Wang Defa immediately pictured his happy family: his loving wife and his two obedient children.
Nothing mattered more than family.
One silver coin. Let him have it. I'll just take the loss.
"Okay, I understand."
Wang Defa quietly left the storeroom, closing the door behind him for Qin Siyang.
Qin Siyang opened the [Godslayer Camp] and [Sequence Education] forums and looked up everything he wanted to know.
Since this might well be his last chance to research here for a while, he went through every detail, no matter how small.
For some of the more complicated matters, he even used the paper and pen in the storeroom to take notes, lest a lapse in his memory lead to a serious mistake.
By the time Qin Siyang left the storeroom, it was already midnight.
The Internet Cafe had long since closed, and Wang Defa had gone home.
After locking the storeroom door and making sure no one was around, he hurried home.
"I really got a lot out of today."
After taking a cold shower, he lay on his bed and looked over his notes, speaking with heartfelt satisfaction.
"I'll have plenty to keep me busy over the next few days."
At around six the next morning, he got up and packed his things. Then he covered his face with his collar and put on a large hat. Once he was sure no one could recognize him, he headed out.
Instead of going straight to school, he first went to a general store, where he bought two envelopes, a sheet of writing paper, and a battered pencil for one copper coin. Then he asked the shopkeeper to put one envelope and the writing paper inside the other envelope.
Although the shopkeeper had no idea why Qin Siyang wanted this done, he complied.
Holding the envelope, Qin Siyang followed the route on the map he had looked up the night before and walked to the Police Bureau, thirty minutes from school.
It was still early, so only two officers stood guard outside the Police Bureau. The main doors remained half-open, with hardly anyone coming or going.
He looked around, and a faint smile appeared when he confirmed there was a public mailbox in front of the Police Bureau.
Then he went around to the alley beside it.
There were quite a few homeless people here. Most had entered society after graduating from high school, only to find themselves unable to get jobs in this impoverished area on the outskirts of the Safe Zone.
To make ends meet, they had sold the homes assigned to them by the United Government, becoming homeless in the process.
Where there were homeless people, there were naturally children living on the streets alongside them.
Many of these people, unwilling to be burdened by their children, abandoned them and went elsewhere in search of opportunities.
And so Qin Siyang saw several homeless orphans here as well.
He could not help feeling that the circumstances he had been reborn into were not the worst after all.
At least he could still attend school and had food to eat. Unlike the children in this alley, who had lost all hope from the moment they were born.
Though he felt pity, he could only sigh helplessly. He had no power to change any of this.
Qin Siyang walked along the dim alley and stopped in front of the orphan who looked the youngest.
"Can you read?"
The child's face was covered in grime. Chewing on his blackened fingernails, he stared curiously at Qin Siyang with wide eyes.
But Qin Siyang's entire face was hidden in shadow, so the boy could see nothing.
Qin Siyang asked again, "Can you read?"
The boy shook his head.
"Good."
Qin Siyang handed him the envelope.
"Open this envelope."
Although the boy did not understand, he did as he was told.
"Take out the envelope, paper, and pencil inside."
Once the boy had taken them out, Qin Siyang picked up a stick and found a patch of soft, damp earth.
"Copy the shapes I draw on the ground with this stick onto the paper."
Qin Siyang wrote two characters. The boy studied them for a long time but still had little idea what they meant.
"Just copy them."
The boy grabbed the pencil in his fist and began drawing on the paper, copying Qin Siyang's writing.
When he finished, he looked up at Qin Siyang again with his wide, innocent eyes.
"Very good. Put that paper inside the envelope you just took out."
At Qin Siyang's praise, the boy gave a shy smile.
"Then copy these characters I write onto the envelope."
The boy obediently did as he was told again, and Qin Siyang nodded.
"Great job! Can you help me put this envelope into the big box outside the Police Bureau?"
The boy seemed confused.
Qin Siyang rubbed out the marks he had just drawn on the ground and tossed the stick deeper into the alley. Then he said, "Come with me."
Qin Siyang led him out of the alley, where the brightly lit Police Bureau came into view.
"Do you see that big blue box?"
The boy nodded.
"Could you put this letter inside for me? You're so clever, I'm sure you can do it!"
For some reason, the sight of the Police Bureau frightened the boy a little.
"No... no..."
There was strong resistance in his eyes, as though he had suffered at the hands of the officers before.
"If you put it inside for me, I'll give you something tasty to eat."
As he spoke, Qin Siyang opened the lunchbox in his bag, revealing the rice with thousand-foot mushrooms.
The boy's eyes lit up instantly at the sight of food.
"You promise..."
"Yes. I won't go back on my word. I'll wait for you right here."
The boy clenched his teeth, seemingly making a tremendous effort to steel himself. Looking at the Police Bureau's mailbox, he gritted his teeth again and ran toward it as fast as he could.
Qin Siyang watched him put the letter into the mailbox, then run back.
Out of breath, the boy said indistinctly, "Food..."
"Great job!"
Smiling, Qin Siyang handed him the lunchbox.
The boy immediately began wolfing down the food.
Qin Siyang stood beside him and watched him finish, then put the lunchbox away.
"Was it good?"
The boy smiled and nodded.
"If you liked it, I'll bring you more next time. Oh, and if anyone asks you questions, make sure you tell them first that you can't read. Remember that?"
"Yes!"
Qin Siyang left the alley and turned toward school.
He could have given the boy tastier food. But only the cafeteria's food had a strong enough smell to muddle his scent and keep anyone from tracing it back to him.
"I hope we have a pleasant meeting tomorrow, Officer Roylena."
An hour later, officers began arriving at the Police Bureau one after another. Roylena was among them.
"Morning, Roylena!"
"Morning, Li Wei!"
Roylena greeted her colleagues warmly.
"Roylena, there... seems to be a letter for you here."
The clerk in the reception office frowned as he carefully tried to decipher the writing on the envelope, still uncertain.
"It might not be yours, but I think these characters... are supposed to say 'To Roylena.' What do you think?"
Roylena took the envelope. Looking at the distorted handwriting, she was a little puzzled too.
"When did it arrive?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe last night, maybe this morning. Anyway, I found it just now while sorting the mail. It might be some kid's prank."
"The envelope isn't sealed, either. I can open it and take a look. If it isn't for me, I'll leave it here for someone to claim."
"Yes, I think that's a good idea, Roylena."
Roylena smiled, opened the envelope, and took a look. The smile on her face immediately froze.
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