Chapter 01: The Mysterious Task

"This is your reward for going to North Africa." The old man, Lin, carefully took out two crumpled hundred-yuan bills from a well-wrapped rag and handed them to Lin Yi, who was eagerly watching him.

Lin Yi didn't understand. The mission he carried out was so dangerous, his enemies were so powerful, and the benefits the client received were so substantial, yet his reward was so meager.

Where did the old man get these top-notch missions from? Each time it was a matter of life and death, and the reward he received was fifty or a hundred yuan. Sometimes it was even just a few yuan... Whenever he thought about this, Lin Yi wanted to cry.

Taking the two hundred yuan he earned with his life, Lin Yi most wanted to curse, "Damn it!" Although he was an orphan and had no mother.

He had learned martial arts and read books for fifteen years under the old man who raised him. He could be considered a well-rounded talent, and in ancient times, he would have been a dual champion in both literature and martial arts. Yet, he was treated like a laborer... When would this life end?

He heard that people who built houses in the city could earn tens of thousands of yuan a year, but he, who risked his life every day, only earned a thousand or so yuan a year...

"Old man, are you playing me? Two hundred yuan? I seriously doubt you're not withholding my reward." Lin Yi had suspected this many times, but the old man dressed and ate the same as him, and he didn't look like a rich person.

"Getting any money is already good. Do you think money is so easy to earn these days?" The old man rolled his bulging eyes and said irritably, "What? Don't you want it? If you don't want it, give it back to me. I haven't been to the village head's widow's snack shop for a long time."

"..." Lin Yi really wanted to beat up the skinny old man in front of him, but he knew that if he did, he would be the one getting beaten.

The old man's martial arts skills were so formidable that Lin Yi didn't know how strong they were. He only knew that every time he practiced with him, the old man never used his full strength. Just when his skills improved to a new level, he suddenly found that the old man had also improved, and he was still the one who lost.

"Alright, you've been trained enough over the years. It's about time for that big task." The old man didn't even raise his eyelids, sitting cross-legged on the kang, and cracked a plate of fennel seeds in front of him, "If you do this mission well, you'll never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life!"

"Really?" Lin Yi knew that since he was picked up by the old man at the age of three, he had been learning martial arts, medicine, and outside knowledge from him, all for the sake of doing a big task. However, Lin Yi was very skeptical about whether the reward for this big task was as much as the old man said, that one mission could last a lifetime.

"When have I ever lied to you?" The old man threw another fennel seed into his mouth, "Are you going or not? If you don't go, I'll find someone else."

"Go, of course I'll go!" Lin Yi thought, such a good thing, only a fool wouldn't go! One mission for a lifetime, he wouldn't have to risk his life anymore. Even if it was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, it would be worth it!

"Alright, then go. Go to Songshan City, Pengzhan Group, and find a man named Chu Pengzhan. He will tell you what to do next." A sly smile flashed across the old man's lips, "But you must think carefully. Once you take on this mission, you must see it through to the end. You can't quit halfway."

"Why? If it's dangerous, can't I run away?" Lin Yi wasn't the type to blindly charge into danger. He would never do something that he knew would lead to his death.

"Xiao Yi, I raised you for fifteen years, fed you, gave you a laptop, and a 3G data card..." The old man rolled his eyes and started to nag, "You ask so many questions for a little task. Don't push me!"

"Damn!" Lin Yi was furious at the old man's words, "For the first three years, you raised me, but from the age of six, I cooked, chopped wood, and made straw shoes to support you. Don't push me!"

"You sneakily watch porn on the computer at night, don't think I don't know!" The old man glared, "This is you forcing me to say it! You even... face the computer..."

"Alright... I'll go... I won't run away, okay?" Lin Yi's face turned red, not expecting his secret to be discovered by the old man. It was really embarrassing. If he kept talking, who knows what inappropriate scenes he might reveal.

Thus, under the old man's threats and inducements, Lin Yi packed his bag and boarded the northbound train, traveling a long distance to Songshan City, a modern international metropolis.

On the train, Lin Yi thought about encrypting his porn and hiding it in the system folders, and being more cautious when doing it, looking all around.

However, Lin Yi was still looking forward to this mission. A mission that could make him retire was something he dreamed of. Although from the old man's words, he could sense that this mission was not simple. Well, not simple means it's challenging!

"Snap," the man with a pockmarked face sitting opposite Lin Yi opened a can of cola and casually threw the pull tab on the table.

The man with a flat-top hairstyle pretended not to notice and picked up the pull tab, fiddling with it in his hand. After a few moments, he suddenly shouted, "Wow! Wow! Wow! First prize!"

Although the flat-top's voice wasn't very loud in the noisy train carriage, the nearby passengers heard it and looked over.

The pockmarked man, of course, was no exception. Seeing the pull tab in the flat-top's hand, which he had just thrown away, his face turned awkward, "Give it to me, it's mine..."

"Yours? Where does it say your name?" The flat-top quickly pulled back his right hand, tightly gripping the pull tab, and glared, "Are you named 'First Prize'?"

"No... I'm not called 'First Prize'... That pull tab is mine..." The pockmarked man, seeing the flat-top's fierce appearance, became timid but didn't want to lose what was rightfully his, so he nervously said.

"You said you threw it away. Once you throw it away, whoever picks it up owns it." The flat-top snorted, "What a bully!"

"Hey, how can you be like this?" The pockmarked man became anxious and called out to a passenger across from him, who was sitting to Lin Yi's left, a man with glasses, "Sir, you look like a scholar. Please judge, is this not bullying?"

"Who's bullying?" The flat-top was also unhappy and turned to the man with glasses, "Teacher, what do you think? Who should the pull tab belong to?"

"Hmm..." The man with glasses pushed his glasses up, hesitated, and said, "I am a university teacher. Since you both trust me, I'll give my opinion."

"Please, please!" The pockmarked man and the flat-top both nodded, looking anxiously at the man with glasses.

"Logically, the pull tab was pulled off by this brother, so it should belong to him..." The man with glasses said halfway, and the pockmarked man looked smug, while the flat-top became anxious, about to speak, but the man with glasses waved his hand to stop him and continued, "However, since this brother has already thrown it away, and it was picked up by this other brother, it should belong to the latter..."

"But you said the pull tab is mine..." The pockmarked man's face fell when he heard this.

"In my opinion, why don't you two split the prize? That way, neither of you will lose out!" The man with glasses suggested.

"Split... okay..." The flat-top hesitated, bit his lip, and said, "Alright, let's split it."

Perhaps the flat-top felt his argument was weak, so he agreed to the man with glasses' suggestion. The pockmarked man, seeing the pull tab in the flat-top's hand, knew that if he didn't agree, he might get nothing, so he also nodded in agreement.

"Alright, since you both agree, let's split it." The man with glasses took the can from the pockmarked man, looked at it, and said, "It says here that the first prize is 100,000 yuan, with 20% personal income tax deducted, leaving 80,000 yuan. However, since claiming the prize is complicated, whoever goes to claim it should give the other person 30,000 yuan, and then go to claim it. What do you think of this idea?"

"Alright!" The pockmarked man, who wanted to get some money, immediately agreed, "You give me 30,000, and you go to claim it!"

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