Abacus Snake

"...Here, there's a five-gold-coin discrepancy in the weapons procurement funds."

"Here, the protection fees from the East District tavern were underreported three times, totaling seventeen silver coins..."

"And here..."

As he wrote, Lynn calmly pointed out the problems.

As one issue after another came to light, the atmosphere in the room immediately changed.

Though the thugs could not understand the accounts, they vaguely recognized some of the problems Lynn pointed out.

It seemed... they had something to do with the deputy leader, Ghost Fox?

One-Eyed Wolf's single eye grew brighter and brighter as he leaned forward slightly.

"All told, this ledger contains false reports and omissions amounting to twelve gold coins, thirty-eight silver coins, and seventy-seven copper coins!"

"And that doesn't include some of the inflated procurement costs."

When Lynn finally gave a clear figure for the total discrepancies, the frail accountant beside him had already gone pale and was trembling all over.

It was over. All over!

He was just about to offer an explanation.

But One-Eyed Wolf suddenly slammed a hand on the table, startling everyone.

He stared fixedly at Lynn, his gaze burning.

"Good! Very good!"

A vicious smile appeared on One-Eyed Wolf's face.

"Kid, what's your name?"

"Lynn."

"Starting today, you'll take his place." One-Eyed Wolf pointed at the ashen-faced accountant.

"I'll give you one month to straighten out all the ledgers for me."

"If you can really help me make money, then from now on, you'll be the Bloodhand Gang's Abacus Snake."

"If you can't..."

He sneered and said no more.

One-Eyed Wolf was not planning to make a move against the deputy leader directly.

He needed time to investigate what was going on, and to wait for Lynn to sort out the accounts.

He wanted to know exactly how much Ghost Fox had skimmed off behind his back over the years!

Hearing the gang leader personally grant Lynn a title, everyone else in the room looked at him with envy.

Lynn also put on a grateful expression, then lowered his head to conceal the flash of coldness in his eyes.

Abacus Snake? That nickname is way too lame.

But... I'll take it!

And so, Lynn became the Bloodhand Gang's new "accountant."

He had no place to live and still slept on a pile of straw in the gang's woodshed, but at least he was out of the cage and had limited freedom of movement.

Knowing that the deputy leader would surely want to get rid of him as a thorn in his side, One-Eyed Wolf ordered him not to step outside the gang's compound.

However, One-Eyed Wolf did not trust him completely either, so he assigned a thug who knew a few words to watch him.

First, to keep Lynn from running away. Second, to make sure he did not tamper with the accounts.

But One-Eyed Wolf had clearly thought too highly of this fellow nicknamed Skinny Monkey.

Lynn was confident that even if he falsified the accounts right under Skinny Monkey's nose, the guy would never notice.

His first task was to sort through all of the Bloodhand Gang's accounts and "businesses."

He was given some rough parchment and poor-quality ink.

But he soon discovered that the few foreign-world characters he knew were nowhere near enough. He needed more knowledge.

The gang members had limited literacy; some of them could not even write their own names.

The accountant, formerly the most educated person around, had already been "replaced."

After doing so much dirty work, even if the gang leader did not deal with him, the deputy leader would not let him go.

And the gang leader gave Lynn no chance to go out and "seek instruction." He only had him copy down unfamiliar characters and hand them to gang members, who would ask around outside and report back to him.

This made his learning painfully slow.

But... this was also an opportunity!

He could not read the foreign-world script, but no one else could read the Chinese characters and Arabic numerals he wrote either!

A thought instantly formed in his mind.

He found a thin wooden board and a piece of charcoal, then told Skinny Monkey, who was responsible for watching him, "It's safer and more convenient to record things with these. The gang's secret accounts must not be leaked."

Skinny Monkey did not understand why, but it sounded reasonable.

Thus, using Chinese characters, Arabic numerals, and a set of simplified symbols he had invented himself, Lynn created a "coded ledger" on the wooden board that only he could understand.

To anyone else, it looked like meaningless scribbles.

With the logical thinking and mathematical ability he had brought from his previous life, he quickly sorted out the Bloodhand Gang's chaotic financial situation.

But all the suspicious dealings in the accounts pointed to the deputy leader, Ghost Fox. Clearly, he had pocketed quite a few benefits over the years.

This drove a wedge between the gang leader and deputy leader, who had once been as close as brothers, and the gang became thick with tension.

Lynn redesigned the lending process and interest rates, introducing "upfront interest" loans—where someone borrowed ten silver coins but received only nine, while interest was calculated on all ten—and harsher penalties for overdue payments.

Countless ordinary people were ruined by this compounding-interest system.

The gambling dens in particular forced large numbers of gamblers into usury debts every day.

Half a month later, Lynn had sorted out all of the gang's ledgers. His "efficiency" and "shrewdness" greatly pleased One-Eyed Wolf.

He rewarded Lynn with several copper coins and a half-worn set of thick linen clothes, then announced within the gang that Lynn had officially become its Abacus Snake!

From then on, Lynn gained a little more freedom.

But every time he walked through the streets, he had to endure the hateful, fearful stares of ordinary people.

Fortunately, no one dared lay a hand on him within his gang's territory.

Lynn's ambitions did not end there.

While keeping the books, he took advantage of information asymmetry and the complex "code" to quietly line his own pockets.

He kept a small portion of the protection money collected.

He pocketed a few fractions of the interest from loans.

When purchasing supplies, he inflated the prices...

All of it was perfectly buried deep within ledgers that no one else could understand.

He knew it was dangerous. If he were discovered, he would be doomed beyond redemption, but he had no other choice.

He could not stay in this filthy gang forever. He needed seed money and had to pave the way for his future.

At the same time, Lynn began his plan to save himself.

If he wanted to run away someday, a strong body was essential.

This long-lost healthy body made Lynn, who had spent years bedridden, feel incomparably light and free.

Every night, while Skinny Monkey slept, he secretly performed simple physical training in the shadows of the woodshed.

Squats, push-ups, sit-ups.

This body was healthy, but far too weak. It had to be trained.

He did not try to escape while Skinny Monkey slept. There were many thugs guarding the gang compound, and it would be difficult for him to get away.

After earning the gang leader's trust, he gradually gained even more "freedom."

But when Lynn proposed attending the academy to learn more and better manage the accounts, the gang leader flatly refused.

There were too many people at the academy that a small gang like theirs could not afford to offend. If Lynn became involved with them, he might slip completely beyond their control.

Helpless, Lynn could only settle for asking to buy books and teach himself.

This time, One-Eyed Wolf readily agreed and even gave him an additional thirty silver coins to purchase books.

So, during an outing to buy pens and ink, he entered a rather deserted-looking bookstore.

He intended to use this opportunity to read more books and gain a proper understanding of the world he was in.

In this world, knowledge belonged to the nobility. Common people struggled merely to survive and simply could not afford an education.

The bookstore owner did not recognize him. Seeing his shabby clothes, he had initially intended to drive him out.

But Lynn took out several silver coins and slipped them over while Skinny Monkey was not paying attention.

The owner froze slightly, then pretended nothing had happened as he tightly clutched the coins in his hand.

Lynn did not rush to buy anything. Instead, he casually picked up a book and began flipping through it.

Then, the instant his fingers brushed across the yellowed pages, a translucent screen abruptly unfolded before his retinas:

[Memory Library activated]

[Recording: Abridged General History of the Continent...1%...15%...]