As the saying went, once you made it, you returned home in glory.
From Qian Yuliu's memories, Le Yuxin knew that after he graduated, he had gone back to his alma mater once.
That time, Qian Yuliu had gone back as an outstanding graduate. Even though he'd taken a post with the Statistical Department, at that time the Department hadn't yet become notorious. On the contrary, as a newly established office, the public saw it as the Imperial Court's fresh push for reform, so he'd received ample praise from the faculty and students, and even given a speech to encourage everyone.
But now things were different.
The full name of the Statistical Department was the "Huyao Executive Committee's Investigation Statistical Department." The official story was it served to listen to the people's opinions, appease the public, and drive democratic reform. But in reality, its main job was to hunt down the White Night rebels and purge domestic affairs.
Everyone knew that one reason why the White Night rebels had been able to stir up such a storm all across Huyao was that in recent years the Imperial Court had stepped up its exploitation, lost control of policy, and was beset by corrupt officials and bureaucrats running wild. On top of that, there had been years of natural disaster, and the great houses fanned the flames. So "White Night" emerged in step with public sentiment, its name meaning rebellion against Huyao and resistance to the Imperial Court.
Xingke City was right next to the Seaport, so people there still managed all right, but in the inland areas the disasters were already severe, with Skyrim District losing as much as thirty percent of its population. That was why the White Night rebels staged their insurrection by killing Skyrim's ruling official and using him as an example.
But the Imperial Court hadn't soothed the people at all. Instead, it set up the Statistical Department to hunt down righteous men en masse, which had long since stoked the ire of the progressive students at Xingke Military Academy.
Now, their "dear" "Brother Qian Yuliu" had come back.
"Qian Yuliu, you bastard!"
An egg flew through the air. Le Yuxin's intuition made him dodge immediately, but right then, another egg sailed straight at him in the direction he'd dodged. Le Yuxin simply stuck out his hand and slapped—
The egg shattered, fluid splattered, and that sharp, putrid stench filled his nose.
Le Yuxin took out a handkerchief and wiped the stink of rotten egg off his hand. He'd actually been about to scold them for wasting food, but he hadn't expected them to use rotten eggs and make use of trash, so he found himself unable to voice any waste-related criticism.
"Are you planning to stand against the Statistical Department!" Chen Fu yelled furiously, stepping in front of Le Yuxin, "Whoever attacked the Statistical Department staff, come out here! Is this all the students of the Military Academy can do—throwing garbage from the crowd?"
At the south gate of Xingke Military Academy, students stood off with the Statistical Department agents, with several hundred students gathered at the entrance, blocking the road and refusing to let the Department's vehicles through.
When the agents demanded the crowd disperse and insisted on carrying out official duties, the mob immediately boiled over, shouting, "Statistical Department's here to make arrests!" and drawing even more spectators. With no other option, as team leader, Le Yuxin could only get out of the car.
Qian Yuliu was a "celebrity" here, so the moment Le Yuxin got out, he was greeted by a barrage of "welcoming ceremonies."
If love could make you live, hate wished you dead.
"The more the students had respected Qian Yuliu before, the more they resented him now."
He just hadn't expected rotten eggs to be such a universal weapon across worlds, and the students had found them so quickly—it was almost impressive.
Le Yuxin had seen this coming and didn't get angry. There wasn't any point; he wasn't even the real Qian Yuliu. He just treated it as a first-person roleplaying game, except the game was way too realistic, and the rotten eggs really stank.
Besides, even if the real Qian Yuliu were here, he definitely wouldn't lose his temper. With his cold-blooded nature, he wouldn't feel any negative emotions, and when he'd joined the Statistical Department, he'd already steeled himself for this.
"Captain, what do we do?" Zhou Guangshi looked nervous, "Should we just guard the target's house and nab them in secret?"
"No way." Elily immediately objected, "Showing up at the Academy already tipped them off. If we don't make arrests right now, they'll run away overnight. Why would they go home? Plus, we have a ton of targets to catch—no time for waiting around. If the mission fails, what will the Director think of us?"
"But we can't catch anyone here, and what if we trigger a riot…"
"They're just a bunch of students, who'd dare defy the Statistical Department?"
"They're military cadets!"
"Makes no difference! Captain, let's make the arrests!"
Chen Fu turned to Le Yuxin, didn't say anything, but his hesitation was obvious in his gaze. He spoke softly, "Brother Qian, I'll follow your lead."
The students ahead surged with emotion, shouting, while the team behind him bickered, each with their own idea. Suddenly, Le Yuxin seemed to see a huge scapegoat's burden forming in midair, about to crash down on him.
"Everyone, it was Qian Yuliu himself who executed Mr. Lin! We can't let the Statistical Department take our classmates!"
"The whole Statistical Department are murderers!"
"Qian Yuliu, you traitorous, teacher-killing scum!"
"Trash! Scum!"
"Our school is ashamed of you!"
Chen Fu's face got even uglier.
People knowing that Lin Jinyao got arrested and even killed was expected—after all, when they'd made the arrest, it hadn't been in secret at all; in fact, it was high-profile.
But only the agents and the rebels present at the time knew that Qian Yuliu was the one who actually killed Lin Jinyao.
But now the rebels were all locked up, so it was pretty damn obvious where the information had leaked from.
"Avenge Mr. Lin!" Suddenly someone shouted loudly!
"Avenge Mr. Lin!"
"Avenge Mr. Lin!"
Instead of dispersing, the students surged forward together, crowding in on the Statistical Department agents!
Everyone was seething with righteous fury, acting as if they were agents of heaven's will!
Now, even the usually aggressive Elily looked a bit scared. Chen Fu took a step back and let out a heavy breath, "Brother Qian, maybe we should just pull back for now…"
Retreat…
"Could I just not do any of this?"
Suddenly, the thought of running away floated up in Le Yuxin's mind, and thinking about it, it seemed like a pretty decent choice.
No doubt about it: If he retreated now, this arrest mission would most likely end in failure. Afterwards, even if Lan Yan didn't punish him for it, there went any chance of getting promoted or trusted.
Rookies like Elily might see Lan Yan as a kind, generous guy, but anyone entrusted by the Governor to run the Statistical Department, the guy responsible for arresting countless White Night rebels—no way would he be easy to deal with.
Le Yuxin learned from Qian Yuliu's memories that in the Statistical Department the most important thing wasn't ability—it was loyalty.
And not just loyalty, but a willingness to betray your own class.
Plenty of Qian Yuliu's peers had joined the Statistical Department at the same time, but only a few—like him—got promoted and paid well. Most got shunted off to logistics, or straight-up fired.
These dropouts weren't kicked because they lacked skills, but because they lacked loyalty. Faced with orders to arrest the White Night rebels, some felt sympathy, pity, or fear, and didn't see the job through—they hesitated and backed down.
Serving the Imperial Court meant you were bound to clash with progressives. If you weren't mentally prepared for that, you'd never get chosen for anything important.
If Le Yuxin chickened out here, Lan Yan would see that Qian Yuliu's loyalty only went so far—best case, he'd be sidelined; worst case, exiled to the frontier.
Once he backed down, Qian Yuliu would lose any shot at becoming a core member of the Statistical Department forever.
But…
"Isn't that exactly what I'm hoping for?"
Being a mole was dangerous. Being a Statistical Department agent was even more dangerous. The former pitted you against the Imperial Court, the latter turned you against the people. Basically, Qian Yuliu's current identity meant he was everyone's enemy!
Walking on thin ice, dancing on a knife's edge—"that was Le Yuxin's current situation."
But Le Yuxin wasn't from Huyao. He felt nothing about this world—he didn't have some grand dream or must-do goal. He was just an ordinary person who wanted to go home and survive.
If he withdrew now, afterwards he could even quit with a good excuse. Leave the Statistical Department and the risks of being a mole would disappear—he'd just become some regular guy with no responsibility.
Then he could head home to eat with Qian Yuya, complete the fifteen-day survival challenge, level up his skills, relax in the countryside, and play with his weird system. Wouldn't that be nice?
"Le Yuxin had zero obligation to get entangled in this political struggle that swept up so many lives. He was skilled enough to guarantee he could live quietly as long as he kept a low profile."
After all, he was weak; he ought to live all the more cautiously.
"Quitting had a thousand upsides."
"Going on meant a one-in-a-million shot at survival."
"The choice should be obvious."
But…
Suddenly, an image of Lin Jinyao's eyes appeared in Le Yuxin's mind.
On a rainy night, in the chaos, Lin Jinyao's eyes shone bright as the stars, gazing at Qian Yuliu with warmth and pride.
"When Lin Jinyao saw his prized student raising a handgun at him, what was he thinking in that moment?"
"Was it pride, relief, or… guilt?"
"Sigh." Le Yuxin let out a breath and muttered, "But what do any of these things have to do with me?"
The others heard Le Yuxin's quiet words and couldn't help but breathe out in relief, figuring the captain planned to stand down.
Elily was frustrated, but she also knew that making arrests in this kind of situation wasn't realistic. If there were any student casualties, the Department could get screwed. The Governor might punish them, just to soothe public anger.
Just as everyone was about to fall back and withdraw from the Academy, they suddenly saw the captain stride forward and shout at the crowd,
"Mu Feihong! Stirring up students to rebel against the Imperial Court and hiding in their midst to save your own skin—is that how you set an example as an educator!"
It was early morning, the sunlight bright. Le Yuxin reflexively enhanced his voice with Spirit, making light tremble across the whole area. His voice boomed across campus like a thunderclap, sending flocks of pigeons bursting into flight.
For a moment, the entire place turned silent.
Then, like thunder rolling in, voices erupted—
"Scum! Bastard! Your mother should've given birth to barbecued pork instead!"
"Avenge Mr. Lin!"
"Beat that rich brat to death!"
"He's here to arrest Professor Mu. Don't let him get away with it!"
Le Yuxin's move was like throwing a match into a powder keg. Using Spirit to boom your voice was basically Spirit 101—every Awakener could do it, but most wouldn't dare make it so loud, because it really was ear-shattering.
What Le Yuxin did was basically grabbing a megaphone to shout at the students, so, naturally, the students grabbed their own megaphones and shouted right back. Who at Xingke Military Academy wasn't an Awakener? Who couldn't outshout you if they wanted to?
Glaring coldly at the accusing crowd, Le Yuxin stayed motionless, calmly regarding a mob that wanted nothing more than to tear his flesh and grind his bones to powder. He rolled his neck, then asked again, "Mu Feihong, you're inciting students to defy the Imperial Court—don't blame the Statistical Department for doing its duty. Team One agents: Remove firearm restrictions—authorized to fire at any attackers on sight!"
After saying that, Le Yuxin felt his whole body relax.
"Once words are spoken, they're like water spilled—there's no going back."
From that moment on, "Qian Yuliu's" infamy would spread across all of Xingke County—everyone would know his name!
"People would know the Military Academy bred a monster who, for power and fortune, slaughtered his own juniors, served as a lackey, and utterly lacked humanity!"
His peaceful little farming plan was finished. From now on, what awaited Le Yuxin was backstabbing, groveling, and, possibly, a speedy, ugly death cheered on by all.
But Le Yuxin didn't regret it.
Well, maybe he did, just a little—just a tiny, tiny bit.
"Honestly, thinking it over, his earlier plan had been way too optimistic. Even protected by the Statistical Department, he'd already faced assassination attempts. The moment they had no use for him, all the 'great achievements' Qian Yuliu had racked up would come back to bite him."
"Quitting the Department 'cleanly,' like one of those chivalrous types 'retiring from the jianghu,' just wasn't realistic—it would be even more dangerous. The authorities would turn their backs, while his enemies would do whatever they wanted."
"And most importantly, if he lost his job, how the hell would he eat? There was no social security out here—plenty of beggars already."
Of course, all of that was just an excuse.
He just didn't want to let down Lin Jinyao's last wish.
He just didn't want to waste all the groundwork Qian Yuliu had laid before.
How ridiculous. Le Yuxin and Qian Yuliu should have been sworn enemies; the first thing that happened after Le Yuxin crossed over was Qian Yuliu killed him. Then Le Yuxin possessed him, erased his soul, and now he was actually going to finish Qian Yuliu's work.
But Le Yuxin had to admit—he'd been moved.
Someone who'd grown up in peacetime like him couldn't begin to understand how people like Lin Jinyao and Qian Yuliu thought. "What sorts of ideals, what kinds of futures, could drive someone to give their life, their reputation, for it?"
With these questions in mind, Le Yuxin found, buried in Qian Yuliu's memories, a burning passion.
"'Yuliu, Huyao is nothing but darkness now. Regional officials levy taxes at random, Skyrim's officials still embezzle relief goods even in disaster, Chenfeng District arms pirates for their own ends, Xiamu's basically a state within a state… For all that we've spent centuries developing technology and ramping up productivity, people's standard of living only falls day by day. That's because almost all resources are hoarded by the ruling elites.'"
"'War is inevitable. The Ministers can't wait to carve up Huyao again with the blade. White Night's dream isn't just to kill Huyao's "sun"—it's to burn out all those "wildfires" called Ministers, and build a country of utter darkness where there's only justice left in the world.'"
"'White Night's dream is mine as well. Yuliu, what about you? What kind of world do you want to make?'"
"'I want a world where Yuya can live in peace.'"
"Searching through all twenty-two years of Qian Yuliu's life, that was the only wish he'd ever had."
"Qian Yuliu, I can't make your wish come true."
"You killed me, I took your body, let's call it even. Now I'm living in your skin, so as rent, I'll just keep following your path a little further."
"If it doesn't go well, don't blame me. After all, this is only my second time being human."
Chen Fu pleaded, "Brother Qian, are we really going to…"
Le Yuxin glanced at the cursing students ahead, then clapped his hands, "Team One, arm up!"
A black box was rolled out from the car. With a snap, it popped open to reveal handguns inside. The agents exchanged glances, but still quickly grabbed a weapon and cocked it, aiming at the crowd for intimidation.
Some students got scared, but more of them just got angry, "Bring it on! You think we'll bow to scum like you? Come on!"
They pushed forward, eager to bare their chests and let bullets paint them with medals of blood. The agents didn't dare shoot, and were forced to keep falling back under pressure.
Le Yuxin raised his gun and fired a shot into the air. The sharp crack rang out across the campus, making the surging crowd freeze.
He said coldly, "So that's your answer, Mu Feihong?"
Right then, a deep, slightly gravelly voice sounded in everyone's ears,
"You want an answer? Fine, Old Mu will give you one."