“Good, good. I’ll be right here in the guardhouse. If you need anything, just shout. Don’t be shy.”
“Thanks, Uncle.”
Yin Yang gave a polite smile and walked into the center of the warehouse with the cat carrier on his back.
He first glanced at the security cameras inside the warehouse, then gently tapped the carrier.
“Try to show a little restraint.”
“Meow~”
Canned Food chirped in response and elegantly leaped out of the bag. Its little nose twitched before it dashed toward a corner!
Yin Yang had no intention of helping. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through short videos.
“Meow!”
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
It was like a tiger among a flock of sheep; the entire warehouse echoed with the frantic screams of rats.
One.
Two.
Three.
After Canned Food bit a rat to death, it would trot over and drop it in front of Yin Yang.
By the time Yin Yang finished watching two educational videos, the ground before him was covered in rats.
“Meow~”
“Any more?”
“Meow~”
“Alright, work’s done.”
Yin Yang stretched and stood up. Ignoring the ‘carpet of corpses’ before him, he walked to the door and knocked on the guardhouse window.
“Eh? Young man, what’s up?”
“Uncle, the rats are all caught. I’ve laid them out on the warehouse floor.”
“Huh? So fast?”
The elderly guard took a curious look inside, letting out a startled cry when he saw the field of rat carcasses.
“Good heavens, that’s so many!”
“This... this is...”
Yin Yang adjusted his cat carrier and smiled.
“Who do I see for the payment?”
The guard snapped out of his shock.
“The boss didn’t expect you to be so quick. Tell you what, young man—come back tomorrow morning. Finance doesn’t open until eight.”
“Sure thing.”
Yin Yang agreed and stepped out of the warehouse.
The guard looked at the shared bike parked by the entrance.
“Your company... is quite humble.”
“Hahaha, it’s just convenient.”
Yin Yang hopped on the bike and waved to the guard.
“Bye, Uncle.”
“Bye, bye, bye.”
The guard watched Yin Yang ride away before heading back to his post.
“That young man is decent. He’s not even worried about me dodging the bill.”
Little did he know, Yin Yang was an expert at collecting debts.
...
Early the next morning, before Yin Yang could even head to the finance office, the warehouse owner sent someone to deliver the gold notes.
The messenger was the owner’s driver, and he spoke with a hint of arrogance.
“Our boss said you did a good job. He’ll look for you again if the opportunity arises.”
He didn’t wait for Yin Yang to reply before turning to leave.
From start to finish, he didn’t even bother to verify Yin Yang’s identity, as if he weren't worried at all about giving the money to the wrong person.
After he left, Yin Yang spread out a map and began to study it.
“Mangliang City is divided into four districts: East, West, South, and North.”
“The East District is the wealthy district. It’s said to be the location of Mangliang City’s dragon vein. People of status—hospital directors, lawyers, bureau chiefs—all live in the East District.”
“The West District is the commoners' district. That’s where we are now.”
“The South District is the new district. It’s being heavily developed recently. They supposedly want to turn it into a tourism and social media hub to attract visitors.”
“Finally, there’s the North District—the industrial district. All of Mangliang City’s core enterprises are located there.”
Yin Yang tapped the North District.
“I think this is a good place.”
“The workers there have plenty of resentment. They need help the most, don’t you think?”
“Meow~”
Canned Food licked its paw, utterly indifferent to Yin Yang’s plans.
“What about you? Where do you want to go?”
“Meow~”
Canned Food pressed its paw directly onto the East District.
“Oh? You want to go to the East District? Why?”
“Meow!”
“Lots of trash cans? And the trash inside is high quality?”
“Meow!”
“You’ve got a point!”
Yin Yang gave Canned Food a thumbs-up.
“However, the cats in the wealthy district are all kept indoors. Plus, there are pet hospitals there that might ‘kindly’ help stray cats get snipped!”
At those words, Canned Food’s cry changed instantly.
“Meow?”
“Yep.”
“Meow!”
“Mm-hmm, I’m not lying!”
“Meow!”
Canned Food slapped its paw onto the West District, decisively abandoning its previous choice.
Yin Yang tucked the map away with a laugh.
“Then let’s get moving!”
“Meow!”
...
Mangliang City.
North District.
This place was filled with factories of all sizes. Massive chimneys towered high, constantly belching black smoke into the air as if trying to turn the blue sky into night.
The sprawling streets were filled with vehicles and numb crowds.
There weren't many smiles on these people’s faces; there was only a sense of urgency, as if time were running out.
Yin Yang crouched by the roadside, breathing in the slightly foul-smelling air, and sighed inwardly.
‘The people here seem to have become the walking dead. They’re trapped by life.’
‘The shackles of existence force them into an unchanging routine. Even a tiny accident could destroy everything they have.’
‘This makes them increasingly cautious, terrified of making a mistake, even afraid that someone else will replace them.’
‘So, when faced with unreasonable exploitation, they don’t refuse.’
Thinking this, Yin Yang stood up slowly.
‘Controlling people like this is too easy. You only need to give them a sliver of hope to drive them mad.’
‘Actually, you don’t even need hope. You just need a reason—a reason for them to take a step forward.’
‘For example, a spontaneous trip. After all, youth should leave behind something worth remembering.’
‘But that seems unfair to them.’
‘A donkey could have quietly turned the millstone, but you insist on removing its blindfold, letting it realize that all these years it hasn't been moving forward, but has just been walking in circles.’
‘For the donkey, is that letting it see the truth, or is it destroying its life?’
Yin Yang couldn't help but smile. He thought that if that silver-tongued instigator from the True Knowledge Society were here, a few speeches would be enough to incite a riot.
No wonder there were so many cults in Great Wei, and why they succeeded so often.
This soil was simply too perfect for proselytizing!
Yin Yang stretched and looked toward the factories with a grin.
He would give these people a glimmer of light!
A glimmer that would help them endure!
As for whether they chose to use that light to remove their blindfolds or to numb the pain of turning the millstone—that would be their own choice.
...
Huanggang.
“Dad, we’re back again. Is it really okay?”
“Of course it is. There’s no one left alive in Huanggang. Who’s going to remember us?”
Hearing this, Lu Ming’s face fell into an expression of sorrow.
The previous evil god incident had nearly wiped Huanggang off the map.
The reason it was ‘nearly’ was because their family were also locals, and they were the only ones left.
Lu’s father walked into the temple.
“This temple was built with money from the Lord Envoy. He said I’m the temple priest here, so I’m the temple priest. Understand?”
“Understood.”
Lu Ming picked up a broom to help clean.
Lu’s father took out three sticks of incense and respectfully offered them to the Lord of Rebirth and Communion.
“You’re still young; there’s a lot you don’t understand.”
“To a deity, every temple is precious. We must never leave lightly.”
“Huh? Precious? Why?”
“Because a god can only descend in a place where their temple stands.”
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