A Zhi-ge

Ji Sinan-that was his brother's name!

The name was so rare that it was almost impossible for someone else to share it.

"Is it my brother?" Ji Tan tightened his grip on the paper and looked at Xie Zhi, excited and nervous, waiting for confirmation. If the purpose of crossing into another world was to see his brother, then any amount of suffering would have been worth it.

Xie Zhi stared ahead without returning that burning gaze. He drew a breath, seemingly wanting to say something, but not a word came out for a long while. He only shook his head.

The corners of Ji Tan's mouth, just about to rise, instantly froze. In disbelief, he read the name on the paper again. Every character matched-the "Sinan" from golden-thread nanmu wood.

Their mother had chosen the name. She had a southern accent and thought "jin" and "ji" sounded the same. "Ji Sinan, golden-thread nanmu-one listen, and everyone'll know my boy's precious."

"Are you sure?" Ji Tan asked, unwilling to give up.

"I don't know." Xie Zhi murmured that strange sentence and said nothing more.

Ji Tan stopped asking and merely read through the contract in his hands again. The signature at the bottom wasn't handwritten; it had been printed and stamped with a fingerprint, so he couldn't tell from the handwriting whether it was his brother.

Judging by Xie Zhi's reaction, he had probably already checked when he saw the documents. But he hadn't said yes or no. He had only shaken his head.

The situation was probably more complicated than he had expected. Ji Tan smoothed out the contract copy and tucked it into the proposal.

The page it opened to was titled "AI automated evolution and upgrade plan-creative logic," and it read:

[A Qiang may freely gather information and use the social relationships and life experiences of real people as models for further adaptation and creation...]

This was a new feature Ji Tan had added to the AI. Because the characters A Qiang created were too stiff, the team had studied the creative logic of over a hundred human authors and distilled a shortcut for beginners creating characters: find a person in reality or history and model a character on their life to produce a logically consistent characterization.

Ji Tan rubbed between his brows. A Qiang had written this book. If it had activated this new feature, it might have gathered the personal information he stored on his work computer and used his family members' names directly in the novel.

Perhaps when he went to the Western District, he would meet a stranger named Ji Sinan who looked like Xiao Li from the next workstation.

Thinking of Xiao Li's wise-looking, slanting eyes, Ji Tan finally calmed down. Seeing was believing; he should go take a look himself. As for this loan shark debt...

"One million, exactly the amount owed. Huo Zhaixing, that bastard!" Ji Tan gritted his teeth. No wonder a mighty Overlord was paying even the remaining eight hundred thousand in installments. He was using this money to keep the original owner under his thumb and make him obey.

He was afraid that giving him too much money would let him run away. The loan sharks collected monthly, so Huo paid monthly. At the slightest disobedience, he would cut off the money, and the brother left in the Western District would immediately be harassed.

"Exactly. That piece of shit isn't even worth shit," Xie Zhi agreed.

"Oh no!" Suddenly alarmed, Ji Tan reached out and slapped Xie Zhi's arm. "Drive faster. I need to go to the Western District right now."

"What's wrong?" Xie Zhi didn't understand. "Let's eat first."

"There's no time. This month's payment is due." Ji Tan pointed at the date on the contract.

He had been married to Huo Zhaixing for two months. The payments for those two months had probably come from the initial two-hundred-thousand deposit. Now it was the third month, and Huo had tricked the original owner into going to the hospital, presumably saying he would pay after the surgery so that Ji Tan would cooperate obediently.

Now that Ji Tan had run away, naturally, that hundred thousand was gone too.

Ji Sinan was in danger.

"Take this and use it." Xie Zhi took out a black card and handed it to Ji Tan.

"What, are you playing the domineering CEO too? I don't want it." Ji Tan didn't take it. "If you want to give me money, pay me the performance bonuses you owe me instead."

Black cards were all credit cards; anything spent had to be repaid. Besides, Overlords usually gave out supplementary cards, so they knew everything you charged. After all his years making his way in the world, little Ji Tan wasn't falling for that.

Traffic congestion brought them to a temporary stop.

Amused, Xie Zhi put away the black card and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

Without thinking, Ji Tan rattled off, "Seven hundred sixty-three thousand fifty-five yuan and ninety-six cents!"

"..." Xie Zhi stared blankly for a long while, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He obediently lowered his head, did a few things, and handed him a gold card. "I can tell Director Ji has been thinking about that number day and night."

Ji Tan snatched the card. "Of course I have. I've already written over a dozen arbitration applications. I was thinking that if this proposal didn't pass either, I'd quit and file for arbitration, make you pay until you had to pawn your pants."

With one hand propped on the steering wheel, Xie Zhi watched young President Ji explain to his unscrupulous boss the methods and means he had prepared to defend his rights, and couldn't help rubbing his itching fingertips.

He wondered whether reaching out to ruffle his hair now would get him extorted by Director Ji.

City A's Beichen District was bigger than any city in reality. The Maybach crawled along in fits and starts for over three hours before finally approaching the checkpoint to the Western District.

As they slowly entered the queueing lane, Xie Zhi pointed at a distant parking area. "I can only take you that far. You'll have to go through the checkpoint yourself."

Even without his newly acquired status as consul, Xie Zhi was already a "big shot" as Beichen District's dictator, so naturally, he was on the list of people restricted from crossing districts.

"Got it." Ji Tan checked his identification and documents, figuring it would be much like going through customs. His ID card listed him as a Xili District resident; perhaps there was even a fast lane for locals.

Xie Zhi hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Once you leave Beichen District, I won't be able to protect you. I have enemies in the Western District. I'd only bring you trouble."

"It's fine. I don't need that." Ji Tan checked the home address on the loan shark contract once more, packed everything away, and tied the paper bag's handles together to guard against thieves.

Xie Zhi said nothing more and silently parked in the designated spot.

Ji Tan opened the car door, then suddenly looked back. "Oh, right..."

Xie Zhi's eyes instantly lit up, and he looked over expectantly.

"What's the PIN for this card?" Ji Tan asked sincerely.

Xie Zhi said, "...Your birthday."

"Okay." Ji Tan blinked. The man was quite considerate, remembering to change the PIN to a number he could remember before giving it to him.

The car door shut, separating them into two worlds.

Xie Zhi slowly lowered the window and watched the figure walk away without looking back, letting out a soft sigh.

Ji Tan walked a few steps, then ran back. To Xie Zhi, who had lowered his head and was lost in some unknown thought, he said, "Thank you, A Zhi-ge."

Xie Zhi abruptly looked up. As he looked at Ji Tan's smiling, crescent-shaped eyes, his lips trembled slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

Back then, his brother had put an arm around Xie Zhi's shoulders and introduced him. "This is my best friend, A Zhi. Tantan, call him A Zhi-ge."

Ji Tan turned and looked up at the enormous purple neon sign reading "Xili District checkpoint," blinking away the sting in his eyes. He stepped forward to cross.

People had to learn to grow up. With his brother gone, he couldn't keep depending on a substitute for him. That wasn't fair to Xie Zhi either. He was only his brother's friend.

The procedures at the checkpoint weren't complicated. Much as Ji Tan had guessed, there really was an "express lane for district residents." Holders of Xili District ID cards could cross first, with a much simpler process.

"Is this the latest trend in Beichen District?" The woman inspecting his luggage pointed curiously at Ji Tan's blue-and-white striped outfit.

"Ah, yes. Hammock style." Ji Tan had almost forgotten his own outrageous outfit. Unsure what would happen if he was suspected of being an escapee from a psychiatric hospital, he could only make something up.

"Hahaha, you know, I really do have a hammock with that pattern at home." The woman, wearing purplish-red lipstick flecked with gold, happily accepted this fashion style. She even warned him not to take unlicensed taxis or motorcycle taxis after leaving customs, since he could easily get ripped off.

The people of the Western District were so friendly.

Ji Tan listened in bewilderment. A world as extravagant as City A had unlicensed taxis too? Xili District and Beichen District seemed very different.

Once he left customs, the paper bag in Ji Tan's hand dropped to the ground with a thud.

The architecture was completely different from the North District's. Taller, more densely packed buildings stood in close ranks, neon lights predominantly in red, blue, and purple blazed dazzlingly, and staggered, spiraling overpasses stretched beyond sight...

The cyberpunk Western District.

For no apparent reason, Ji Tan felt a little frightened.

The towering buildings themselves were pitch-black, like monsters ready to swallow people, yet brilliant neon lights wound around them like colorful clothes disguising the monsters.

"It's fine. Just pretend this is Chongqing." Ji Tan tried not to look at the skyscrapers that defied basic physics and focused on figuring out the road exits.

"Hey, handsome. Need a motorcycle ride?" A clear, steady, somewhat familiar voice came from the distance.

Ji Tan looked up and saw someone in trendy clothes, straddling a colorful souped-up scooter with one foot on the ground... Xie Zhi.