Chapter Ten: What Kind of System Repair Is This?

Seeing the words “Blessing Points,” Kuroba felt a surge of delight. This system had only been activated for a few hours, and it had done nothing but give him one scare after another. But unlike Resentment Points, Blessing Points were clearly something good.

Even though the data didn’t specify Chen Yang this time, Kuroba was certain it had to be her.

Excellent. Truly a good person.

“It’s because of fighting and brawling that you were brought in here, you know?” Chen Yang suddenly looked up at Kuroba, her tone noticeably warmer. Clearly, after Kuroba’s help, her attitude had improved.

“Fighting and brawling? Who did I fight?” Kuroba asked, puzzled.

Chen Yang lifted her chin, gesturing to the black tiger of a man sprawled behind her.

“Understood,” Kuroba nodded obediently. That was how one should act in front of the police, especially as a suspect—do everything to win their leniency.

Honestly, he was deeply troubled by his current predicament. This was the police station, not just any place. His face and information had already been recorded.

This wretched system—he hadn’t made a cent, only gotten himself into trouble.

Come to think of it, when had he gotten into a fight? All he remembered was being outside Uncle Liu’s house—or rather, what used to be his house, now nothing more than an empty lot. The system had suddenly warned him of danger, and the next moment, he was here.

Was he being shielded from something? He didn’t get it.

As Kuroba pondered this, he subconsciously stroked his chin—and was startled to find his beard had grown so thick. He reached further up—his nose seemed much larger than before.

His expression shifted repeatedly. Had the system given him some sort of protection?

But then again, if he was so formidable, how did he end up at the police station?

He couldn’t make sense of it.

Still, it was probably for the best—not his own face, and he had unexpectedly acquired Blessing Points.

It had to be a good thing. He needed to figure out exactly how to use them.

“Hey, system, get me out of here.” Kuroba screamed inwardly.

[Repair progress: 90% remaining]

“Piece of junk,” Kuroba cursed silently.

Luckily, it wasn’t his real face.

Never mind, he’d just have to wait. It was a rare experience, after all.

Kuroba’s mood improved considerably. Having helped the policewoman, she’d likely be much easier to talk to now.

Officer Chen Yang, meanwhile, was completely absorbed in her own excitement, staring at her notebook. This was wonderful—soon, she would see him again.

Seven-o-five—what date was that? Today, or tomorrow?

She’d only met that handsome man at noon. Was the appointment tonight?

Chen Yang glanced at her watch.

Then came a sharp pang of disappointment, as if her dreams had just shattered.

It was already midnight. If the appointment was for tonight, she had completely missed it.

All the fault of this fat man—why did he have to get caught in the middle of the night? He should have been arrested this morning and helped her crack the code.

What a wretched fellow.

Chen Yang shot Kuroba a look of pure vexation.

Resentment Points from Chen Yang: +999… Blessing Points reduced to zero.

What was this?

Kuroba, who had just been delighted, was dumbfounded. Why had Chen Yang suddenly developed such deep resentment toward him?

Had he deciphered the code incorrectly?

No, the system wasn’t usually this underhanded. Well, except for the occasional trick—like landing him in a police station this time.

Suddenly inspired, Kuroba smiled and said, “Officer Chen, could I take another look? I think I may have missed something in the code.”

Chen Yang eyed him suspiciously but eventually handed him the notebook.

Kuroba examined the mysterious code again. There were five Arabic numerals, and when he closed the notebook to check the barcode on the back, he found six more numbers circled—eleven digits in all.

A phone number.

He laughed—how simple! Even he could manage this.

Chen Yang felt a wave of disgust at the smile on Kuroba’s face, but curiosity got the better of her. What had this man discovered?

Kuroba laughed again.

Behind him, the black tiger of a man started laughing foolishly as well.

“Ha… hahahic… haha…”

Resentment Points from Liu Dali: +700… Resentment Points from Liu Xili: +900…

Kuroba stopped, bewildered by this sudden influx of resentment.

“What did you find?” Chen Yang asked, forcing a smile.

“Officer Chen, tell me when I can get out of here, and I’ll tell you,” Kuroba replied, smarter this time. He really didn’t want to spend another minute here.

He needed to find Uncle Liu’s real murderer and bring Yi Ren Zhishu to justice.

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

“Fighting and brawling—you beat the other guy pretty badly. You’re looking at a minimum of three years,” Chen Yang said.

Kuroba’s face went deathly pale.

He shoved the notebook back into Chen Yang’s hands.

Resentment Points from Chen Yang: +20…

So little? Not even worth noting.

Never mind. He wasn’t actually going to prison—he’d be out soon enough.

He might as well tell her.

“That’s a phone number. Those Arabic numerals combined with the circled digits make eleven—give it a call and see what happens,” Kuroba said, then sat down next to Liu Dali.

Chen Yang’s face lit up. She pulled out her phone and dialed.

Soon, someone answered.

“Hello!” The voice was a little lazy, probably just woken up, but Chen Yang recognized it immediately—it was the handsome man she had met today.

“Hello, this is Chen Yang—we met earlier today.”

“Oh.” The man sounded barely awake, replying mechanically.

“I’m the policewoman, remember?”

“Oh… policewoman? Am I in trouble?” Now he was fully alert, his tone suddenly full of anxiety.

“No, I gave you a ride earlier, remember?”

“Oh, it’s you! You finally called—I thought you’d ring at seven o’clock.”

“I only just had time to crack the code.”

“You folks at the police station are truly remarkable—the code contains five different languages: Hebrew, Ancient Greek, oracle bone script…”

Once he started, the man launched into a lengthy monologue about cryptography. Chen Yang, lost in a fog, stifled several yawns, but he went on and on.

…

Kuroba, meanwhile, paid no attention to Chen Yang’s affairs. He just kept urging his system to hurry up and finish its repairs.

“Hurry up!” he growled inwardly.

[Repair progress: 20% remaining]

Kuroba glanced at the clock outside. An hour had passed, and the system had repaired about seventy percent—ten more minutes and it should be done.

When that happened, who cared about Black Tiger or anyone else? He was getting out of here.

Suddenly, Black Tiger straightened up, the injuries on his face seeming to vanish. He stared, bewildered, at the three people sitting across from him, including Kuroba.

“What are you staring at?” Kuroba snapped, not noticing that Black Tiger’s wounds were fading. In his mind, the man was still the hapless fool battered by his system.

Resentment Points from Black Tiger: +20…

Too little to bother with.

Kuroba couldn’t be bothered to care, his eyes glued to the system’s repair progress.

“Ah!”

Black Tiger suddenly collapsed onto the floor, rolling around in agony.

Chen Yang put down her phone.

“What are you doing? Hey!”

Black Tiger rolled and writhed, then abruptly went still.

Chen Yang grabbed her walkie-talkie and shouted, “Brother Wang, call for an ambulance! Brother Zhang, come check—Black Tiger seems seriously hurt!”

“Copy!” came a noisy reply.

“You three, back up and put your hands on the wall,” Chen Yang ordered.

The three men stood up helplessly and put their hands against the wall.

Chen Yang took out a set of keys and unlocked the door.

[Repair progress: 1% remaining]

“Almost there,” Kuroba whispered.

Chen Yang entered the detention room.

Black Tiger suddenly twisted around and locked his arm around her neck.

[Repair complete]

[Black Tiger’s combat strength successfully acquired]