Cured Sausage Fried Rice

The branch president of the Heroes Association in Deer Harbor City was an honest old man. He was dressed in a traditional martial arts suit and was playing with the two stewed meatballs in his bowl. However, his expression was a little anxious.

"That guy Broken Stream is really too reckless. How could he talk about this to outsiders!"

Half an hour ago, he received a call from his old friend. Broken Stream told him everything. At the same time, he expressed his willingness to accept any punishment from the association.

"But that's indeed his style of doing things."

Beside him was a middle-aged woman with short hair. She was dressed in a business suit in the style of District 2 and seemed very capable. Unlike the distressed branch president, she appeared calm and composed.

"This is also not considered a bad thing. Such a large world is not something an organization like us can swallow. Besides, even if we don't mention Broken Stream, other large organizations have already noticed it."

"The video conference from the headquarters has begun."

The entire conference room fell into darkness. Then, projections appeared on the 36 empty seats one after another. These people all had different body sizes. Some of the seats were empty as usual.

The figure seated at the head of the table said, "There are more than 25 seats present and the conditions for the Grade-S incident have been met. Now, we will begin the resolution after the Deer Harbor branch reports the situation."

"…Should we reveal the truth of the White Cavity to Esper organizations above Grade-A?"

...

At the same time, at the meeting point of the Brahman Sea Merchant Association's at Deer Harbor.

A sneaky figure walked into an inconspicuous shop called Mixed Beef Hotpot Restaurant. This restaurant was currently being used as a cover. The lady at the front desk wearing a red cheongsam immediately reached her hands out to stop her.

"Stop right there! You still know how to come back?"

Lots of Cash was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, quickly attempting to charge in.

But she had just taken a step when her movements suddenly slowed down, becoming as laborious as an old lady.

The lady in the cheongsam slowly walked up to Lots of Cash, her well-rounded hips swaying. With a light grab, she pinched the latter's ear as she lectured. "You still want to run in front of me? Tell me honestly, what did you do just now? Don't you know how late you came back?"

"There~~was~~a~~client, ~~Elder~~sister, release~~me~~first~~"

Lots of Cash spoke slowly as if she was in slow motion.

Only when Ji Yourong removed her Esper Ability could Lots of Cash speak normally.

The moment she saw Lots of Cash start to frown, Ji Yourong's hand that was pinching her ear turned another 60 degrees. "Don't make things up!"

Lots of Cash sobbed. "I haven't said anything yet!"

"You wretched girl, don't I know you well enough?"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you the truth, alright?"

"That's more like it!"

Lots of Cash hurriedly said, "I encountered a revived Mystic Beast at the disposal center!"

"… the uncle who came with me actually turned out to be a Grade-A Esper. Then, the director of the disposal center came out, and he was also a Grade-A Hero. The two of them started fighting…"

Lots of Cash gestured wildly as she spoke.

Ji Yourong was utterly confused by her storytelling, but she still understood the last sentence.

"Do you, Lots of Cash, have an instance where you owe money too?"

"Well, it's hard to avoid getting the shoes wet when walking by the river."

"Can you tell me how you ended up owing the money?"

"This… I remember I owed this money when I told the uncle to save my life."

"Looks like I have to tell Grandpa Qian about today's matter!"

"Don't! You mustn't let Old Man Qian know! If he finds out that I owed money outside, I won't be able to see tomorrow's sun! Elder sister! Elder sister Yourong!! You're my biological sister!! Ah, don't pull me, I~~can~~walk~~by~~myself~~"

In the dim basement, in a room filled with Mystic Beast shells and fur scraps, Lots of Cash sat in front of an old man with gold teeth.

"So, Duoduo, you left just like that?"

Qian Duoduo nodded weakly. "How can I not leave? I didn't give him any money, Grandfather. I didn't lose any money. You can't punish me with the family's law."

Qian Bukui was so angry that his hands were trembling!!

"Y-y-you, our Old Qian family doesn't have a granddaughter like you who owes money and refuses to return it! Return the money to that benefactor called West Chicken and remember to add the interest for these few hours!"

Qian Duoduo: "…"

"What? Grandfather, you're asking me to return the money? There's no such rule in our Qian family's ancestral teachings!"

"Are you going?!"

The carving knife in Qian Bukui's hand sparkled under the light.

"I'll go, I'll go! But Grandpa, your granddaughter has no money on her!"

Qian Duoduo gazed at him with bright watery eyes.

A black card appeared on the table.

"The password is your birth date. Remember, this man saved your life. You have to thank him properly."

Qian Duoduo touched her grandfather's forehead. "Grandfather, you don't have a fever. Elder sister Yourong, could it be that my grandfather has dementia? I told you it's not good to stay underground every day. Look at how sick you all are from holding it in. How much medical fees would this need?!"

"Get lost! Don't talk nonsense. Your grandfather is still healthy. Lass, go wash up and sleep first. You will send the money to your uncle West Chicken tomorrow."

After Ji Yourong sent Qian Duoduo away, she asked Qian Bukui with a puzzled expression, "Grandpa Qian, could it be that you discovered something?"

Qian Bukui looked at Qian Duoduo scrambling away to wash up with a pained expression. "That person called West Chicken definitely has an extraordinary background. What did he say to Broken Stream inside? It must be very important news. Girl, the most valuable thing in this world is always knowing information ahead of time. The world is getting more and more unstable now. Our Brahman Sea Merchant Association is also filled with hidden undulations. Grandfather, I, spent a lot of money, but it's definitely not a loss."

"Besides, it's a good investment to spend 10,000 dollars to befriend a Grade-A expert. Duoduo might be smart, but she lacks experience. Knowing how to spend money is a more important knowledge than earning money."

...

When Yang Xi returned home, the house was quiet.

After quitting her job as a hostess, Lin Naixue no longer needed to stay up late. She'd probably gone to bed early.

However, Yang Xi was a little surprised when he saw the bowl of cured sausage fried rice in the kitchen rice cooker.

There was a note stuck to the fridge beside him that read, "It's not healthy to eat takeout all the time! Good night!"

Yang Xi picked up the bowl of fried rice. The cured meat on it was even thoughtfully pieced together into a heart shape.

His stomach growled immediately.

However… when the rice reached his mouth, Yang Xi stopped.

He thought of his sister lying in the hospital.

He thought of the look on Hot and Sour Rice Noodles Hero's face after taking the blue pill.

He recalled what Broken Stream had said.

Yang Xi placed the bowl of cured sausage fried rice back in its original place and was about to throw the blue post-it into the trash can. After hesitating for a moment, he stuck it back on the fridge again.

However, the note had already become wrinkled, and the smiley face in the bottom right corner had also turned into a frowny face.

Lin Naixue had already started her new life. Yang Xi could feel that he was destined to face the darkness hidden beneath this world. For her sake, those dark and rotten things should not appear in Lin Naixue's life because of his selfishness.

Her future should be filled with warm sunlight. Whereas for him, he was destined to move forward with a heavy burden.

The cold shower water poured down on his head. Perhaps it was because of his fire-type ability, but Yang Xi did not feel the slightest bit of cold.

There was just a subtle feeling of sadness.