Chapter 304: This World Is a Bit Terrible

"To be precise, a suspect."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Just a few hours later, I was proven innocent."

"You should see it on the news soon enough."

"..."

The Doctor's eyes remained highly vigilant.

"Regardless, please leave immediately."

"This is a private hospital focused on convalescence. Dangerous individuals will impact our patients' experience."

"Alright."

Yan Jing shrugged.

"Actually, I think the people here quite like me."

"Leave at once!" the Doctor urged again.

Since he was being kicked out, Yan Jing didn't bother lingering. After saying goodbye to the little girl, he walked out the hospital's main gates.

Not long after he left.

A figure appeared beside the Doctor:

"What was he here for?"

"He chatted with Li Ya for a while."

The Doctor's expression was gloomy.

Hearing Li Ya's name, the figure's expression also darkened:

"After injecting Li Ya with her medicine later, bring her to my office."

"..."

The Doctor froze for a moment, then mustered the courage to say, "Director, this isn't very appropriate, is it? Li Ya's emotions have been quite unstable since yesterday."

"It's fine."

The figure said indifferently, "Once she sees her beloved little bird, she will stabilize."

Hearing the figure's words, the Doctor's face turned incredibly ugly, but she eventually nodded.

The figure walked toward the girl, who was standing there admiring the bird in her hands, and spoke softly, "I'll take you to see the little bird later, Li Ya. How about that?"

"Little bird, little bird..."

The girl giggled foolishly, offering the Little Bird in her palm to the figure:

"This is also a little bird. It can move on its own. A little bird, given by the good kitty."

But in the next second, the figure reached out and forcefully crushed the Little Bird in her palm.

Black wings and pitch-black "blood" splattered across the girl's stunned face, then instantly dissipated into weird energy.

"This bird is no good."

The figure said softly, taking the girl's hand:

"Don't you already have your favorite little bird? You can't change your mind."

The girl's expression went blank, tears streaming from her eyes.

But after a while, she started giggling foolishly again:

"Little bird... little bird..."

...

...

"What a terrible world."

Yan Jing, who was chatting with the security guard at the gate, suddenly blurted this out of nowhere.

"What did you say?" the security guard asked in confusion.

"Nothing."

Yan Jing handed the security guard a cigarette he had just swiped from Boss Rat's car:

"Brother, how long have you been a guard at this hospital?"

"It's been a while."

The security guard took the cigarette gleefully.

In this day and age, where could anyone still smoke a cigarette made of real tobacco leaves? Everything was virtual electronic pulse products.

A Smart Seed would plug into an interface and release electronic pulses that triggered excitement, sending one straight to heaven.

But this kind of thrill was restricted. There were explicit regulations, and after smoking that fake stuff for too long, people always craved the real thing—it was just expensive.

So seeing Yan Jing so generous, he was quite excited.

"Brother, everyone in this hospital is rich, right?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Not at all."

The security guard waved his hand, speaking as if revealing a secret:

"Let me tell you, I've been a security guard for many years. Rich or poor, I can see it clearly. Most of the patients in this hospital are just ordinary people, and quite a few are poor wretches."

"Haven't you noticed, after volunteering here for so long?"

"I haven't noticed," Yan Jing smiled.

"It feels like the food, the accommodation, and the equipment outside are all incredibly expensive."

"That's because a big shot is doing a good deed," the security guard said, but didn't continue further.

He only said cryptically, "Brother, you should hurry up and leave. This place is evil. There are quite a few mental patients inside. Rumor has it that it's a kind of informational psychosis that can spread among Smart Seeds."

"Even though you're a bionic species, you should still be careful. I heard that none of the volunteers here last long."

"I'm just making some quick cash. I'll leave in a couple of months."

"Alright, thanks a lot, brother guard."

Yan Jing turned and left.

The hospital was surrounded by small alleys connecting to a slum area much like an Anthill. To catch a cab, one had to go further out.

Walking through the alleys, Yan Jing chatted with presences no one else could see:

"This is a terrible place, right?"

"Yiya, yiya—"

"This is a terrible place, right, Xiao Yu?"

"You are right, Young Master."

"This is a terrible place, right, Miss Fear Bird?"

"Mmph, mmph!!!"

If someone were to pass by at this moment, they would see a man talking to himself like a psychopath.

But even if they saw it, no one would care. In this country, everything was perfectly normal.

Just as Yan Jing was about to pass through the slums, a voice called out to him:

"Mr. Mao Si!"

Yan Jing turned his head and saw the volunteer, Miss Jiang Jiu, standing at the entrance of an alley.

"Miss Jiang."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Is there something you need?"

"I... I want to apologize for what happened earlier."

The volunteer with long blonde hair said to Yan Jing.

"Which matter?"

Yan Jing kept a smile on his face.

"The latest report just aired on the news. I know you... you aren't a criminal... It was a misunderstanding."

Jiang Jiu tugged at the scarf around her neck and gave Yan Jing a slight nod.

"Oh, that," Yan Jing said. "It's no big deal, Miss Jiang. If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."

"W-wait!"

Jiang Jiu jogged quickly toward Yan Jing, speaking a little nervously:

"Did you learn something from Li Ya just now?"

"Hmm?"

Yan Jing's eyes narrowed into a smile:

"Is that girl's name Li Ya? She didn't tell me anything. She just wanted a little bird from me earlier, so I gave her one. It's that simple."

"I know she must have told you something. If possible, I hope you can tell me. Please... Mr. Mao Si!"

Jiang Jiu bowed deeply to Yan Jing and then explained her situation.

Her brother had passed away.

Before he died, he was staying at this Sanitarium.

Because they were half-siblings with different mothers, her brother was almost twenty years older than her. Due to rejection reactions from biological agents, he eventually developed mental issues and was sent here.

She visited him regularly every month. During her last visit before his disappearance, her brother told her he wanted to leave.

She didn't take it seriously, but soon after, her brother died.

By the time she arrived, he had already been cremated.

"Mr. Mao Si, this Sanitarium holds a secret."

She said softly, her voice trembling slightly:

"The secret that little girl told you might be the key!"

"Please help me."

"Let's stay in contact, Miss Jiang." Yan Jing waved the Information Component in his hand.

"Okay, thank you!"

Jiang Jiu said excitedly.

Yan Jing finally got into a cab for the ride back.

By the time he reached his hotel, it was already 8:00 PM.

Then, he remembered he still hadn't bought clothes for tomorrow's banquet.

"Other than Dahan, I don't even have an underling to run errands..."

Yan Jing sighed.

He didn't have much faith in Dahan's aesthetic of wearing gold watches and gold chains.

As his voice fell, a cluster of red light specks poured from his chest and landed in front of him.

Fei Yu blinked her large eyes:

"Do you not consider me a person?"

"You want to go, Xiao Yu?"

Yan Jing blinked.

"If you need it, Young Master, I can learn."

Fei Yu said softly.

"Alright, then you go, Xiao Yu," Yan Jing said.

"I'll have Xiao Xin go with you."

After speaking, he called Dahan and had him quickly procure two sets of unregistered Information Components.

At 8:00 PM, life in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom had only just begun.

After Fei Yu and Xiao Xin left, Yan Jing pulled back the curtains and stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window. He looked out at the beams of searchlights piercing the night sky and the blinding neon signs throughout the city.

His eyes flickered.

Compared to the life-and-death crises he faced when he first arrived in this world, his situation had improved significantly, but in the face of those high tiers, he was ultimately still an ant.

He still hadn't forgotten the first lesson the Inner World had taught him.

"Stronger, I need to be stronger..."

Buying the clothes went smoothly.

By the time Fei Yu returned, Yan Jing saw that his maid had changed from her ancient-style dress into a professional white-collar outfit—a white shirt and a business skirt suit.

"The other Information Component has been placed in the location you specified."

Fei Yu said softly.

"Mm, thank you for your hard work."

Yan Jing leapt into Fei Yu's arms.

Early the next morning.

Yan Jing first glanced at the messages on his Information Component.

The girl named Jiang Jiu had sent a barrage of messages, saying she wanted to cooperate to uncover the hospital's secret.

After that was his own Pops, who had sent an outfit-matching guide.

Last night, he had written letters to Old Sin City and the Old Man. He hadn't had time to write to Tiger, but when Tiger left last time, Xiao Xin had followed along and already knew his coordinates, so contacting him would be easy.

Now, he could be considered to have some foundation in the Inner World.

While eating the breakfast Xiao Yu had made, Fei Yu read out some of the information she had gathered:

"Minhu's ghost silver can be exchanged for eerie points here, but gui yuan cannot. One eerie silver is roughly equal to 10 eerie points."

"I also found the information you asked me to look up regarding the so-called biological gene trading here."

"Biological agents generally use biological genes from other Domains, so this business is perfectly legal and compliant. However, the Peace Heavenly Kingdom has a very unique geographical location, which prevents many biological genes from coming in. Because of this, these biological genes are extremely valuable..."

"But doing this business involves one more thing—you need backing..."

Yan Jing listened to Fei Yu's report and nodded.

It was not easy to figure out so much information in such a short amount of time.

According to Xiao Yu herself, she hadn't slept at all last night.

But looking at her, she seemed quite excited.

"We'll prepare for a bit longer, and then we can begin."

Yan Jing smiled.

Just like Papa Rat had said, the most important thing in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom was money.

Isn't it just money? He, Young Master Yan, really had quite a lot of it.