Chapter 14: Old Mo, Steady as a Rock

Old Mo opened the bounty app on his phone and, as expected, saw that the park had just posted several more bounty missions, each offering around a million in reward.

“Old Mo, why don’t we take on another job?”

Chen Jiawang, who hadn’t had a chance to act earlier, was itching for action, flexing his fingers in anticipation, clearly eager to give it a try.

“We’d better play it safe without Sister Dan around. Let’s quit while we’re ahead—there’s something off about this place.”

With that, Old Mo almost sprinted away. The others had no choice but to follow him back to the compound, where Old Mo finally let out a sigh of relief.

Shen Xin, although still confused, didn’t ask any questions. In fact, he agreed with Old Mo—after all, it was Tang Ziran’s first mission, and it was better to err on the side of caution. As long as everyone was safe, that was what mattered.

Soon after, he received a transfer notification for 250,000. He accepted it without hesitation.

Chen Jiawang sat on the sofa, fiddling with his steel claw, and asked in confusion, “Old Mo, weren’t you always the brave one? Why so timid today?”

Old Mo, making tea, replied with a question, “Jiawang, have you ever encountered anything like this? Several monster attacks happening in the same park at once?”

“No, but those monsters were weak—why not take on more at once, make more money, and then rest for a while?”

“You can never earn all the money in the world, but you only have one life. If something happens to me, what will my daughter in elementary school do? Calm down, come have some tea.”

Chen Jiawang pouted but still got up to join him.

“You two as well,” Old Mo called.

Shen Xin waved his hand. “I don’t like tea.”

Tang Ziran shook her head too, smiling. “I prefer plain water. Tea is too bitter and astringent for my taste.”

Old Mo chuckled, “Still just a kid, after all!”

Sitting alone in an armchair, Shen Xin idly scrolled through his phone, browsing local news. He wanted to see if the incident at the industrial park had made the news, but found nothing. Instead, another headline caught his eye: the city’s blood bank had been robbed of two hundred bags of blood.

“What times we live in—even blood gets stolen now,” Shen Xin muttered to himself. Suddenly, he remembered He Xuantong, who had disappeared for several days now. Last he knew, He Xuantong had gone to donate blood, then vanished without a trace. He wondered how the kid was doing.

Shen Xin truly worried for He Xuantong. In three years of university, He Xuantong was the only one he was close to, especially during their time as roommates—they’d hung out nearly every day. Even when Yu Yanan invited him out, he’d always bring He Xuantong along.

Many tourist spots around Niucheng held photos of the three of them together.

Looking back, it was no wonder He Xuantong had fallen for the gentle and pure Yu Yanan.

Tang Ziran was also fiddling with her phone—one Shen Xin had bought her. She tapped away a bit clumsily, finally breaking into a sweet smile after quite some time.

Ding! “You have received a transfer of 10,000. Please check your account.”

When Shen Xin checked the message, he realized Tang Ziran had sent him ten thousand yuan.

“Ziran, you really didn’t have to do this.”

“Brother Shen, you bought me a phone and clothes before. I should pay you back.”

Seeing the earnest look on her face, Shen Xin accepted the money. He didn’t want Tang Ziran to feel indebted. To him, she was just like a little sister, and he didn’t want that simple-hearted girl to think he had any improper intentions toward her.

When Tang Ziran saw him accept the money, she breathed a happy sigh of relief. She hated owing people—it made her uncomfortable.

At lunch, Sister Dan joined them for the meal. Old Mo reported the day’s events, and Sister Dan nodded approvingly. “Old Mo, I trust your judgment. You did well—caution is the key to longevity. There’s no need for us to be reckless. For people like us, money isn’t as important as improving our abilities.”

Everyone found themselves nodding along to her words.

After lunch, Shen Xin hurried back to school for class. Now he was under the teachers’ close watch, and skipping was harder than ever.

Yu Yanan, upon seeing him, naturally gave him a scolding. Shen Xin just smiled, offering no explanation. Previously, to avoid worrying her, he’d simply said he’d found a job as a caretaker, earning three thousand a month.

Yu Yanan hadn’t doubted him, but she thought it wasn’t worth it for him to skip classes for such a small salary. In her eyes, students should always put their studies first.

Days passed quickly. Sister Dan remained reclusive, rarely seen except at meals. Old Mo, prudent and steady, only accepted bounty missions on rare occasions—sometimes not even one a month.

Gradually, Shen Xin grew lazy too, visiting the compound less and less. He only went there after dinner with Yu Yanan, around five in the afternoon, leaving again after picking Yu Yanan up from work after ten, and then returning alone to his rented room to sleep.

The main reason, though, was that Shen Xin had hit a bottleneck in his training—specifically, his eye technique had stalled.

After more than a month of practice, there had been no progress at all.

His physical skills had improved somewhat, but at lunch one day he confided in Sister Dan about his frustration.

After a long silence, Sister Dan led him into her room and, with great solemnity, handed him a yellowed booklet.

“Shen Xin, this is my family’s secret technique for cultivating spiritual power. You mustn’t let anyone else know about it, or I’ll be in serious trouble. Do you understand?”

“Sister Dan, don’t worry—at night I’ll just practice it alone in my rented room. No one but us two will ever know.”

Overjoyed, Shen Xin took the booklet and promised eagerly.

Only after repeating her warning several times did Sister Dan finally let him go.

Watching him leave, she muttered under her breath, “Of all these people, you have the greatest potential. Don’t let me down. One day, I will return to the Xu family in all my glory and reclaim everything that is rightfully mine.”

With the manual in hand, Shen Xin felt as though a hundred claws were scratching at his heart in anticipation. He endured until ten o’clock that night, then rode his beloved little scooter to pick up Yu Yanan. He politely declined her offer of a late-night snack, returned to his rented room, locked all the doors and windows, and gingerly opened the booklet that Sister Dan had given him, reading it carefully.

He read through it once, then analyzed each word and sentence. When he felt confident that he understood the first section, he began to meditate as instructed, calming his mind and gathering his energy.

The night slipped by in silence.

At dawn, Shen Xin opened his eyes.

He couldn’t tell if his spiritual power had improved, but his legs, folded all night, were nearly useless—he had to knead them for ages before he felt any sensation, and his back ached terribly. After sitting cross-legged all night, his whole body felt ready to fall apart.

Once he’d finally recovered, Shen Xin hobbled out to go to class.

In his unsteady state, several familiar classmates couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Oh hey, Shen Xin, you know what they say—there’s no such thing as exhausted land, only overworked oxen. Take care of yourself!”

“Shen Xin, did you and Yu Yanan battle until dawn last night?”

“Shen Xin, how many times did you go at it last night? You’re even trembling when you walk!”

Shen Xin couldn’t explain no matter what, so he simply kept quiet.

Yu Yanan protested on his behalf a few times, but ultimately buried her head in her desk, fuming inwardly, her mind filled with images of Shen Xin cheating on her.