Chapter 75

Nearly all well-known mixed-blood families in the capital had been accounted for; the rest were merely scattered minor players, some of whom had excellent bloodlines but were not local.

Su Lin had no intention of wasting time searching for them.

Just like working at a company—your performance has already been met and won’t be affected; no matter how hard you push, you’re only enriching your boss, and your year-end bonus won’t change.

At this point, you should know how to slack off.

Fish are so cute.

“Your grilled fish.”

“Thank you.”

Su Lin sat at a bustling street stall, a small square table holding a grilled fish and a serving of braised pork belly.

He never expected his first trip to the capital would land him in Beijing of 2011.

Su Lin gazed across the street at the Sihe Academy; his past impression of the city came from various TV dramas and news reports.

That standard Sihe Academy seen in period dramas would be worth hundreds of millions in just a few years.

If he were the protagonist of a reincarnation novel, he should now be figuring out how to make money and buy one.

Fortunately, he wasn’t.

Su Lin took a bite of braised pig’s large intestine.

“So delicious.”

The chat group and the system were too good.

Come to think of it, even Lu Mingfei had his own small goal—what was it again?

Become an immortal or crown himself emperor.

It always felt like, aside from enjoying himself and wandering around, he really had no goal at all.

He was pushing himself now only because he feared some great being from his home world might return or spiritual energy might revive, dragging him into the tide of history.

Isn’t that how novels always write it? The protagonist gains some cheat system, then all sorts of random events, encounters, and heroines come rolling in.

Su Lin picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth; its yellow-brown crust was glazed with braising sauce, thick with spices, while the tender white interior was still hot.

He needed to find a way to keep slacking off.

To grow stronger for the sake of fulfilling his mission and saving all living beings? If power came at a cost, he’d bear it.

But if he could just cheat his way through the dungeon, why bother working hard?

His life wasn’t a novel; whether some struggling author who received an information stream and wrote a story about him could keep writing wasn’t his concern.

Watching the busy vendors and the hurrying passersby, Su Lin solidified his belief.

Seize every chance to lie flat—once you rest, you rest forever.

One hand gripping the fish’s head, the other the tail, Su Lin devoured it with no dignity, red oil dripping from the fish’s body onto the grill.

The side effects of the Tian Wang technique were truly incredible—it had made his temperament so natural and easygoing.

“Still need to… set… a bigger goal.”

Su Lin muttered to himself as he ate the grilled fish.

He was about to reach Golden Core—what if his extraordinary talent triggered the side effects of Nascent Soul directly?

It’s already salty enough…

A bigger goal, a bigger goal…

He thought about how even the other Lu Mingfei had a goal to advance human technology, mostly because he found today’s entertainment and games too garbage.

Think bigger.

Something that affects all of humanity.

Ignoring the surprised glances of other customers and passersby, Su Lin devoured the entire fish until only the skeleton remained, not even spitting out the bones.

He wiped his hands with cheap, low-quality paper napkins; an almost invisible stream of water flowed rapidly over his hands, their temperature rising quickly.

He waved his hands twice, dispersing the steam, then pulled out his wallet to pay.

“Fifty-six yuan.” The grilled fish vendor handed the grill to his wife and hurried over to collect payment, adding as he passed a child doing homework at a nearby small table: “Study hard! I’ll check your work later!”

“What grade is your child in?” Su Lin asked casually.

“Sixth grade—about to enter junior high,” the man said, pulling a stack of loose change from his apron pocket, neatly stacked and held together by a metal clip.

“So much homework.”

Su Lin saw several exercise books and test papers beside the boy.

“What can you do?” said the slightly overweight middle-aged man as he counted out change. “The competition’s fierce, the pressure’s high—if you don’t work hard now, what’ll you do later?”

“Everything’s getting more expensive these years—even my grilled fish has to go up in price every few months. I don’t earn much more, but my savings keep shrinking.” The man shook his head and handed Su Lin the change: “I just hope he won’t have to work as hard as we did.”

“Take care, come again.”

After muttering a few complaints to a passing customer, the man returned to the grill, took back the rack, and flipped another grass carp.

Decided.

His goal: to let all of humanity lie flat—live in ease, with food and clothing handed to them, just like him.

That’s a pretty big vision. Good.

Let humanity lie down until they’re sick of it, then introduce a “hero” to overthrow the utopia—he’d already figured out how to wrap it up.

After his late-night snack, Su Lin strolled slowly through the city, curious about what the current Lu Mingfei might be doing.

He’d already booked tickets to watch “Tokyo Love Story” live.

He just wouldn’t know how this “anomalous” Lu Mingfei would act.

Ding—

The chat group window popped up.

Huh?

【The first round of administrator (trial) voting will open in 72 hours.】

【Each group member may vote; the member with the most votes will receive one year of administrator privileges and an administrator bonus pack.】

【This vote follows principles of fairness, openness, and impartiality. Threatening others is prohibited.】

Ye Fan: “?”

Zhongli: “Administrator? Interesting.”

Han Li: “Finally arrived.”

Emiya Shirou: “@Han Li, collect your package. Talk about administrator after you wake up—sleep is more important.”

Emiya Shirou, exhausted from depleted physical energy, mana, magical power, and mental stamina, gulped down a bottle of spiritual fluid, leaned against a stone pillar, lowered his eyelids like iron shutters, and fell into deep sleep.

Ye Fan shook his head; a cloud appeared beneath Emiya Shirou and lifted him up.

He glanced at the Black Emperor, who was studying something, then returned his gaze to the chat group’s administrator notice.

He actually wanted to compete for this too.

Kleine: "I have experience managing large online groups."

Kleine: "Vote for me?"

Luffy: “Sure, but what’s an administrator?”

Kleine: "Someone who manages this group."

Luffy: “Too much trouble… whatever.”

Kleine: "You promised—vote for me."

Luffy: “Fine, I’m off to sleep.”

Xiao Yan: “Do you count that Tarot group you run, which relies entirely on members’ imagination, as management experience?”

Xiao Yan: “My Infinite Flame Domain won’t even accept your resume.”

Ye Fan: “You actually dare say that? You’re bringing up things that haven’t even happened yet.”

Zhongli: “An administrator should not only have management skills, but also the ability to foster growth—to promote the group’s development.”

Zhongli: “Even if you don’t win, you’ll still gain something, meeting everyone’s shared expectations.”

Lu Mingfei: “From a rational standpoint, that’s true.”

Zhongli: “...”

Bored, Lu Mingfei flipped through the Genshin Impact lore book, which included Zhongli’s character lines.

Su Lin: “When I become administrator, I’ll make ten thousand worlds bloom with peach blossoms.”

Ye Fan: “Speak human.”

Su Lin: “Red envelopes.”