Chapter 1 Zhang Yuanqing’s Thoughts

Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and replied, "No problem." After sending the message, he walked to the window and looked down at Cao Xiu on the side of the road.

The girl looked up, their eyes met, and she nodded seriously. Then, she knocked her younger brother on the head and scolded, "Still watching the show? Go, get a seat on the bus with me."

Eight-year-old Cao Chao drooped his head, following his sister like a dispirited dog, walking towards the bus stop five hundred meters away.

They had only taken a few steps when they heard a shout from upstairs, "Wait."

Cao Chao's eyes lit up and he obediently stopped.

Zhang Yuanqing retracted his head for a dozen seconds, then poked it out again, throwing down a large bag of snacks. The large bag of snacks landed with a thud. Cao Chao, like a wild dog off the leash, rushed over and stuffed the package full of snacks into his schoolbag without even looking.

His mother was preoccupied with the argument and wouldn't notice him right now.

Cao Chao slung his little schoolbag on his back, his short legs moving quickly as he ran away in a puff of smoke.

Downstairs, Cao Qianxiu glanced helplessly at the young tenant and strode after her brother.

Zhang Yuanqing leaned on the windowsill with both hands, a smile on his lips, watching the backs of the siblings gradually disappear. The morning sun shone on his face, making him look as gentle as jade.

Today was Friday, his seventh day in the Free Federation. In one week, he had successfully completed twelve low-level tasks, finally accumulating his points to Bronze 60. He was only forty-seven points away from becoming a Silver Hunter.

The Bounty Hunter app background gave him the evaluation: exceptionally talented!

After the Cao siblings disappeared from sight, Zhang Yuanqing went into the bathroom to wash up. Standing in front of the mirror, he brushed his teeth while wondering whether to continue the search for his mother.

In fact, with Chen Shu’s status as a Star Official, her affinity with the stars, and the bond between mother and son, he could completely deduce his mother's location using Star Gazing.

However, after learning that Chen Shu relied on the Merchant Guild and had a demigod backing her, he suddenly didn't want to look for his mother anymore.

To this day, most things had been figured out: how his headache came about, where his mother's blue pills came from, and why she went abroad.

Because there was a large organization abroad to rely on, which could protect his father's clone. These causes and effects were now clear. The only thing that was still unclear was whether the keepsake his father had left him was a fragment of the Light Compass.

There were two possibilities: one, the core fragment of the Light Compass had left after tearing his soul; two, the keepsake his father left was not the core fragment.

He could only ask Chen Shu about this matter. Zhang Yuanqing had even prepared himself for his mother's lack of cooperation and would use dream illusions to force her to confess.

Now that he suddenly knew that Chen Shu was in cahoots with the guild leader, and that a demigod didn't want you to reveal something, there was no use in forcing her.

Zhang Yuanqing felt a little disheartened.

He would put the matter of finding Chen Shu aside for now. So now his goals were: one, to be promoted to Gold Hunter within a month to meet the requirements of his sugar daddy; two, to wait silently for the end of the year to be promoted to Ruler; three, to find a way to subdue Winnie and obtain the Demon Lord fragment; four, to hunt down Lingjing Xingzhe in the First District as much as possible and collect items; five, to cleanse the dirty Free Federation.

Of the five small goals, the second and third were linked. If he wanted to subdue Winnie, he had to be promoted to Ruler first. Using a Saint's body to deal with an eighth-level Ruler was too difficult.

The Demon Lord's treasure map was not an urgent need. It was unwise for a Saint to plot against an eighth-level Ruler because the benefits and risks were not proportional.

Four and five were related and could be done together. Specifically, he could do more tasks and expand channels and contacts. He couldn't be blind, so joining the Anti-Black and White Alliance was very necessary.

I can change my aura and appearance completely and have multiple identities, each controlling several channels.

I am Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman. When necessary, I can also destroy myself. The Illusionist profession is really fun.

The number of Night Watchers in the First District is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Without star gazing techniques, it is almost impossible to see through my true identity.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Yuanqing, carrying a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, was invited to knock on the door of 401.

"Hello, Brother!" Cao Chao shouted happily as he opened the door, his eyes full of worship.

Every boy once worshiped his older brother.

Zhang Yuanqing touched his head, passed through the entrance, and entered the living room. The landlady and the cleaning lady were busy in the kitchen, while the landlord, Cao Qing, was sitting on the sofa watching TV, wearing a black stand-up collar shirt with a protruding belly.

"What, you even brought wine?" Cao Qing got up to greet him, his eyes sweeping over the red wine label, revealing a smile that deepened, and said with a laugh, "Oh, 1990 Lafite, a good vintage. How did you know I like red wine?"

You don't like red wine; you like expensive red wine.

Zhang Yuanqing also showed a smile: "Just a casual gift, I'm glad you like it, Brother Cao."

Cao Qing led Zhang Yuanqing to sit down, touched his son's head, and instructed, "Ask your sister to make tea, use my treasured Pu'er, in the third compartment of the tea cabinet."

After Cao Chao ran off happily to the hallway, Cao Qing said with emotion, "Songhai University is a good university, a famous institution. Old brother, I'm counting on you for Xiu'er's grades. If she's disobedient, just scold her directly. If she still doesn't listen, tell her mother. That girl has never been obedient from childhood to adulthood. No one can control her, but she's afraid of her mother."

Bloodline suppression plus same profession suppression... Zhang Yuanqing complained inwardly. Saturday and Sunday were his tutoring time, but because the landlord's family was going out to play tomorrow, the private lessons were brought forward.

Tonight, he would tutor for one and a half hours, and tomorrow night, he would make up for another one and a half hours.

Zhang Yuanqing shrugged: "When is the night in the Free Federation ever safe?"

Cao Qing was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily: "Little Zhang, you understand jokes, hahaha, that's right, the night in the Free Federation is indeed not safe, so do you know why Batman has to show half of his face?"

It is worth mentioning that the landlord likes to tell jokes and puns.

Zhang Yuanqing asked along, "Why?"

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned for a moment before he understood the landlord's implication.

Sure enough, it was a hell-level joke!

After the joke ended, Cao Qing said seriously: "The Chinatown in the southern end of Manhattan's underground city has had more than a dozen homicides."

A vicious serial murder case, but Zhang Yuanqing had never heard of it. Of course, he had been in the Free Federation for only a week.

Zhang Yuanqing was busy doing tasks at night, his energy was not in Chinatown, and he never read the news or newspapers in New York, so the information was inevitably delayed.

Also, Chinatown in Lower Manhattan has multiple blocks and a population of nearly 200,000. If they were scattered, it would average one case every three streets.

Zhang Yuanqing cooperated with a surprised expression: "Is there any evidence?"

Cao Qing's voice was even lower: "I have some friends who have connections in the police station. The information I got is that the dead bodies are blue all over, and their nails are black. They are not normal corpses."

The higher-ups issued a death order that once the corpses in the serial murder case were discovered, they had to be cremated and not preserved.

"You know the Houghs Street Police Station, right? The one six kilometers away. The forensic doctor Cao in it violated the order and insisted on performing an autopsy, but he was killed by a zombified corpse, sucked dry of blood. This is a secret, don't spread it."

"A secret, my foot!" Cao Qianxiu came over with tea and sneered, "If it's a secret, how would you know? Zombies? Ha, do you want to buy a few pounds of glutinous rice to suppress them at home?"

Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look at Cao Qianxiu. The girl pretended to be disdainful, but a hint of solemnity flashed in her eyes.

Cao Qing coughed awkwardly and greeted, "Drink tea, drink tea."

Dinner was quickly prepared. Zhang Yuanqing and the landlord's family sat at the dining table eating and chatting. The landlady didn't like Annie and never invited her to dinner.

Considering Zhang Yuanqing's taste, the landlady made two Songhai dishes tonight: braised bamboo shoots in oil and pan-fried buns in chicken broth.

Cao Qing tasted a pan-fried bun and frowned repeatedly: "My God, how can you put so much oil? Are you trying to attract the United States military?"

The landlady didn't understand for a moment, "What nonsense are you talking about? Eat it or not."

Cao Qing looked at Zhang Yuanqing with disappointment. Zhang Yuanqing said sternly, "I don't plan to eat this dish."

"Why?" Cao Qing asked.

Zhang Yuanqing's face was serious: "Because I don't want too much oil to accumulate in my stomach, it will attract the troops of the Free Federation."

Cao Qing burst out laughing: "Interesting, too interesting. Your level of telling jokes can be compared to mine."

The landlady looked blank, then looked at the two like they were idiots.

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing entered Cao Qianxiu's boudoir. At the landlady's request, the door was opened, facing the living room.

The two sat on the sofa in the bedroom, with textbooks spread out on the glass coffee table. Cao Qianxiu said coldly: "I suspect you are not a Sentinel."

"Because a serious Sentinel would never understand my dad's bad jokes," Cao Qianxiu said.

Cao Qianxiu nodded, "Of course you're not a Sentinel. If nothing else, you're a Night Watcher! This is the conclusion we reached after collecting evidence and analyzing it in the Anti-Black and White Alliance. You're from the Second District, you should know about Night Watchers."

Speaking of this, Cao Qianxiu's expression was slightly solemn.

"That is the only peak combat profession among the Lawful ones. The so-called peak combat power means that in the same level, when neither side has the advantage of props or environment, it is a profession that can definitely win." Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice.

"Night Watchers are rare, how could they appear in Chinatown? You are also a Sentinel, how could you be in Chinatown?" Cao Qianxiu asked rhetorically, and casually popularized knowledge: "In the Chinese gathering place in New York, there are very few Lingjing Xingzhe in the First District, but it doesn't mean there aren't any. Most of them immigrated from the Second District, and the other part accidentally became Lingjing Xingzhe while traveling or visiting relatives in their hometown."

"They are all of Chinese descent, our compatriots, and we must find the murderer as soon as possible."

She said that the Heavenly Punishment was unwilling to intervene. It was really a ridiculous and realistic answer. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head and smiled, "I am not very familiar with the First District."

"Anyway, those who died are not black or white people, so it won't form a major social public opinion. There are countless shootings and robberies in New York every day. Killing eleven people in two months means that the Lingjing Xingzhe is already very gentle in the eyes of the Heavenly Punishment. Moreover, the Night Watcher is elusive, so it is mostly a thankless job."

"Secondly, the Chinese people's affairs should be solved by the Chinese people themselves, and don't cause them trouble. This is the tacit understanding formed between the Chinese internal Lingjing Xingzhe organization and the Heavenly Punishment. The Heavenly Punishment tolerates our existence, so we must maintain order for the Heavenly Punishment. Internal fighting is okay, but don't interfere with their stability and order."

Zhang Yuanqing said: "Okay, I've learned something new."

"This is completely different from the Second District. The Five Elements Alliance's style is to hold everything in its hands. Whether it is a folk organization or a Lingjing family, it must be under the management and supervision of the Five Elements Alliance. The Five Elements Alliance must have absolute dominance."

The systems of large official organizations each have advantages and disadvantages. The Five Elements Alliance's governance plan is more stable and safer, and there will be fewer evil incidents.

The disadvantage... is the disadvantage of the system.

When you encounter injustice and power, you can only succumb, or like him, overturn the table and perish together with Cai Qin'an.

The turmoil in the Council of Judges is a sequelae of the Five Elements Alliance's system defects.

Cao Qianxiu took out her mobile phone, opened the chat software, and downloaded a document: "Our Anti-Black and White Alliance has collected a lot of materials and clues, all copied from the police station's side. Now, your first assessment is here. Based on these materials, deduce the area where the criminal suspect will act next."

Cao Qianxiu handed over the mobile phone, her beautiful eyes sparkling with anticipation.