the empire's deepest desires and fears, vanishes into the east.

Bronze edicts, laws carved in metal and stone.

Black-clad ranks, crossbows aimed at the four seas.

In Xianyang Palace, Alchemists and Court Justices stand in the same ranks; alchemy furnaces and torture instruments heat together.

The requirements for this Yanfu Event are as follows:

[Obtain a Yanfu Token containing the heritage of any one of the Hundred Schools of Thought]

[Investigate the Shrine of the Four Seasons Deity at Langya Terrace]

[Investigate the Elixir of Life brought back from the sea by Xu Fu]

Complete any of the above requirements to officially begin the Yanfu Event.

You have gained a special proficiency in this Yanfu Event: Ancient Scripts 75%. This will be forgotten after the event ends; you may also spend 750 Yanfu Points to acquire it permanently.

The text flickered in the ripples before quickly dissipating.

Just then, the heavy drumbeats that had been echoing throughout the city abruptly ceased.

The moment the drumming stopped—

Snap!

A crisp, sharp, and violent crack!

Chen Jin felt a sudden, searing pain in his back, as if he had been struck hard by a red-hot branding iron. The immense force sent him stumbling, nearly throwing him to the ground.

The coarse cloth of his clothes tore open in a long gash, his skin split, and a burning, stinging pain washed over him.

He whipped his head around, but there was no one behind him! Only the cold rain and the empty street.

"Ugh..." He groaned, cold sweat instantly soaking his forehead and mingling with the rain. An attack? Where did it come from?

Before he could even think—

Snap!!

The second strike followed immediately! It was heavier and more vicious than the first, as if it had struck directly against his bone. The pain made his vision go black, and he nearly suffocated. The blood welling from his wound was washed away by the rain as soon as it emerged.

Rules! It's the rules of this place!

His extensive experience with Yanfu Events allowed Chen Jin to realize it instantly.

The special ability brought by the [Flesh of Vision] heritage was not just rapid healing after injury, but also the numbing of pain; otherwise, a Walker holding this heritage would simply become a toy for slow-slicing if they fell into enemy hands.

The pain he felt wasn't just from the injury—it was a punishment for violating some absolute "rule" of this place!

Combining the sight of the panicked pedestrians rushing home with the declarative drumbeats...

Curfew! The word suddenly popped into his mind.

He had to get off the street immediately! He had to find shelter, fast!

Enduring the agonizing pain, he scanned his surroundings.

The pedestrians had long since vanished, and the doors on both sides of the street were bolted shut.

But just a moment ago, while the drums were still sounding, he caught a glimpse of a few people in his peripheral vision—ragged and terrified just like him—stumbling as they rushed into a building with a tattered banner hanging diagonally ahead.

It looked like an inn!

Chen Jin gritted his teeth, clutching his back which was still throbbing with intense pain. He activated the ability of "Flesh of Vision" to mend his wounds and sprinted toward the inn at top speed.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" He pounded on the heavy wooden door. Rainwater streamed down his hair and into his collar, icy and bone-chilling.

The door creaked open a crack, and a pair of vigilant eyes peered through the gap, scanning the area behind him.

"Get in, quick!" a hushed voice urged, widening the gap.

Chen Jin slipped inside. The moment he crossed the threshold, the invisible sense of threat—the one that had been hanging over his head, ready to deliver a third lash—suddenly vanished.

Under the dim light of the oil lamps inside the inn, the air was stale, yet it carried a sense of security that put him at ease.

He leaned against the door panel, gasping for air, his back muscles spasming slightly from the pain. Rainwater dripped from his body, forming a small puddle at his feet.

A man dressed in coarse cloth, looking like a waiter, quickly shut the door and slid the bolt into place.

Just then, a slightly plump innkeeper wearing a greasy apron walked over, holding a coarse ceramic bowl, and handed it to him: "Here, drink some hot water to warm yourself up."

The bowl contained murky, lukewarm water.

Chen Jin took it, hesitated for a moment, but considering that the "Flesh of Vision" could neutralize almost any toxin, he downed it in one gulp.

A wave of warmth slid down his throat, temporarily dispelling some of the chill. He took a deep breath and was about to offer his thanks—

But the innkeeper spoke first. His face was expressionless, his tone as flat as if he were discussing the weather, as he rubbed his fingers together: "Thirty 'Spirit Coins' for a night's stay. That bowl of water just now counts as one 'Spirit Coin'. Much obliged, that's thirty-one 'Spirit Coins' in total."

Chen Jin froze.

...Spirit Coins?

The innkeeper looked him up and down, a hint of disdain in his eyes, and curled his lip: "Another one from the sticks? You looked clean enough that I thought you were a city dweller.

You don't even know what a 'Spirit Coin' is? After His Majesty the First Emperor unified the four seas, he abolished the debased currencies of the six states and implemented the 'Heavenly Craft Balance Law'! See those 'Law Eyes' in the sky?"

He pointed at the ceiling, as if he could see through the roof to those terrifying giant eyes. "'Spirit Coins' are the supreme legal tender cast onto the 'Identity Tablets' of all people by the power of His Majesty's 'Law Eyes'! Trade, taxes, food, clothing, housing, and travel—all require them. You have an 'Identity Tablet', right? Just take it out and settle the account."

Damn... I didn't expect to be poisoned by capitalism.

Chen Jin instinctively patted his body, but apart from his soaked coarse clothes, he had nothing.

He didn't have an "Identity Tablet" at all.

He had opened a Fruit Passage using the special channels of Wan'an Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., and the Ren Tu lurking within the fruit hadn't had time to prepare a perfect identity for his arrival this time.

Seeing his reaction, the innkeeper's eyes turned completely cold, filled with blatant contempt: "Oh, no 'Identity Tablet'? That makes you an unregistered drifter. You don't even have the qualifications to run a tab."

Chen Jin's heart sank.

But the innkeeper changed his tune:

"However, His Majesty is merciful. Considering that you outland refugees have it rough, and with the massive construction projects currently underway in Xianyang—the Epang Palace, the Qin Straight Road, the Mount Li Imperial Mausoleum... they are short-handed everywhere. As long as you have the life in you to reach Xianyang City and are willing to work hard, you can earn 'Spirit Coins'. Once you accumulate a certain amount, you'll have the chance to be granted the status of a 'Qin Person', have it recorded on an 'Identity Tablet', and become a true Qin Person, enjoying the protection of the 'Law Eyes'... Of course, before that,"

The innkeeper pointed to the empty bowl Chen Jin had just finished, "the thirty-one Spirit Coins you owe can be put on credit, with daily interest, compounding. How about that? Fair, isn't it?"

Chen Jin slowly straightened up and looked around.

In this small, dim inn lobby, seven or eight people were sitting scattered about. Most of them were dressed in rags, their faces weary and terrified, their eyes darting around as they silently ate dry rations or just sat there blankly.

No one spoke; the air was thick with silence and oppression.

—Outland refugees.

Just like him, they had no status, no "Spirit Coins," and were rejected by this magnificent and terrifying giant city, forced to struggle for survival in the cracks, relying on selling their labor in exchange for the promise of an "identity."