Chapter 1: The Daily Intelligence System, Revenge Must Be Taken!

Nine Regions of the Divine Continent.

Great Cang Kingdom.

Qingniu Market is one of the twelve major markets in Yanyun County, located by the Black River.

Winter solstice season.

The cold wind is as sharp as a knife, stinging the face.

At the east end of Qingniu Market, three miles away.

Li Laocai, wearing an official's hat and a brocade robe, with a big belly, is patrolling the fields with two servants.

"That old beast Li Laocai has finally arrived!" Qin Wang, wearing a black hat covering most of his face and a gray cotton coat with his hands tucked in his sleeves, is hiding behind a tall clump of grass on a dirt embankment. He looks like an old man, staring at Li Laocai a hundred yards away with cold eyes.

A moment later, Qin Wang retracts his gaze. Before him appears a pale blue, frosted, semi-transparent frame, about three feet in size, resembling an open book. Both pages are filled with small white characters.

Left page.

[Today's Intelligence]

1) You saw Qingniu Market's landlord Li Laocai from a distance yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Li Laocai found out you were still alive and, to eliminate any future trouble, is planning with his steward on how to trap and sell you to the 'Gentleman's Paradise' in the county to make some money.

2) You saw Yan Po from the brokerage yesterday. Intelligence gathered: your sister Qin Xuemei voluntarily sold herself to the Chen family as a laundry slave, earning 600 coins to help you survive the winter, while broker Yan Po made 3 taels of silver.

3) You saw a member of the Goldfish Gang, Li Yun, yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Li Yun had a quarrel with a fisherman this morning and was stabbed to death with a fish fork.

4) You saw Li Yunhai yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Li Yunhai and his wife are in a cold war because Li Yunhai gave you a small bag of brown rice and a fish yesterday.

5) You watched the sky yesterday. Intelligence gathered: there will be heavy rain in parts of Yanyun County soon.

6) You overheard discussions about the Great Cang Kingdom at the Qingniu Market tavern yesterday. Intelligence gathered: the Empress Dowager, who ruled behind the curtain in the Imperial City 108,000 miles away, has passed away, and the Emperor of Cang finally takes full control.

7) You saw the vendor Zhao Kun at Qingniu Market yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Zhao Kun will die of illness in 137 days.

8) You saw the fisherman Li Ergou yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Li Ergou will break his left leg while fishing tomorrow.

9) You saw Li Laocai's steward, Chen Pu, yesterday. Intelligence gathered: Chen Pu's beloved son is actually the child of his concubine and Li Laocai.

10) You focused on Qingniu Market's landlord Li Laocai yesterday. Intelligence gathered: this morning, Li Laocai will visit his fields in Qingniu Market, step on the nails you buried, and drop a money bag.

Note: Daily intelligence refreshes at midnight every day.

Right page.

[Qin Wang]

Life Expectancy: 17/67

Skills: Cooking (Beginner)

Progress: (788/800)

Effect: Steaming, boiling, frying, baking, stewing, marinating, and mixing. With practice, proficiency can be achieved in two to three months.

"That old beast Li Laocai is too treacherous!" Qin Wang grits his teeth. He was originally a university graduate on Earth, working as a delivery driver for five years. Carrying a thirty-year mortgage, he collapsed on the job and woke up as a boy named Qin Wang in Qingniu Market.

His mother was taken by the River God, his father died of illness six months ago, leaving a pile of debt. The remaining three acres of land and three tile-roofed houses were seized by landlord Li Laocai as collateral, leaving the siblings in a dilapidated hut covered with straw at the east end of Qingniu Market.

Seeing that they couldn't survive, his sister Qin Xuemei voluntarily sold herself to the Chen family in Yanyun County as a laundry slave, earning 600 coins just to help her brother Qin Wang get through the winter.

One and a half months after Qin Xuemei went to work as a laundry slave for the Chen family, Qin Wang unexpectedly awakened the Daily Intelligence System, which refreshes intelligence daily. As long as he had contact with someone the previous day, he could potentially obtain secret intelligence about them.

Over the past ten days since activating the system, Qin Wang has learned through daily intelligence that the seizure of the Qin family's three acres of land and three tile-roofed houses by Li Laocai, the death of his father, and the hardships the siblings face were all due to Li Laocai! Furthermore, Li Laocai is relentless, even planning to sell Qin Wang as a child servant to make more money. He is truly heartless.

Had his sister Qin Xuemei not sold herself as a laundry slave to get 600 coins, he would have starved to death before the system activated! Yesterday, Qin Wang refreshed the intelligence and learned that Li Laocai would visit his fields in Qingniu Market, passing by the main path. Last night, he buried ten rusty nails soaked in a dung pit for a day on the main path.

"In this dog-eat-dog world, only by gaining strong power can one live better! If I could get an entry-level martial arts skill, that would be great!" Qin Wang knows that he can grind skill proficiency on his panel, but currently, he only has beginner-level cooking. What he needs most is martial arts.

However, martial arts require money, and without it, one can't learn. Yanyun County has three major martial arts schools. Entering one requires 10 taels of silver as an entry fee. Additionally, the strict Cang security system restricts movement, and traveling to the county requires a pass signed and sealed by the village head. Without it, one could be arrested!

After activating the system, Qin Wang earned 3 taels of silver using the intelligence, but it's not enough to enter a martial arts school. He must use the intelligence system to get more silver and become stronger to kill Li Laocai.

"The 10th piece of intelligence indicates that Li Laocai will step on the nail and drop a money bag while inspecting the fields in Qingniu Market today. It would be great if I could get that!" Qin Wang watches Li Laocai, contemplating.

During this period, Qin Wang observed that the intelligence refreshed by the system daily has been very accurate.

"Chen Pu, have those fields from Qin Sanhuai's family been rented out yet?" On the embankment, Li Laocai walks with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over his land, feeling content.

"Master, you must have forgotten. The fields from Qin Sanhuai's family were rented out on the day they were seized." Chen Pu bends over, flattering with a sycophantic smile.

"Oh? Look at my memory... Next year's harvest will surely be good. Maybe we should consider raising the rent by half a percent." Li Laocai nods, satisfied. Every year, by the end of the year, his fields are rented out by tenants and poor farmers in advance, almost in short supply. Raising the rent slightly won't scare away renters.

"Master, you are absolutely right! Without your land, those peasants would starve to death! Last year, you raised the fishery rent by two percent, but this year you only consider half a percent increase for the fields. It truly shows your benevolence and generosity!" Chen Pu's flattery makes Li Laocai very pleased. His gaze sweeps over his fields as he walks onto a high embankment.

"Ah~! My foot!" Suddenly, Li Laocai screams, pulling his foot back as if stepping on burning coal, falling to the ground and screaming again. "Ah!!! My butt... Who's the damned person who left nails here...!"