The sound of the heavy oak doors slamming shut signaled the hasty retreat of the Black Bamboo Triad. Inside the library, the tense atmosphere slowly dissolved back into the familiar smell of old parchment and dust.
Iron-Tooth’s blood still formed a fresh, dark smudge across the edge of the mahogany counter. On the floorboards, three shattered teeth lay scattered like pale pebbles dropped in the mud.
"Are you alright up there, boy?" Old Meng called out, his voice returning to its dry, slightly raspy monotone. He didn't look up as he plucked a silken handkerchief from his sleeve to lazily wipe the triad leader's blood off his catalog ledger.
"I—I think so, Master Meng!" Shen Jin whimpered, his voice carrying an acoustic tremor of panic.
With a clumsy, desperate heave, he swung his legs back onto the sturdy rungs of the wooden ladder, letting his boots slip twice with a loud
screeech
against the wood to emphasize his terror. He scrambled down the ladder with frantic haste, nearly tripping over the hem of his own oversized worker's trousers when he reached the bottom.
"The book... it just jumped right out of my hands!" Shen Jin stammered, his eyes wide and unblinking as he stared at the scattered teeth on the floor. He squeezed his hands into trembling fists, hiding the pristine, completely relaxed state of his palms. "I thought that big man was going to cut my head off with his sword! My knees feel like watery porridge, Master Meng."
Old Meng slowly closed the heavy ledger. He leaned back in his high-backed chair, his single clear eye resting heavily on Shen Jin’s dusty face. The milky cataract in his left eye caught the dim lantern light, giving him an almost spectral appearance.
"The world is full of sharp edges, brat," Meng said softly, picking up his pocketknife and the half-carved tobacco root once more. "Sometimes, if you're exceptionally clumsy, those edges cut the people trying to hurt you instead. But luck is a shallow well. Don't go throwing your bucket down it too often."
"Yes, sir! I'll hold the books tighter next time, I swear!" Shen Jin promised, bowing frantically until his messy dark hair covered his eyes.
"Clean up this mess," Meng grunted, gesturing with the tip of his knife toward the mud and teeth. "And scrub the counter. If the ink gets stained by rogue blood, it takes a week of lemon oil to dissolve the scent."
"Right away, sir!"
Shen Jin grabbed a wooden bucket of well water and a rough linen cloth, dropping to his knees to scrub the floorboards with loud, exaggerated sighs of exhaustion. He made sure to look as pitiful and shaken as possible whenever Old Meng glanced his way.
But as his head remained lowered, a familiar chime resonated directly within his consciousness.
[PING.]
[System Quest Completed: Neutralize the Extortion Attempt.]
Assessment:
The host successfully protected the Archive’s assets and financial registry from local underworld exploitation. By staging a structural mishap from above, the threat was neutralized with zero public alarm or suspicion directed toward your true strength.
[Rewards Distributed:]
+25 Vanguard Points (VP) added to the Karma Ledger.
Current Balance: 30 VP.
Thirty points,
Shen Jin’s mind calculated with cold satisfaction as he carefully wiped a bloodstain from the mahogany wood.
The system is rewarding consistency. The smaller the ripple I make in the real world, the greater the harvest in the ledger.
He finished cleaning the lobby in record time, maintaining his slouched, limping gait until he finally descended the dark stone stairs back into his basement sanctuary.
The moment the heavy wooden basement door clicked shut, the exhaustion melted from his frame. He sat down cross-legged on his rough canvas cot, closing his eyes to inspect his internal state. His opened Second Seal of Qi was spinning smoothly, the twilight-blue energy flowing through his broadened pathways like liquid silk.
He didn't immediate launch the simulation tonight. Instead, he pulled up the
Vanguard Exchange Shop
, his eyes scanning the newly unlocked Tier 2 inventory.
"Thirty points isn't enough for Volume Three of the Scripture," Shen Jin murmured to himself, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his knee. "But it is enough to diversify my utility. If the Black Bamboo Triad returns, they won't just send low-grade enforcers. Iron-Tooth will report his humiliation to the branch head."
In his previous life, Shen Jin remembered the general layout of the Outer Ring’s underworld. The Black Bamboo Triad was a subsidiary gang answering to the
Flowing Jade Chamber
—a massive criminal enterprise that controlled the gambling and smuggling rings across the entire West District. The branch head of this area was a ruthless cultivator named
Elder Qi
, a man who had broken the Third Seal of Qi and specialized in a restrictive martial art called the
Vine-Braid Bind
.
If Elder Qi realized a municipal library was defying his collection lines, he wouldn't send thugs with wooden clubs. He would send professionals to burn the building down.
Shen Jin focused his gaze on the floating blue text of the system shop.
VANGUARD EXCHANGE SHOP (TIER 2)
[Meridian Washing Dew (Mid-Grade)]
—
Cost: 25 VP
[Vanguard Pulse - Sub-Technique: Echo-Location]
—
Cost: 20 VP
(Allows the host to discharge an microscopic, completely silent vibration through the soles of their feet, mapping all organic structural signatures within a 30-meter radius.)
[Deflection Array Seals (Set of 3)]
—
Cost: 15 VP
(Disposable spiritual tags that can be hidden in walls or structures. When triggered, they subtly bend the trajectory of incoming ranged elemental attacks or physical projectiles by up to 15 degrees.)
Purchase the Echo-Location sub-technique and one Deflection Array Seal,
Shen Jin commanded mentally.
[Transaction Complete. 35 Vanguard Points deducted... Error: Insufficient Balance. Re-calculating...]
[Notice: Host has selected items totaling 35 VP. Current Balance is 30 VP.]
Shen Jin blinked, a rare flash of dry amusement crossing his face.
Ah, I miscalculated by five points. Cancel the Deflection Seals. Purchase only the Echo-Location sub-technique.
[Transaction Adjusted. 20 Vanguard Points deducted.]
[Current Balance: 10 VP.]
[Sub-Technique: [Echo-Location] successfully integrated into your soul memory.]
A light, cool sensation trickled down Shen Jin’s spine, pooling specifically in his heels and the arches of his feet. He didn't need to enter the simulation to test this one.
Still sitting on his bed, he gently tapped his right heel against the damp stone floor of the basement. He didn't channel a loud burst of Qi; instead, he executed the specific rhythmic breath of the Vanguard style, releasing a microscopic, invisible vibration into the rock.
Hum.
Instantly, a three-dimensional map unfolded within his mind's eye.
He could "see" the structural cracks in the foundation stones. He could see the fat sewer rats moving through the drainage pipes ten feet below him. And right above his head, through two layers of solid timber floorboards, he could trace the silhouette of Old Meng.
The old archivist was currently sitting perfectly still in his room, his posture no longer slouched. He was holding an ancient, unadorned iron sword across his knees, slowly polishing the dull metal with a piece of silk. His life signature was a deep, resting ocean—quiet, but profoundly terrifying.
The old man is waiting for them too,
Shen Jin realized, cutting off the vibration to conserve his internal energy.
He lay back down on his rough straw pillow, pulling the thin burlap blanket up to his chin. The trap was set, the underworld was moving, and the library was resting on a knife's edge. But as Shen Jin closed his eyes to drift into a deep, dreamless sleep, his heart remained as steady as the basalt walls protecting the city. Let them come. Every threat they sent was simply more currency for his ledger.