Chapter 56: Bankruptcy |
"Honey, are you home yet?
"Oh my god, it's already five. I took two hours off from the art studio this afternoon and just finished up...
"Yeah, I'm getting ready to head back now.
"Did you just arrive too? How about we go out for dinner—oh, wait a second..."
At this point, Ying Shang's voice dropped several decibels, as if she had turned to speak to someone next to her.
"Is there a problem? Didn't you guys say..."
The rest of her words gradually grew hazy, fading away like a genuine dream.
After waking up, Shi Rang did not get out of bed. Instead, he lay on his side for a long time, trying to chase down the continuation of that dream, wanting to hold onto it and keep it from sinking back into the fog of his memories.
In the end, he only managed to retain that single fragment, repeatedly ruminating over what was likely just his own wishful thinking.
'If only this were true. If only all of this really left a trail I could follow. I can access the Management Authority's classified website and uncover all their secrets; I'll definitely be able to find you...'
Harboring both longing and hope, Shi Rang groped around for his mobile phone and tapped the screen on.
'It's nine in the morning?!'
He sprang up out of habit and bolted for the bathroom.
There was no time for breakfast. He just needed to rinse his mouth and hurry to the Newspaper Office. He was definitely going to get chewed out today, but at least—
Running to the bathroom door, he slowly came to a halt, eventually standing motionless in front of the mirror.
'Oh, right.'
He had resigned.
That realization brought an endless sense of peace and relief. Shi Rang swayed back into the bedroom, waved a hand at Jack—who was staring at him with wide eyes, and the other Mini-Humans were likely watching too—to signal that nothing was wrong, and lay back down.
On his first day of unemployment, he had to sleep in until at least ten o'clock to do himself justice.
Shi Rang lay on his side and scrolled through his phone. There were quite a few unread messages.
He could not be bothered to listen to the barrage of sixty-second voice notes from the Chief Editor, as they most likely did not contain a single kind word.
Jun Zi was asking him about work again, but how could the current Shi Rang possibly go out and properly look for a job?
It had been a while since he had chatted with Jun Zi. After thinking for a moment, he picked out some things he could safely share.
[Where Are You Ying Shang: I quit. I even grabbed a bonus before leaving (Grin)]
[Jun Zi: ?!?!]
[Jun Zi: Look at you, Rang! You finally figured it out. Did you slam the door in his face on your way out? I've been sick of that pig-headed boss for ages. You're a top student who could be a historical consultant; you need to speak with a bit more backbone!]
[Where Are You Ying Shang: Definitely. He was so shocked he spilled coffee all over himself.]
[Jun Zi: Then I won't bother you with work stuff anymore. Get some good rest. Congratulations on returning to the human world from the corporate slaughterhouse! Hurry up and treat yourself to a good meal, don't shortchange yourself!]
[Jun Zi: (Transferred 500 yuan)]
[Jun Zi: Come hang out when you're free. I'll sort out your cross-district visa!]
[Where Are You Ying Shang: For sure!]
Shi Rang didn't stand on ceremony with Jun Zi.
Although they had only met online through playing tabletop RPGs right before starting university, they had hit it off immediately. After four years of hanging out in person, they remained the best of brothers to this day.
His past stubbornness and weakness hadn't affected their brotherhood, which was simply the best news possible.
Shi Rang and Jun Zi continued their idle chatter for a while, talking about everything under the sun, from trivial daily matters to politics. It wasn't until almost ten o'clock, when Jun Zi got busy on his end, that Shi Rang closed the chat window to continue checking his unread messages.
He wasn't in a hurry at all. Other than Ying Shang and Jun Zi, no one else's messages required his immediate attention—the Chief Editor used to be on that list, but he had now been booted out.
Two follow-up evaluation calls from the hospital. Swiped away.
A few well-wishes from former colleagues at the Newspaper Office—two of them had even used the exact same template. Replying with a 'thank you' was enough to be polite.
The senior editor who had initially mentored him into the journalism industry sent a congratulatory message. He likely knew that Shi Rang was the reporter investigating the smuggling case, but didn't know he had already resigned. Taking the opportunity, Shi Rang wrote a long thank-you letter, expressing his gratitude for the senior's help in getting him into the industry and giving him the chance to investigate.
The colleague who had lent him the camera readily agreed to sell it to him and even sent over the camera's original receipt. The quoted price was...
150,000?!
Shi Rang's heart nearly stopped in fright.
Clutching his chest, he recounted that long string of zeros and realized he hadn't miscounted.
Trembling, he looked toward the living room. From this angle on the bed, he could perfectly see that battle-damaged camera sitting on top of the cabinet.
"Jack, can you guys fix that blood-smeared camera..."
The boy asked around among the Mini-Humans before finally giving a somber shake of his head.
'CVA-whatever-the-number-is is a camera with self-repairing and self-cleaning capabilities... Wait, I can't just expect anomalous solutions for everything!'
Frantic, Shi Rang checked the camera's current market retail price. After suffering a second devastating blow, he ran into the living room, carefully moved this colossal money pit to the computer desk, and attempted to salvage it.
As long as he and the Mini-Humans could clean off the bloodstains and replace the lens, everything would be fine—
As he set the camera on the desk, it let out a soft rattle.
Shi Rang tilted his head and gently shook it again, realizing the sound was coming from the inside.
Some parts inside must have broken when he was rolling around on the ground being chased by walking corpses.
For a split second, he even had the urge to seek out the Management Authority to turn himself in.
'Does this count as a private loan? Maybe I can discuss paying in installments with my colleague?'
His colleague seemed to realize this was a massive sum as well. Before Shi Rang could painfully squeeze out a plea for mercy, the colleague proactively proposed a new solution.
[No worries, I have two others with better specs. This one has been gathering dust at my place for a long time anyway. Take it if you like it, just give me the trade-in value as a token amount.]
What a good guy!
How had he never noticed this colleague was so loaded before?
The final quoted price was 50,000, which still exceeded Shi Rang's entire net worth. As an undocumented person, he had to bite the bullet and use Ying Shang's credit card to borrow another 3,000, finally plugging the hole.
[Account Balance: 678 yuan], with an additional debt of 3,000 yuan.
Shi Rang officially declared bankruptcy.
A mysterious third party that could strike at any moment, an imminent debt crisis...
One trouble after another was simply the norm of his life.
However, since he had managed to escape from the Second District penniless back then, he could definitely overcome these obstacles now.
After eating breakfast, Shi Rang managed to regain a little bit of confidence.
He listed out his current problems on a piece of paper, drawing circles around "third party" and "money." He didn't mind looking for odd jobs, but with the third party's information remaining unknown, he worried about dragging the people around him into his mess. Naturally, the best solution was to leave home for a while, find some remote backwater, and wait for the third party to come knocking. But now that he was out of money, he couldn't think of anywhere to go.
If it weren't for the five hundred yuan Jun Zi had sponsored him with, he wouldn't even be able to afford food, let alone support over three hundred Mini-Humans.
In his imagination, the third party was immensely powerful and resourceful. They undoubtedly wanted that information desperately, so it was quite strange that they still hadn't shown up at his door.
Anyway, he would just wait a couple of days and see.
If he was just fighting imaginary battles with the air, it would be a complete waste of energy.
His other priority was getting money. The faster and more of it, the better. But the only methods he could think of were written in the penal code...
'Where am I supposed to get money?'
Gradually giving up on thinking, Shi Rang shifted his gaze back to the Mini-Humans.
During his breaks while cleaning up, he had provided them with some fabric and paper, as well as thin wooden planks leftover from when Ying Shang built a flower stand. Now, a miniature town had been built on the bottom shelf of his cabinet. Finger-sized houses surrounded Jack's messy tent like stars orbiting the moon.
"Jack, could you help me do a headcount and tally everyone's status?"
"Do we need a tally?" The boy ducked out from under the tent fabric, which was propped up on a glasses case, barely clinging on. "Including me, there are 328 of us, not a single one missing!"
"I need more detailed information on professions and skills, to make it easier for me—wait, why do I remember there being 326 of you before?"
"Two of the aunties gave birth last night. Look, the little babies are right here."
Shi Rang raised his magnifying glass. Following Jack's finger, he saw two mini-children sprinting around wildly between the tiny houses. One was about one millimeter tall, and the other was half that size.
'...What kind of babies are those?'