Chapter Forty-Seven: A New Plan

Around five in the morning, Yi Shen returned to his rented apartment.

Today’s operation could be considered a success; at the very least, he had managed to glean some useful information. As long as he stayed out of sight, the group of people searching for him from behind the scenes should still be unable to track him down.

The only thing that left Yi Shen uneasy was his mother. He had no idea where she was now. Yesterday, so many places in the Jingmen Safe Zone were in turmoil—could his mother’s shadow have passed through the chaos, unnoticed among the crowds?

From the intelligence he had pieced together, some things had begun to come into focus. On the surface, all the recent commotion seemed like fallout from the Taohuawu incident, targeting Jingbei Industries. But beneath it, there was a high probability that the Bloodslaughter Guild or the River Guild had acted as catalysts in the affair.

The major guilds were seeing if they could shake Jingbei Industries’ position, while the smaller guilds vied for their own interests within Taohuawu’s sphere of influence.

As for An Qing, Yi Shen had some impression of him. He had visited Taohuawu’s headquarters before, back when An Qing wasn’t yet the vice president, but rather the head of logistics or something similar, and had treated him with a degree of courtesy.

But judging from his instincts, An Qing’s rank was definitely low among the management, and he lacked any real authority. For him to become president of Taohuawu, even if the guild didn’t collapse, it would surely be left in tatters.

There had been rumors outside that Yi Shen’s father had made a move against Uncle Zhao, but in recent days, such reports had grown scarce, and even members of the guild didn’t much believe it.

According to Bai Hongjiang, his father was still inside Moonlit Grounds and hadn’t come out. Yi Shen supposed that was why the authorities had yet to give a definitive statement on the matter. Many people still harbored misgivings about Taohuawu’s upper echelons and weren’t willing to go to extremes.

“I still need to improve my strength as quickly as possible,” Yi Shen muttered, sitting in his study and rubbing his temples as he pondered his next steps.

The new batch of equipment he’d acquired was still piled up in his room. He estimated he could sell it for twenty to thirty thousand contribution points, which was a sizable sum in most people’s eyes. Yet to Yi Shen, it felt insufficient, and the turnover was too slow.

What he lacked most now was still levels and contribution points. Higher levels would let him equip better gear and face high-level monsters without suffering so many penalties. Contribution points, on the other hand, would let him purchase more advanced skills and delve deeper into various studies.

Beyond that, Yi Shen realized he couldn’t limit himself to just grinding monsters. With all the different factions scrambling for a share in the current chaos, he had no reason not to take a piece for himself. Rather than scouring one secret realm after another, he figured the warehouses of the major and minor guilds must be stockpiled with goods.

When the opportunity arose, he planned to visit the storerooms of those larger guilds. Others might worry about how to offload what they took, but Yi Shen, given enough time, could break down all hoarded materials into his own attributes and skills.

For example, he could temporarily “borrow” Taohuawu’s supplies—it was his family’s property to begin with, so it hardly counted as stealing. As for Jingbei Industries’ goods, he could experiment with those as well; after all, he’d already dealt with some of their people, so a few more grudges wouldn’t matter.

If he got the chance, he might even pay the Bloodslaughter Guild a visit—they could very well be the hidden hand behind this incident.

With that, Yi Shen quickly began gathering information from the forums about the various chaotic zones and the locations of major warehouses. At this point, he couldn’t distinguish friend from foe; the only priority was to keep strengthening himself.

...

“You really can sleep,” Yi Shen remarked around eight in the morning, as the sun had already risen. He entered his bedroom and couldn’t help but sigh.

Zhu You was curled up, hugging her pillow and sleeping soundly, apparently oblivious to his nocturnal outing. She looked quite delicate and peaceful in her sleep, tucked into a corner with only her small head showing.

He had to admit, the Zhu sisters both had remarkably fine skin—you’d never guess their family circumstances were so modest.

Yi Shen sat down next to Zhu You without reservation and gently brushed her hair aside. His nerves had been strung taut for days, and watching the girl sleep eased some of his tension.

Perhaps sensing his presence, Zhu You unconsciously relaxed and turned over, one slender leg slipping out from beneath the covers. She was much more petite than Zhu Qing—one of the thinnest girls Yi Shen had ever seen. Her pink calf and fair, delicate foot looked like those of a porcelain doll. Yi Shen never considered himself a leg enthusiast, but even he was surprised.

Whoever married her would be truly fortunate; not just for a year, but even after ten, the only worry would be keeping up with her energy.

“Mmm.” Perhaps starting to wake, Zhu You squinted at him, finally realizing Yi Shen was sitting beside her. Embarrassed by her possibly inelegant posture, she immediately curled up tighter.

“I…” Zhu You hesitated, her cheeks flushing as she recalled the events of the previous day. She had half-expected something to happen, but hadn’t anticipated Yi Shen would stay out all night and only come back in the morning.

It was her first time sleeping in a boy’s bed, and the shame peaked as their eyes met.

“It’s nothing. Sleep as long as you want. Your sister messaged me—they’ve closed off the school. She said she’d try to find a way out today, but told you to be careful on your own,” Yi Shen said.

He’d received Zhu Qing’s message around four or five in the morning, and after he’d asked, she’d sent over a few photos. It was clear there was serious trouble at the First Martial School—apparently, several students had jointly reported multiple teachers, which had triggered a host of scandals. Now there was pressure on the school to deal with the implicated staff and clear up various backlogged issues.

“I’ll get up right now and make you breakfast!” Zhu You said, blushing as she tried to rise—only then remembering she was still in her pajamas.

Yi Shen glanced around, tossed her clothes onto the bed, and Zhu You got dressed. Once she was presentable, she checked her communicator.

“My sister messaged me too, told me to stick with you and not wander off.”

“Our school sent a notice as well—classes are temporarily suspended, and students are told to stay in their dorms and not leave campus.”

Zhu You replied to her sister and some classmates, clearly bewildered by the scale of the commotion.

Once up, Zhu You regained her composure. With her shoulder-length hair, she didn’t need much grooming. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much food in Yi Shen’s place, and the restaurants downstairs seemed to be closed as well. After searching together, they finally found a small wonton shop still open and decided to grab a simple meal.

The shop was modest, run by an elderly couple, and there weren’t many customers. It seemed the two proprietors were still unaware of recent events.

But halfway through their meal, a group of young men swaggered in, dressed in flashy clothes—some in black and red jackets, others carrying motorcycle helmets. Seven or eight of them barged in at once, startling the shopkeepers.