Cackling and Crushing Everyone

There was no anger, nor any thought of revenge.

To Yu Sheng, all of this seemed only natural.

You had money, and others came to kill you.

Perfectly normal.

If he learned that the woman had only come to borrow money, though, he would probably have been surprised.

There was no such thing in Sin City.

Sitting on the coach back to Mobei City, Yu Sheng once again chose a window seat, as though it had become a habit, and silently watched the scenery flash past outside.

Just as Zhao Zicheng had said, he was a dull person.

He seemed unable to take an interest in anything in the outside world, apart from money and food.

An old man in shabby clothes with a wisp of a goatee suddenly stood up and looked around. Finally, his shifty eyes settled on Yu Sheng and lit up, and he sidled over.

"Ahem... cough, cough."

"Young man, want to buy some discs?"

"High definition, uncensored!"

As he spoke, he scanned his surroundings before cautiously pulling open a corner of his coat toward Yu Sheng.

Inside were rows of discs.

Their covers were a sea of bare flesh.

All one could say was that it was simple and blunt.

Looking at Yu Sheng's consistently calm, unruffled gaze, the old man frowned slightly.

He'd run into an expert!

Someone unmoved by a sight like this must have seen some seriously wild action!

"Well, uh..."

The old man lowered his voice even further, his eyes full of vigilance and wariness as he surveyed the surroundings. His words were barely above a mosquito's buzz. "I've got some with demon beasts, too."

As he spoke, he carefully took a disc from inside his coat, flashed it before Yu Sheng's eyes, then hurriedly tucked it away again.

It was as though it were some rare treasure.

His eyes positively brimmed with confidence, as if someone was bound to obediently hand over their money once he brought out this prized offering.

Sure enough.

Yu Sheng gave it a thoughtful glance, then silently took out his phone.

The old man obligingly held out a QR code and muttered, "Eighty."

But soon, the old man's eyes went wide.

Because the three digits Yu Sheng had entered were the damn Guard Bureau's number!

And the call had connected!

"Brother!"

Although he looked seventy or eighty years old, the old man burst into motion with a young man's speed, grabbing Yu Sheng's hand and tapping the button to hang up.

"No deal, no hard feelings."

"Leave a little room for mercy, and we can meet again on good terms!"

With the air of a seasoned street operator, the old man cupped his hands toward Yu Sheng, then turned and left without hesitation.

Yu Sheng lowered his phone with some regret and went back to letting his mind wander.

As the coach slowly entered Mobei City and drew closer to its final stop, the old man was still working his way from seat to seat, specifically seeking out young people to chat with.

Every so often, a young person would flush bright red, then furtively take out a phone and tuck something away.

In short, an air of innuendo had unknowingly crept over the previously quiet coach.

Two middle-aged men sitting at the very back stood up as though preparing to get off and moved toward the old man.

The old man was exceptionally alert.

After just a quick glance at the two men, he edged toward the door.

"He's noticed!"

"Move!"

"Don't run! Guard Bureau!"

The two middle-aged men were no fools either. Noticing something was wrong from the old man's movements, they shouted and charged over.

"I'm just earning a little hard-earned cash! Is this really necessary? Fuck!"

Cursing, the old man shook out his oversized coat, releasing faint energy fluctuations, then hurled himself toward the window.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, his body seemed to turn intangible as he passed straight through the window and fell onto the ground outside.

He staggered to his feet, pointed at the coach, and loudly hurled a couple of curses before limping away into the streets.

The two men from the Guard Bureau also took out their phones and spoke nonstop.

For a time, the scene was clamorous.

It was like an insignificant farce, nothing serious. Everyone watched curiously, and then it was over.

He got off.

Rather than going home, Yu Sheng went straight to an ATM, inserted his bank card, and expertly entered a string of numbers. He stared at the name on the account, a little lost in thought.

He had always appeared utterly calm, as though nothing in this world had anything to do with him.

Only now did a trace of sadness finally appear on his face.

With a soft sigh, he transferred most of this round's prize money to the account before turning to leave, though his retreating figure looked somewhat weathered.

But the moment he stepped onto the street, his back straightened again.

His face still bore that seemingly perpetual calm.

It had never changed.

No one knew just what this boy of only nineteen was carrying.

Yu Sheng...

An unwanted extra life, or... a life that had survived disaster.

And how he had entered Sin City, or what he had experienced there... no one knew.

For some inexplicable reason, though, he made people's hearts ache a little.

But did he really need anyone else's pity?

He returned home. The trip to Baichun City had taken only a day, and now that he had enough Demon Crystals, Yu Sheng spent the next two days at home.

The golden lines on the egg had grown longer and longer, as though they might spread across its entire surface at any moment.

And when that moment truly came, it would mean he would officially become an awakened.

With enough Demon Crystals, that day was no longer far off.

Perhaps he could fully awaken at any moment.

When the egg broke, life or death would be revealed.

Either he would soar to greatness and become a dazzling, peerless genius.

Or he would fade into the crowd and live out an ordinary life.

As for which of those two was truly more fortunate, that remained unknown.

When he came to school again, he found Zhao Zicheng squatting by the school gates like a little thug, with a burly bald man beside him.

The instant Zhao Zicheng spotted Yu Sheng, his eyes lit up, and he strode over in two steps.

"Boss Yu, you're finally back!"

"If you stayed away any longer, the whole school would be turned upside down."

The moment they met, Zhao Zicheng began wailing, the floodgates opening. "You have no idea how chaotic school's been these past few days."

"Didn't our Second High School win the assessment? Well, the people from the other two schools won't accept it."

"They come here to cause trouble every day."

"For some reason, all the teachers are pretending not to see it."

"In just three days, who knows how many students have been cornered in alleys and kicked around."

His face was bitter, but soon Zhao Zicheng rallied again. "But now that you're back, it'll be easy. Together, we'll be cackling and crushing everyone!"

He waved grandly. At that moment, Zhao Zicheng seemed to already see his own solitary figure standing amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Yu Sheng pondered for two seconds. "Will you handle the cackling?"

Zhao Zicheng's hand froze in midair. He wanted to toss out a couple of smart remarks, but had no idea what to say.