A failed stakeout

After finishing his conversation with [Exile], Qin Siyang left the warehouse, went home, washed up, and went to bed.

"Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow," Qin Siyang told himself before falling asleep.

[January 22, 2010, Earth Era]

[Western Calendar, Friday.]

[Xia Calendar, year of the Earth Ox, eighth day of the twelfth month, Laba Festival, auspicious for travel]

It was Friday, but Qin Siyang did not go to school.

There simply wasn't enough time.

Safe Zone Exit No. 38324 was twenty-one bus stops away from his home.

Even with his newly advanced Sequence and further improved physical fitness, it would take him five or six hours to walk there, making the round trip more than ten hours.

That did not even include the time he would spend waiting for a chance to hide the silver coin.

With everything factored in, he might not get home until the early hours of Saturday.

As for taking the bus?

He would have no way to get off before the bus reached a stop, which would restrict his route.

His own two feet were the one means of travel that would never let him down.

Provided, of course, that he had enough stamina.

To avoid losing time to any more trouble along the way, Qin Siyang set out early in the morning.

By the time he reached the vicinity of Safe Zone Exit No. 38324, it was already one in the afternoon.

There were not many people at the exit at that hour.

The Sequence Ability Users had all gone to eat lunch or take a break.

Naturally, the ordinary people hoping to pick up scraps from the Sequence Users had dispersed as well, leaving only a few lonely figures wandering near the Safe Zone exit.

Qin Siyang hid his face inside his hoodie's roomy hood. After counting the paving tiles, he walked past as if nothing were wrong. While no one was watching, he lifted a tile just enough to open a narrow gap, then flicked the silver coin underneath as quickly as he could.

After lowering the tile, he stepped onto it, making sure it sat at the same height as the surrounding tiles and looked no different.

Thump, thump-

After two dull thuds, Qin Siyang confirmed that the tile was firmly in place, then turned and left.

Next, Qin Siyang found a corner where ordinary people gathered to rest.

Many ordinary people sat or lay there, squeezing in as much rest as possible. Once the Sequence Users began leaving the Safe Zone to hunt gods, they would have to get busy too.

It was extremely crowded, with over a thousand people packed into the tiny space, simply because it was so close to the Safe Zone exit.

If any Sequence Ability Users approached, they would spot them just by looking up.

Although places close to the Safe Zone exit were colder, huddling together allowed them to shield one another from the chilly wind.

Besides, what was a little cold compared to a chance to turn their lives around?

Qin Siyang carefully avoided the people lying on the ground for their midday nap, found a spot with barely enough room to stand, and squeezed between the people on either side.

Then, under the disdainful gazes of those around him, Qin Siyang plopped down on the ground just as they had.

He took his lunch box out of his bag and began wolfing down the food.

The moment he opened it, everyone around him looked disgusted.

Although they were all ordinary people, they could still afford ingredients and cooked their own meals at home.

Nobody's cooking smelled as awful as the food in Qin Siyang's lunch box.

Even a simple stir-fry with a little oil and salt could never give off such a nauseating smell!

A middle-aged woman beside him finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Young man, you're so young that your mother probably made that meal, right? Her cooking smells terrible! Giving her those ingredients was such a waste!"

Qin Siyang swallowed the Nine-Tailed Black Rat meat, then said expressionlessly, "My mother's been dead for years."

The middle-aged woman froze for a moment, then asked, "Did your father make it?"

"My father's dead too."

The middle-aged woman sat with her mouth open for a long time after hearing that. She wanted to say something, but ultimately fell silent and made no further comment.

An elderly woman on Qin Siyang's other side murmured to herself, "Poor child. He looks like he's only just graduated from high school, but there's already no future left for him."

Qin Siyang continued eating the cafeteria food in his lunch box, ignoring everyone else's remarks.

Once he finished, he packed up his lunch box and put it back in his bag, intending to use the bag as a pillow and lie down to rest.

This time, he did not try to squeeze his way in. The people around him shifted of their own accord, making room for him to lie down.

"Thank you."

Without looking at anyone in particular, Qin Siyang offered a general word of thanks for the small kindness those around him had shown.

When he lay down, he did not close his eyes and fall asleep. Instead, he kept staring blankly in one direction.

Others might have thought he was feeling melancholy or reminiscing about something.

In reality, his gaze remained fixed on the tile beneath which he had hidden the silver coin.

Although [Exile] had told him to leave the coin there before tonight, he did not believe [Exile] would necessarily wait until tomorrow or later to retrieve it.

If I were [Exile], I'd find a way to retrieve the silver coin tonight.

The agreed deadline for the transaction is tonight. It's almost here.

From what Roylena said, she seems to have gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble by hiring someone to falsify her Sequence and giving them leverage over her... She's unpleasant, but she was right. I really do need to come up with a countermeasure.

Fail to plan ahead, and trouble will soon be at your door.

Qin Siyang couldn't help reflecting that both the direct and indirect risks of living a second life were getting somewhat beyond his control.

But he understood that slacking off now would only cause trouble later. He could not afford to let his guard down.

So he patiently kept watch there.

When the midday break ended, teams of Sequence Ability Users began setting out from the exit. The crowd started gathering around them again, packing Safe Zone Exit No. 38324 so tightly that there was no room to move.

Qin Siyang moved in with the crowd, staying near the tile the entire time to ensure it never left his sight.

Whenever Sequence Ability Users entered or left through the exit, these people would swarm them, advertising the deals they hoped to make.

Some were selling houses.

Some offered services.

Some were pitching their own daughters.

Swept along by the crowd, Qin Siyang moved back and forth, his face hidden beneath his hood, looking like an awkward fellow who had never seen much of the world.

Nobody knew why he had come.

But nobody cared, either.

To the other ordinary people, another silent fool beside them meant one fewer competitor.

Perhaps he was too reserved and embarrassed to speak up. Or perhaps he wanted to become some female Sequence Ability User's favorite and had yet to find a target.

No one paid any attention to Qin Siyang's thoughts, and no one cared about them.

Everyone who came here had a powerful sense of purpose, hoping today would be the day they finally turned their lives around. Who had time to bother with an idler?

And so, moving like a puppet with no will of his own, Qin Siyang followed the crowd's ebb and flow until he unexpectedly ended up right beside the tile.

He had deliberately kept some distance from it, staying only close enough to keep it in sight, precisely to avoid alerting his target.

Yet the shifting crowd had brought him right next to it.

Forget it. I only got pushed here by chance anyway. If I immediately dodged away, I'd look guilty instead.

Qin Siyang continued to act passively, letting the crowd carry him along.

Finally, he was shoved onto the tile and planted a foot on it.

Thud.