Chapter Nine: The Value of Blessings

At this moment, Hei Yu was completely unaware of what had just transpired in front of Uncle Liu’s house. In that critical instant, the system forcibly took over his body and teleported him into a small, brightly lit room.

Several men sat inside, illuminated by harsh lights. What made him speechless was the door—an iron one like those prison doors he’d only seen in movies.

Where am I?

He glanced up and noticed surveillance cameras installed in several corners. Peering outside, he saw a police officer sitting at a table, head down, writing something.

Is this a police station?

How on earth did I end up here?

“System?” he called out inwardly.

[Don’t be afraid.]

Those three words were uncharacteristically gentle compared to the system’s usual aloofness. Had it malfunctioned?

“Why did you bring me here?” Hei Yu cursed.

[You’ll be able to return soon. Wait patiently.]

“Hey, get me out of here. Now.”

[No response.]

Damn you.

Hei Yu bristled with murderous intent.

Sitting across from him were two burly men with dragon and tiger tattoos coiling around their arms, glaring at him with fierce hostility.

Hei Yu met their gaze with a cold, menacing look of his own.

Resentment value from Liu Dali +998...

Resentment value from Liu Xili +998...

Hei Yu secretly scoffed at their names, finding them amusing.

But the two seemed somewhat intimidated, averting their eyes.

He had been startled at first, but now felt there was nothing remarkable about this situation. He shifted slightly on his seat.

Strange, why am I sitting so high?

“Ouch!”

A voice cried out beneath him.

Resentment value from Black Tiger +899...

Hei Yu looked down.

Damn.

He was sitting on the stomach of a man with a tiger tattoo on his face, whose nose was bruised and swollen. When Hei Yu’s eyes met his, the man’s pained expression immediately twisted into an obsequious smile.

“Pervert!” Hei Yu jumped up.

Resentment value from Black Tiger +699...

Resentment value from Liu Dali +899...

Resentment value from Liu Xili +999...

“System, can you filter out these data pop-ups? They’re so annoying!” Hei Yu complained inwardly.

[Received.]

[Processing complete.]

He shot another glare at Black Tiger, who stared back in terror, his face fixed in a trembling, forced smile.

Hei Yu glanced at the two tattooed men. They met his gaze briefly, shuddered, and looked away.

Good—no more of those distracting texts. At first, they had been novel; now, they were just irritating.

Ignoring the three men’s fear, Hei Yu called out to the officer on duty outside, “Hey, officer.”

Resentment value from Chen Hua +999...

What, so much resentment?

Wait, didn’t I just ask the system to block these? Why are they back?

[Processing… Filtering complete.]

Hei Yu fell silent, his expression shifting rapidly.

The officer looked up at him, suppressing anger, and said in a low voice, “What is it?”

The voice was that of a woman.

Hei Yu paused, taking a closer look. The officer had a delicate face with light makeup and a subtle curve to her figure—a policewoman!

She just had short hair and had kept her head down writing earlier, so he hadn’t noticed. Naturally, he’d called her “brother officer.”

“Sorry, officer… ma’am.”

“If you have something to say, hurry up,” Chen Hua replied impatiently.

“Could you tell me what I’m being charged with?” Hei Yu asked cautiously.

He knew it was the system at fault, but he was the one occupying this body. If he got arrested, he’d be the one to suffer.

“You don't know what you did? People like you really need some time in prison for education.” She returned to her paperwork with a look of suffering.

Hei Yu glanced over and saw some symbols on her file—obviously some kind of code. He’d seen similar symbols on internet forums before.

He couldn’t help but smile.

“Is that a cipher?”

The policewoman suddenly raised her head, surprised that this ordinary-looking fat man could recognize such things.

“You know what it is?” she asked in astonishment.

She had even asked a prestigious university grad who’d studied cryptography at this station, but he’d said it was just meaningless scribbles.

Hei Yu replied humbly, “I know a little. If it’s not confidential, maybe I could help decipher it.”

“It’s not classified.” She handed him the notebook.

Hei Yu took it. On the page was a simple line of symbols mixed with Arabic numerals—twelve characters in all.

He glanced over it, then looked up, about to ask for a pen.

Suddenly, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[7:05, East Gate of the Train Station]

Automatic translation?

Hei Yu checked the symbols and quickly confirmed the system’s translation was accurate.

This thing is incredible—it even understands this.

He was utterly useless, nothing more than the system’s tool.

Damn it.

You just had to show off, didn’t you?

Seeing Hei Yu’s shifting expression, Chen Hua assumed he’d been stumped by the code. Just another street punk pretending to be a genius—what a joke.

Hei Yu hesitated, but finally recited the system’s answer: “7:05, East Gate of the Train Station.”

“Oh?” The policewoman was taken aback.

The east gate of the train station—that was exactly where she’d first encountered him. He was a tall, handsome man, and back then, Chen Hua had just graduated from the police academy.

It was her first assignment—finding a fugitive at the station. The tip was he’d arrive by train. Chen Hua, dressed in plain clothes, monitored the east gate entrance.

The sun had been scorching, and the crowds overwhelming. She hadn’t spotted the suspect, and fainted from exhaustion.

That tall, handsome stranger had carried her to the nearby hospital and even paid her medical fees in advance.

Later, the police suspected him and reviewed the hospital’s surveillance footage. That was when Chen Hua saw his face and never forgot him.

After that, she was transferred to the Dixian Village police station. Just a few days ago, she’d seen the man in a suit trying to flag down a taxi, but none stopped.

Patrolling on her motorcycle in uniform, Chen Hua had offered him a ride.

It seemed he hadn’t recognized her then.

She’d felt disappointed for quite a while.

After he’d gotten off, he left in a hurry without a goodbye.

But later, she was astonished to find that notebook in her pocket.

She was certain it was his code for her. Now, this fat man had deciphered it, confirming her suspicion.

He hadn’t forgotten her.

A warm smile spread across Chen Hua’s face.

“Not bad, fatso. I didn’t expect you to be this impressive.”

Blessing value from the other party +999…