Chapter Forty-Two: Misunderstanding

[Advancing…]
[Riding your little donkey, you pass through the vast white mist, and a massive, mountain-like black structure appears before you.]
[Black River Prison. You have arrived.]
[Riding your little donkey, you pass through the small door beneath the prison, returning to the place you know so well: the Night Watchers’ Headquarters of Black River Prison.]
Chen Qi let out a relieved sigh. Home at last, safe and sound, without encountering any trouble.

[You see your Night Watcher subordinates running toward you, reporting their patrols.]
[You collect these records, placing the tedious work documents on your desk.]
You feel the exhaustion deep within your body; the journey through the sewers has left you with a physical and mental fatigue far beyond what should be expected at your level.

[You have fallen into a state of dual exhaustion, both mentally and physically. Would you like to rest?]
Yes.

[Fatigue instantly sweeps over your body. As you ponder when the Hound Master will return, you collapse onto the cold bed, entering deep rest…]
The adventure has finally ended. Seeing his game character enter a resting state, Chen Qi stretched his limbs.

He walked to the window, drew open the curtains, and let the sun’s warmth massage his body—utterly comfortable.

Just then, a message popped up on WeChat.

Hmm? I thought I’d deleted all those noisy work groups.

Wait… it’s Brother Jiang Zan.

Did I forget something?

The rented apartment he used to live in still had two thousand yuan worth of leftover takeout, and a table chewed to smithereens by the Gluttonous Flower!
Thanks to the Umbrella Bearer, Chen Qi hadn’t dealt with those trivial matters.
But now, under the scrutiny of the Sacred Calamity Association, there was no way and no reason to go back.

Chen Qi’s face darkened as he glanced at WeChat.

The Sleepless Worker with Dark Circles (Jiang Zan): “Qi, talk to me. Did you borrow money and someone came after you? I know people your age are prone to vanity, borrowing money for girlfriends and such.”

Seeing the strange happenings in the house, Jiang Zan, after what he considered rigorous logical reasoning, guessed that all the takeout was meant to appease debt collectors, who, still unsatisfied, took up an axe and smashed the place!

“???”

Night Wanderer: “It’s not true, I didn’t do that.”

How did you reach that conclusion!? Chen Qi was momentarily speechless, typing to prove his innocence.

Night Wanderer: “I was just a bit hungry that day, so I ordered a bit more takeout.”

The Sleepless Worker with Dark Circles (Jiang Zan): “Impossible, absolutely impossible. With what I know about you, there’s no way you wouldn’t eat all that delicious food.”

“???”

Indeed… Chen Qi had no words for that.

On the other side of the phone, Jiang Zan took a moment to think. Chen Qi hadn’t borrowed money from him.

If he was short on cash, how could he order such expensive takeout? Jiang Zan suddenly realized—Chen Qi must have found some illegal but lucrative work.

Could it be…

Could it really be not financial debt, but romantic debt!?

Jiang Zan’s CPU was burning.

The Sleepless Worker with Dark Circles (Jiang Zan): “Did you invite your rowdy friends over for a party, ordering heaps of takeout?
Then, heartbroken, you smashed the furniture to vent your frustration?”

Chen Qi thought for a moment. Before saying farewell, he couldn’t let his reputation fall.

Night Wanderer: “I smashed the furniture myself, just feeling a bit stressed lately and needed to vent.”

The other side didn’t believe a word.

The Sleepless Worker with Dark Circles (Jiang Zan): “Qi, did you, after losing your job, go to some places you shouldn’t? Meet people you shouldn’t? You can’t do that kind of work.
The person smashing the furniture has quite the temper. And to break it to such a degree—you need to be careful.”

That Gluttonous Flower, indeed, required caution.

Chen Qi didn’t know how to reply, typing a few defensive lines, but the more he explained, the worse it sounded.

After a bout of verbal sparring, in Jiang Zan’s eyes, Chen Qi was about to sink into disgrace, his reputation already too dreadful to look at.

In the end, Chen Qi had to admit to a small part of Jiang Zan’s suspicions, transferred some money for furniture repairs, and told him he was going to work out of town, ending the conversation.

Staring at Jiang Zan’s speculative messages, Chen Qi propped his chin in contemplation.

Without external force, it’s hard for anyone to change.

Yet, under the power of the New Sun Game—forces beyond common sense—in just a few days, his life was utterly transformed.

Not only his goals, but his mindset and way of thinking had changed completely. His thoughts were no longer about retirement money, or housing funds, but about the pursuit of mysterious and unfathomable power.

“Huh… huh…”
Let misunderstandings be misunderstandings. Hopefully, my troubles won’t drag Brother Jiang Zan into them.

Once one becomes a World Wanderer with supernatural abilities, the past life becomes disconnected. Under the influence of the New Sun Game’s power, even if someone initially tries to maintain a normal life, they’ll soon be pushed by new powers into an entirely new world.

The next time he meets Jiang Zan, it’ll likely be when both are World Wanderers.

Chen Qi took a deep breath, recovering from the recent misunderstanding, glanced at his phone, and tallied the spoils of this adventure.

It had been a perilous journey, but the gains were substantial.

The Book of Black Prison, the Debt Collector’s Long Blade, the Heart of Wood, the Fruit of Darkness, the Fire Blade Page, the Dove’s Eye—all excellent treasures!

This rate of growth—not bad at all.

Chen Qi opened the New Sun Game’s inventory and examined his items carefully.

[Three Pages of the Decaying Elder’s Notebook] now had an extra tip.

[Tip: This notebook contains a translation of the Book of Black Prison, but your proficiency in the New Capital language is insufficient. Reading this notebook will be somewhat difficult.]
[Current New Capital Language skill: 75%]

Tsk… Chen Qi’s face darkened. He couldn’t blame his game character; after all, he’d never attended school.

New Capital language was presumably the common tongue of the New Capital. Chen Qi thought about it—shouldn’t be hard to obtain. The Day Wanderers’ Forum or Captain Chen Shi could probably provide a textbook.

The elder’s notebook was straightforward, but the Book of Black Prison’s warning was much more dire.

[Book of Black Prison
Type: Blade Void
Description: An ancient sealed tome, encrypted in a special spiritual language. On the cover, you can feel burning patterns.]

[Warning: You cannot understand this book at all. Just looking at its symbols gives you a headache. Beware: the script on every page is extremely complex, and forcing yourself to study it carries considerable risk.]

Am I trying to tackle “Advanced Mathematics” when I haven’t even memorized my multiplication tables?

Better set this book aside for now. Thankfully, the Decaying Elder translated part of its contents.

Chen Qi then examined another important find.

The Debt Collector Li’s Long Blade!

Inspect.

[Debt Collector Li’s Long Blade
Value: Judging by its appearance, this long blade is nothing special besides its length.
Description: A magical long blade collected by Li, measuring one and a half meters, with cloth strips wrapped around the handle. Though it appears ordinary, the inside is engraved with highly conductive magical circuits.
Furthermore, the blade’s hardness is exceptional; if you have enough strength, you can easily cut through stone and steel.
Description: A purely powerful long blade, whose strength largely depends on the user’s power and skill.]

The advantages are length and hardness; no description of attack power, nor any special effects?

Chen Qi’s eyes narrowed in confusion. According to the description, it’s a weapon that’s ordinary except for being hard and long.

The Shadow Stabbing Dagger does have limitations. Chen Qi considered practicing and testing this weapon.

More skills never hurt, and with the Blood Blade Fruit’s blessing, his proficiency with melee weapons was improving rapidly.

Chen Qi sent Debt Collector Li’s Long Blade into the real world.

Silvery fragments gathered in his hand, forming a murderous, imposing long blade.

Chen Qi grasped the blade, its weight forcing him to bend instantly.

Long! Hard! Heavy!

Though the blade was very long, with his current strength, even if it were made entirely of iron, it shouldn’t feel so heavy!

Chen Qi whipped off the sheath, revealing the razor-sharp blade.

He took a deep breath, balanced his stance, tensed every muscle, and attempted to swing!

At the instant of the swing, a piercing wind howled, releasing a fierce, murderous blade aura!

Chen Qi sensed that, with just a bit more strength, he could cleave a bear cleanly in two with this blade!

A remarkably powerful weapon—Debt Collector’s final gift was indeed valuable.

He temporarily sheathed the blade.

Gurgle, gurgle!

His stomach grumbled—he was hungry.

As his constitution and strength increased, so did his appetite.

He needed to get something to eat in the cafeteria, and perhaps run into Chen Shi or Lin Yuxing to get a copy of “New Capital Language.”