Chapter 37: Another Fragment of the Modifier? (Subscription Requested)
“Done, Shiyu-nee.”
Yan Huan picked up the delicately crafted cloth bag from the table and handed it to Ye Shiyu for her to check.
Ye Shiyu took it, examined it for a bit, then nodded.
Since she didn’t speak, Yan Huan continued to look at her. After a pause, she finally opened her mouth to give her opinion,
“It looks good.”
Only then did Yan Huan retract her gaze, casually asking,
“Aren’t you going to write your name, Shiyu-nee?”
“…”
At that, Ye Shiyu didn’t look at the small cloth bag in her hands; instead, she gazed at Yan Huan’s profile.
Her eyes wandered around the exposed neck and Adam’s apple, seemingly searching for a possible spot.
Until Yan Huan turned to look at her again, she finally withdrew her gaze and shook her head, saying,
“No, it’s something we made together.”
“Is it okay to leave it in Shiyu-nee’s care then?”
“Uh-huh.”
They were going to hand over the small bag to the teacher for grading, and she glanced around at the other students in the handicraft class. Most of them seemed to be in a state of disaster.
Ye Shiyu was truly a killing machine in this class; her craftsmanship experience was impressively vast.
After completing the small bag that the teacher required, she even found time to make a yellow scarf for pets at Yan Huan’s request.
You could say Yan Huan was riding on her coattails; getting an A at the semester’s end was not going to be a problem.
For Yan Huan, those main subjects requiring exams were easy, but the strange and chaotic elective courses were the challenges.
“Alright, class is almost over. Regardless of how your finished products turned out, everyone please stop. I will come down to check, and then you can leave the classroom freely.”
“Okay~”
Yan Huan settled in her seat, took out her phone, and snapped a photo of the small bag.
Just then, a message arrived:
“I have something going on tonight, the tavern is closed, enjoy your day off.”
It was from Tong Yingying.
Yan Huan replied with a “Okay” sticker.
She planned to open the Mahjong Club group chat but ended up going back to Tong Jie’s chat box to type out,
“Tong Jie, what’s going on? Is your family urging you to get married again?”
The other party was typing…
“Don’t ask kids about adults’ matters, okay~”
Well, she had long expected that kind of reply, so it was foolish to ask her.
Tong Jie was quite mysterious, often disappearing without running the shop, claiming to be busy with personal matters.
Yan Huan felt that it was highly likely she didn’t want to get up, hence the day off.
As for Tong Yingying, Yan Huan only knew that she had come from the Dragon Kingdom to Linyi Gate to study a long time ago and had even gone to university there, making her quite the top student.
Despite looking laid back now, spending her days either smoking, drinking, sleeping, or being urged to get married by her parents far away in a foreign land, she was actually quite wealthy.
That tavern’s shopfront, even though it was in the South District, was not a small amount in the precious Linyi Gate real estate.
Moreover, she hadn’t even rented it out for business; she had bought it outright.
She was also generous with salaries and would give out bonuses during holidays to Yan Huan and the others.
She said she made that money from stock trading years ago, but no one knew how she, as the legendary idea queen, pulled that off.
Was it necessary to be a powerful figure like Tong Jie to dominate in a densely packed stock market?
Yan Huan felt perplexed.
Alright, today it’s back to studying.
He hadn’t really gotten to use the Learning Conqueror yet, and he had an idea he wanted to try out.
“Mm, this set turned out quite well.”
The teacher walked over to examine their finished products, giving this compliment, which was mainly thanks to Ye Shiyu.
“By the way, Shiyu-nee, are you part of any club?”
Yan Huan was packing up when he saw Ye Shiyu also getting ready to leave, and he curiously asked.
Ye Shiyu shook her head expressionlessly, countering,
“What’s the point of joining a club?”
“Well, it’s not particularly useful. Personally, it’s about being able to engage in activities with like-minded classmates.”
Yan Huan neatly folded the pet scarf made by Ye Shiyu as he explained,
“On a more practical note, if you join a club, during the Club Battle you’ll have a faction. If your club gets ranked, you might receive some rewards or something.”
“Rewards?”
Ye Shiyu’s gaze shifted upward, her mind conjured images of competitions held in the Dragon Kingdom.
What kind of rewards could come with earning a rank?
Certificates.
That’s it.
Then, a hint of disinterest lit up in her eyes, but seeing that Yan Huan was still explaining, she didn’t show it too overtly and let him continue,
“The first place can make a wish to the school committee, the second place gets a large sum of club funds along with the rights to host school club activities. The third place only gets funding.”
Wishes, huh…
Ye Shiyu pondered for a moment, suddenly feeling a spark of interest and asked,
“Is the Student Council controlled by the school committee?”
“Ah, technically, not really; we have a high degree of autonomy. The Club Battles, sports meets, and many other activities are fully our responsibility.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Shiyu’s expression fell into disappointment, as she seemed to completely lose interest in the Club Battle.
But she didn’t want to dampen Yan Huan’s spirits, merely saying,
“I’ll look into it later.”
“Alright, Shiyu-nee.”
Yan Huan finished packing and was about to leave. Knowing that Ye Shiyu was preparing to take a bus home, they parted ways, and he got ready to take the school bus back to the South District.
The bus wasn’t too crowded nor too empty, and Yan Huan found a quiet spot to sit in the last row, away from others’ attention.
“Meow-chan.”
“Meow~”
After gently calling, a plump black cat suddenly leaped up from who-knows-where to sit elegantly beside him.
Yan Huan then pulled out the yellow scarf Ye Shiyu had made and said,
“Look at this, Meow-chan, I made you a scarf to wear.”
The chubby cat tilted its head, reaching out a paw to touch the scarf curiously, asking,
“Hmm, what’s the point of this meow?”
“The main idea is that you’re completely black, and sometimes you’re just invisible at night. Wearing a yellow scarf makes you much more noticeable, plus it’ll be cuter.”
“Meow?”
Meow-chan looked speechlessly at Yan Huan as he draped the scarf around her neck, then tied a pretty knot on one side.
Magically, once the scarf was on Meow-chan, it seemed to turn illusionary, and unless Meow-chan wanted it, it wouldn’t be noticed by anyone.
Hmm, this little cat is perfect.
Yan Huan hugged Meow-chan and looked out the window as the vehicle began to move, the engine roaring to life.
“By the way, Yan Huan, yesterday I found this in the shop where you work.”
As Meow-chan sat there, she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Yan Huan.
Just as he was curiously looking over, she suddenly lowered her head and started to gag.
“Ugh, ugh.”
It resembled the action of a kitten trying to cough up a hairball.
“What’s that?”
Yan Huan, fearing she might vomit something indescribable onto him, tried to shift her to the side.
But the next second, a shimmering, milky-white scale was spat out.
The scale was entirely ethereal, and Yan Huan seemed completely unable to touch it.
“This is…”
“Fragment of the Modifier, meow. It’s the same kind of thing that dropped from Ye Shiyu before,” Meow-chan explained.
“Ah?”
Hearing this, Yan Huan was taken aback.
He initially wanted to pick up the scale to examine it but found his hand passing right through it, seemingly unable to touch it at all.
“I told you meow, I can’t interfere with the world. Since these dropped fragments are something I can influence, there’s no way you can touch them.”
“Is that so.”
Yan Huan blinked, scratching his chin in confusion,
“Wait, could this be the one from Bai Yi’s Modifier? Although I gave her what she wanted yesterday, the damage shouldn’t have been this great.”
“I don’t know, meow, but this fragment looks a lot larger than the last one I swallowed, indicating it must have been a heavy blow to the Modifier.”
Meow-chan circled around the fragment, then raised her adorable big eyes to Yan Huan, giving him a “as expected of you” look.
No, no, no.
Mostly, he had absolutely no recollection of it, right?
Yan Huan genuinely didn’t feel that his handling of Bai Yi yesterday was anything remarkable; it was merely an emergency response and definitely didn’t compare to his previous actions with Ye Shiyu.
But now, such a big chunk of fragment had dropped—it certainly didn’t seem like a result of his actions.
“Why does this fragment resemble the scales of an animal? Like a lizard or snake? Was the last one that dropped from Ye Shiyu like this too?”
“Scales?”
Meow-chan tilted her head, appearing puzzled by the fragment in front of her before suddenly realizing,
“Ah, because the Modifier is essentially the power of a god from another world, you can’t comprehend its true form. So, when you see it, it takes on a shape you can understand.”
Meow-chan made a gagging gesture again, then coughed up a small amount of substance that looked like ethereal threads,
“Look at this, this is the last fragment that dropped from Ye Shiyu, and it should be quite different from this one, right?”
“Mm, in my eyes this looks like thread, and this looks like a snake’s scale.”
As Yan Huan looked carefully, it seemed he grasped something, and he said to Meow-chan,
“Wait a minute, according to what you said, the Modifier cannot be perceived, right?”
“That’s right, meow.”
“Is there a possibility that someone else, under the premise of it being unnoticeable, still did something to the Modifier’s host or the Modifier itself, causing it to drop the fragment?”
“Theoretically, it’s possible. But for someone to accomplish that without any awareness, they must be very…”
Hiss.
This one can’t be underestimated; they’re truly skilled.
But the problem is, yesterday when Bai Yi left the tavern she still looked quite out of sorts, so Yan Huan felt this fragment didn’t seem to have come from her.
In other words, another Modifier might have appeared in the tavern previously.
Was it the fourth or, until now, the fifth that had not yet shown itself?
And who could be on the scene other than…
Tong Jie?
Just thinking of this made Yan Huan shudder.
If that Tong Yingying got a hold of a Modifier, with her terrifying ability as the idea queen, wouldn’t it mean…
Endless nightmares?!
Thinking of this, Yan Huan hurriedly opened his plane app and sent Tong Yingying a message.
“Tong Jie, you there?”
With a cat emoji.
However, the other side remained unresponsive; after a long wait, there was still no reply.
Ugh, so annoying.
The plane app doesn’t show if the other person has read the message like the WeChat from the previous life!
Well, though this design doesn’t seem so bad, especially when a supervisor sends a message at midnight asking if you’re resting.
Yan Huan placed his phone down, rubbed his forehead, and began to clear his thoughts.
No rush.
Currently, known fragments dropped included the three Modifiers.
Spencer’s plunder system.
This thing is incredibly strong; not only can it alter a person’s consciousness, but it can also create bizarre enclosed spaces as if its host is a fool.
Ye Shiyu’s Hypnosis APP.
Mm, also quite powerful; such sudden strong control is basically very hard to evade. But after his handling, Ye Shiyu’s possessiveness has been well suppressed (?)
Then there’s Bai Yi’s Indifference.
This one feels the weakest, and he has ample room for maneuver and has gained some understanding of the host, meaning a hopeful future.
So, what about the remaining two?
One is the one that ambushed him at noon today, seemingly able to manipulate pleasure.
The other might be the snake scale dropper from the tavern, possibly related to Tong Yingying?
Tong Jie, reply to my message, I miss you—that’s the main point, unrelated to the Modifier.
“Forget it.”
Since Tong Yingying did not reply, he even called her, but there was no answer. He wondered if perhaps she had fallen asleep.
Yan Huan had no choice but to give up, looking at Meow-chan,
“So this fragment can also enhance my Modifier, right?”
Meow-chan nodded eagerly, saying,
“And this fragment is larger than the last one, so it will definitely enhance it more! You’ll know by the weekend; I’ll keep it safe.”
“That works. To be honest, I haven’t utilized the Learning Conqueror properly; I just felt refreshed after a bit of learning. I’ve got some time today, so I want to test how powerful it can get at full levels.”
“Meow~”
Gently patting Meow-chan’s head, as Yan Huan was about to open his phone to browse some videos, the school bus suddenly came to a halt.
“Ding ding!”
Not just the school bus stopped; every vehicle around them came to a halt, while the vehicles behind them continued to honk impatiently.
“What’s going on?”
“It seems the road ahead is blocked.”
Yan Huan frowned and looked up front.
The bus came to a stop at an intersection, which had already been sealed off, with several police officers directing vehicles to detour.
“Emergency traffic control, crossing ahead is prohibited, please detour to the sides, thank you!”
Yan Huan leaned against the window to take a look at the blocked intersection and found that a certain floor in a nearby high-rise building was ablaze, with firefighters engaged in a fierce battle to put it out.
Not only had Linyi Gate’s firefighters arrived, but ambulances, criminal police, and traffic officers were all present.
What the heck?
Stretchers were being pulled out from that building, carrying several bloodied individuals, and one could still faintly see knife-like objects in their hands.
“Was it a gang shootout?”
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow and thought.
The South District of Linyi Gate had previously been home to many gangs and had no direct relation to the impoverished state now; it was geographical and historical factors that led to its chaos.
The South District is coastal, and during the early days of Linyi Gate’s establishment, many illegal immigrants came over to live here.
With so many people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, it was natural for groups to form, establishing numerous gangs to compete for interests.
It’s quite similar to the unreturned Hong Kong island from the previous life; for a long time, the South District was largely under gang control.
Things have improved significantly since then. Once Linyi Gate developed, the government immediately implemented stringent crackdowns.
Many gangsters were executed, and the strongholds of gang operations became all but dismantled.
If you were to ask if there were still thugs in the South District now?
Of course, they still exist; otherwise, why would Bai Yi have been cautioned against wandering around in alleyways yesterday?
However, proper gangs are pretty rare.
Most have taken to manual labor; after a few days of moving bricks, they settle down.
To think that after so long, he would still witness such a large-scale fire in the making.
All in all, it looks like Tong Jie’s tavern won’t have much business for a while.
Yan Huan shook his head and continued on the bus, arriving home twenty minutes later than usual.
He didn’t cook, opting for some fried rice downstairs, while listening to the news through his earphones,
“Linyi Daily Report: At 3:23 PM today, a fire broke out on the third floor of the Sterling Building located on Longyang Road in the South District.
“Eyewitnesses reported that there was a violent conflict prior to the fire. Sources indicate a possible link to the Feather Gang, composed of the Dragon Kingdom residents in the South District. The Linyi police have taken it seriously and are establishing a special task force…”
Yan Huan didn’t wait to finish, settling the bill and then purchasing some juice, cat treats, and canned food before heading upstairs.
Sitting in front of his computer, he stretched his fingers and opened the PC version of the plane app.
Typing in “Freelance—Changsun Studio (Ghostwriting),” Yan Huan opened a chat box and began to type,
“Are you there?”
With a cat emoji.
After a little while, the other side changed to “Typing…”
“Here.”
After another moment, they replied again,
“But there’s no work lately. We rarely accept essays for water courses anymore; we’re all using AI now.”
Yan Huan sipped his juice and replied,
“No, it’s not that. I wanted to ask if you have e-versions or related course materials for university mathematics, could you send them to me?”
“OK, just got a few top university calculus course materials. As for textbooks, there’s some for calculus, linear algebra, and statistics, but they aren’t all from the same country, and there’s hardly any from Linyi; you’ll have to make do with what you find.”
“Thanks.”
He sent a cat nodding emoji in appreciation.
Before long, the other party sent over a plethora of course materials and e-textbooks.
The other side also sent a “bad smile” emoji,
“You truly are ambitious, damn, isn’t working enough for you?”
“It’s fine, not too exhausting.”
“Alright, when you finish studying, let me know. The mathematics assignments are particularly heavy; there are plenty in the Eagle Kingdom that you can cover. From exams, assignments to quizzes, you know how much can be earned in a semester?”
“Exams can also be packed?”
“If there’s a market, you can do it. Especially since online courses and tests have increased a lot recently. People just want a degree and to get by, while we can scoop up a bit from those rich kids’ pockets, who cares about integrity?”
Having not spoken to Yan Huan for a long time, the studio’s boss was feeling chatty,
“Knowledge is power, my darling. Just let me know when you finish studying; I’ll assign you some projects that’ll lighten your load.”
“Mm, let me take a look first.”
“No rush. When the time comes, I’ll arrange an exam for you just to confirm your level.”
“OK.”
Yan Huan casually replied, downloading the files one by one and organizing them into folders.
Taking a sip of juice, his handsome face illuminated by the glow of the PPT looked so cool.
In his eyes, lines of text, symbols, and theories flickered.
Unconsciously, a marvelous power triggered, immersing him entirely, as his brilliant brain turned on like an efficient engine.
Ability: Learning Conqueror, activate!
