Chapter 4: Newcomers to the Universe Chapter 53: Cherish the Present
After the gold and silver were deposited in the bank, Xu Jingming finally relaxed: "All the work is finally done."
Of course, there are also the sword king's weapons, Cheng Yanran's jade pendant and other items hidden in a residential house. Now the situation is too tense and it is not suitable to sell them. The price is too low now.
"Go take a bath first." Xu Jingming didn't like going to those bathhouses. He would rather boil some hot water, take a nice bath, and change into new clothes.
Wearing official uniform inside and a green robe outside, with a wine gourd hanging around his waist and a gun bag on his back, Xu Jingming strolled leisurely towards the Nanfu headquarters.
"I, the Blood Rain Guard of the Ministry of Justice, only go there once on the reporting day. I haven't been there recently. I'm so incompetent." Xu Jingming laughed at himself secretly, because he was directly managed by the chief officer of the Ministry of Justice, Niu Tixingshi, who had said that he would not manage him in the next few months, so he was naturally very relaxed.
"The recruitment period for this team of space citizen players I have is still more than half a month, so we can't waste it. Whether we can collect 10,000 gold depends on this half month."
"First I have to find a good hunting target."
Xu Jingming came to the hall where the files of the Ministry of Justice were stored and began to read each file carefully.
The last time was to deal with Cheng Yanran, so I read the files specifically.
this time……
If you want to determine your hunting target, then your reading range will be broad.
"Gulp gulp." Carrying a wine gourd beside him and taking a sip occasionally, Xu Jingming patiently read through the files one by one.
From day to night, even at night, the file hall was lit brightly with candles as thick as children's arms.
"Um."
After reading so many files, Xu Jingming had some goals in mind.
"Looking around the imperial capital, there are many rich people. But most of them are fixed assets! Even if there is cash... they are all silver notes that need to be encrypted." Xu Jingming thought, those wealthy businessmen and big families, their huge wealth is usually in silver notes with text codes! It's useless if the thieves rob them. If the silver notes are lost, they can still get them back with their identity badges and text codes.
"I need real gold and silver."
"Anyone who dares to put out so much gold and silver is not easy to deal with." Xu Jingming closed the file.
The places with the most gold and silver are large banks! For example, the headquarters of Qishalou! But these places are full of traps, which is not something that a team can provoke. And there are too many gold and silver, so you can imagine the world's targeting.
"There are 20 to 30 candidates now." Xu Jingming roughly defined the scope first, "Don't worry, there is still plenty of time."
These alternatives are all rich and unkind, bringing disaster to everyone.
When Xu Jingming took action, everyone felt that he was acting in the name of justice!
“Woo.”
Xu Jingming stood up, stretched, hung the wine gourd around his waist, and walked out with his gun bag on his back.
Now it was dark outside, and many Blood Rain Guards had left their offices and were preparing to go for dinner.
"Brother Jing." Xu Jingming walked in the small city of Nanfu for a while when he suddenly heard a pleasant voice.
Xu Jingming turned around and saw the one-armed female swordsman Qiu Tong, who looked very happy.
"Sister Qiu Tong." Xu Jingming also walked over happily.
"I heard that you went to the Ministry of Justice. I looked for you several times but couldn't find you." Qiu Tong said.
"I'm just doing an idle job now. I don't need to report for work normally and I just hang out around." Xu Jingming said.
Qiu Tong immediately said, "Come on, come on, it's rare for us to meet, I'll treat you today."
"Okay." Xu Jingming did not refuse.
After leaving Nan Mansion, the two found a secluded tavern.
There were only two private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant, and Xu Jingming and his companion entered one of them.
"Don't be fooled by the ordinary appearance of this place. The craftsmanship is really extraordinary. I come here every few days. It's just a little far from Nanfu, otherwise I would come more often." Qiu Tong said with a smile.
Xu Jingming could see that Qiu Tong was living a very comfortable life.
"Let me order some food." Qiu Tong said enthusiastically.
A young girl walked into the private room and said familiarly, "Sister Qiu, you are here."
"First, five pounds of braised beef. Their braised beef is completely different from other restaurants." Qiu Tong explained, and then ordered several dishes in succession, "Finally, two large bowls of beef and mushroom rice, and a jar of your Qingye wine. Xiaoqin, serve the dishes quickly."
"Don't worry." The girl immediately went out to make arrangements.
Soon, a jar of Qingye wine and a large portion of braised beef were served.
"Hmm." Xu Jingming picked up a piece of braised beef with chopsticks and took a bite. He immediately felt as if his taste buds exploded. The outside was crispy and the inside was tender, with gravy inside. Xu Jingming had sharp teeth and he could chew it clean in two bites.
For masters like Xu Jingming and Qiu Tong, after reaching cellular level control, their stomach's digestive ability is also very strong, and eating 20 to 30 kilograms of meat in one meal is no big deal.
Of course, after a fierce battle, they may lose ten or twenty pounds, and under their control, almost all the weight lost is fat.
"Not bad, not bad." Xu Jingming said, "This braised beef has an extra step of 'roasting'?"
"Yes, the ingredients are more exquisite, and the surface is baked to a crispy texture, while still ensuring the tenderness inside." Qiu Tong was also eating.
One dish after another.
Qingye wine is a relatively light drink.
"Sister Qiu Tong, I feel like you're living a pretty good life. You know all the delicious restaurants around here." Xu Jingming couldn't help but admire Qiu Tong as he listened to her talk about the delicious food while holding a piece of bone meat in one hand.
"In fact, I was also quite depressed when I first arrived at the Criminal Prison Department." Qiu Tong said while drinking, "The Criminal Prison Department is too boring. Every day I am responsible for guarding the prisoners like a fool. There are no daring thieves who dare to go to the prison of the Southern Palace Headquarters to rob prisoners, so every day is really boring. It's just that I can squeeze money from the prisoners, which is a bit interesting."
"I heard that if you go to the prison at the Nanfu headquarters, you will have no chance of coming out alive without a few thousand taels of silver," said Xu Jingming.
"I can't do anything about it." Qiu Tong shook her head. "This world is a mess! If you ask for benefits at every level and I don't want the ones that are given to me, I won't be sociable! I will be excluded."
Xu Jingming understood this.
"Luckily, I'm a vice-captain, so I can be lazy." Qiu Tong said, "Usually, my favorite thing to study is food. The imperial capital is the imperial capital! It gathers the best food from all over the world."
Xu Jingming immediately said: "You have to tell me in detail one by one. I am free now, so I can taste them slowly."
At least Xu Jingming was very satisfied with the food in this secluded restaurant.
"Okay, no problem." Qiu Tong nodded and suddenly said, "By the way, have you visited Brother Luo recently?"
"The last time I went to Fei's house, I heard that he had moved out." Xu Jingming said.
"Um."
Qiu Tong nodded, "I heard that he opened a small restaurant and just took in two concubines. I guess he wants to continue the family line and live a peaceful life."
"Take a concubine?" Xu Jingming was surprised.
"He didn't tell me either. I found out by chance when I was chatting with other Blood Rain Guards." Qiu Tong said, "After all, the three of us came from Lanyue City together. We should take care of him a little bit in the future."
"Yeah." Xu Jingming nodded, "Pay more attention."
"In the beginning, among the three of us, Brother Luo suffered the most. I lost an arm, and Brother Jing, you are the strongest... but now you have been demoted to an ordinary Blood Rain Guard." Qiu Tong shook her head, "I have seen through it. It is really difficult to survive in the imperial capital."
"It is difficult." Xu Jingming nodded. He had brought disaster upon himself even though he had not provoked Cheng Yanran.
Zhang Ke and his brothers were also innocently affected.
"I've been in the Nanfu headquarters for a long time, and I can feel that... the world is really in chaos now. Even the Blood Rain Guards in the imperial capital are trying to find a way out." Qiu Tong said.
"Planning for a way out?" Xu Jingming was stunned.
"The northwest is now completely corrupt, and the southern region is not much better. Only the eastern region can still maintain the most basic order." Qiu Tong whispered, "The Blood Rain Guards in the imperial capital secretly believe that this world may not last much longer, so they naturally want to make as much money as possible."
"Forty thousand Blood Rain Guards and two hundred thousand auxiliary guards are enough to guard the imperial capital, but if you want to pacify the world...it is far from enough." Xu Jingming also nodded.
The two of them were chatting after having a good meal and a few drinks when they suddenly heard a quarrel downstairs.
"There's such a big dead rat in the soup. I'm Sixth Master, I'm so sick. If you don't give me an explanation, I'll smash your restaurant!" The loud voice from downstairs could be heard throughout the restaurant.
"Let's go down and take a look." Qiu Tong said.
"Let's go." Xu Jingming stood up.
The two of them came to the first floor and saw a group of people sitting at two tables. One of the leaders was pointing at the soup and said, "Look, look, such a big dead rat. Isn't it disgusting? You are still running a restaurant? You might as well close it down as soon as possible."
"Sixth Master, Sixth Master." An old man stepped forward and said, "We are willing to make amends. How much do you want? Just tell me."
The leader, the pointed-faced man, held out his big palm and said, "Five hundred taels of silver, and I will be lenient and forgive you, Sixth Master."
"Five hundred taels?" the old man exclaimed.
"Brother Wang, it's them." The young waitress brought in two patrolling guards from outside. When the two guards saw the dozen or so people making trouble, they couldn't help but frown.
"Wang Cheng, you're here at the right time." The pointed-faced man sneered and pointed at the soup. "Look at the dead rat in the soup. It's really disgusting. If you don't explain to me today, how can I, Chang Laoliu, survive in the capital?"
The waitress angrily scolded: "This is a big bowl of meat soup. If there is a dead rat in it, you drank up most of the soup! Did you take out all the meat?"
"Don't say it, it will make me even angrier!" the pointed-faced man said angrily.
"We scooped out all the meat from the soup and ate it, but you didn't get a dead rat this big?" the girl shouted angrily.
"It's just a coincidence!" the man said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense, five hundred taels of silver. I will spare you, otherwise today... my people will smash your restaurant. Not to mention Wang Cheng, it's useless to find anyone today!"
The girl's eyes turned red with anger, but there was nothing she could do.
"Boss." The old man whispered, "Be patient, be patient."
"This group of people is clearly blackmailing us." The girl was extremely angry. "My father has been forced into bed seriously ill by these gangs, and now they are still blackmailing us. The government wants money, the Blood Rain Guards want money, the gangs want money, and even these gang members are not following the rules and continue to ask for money... We don't even make enough money from our business to cover their extortion!"
The man with a pointed chin and monkey face scratched his ear and sneered.
Xu Jingming and Qiu Tong looked at each other as they walked down the stairs.
They are both Blood Rain Guards!
All vendors in the area pay money to the Blood Rain Guards. This is an unspoken rule. After hearing what the girl said, Xu Jingming also felt that it was not very fair. But the entire Imperial Capital Blood Rain Guards were like this, and he had no ability to change it.
"Give me a hand." Qiu Tong gave Xu Jingming a look.
She had been eating here for a long time, and she had a good impression of the girl who ran the business, so she wanted to help. But she was a Blood Rain Guard of the Criminal Justice Department, and she didn't have the power to arrest people directly!
She has no power, but Xu Jingming does!
Xu Jingming nodded slightly.
"Um?"
Xu Jingming walked forward with a cold look in his eyes, which made the people around him slightly stunned.
Xu Jingming stared at the pointed-faced man and watched him carefully.
"Who are you?" The man with a pointed chin and monkey face felt that the gaze of the person in front of him was too oppressive, so he didn't dare to be too presumptuous.
"The Criminal Division is investigating the case. This person is involved in an important case." Xu Jingming showed his token to the two guards beside him, pointing at the man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks, "You two guards, escort this person to the Nanfu Prison!"
On Xu Jingming's token, it was clearly written "Nanfu Tixingsi, Jingming".
"Yes." The two guards responded immediately.
The Criminal Division investigates serious cases! The auxiliary guards need to cooperate.
"I'm involved in an important case?" The man with the sharp-nosed monkey face was incredulous. "Sir, you have wronged me."
"Sir, my Sixth Master..." someone nearby spoke up.
"Oh? Are there accomplices?" Xu Jingming glanced around.
The group of people were so frightened that they trembled and their faces turned pale. No one dared to speak.
“Mercy, mercy.”
Chang Laoliu knelt down in fear and said, "Please spare my life, sir. I will give you silver. All the silver I have will be given to you."
That was the prison at the Nanfu headquarters! Once you got in, you had to go through layers of blood sucking to get out. Without a few thousand taels of silver, it was impossible to get out alive. How could a small gang leader like him have so much silver?
"Oh?" Xu Jingming looked at him.
"I have a hundred taels of silver," Chang Laoliu said, "I'll give it to you as a gift."
Being in a gang means a lot of expenses. It was already very good for him to have a hundred taels of silver left.
Xu Jingming lost interest as soon as he heard it.
"Hurry up and escort him to the Nanfu Prison." Xu Jingming ordered the two guards, "When you send him over, make sure to register that this is a case that I, Jingming, investigated!"
"Yes." The two guards responded.
"Brother Jing, don't worry. No one can take him away without your or your superior's approval." Qiu Tong smiled and showed the token. "I'm from the Criminal Justice Department. I'll take you two there."
The two auxiliary guards stood in awe. Is this another Blood Rain Guard from the Criminal Justice Department?
"hurry up."
"Walk."
Two guards stepped forward, wrapped the chains around the pointed-faced man's hands, and escorted him out of the restaurant.
"Thank you, Sister Qiu, and thank you, Lord Jing!" The girl was extremely excited. Her family really couldn't come up with five hundred taels of silver right now.
"If you see these blind people again, just tell your sister." Qiu Tong said with a smile. With her status, it should be no problem for her to protect a small restaurant.
"Thank you, Sister Qiu." The girl's eyes were moist. With these words, there was hope for their restaurant!
The gang members around looked at each other and took note. Behind this restaurant is the Blood Rain Guards of the Criminal Department and the Criminal Justice Department.
soon.
Two auxiliary guards escorted Chang Laoliu to the Nan Mansion.
"It's so difficult to run a restaurant even though you have good skills." Xu Jingming stood on the street, looking at the dimly lit restaurant, and shook his head slightly.
“But they still want to take root in the imperial capital, because there is still some order in the empire, and the outside world is the real hell, a hell where people live in misery.” Qiu Tong shook his head.
Xu Jingming nodded.
The girl was obviously the host and was also receiving guests on the second floor of the restaurant.
Her father was seriously ill in bed, and she also had to run the business.
"It's also to make a living." Qiu Tong said, "I'm going to the Nanfu first. Are you still going to interrogate this prisoner? If not, I will give him some prison benefits."
"I've been very busy recently. If he is still alive in a month, I will go and interrogate him." Xu Jingming said.
"I understand." Qiu Tong also understood.
There is no way for such a small gang leader to get out of prison alive. It is impossible to keep him in the prison of the Nanfu headquarters. He needs to be provided with food and drink. Without money, according to the previous rules, he will be dead within a month.
Qiu Tong returned to the Nanfu headquarters, while Xu Jingming returned to his residence with a gun bag on his back.
"The imperial capital looks quite prosperous." Xu Jingming walked on the road, "but it is so difficult to survive."
In the distance, you can see fireworks, and upstairs some women are waving handkerchiefs to attract customers.
You can see beggars begging on the streets.
You can see gang members walking on the streets like a group of jackals.
You can see important people riding in carriages, surrounded by a group of guards.
"Different people have different ways of living, but as long as they can survive, they can live tenaciously. The resilience of life is really strong." Xu Jingming understood, "Perhaps, being able to live for one more day is happiness for many of them."
Xu Jingming walked back to his residence, which was also the place he rented when he first came to the imperial capital.
"Even in reality, I heard that some weak civilizations collapsed and were swallowed up by powerful civilizations. The life on the planets of those weak civilizations was also miserable ."
"There are those who work on mineral planets all year round, living with the wind and sand ."
"Some are slaves and servants."
"Some are exploited and forced to do various jobs. For example, in the Blood Rain World, there are some planetary beings that mask their memories and live their lives in the Blood Rain World over and over again. After living in the Blood Rain World for a few times, they may die of old age in reality."
Xu Jingming has not experienced it himself, but there are many similar news reports on the virtual world network.
The Blue Star civilization allows all people to practice the Evolution Method, and all people have virtual helmets! Among the elementary civilizations in the universe, this is already an excellent achievement.
"We must cherish the present. Being able to live happily every day is already a very happy thing." Xu Jingming was practicing his marksmanship naturally with a spear in his hand in the martial arts training ground near his residence.
Happiness comes from comparison.
The more he saw, the more Xu Jingming felt that he was really happy every day! Although there was a threat after the "new civilization protection period ended", he had a bright future. He was the first genius of Blue Star, had an understanding wife, a lovely daughter, both parents, and his grandfather was still alive...
Now he can still gain experience in one virtual world after another, although looking at the entire universe, he is still just an insignificant little person.
But this kind of life has surpassed 99% of people, and it is really happy.
"fine."
Xu Jingming practiced his marksmanship move by move, and there was a heartwarming quality in his marksmanship.
When one reaches Xu Jingming’s level, his marksmanship can already reflect his state of mind!
His gun skills did not become faster or more powerful. Nor did his moves become more unpredictable. But they had a "heart-warming" charm. Seeing such gun skills was like seeing a heart-warming life, seeing steaming meat buns, and seeing a father holding his children...
