Chapter 12

 “Looks plain, height is decent, but ever since he was a kid he’s been sneaky, stealing chickens and dogs. His reputation is terrible. He’s toned it down a little after growing up, but still never does anything proper.”

Song Wanyue frowned. “Didn’t Jiang Ze ever investigate? Weren’t Jiang’s father and mother traffickers? I heard he had a hard life growing up, working like an ox in the house—everything fell on him. His older brothers and sisters never gave way to him even though they were older.”

“Later, an old teacher who had been sent to the cowshed took him under his wing, taught him principles, and even gave him a new name. Before that, he was called ‘Er Gouzi’ (Second Dog). He only got a proper name at the age of ten.”

“Last year, Jiang Ze was finally separated from the family. He questioned Jiang’s father and mother about it, but they denied everything. They said their biological child had died on the way home from the hospital, and Jiang Ze had just been picked up by the roadside. Coincidentally, all the hospital records concerning Jiang’s mother had also been stolen.”

Who did it was obvious.

Song Wanyue tilted her chin. “Jiang’s father and mother are pretty capable—once the records were gone, there was no evidence left. If I remember correctly, Jiang Ze eventually did find his real parents, but that was years later. By then, he had made a fortune in the capital and was known as a nouveau riche. He accidentally ran into Jiang family’s third son, and only then did the family reunite.”

“That third son looked very much like Jiang Ze. Six or seven points of resemblance. I met him a few times in the capital. Later, though, Jiang Ze was killed—Jiang Chaoyang hit him with a car. He died even earlier than the original host.”

You could say his fate was just as tragic as hers.

Song Wanyue asked, “Liu Liu, I know a little about Jiang Ze’s parents. Tell him to investigate for himself. He might even be able to sue Jiang’s father and mother for child trafficking.”

After that, drowsiness washed over her, and she couldn’t hold on any longer.

The work bell rang, but Song Wanyue was still asleep. Yang Liu came knocking.

“Wanyue, it’s time for work. Are you going? If you’re not well, I’ll ask for leave for you.”

She knew Song Wanyue had taken medicine, but she still couldn’t help worrying. Back then, a fever wasn’t a small matter—it could damage the brain.

Half-asleep, Song Wanyue mumbled, “Yang Liu, could you ask for leave for me? My head’s still spinning. Thanks.”

Her body was weak, and she felt very drowsy.

Yang Liu replied, “Okay. Rest well. You’re supposed to cook dinner, but I’ll help you when I get back. Don’t push yourself.”

“Alright, I’ll see how I feel. Don’t worry.”

It wasn’t until four in the afternoon that Song Wanyue slowly woke up.

Remembering her mission, she immediately sat up.

“Let’s go find Jiang Ze. And tonight, I’m raiding the Gu family. They’ll have to split the family assets, and I’ll make sure they get nothing. I’ll empty the place. Dare to scheme against others? This is the price.”

She wrote Jiang family’s address on a slip of paper.

The system admired her. “Wanyue, don’t push yourself too hard. Are you sure you’re okay physically?”

It would be terrible if she fainted in the middle of a burglary.

Song Wanyue grinned, “I’m fine now. Your medicine worked wonders. By the way, can I use money to buy things from you system people?”

If there was fever medicine, there must be other treasures too.

The system nodded. “Yes. Our bureau needs merit points. Most of the tasks you complete help people in a big way. For example, if you intervene in Jiang Ze’s case and restore people to their rightful places, Jiang Ze will grow faster. That counts as changing fate.”

“If someone hadn’t been harmed by scum, we wouldn’t even detect it. We gain merit points from this. And you, Wanyue, also earn them. You can check on your system panel: one tab tracks cash, the other tracks merit.”

She checked—both were at zero. Fine, she would just have to work for it.

“But the items you can buy are limited. Think of it like a grocery store. There’s medicine, yes. But mechs, computers, phones—anything that doesn’t exist in this world won’t be for sale. Only things available at this time can be bought.”

Song Wanyue sighed. “I thought there’d be talismans or maybe a plane. I want to fly a plane, even ride a sword in the sky. Forget it, though.”

The system consoled her. “We deliberately ban those things to prevent hosts from relying too much on outside items. If someone discovered you had them, you’d be monitored or even hunted down. Even spatial storage is already considered an extraordinary treasure. Be careful when using it.”

“Got it. I feel full of energy now. Let’s go see Jiang Ze. And then check the Gu family’s house—if nobody’s home, I’ll clean it out.”

On the way, Song Wanyue avoided people.

Jiang Ze was digging sweet potatoes on the back mountain.

At eighteen, he should have been at a lively, carefree age.

But Jiang Ze rarely smiled. His face looked far more mature than his years.

His features were striking—handsome, with a straight nose, sword-like brows, starry eyes. He stood at 1.85 meters, with long black hair.

Thinking of the money she was about to make, Song Wanyue smiled brightly.

“Jiang Ze, I have something to tell you. Even though no one’s around, I’ll still whisper it, in case someone overhears. But don’t tell anyone it came from me, alright? It’s about your biological parents.”

Jiang Ze had asked to be assigned to the back mountain. It was far from the village, and few liked to work so far away.

Hearing this, his hands stilled. “How do you know? Have you seen them?”

The girl’s face glowed with a smile, sweat beading on her forehead. But her beauty was undiminished.

At that moment, Jiang Ze’s heart was torn between curiosity about his real parents and astonishment at her courage—coming alone to find him here.

But that smile… it was dazzling, like a blooming rose.

Song Wanyue explained, “I just remembered recently. Back in the capital, I knew a family surnamed Jiang. Their third son resembled you by about sixty percent. Jiang’s mother had traveled with the military, and Jiang Chaoyang… he’s very likely the child who was swapped with you. He looks a lot like Jiang’s father.”

“Don’t blame me for recalling only now. I hardly ever saw you before—you always preferred to work alone, so I didn’t get the chance.”

Who could imagine that this unsociable Jiang Ze would one day become a nouveau riche, opening garment factories and even mining coal?

He really had a natural talent for business.

Jiang Ze pressed, “Do you have their address? I’ll thank you.”

It was good news indeed.

Song Wanyue nodded. “Yes, here. Take it. This is the address. We used to live in the east of the city, near the Hongxing Furniture Factory. Later, the Jiang family moved into the staff housing, and we hardly saw each other anymore. To be honest, I wasn’t close with them.”

That much was true. The original family hadn’t had much to do with the Jiangs.

Just neighbors, separated by several streets. The Jiang family had only lived near the factory for two years.

Jiang Ze held the slip of paper, frozen. He was terrified that his real parents would be no different from his adoptive ones—that they would abandon him too.

Song Wanyue reassured him. “Don’t worry. From what I heard, Jiang Chaoyang is awful. He’s already eighteen, still in his second year of high school, always at the bottom of the class. If your parents knew the truth, they’d definitely choose you.”

“Besides, you’re already eighteen. You’ve long passed the age where you need parental affection, haven’t you? If the parents in this village aren’t your real ones, have you thought about what you’d do?”

This was what she cared about most. More than gossip, she wanted to see scum get punished. That was truly satisfying.

Hatred flickered in Jiang Ze’s eyes. “I’ll call the police. If it’s true, Jiang Dashan and Wang Zhaodi are human traffickers.”

Since childhood, he had trailed behind his siblings, forced to do all the work. As he grew older, they treated him even more like a beast of burden—cooking, washing, everything. If he refused, they starved him. That was how he grew up, half-hungry all the time.

If not for the hunter Yang Jianguo occasionally helping him out, he would never have grown so tall and strong.