Chapter 59: I Have Returned Once Again

A man with a deathly pale face and protruding cheekbones was at this moment holding a stick in one hand, stained with green tissue fluid from the Crystal Wing Dragonfly. Beside him, a massive Crystal Wing Dragonfly lay dead on the ground, its life ended just a minute ago.

Zheng Tian and Wen Lei, along with the others, couldn’t understand. How had this frail-looking man, armed with nothing but a crude stick, managed to kill a Grade One Ruin Beast without so much as a scratch on his body or a speck of dirt on his clothes? It was highly unusual.

“Who are you…” Zheng Tian asked cautiously.

Ren Zhong thought for a moment. “I’m a drifter from afar. I’ve heard that the customs and industries of Spark Town are quite developed, so I wanted to broaden my horizons. Since fate has brought us together, could you perhaps take me along for a bit?”

“Heh, you’re lying. There’s no energy response on you at all. I bet you couldn’t make it a mile in the wild, let alone journey from afar. I find you suspicious—what are you hiding?” Zheng Tian sneered, scrutinizing him.

As she spoke, her hand crept toward her waist. Ren Zhong knew she kept a small pistol there.

Such was Zheng Tian’s nature. Unless she could foster pleasant thoughts of a “Census Officer,” she became extremely difficult to deal with—doubting, cunning, selfish, and ruthlessly pragmatic.

Ren Zhong sighed inwardly, glanced at Wen Lei, then suddenly smiled in delight. “Your name is Wen Lei, right?”

“Huh?” Wen Lei, who had been standing like a statue, scratched his head. “How do you know my name?”

“Not long ago, while I was gathering information about Spark Town, I met a girl named Ai Jiasan in the Virtual Life Community. We hit it off and talked about Spark Town. She showed me a photo—a strong boy who looked a bit like you. I asked about him on a whim, and it turns out it’s actually you. What a coincidence! To meet here in the wild. Hahaha!”

Ren Zhong spoke earnestly.

“What!” Wen Lei exclaimed, startled. “Did she say anything else? How is she doing?”

Ren Zhong replied, “She didn’t say much, but I got the feeling she’s doing well. Still studying, I believe.”

Wen Lei, forgive me—perhaps that was a well-intentioned lie.

Seeing that Ren Zhong was acquainted with Wen Lei, the others gradually relaxed their guard.

Zheng Tian, however, interrupted their reunion, raising another doubt. “If you know Ai Jiasan, Ren Zhong, then you must be a citizen, right? But what’s with your current state? You don’t even have a wristwatch, yet you dare wander alone in the wild and haven’t been killed by hunters. Isn’t that odd?”

As Zheng Tian finished, the atmosphere once again grew tense.

Ren Zhong sighed again and waved his hand. “Alright, I’ll come clean. Wasn’t planning to tell you. I’m close friends with Sun Miao, the doctor in town. You know the Healing Hands Clinic? I, like him, got into trouble and lost my citizenship. So I was exiled here, heading to seek him out. If you bring me back, you’ll have my connections with him—should you ever need medical help, my name will open doors.”

Zheng Tian suddenly understood. “I see. Hanyu, quickly help Mr. Ren remove his chip.”

“Thank you. May I ask your names?”

“Zheng Tian.”

“Wen Lei.”

…

Ren Zhong said, “A pleasure to meet you all. Please accept the corpse of the Crystal Wing Dragonfly as a token of my gratitude.”

“Mr. Ren, that’s too generous. There’s no need.”

“Haha, but how could I not? One must pay fare for a ride.”

…

“Mr. Ren, shall we meet at the town hall entrance in two and a half hours?”

“Yes, I’ll trouble you then.”

Wen Lei asked, “Are you heading to see Dr. Sun now?”

Ren Zhong nodded. “Yes.”

Once again, Ren Zhong walked along the familiar main road, passing by the used bookstore at the street corner. The boy was still standing under the eaves, head bowed, timidly flipping through the “Spark Town Gunsmith’s Survival Guide.”

Ren Zhong’s gaze drifted to the crown of the boy’s head, and he unconsciously smiled. The boy sensed someone watching him, looked up, and met Ren Zhong’s gentle eyes. Ren Zhong nodded slightly in greeting, then turned and walked away, leaving the boy bewildered.

Behind him, the old woman’s angry rebuke rang out again. “You little brat, what are you still standing here for? Hurry home for dinner—we need to get to the sleep pod early!”

…

Standing outside the Healing Hands Clinic, Ren Zhong glanced at his temporary wristwatch. Excellent—his starting funds now amounted to 63 contribution points.

He reminisced about those days of destitution, which felt as vivid as yesterday. No, wait—it was today.

He pushed open the door. Sun Miao, with his back to the entrance, was about to sink into his chair as the wall projector prepared to play that unbearably cliché martial-arts TV drama.

Ren Zhong approached and knocked on the desk. “Dr. Sun, I’ve come for treatment.”

Sun Miao shook his chair and slowly turned, face dark with impatience. “Get lost, can’t you see I’m about to binge-watch? Come back early tomorrow.”

…

“Brother Sun, trust me! I’ll repay your great kindness one day. No matter what you want to do, I’ll help with all my strength. If you want to brave mountains of blades or seas of fire, I’ll be right there with you.”

“Go to hell! Get out! Get out as far as you can! I don’t want to see your traitorous face again! Damn it! Damn, I’m ruined!”

Bang!

The clinic door slammed shut.

Inside, the sound of bolts locking echoed for a while. Sun Miao locked the door from within.

From inside came Sun Miao’s voice, half laughing, half crying.

“Honestly, I’ve got a rebellious streak myself, not even afraid to die for forbidden research. But to be so petty with a comrade who’s fought alongside you—that’s not good.”

Ren Zhong muttered to himself, then broke into a sly laugh.

He descended the steps, satisfied, carrying a bulging plastic bag.

A triumphant return! Brother Sun was truly a treasure—like a marrow-filled bone, the more you knock, the more flavor and substance you find.

He had scored an injection of abnormal cell devourer, a dose of neural inhibitor, three cans of nutrient paste, and a vial of human cell activity enhancer. Three hundred in cash, and a thousand in interest-free loans that you can only repay if you survive. Plus, two hundred points’ worth of health supplements and high-nutrition foods for Grade One warriors.

Seeing Sun Miao’s tearful face, Ren Zhong’s conscience compelled him not to ask for stimulants, promising not to mention “cancer, cancer, cancer,” and obediently providing a sample.

Sun Miao, perhaps in pain from being drained, immediately turned hostile after collecting the sample.

He repeatedly warned Ren Zhong to watch his mouth if he didn’t want to die, while shoving and dragging him out the door.

Ren Zhong didn’t mind—he ought to give Brother Sun some space. He’d think about getting stimulants later if necessary.

With his starting funds secured, Ren Zhong headed straight for the supply cooperative.

He sold his temporary wristwatch, bought a Grade One wristwatch and alloy materials for building a prefab hut, and arranged for delivery.

He still had 1,253.9 points left.

Leaning against the supply cooperative’s wall, he connected to the network and opened the stock market.

He completed a 1,000-point verification, successfully opened an account, and bought shares in a company called Yadi Energy.

Yadi Energy was a secondary subsidiary of the Locke Group, focused on bio-battery research.

Currently, Yadi Energy’s stock traded at 9.77 points per share, with one lot being 100 shares.

The current rules of the Origin Star stock market required online traders to pay a total commission of 0.05% to both the Yalshun Group and the Deepcom Group—split evenly at 0.025% each.

Selling shares incurred a 0.2% stamp duty, collected by the Commercial Association.

No transfer fees for either party.

Settlement amounts were rounded to the nearest 0.01.

These were straightforward, high-fee rules, draining you as soon as you entered.

Ren Zhong’s entry cost was 977.24 points.

Thus, the price per share needed to rise to at least 9.79 for him to break even.

But Ren Zhong was unruffled. Yadi Energy would announce a technological breakthrough tonight.

All these details were just surface-level news. The truth was, the main funds had already been positioned. Tonight, they would ignite the news and trigger a wave of operations.

Over the next six days, Yadi Energy would surge wildly with an average daily increase of 31%, rising by a total of 285.79%, becoming the week’s king of “monster stocks,” before gradually pulling back at the short-term peak and entering another phase of volatility.

Ren Zhong’s initial investment of 977.24 would appreciate to 3,770.16 points.

He would cash out precisely at the highest point.

Ren Zhong hadn’t chosen those stocks that soared or crashed in a single day; instead, he extended his cycle to a week.

This had been his plan from the moment he memorized the monster stocks.

Firstly, the sheer number of wild stocks was overwhelming, scattered and hard to track, easily confused.

Secondly, their swings were too abrupt—go to the restroom and you might find yourself locked out, too nerve-wracking.

Ren Zhong was now just a drifter; he needed to recover his strength and self-preservation quickly. If delayed by anything, it could ruin everything.

He feared he couldn’t keep up.

Choosing Yadi Energy, the monster king of the week, would earn him almost as much as the wild ones, but with far less risk and no disruption to normal life.

Ren Zhong was not a pure idealist; on the contrary, he was pragmatic.

To change the era single-handedly, one needed not only belief and comrades, but also money and guns.

None of these could be lacking.

Thus, Ren Zhong chose to first blend into the times, to become a trendsetter.