Chen Ling was just about to open his mouth when Uncle Zhao beside him spoke in a deep voice:
"Little Yi, can't you speak properly? You and A-Ling are neighbors who played together since childhood after all. How can you be so impolite."
Although Zhao Yi was reckless, Uncle Zhao was very smart. This sentence was scolding Zhao Yi, but actually, it was also meant for Chen Ling to hear.
He knew this son of his couldn't achieve anything great, had poor interpersonal relations, and didn't get along with Chen Ling previously... Now that Chen Ling had become a Law Enforcer, he hoped Chen Ling could take into account that the two grew up together and not lower himself to his level.
Although Chen Ling didn't mix in official circles in his previous life, he could still hear such a simple meaning.
Chen Ling silently lowered his head to drink soy milk, without saying a word.
Zhao Yi opened his mouth wanting to say something more, but was glared back by Uncle Zhao. Unhappily, he threw his backpack onto the dining table beside him, picked up a steamed bun, and started gnawing on it.
"Aren't you on the night shift today? Why did you come back so early?" Uncle Zhao asked.
"They're not working at the factory anymore, what can I do?" Mentioning this, Zhao Yi got even angrier. He spoke fiercely, "They haven't even settled my wages from a few days ago! I'll go demand it tomorrow!"
"Uncle Zhao, what work is Little Yi doing now?"
"Him? Forging steel at the Steel Mill." Uncle Zhao glanced at Zhao Yi and continued speaking, "This kid didn't study well and has no skills, so I pulled some strings to get him to work at the Steel Mill... Being outside melting snow day after day, how much money can he earn?"
Zhao Yi pouted his lips, seemingly wanting to retort, but could only silently lower his head and say nothing.
What Uncle Zhao said was indeed the truth. The money earned working one day at the Steel Mill was enough for him to go out and melt snow for the Road Bureau for several days... Doing odd jobs was ultimately not as useful as a formal job.
Chen Ling nodded.
What the Seven Great Districts lacked the least were factories. Apart from these few streets they lived in, further out were numerous factories. These factories solved seventy percent of the employment in the Seven Great Districts. If Chen Ling hadn't passed the exam to become a Law Enforcer, his final destination would very likely also be one of these factories.
"The Steel Mill also halts work?" Chen Ling was puzzled.
"How would I know? All the raw materials in the factory have been transported away now, there's nothing left. As soon as we went over, they told us to scram, and didn't even settle the money... Just what the fuck are the people in charge of that factory thinking?"
The more Zhao Yi thought about it, the angrier he got. He had finally found a stable job, and now it fell through... Did he have to go back to melting snow again?
"The raw materials were transported away? Transported where?"
"Where else could it be, Aurora City of course."
"There aren't any factories in Aurora City, what do they want raw materials for?" Uncle Zhao's face was also full of incomprehension.
"I don't know!"
Chen Ling thought for a while but also couldn't understand what kind of principle this was. Could it be that Aurora City was also going to develop heavy industry?
Chen Ling didn't understand these messy things. After finishing his soy milk, he slowly stood up and smiled at Uncle Zhao.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao, I'll be going back first..."
"Alright, take care on the road."
Chen Ling left a few Silver Coins and pushed the door to leave, only leaving Zhao Yi's complaints still echoing in the room.
He crossed the street and walked to his doorstep in a few steps. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the corner of the door. There were no traces of anyone having entered or exited. He took out his keys and opened the room door.
Whoosh——
Chen Ling lit the Kerosene Lamp on the table, locked the door behind him, and stood up on the table, his palm starting to feel around the crossbeam above...
A moment later, a token and a Ring appeared in his palm.
"There are no traces of entry or exit at the door, yet the things were put inside... Is this the level of the Thief Saint?" Chen Ling muttered to himself.
Chen Ling put the two items away close to his body, and raised his hand to extinguish the Kerosene Lamp on the table.
The room fell into darkness.
...
Meanwhile.
Aurora City.
On the bed, Chu Muyun's eyelashes fluttered lightly, and he slowly opened his eyes...
In the sealed bedroom, the curtain-like window gauze fluttered gently, as if an invisible wind had lingered here. Outside the window gauze was the silently surging sky full of auroras.
Chu Muyun gazed at the auroras outside the window for a long time, sat up from the bed, draped a White Coat Wearer from the wall over his shoulders, and pushed the door to exit.
The cold winter wind blew the hem of his coat. Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the aurora and the reflection of an indolent man on the eaves.
"Good observation skills, worthy of the 【Blood Slaughter】 Path."
That person gently pressed down the brim of his baseball cap and spoke with a light chuckle. A pair of silver snake-shaped earrings swayed silently under the moon.
"【Queen of Hearts】." Chu Muyun put his hands in the pockets of his White Coat Wearer and spoke calmly. "Senior suddenly gracing me with your presence, is there some matter?"
"Don't call me senior, it makes me sound very old."
"..."
"Just completed the mission from above, feeling bored, so I dropped by to chat with you." Bai Ye yawned. "After all, you are the earliest society member to infiltrate Aurora City."
"Senior Bai Ye, you not sleeping doesn't mean others also don't need to sleep."
Chu Muyun answered seriously, "Lack of sleep easily causes depression and obesity, and might also lead to heart disease, diabetes, as well as..."
"The prerequisite for humans to get sick is that they must be human."
"...Are you subtly mocking me?"
"Yeah."
"..."
Seeing Chu Muyun's deflated expression, Bai Ye laughed heartily, his mood seemingly much more joyful. "By the way, that rookie you recommended is very interesting."
"【Six of Hearts】?" Chu Muyun raised an eyebrow. "He's not just interesting... If you push him into a corner, then the whole world will become interesting..."
"I've heard. A World-Ending Calamity wearing human skin." Bai Ye was deep in thought, suddenly speaking with great interest,
"Say, what if I suddenly steal away his 'Sanity'?"
Hearing this, Chu Muyun's expression changed. He frowned and stared at Bai Ye, seemingly trying to see whether he was just joking or truly had this crazy idea...
"Don't look at me like that, I just said it casually." Seemingly somewhat spooked by his stare, Bai Ye shrugged. "You know I can control my hands... at least for now I still can."
"You better be able to control them always, otherwise, stay far away from him."
"Got it, got it."
Bai Ye leaned leisurely on the eaves, looking up at that unceasing sea of auroras. The courtyard fell into silence... After an unknown amount of time, he spoke slowly:
"【Seven of Spades】, have you noticed?"
"Noticed what?"
Bai Ye raised his hand, pointing at the aurora overhead that extended all the way to the horizon,
"The aurora... has grown fainter than before."