Chapter 94: Commission

“This,” Uncle-by-marriage Xue Jingming put down the bank statement and turned to look at his wife, Li Zhao.

“.” Li Zhao fell silent for a long time; as a senior executive at a moderately successful company, she certainly knew the current international financial market situation was far from favorable.

In the United States, factories were heavily deploying Prometheus Corporation’s automated robotic arms, causing mass unemployment and widespread street protests. The Middle East burned with war, oil prices remained stubbornly high, Europe teetered on the brink, and it seemed the Third Season of World War was about to begin.

The stagnation of overseas markets had rippled across the globe, causing financial markets to shift three times a day.

When financial conditions were booming, even pigs could fly if they stood on the right Fengkou . But under current circumstances, still generating stable, substantial profits could not be explained by mere luck or bold gambling—it demanded exceptional insight and deep expertise.

In other words, it had entered Li Zhao’s blind spot.

After a moment of silence, she slowly lifted her head and asked: “.” Have you found a house yet?

“Found it. In Huangbai District.” Li Cheng pulled up his phone album and showed her the house he’d chosen. “The lease is signed, appliances are all there, ready to move in with just a suitcase. I’ve also booked a moving company—they should arrive any minute. If everything goes smoothly, we can move in right now.”

Vrrr—

His phone vibrated. A text message showed the moving company had arrived downstairs.

Xue Jingming opened his mouth. “Leaving so soon? Won’t you stay for dinner?”

“No. I’ve got homework tonight.”

Li Cheng was not an overly emotional person. After hugging his family (his embrace with Aunt Li Zhao was especially awkward), he opened the door and let the movers carry away his four packed boxes of personal belongings. He descended the stairs, leaving behind the residence where he’d lived for over a decade, and transferred a substantial sum to his aunt and uncle’s bank account.

With Yuan Zhixia as an insider friend, he didn’t need to worry about authorities tracing the source or destination of the funds—saving him the trouble of laundering money himself.

Riding away, watching the building shrink in the rearview mirror, he took a deep breath and steadied his emotions. All players, himself included, had already passed the point of no return—even those near-godlike Lv40 transcenders.

————

Moving tip #1: First, observe the neighborhood layout—confirm the positions of surveillance cameras, blind spots, and security patrol times, and plan possible escape routes.

Step two: Inspect every corner of the room for hidden surveillance cameras or listening devices installed by others.

Step three: Take the sound-absorbing panels you already bought from the White Bone Corridor and stick them on the walls to muffle noise, making it easier to dispose of mammal corpses the size of deer later.

Final step: Carry out a series of renovations to the bathroom—replace the toilet and install your own wastewater filtration system.

Modern technology can achieve far more than most imagine—for example, police have a technique called “wastewater drug testing,” which analyzes samples from urban sewage systems to detect toxic substances in wastewater, giving them a complete picture of drug crime trends across an entire district.

They can pinpoint which areas have drug users, which have drug manufacturers, narrowing it down layer by layer until they identify specific households.

This technique isn’t limited to drugs—it can also detect blood, specific medications, and banned chemicals. The Special Affairs Bureau once used it to identify and locate lone-wolf players secretly taking enhancement drugs.

Kanchengguanfanghewuqi 。

“Sigh, lone-wolf players are such a hassle—you have to handle your own hair, blood, fingerprints, even shit and piss, afraid someone might secretly collect them and use cursed items like the Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Spell to cast remote hexes.

Self-made shit path, fight a shit battle, unaware of shit life, born into shit, die in shit.”

Just as Li Cheng was tightening the toilet lid screws and making up nonsense idioms, he unexpectedly received a friend request from Changsun Yao.

【I have a commission. Interested?】

Huh? Li Cheng’s expression turned surprised. He knew Changsun Yao’s World Nuclear Peace House wasn’t a major guild, but it certainly wasn’t some tiny clique of two or three players.

Any simple, easy commission would be handled internally—they wouldn’t reach out to outsiders.

Besides, it had only been a month since Li Cheng officially became a Chosen One. With the average player’s B-rank completion rating, he was probably around Lv3 now. What kind of good commission could there be?

“Still, once you’re in a line, you love it. After all, I’m Professional Mercenary Da Zai Zhi. Refusing without even hearing the details would make me look unprofessional.”

Li Cheng muttered to himself, typed a message on his friend communication panel, and began chatting with Changsun Yao.

The client was a wealthy businessman from the neighboring city. He started from nothing, built his company over twenty years, and now had nearly a billion in total assets.

He himself was fine—the problem lay with his descendants: his son had been chronically ill since youth, weak and frail; his newborn grandson, under a year old, had mysterious bruises appearing on his skin—faintly shaped like palms.

Home surveillance cameras showed no source of the bruises. Hospital examinations yielded no conclusions.

According to the client, even the Special Affairs Bureau was powerless—their instruments detected no abnormal fluctuations.

Helpless, he turned to World Nuclear Peace House, hoping they could send someone to provide real-time protection for his family over the next two days. The reward: three million cash per person.

Three million cash equated to roughly 240 game coins. Earning 240 points in two days wasn’t bad.

Newbie players often struggled to earn 400 points even after exhausting themselves in a single scenario. This wasn’t even a mission—just simple protection of ordinary people.

If everything went smoothly, nothing unusual would happen. No wonder they’d come to a newbie like him.

Li Cheng asked: “Three million cash per person? That means multiple players will be involved?”

Changsun Yao replied: “Yes. Everyone in my company is temporarily unavailable. Only [You An Jian] is free and willing to go—he met you once before in the Slums. Besides you two, the client has hired two other players through other channels.”

[You An Jian]—that young man with round-framed sunglasses, who looked just like Abing?

Li Cheng thought for a moment. “Hiring four players temporarily for two days means paying twelve million. With this businessman’s billion-level fortune, he probably can’t sustain this for long.”

“Correct. The businessman’s ancestral home is Wudun Town. He moved to Sucheng to build his business. These two days, Wudun Town is hosting the World Internet Conference—he’s attending and bringing his family back home.”

Wudun Town is very close to Yin City—just two hours by highway. It’s a picturesque ancient Jiangnan water town, a national 5A-level tourist attraction.

Tomorrow and the day after are Saturday and Sunday—no classes. Might as well treat it as a trip. Either way, no loss.

After brief consideration, Li Cheng accepted the commission, received more detailed information from Changsun Yao, and set off for Wudun Town.

(End of Chapter)