Yue Shi passed by an alley. It was very dark inside, flanked by old residential buildings, with only a sliver of orange-red sunlight peeking in from the entrance.
His soles crunched against the gravel, making soft, rhythmic sounds. Just as he was about to exit the alley, an old man suddenly rushed out from a corner and lunged straight toward him.
Yue Shi sidestepped. The old man lunged at nothing, lost his balance, stumbled a few steps, and fell.
The old man's knees hit the ground. He tried to brace himself with his palms but failed, tumbling onto his side and slamming his shoulder against the base of the wall.
“Ow, ow, ow!” the old man cried out in a sharp, loud voice.
“Help! Someone hit me! I’m dying!”
Yue Shi stood where he was, looking down at the old man rolling on the ground.
The number 7 floated above the old man's head, appearing exceptionally dim in the twilight.
“You hit someone, don't even think about running!”
“Look, everyone! This guy with only a 1 is bullying an old man!”
“Pay up! And you better thank us with total sincerity to raise our scores, or you’re in big trouble!”
Four or five people emerged from the shadows on both sides of the alley. They held up their phones, cameras aimed at Yue Shi, flashes popping a few times.
Yue Shi glanced at the numbers above their heads; they were all single digits.
So, he had run into a group of moral scammers?
A bunch of low-score dregs must have been blind to try and extort him.
Yue Shi lamented once again that not only was the cost of being a good person high, but the cost of being an ordinary person who didn't stir up trouble seemed quite high as well.
He might as well just stick to being a villain.
He glared menacingly at the old man.
“W-what are you doing?” The old man felt a surge of massive malice, and his voice began to tremble. His wailing stopped abruptly, replaced by a trill squeezed from the depths of his throat.
“Helping others, of course.” Yue Shi crouched down and grabbed the old man's arm. His fingers clamped onto the thin, bony limb like iron pincers, and the old man's face instantly turned pale.
“When an elderly person falls, one must certainly help them up.”
“No, no, no! Let go! Let me go!”
The old man struggled desperately, but that hand was like it had been welded onto his arm, completely immovable.
He could even feel his bones beginning to crack.
Yue Shi hauled the old man up from the ground. Before he could even steady himself, Yue Shi's fist landed on his shoulder.
Every punch struck a joint, making the old man howl in agony.
Yue Shi then grabbed another person who was taking photos, seized him by the collar, pinned him against the wall, and drove a knee into his stomach.
The young man's phone fell to the ground, its screen shattered, but the flash remained lit, illuminating Yue Shi's sinister face.
Yue Shi gave the group of moral scammers a brutal beating, leaving them crippled. No one was going to walk away from him intact.
The old man roared, “You only have a 1! Aren't you afraid of moral bankruptcy and falling into negative scores?”
“You could have just given us some money to make us go away! Why make this a life-and-death struggle?!”
Yue Shi sneered, “I’m just enforcing justice for heaven.”
...
Yue Shi changed his strategy.
This decision came to him right after he finished thrashing the scammers.
“Don't you find it strange?” he asked Ghost.
“In what way?”
“This world. Everyone is pretending to do good. The people helping old ladies across the street are fakes; the people returning lost wallets are fakes; even the people bowing in front of the Charity Porridge Shop are fakes. The entire moral system of this world is built upon one giant performance.”
Ghost thought for a moment. “Weren't you participating in that performance earlier?”
“Yes, so my good deeds were fake too.”
“So, what do you plan to do?”
“Expose the fakes.”
“Huh?”
“Expose the fakes,” Yue Shi repeated. “The moral fraud industry chain in this world—from the ‘thank-you transactions’ at the bottom to the ‘charity auctions’ at the top—it’s all fake from beginning to end. I’m going to cut that chain right in the middle.”
Ghost asked, “Are you sure it's not just because your farming efficiency was so low that you got crushed by a kid with a popsicle, and now you're lashing out in embarrassment?”
Yue Shi rolled his eyes and ignored him.
...
Early the next morning, the bald man from the Moral Accelerator company had just opened his shop when he saw Yue Shi manifest at the door.
He jumped in fright, instinctively plastering a smile on his face.
“Boss, so early? Do you want to farm points again? I’ve got a new batch of extras in today; their quality is even better than yesterday’s.”
Yue Shi raised a hand to interrupt him. “I’m not here to farm points.”
The bald man continued to smile. “Then what are your new orders, Boss?”
“I’m here to expose the fakes.”
“What? Expose the fakes?”
Yue Shi pushed his way into the office, acting like he owned the place. “There are two options before you. You can choose one.”
“First, you can personally post a public apology on social media, admitting that the Moral Accelerator company has been engaged in moral fraud for a long time, then dissolve the company and disappear forever.”
“Second, I’ll do it for you. My method might be a bit more... crude.”
The bald man turned pale with shock, thinking to himself, What’s the difference between these two options? It’s all just unnecessary nonsense.
However, his outward attitude was quite different. “Boss, that’s not very nice, is it? This is just a small business; I barely make enough to get by. You’re cutting off my livelihood!”
Yue Shi nodded, then proceeded to dig out all the thank-you certificates, moral evaluation reports, and client files in the office.
“Boss, what are you doing?” the bald man asked cautiously.
Yue Shi set the pile of papers on fire.
As the flames rose, the bald man’s face contorted. He didn't care about the items themselves; he was simply terrified. This long-haired youth in front of him clearly wasn't one for reasoning, and he had no idea what kind of trouble he was going to stir up next.
Seeing the fire grow larger, the bald man wanted to call for help, but he suddenly discovered he couldn't move, and no sound would come from his mouth.
Just then, he saw a mirror appear in front of him. His duplicate walked out of the mirror, held up a phone, and began a self-exposure: “I am a high-quality male, and I work in the moral acceleration business.”
“I want to publicly expose myself for long-term engagement in moral fraud. Hiring people for staged accidents, hiring people to give thanks, helping rich people farm their Good Person Card scores... I want everyone to see how the morality of this world has been turned into a business...”
Yue Shi had already left the office, but the fire was still burning.
The bald man was screaming silently as his duplicate used his phone to expose all his business processes, even claiming he wanted to atone for his sins by setting himself on fire.
Over the following period, Yue Shi visited various Moral Accelerator outposts.
It had to be said, this business was surprisingly widespread.
He first went to a Charity Porridge Shop and gave the owner a sound thrashing.
“Why are you hitting me?!” the owner shrieked.
Yue Shi replied, “I’m enforcing justice for heaven!”
The owner was stunned. A guy with a score of only 1 actually had the nerve to say something like that?
Truly, when a person is shameless, they are invincible.
Rate on N.U.
