Chapter 653: Fortune
After completing the basic information gathering on his target, Lun Heping continued to follow online guides, disguising himself as a young countryman newly arrived in the city, and made his way to New York City's famous Sanhe District.
This was considered the most motley slum in all of New York City, a place where thieves, con artists, vagrants, illicit prostitutes... all manner of grey and black businesses, were crammed into this relatively small area.
Having always come from an affluent background, Lun Heping instinctively felt a sense of discomfort upon arriving in such a place.
"Work one day, play for three days, lah!"
"Hiring temp workers, 120 daily wage, paid cash!"
"..."
A cacophony of chaotic sounds from a pile of broken loudspeakers relentlessly assaulted Lun Heping's eardrums.
Within the range of his vision, he saw walking dead everywhere, their eyes dazed.
Some merely stretched upon leaving, then returned to their internet cafes to indulge in a life of debauchery; others, having run out of money, could only temporarily leave the internet cafes to seek places where they could earn some cash...
On the contrary, newcomers who, like Lun Heping, clearly looked fresh off the boat, were considered prime targets, lambs ready for the slaughter.
Newcomers who hadn't been fleeced in the first round often had the most 'remaining value' that could be squeezed out of them.
...
Gazing at this exceptionally chaotic area, the young man sighed with emotion: "If it weren't for her, I might have had to drift to a place like this to stand a chance of evading the Bureau of Investigation's pursuit."
"No, I might not even escape here." Lun Heping carefully noticed that on the roadside utility poles, there were quite a few wanted posters for himself.
From time to time, two uniformed individuals would hastily pass by, scrutinizing every vagrant slumped on the street.
...
A full month had passed without an arrest, and Detective Li Dawei of the Bureau of Investigation felt as if every day was a year. After one grueling ordeal after another, he had lost nearly ten pounds.
He had taken money from two parties, yet the matter remained unresolved, making it difficult to answer to anyone.
He had once discussed with Zhou Tong whether they could simply apprehend a random vagrant to take the fall, but Zhou Tong had immediately rejected the idea.
Are you kidding? What the organization wanted to reclaim was the Origin Stone in Lun Heping's possession; that little rascal's life or death was utterly irrelevant. What use would a stand-in be?
"Hey, kiddo, wanna sell ID cards? Under thirty, 200 a pop." A black market middleman, puffing on a loose cigarette, quickly zeroed in on the young man who clearly looked like a newbie.
Every year, a throng of young people his age would arrive here, only to have every last bit of value squeezed out of them within days, before falling into a pit from which they could never climb out.
"I..." Lun Heping, despite his disguise, still seemed a little nervous at being suddenly addressed by a strange uncle.
"I want to buy ID cards, and driver's licenses too." His answer exceeded the black market middleman's expectations.
"How many do you want to buy?" The fatty black market middleman suddenly felt a pang of regret. Why did he blurt out the buying price right away... he'd just given this fat lamb a pricing benchmark for free.
As for what the other party wanted to buy these things for, he never cared; it certainly wouldn't be anything legal anyway.
"Ten ID cards for people under thirty, plus ten corresponding driver's licenses."
"Driver's licenses too... that's a bit troublesome," the fatty pretended to say with difficulty.
Creating all sorts of "difficulties" and then jacking up the price was their infallible method for conning their marks.
"Three thousand kuai, non-negotiable, for ten ID cards with driver's licenses. If you can't do it, I'll find someone else." Lun Heping was extremely grateful that the other party had provided a buying price, allowing him to put on a show.
"You... very good!" The fatty smiled with difficulty, but internally, he was practically slapping his thighs raw with regret.
A perfectly good fat lamb, and he had overlooked it, quoting the cost price of the ID cards.
...
After obtaining a stack of other people's ID cards from the unscrupulous merchant, Lun Heping picked one that bore some resemblance to himself and went to a car rental agency, picking up the cheapest small car.
The laws of the Seris Empire were rather peculiar; one could obtain a driver's license at just twelve years old, so Lun Heping had also learned a little about how to drive.
"Today is Wednesday, Raul will be at the Green Light Bar tonight..." The young man checked the car's navigation and found he was not far from the Green Light Bar.
He casually parked the car in a roadside parking spot, then glanced at his watch.
It was just past six in the afternoon. According to his days of tailing him, Raul typically wouldn't come out to 'play' until half-past eight at night, meaning Lun Heping would have to stay in the car for over two more hours.
Seeing that he still had so much time, he decided to get out and buy a hotdog first.
Just as he opened the door, he felt a fragrant breeze sweep past.
"Hui!"
Over a month ago, Lun Heping had once visited Hui's room and, like a beast, secretly opened her wardrobe to smell her underwear, so the scent was still fresh in his memory.
Yet, after the fragrant breeze, the person herself was nowhere to be found, leaving only a letter.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a letter, just a hastily scribbled note:
"Classmate Lun Heping, I am Hui. I am truly sorry for dragging you into this terrifying world.
Time is urgent, so I can only highlight the key points.
First, I have been consumed by another consciousness within my body, and I can only control it for one hour a day.
Second, the one who truly murdered your adoptive parents is Raul, and the one who framed you for killing my parents is Iron Hand.
They have already colluded to make you bear all the blame and face the death penalty.
Third, don't trust the Bureau of Investigation or the Imperial Court; Iron Hand is also an organization affiliated with the Empire.
Fourth, try to obtain as many Origin Stones as possible.
Fifth, if you can, save me."
The note contained a jumbled record of information, clearly indicating Hui's extreme haste; the time she had to control her body was simply too short.
...
The Void Realm.
This was the Void Realm, named by Bai Mo, his own unique spiritual world.
After achieving Ghost Immortal status, a rudimentary form of the Void Realm appeared, and simultaneously, he awakened a pair of special eyes – the Eyes of Heavenly Fortune.
Like the Void Realm and many other things, the Eyes of Heavenly Fortune were also a product of his chuunibyo naming convention; their primary function was to observe the "Qi Luck" on everyone.
Of course, this "Qi Luck" was somewhat different from the ethereal Qi Luck defined in traditional Feng Shui and destiny readings. The Qi Luck observed by the Eyes of Heavenly Fortune was, in fact, influence.
At this very moment, a person's influence over others.
The head of a family, his thoughts could influence his entire family; the head of a village, his thoughts could influence the future of the entire village; a monarch, his thoughts could influence millions of common folk.
After years of experimentation by Bai Mo, the cultivation method of the Ghost Immortal path seemed to be precisely by absorbing "Qi Luck" to enrich the Void Realm.
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