Yama Reborn
Chapter 78 - 76 [Night 1]

Chapter 78: Chapter 76 [Night 1]

Chapter Seventy-Six: First Night

Chen Nuo was eating noodles again.

At the same noodle restaurant.

The owner, Old Guo, brought the noodles over and then sat at another table, watching the television hanging on the cupboard.

Chen Nuo ate his noodles, chewed on some garlic, and then slapped a banknote on the table.

"Old Guo, do you have any booze?"

Old Guo glanced back at the teenager, took a bottle of beer from the counter, opened it, and placed it on Chen Nuo’s table.

Chen Nuo smiled and took a few sips.

"Hey, did you hear about what happened in your complex today?"

"Hmm, I know." Chen Nuo put down the beer bottle.

"A young lady jumped off a building during the day. Alas, who knows what happened."

"I don’t know." Chen Nuo shook his head.

"Maybe she encountered some difficulties, couldn’t get through them." Old Guo took the banknote from the table, turned to the counter to get change, and slammed it down in front of Chen Nuo. "Young man, don’t be too fond of booze; drink less."

Chen Nuo smiled, collected the change, and finished his noodles. He decisively took the beer bottle as he rose to his feet, drinking as he walked home.

After changing clothes and seeing that time had already passed, Chen Nuo quickened his pace, dashed downstairs, and ran towards school.

Arriving at Teacher Jiang’s doorstep, Chen Nuo evened out his breath and then knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Teacher Jiang was standing at the doorway with a teacup in hand, frowning. "I mean, Chen Nuo, what time is it? Class is almost over in half an hour. If you’re going to be this late next time, you might as well not come."

Chen Nuo, with his good temper, smiled and nodded obsequiously to Teacher Jiang.

Inside, a few classmates were there.

Sun Keke gave Chen Nuo a bright, smiling look.

Du Xiaoyan was scratching her head over a problem set.

The class president... well, he was still thinking about his own name.

Zhang Linsheng...

Huh?

Chen Nuo paused for a moment.

Zhang Linsheng was also sitting there, looking up at Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo smiled, walked over, and sat down. "You finally showed up? Where did you run off to the past few days?"

Zhang Linsheng looked down and said, "There was some trouble at home."

"Oh." Chen Nuo smiled. "Is the motorcycle fun to ride?"

"It’s pretty good." Zhang Linsheng, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up.

The teenager’s originally dull and even a bit indifferent face, for the first time, showed a truly sincere smile.

"Chen Nuo."

"What?"

"...Er..." Zhang Linsheng scratched his head but still said in a low voice, "...Thank you!"

"?" Chen Nuo looked at Brother Haonan. "Thanks for what? It’s just a motorcycle."

Zhang Linsheng smiled. "Anyway, just—thank you."

In this world... it turns out...

There’s still brotherhood!

---

At the end of the evening’s class, Teacher Jiang called several students who were about to leave.

"There’s something you need to go home and discuss with your families."

Teacher Jiang seemed a bit embarrassed, somewhat uneasy, but still gritted his teeth and said, "There’s review material that needs to be purchased, and next month’s term at school can make use of it. Um, one set costs fifty yuan."

While speaking, Teacher Jiang’s face seemed to redden, and he whispered, "You see, I have an old classmate who works at a company selling review materials. I can—I can buy some at a low price from there. If you’re willing, you can buy from me too, one set... one set for forty."

By the end, Teacher Jiang’s voice had gotten even lower.

It was a tough spot for him, Chen Nuo sighed in his heart.

In truth, Teacher Jiang was already quite conscientious.

Tutoring students... while incidentally selling review materials...

This was the fixed range of revenue for many tutors.

The review materials Teacher Jiang sold were actually useful, and even came at a discount—quite good indeed.

But, probably because it was his first time doing this, as a teacher, he still felt he had some face to save.

Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then directly took out a hundred yuan and placed it on the table.

"Teacher, my family leaves these matters to me; I will buy it. Um... and I will cover Sun Keke’s too."

Teacher Jiang looked a bit awkward. He glanced at Chen Nuo, hesitated for a second, then fumbled in his pocket. "I—I—I’ll give you change, just wait."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead. He turned to look at Zhang Linsheng and stopped Teacher Jiang while taking out another twenty yuan. "Teacher Jiang, no need for change. I’ll add this bit—I’ll cover Zhang Linsheng as well."

While saying this, he nodded at Zhang Linsheng. "You can give it to me tomorrow at school. That way, we avoid any inconvenience if you forget next time you come to the teacher’s house."

Zhang Linsheng didn’t say anything, just nodded in response.

Teacher Jiang became even more embarrassed. He took the money with some struggle and then saw the students off.

After closing the door, Teacher Jiang let out a sigh.

Looking at the one hundred and twenty yuan in his hand, he bit down on his teeth and tucked it into his pocket.

A middle-aged woman, no longer young, came out of the room and looked at Old Jiang, whispering, "What’s wrong with you?"

"Inside, I feel so embarrassed." Old Jiang rubbed his face and looked at his wife. "I’ve been teaching for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve taken money from a student!"

His wife stared at him for a while and whispered, "I know it’s hard for you... With your nature, doing these things is difficult. But you really shouldn’t feel so tormented.

"We haven’t done anything wrong, conscience-wise.

"The review materials sell for fifty yuan a set at the school.

"You got them cheaper; forty yuan a set for the students, so it’s still a savings."

"It’s just that I feel so suffocated inside." Old Jiang picked up his cup and took a sip, then simply swallowed the tea leaves as well. "This industrialization of everything, in the end, isn’t it all just about figuring out ways to take money from students’ pockets...

"A set of practice exercises, the printing costs are just a few yuan, sigh...

"I’m also upset. You see, I bought some at a low price, twenty yuan in cost.

"I’m making an extra twenty yuan off my own students by going around in circles...

"Now that I’ve done it, I feel guilty!"

The woman looked at her husband, hesitated, and whispered, "I know you feel very upset.

"Then... how about we don’t do this anymore?

"Okay?

"The medication for my illness... it doesn’t really need to be that good.

"If it really comes down to it, let’s just switch to a cheaper medicine."

Old Jiang looked at his wife, and suddenly, all the anger seemed to drain out of his chest...

---

A few young people went downstairs.

Du Xiaoyan was still chatting with the class president as they walked.

"I mean, Teacher Jiang... to think he’s started doing business with us students."

"Yeah, there are sixty people in his class. If one set of review materials is sold to each, how much can Old Jiang make?"

"How would I know? I heard it’s not just the whole class that’s buying, but the whole grade."

As they were talking, Chen Nuo suddenly patted the class president on the back.

"Hm?"

"I think we shouldn’t gossip about these things," Chen Nuo said slowly.

"What?"

"Buying review materials is a school regulation, not something Teacher Jiang compelled us to buy. And the fact that he can help us get them cheaper means we have saved money too. As for whether Teacher Jiang made money... really, since we’ve all saved money, we probably shouldn’t be talking about this behind his back," Chen Nuo sighed.

The class president was a bit defiant and wanted to say more, but seeing Du Xiaoyan had shut up and that Zhang Linsheng was actually standing by Chen Nuo’s side, staring hard at him, he conceded.

Alright, a nameless tool has no presence and might as well stay quiet.

---

The review materials sold by the school are necessary for every student.

The business is being done in a way that really doesn’t look good: it’s not compulsory to buy.

But the school will definitely include them in the teaching materials next semester.

So, will you buy it or not?

The school sells it for fifty yuan a set.

Teacher Jiang secretly found someone to get some cheaper ones, selling them to students at forty.

In this world, some things are just not clearly right or wrong.

---

Life seemed to return to normal.

Zhang Linsheng reappeared, only now he seemed to have become much nicer to Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo did not realize that Brother Haonan had actually regained his memory; he only felt that Brother Haonan’s attitude toward him...

Er, so Brother Haonan, you can be bought with just a motorcycle!

As Jiang Yingzi’s health recovered, the tall girl reappeared at school.

The struggle between Li Malang and Sun CC was still ongoing.

Chen Nuo felt a headache coming on.

If he really sends Li Yingwan back to South Korea with a heavy heart, and Jiang Yingzi actually dumps her into a pile of chaebol mistresses, wouldn’t his rescue have been in vain?

Troublesome!

For now, the pressing issue was to deal with the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Jiang Yingzi.

Well, Chen Yanluo actually already had an idea about that.

---

April 30th.

The day before Labor Day.

A seven-day holiday was approaching, and the students all had an uncontrollable sense of jubilation.

During class that day, one could clearly sense that spirit of irrepressible restlessness. The teachers scolded several times before barely maintaining classroom discipline.

Chen Nuo sat in his seat, quietly discussing something with Luo Qing.

For the long holiday, Sun Keke would be going to her grandmother’s house with Old Sun and his wife.

Um, for the time being, Chen Nuo didn’t have to worry about the dilemma anymore.

It would also be a good opportunity to see if he could resolve the issue with Jiang Yingzi.

The time for the task has arrived!

If all goes as expected, the client who commissioned the assassination may very well issue a new commission after they discover the task has failed due to expiration.

This afternoon, Chen Nuo took leave from school early to pick up little Chen Xiaoye from kindergarten.

He then took his sister on a stroll through the food market, buying some fruits and vegetables.

Seeing his sister coveting the maltose candy on sale, he weighed out half a pound and handed it to the little girl to hold.

After getting home, Chen Nuo went into the kitchen to make tomato and egg noodles. After having a meal with his sister and giving Xiao Yezi a set of watercolor pens, he let her lie on the living room coffee table to draw and play.

He dared not let the child watch TV.

Xiao Yezi had already shown signs of being precocious.

After calming the child, Chen Nuo went into his room, took out his laptop, plugged in a USB drive, and logged into the Octopus Monster’s website.

"You have 6 new messages."

Chen Nuo clicked to view them; without exception, they were all insults from that Little Candy.

Chen Nuo laughed as he read the girl’s tirade and then casually blacklisted the sender.

These days, he could see these messages almost every time he logged on.

Heaven knows how many alt accounts Little Candy had in her possession.

Well, the Star Sky Empress, that old lady, is very rich anyway.

On the Octopus Monster’s website, even a Black Level alt account costs ten thousand US dollars to purchase.

After checking the public communication area and finding nothing of interest, Chen Nuo entered the Official Transaction Area.

Task Release.

Target Individual: Jiang Yingzi (with personal profile attached)

Task Content: Ensure the target’s survival.

Task Location: Huaxia.

Task Time: Thirty days.

Task Reward: Five hundred thousand US dollars.

Task Completion Standard: Over thirty days, ensure the target individual’s survival, preventing the target from all harm and danger.

Task Supplementary Description: The protection process should be carried out secretly, with identities and protective actions hidden as much as possible. The principle is to be undetectable.

After clicking send, the system directly deducted five hundred thousand US dollars from Ardent Pyromaniac’s account.

Soon after, a new post was generated in the Official Transaction Area.

The content of the post was identical to what Chen Nuo had released, but the initiator of the post was the system, hiding the client’s ID.

At the same time, the system automatically concealed the Target Individual’s name and specific details (this information is only available to those who accept the task).

Chen Nuo stood up to get a can of Happy Fat House Water from the fridge in the kitchen and returned to his computer. He had just taken two sips when—

DING!

"System notification: Someone has applied to accept your commission (1)."

DING!

"System notification: Someone has applied to accept your commission (2)."

DING!

"System..."

Chen Nuo laughed.

Is the economy that bad? It seems everyone is looking to make money.

In less than half an hour, the number of applicants for the task had risen to (6).

Online, six people had accepted Chen Nuo’s commission.

The publicly visible content in the Official Transaction Area was anonymized, hiding the client, the commissioned, and the task targets.

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and then clicked on the list of (6) commissioned individuals.

All Black Level accounts.

Well, Chen Nuo didn’t really expect that a task with a five hundred thousand US dollar reward would attract any gold-level big shots from the Controller rank.

But the design of the Octopus Monster’s website was very interesting.

It had reached the stage where the client selects the workers.

The Octopus Monster’s site had designed a very interesting little feature.

It allowed every individual attempting to accept the commission to leave a sentence on the page.

Something like a self-promotion, for the client to consider during selection.

Hundred Steps Resurrection left a message: "I am a professional hitman with ten years of experience, with a hundred percent success rate! Good credit, strong skills!"

Damn, brother, I’m hiring bodyguards, not hitmen!

This one’s a pass!

Don’t Want to Be Bald left a message: "Pick me, boss, I can offer a discount, returning 10%. Best value for the money!"

...Has the world really become that difficult? Do the Underground World’s Psychics need to slash prices to snatch up business?

Chen Nuo sighed. This one was also passed.

And... brother, do you think you can avoid becoming bald just because you don’t want to? When the age comes, if it’s time to go bald, you’ll go bald.

White River Woe 8787 left a message...

Pass!

Hmph, your name is even more pretentious than mine! Baihe Chou 87?

Do you want me to tell you to come and meet your doom!

[Talking Elbow] left a message...

This freaking weird name doesn’t look like anything good!

PASS!

...

In the end, Chen Nuo selected someone.

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome].

The reason that impressed Chen Nuo was very simple.

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome] left a message: "I am in Huaxia, executing the mission is very convenient, and I can be in position at any time."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and clicked [Confirm Selection].

Then the system entered the private message communication phase between the two.

On the page, the system had blocked the client [Ardent Pyromaniac].

So, in the eyes of the other party, on the chat interface, Chen Nuo’s name appeared as [Client].

Then, the two began to communicate.

[Client]: "Please read the specific details of the target person. May I ask when you can take the position?"

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome]: "I’m looking at the information. Is the target person in Jinling?"

[Client]: "Yes."

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome]: "I can be in position within 24 hours."

[Client]: "Good. Please protect the client in secret and make sure not to expose yourself."

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome]: "No problem!"

[Client]: "If convenient, you can use this private message to send me a daily brief report. You can also contact me through private message in case of an emergency."

[Life Need Not Be So Troublesome]: "Alright."

The conversation ended there.

---

After closing the webpage, Chen Nuo packed away the computer along with the USB drive and glanced at the time.

Eight o’clock in the evening, sharp.

There was a knock at the door.

Chen Nuo went to open it and saw Brother Lei standing outside.

"You’ve worked hard. Thank you, Brother Lei."

Brother Lei waved his hand. "It’s nothing, it’s nothing. This matter is too small to be worth your thanks."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "That’s my sister, more important than anything else. Of course, I have to thank you."

After speaking, he led Brother Lei inside.

Chen Xiaoye recognized Brother Lei. These days, occasionally on weekends, Chen Nuo would take her to play at the store.

To put it this way, if Brother Lei treated Chen Yanluo with the same care as a little ancestor.

Then, for Xiao Yezi, one could remove the word "like".

Brother Lei was thirty this year, still unmarried with no children, and he got along very well with Xiao Yezi.

"Ye Zi! Look who’s here?" Chen Nuo said with a smile.

Chen Xiaoye put down the colored pencil in her hand, looked up, and burst into laughter.

"Bald Uncle!!!"

Well then, that one phrase stabbed Brother Lei in the heart.

"Well, Xiao Yezi, it’s just uncle. Let’s not mention the bald part, okay?"

As he spoke, Brother Lei went over and hugged the child.

Xiao Yezi allowed Brother Lei to hold her—this also showed that their relationship was quite good.

"Alright, you go and take care of your things. I’ll keep an eye on the child; nothing will go wrong!" Brother Lei patted his chest.

"Then I’ll leave it to you." Chen Nuo sighed and pulled his sister to him. "Go to sleep on time! Listen to uncle’s words, understand?"

"Yeah!" Ye Zi pouted. "Then you come back early."

"Okay."

Chen Nuo added silently in his heart: Once I’ve buried the person, I’ll be back!

---

That night, Chen Nuo left with a prepared travel bag.

At the hotel where Jiang Yingzi was staying, Chen Nuo checked into a room... not under his own name.

The room had been arranged by Li Yingwan.

After checking in, Chen Nuo sat on the sofa in the room, silently falling into a meditative state.

Just upstairs, at the same spot, was Jiang Yingzi’s room.

The first night, no words were exchanged.

Everything seemed to have passed peacefully.