Elder Bai returned to Lin Mo's home.
Lin Mo looked at Elder Bai in surprise and asked,
"Grandpa, where did you go? I spent ages looking for you."
Elder Bai smiled.
"I went to see an old friend and got caught up in our conversation, so I came back a little late."
Lin Mo's expression remained unchanged as he smiled.
"That's good. I thought you might have run into some trouble outside."
Elder Bai shook his head with a chuckle.
"What trouble could an old man like me get into? It's late. Go get some rest. I'm going to wash up and turn in too."
Lin Mo nodded.
"All right. Get some rest, Grandpa."
Back in his room, Lin Mo looked at the character on his system's Light Screen. Nothing had changed, and his expression darkened. Had that old bastard not gone to make trouble for Cheng Yu?
No, that's unlikely, Lin Mo thought. He asked about my situation today. Knowing that old bastard, he wouldn't just ignore it, especially now that he's decided I'm going to be his grandson-in-law.
Then where did things go wrong?
Damn it!
Bang! Lin Mo slammed his fist into the desk.
"Little Lin, what's wrong? I heard a noise in your room."
Elder Bai's voice came from outside the door.
"N-nothing. I accidentally bumped into the desk."
Lin Mo steadied his breathing and answered in a cheerful voice.
"Oh, all right. Be more careful."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Elder Bai turned away with an unreadable expression. As the pinnacle of individual martial prowess in this world, he could certainly distinguish between the sound of a fist hitting a desk and someone accidentally bumping into it.
Moreover, judging from the breathing he had just heard, Lin Mo was angry. Yet Elder Bai had come over quickly, and there had been no sound of a phone call or message notification in between. What was he angry about, then?
Elder Bai sneered. Just as Little Yu had said, this boy was hiding a great deal.
In Cheng Yu's room.
Convert the currency, Cheng Yu said inwardly.
Accompanied by the clinking of coins, Cheng Yu opened his system panel.
"Strongest Wage Earner System" (glittering gold) "Host: Cheng Yu (Black Iron Three-Star) Ability: Heart-Bewitching Spell (Black Iron Three-Star) Equipped title: 'The Kid Watched by the Big Shot' (Epic) Title: 'The Kid Watched by the Big Shot' (Epic). Ability effects: ... (click to expand) Equipment: None Achievements: None Currency: 4,050 Items held: Carbon-Based Virus (Black Iron Two-Star), Big Shot's Aura (Epic) Evaluation: You barely qualify as a weakling now. Although you relied on outside help, Black Iron is still Black Iron (lol). Keep working hard."
I've got a little money to my name now, haven't I? Cheng Yu mused, rubbing his chin.
"But you can't even afford Bronze goods ( ﹁ ﹁ )"
The system popped up, showing him no mercy.
An angry vein bulged on Cheng Yu's forehead. (╬￣皿￣)
Then he smiled and said softly,
"System, do you want to know the terror of being dominated by your host?"
The system replied,
"Heh heh ๑乛◡乛๑"
Cheng Yu smiled, then silently mouthed two words.
Big Shot.
A line suddenly popped up on the system's Light Screen.
"Shameless host! Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts (눈益눈). You call for the Big Shot all day long. Can't you play fair?"
Cheng Yu sighed.
"Ah, having the Big Shot look after me feels so much better than struggling on my own. As for fighting one-on-one, that's never happening. Not in this lifetime. I don't even know how to throw a punch, so all I can do is call for the Big Shot to scrape by."
System: ...
Cheng Yu sneered. Still trying to mouth off to me? Don't you know who's in charge?
After putting the system in its place, Cheng Yu lay on his bed and thought about his next steps. He had secured Elder Bai's cooperation, so it was about time to start wrapping things up.
Seven months, huh? I've nearly cleared the whole thing in just over a month. Yep, I'm fucking amazing. 乁( ˙ ω˙乁)
As for the Big Shot, heh, how could mere mortals like us judge him? You think saying the Big Shot isn't awesome makes it true? What a joke. (¬◡¬)✧
A month passed in the blink of an eye. At the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau,
Cheng Yu handed a pile of document envelopes to the police officer in front of him.
The chief clasped Cheng Yu's hand and said excitedly,
"Mr. Cheng, thank you so much! The people of Jiangcheng need heroes like you. I must hold a commendation ceremony to honor your contributions to Jiangcheng."
Cheng Yu declined with a serious expression.
"Thank you for your kindness, but there's no need for a ceremony. I only did this to restore peace and justice to Jiangcheng. If you must put something in writing, just call me a good citizen of Jiangcheng."
Moved to tears by Cheng Yu's words, the chief thought, What a fine young man. He fights evil without seeking fame or fortune. A true role model for us all.
He immediately assured Cheng Yu,
"Rest assured, Mr. Cheng. We will arrest every one of these criminals and bring them to justice."
Cheng Yu nodded. "I trust that your sense of justice won't tolerate any wrongdoing. I'll take my leave, then."
After waving goodbye to the police chief, Cheng Yu left the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau.
Throughout the past month, Cheng Yu had been gathering evidence of the crimes committed by Jiangcheng's underworld forces, led by Wang Long.
Even with the script in hand, there were simply too many people involved, and they had committed far too many crimes.
It wasn't that Jiangcheng's police hadn't wanted to deal with them over the years. But these people covered their tracks too well, and witnesses and victims' families were unwilling to testify in court. Without decisive evidence, the police could do little about them.
What Cheng Yu had delivered today, however, was precisely that decisive evidence. People like Wang Long and Flower Snake probably wouldn't be escaping a bullet now.
While driving to his company, Cheng Yu called out inwardly,
"System, show your host what discounted goods you've got this month."
An item description appeared on the system's Light Screen.
"Mad Song (Gold Three-Star): This blade was the final work of a master smith infected by the madness factor. It is an accursed blade forged through the sacrifice of an entire level-four magic civilization. Any action defined as an attack and carried out with this blade will be imbued with the power of madness and distortion. If the target's rank is lower than the blade's, it will ignore all defensive actions. If the target's rank is higher than the blade's, each attack has a chance of ignoring defensive actions, with the probability determined by the target's rank. This blade will also devour everything to strengthen itself. In other words, it can be upgraded, but its maximum rank is Epic. Warning (blood red): Whoever wields this blade will fall into the Abyss of madness. While life endures, Mad Song shall never cease. -Nafurand" "Price: 14,000,000 currency (title effect triggered: 50% discount. Discounted price: 7,000,000 currency)."
Looking at the black-and-red long blade in the description, Cheng Yu decided he liked it very much. Unfortunately, he had no money. ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3
Its ability to upgrade itself was especially amazing. He also understood why a Gold item was being sold at the price of a Legendary item.
As for that warning, heh. As The Kid Watched by the Big Shot, I'm immune to all information contamination with a standing lower than the Big Shot's. His standing is The Unspeakable! Never mind its current Gold rank-even if it grows to Epic, I wouldn't give it a second- ahem, the Big Shot wouldn't give it a second glance.
But it's so expensive. He pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the system's Light Screen. An idea immediately came to him.
"Ahem!" Cheng Yu cleared his throat and said gently,
"System, tell me, how do I usually treat you?"
The system's Light Screen displayed,
"Not very well →_→"
Cheng Yu chuckled awkwardly, then said,
"But I really want it, dear system."
"Heh heh. This system-your dear system-might actually have a solution."
Cheng Yu feigned surprise.
"Oh? Then tell me all about it, dear system."
"Actually..."
The word first appeared on the system's Light Screen, followed by another message.
"You can save up 14,000,000 currency and buy it."
Cheng Yu's face darkened. I need you to teach me that? But before he could lose his temper again, another message appeared on the system's Light Screen.
"There is another way."
Cheng Yu gritted his teeth.
"Go on."
The system's Light Screen showed no response.
Cheng Yu took a deep breath and said,
"Dear system, please tell me~"
Another message popped up on the system's Light Screen.
"Once you have 9,800,000 currency, go five consecutive months without buying any discounted store items, then buy it directly using your title effect. Well? Your dear system just saved you 4,200,000 currency. Aren't I considerate?"
Cheng Yu finally understood. This thing had no solution either. He would just have to save up honestly. So he ignored the system as it continued boasting. Sooner or later, he would buy that blade.
After reaching his office, he sent Le Shuya a message.
"Miss Le, I believe I'll soon be able to show you my sincerity."
Elsewhere, Le Shuya stared at the message, lost in thought.
She had been considering her revenge plan all this time. Going straight after Lin Mo wasn't realistic.
So she intended to start with Wang Long and Flower Snake. But she had indeed been very busy lately. Lin Mo had left everything to her, and to avoid exposing herself, she had no choice but to give the work her all.
Although she had a few ideas, she still hadn't had time to put them into practice.
Seeing Cheng Yu's message, Le Shuya wondered whom he might target.
She finally settled on Flower Snake, privately reasoning that a man as terrifying as Cheng Yu would have little trouble dealing with Flower Snake.
Yog sat on the sofa, raised his teacup, and took a small sip before speaking to Miss Puppet behind him.
"The show in this world is almost over. In the next world, I intend to have you all take the stage."
Standing behind Yog, Miss Puppet said,
"Your will comes before all else, Your Eminence."
Yog said teasingly,
"I'm looking forward to your performances in the next world."
Miss Puppet's expression remained cold as she spoke in a gentle voice.
"Your Eminence already knows how we will perform."
Yog smiled and shook his head, then said softly,
"How dull."
Ten days later.
A news report caught Le Shuya's attention.
On the screen, the chief of the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau spoke with high spirits.
"Nine days ago, we were able to crack Jiangcheng's largest organized crime case thanks to the decisive evidence supplied by a citizen of Jiangcheng who wishes to remain anonymous. That evidence brought our crackdown to a successful conclusion. Here, on behalf of all of Jiangcheng, I would like to thank this unsung hero."
The court's verdicts followed.
For violating a series of criminal statutes, including..., defendant Wang Long was sentenced to death for his combined offenses, to be carried out immediately.
For violating a series of criminal statutes, including..., defendant Zhang San, alias Flower Snake, was sentenced to death for his combined offenses, to be carried out immediately.
Defendant...
Just then, a message arrived. It was from Cheng Yu.
"Miss Le, this is my sincerity. I hope you're satisfied."
Before long, Cheng Yu received a message containing only two words.
"Thank you."
Before you continue