Zhou Yaoyun’s odd behavior seemed to be nothing more than Ji Chenai’s imagination.

After that evening, Zhou Yaoyun returned to his usual warm and cheerful self, no longer giving Ji Chenai the cold shoulder.

Ji Chenai maintained his routine: posting on forums in the morning, having lunch, and then heading out alone to collect trash when the sun wasn’t as intense. He hadn’t accepted Wang Zhixiu’s suggestion of letting Zhou Yaoyun accompany him, worried his family wouldn’t understand.

The rest of the summer passed uneventfully, and the new school term was just around the corner. By this time, Ji Chenai’s positivity score had almost reached 4,000.

Although he was still far from the peak of Level 1, Ji Chenai felt increasingly motivated by his progress.

When it was time to return to school, Ji Chenai flew back again.

Wang Zhixiu privately asked him if he still wanted to stay with Zhou Yaoyun. Ji Chenai assured her that he did, and she let him go without protest.

Before the semester began, Zhou Yaoyun got a buzz cut, making him look especially energetic. After picking Ji Chenai up from the airport, he hailed a taxi, and they headed to their shared apartment.

Once inside, Zhou Yaoyun wasted no time unpacking and immediately set about cleaning.

Ji Chenai sat in his wheelchair, watching Zhou Yaoyun busily sweeping and mopping the floors, wiping tables, and cleaning windows.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Ji Chenai asked.

Zhou Yaoyun, wearing a mask and focused on mopping the floor, looked up briefly and replied. “If you’ve got nothing else to do, why don’t you go out for a bit? On your way back, grab a bag of salt from downstairs.”

Ji Chenai agreed. He realized that he was more of a hindrance than a help when it came to cleaning, so he might as well do something useful.

At first, Zhou Yaoyun was worried about Ji Chenai going out alone. But after several trips without incident, his concerns eased. The area around their apartment had a reputation for good security, and crime was almost unheard of.

Ji Chenai grabbed his wallet and headed out alone.

The city where Zhou Yaoyun studied was also in the south, and the weather was pleasant following recent rainfall—not too hot.

Thinking there was no need to rush, Ji Chenai leisurely left the house and began picking up trash along a familiar route.

Xiao Qi had grown used to this routine and simply acted as if it didn’t exist.

Ji Chenai started out at around 3 p.m. and spent about an hour and a half collecting litter, eventually arriving near a park close to his home.

Since it was a weekday and schools were back in session, the park was nearly deserted. Ji Chenai moved slowly along in his wheelchair, reminding himself to buy the salt on his way back.

Just then, Xiao Qi’s voice suddenly erupted in a shrill alarm: “Detected severe negative energy! Detected severe negative energy!”

Ji Chenai froze, startled. He quickly scanned his surroundings but saw no suspicious figures. Soon, however, he noticed a white van driving toward him on the road ahead.

If Ji Chenai were an able-bodied person, he might have bolted toward a busier area. But with his limited mobility, he could only struggle to maneuver his wheelchair, hoping to leave the deserted stretch of road as quickly as possible.

Before he could get far, the van came to a stop not far from him. Three men wearing masks and hats jumped out of the vehicle and hurried toward him.

Without a word, they surrounded Ji Chenai.

Feigning panic, Ji Chenai exclaimed, “What do you want? I don’t have any money!”

The men didn’t respond. Instead, they grabbed Ji Chenai roughly, lifting him out of his wheelchair and forcefully dragging him into the van.

Their actions were violent. When they threw Ji Chenai onto the backseat, pain shot through his body. They immediately began searching him, confiscating all his belongings, including his phone, which was mid-call. A bag was then shoved over his head, plunging him into darkness.

On the other end of the line, Zhou Yaoyun’s anxious voice called out, “Brother? Brother? What’s wrong? Say something! Brother?!”

Before anything else could be said, the call was abruptly disconnected.

At that moment, Ji Chenai felt a sharp kick to his abdomen. One of the men, speaking with a heavy regional accent, sneered mockingly, “This kid might fetch a decent price.”

Ji Chenai’s heart sank, and an ominous suspicion began to form in his mind.

Xiao Qi sighed. “If you hadn’t wasted your Invincible Flying Leg skill recently, you’d have escaped by now.”

Ji Chenai replied through gritted teeth, “What good would running do? Am I supposed to never leave the house again? It’s obvious they’re targeting me specifically.”

Xiao Qi asked, “So, what’s your plan now?”

Ji Chenai mentally calculated the cooldown time for his Invincible Flying Leg ability and clenched his teeth. “I’ll stall for a couple of days. They won’t keep a disabled guy under strict watch.”

When Ji Chenai was abducted, Zhou Yaoyun had been cooking porridge in the kitchen. Hearing the phone ring, he casually picked it up and pressed the answer button.

The background noise was chaotic, but he could barely make out someone shouting. Once Zhou Yaoyun recognized the voice, his expression instantly darkened.

It was clear something had happened to Ji Chenai. He wouldn’t call for help unless it was an emergency.

Zhou Yaoyun’s frantic attempts to get a response yielded nothing. When the call was cut off and he tried to redial, the phone was already turned off.

Abandoning the simmering porridge, Zhou Yaoyun quickly turned off the stove and dashed out of the house while calling the police.

About twenty minutes later, Zhou Yaoyun arrived at the park near their home, where he found Ji Chenai’s wheelchair abandoned by the side of the path.

Panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face, Zhou Yaoyun slammed his fist onto the wheelchair in frustration.

Meanwhile, tied up in the van, Ji Chenai wracked his brain to figure out who might have a grudge against him. Judging by their accents and snippets of conversation, a name surfaced in his mind: Yang Yuyi—the young girl who had been trafficked from the northeast and forced into begging.

Apart from those human traffickers, Ji Chenai couldn’t think of anyone else he might have offended. But how did these people get hold of his information?

The uncertainty left Ji Chenai unsettled, but he forced himself to calm down and carefully think through his next steps.

The vehicle drove for a long time. By the time Ji Chenai had pieced together most of what was happening, he was roughly dragged out of the car.

Due to his limited mobility, the men pulling him along didn’t bother treating him with even a shred of dignity. They yanked him like a sack of potatoes, ignoring whether or not he could walk.

With a cloth bag still covering his head, Ji Chenai couldn’t see his surroundings. He was shoved and dragged before being dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. The rough treatment left his body scraped and bruised in multiple places.

Fortunately, the cloth bag over his head was finally removed.

The man who yanked the bag off was a stocky, middle-aged man in his forties with a harsh and menacing expression. No sooner had he removed the bag than he delivered a hard kick to Ji Chenai’s chest. “So, this bastard’s the one who caused Third Sister’s death?”

Ji Chenai grunted in pain, barely able to catch his breath.

A man standing nearby said, “Fourth Brother, don’t rough him up too much. He’s worth good money looking like that.”

Fourth Brother’s eyes roved over Ji Chenai like he was inspecting merchandise. Turning to the group’s only woman, he asked, “Big Sister, how much do you think this guy can sell for?”

The woman, addressed as Big Sister, cast a glance at Ji Chenai. “Just that face alone could fetch a pretty penny.”

Fourth Brother frowned. “But he’s already seen what we look like.”

Big Sister sneered. “What’s there to worry about? Cut his tongue out and break his hands. That’ll shut him up for good. There are plenty of buyers who’d like him in this condition—our only problem is having enough supply.”

At this point, Ji Chenai’s suspicions were confirmed—these people were indeed part of a “beggar gang.” He was likely brought here because of his involvement in rescuing Yang Yuyi, which had led to her father seeking revenge against this organization.

Ji Chenai asked. “Didn’t trigger any negative energy skills? Why can’t I use ‘Devil’s Smile’ here?”

Xiao Qi explained, “’Devil’s Smile’ can only be used on children because its punishment is relatively mild, so it has a strict age limit.”

Ji Chenai sighed. “Alright, then is there any good news for me?”

Xiao Qi responded, “The good news is, your negative energy has unlocked the second stage of the second-level negative energy skill.”

Ji Chenai focused on the skill panel, noticing new skills: “Slanderer’s Redemption,” “Self-Awareness of the Tormented,” and “Courage of the Coward.” He knew Xiao Qi wouldn’t provide any detailed explanations, so he didn’t bother asking.

The people who had bound Ji Chenai expected that if he caused too much of a fuss, they would beat him up first, but to their surprise, he showed no reaction after hearing about his grim future. He sat there, silently resigned, as if he had already given up resisting.

Big Sister said, “Throw him into the room with those women and children. Feed him once a day, and in a few days, someone will come to take the merchandise away.”

Fourth Brother asked, “Big Sister, can I have a taste first…?”

Big Sister cursed, “Taste it? You fool! They’re all prime goods. If you ruin one, the boss will skin you alive!”

Fourth Brother chuckled awkwardly and fell silent. However, since he had been reprimanded by Big Sister, he took out his frustration on Ji Chenai. He grabbed Ji Chenai’s arm and dragged him towards the room, completely disregarding the rough floor, which scraped blood from Ji Chenai’s body.

If it had been winter, it might have been bearable, but since it was summer and everyone was wearing light clothes, by the time Ji Chenai was thrown into the room, half of his body was covered in blood.

Fourth Brother shoved him into the room and spat on the ground. “Stay in here quietly, or I’ll break your legs!” Then, remembering Ji Chenai’s already injured legs, he turned back and added, “If you want to keep your eyes, you’d better behave!”

Ji Chenai remained silent. Only when the door slammed shut did he lift his head and look around.

The room contained five or six women, all looking haggard, and three children lying on the ground, appearing to be on the brink of death.

Xiao Qi sighed. “I really admire you…”

Ji Chenai glanced at the screen. “Hm?”

Xiao Qi continued, “Your positive energy hasn’t even reached level one, and your negative energy is almost at level three…”

Ji Chenai: “….”

=^_^=