Chapter 133 - 130: Happy New Year

Chapter 133: Chapter 130: Happy New Year

Antique Shop Zero, in the study.

Jiang Chaosheng was looking at a document in his hands.

The document was clearly just a blank piece of paper, yet on it were words formed from shadows.

The words were still forming, as if someone were typing them out from a distance.

The original document had been created by Xia Li.

Since there was no signal in Antique Shop Zero, Yang Xiao had used shadows to transfer the words onto the paper.

"Yang Zhen..."

Jiang Chaosheng murmured the name on the document.

The little boy wasn’t nameless; it’s not like he just popped out of a rock.

His original name was Yang Zhen. His father was a gambling addict, and his mother had left with another man.

Alone and helpless, he was sent to live with relatives.

...

Yang Zhen’s life was miserable.

During meals, he never dared to take any meat for himself.

He was afraid his relatives would make passive-aggressive remarks at the dinner table.

Whenever guests came over for the holidays, they would call him a parasite.

In reality, Yang Zhen was very sensible. From a young age, he started doing chores, cleaning his relatives’ and their child’s rooms.

He didn’t want to be called a Vampire.

One day, when he was seven, his relatives’ child stole a hundred yuan from the house.

Suspicion for the theft quickly fell on Yang Zhen.

After all, he was the only one who regularly went into the adults’ room to clean.

Yang Zhen finally couldn’t take it anymore. He ran away and became a street urchin.

...

’Helian... Evil Crow is even worse at naming things than I am.’

As long as he paid attention, nothing in Antique Shop Zero could be hidden from him.

After finishing Helian’s file, Jiang Chaosheng leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his mind slowly turning.

He hadn’t brought Helian back simply because the boy shared a similarly tragic past.

’Hm... Actually, Helian had it much worse than I did.’

’At least I had a wonderful mother before I went to the orphanage.’

The main reason he’d brought Helian back was twofold.

First, Daji had said that Helian’s talent was exceptional.

Second, when Helian killed those people tonight, he had been terrifyingly calm.

Jiang Chaosheng murmured to himself,

"He’s a real talent."

’If Helian learns Daji’s Magic, Yang Xiao’s cunning, and Xia Li’s strategic abilities, he’ll be the perfect asset.’

Jiang Chaosheng’s thinking was very pragmatic.

It was just as Evil Crow had told Jin Meiting: if you want to win Jiang Chaosheng’s favor, you have to make yourself useful.

Lately, Jiang Chaosheng had indeed been feeling more sentimental, and he was trying to accept this part of himself.

But the fundamental logic of his survival would not change.

The useful are kept, the useless are discarded.

It seemed ruthless.

But from the day he entered the orphanage, no one had ever shown him any kindness.

This simple, brutal rule of survival was the secret to how he had managed to cling to life until now.

...

「The next morning.」

When Jiang Chaosheng got up and walked into the living room, he was greeted by the aroma of dumplings.

He mumbled,

"When did the Crow’s cooking get this good?"

Jiang Chaosheng went downstairs and approached the table in the main hall.

A plate of fragrant dumplings was already sitting there.

’There’s no way Evil Crow made these.’

’Oh, right. Evil Crow pawned the cooking duties off on Helian.’

Jiang Chaosheng suddenly remembered that last night, Evil Crow had told Helian there was to be no "questionable meat" on the dinner table.

’What did he mean by "questionable meat"?’

Jiang Chaosheng couldn’t shake the feeling that the way Evil Crow had looked at Helian last night was strange.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion.

Jiang Chaosheng looked toward the entrance.

Helian was on his tiptoes, pasting up New Year’s couplets.

Daji was rummaging through a plastic bag, looking for the horizontal scroll.

Xiaobai was running around wildly by the door, his tongue hanging out.

Evil Crow was perched on Xiaobai’s head, scolding him for not behaving.

A wave of warmth washed over Jiang Chaosheng’s heart.

’This is a rather heartwarming scene.’

Jiang Chaosheng turned away from the dumplings and walked out the door.

When Daji saw Jiang Chaosheng, she said with a radiant smile,

"My husband, you’re awake?

This morning, I took Xiaolian out to buy supplies for the New Year. I even bought your favorite treat, candied fruit."

As she spoke, Daji pulled the candied fruit from the plastic bag and handed it to Jiang Chaosheng.

The smile on Jiang Chaosheng’s face froze.

Daji asked uneasily,

"You don’t like it, my husband?"

Jiang Chaosheng took the candied fruit.

"I do."

He did indeed like candied fruit, but no one knew that.

’So, how did Daji know he liked candied fruit?’

Jiang Chaosheng guessed the answer: Daji’s real husband, the Human Emperor, must have liked candied fruit.

He gave Daji a deep, searching look.

’Are her memories starting to return?’

’If Daji discovers I’m not her real husband, given her cruel nature, she’ll probably cause a huge incident.’

’If it comes to that, the best course of action would be to eliminate Daji, leaving only the Nine-tailed Fox Demon Core.’

’But... I don’t know if I’ll have the heart to do it.’

Seeing Daji watching him with such anticipation, Jiang Chaosheng bit into the candied fruit and said,

"Sweet."

Only then did Daji’s face blossom into a smile.

Helian picked up the groceries they had bought and said,

"Let me make the New Year’s Eve dinner tonight! I’m an amazing cook!"

Jiang Chaosheng chuckled.

"Alright."

’The house is getting livelier and livelier.’

...

「Noon.」

A visitor arrived at Antique Shop Zero.

Liu Weiqian.

Upon seeing Jiang Chaosheng, he was noticeably more respectful, bowing deeply.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

Sitting behind the counter, Jiang Chaosheng closed his book and looked at him.

"It seems you’ve already found a way to use your research to extend your lifespan."

Liu Weiqian chuckled.

"As long as I wish it, I can live forever.

I believe it won’t be long before I make a breakthrough on the subject of bacterial control."

In this world, Liu Weiqian was the person who understood bacteria best.

If he claimed to be number two, no one would dare claim to be number one.

If he was number one, then number two was a world away.

After all, he could communicate with bacteria and even make them mutate at will.

Jiang Chaosheng asked,

"Once you’ve made that breakthrough, will you once again find life meaningless?"

Jiang Chaosheng’s own lifespan was infinite, but he was only in his twenties.

He wondered if he, too, would one day find living to be a bore.

Fed up with life, just like the other Managers.

Liu Weiqian said with great earnestness,

"I won’t."

Jiang Chaosheng stared into Liu Weiqian’s eyes, waiting for him to continue.

Liu Weiqian’s eyes burned with fervor.

"Only after getting this flute did I realize how ignorant and foolish I once was!

The world of bacteria is so vast; I had merely peeked past the threshold.

Bacteria existed back when Blue Star’s ecosystem had just stabilized.

The history of bacteria is immeasurably longer than that of humanity.

Bacteria have witnessed the rise and fall of human dynasties, the waxing and waning of human civilization.

Through my research these past few days, I’ve discovered that bacteria seem to hold some kind of secret."

Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow.

"A secret?"

A fanatical light surged in Liu Weiqian’s eyes.

"Yes! I discovered a miraculous bacterium.

This bacterium doesn’t obey the commands of the Beast Language Magic Flute.

It’s as if the Beast Language Magic Flute’s Extraordinary Level is far lower than its own.

I’ve been observing this bacterium continuously and found that it possesses immense destructive power.

Through communication and observation, I believe it once lived as a parasite on some kind of organism.

And it was no ordinary organism!

It’s highly likely... that it was an Extraordinary Creature!

And if I were to be even bolder in my hypothesis..."

Liu Weiqian’s voice began to tremble.

"It’s possible... this bacterium came from one of the Deities!

Bacteria from the body of a Deity... just thinking about it excites me!"