Chapter 198: System Upgrade

"I'm willing. But that three thousand Big Ocean, I have to wait until my Siqiang comes out before I can give it to you!" Xu Damao said, rubbing his hands together.

He Yuzhu waved his hand with an impatient look on his face: "For the sake of this lousy business of yours, I even knelt down to my sister!"

"Many thanks, Brother Zhuzi!" Xu Damao squeezed out a smile, a smile that couldn't have been any faker.

"I'll lay it out for you: I've done you a huge favor this time. If you, kid, ever bite the hand that feeds you again or scheme against the people around me, I'll have my sister deal with you personally. Do you hear me?" He Yuzhu's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"Understood, understood! How could I dare, how could I dare!" Xu Damao nodded repeatedly, his face piled with a fawning smile.

"Then I won't keep you company; I'll be off first," He Yuzhu said as he stood up.

"Brother Zhuzi," Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he put on a cheeky, grinning expression again, "Could you find someone to let me go see my Siqiang? I need to know where he hid his money. In case he has any mishaps, you... you wouldn't be able to get the money either, right?"

"You damn bastard, you always have your reasons!" He Yuzhu rolled his eyes at him before relenting: "Fine, come find me at home tomorrow morning."

"Brother Zhuzi, I didn't bring any money today. Look at this meal..." Xu Damao lowered his head, putting on a pitiful act.

"Damn you!" He Yuzhu's temper flared the moment he heard that. "I was soft-hearted enough to help you, and you, on the other hand, made me lose both my wife and my soldiers! Forget it, I'll go settle the bill for you. Remember! You must pay me back when you have money."

Once the person left, Xu Damao immediately stuffed his cheeks and buried his head in the food, eating ravenously.

He ate until his face was flushed red, and while hiccuping, he cursed in a low voice: "They're all damn well acting for me! Do they really take me for a fool? You, He Yuzhu, aren't you just a bandit? That woman must be the bandit chief's mistress! Bah! And Jin Hai, he's no good either!" After venting his anger, he slammed the table: "Waiter! Pack this up for your young master!"

A waiter pushed the door open, looked at the empty tabletop, and was stunned: "Sir, you've eaten all the dishes, what is there left to pack?"

"Are your eyes blind? Didn't you see there's still a duck carcass there? I'm taking it back to make soup!"

"Got it! My apologies for being blind!" The waiter offered a fawning smile and hurried to clean up.

He Yuzhu walked out of the restaurant, the cold wind hitting him in the face.

He turned into a narrow alley, and seeing no one around, he took a brand-new radio and several exquisite foreign goods from his personal space.

Afterward, he hired a rickshaw and headed straight for Jin Hai's house.

He stood still in front of the door and raised his hand to knock three times.

The door creaked open a crack, and Jin Ying poked her head out, wrapped in a blue cotton-padded jacket, looking vigilant: "Who are you looking for? My brother isn't here."

"Sister Yingzi, it's me, He Yuzhu. Don't you recognize me?" He smiled and leaned forward, brushing the snow off his shoulders.

Dayingzi took a closer look, then laughed and scolded: "You brat! I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Haven't seen you in a year, and you've grown taller than me! Come in quickly."

He Yuzhu carried the items into the house. While warming his hands, he said: "Last time, I came to your place once, but I didn't see you."

"My brother said that at that time, I had gone to Tianjin with Xiao Duo's mother."

He Yuzhu took a radio out of a white cloth bag and handed it over: "Brought it back from abroad. You can listen to operas when you're free."

"Oh my, thank you so much! I've mentioned to my brother several times that I wanted to buy a radio, but he just wouldn't part with the money." Dayingzi smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.

She busied herself brewing a cup of hot tea and handed it over.

He Yuzhu took it, and while warming his hands, he began telling her about the strange things he had seen in the United States.

"One day, I was walking at night and suddenly bumped into something. I thought it was a ghost. But that 'ghost' spoke up: 'I'm right in front of you, can't you see me?' I replied: 'You're a ghost, how would I be able to see you!' But no sooner had I finished speaking than the other person grinned, and in the darkness, only two rows of white teeth were floating in the air... It turned out to be a black brother wearing black clothes."

Dayingzi burst into laughter after hearing this.

"I was wondering why my sister was so happy! So it was Zhuzi who came!" Jin Hai pushed the door open and entered, followed by Xu Tian.

"Brother, the things Zhuzi said about the United States are so fun!"

Jin Hai smiled, reached out, and patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder, asking: "Is your business all taken care of?"

"Almost. My Siqiang will be back after the New Year, and we'll get the He Ji restaurant up and running again."

"That calls for a celebration! Let's go, Donglaishun, let's go have some mutton hot pot!" Jin Hai said readily.

"Brother, I'm going too!" Jin Ying interjected excitedly.

"No, we have serious business to discuss." Jin Hai refused flatly.

He Yuzhu winked at her: "Another day, I'll treat you to listen to an opera at Qianmen and have another good meal."

The three of them went out.

The wind and snow had not stopped on the street, and the streetlights cast three long shadows on the accumulated snow.

Along the way, Xu Tian remained sullen.

"Brother Tian, why are you so down in the dumps? Did you break up with your girl?" He Yuzhu asked half-jokingly.

Xu Tian sighed: "The 'Little Red Jacket' has committed another crime, right in my jurisdiction. My superiors have set a deadline to solve the case; it's worrying me to death."

He Yuzhu's expression turned stern, and he whispered: "Take me to see the body another day; maybe I can be of some help."

He knew in his heart that the killer was "Shiqi" from Jin Hai's prison, but he could never say that out loud.

Xu Tian's eyes lit up: "Then I'll treat you to this meal today!"

Jin Hai waved his hand: "None of that."

The three of them ordered ten plates of mutton, and the Copper Pot bubbled with white steam, the aroma overflowing.

He Yuzhu raised his glass and smiled: "Master Jin, I'd like to take a neighbor to see Hu Yunbin, who is being held. I wonder if that would be convenient?"

Jin Hai squinted at him and nodded: "The Kong Family is behind this case. Do you really want to get involved?"

"Just taking a look, nothing else." He Yuzhu smiled innocently.

"Still playing dumb with your brother? You want to get him out, don't you?" Jin Hai lowered his voice.

"Take someone's benefits, resolve someone's disaster, that's how it goes." He Yuzhu reached into his bosom, pulled out a Jade Pendant, and placed it gently on the table. "This thing isn't worth much money, but it's quite important to me."

Jin Hai picked up the Jade Pendant to examine it, his eyebrows arching: "Yo, you kid are playing with antiques now?"

"I don't have that hobby; it's mainly because my sister—Liu Rusi—she likes this."

"Alright, just say what you want to know." Jin Hai was very straightforward.

"The day of the execution, what time does the prisoner transport leave, how many people..."

"That's no problem. When the notice comes down, I'll have Dayingzi tell Wang Jiazhi."

The three of them finished a bottle of wine and went their separate ways. Before parting, He Yuzhu stuffed ten Small Yellow Fish into Jin Hai's hand.

Jin Hai pushed them away a few times, but in the end, he accepted them.

He Yuzhu returned home, and the room was as cold as an ice cellar.

He had no heart to light a fire, so he hurriedly took out that Jade Bi and whispered, "System, I am willing to use this Jade Bi to upgrade the system."

With a "Swish!" sound, the Jade Bi vanished.

"Command received, system upgrading, please wait..."

About twenty minutes later, a notification sound rang out: "System upgrade complete, please verify, Host."

He Yuzhu focused his mind and entered the space, and his eyes suddenly brightened—the space had expanded to twice its previous size.

In the center was a lush green field of over ten mu, separated from the surrounding barren rocks by a layer of thin mist.

Outside the mist, it remained cold, hard rocky ground.

He Yuzhu walked to the center of the green field and discovered a clear pool of water, the water quality crisp and cold.

He Yuzhu asked, "System, which functions have been upgraded this time?"

System: "Please look at the panel." Before the voice finished, a light screen floated in the air:

Space Area: 9 square kilometers

Physical Function:

Strength: 3 to 5 times that of an ordinary person (Note: 3 times is the normal state, the 5 times peak can only be sustained for 3 minutes)

Speed: 3 to 5 times that of an ordinary person (rules same as above)

Space Ability:

Item Retrieval Distance: 6 meters

Retrieval Weight Limit: 10 tons

Environmental Detection Range: 30 meters

New Marking Function: Can mark enemies, treasures, or special locations

Space Rules:

Planting Area Time Flow: 2 times that of the outside world

Living Being Retrieval: Can be placed in the farming area to survive normally; if placed in the rocky area, they enter a dormant state

He Yuzhu felt Daxi in his heart.

There were still many sections on the light screen he hadn't looked at in detail, but the existing enhancements already made him very satisfied.

"This Jade Bi is likely worth more than several tons of gold... It seems I must collect more jade in the future," he pondered to himself.

After he exited the space, he slept soundly.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door.