Chapter Ninety-Five: Acknowledgment

That would be the one who had you fleeing in such a sorry state, wouldn’t it? Lin Zhongqing said with complete indifference.

Lin Zhongshi looked up and saw that all three men had ferocious faces, cunning and vicious to the core. Such a countenance is born of the heart; those who do vile things day after day are devils, if not demons already.

He recalled the photographs in the intelligence report and compared them carefully. A person with spiritual cultivation would not have a poor memory. At once he recognized them as those very three, and silently nodded, a bitter taste filling his chest.

To have talent is not frightening. To have backing is not frightening either. What is frightening is having both, and still working harder than you.

Still, there were words he wanted to say; only, this was not the place. So he forced himself to say, Thank you, sister.

Whatever else, that sentence he had to give her.

Three million, Lin Zhongqing said, old and composed as a mountain monk.

Thanks? What’s that worth? Can it fill a stomach?

Hey, even if we’re biological siblings, you should still keep accounts straight. Isn’t that a little too expensive? Lin Zhongshi suddenly felt far more at ease, the atmosphere relaxing, his tone returning to normal. Just these three clowns, I could kill them myself.

Exactly. Killing them only costs three hundred thousand, but finding where they are costs two million seven hundred thousand, Lin Zhongqing said with perfect righteousness.

A stir went through the crowd.

Rich fools who only know how to spend money inspire envy, but not much admiration. What is truly frightening is a rich fool who can both spend and earn, because everyone knows his money is the kind that never seems to run out.

I don’t have that much on hand right now, Lin Zhongshi said in a low, submissive voice.

At first, three million would have been manageable. But after more than a month of construction and consumption, most of it had turned into fixed assets.

Seizing the moment, Lin Zhongqing said, Then that’s fine. You can help me work off the debt with a few contracts.

She could tell it would not be easy to bring this stubborn younger brother into her chamber of commerce. The fellow cared too much about saving face; it would have to be done slowly.

All right, Lin Zhongshi had nothing else to say and could only agree.

Besides, he ought to thank her. After all, the hard-won foundation they had just established would not have to be abandoned, and that fissure power station alone was worth well more than three million.

Fan Bei had been idling to the side the entire time. He thought this was exactly what a system creator ought to look like: when trouble came, just shift the burden at random and let the host take the fall. Now that had the air of some mysterious power.

No one knew that Lin Zhongqing had solved the matter so easily entirely because of his ability.

Very good. My steward will contact your Stoneheart Chamber of Commerce shortly, Lin Zhongqing said, then drifted away at her leisure, waving a hand as she departed without taking so much as a cloud with her.

Farewell, Chairwoman Lin, Steward He had already brought people over and hurriedly sent them to cheer from behind.

Chairwoman Lin is mighty.

...

Fan Bei waved her off as well. He naturally would not stop such a thing. Setting an ambush and making a quiet fortune was the best choice; he had no desire to compete with her for the spotlight.

Lin Zhongshi let out a long sigh and watched her depart before clasping his hands toward Fan Bei. This disturbance was not small, and I truly have implicated Brother Fan. This time we will move to Copper Fortress to live. This place, if you do not mind, can serve as compensation.

How generous, Fan Bei said sincerely, though how could he possibly accept such things from them now?

So he said, Since that is the case, it would be hard for me to insist you stay. But you all worked for years to establish this trading post. To abandon it like this would be a pity, would it not?

At that moment, Lin Xiaohong stepped forward and said to Lin Zhongshi, Yes, what Mister Fan says is right. We worked for years to build this outpost, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. Why not leave some people here to keep it running? As long as you are not here, there should be no problem in the future.

No. Once there is a first time, there will be a second. That thing is sinister and ruthless. Having suffered a setback this time, it will come again next time. We cannot rely on luck, Lin Zhongshi said decisively. In fact, I even want to advise Mister Fan that you should move as well. I have seen clearly now: in this world, without enough strength, one simply cannot hold one’s ground.

No one spoke. The burly men of the Stoneheart Chamber of Commerce all showed sorrow on their faces.

They turned to look at the outpost, which had already begun operating, each one reluctant to leave.

Every tree around them had been planted by hand; the materials for every stone had been gathered and donated with their own hands, and they had watched it all turn into this building.

And now it had to be abandoned.

Fan Bei suddenly said, Since that is so, why not solve the problem once and for all? Running away again and again—when would that ever end? Do you really think Copper Fortress, or even Silver City, is absolutely safe? There can be a thousand days for a thief, but never a thousand days to guard against one.

Lin Zhongshi was startled and looked at Fan Bei with renewed seriousness.

He had not expected this friend, whom he had only just begun to understand, to possess such breadth of heart and decisiveness.

That one sentence was plainly a declaration of war on the unknown existence.

Compared with that, what had he chosen first? Flight.

Of course, he could say the other was merely a calf unafraid of tigers, but whatever the case, to dare think it and dare say it already put him one step above himself.

Fan Bei naturally dared to say it, after all, it would not be him doing the work...

But we do not have that strength, Lin Zhongshi said weakly, clenching his fists.

I think your sister’s backing is formidable. Why not have her step forward, and we pool some money for her? I won’t stand aside this time either; I still have some savings. If it really comes to it, paying in installments should be possible, shouldn’t it? Fan Bei said.

After all, it would all come back around in the end.

Brother Fan is truly righteous, Lin Zhongshi said, deeply moved.

It is easy to add flowers on brocade, but hard to send charcoal in the snow. If it were anyone else, they would have cut ties with me at once, perhaps even come to hate me for it.

Yet this valley lord is so benevolent. In this wasteland world, that is rarer than rare.

It is a pity he can see that this valley lord has no great ambitions and only wishes to live in peace. Otherwise, he would rather help this man accomplish some great deed in repayment of this kindness.

Those two books they gave him back then had indeed not been entrusted to the wrong person.

The two then discussed matters further, sorted through what little they had left, and through Steward He once again contacted Lin Zhongqing.

...

Uh, Brother Dongfang, it seems I may have overdone the act before, Lin Zhongqing said now, immersed in her own inner world. The human form she projected inside was standing hand in hand opposite a handsome man.

She was speaking to him somewhat sheepishly.

It does not matter. In truth, eliminating the evil existence that has been pestering your brother is not difficult. When you destroyed its three followers just now, I already estimated its level. With your present strength and reserves, you are sufficient to deal with it. The hard part is luring it into the real world, or else letting us enter the realm of spirit matter, the man said with great confidence.

Lin Zhongqing was instantly exhilarated. If she could destroy an unknown existence, what a dazzling achievement that would be.

As for the risks involved, she did not care. These unknown existences were themselves riddled with internal conflict; they acknowledged only strength and were all cunning to the extreme. As long as she demonstrated the ability to destroy one of them, she would earn their recognition.

A mob uprising was impossible. No one wanted to become the next target. By then, she would truly possess a territory of her own.