Qin Siyang and Wen Shu walked side by side out of the school. At an intersection, they were headed in different directions. Qin Siyang kept glancing over his shoulder, confirming that Li Jingwen and her friends weren't following them, before speaking up. "Don't worry—they're not coming. I'm really sorry you got dragged into this mess today."
Wen Shu looked at him, her expression complicated. In the end, she whispered softly: "Thank you." Her cheeks were still swollen from the slaps, making her words slightly muffled—which filled Qin Siyang with a touch more guilt.
Qin Siyang waved a hand. "Don't mention it. You got hit because of me—it's my fault, really. Seeing you like this makes me feel terrible."
"No. I got hit because of Li Jingwen and her friends, not because of you. You rescued me and sorted out the trouble for me afterward—I should be thanking you."
Qin Siyang looked into her unyielding eyes and shrugged. "But your eyes are saying something different from your mouth. I can see disgust in them."
"You're right. Rationally, I know you didn't do anything wrong. But emotionally, I can't help feeling distant from you. I hope you understand."
Qin Siyang fell silent for a moment. "Even after I slapped Li Jingwen twice for you and stopped her from causing more trouble later?"
Wen Shu nodded gently. "Even then." With that, she turned and walked away.
Qin Siyang felt a twinge of annoyance. Li Jingwen's stupidity and malice exceeded his expectations. Even when he'd been deceived in his past life, he'd only thought of her as a gold-digger playing the field. Now it seemed she was rotten to the core—beyond redemption.
Still, he couldn't help feeling remorse for dragging Wen Shu into this. It was an unwarranted disaster. If he were in her place, he would have already resorted to murder.
Qin Siyang sighed, picked up his food container, and headed home. Today's meal was still thousand-legged mushrooms—one of his favorite dishes from the cafeteria. Aunt Zhang, who served the food, seemed to know his preference and had given him an extra two spoonfuls. He'd thanked her warmly.
He carried a chair to the window, eating while watching the various gods wandering outside. He looked thoroughly enjoying himself, like a cat eating kibble while staring at a tank of delicious fish.
After finishing his meal, washing the container, and taking a cold shower, Qin Siyang went to bed. He'd finally come to his senses—what was the point of wasting time at home every night? Since he had nothing to do after returning, he might as well sleep early and get up early to keep his body in good shape. A good night's sleep always lifted his spirits and eased his worries.
Before leaving home the next day, he checked the calendar:
[Blue Star Calendar, January 5, 2010]
[Gregorian Calendar: Tuesday]
[Lunar Calendar: 22nd day of the 11th lunar month in the Jiyou Year. Suitable for sacrifices.]
As usual, he grabbed a cloth bag and his food container. But remembering the meddlesome teacher from the day before, he stuffed two old textbooks into the bag—this semester's books were long gone, so he'd taken last year's. It was just for show, anyway.
On his way to school, he detoured past the internet café again. This time, instead of Liu Dazhi, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard was sitting at the counter. Qin Siyang smiled faintly—his chance had come.
He pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, avoided the surveillance camera at the entrance, and waved for the bearded man to come outside. The man pointed at himself in confusion. "You looking for me?" Qin Siyang nodded. "Yeah."
The man looked puzzled but stepped out anyway. After all, Qin Siyang looked young, like a student—surely he wasn't up to no good. Once the man was outside, Qin Siyang led him to the alley behind the internet café.
The garbage was still piled up there, and the stench of swill was even stronger. Even Qin Siyang, who hated the cafeteria, had to admit it was a paradise compared to this place. The internet café owner covered his nose as he walked over, staring at his surroundings in disgust—as if he had no idea the garbage was being dumped behind his shop.
He muttered angrily. "That lazy bastard Liu Dazhi! I told him to take the garbage to the dump, and he just left it here! I'll teach him a lesson for sure!" Qin Siyang listened silently, saying nothing.
Once they reached the spot where he'd talked to Liu Dazhi the other day, Qin Siyang finally spoke. "Are you the owner of this internet café?" "Yeah, that's me."
"Two men were taken away by the police from your café the other day—one of them is my friend." The owner frowned. "What do you want with me if your friend got arrested?"
"You know what those two men were up to, don't you?" The owner wasn't a pushover. Hearing Qin Siyang's words and looking at his young face, he immediately grew alert. "What are you trying to say? Trying to pump me for information?"
"Pump you for information?" Qin Siyang chuckled softly. "No need. Before my friend was taken away, he sent me a message saying he left something here. I want to check the surveillance footage from that day."
The owner snorted. "You're messing with me, kid? Do you think you can just check the surveillance whenever you want?"
"The thing he left me is worth twenty silver coins. If we find it, I'll give you one." "Give me a silver coin? Look at you—your whole outfit isn't worth a few copper coins. Stop bragging to me…"
Before the owner could finish, Qin Siyang pulled out a silver coin. The coin glinted faintly white under the light, instantly grabbing the owner's attention. "You…" Qin Siyang flipped the coin, making a crisp metallic sound, then caught it.
"So, do we have a deal?" He'd kept this silver coin with him ever since he'd looted it from the three thugs. Carrying too many copper coins would clink and attract attention, but he only had one silver coin—easy to hide in his pocket without anyone noticing. Besides, silver coins were valuable; one could go a long way.
Yet because of his status, he couldn't spend it. He couldn't register at the Sequence Ability Administration yet, had no access to high-level transactions, and knew nothing about black markets. The silver coin was nothing but a useless burden.
But Qin Siyang knew well that as he grew stronger and became a registered Sequence Ability user, the coin's value would keep dropping—he'd never be short of money again. With his God-Eater talent, he could easily make back any fortune he spent.
So, to maximize its value, he chose to use it now. For example, to buy Liu Dazhi a coffin.
The owner swallowed hard. "What… what exactly do you people do?!" Qin Siyang smiled. "You don't know? Good. Not knowing will save you a lot of trouble."
"Back to the question. Can you handle this silver coin?" The owner's eyes darted back and forth. He gritted his teeth. "Follow me."
He led Qin Siyang to a dark small warehouse next to the internet café. Qin Siyang frowned—he'd never known this unused hut belonged to the café owner. The warehouse was cluttered with dusty, discarded machines, except for a table in the middle and the area around it, which was clean.
On the table were three monitors, each displaying four surveillance feeds. "All the surveillance is here. Find what you're looking for. But let's get this straight—even if you don't find it, you still owe me a silver coin." The owner seemed worried Qin Siyang would back out and spoke up as soon as they entered.
"Wait a minute." Qin Siyang interrupted. "What now?"
"Do I have to watch the footage here? Can't I use the computer at the counter? The light there is better—I can see clearer." The owner replied. "The counter computer is only for checking customers in and out and monitoring the systems. It can't play back footage."
Qin Siyang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked over to check the monitors. When he found the footage from January 3rd, he frowned—there was only footage from the evening, no morning or afternoon. "Why is there no footage from the morning of January 3rd?!"
The owner shrugged. "Electricity is expensive—I can't keep the cameras running 24/7. I usually turn them on every few days. Only when I know United Government inspectors are coming do I turn them on 24 hours in advance to record."
Qin Siyang clenched his fists, staring coldly at the owner. "Are you messing with me? Without footage from when the police came that morning, how am I supposed to find anything?"
The owner grinned, picking up a hammer from the side. "We had a deal—even if you don't find it, you have to give me the silver coin. Otherwise…"
Qin Siyang lifted his foot and stepped on an old CRT monitor nearby. Before the owner's eyes, he slowly crushed the metal monitor into a flat disc. He kicked the disc aside, smashing three or four more monitors with a single kick. "Otherwise what?"
The owner panicked instantly. "You… you're a Sequence Ability user!" Qin Siyang glanced at him contemptuously. "What kind of person do you think would be dealing with twenty-silver-coin items at a shabby internet café on the edge of the safe zone? Didn't you make any assumptions about my identity?"
"Or did you think I could never be involved in such a deal?" The owner was completely dumbfounded, his body trembling with fear as he dropped the hammer to the ground.
Qin Siyang's words were vague and cryptic, leaving the owner to imagine the worst. In an instant, the owner pictured a black market organization run by Sequence Ability users—and Qin Siyang as one of their enforcers collecting dues.
"Spare me! Spare me! I don't know anything! I didn't mean to interfere with your business!" Qin Siyang could tell the owner thought he was an outlaw running underground dealings. He decided to go along with the act, playing the role the owner had imagined.
"Of course I know you don't know anything. If you did and dared to hide it from me, you'd be dead by now." "Yes! Yes! I'm glad you understand!" The owner quickly groveled, seizing the opportunity to ingratiate himself.
"Still, you're lucky today. I'm a reasonable person." With that, Qin Siyang tossed the silver coin to the owner. The owner stared at the coin in his hand, feeling like it was burning him. He hastily refused. "No! No! I can't take this! You didn't find the footage—I can't take it for nothing!"
"I might need to come here again to look for things. I don't want to make a scene. This silver coin is hush money." "Is… is this okay?"
"Take it. It's yours." Qin Siyang walked up to him, patting him gently on the shoulder twice. "There's only one thing I'm worried about. You won't tell the police about this, will you? If you sell me out, the next time my people come, it won't be a silver coin they bring. Understand?"
"No! Never! You can trust me! As you probably know, I have some connections to run a café in this dump. Without evidence, the police can't touch me." The owner grinned obsequiously. "Besides, if I betray you, I'd have to hand over this silver coin. Why would I ask for trouble for so much money? Come anytime—if I find your thing, I'll keep it for you."
"Good. But I might need to use a computer here later. I expect you to keep it a secret." The owner replied. "Use the computer in the warehouse! This one for checking surveillance is the latest model! And the internet connection here is encrypted—even the police can't track it!"
He pulled a key from his waistband and handed it to Qin Siyang. Qin Siyang took the key, nodding in satisfaction. Suddenly, he thought of something. "This computer doesn't have any monitoring software, does it?"
"No! Only I can enter this warehouse, and I only use this computer myself. Why would I monitor myself?" "Good. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
"Don't mention it! Just tell me if you need anything! My name's Wang Defa—call me A Fa!" "Alright, A Fa. I'll remember. I'll report back about you. Don't worry—if I'm okay, you'll be okay too."
It was both a reassurance and a stern warning—keeping Wang Defa from daring to act behind his back. "Don't worry! I'll keep my mouth shut tight!"
"By the way, the last time I was here, there was someone else at the counter—not you." "Oh, you mean Liu Dazhi? He takes Tuesdays and Wednesdays off at home."
Qin Siyang nodded. "Then I'll come see you on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I have to go now." "Sure! Take care!"
After Qin Siyang left, Wang Defa looked at the silver coin in his hand, then at the crushed monitors, and let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced at the hammer on the ground, kicking it away in annoyance. What was he thinking, trying to threaten a Sequence Ability user as an ordinary person? He was lucky the Sequence user had a good temper—otherwise, he'd be dead by now.
Alone in the empty warehouse, he realized Qin Siyang's visit hadn't caused him any trouble—he'd even made a silver coin for free. Wang Defa bit the coin gently. "It's real silver, alright."
"But is this silver coin a blessing… or a curse?" After worrying for a long time, he finally came to his senses, his eyes hardening with resolve. "No great fortune comes without taking risks! If I'd been afraid of everything, I wouldn't have lived this long!"
"This great fortune was meant for me!" Meanwhile, after leaving the internet café, Qin Siyang smiled faintly and headed toward Liu Dazhi's house. He was in an excellent mood.
"No wonder the calendar said today is suitable for sacrifices."