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ASER – Chapter 16

Alms Seeking

A’Diao quickly bought a spaceship ticket to Lingcheng.

Spending money like water several times a day, her heart was almost numb. Yet, she couldn’t let out a sigh of relief. Looking out the spaceship window, she silently comforted herself.

Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. Didn’t you expect this already?

After all those letters you painstakingly sent were returned, you should have known.

You’ve been abandoned, A’Diao. You’ve been abandoned.

But now, this is for your future. You have to find a way out. You must study. Studying is your only option.

As long as you can study and secure your future, all other grievances are minor details.


Jinling and Lingcheng were relatively close; the journey took only a day.

At seven in the evening, in her spaceship cabin, A’Diao sat on the floor after her bath, looking at the 840 Mental Energy on the toilet. Although her admission problem wasn’t solved, she knew that the combat power from her skills likely wouldn’t be part of the future assessment criteria.

The imperial court’s primary selection criterion would definitely be aptitude.

Aptitude equals revealed potential. Potential is fixed, but aptitude isn’t necessarily so.

Aptitude = unearthed potential.

Good aptitude means initial weaknesses don’t matter. Use Spiritual Energy to wash them out; the more thoroughly washed, the better.

Therefore, she couldn’t exchange for any more skills. She had to save her Spiritual Energy for the admission exam sprint.

Ten Mental Energy points per minute meant 840 points equaled 84 minutes. It really wasn’t much.

A’Diao wanted to continue farming Mental Energy, but no one in the class group chat was paying attention to her anymore.

She had fleeced the sheep too much; the sheep were tired.

She did have a brilliant idea: post the video of the Daoist temple’s septic tank explosion online. It would surely generate a massive Mental Energy income, but in the end, she didn’t do it.

Was it because she didn’t want her home to become a subject of gossip and ridicule?

Or was it because she didn’t want to expose the Old Daoist Priest’s affairs?

After all, his gambling debts were still debts. The gambling den had already filed a complaint, and he had become a discredited individual.

Actually, it wasn’t.

Her concern was overexposing herself.

Septic tank, Daoist temple, people living in the Daoist temple, the Old Daoist Priest, her – these were all derivative search keywords.

If she got into a Jinling high school, her grades would be doxed, and then… what if someone guessed she had a Spiritual Vessel? The greedy would swarm her. Who could protect her?

This was a continuous chain of disaster.

It was good for the weak to earn more resources, but expanding directly to the nationwide online world would attract attention that included people she absolutely couldn’t handle.

The risks online were too great, and her ability to withstand risks was too low. Forget it.

A’Diao confirmed the use of Spiritual Energy and also confirmed that ordinary spaceships strictly prohibited the use of Forbidden Items. This was because the power of Forbidden Items was too strong and could easily interfere with the spaceship’s signals. Additionally, some Forbidden Items were offensive, so transport-type spaceships naturally wouldn’t allow them.

There were also inspections before boarding the spaceship. Forbidden Items were mostly found and sent for transport by other departments, so no one could sense the Spiritual Energy she released.

A’Diao confidently took out the toilet and began to absorb according to the breathing technique.

Eighty-four minutes. She hoped to finish absorbing it all tonight. She didn’t know if she would become somewhat stronger by then.

Things in Lingcheng were not very peaceful.


Eighty-four minutes was the duration of continuous Spiritual Energy release. However, because A’Diao was cautious, releasing a wisp and absorbing a wisp, plus the digestion time after absorbing Spiritual Energy, she managed to stretch the 84 minutes into 12 hours. Later, she fell asleep from exhaustion.

Around noon, the alarm clock rang. A’Diao woke up from her deep sleep, her first reaction being how smelly and dirty it was. She saw a layer of greasy filth clinging to her skin, and her stomach was churning.

She rushed into the bathroom and went through a flurry of activity.

Amidst the steam, looking at the person in the mirror, she was somewhat surprised. “The books were right. Long-term, continuous inhalation of Spiritual Energy forces the physique to its limit, forming a new metabolic cycle under pressure the body can’t adapt to, expelling impurities… This is the lowest level of marrow washing. With more marrow washings, the transformation becomes obvious, and aptitude can then be revealed.”

She had toiled at farm work in the mountains for years – chopping wood, farming, picking medicinal herbs, and so on, constantly active. Her body was certainly not delicate; she had many calluses, her skin was rough, and she was even thinner and smaller.

Although she still looked like a country girl now, it was much better than before.

“Though it’s not plastic surgery, it’s not so shabby anymore, right?”

A’Diao remembered the young women she had seen coming and going at the Jinling spaceport, and felt a momentary sense of inferiority.

With her current appearance, if she wanted to marry into a wealthy family and change her destiny, besides plastic surgery, her only option was to get into a good university.

“If looks don’t cut it, win with substance. Temperament is very important.”

A’Diao put on an elegant, quiet, and well-behaved smile in front of the mirror, while picking up her toothbrush… Crack! The toothbrush snapped the moment it touched her teeth.

A’Diao: “?”

Did her strength suddenly become this great?


There was no strength tester on the spaceship, so A’Diao could only temporarily use items in the room to test.

After easily lifting the computer desk with one hand, A’Diao felt she could go buy a weapon for self-defense. However, the most noticeable change was that her body had become much more agile.

Originally, what she excelled at most was jumping and leaping around.

The spaceship’s internal system soon announced their arrival at the Lingcheng spaceport.


Having seen the Jinling spaceport, Lingcheng’s spaceport was certainly impressive, but A’Diao no longer felt such a strong sense of awe. After hurriedly passing through the checkpoint, she hailed a hovercar.

“May I ask the address?”

“Chen Residence, Official Dwelling, B-14 Chunhe Road, Lingcheng.”

Twenty minutes later, the hovercar delivered A’Diao to the location. After getting out with her luggage, A’Diao looked up at the mansion gate before her. It wasn’t particularly imposing, but it was quite elegant and dignified.

It was an official residence, after all, probably a three-courtyard compound. Beautiful peach and plum trees flanked the entrance, very graceful and elegant, complementing the modest and refined temperament of the master’s family.

But it was strange; the street outside was quite lively, yet here the main gate was tightly shut.

A’Diao went forward and rang the doorbell. After a good while, there was no answer. She glanced at the surveillance cameras in both corners, pursed her lips, said nothing, and continued to press.

After another moment, a voice came from the intercom.

“May I ask who the visitor is?”

A’Diao had long prepared herself mentally. Even if she was cursing inwardly, she could still put on a well-behaved and kind smile. She said, “I am Chen A’Diao. I’m not dead, you know. I’ve come to acknowledge my relatives. Are Grandmother and Father home?”

She had practiced it – the tone and voice of a sweet young girl, absolutely the kind that most upright official families would like.

The servant inside, dressed in a cotton robe, was stunned and subconsciously asked, “Who is Chen A’Diao?”

Damn it!

A’Diao took a deep breath and tried to recall her biological father’s and mother’s names… She had forgotten them long ago, but later, after getting information from the Ministry of Revenue, she had looked them up.

She continued in her sweet young girl voice, “The third daughter of Official Chen Ran. Please trouble yourself to ask someone in the residence; someone should remember me.”

If those old servants weren’t all dead.

The servant probably also knew this was no small matter. He politely asked A’Diao to wait a moment while he went inside to report.

A’Diao was, of course, willing to wait. While waiting, she searched for information.

Detailed information about the Chen family members was definitely unobtainable, but she could probably glean some of their names.


The servant turned off the intercom and picked up a communicator to contact someone in the inner hall.

The Old Master was not home, and such a major event wouldn’t be relayed to the concubines. The first to receive the news was the Chen family’s Madam. She was somewhat surprised but quickly passed the message to Chen Ran’s old mother, asking her how to handle it.

The portly old woman, with graying hair and a withered face, didn’t even bat an eyelid. She said to the Madam, “The third child died young long ago. Where did this little girl come from, trying to freeload? Just send her away. Don’t say anything more.”

The Madam’s eyes flickered slightly, and she lowered her head in acknowledgment.


A’Diao heard movement inside the gate. Her body, which had been leaning against the doorpost, immediately straightened up, and she moved closer.

But the gate still didn’t open.

The servant looked A’Diao up and down again through the surveillance camera, becoming even more certain of his masters’ judgment. How could this be a child of the Chen family? He said directly, “Our Madam says there is no such person as Chen A’Diao in the Chen family. Little girl, please go seek alms elsewhere.”

Seek alms? Seek alms!

He might as well have said outright that she was here to beg for food.

A’Diao ground her teeth, took out the prepared documents from her backpack, and continued sweetly, “I know my words alone may not be entirely believable. I have documents here, an official letter from the Ministry of Revenue, and DNA test results that can prove my identity. Please take them in. I don’t want anything from the Chen family. I just want you to correct my death registration. I need to go to school, I…”

She hadn’t finished speaking.

“Get lost, get lost, get lost! Where did this swindler come from? I told you, there’s no such person! If you don’t leave, don’t blame my residence guards for taking action. Little girl, don’t you know that an official ranked residence has the right to defend against and even kill trespassers with ill intent?”

The main gate hadn’t opened, nor had any guards come out, but the smart gunports on the gate opened, revealing firing apertures aimed at A’Diao.

A’Diao: “…”

Damn it, she couldn’t keep up the sweet act anymore.

She bit her lip, her cheeks puffed out again, but in the end, she took a step back, said nothing, and left.

The small, thin figure dragged her suitcase, walking further and further away.

Behind the main gate, the servant looked tremblingly at the dignified and graceful Madam. “Madam, she’s gone, but she left those documents on the ground.”

The latter lowered her eyes and gave a look. The servant immediately opened the gate, went out to get the documents, and carefully handed them to the Madam.

Her elegant figure and dress moved slightly as the Madam left with her maidservant.

After entering the house, she had already finished looking through the documents. But after sitting down, she threw them into the fireplace’s bonfire.

The flames slowly engulfed them.

Daylight fireworks. Her eyes and brows flickered in the firelight, appearing quite cold and emotionless.


The wheels of the suitcase made a grating sound as they rolled over the bluestone pavement, occasionally bumping over small pebbles. The streets were lined with bustling shops. Modern young women and urban youths came and went, hurrying along. The aroma of various delicacies wafted through the air, and display cabinets were filled with expensive fashions.

After a while, she really couldn’t walk anymore and sat down on a park bench.

She felt lost and sad for a long time, until she really couldn’t bear it anymore.

The roasted sausages from the stall across the way smelled really good.


Sausages had to be bought, and three of them at that.

While eating roasted sausages, drinking milk tea, and feeling sad, A’Diao began to consider what to do next.

She vaguely felt that something wasn’t quite right.

The Chen family’s reaction… was a bit strange.

First, if the Chen family truly believed she wasn’t the real Chen A’Diao, then as an officially ranked family, encountering someone falsely claiming kinship, they would, nine times out of ten, choose to report it directly to the authorities to have the person arrested and dealt with. This would prevent the latter from causing trouble outside and affecting the family’s reputation. An official’s reputation is very important, especially for an upright family like the Chens, who had relied on scholarship to advance as officials for generations. They shouldn’t make such a mistake.

Second, if the Chen family knew she was Chen A’Diao but refused to acknowledge her and wanted to drive her away, there could be many reasons. But the most likely one was that someone within the Chen family didn’t want her back – for example, Chen Ran’s current wife, Chen Ran himself, or… her grandmother.

Anyway, these three were the ones with the most power to decide this matter.

But no matter which one it was, if they truly didn’t want to accept her, then leaving the documents was useless.

She was betting on other circumstances – unrelated to her, the Chen family’s own state was not right.

That servant was new, didn’t understand many rules, was timid and inexperienced, clearly a temporary hire.

It wasn’t strange for a mansion to have new servants. What was strange was that a new servant was assigned to the main gate reception.

Don’t underestimate this job. How one treats people and handles matters at the main gate is crucial. Officials fear offending people the most. A gate is a facade, a matter of dignity, and even more so, a social front desk.

If some important guest arrived and the new servant, ignorant of etiquette, offended them, the master of the house would have no one to blame but themselves.

Moreover, unless it was a special period, for an official ranked residence to have its gates tightly shut usually meant trouble in the inner household or an attempt to avoid risks, preventing outsiders from prying into secrets.

Had the Chen family encountered trouble?

So, many old servants had left to avoid trouble, the Chen family was short-staffed, and they had a new servant manning the main gate. Anyway, no important guests were likely to visit recently, so they weren’t afraid of offending anyone.

Then this matter must be quite serious. Could it be a tragedy of the entire family being wiped out?

A’Diao chewed her sausage, subconsciously thinking: Did Grandmother know I was coming and want me to avoid disaster? Is that why she didn’t acknowledge me?

Remembering that mean, sharp-tongued, aloof, fat old lady, A’Diao suddenly lost her appetite. Her gaze swept across the park.

The weather was very good today, but there were very few children.

She had noticed it before too: there were fewer people on the streets, mainly fewer children. With fewer children, there were also fewer adults bringing children out to play.

She lowered her eyes, freed a hand to take out her phone, and accessed some Lingcheng community websites. She searched and read some posts, quickly understanding the situation.

Lingcheng’s risk originated from an undiscovered, bizarre Demonic Spirit. The incident occurred in the Jiannan Community, and the person in charge of this area… indeed, Lingcheng’s Prefectural Sima was Chen Ran. [Prefectural Sima (司马) was a mid-level administrative or military official in ancient China, often serving as a deputy to a governor or prefect, responsible for military affairs, logistics, or general administration in a prefecture (州/郡).]

“From the Sixth Rank, that’s not a low official position.”

She had previously heard that Head Constable Feng Ting had jumped three ranks overnight, but he was a military official. Military officials relied on their youth; when an opportunity arose, if they were physically tough and capable of fighting and killing, their merits would rise. There were even cases of promotion from a minor leader directly to Young General – a life-or-death profession.

Not to mention the huge opportunity presented by the revival of Spiritual Energy.

Civil officials were different. Being a civil official was a game of gradual progress. As long as one didn’t make mistakes, promotion was like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, accumulating seniority. At first glance, it didn’t seem as good as being a military official, but it was very stable. Moreover, the scope of their work was broad, and it was easy to benefit future generations. Most importantly, even in their sixties or seventies, they could still harbor great ambitions like an old steed. But for military officials, if they missed opportunities in their youth and prime, there was no chance of advancement in old age, and their treatment at the same rank was far inferior to that of civil officials.

In the era when Spiritual Energy had vanished, studying was a proper way out. But now… her biological father was in trouble.

A perfectly good civil official managing a local area of Lingcheng, now faced with Demonic Spirit causing chaos. If it were a matter of being unable to defeat them, he could simply request reinforcements from the imperial court. But the problem was, they couldn’t find the culprit.

This charge was indeed serious.

The crime of failing to investigate, the crime of incompetence, and so on, were all enough to ruin an official career. The worst part was, if no result was found in the end, and the number of missing children continued to increase, public resentment would boil over and reach the central government departments. Then it would likely be more than just a matter of demotion.

“Looking at the Chen family’s reaction, could it be that he’s about to lose his post, be dismissed, or even have his property confiscated?”

A’Diao was a cold-hearted person; she had given up on the Chen family eight hundred years ago. If it weren’t crucial for her studies, she wouldn’t have come to the Chen family to court disaster.

Now that she guessed the Chen family was facing imminent disaster, did she feel pleased?

Pleased, my ass! Instead, she felt a sense of crisis, like “the septic tank exploded, and my own Daoist temple suffered.”

“There are only two scenarios: If the Chen family is found guilty and the disaster extends to the children, and they acknowledge me, I might be implicated before I even start studying. If they don’t acknowledge me, I can stay out of it, but I also won’t be able to study, and from then on, I can only be an uneducated illiterate.”

University education was widespread now, and university admission definitely required identity verification. Her current “landmine” had just detonated prematurely.

But if it wasn’t resolved, it would always exist.

She had no room for choice either.

Personal safety on one side, future prospects on the other. How should she choose?

Her affairs in Qishan County High School definitely couldn’t be hidden, plus that man on the spaceship who seemed to be from the Jiang Family… She wasn’t sure she could hide perfectly.

The Jiang Family and the gambling den might not let her off.

If she was exposed, and also lost the channel for advancement through study, what good end could an unprotected high school orphan girl expect?

This world was so dangerous now.

A’Diao burped, suddenly feeling that the last sausage in her hand was no longer fragrant.


At the fitness equipment area, not far from the park, a young man in slightly fashionable and flashy clothes was exercising while talking to someone on his headset.

“She’s in the park eating roasted sausages. Three of them.”

The voice on the other end was full of resentment: “Still eating?! And three of them! A country bumpkin indeed… Do you think she has a Spiritual Vessel and has absorbed Spiritual Energy?”

Several days had passed since the revival of Spiritual Energy. Although many intelligent people were reserved and restrained, hiding their changes, there were also many foolish and ostentatious individuals who openly flaunted their transformations online or in public.

Increased strength, faster speed, and so on – these were the most direct manifestations.

So, if Chen A’Diao had a Spiritual Vessel, even if she could hide her injuries, it would be very difficult to perfectly conceal these changes.

“Wait a minute, she’s about to throw away the sausage. Let’s see the force she uses.” The young man felt this was a good opportunity. Jiang Chun also saw A’Diao in the distance through the camera on the young man’s chest… Both of them widened their beady eyes.

A’Diao indeed couldn’t eat anymore and was about to throw away both bamboo skewers together.

So she… stood up, walked to the trash can, gently threw the trash in, and also picked up the mineral water bottles beside the trash can and put them inside.

Jiang Chun and the young man: “…”

Her manners were quite good.

Then they saw A’Diao sit back down and continue playing with her phone, her expression quite heavy. They didn’t know what she was looking at.

It was a good opportunity for the two of them to chat.

Jiang Chun: “Zhang Cheng, I’m counting on you.”

Zhang Cheng: “Mr. Jiang has shown me kindness. For your future, it’s what I should do.”

These two simple sentences revealed a key point: Jiang Chun couldn’t obtain a Spiritual Vessel, and A’Diao was actually his only hope. No wonder he was so obsessively fixated on A’Diao.

Jiang Chun: “Then, based on your judgment and intuition, is it possible she has one?”

Zhang Cheng: “Young Master Jiang is actually quite a calm person and wouldn’t easily resort to desperate measures. It’s clear you have some suspicions about her, so why ask me?”

Jiang Chun hadn’t wanted to say, but he had to rely on the other party to obtain the Spiritual Vessel, so he spoke: “She’s from Qishan County. She suddenly went to Jinling, then rushed to Lingcheng without stopping. From Qishan County, we found out she was dealing with school registration issues, and she herself has Jinling household registration… Originally, this wasn’t suspicious. It’s normal for her to rush back and forth for school registration. Perhaps there was a problem with her school registration at the Jinling Ministry of Revenue, and she had to come to Lingcheng to resolve it. But the biggest flaw is – where did her money come from?”

Leaving aside other things, just the spaceship ticket from Qishan to Jinling was not a small sum, not to mention her later expenses. It wouldn’t be less than two thousand Star Coins.

After hearing Jiang Chun’s analysis, Zhang Cheng raised an eyebrow: “If a person spends two thousand Star Coins due to urgency, it means she has at least ten thousand in funds. This aligns with the consumption curve based on needs and economic capacity.”

Jiang Chun sneered: “The Great Banyan Tree Spirit Gate case in Hutong County of Qishan County – she must have been involved and gained significant benefits from it. Otherwise, I can’t imagine where she got it from.”

And how could an ordinary person have the ability to participate in that?

A’Diao’s previous inquiry to Feng Ting about whether the reward was confidential stemmed from this, because she knew if this matter was exposed, she would definitely be suspected of possessing a Spiritual Vessel.

But spending money is something that can’t be hidden. She was unlucky; she ran into someone’s loudmouthed biological uncle and was even tracked by him using equipment.

Thus, Jiang Chun found out.

Zhang Cheng understood: “Oh, so Young Master Jiang isn’t exactly resorting to desperate measures.”

The man’s words had repeatedly revealed contempt for him. A cold glint flashed in Jiang Chun’s eyes. “Anyway, you help me watch her first.”

Zhang Cheng: “What, are you coming over personally? Alright, she’s leaving. I’m not chatting with you anymore.”

After hanging up the phone, he sneered: “It seems he doesn’t trust me, thinks I won’t give him the Spiritual Vessel.”

Putting away his phone, he followed her. But A’Diao didn’t notice she was being tailed because, ultimately, she was just an ordinary young girl.

But Zhang Cheng was skilled; otherwise, Jiang Guang wouldn’t have entrusted him with important responsibilities. He followed behind A’Diao and soon discovered she was heading towards the Jiannan Community.

Was she looking for death? Jiannan was not peaceful.


The incidents occurred in the Jiannan Community, but A’Diao had just checked all the reports of missing person cases online.

Currently, 23 children, aged between 6 and 12, had gone missing.

The Qishan County Authorities had some capable people, including talents like Feng Ting, let alone a second-tier city like Lingcheng. A’Diao believed that no clues were left at the crime scenes, at least none that the Lingcheng Authorities’ forensics department could find. So, she certainly wouldn’t be able to find much either.

However… after entering the Jiannan Community, A’Diao chose to check into a medium-sized hotel that had some security and defensive capabilities.

After entering the room, A’Diao immediately pulled up a map of the Jiannan Community, took out a red pen, and marked 23 red dots for the crime scenes on it. She also noted the chronological order of the incidents next to the red dots.

The first case occurred on the third day after the revival of Spiritual Energy, and the 23rd case occurred yesterday. Several cases happened concurrently each day.

Seven days, 23 cases.

“Such dense and widespread attacks… If it’s Demonic Spirit, there must be lairs beneath Lingcheng. Judging by the modus operandi of Fuqiu Creatures and the habits of these subterranean beings, they primarily feed to replenish nutrients and accelerate reproduction, as well as summon their kin. Then, with increased numbers, they expand their attack range. So, their daily outward spread should be radial.”

Thinking this, A’Diao switched to different colored pens and connected the red dots according to daily intervals. Soon, a… chaotic, crisscrossing, multicolored diagram appeared.

So chaotic?!

This doesn’t seem to fit the invasion habits of Demonic Spirit.

The diagram before her was much more intuitive than written records. A’Diao was stunned.

She had originally just wanted to map out the Demonic Spirits’ next wave of attack range to make some preparations, but she hadn’t expected such a result.

“It probably isn’t some powerful, solitary Demonic Spirit. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so low-key; it would have started frantically slaughtering the people on the surface long ago, not be so secretive and leave no clues.”

“If it were a low-level Demonic Spirit species similar to Fuqiu Creatures, they would succumb to their instincts due to low intelligence and attack with characteristic patterns, not so chaotically…”

A thought struck A’Diao. She quickly found many videos taken by the common people in Lingcheng’s Jiannan Community regarding this case. Most of them showed hundreds, nearly a thousand, government officers from the Lingcheng Authorities conducting large-scale searches and raids.

By checking them chronologically, she could basically figure out the Authorities’ deployment of officers on any given day, as well as their search targets.

Then she compared the Authorities’ actions with these red dots.

As she watched, A’Diao unconsciously wrote down a few keywords on the paper: no clues left, low-key, meticulous planning, premeditated crime.

So, it was highly probable that humans, not Demonic Spirit, were abducting the children!

Moreover, this group of people likely had an inside agent within the Authorities supporting them, allowing them to predict the Authorities’ actions in advance. Because the Authorities’ search destinations were not regular, their corresponding attack locations were also not regular.

This ultimately resulted in the current picture on the map: seemingly dense and orderly, but actually a scene of multi-point, chaotic crimes.

“So it was humans, no wonder. The Authorities are probably operating under a preconceived notion, investigating it as a Demonic Spirit case, and thus overlooking humans. Demonic Spirit hide underground, but humans hide on the surface. Naturally, they can’t find them.”

Just now, when A’Diao entered the Jiannan Community, she saw many excavated tunnels, indicating that the Lingcheng Authorities had indeed put in effort, but unfortunately, their methods were wrong.

“But there are definitely problems within the Authorities as well.”

A’Diao wasn’t talking about moles, but rather problems with political factions.

“This team belongs to the Prefectural Sima’s Office, Chen Ran’s old dog’s direct guard unit. But the main officer teams are directly under the Prefectural Government, meaning they are under the Prefect’s jurisdiction and deployment. The operational tracks of the two teams are fundamentally different. This shows either they trust each other and are working on two fronts, or they are divided and have considerable friction.”

A’Diao suddenly thought of something, her expression suspicious.

If it was the latter… Chen Ran and Lingcheng’s Prefect Zhao Yu were at odds, then the situation was even worse than she had originally anticipated.

The Prefect was Fifth Rank, completely overshadowing Chen Ran.

No wonder the Chen family’s situation was so dire.

A’Diao’s scalp tingled. She felt an impulse to turn around and leave Lingcheng, but eventually, she calmed herself and began to check the Lingcheng Authorities’ official website.

Because the situation was too embarrassing, all officials in the Lingcheng Authorities were actually in the same boat. It just depended on who would suffer a worse fate once the imperial court assigned blame.

But the Authorities still had an official stance – offering a bounty.

“As long as one provides sufficient clues to help the Authorities investigate this case, a certain reward can be claimed. And the bounty isn’t small.”

“Let me see… If it’s a clue beneficial to solving the case, one can get between 50,000 and 200,000 Star Coins?!”

That much!

A’Diao’s eyes turned green with desire. She no longer had the slightest hesitation about whether to get involved in this matter.

But with just these clues, it would probably be difficult to obtain evidence. Even if it could give the Authorities inspiration, they might not be willing to acknowledge it. They might just look at it and then publicly say they wouldn’t adopt it.

These city officials… were much more complex than those in small counties.

She had to provide clues in a targeted manner, rather than going directly for the Authorities’ bounty.

So… A’Diao first bought a discarded account from Taobao, then used this account to proactively send a message to an email address.

Who to send it to? Of course, to her “rich bastard” old dad.

They hadn’t even acknowledged kinship yet, but first, she’d fucking extort a sum of money from him.

But she had to recall which email address was his… She seemed to have seen it when she was little.


Lingcheng Prefectural Sima’s Office. Chen Ran was actually not as panicked and uneasy as outsiders imagined. He was cunning and experienced. With hostile superiors above and a pressing crisis below, he knew that if he couldn’t maintain his composure, he would definitely be close to death.

He had already vaguely sensed that something was amiss because it was too difficult to investigate.

So difficult to investigate – could mere low-level Demonic Spirit really accomplish this?

Why did he feel…

At this moment, he was also looking at the map in front of him. As he looked, a message suddenly arrived in his phone’s email.

With busy official duties, who would pay attention to email? However, social media for officials was regulated. Public accounts would be checked and handled by subordinates. Private ones… were generally only used by acquaintances.

Could it be that his confidant’s investigation had yielded results?

He immediately picked up his phone to check and saw such a message.

—I have clues regarding the current Lingcheng crisis, which might break the stalemate in Lingcheng’s official circles. Looking around, I feel that Official Chen, in your difficult situation, you need to make a deal with me.

Chen Ran’s first reaction was that the other party was a swindler. But the fact that they could obtain his private email address in itself verified a certain capability; ordinary petty thieves wouldn’t have this skill.

So he inquired: “What clues? What price?”

—100,000 Star Coins.

This price was not high, but not low either. However, it was within the acceptable range for an official like Chen Ran.

Most officials managed private assets; they didn’t rely on their official salaries to live.

Chen Ran agreed but also reminded the other party: “I can give you a deposit first, but you’d better ensure your clues are useful, otherwise…”

—No need for a deposit.

—I’ll just send it to you directly. You can judge for yourself whether it’s worth it.

—Of course, I believe Official Chen Ran wouldn’t renege on the payment. After all, I’ve taken screenshots. If it gets out, it wouldn’t look good for your reputation.

Chen Ran’s mouth turned down. They were threatening him before the transaction even began?

On the other side, A’Diao had already meticulously photographed all the clues she had found. Then she wrote an email, delicately describing her conjectures, and finally, took photos and saved them both before and after sending the email.

After receiving the email, Chen Ran read it directly. At first glance, his eyes indeed lit up, but after reading it all, he was very calm and replied: “Just this little bit and you want 100,000 Star Coins? Not worth it.”

Well, well, as expected.

Chen Ran was still waiting for the other party’s response, not expecting an instant reply, as if they had anticipated his words.

—Indeed, it’s not some earth-shattering, unparalleled brilliant method; otherwise, it wouldn’t be just 100,000. Is Official Chen expecting me to eliminate your political enemies for you?

Chen Ran’s expression changed.

—Perhaps you already had suspicions in your heart, but you lacked concrete evidence and were unable to persuade Lingcheng officials outside your own subordinates to cooperate with you. If you were to report it upwards, you might even be suppressed and impeached by certain people, or have your credit snatched. That’s why you’re in a stalemate.

—But with this insignificant clue, it should at least give you the confidence to persuade those colleagues who also don’t want to perish in this case.

—The sky is falling; whose future isn’t a future? It’s just a life-saving straw. You don’t need rock-solid evidence, just an opportunity.

A’Diao never dared to underestimate talents from various places, nor did she underestimate Chen Ran. She just knew that even if Chen Ran, suppressed by the Prefect, had some talented people under him, their attention was likely diverted by the Prefect’s Office. More time was spent dealing with the latter’s obstructions and traps. Even if they had some ideas about these cases, they couldn’t express them. More importantly, their train of thought was constrained by each other – they had all fallen into the pit of believing the true culprit was Demonic Spirit, and were competing to see who could dig deeper in that pit.

For Chen Ran, even if he thought the source of the disaster wasn’t Demonic Spirit, he couldn’t report it directly to the Prefect. Because if nothing was found, he would take the blame. If a breakthrough was made, the Prefect would most likely snatch the credit and still exclude him.

If he couldn’t gain an upper hand over the Prefect, his political stalemate in Lingcheng couldn’t be broken. Although it concerned the safety of Lingcheng’s citizens, he would always be the one at a disadvantage, which didn’t align with his political interests.

If he wanted to act, he had to avoid the Prefect’s route, work alone, resolve the crisis, and ensure his merits surpassed the Prefect’s, not allowing his credit to be snatched, and even making the latter… But he couldn’t accomplish such a big task alone.

Chen Ran looked at the detailed information in the email – not a lot, but certainly not a little. After some thought, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and replied to A’Diao: “Sounds good, but 100,000 Star Coins is still too high. I’ll give you 50,000. You’re a talent. If you have more clues, we can continue to cooperate.”

“If you agree, give me your account number.”

As soon as A’Diao saw this message, she knew Chen Ran was testing her.

Testing her bottom line, and also testing her purpose.

If it was for money, 100,000 or 50,000 made no difference to Chen Ran. He had to judge her stance.

—50,000 is also acceptable. Consider it a discount for our first cooperation. Next time, it might not be the case.

—The account is…

A’Diao provided a savings account on a social media platform. This way, through this high-end social media, a Sixth Rank official like him wouldn’t be able to trace her bank account.

A’Diao had no intention of exposing her identity to this “rich bastard.”

A few seconds later, a system message arrived: 50,000 Star Coins credited to the account.

A’Diao checked her bank account again. Now, her total assets had jumped to 80,000.

For that moment, she was somewhat dazed.

“Indeed, chaos also means opportunity. No wonder some people always like to wage war.”

A’Diao didn’t consider those moral topics of war and peace. She only cared about—Holy crap! My mental budget was to get five thousand Star Coins. I didn’t expect this old dog Chen to be such a spendthrift, completely ignorant of the essence of asking an exorbitant price and then bargaining down. He actually gave me 50,000 Star Coins! I’m rich, I’m rich!


After feeling suddenly rich, A’Diao subconsciously wanted to go on a crazy shopping spree on Taobao, but she quickly calmed down and restrained herself.

The reason she chose Chen Ran wasn’t entirely because her interests were closely related to his, but because she had some understanding of Chen Ran.

Judging solely from Lingcheng’s current situation, the top leader, Lingcheng’s Prefect Zhao Yu, was very mediocre. In A’Diao’s eyes, he even seemed somewhat narrow-minded and not very brilliant, likely having risen through connections. Even if such a person was ruthless enough, they definitely wouldn’t last long – because even if he could handle Chen Ran, he couldn’t handle this Lingcheng crisis.

But Chen Ran… Although she had no good feelings towards Chen Ran, based only on her childhood impressions, which were personal, she had to admit that this man was inherently cunning. He also knew that the true essence of being an official was, firstly, not to break the law; secondly, to protect the situation under his governance and not lose his political territory; and thirdly, to understand how to weigh pros and cons and make choices most beneficial to himself.

Such people often had a smooth rise in their official careers.

Another reason was that A’Diao always remembered that although the Chen family had some reputation as an upright family in their ancestry, they had long since declined. By the time Chen Ran was studying, they had already lost their official status and were worse off than ordinary wealthy households. However, Chen Ran, through self-reliance and study, successfully enhanced his own value and won the favor of an official’s daughter. The wife he subsequently married after his original wife passed away also had some backing. So, the Chen family did have some foundation.

With connections from two marriages, he should be able to stir up some action. After all, if he didn’t make a move now, he probably wouldn’t have another chance.

“Even the rewards from Qishan County town have come down, with both merits and demerits, rewards and punishments being addressed. I’m afraid Lingcheng’s reckoning will also arrive soon. If he doesn’t break this deadlock…”

The Prefect plus the real culprit behind the scenes equaled two groups of people. Chen Ran might not be able to break the deadlock in such a short time. And even if he could, it might not be in time for her school admission.

Whether she got into school or not was, of course, unimportant to Chen Ran. Later on, this person would definitely not anxiously pull strings for her.

A’Diao thought it over and over, then changed into a set of simple clothes.

She actually had a cheat, and this cheat’s reconnaissance ability was top-notch.

“No matter what kind of hiding ability they have, as long as they appear within a certain range around me, the toilet can sense them. And it can also make a rough judgment based on the opponent’s strength.”

If it could blast out Mental Energy, it could even refine the categories of high and low strength.

It was definitely a super BUG.

A’Diao changed her clothes and went out. When she was going down in the elevator, she was originally alone… But just as the elevator doors were about to close, someone suddenly hurried over.

“Wait a moment, sorry.”

The system suddenly sent a notification.

A low-level conquerable target.

Oh, still low-level.

No, wait. The previous people were all super low-level conquerable targets. Only this young man wearing a peaked cap was low-level.

A’Diao only saw the other person’s earring flash for a moment, then saw an honest, ordinary face under the brim of his cap.

The elevator doors closed.


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