Chapter 22: You Rascal

Eleven o’clock in the morning.

After transferring four times on the subway and spending over two hours, Cao Yu finally arrived in Meishan District, located at the easternmost edge of Sishi City.

The name “Sishi City” originates from the city’s four famous mountains, with Meishan being one of them.

Despite being named after mountains, Sishi City is not an inland mountain town but a coastal metropolis. Formed after the establishment of the federation by merging four cities, its coastline stretches nearly 800 kilometers, and it boasts a population exceeding 40 million. It stands as one of the federation’s supercities.

Meishan District, formerly Meishan City, had its municipal status revoked decades ago and was reclassified as a district. Nowadays, no one refers to it as a “city.”

The chaos in Meishan District stems from the proliferation of gangs—a lingering historical issue. At its peak, the number of gang members approached one million.

Although gang membership has declined over time, the “underworld rules” established long ago have taken root here and continue to hold sway.

From Cao Yu’s perspective as a “time traveler,” the social order in Meishan District resembles the Hong Kong Island of the 1980s and ’90s on his previous Earth.

Though the federation is a unified government, regional development is largely controlled by local authorities.

Of course, the disorder in Meishan District isn’t solely due to governmental neglect; there are deeper reasons.

For instance, this district hosts the most developed entertainment venues along the coast, offering every kind of amusement imaginable—it’s a veritable coastal den of vice.

It also harbors the largest black market for players, where anything can be bought given enough evolution points.

And so on…

“Handsome, are you here for tourism? Add me as a friend!”

By the riverside park near Meiqing High School, Cao Yu, dragging his suitcase, was approached by a girl sporting permed bangs.

Judging by her age and demeanor, she seemed to be a student. At this hour, she wasn’t in school uniform but wore a sweet-styled dress.

He asked, “Is it summer break now?”

“Just started yesterday,” the girl replied excitedly, noticing Cao Yu’s response to her approach. She stepped closer. “Are you here on vacation? I’ve planned to hang out with some girlfriends soon. We can take you along.”

“Are you a student at Meiqing High?” Cao Yu inquired as he walked.

“Yes, and my friends are students too—just like me, we’re all young girls,” she said with a sweet smile. “So, what do you say? Interested?”

“I heard you young girls all like the ‘High Street Emperor,’” Cao Yu chuckled. “I’m dressed too plainly to join your fun.”

“Not true! Anyone who believes that must not be good-looking. Who doesn’t care about looks in love? Besides, I think you suit the High Street style very well.”

The girl seemed quite taken with Cao Yu’s appearance and, displaying a gregarious nature, kept following him.

Suddenly, Cao Yu stopped.

They had reached their destination.

The girl followed his gaze forward, where a young woman was crouched by the roadside feeding stray cats. Morning sunlight filtered through the street trees, casting dappled shadows that danced playfully on her, greedily kissing her profile.

“Don’t stare—that’s a celebrity from our school,” the girl beside Cao Yu said. “She has tons of admirers, even boys from nearby schools come by on weekends just to see her... You don’t stand a chance.”

“I’m her brother,” Cao Yu said. “I’m the one who arranged to meet her here.”

“Ah?” The girl was stunned.

Cao Yu smiled and bid her goodbye, then walked over to the girl feeding the cats.

That was his little sister.

Not by blood.

Cao Yu had relatives in his previous life, but in this one, he was an orphan raised in the Meishan Welfare Institute.

Still, that didn’t mean he had no family.

Meishan District was chaotic, and those without support were easily bullied. Over time, the orphans in Meishan Welfare Institute learned to band together for mutual support, a spirit that continued to this day.

Among those who left the institute, the most successful was Yang Jiao, who had grown up scrapping and hustling, making wide connections and running various small businesses. Perhaps lucky, he had achieved some success, founding a small company.

In his effort to expand and build a thriving enterprise, Yang Jiao not only donated to the welfare institute but also financially supported talented individuals there, helping them plan their futures according to their abilities.

Unfortunately, in this self-serving society, gratitude was rare. Many who left Meishan District never returned.

After much effort, only four remained loyal, staying by Yang Jiao’s side as sworn siblings.

Cao Yu was one of these four.

Yang Jiao also had a biological younger brother, Yang Jian, and a younger sister, Yang Chan.

The three siblings and Cao Yu formed the “Meishan Welfare Institute Seven Siblings” family.

The “little sister” referred to the youngest, Yang Chan.

She was the girl feeding the cats before him.

Yang Chan spotted Cao Yu dragging his suitcase. Forgetting the cats, she stood up and hurried over, her tired eyes lighting up with joy.

“Sixth brother, is it summer break now?”

Yes... Cao Yu ranked sixth among the Meishan Seven Siblings.

He noticed Yang Chan had grown taller, her curves more defined, even under the loose school uniform.

Her fair, translucent skin, exquisitely beautiful face, and silky black hair gave her an aura of untouchable purity.

Only her sleepy, somewhat dazed expression slightly undermined that ethereal vibe.

“Yep,” Cao Yu replied. “Haven’t been sleeping well lately?”

“A bit... But don’t worry, sixth brother, I bought melatonin. I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Yang Chan’s voice was like a moonlit lute—beautiful, elegant, imparting a fairy-like impression.

“Has big brother contacted you?” Cao Yu asked.

“He called a couple of days ago, told me to stay at school a few more days,” Yang Chan answered softly.

“I see...” Cao Yu mused.

His little sister had been targeted five months ago and hadn’t returned home for a semester.

The high school she attended, Meiqing High, was established when Sishi City was founded, jointly funded by Meishan and Qing Districts, located on their border. It symbolized the future brotherly unity of the two districts under Sishi City’s administration. Though years had passed, the school remained significant, attended by many children of high-ranking officials.

No one dared to cause trouble there.

“Sixth brother, I feel big brother has been under a lot of pressure lately,” Yang Chan said with worry. “I can tell from his voice—he’s really exhausted.”

“You don’t need to worry about these things. Stay at school and don’t burden yourself,” Cao Yu comforted her. “If my guess is right, you’ll be home tomorrow, and big brother won’t have to work so hard.”

“Tomorrow?” Yang Chan asked. “Why?”

Because tonight I’m going to kill someone... Cao Yu smiled. “Don’t trust my prediction?”

“You’re always so smart. I never doubt you. But...” Yang Chan hesitated, “Can you really predict something like this?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow.”

Cao Yu offered no further explanation, his thoughts drifting back several months.

When big brother Yang Jiao learned that the person targeting little sister was a player, he gave up direct confrontation. At the same time, he warned Cao Yu and the others against rash actions, promising to handle the matter himself.

Cao Yu ignored him.

Within days, he secretly signed a contract with the Fourth Institute and began preparatory player training.

The Yang siblings regarded him as family, providing him shelter, financial support, allowing him to attend high school and university, and giving him pocket money... With such noble character and great gratitude, he would never forget to repay them.

Waiting passively was simply too hard for him.

“Sixth brother, you’re being mysterious again...”

Yang Chan sighed softly but didn’t dwell on it, clearly accustomed to it.

She said, “Wait for me a moment.”

Then she returned to the cats, opened the remaining small bags of cat food, poured it into a plastic bowl on the left, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and poured it into the bowl on the right.

The four stray cats showed no fear, affectionately rubbing against her legs, leaving fur on her pants.

She didn’t mind, gently patting them.

When she came back, Cao Yu asked, “Want to take them home?”

“My house is turning into a cat shelter already. If I bring more, second brother will scold me,” Yang Chan shook her head gently. “Enough of that. Sixth brother, we haven’t seen each other for a semester. Let me show you around near the school.”

“Forget it. I still have my suitcase,” Cao Yu declined.

That was just an excuse.

The real reason was he needed to prepare for murder.

“I’ll help you carry it.”

Yang Chan reached out for the suitcase handle but Cao Yu dodged.

“This is near the school. People don’t know I’m your brother, and you’re a celebrity here,” Cao Yu warned, “If we walk together, people will misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand? What mis...”

Yang Chan suddenly realized and blushed deeply. Her normally calm expression faltered.

Since childhood, she had been quiet and serene, radiating a pure aura, but whenever the topic turned to romance, she would lose composure.

“Sixth brother, how could you think like that?” she whispered. “By that logic, wouldn’t visitors coming to school be misunderstood too?”

“Little sister, do you know why beauties throughout history suffer most?”

“What?” The abrupt shift confused her.

Cao Yu answered, “Because no one cares how long an ugly person lives.”

Yang Chan was speechless.

“You’d better get back to your dorm and rest; you’ve almost got panda eyes.”

Cao Yu waved his hand. “I mainly came to check on your safety. Now that I see you’re fine, I have to go—there’s a lot to deal with.”

...

After parting from Yang Chan, Cao Yu didn’t head home immediately.

If he returned now, he would inevitably run into second brother Yang Jian, and that would lead to family gatherings, dinners, and time-consuming catch-ups.

Instead, he went to a luggage storage shop to deposit his suitcase, then headed to Wuyun Street in Meishan District.

Each gang in Meishan controlled its own territory. “Control” meant collecting protection fees and running small businesses like selling milk tea.

Yes, milk tea.

Times were changing, and gangs’ survival space was shrinking. Every little bit counts.

Wuyun Street was under the jurisdiction of the Mountain Seat Society. Cao Yu’s target—the one who had been threatening little sister and big brother Yang Jiao—was one of their leaders named He Kang.

Five months had passed since the incident, and Cao Yu had thoroughly investigated the enemy.

He Kang was an E-rank player, having become a player some time ago, specializing in the subhuman path. His evolution at the E-rank stage was quite advanced. He lived at 99 Wuyun Street and frequented the district’s largest entertainment venue almost every night.

However, Cao Yu had no intention of ambushing him on the street.

That would be petty.

Killing He Kang might provoke the Mountain Seat Society to retaliate or investigate, leading to endless back-and-forth.

This made Cao Yu suspicious of being persecuted.

Therefore, he decided—since he was going to kill someone, he might as well be thorough and wipe out the entire Mountain Seat Society.

Cut the grass to kill the snake, leaving no root for trouble.

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