Chapter 8: The Outlaw Turns Out to Be Me?

Chapter 8: Am I the Lawless One After All?

"Is this ever going to end? Seriously, is there no end?"

"This just keeps dragging on, doesn't it? You get what you pay for, I guess."

"I should've been more careful when I still had some Qiankun Coins. I wondered why, after buying the last book, I still had 188 Qiankun Coins left. Turns out, it was all leading up to this. Is this a sign that the extra coins will be useful down the line?"

Sheng Qingquan let out a roar of frustration.

"Where are all these Doomsday crises coming from?"

"Why is this world so plagued with disasters and hardships?"

The more Sheng Qingquan thought about it, the more confused he got.

"Could it be that I'm not in just one Doomsday novel, but a whole series?"

"Or maybe it's a world where multiple Doomsday novels have merged?"

Just the thought of this possibility made Sheng Qingquan's heart sink.

"Wait, if this Doomsday ends, will another one just pop up out of nowhere?"

"Just thinking about it makes life seem pointless, and the world not worth living in!"

Sheng Qingquan was teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

The bodyguards weren't doing much better.

Those sent out on missions were all battle-hardened veterans. They had waded through floods, battled wildfires, and faced countless dangers without batting an eye.

Even trudging through rugged mountain paths or chest-high floodwaters, their steps never faltered.

But hearing Sheng Qingquan's inner thoughts, one of them actually twisted their ankle on flat ground.

If it weren't for their quick thinking and Sheng Qingquan's distraction, they would've been caught.

"What cosmic rule did I break to deserve this? I'd rather die than keep suffering like this."

After a moment of despair, Sheng Qingquan lost his craving for braised dishes to go with his drink.

Even though the braised food at the community entrance was so good that people would drive hours just to get it.

He trudged back home, his steps heavy and dragging, as if he were heading to the police station to turn himself in, not going home.

Only after getting home, collapsing onto the soft mattress, and burying his face in the blanket to let it all out did Sheng Qingquan find the courage to face reality.

"Let me see, what kind of Doomsday are we dealing with this time?"

"[Heavenly Disaster: Surviving 365 Days of Hardship]"

"From the title, it doesn't seem to be part of the same series as the last one. Probably a different author."

"Let me see, what kind of heavenly disaster is this."

"Is it a meteor shower, a blizzard, acid rain, or some other natural disaster? Heavenly disasters should be things like that, right?"

As he flipped through the book, Sheng Qingquan pondered.

The bodyguards also found themselves deep in thought.

The country has specialized response measures for natural disasters like blizzards to minimize losses.

If these measures fail, it could escalate into a catastrophic disaster akin to Doomsday.

Just how severe would that be?

How large would the affected area be?

Could the entire nation become a disaster zone? If that happened, the resulting human tragedy would be unimaginable.

Thankfully, Sheng Qingquan was present.

With early detection, preparations could begin in advance, ensuring a different outcome.

They were determined to protect Sheng Qingquan.

Initially, it was believed there was only one Doomsday crisis.

The crucial artifact, the white jade ring, had already been isolated and securely stored.

With the threat contained, Doomsday was averted. Thus, although Sheng Qingquan was valued, security measures remained standard.

During his protection, they merely tested the range of Sheng Qingquan's telepathic abilities.

They found that any adult within a 100-meter radius of Sheng Qingquan could hear his thoughts.

Once it was confirmed that his telepathy posed no harm, the authorities largely stayed out of it.

Primarily because communicating this issue to Sheng Qingquan was impossible.

Even the Ning Qingquan couple attempted to hint at it several times, but any intent to inform Sheng Qingquan resulted in immediate silencing.

Neither speaking nor writing worked. Codes, riddles, and other methods all failed.

Any such intention was invariably thwarted. Consequently, they ceased their attempts.

Since Doomsday hadn't occurred and Sheng Qingquan was under constant guard, he faced no real danger.

Even if someone discovered they could hear his thoughts and sought to exploit him, they would fail.

Instead of allowing Sheng Qingquan to be taken to a lab for experimentation, the bodyguards would first deliver any perpetrators to the authorities.

However, this assumes no new Doomsday scenario emerges.

Beyond his telepathic leakage, Sheng Qingquan's abilities resembled those of a prophet, or more accurately, a seer.

A seer who has exhausted their prophecies is far less endangered than one who continues to prophesy.

A once-wealthy individual now penniless versus a currently wealthy person with a secure future—who would a robber choose?

The logic is the same.

Upon the appearance of the new novel, the bodyguards promptly reported it to their superiors, ensuring not only enhanced security measures.

Sheng Qingquan's neighbors also need to move out faster.

Especially those who don’t know what’s going on. People aren’t worried about bribes; they’re more concerned someone might snap from Sheng Qingquan’s late-night antics and confront him head-on.

Luckily, the buildings aren’t too tall, and there’s plenty of space between them.

The community’s selling point was its lush greenery, great lighting, and wide roads perfect for seniors and kids to walk around.

Sheng Qingquan’s building is in a prime spot, with the nearest building over a hundred meters away.

So, only the folks in Sheng Qingquan’s building need to be dealt with, cutting down the workload significantly.

"What is all this?"

Sheng Qingquan was baffled. He blinked repeatedly, doubting his eyes, but the book’s content stayed the same.

"Either I messed up, or the golden finger did."

"If I didn’t misread, maybe the golden finger gave me a pirated book?"

"Otherwise, why would the cover title not match the content?"

"Isn’t this supposed to be a post-apocalyptic novel?"

"Why is it that after three chapters, it’s just the protagonist getting teased?"

"And it’s all by the same person."

Sheng Qingquan grew more and more suspicious.

"Even the last apocalyptic novel started with a quick steamy scene, but it didn’t take over the plot—it just set things up."

"But here, three chapters in, and there’s no mention of the apocalypse at all. It even seems like the protagonist will keep getting teased."

"This is absurd. What does this have to do with [Heavenly Disaster: Struggling to Survive 365 Days]?"

"This is just some cheesy old melodrama. The other guy might as well say, 'Woman, you’ve got my attention!'"

Sheng Qingquan was completely lost, and the bodyguards were just as confused.

But if the content has nothing to do with the title, does that mean the disaster won’t happen?

If that’s the case, then even if it’s melodramatic, it’s fine.

Sheng Qingquan thought the same, so he continued to read.

At least he needed to ensure there were no major twists later.

"Ugh, my eyes are burning—how can there be such cringy scenes?"

"This novel must’ve been named that because even the universe couldn’t take it, so divine justice stepped in and killed everyone!"

"How can someone get kissed, hugged, and groped by a stranger, refuse over and over, and still not call the cops?"

"Come on, aren’t there cops everywhere? If you’re too scared to go, just call them!"

"From the plot, the other guy isn’t watching you 24/7. When he goes to work during the day, the protagonist has every chance to call the police."

"Why would the protagonist ask strangers for help instead of trusting the cops? Call the police—they’ll deal with this creep!"

"Kidnapping, illegal detention, molestation— even though I'm not a legal expert, I can spot several crimes here. Getting him the death penalty might not be possible, but getting him locked up for a few years is absolutely feasible. Why didn’t you call the police? Why?!"

Sheng Qingquan was so frustrated that he almost wanted to imitate Ma Jingtao shaking a Qiong Yao drama heroine, shaking the protagonist's shoulders and demanding, "Why didn't you call the police?"

“Didn’t your parents and teachers teach you, from childhood, to call the police when something like this happens?”

"This is making my head hurt!"

It wasn’t just Sheng Qingquan who was losing it; the bodyguards were equally baffled.

Their country’s legal education should be pretty solid. Older folks might get a pass, but judging from the inner monologue, the person in the book is clearly young.

How can young people be so clueless about the law?

Moreover, the idea of calling the police when in danger—isn’t that something drilled into us from childhood?

Or maybe the protagonist had run into crooked cops before, leaving him too scared to call the police?

At this thought, the bodyguards felt a shiver. They needed to pay attention to where the protagonist was from. Such bad apples couldn’t be ignored; they had to be weeded out and dealt with.

"So, where exactly does the protagonist live?"

"Are people there really that clueless about the law? Hearing screams, the neighbors don’t even call the cops?"

"Even if they don’t call the cops, these neighbors are just weird. How can their morals be so bad?"

"When the protagonist begged for help, not one of them lifted a finger."

"Even worse, some even tried to take advantage of him."

"What kind of twisted place is this? Do all the rotten apples stick together? But judging from the environmental description, this is just an ordinary residential building in a regular neighborhood."

"Or is this place actually a front for criminals, like how pyramid schemes use regular buildings as cover?"

These people are all in on it!

Unbelievable. The bodyguards were stunned.

What were they hearing?

How could this even happen? They hoped Sheng Qingquan would quickly spill the address; they could barely stop themselves from calling the cops. If they weren't still on duty, they would have rushed over to arrest the culprits themselves.

"The adults are beyond saving. Why are the kids just as bad?"

"The protagonist stopped seeking help from adults, thinking that children should be more pure and innocent. So he started asking children for help."

"But the children in this place, despite always greeting him with bright smiles and seeming very friendly, still turned a blind eye to his pleas for help. Like father, like son—even the kids started groping him!"

"Just destroy this world already!"

Sheng Qingquan could feel the protagonist's despair. Even he himself was feeling utterly hopeless.

"Finally, the protagonist found out the name of the person who imprisoned and molested him."

"Jiang Zhilan."

Sheng Qingquan was puzzled.

"Isn't that a female name? It sounds like a girl's name. Or is it a man with a feminine name?"

"I'm not being sexist here. It's usually tough for a grown woman to keep a grown man locked up. Especially in novels, the main character usually moves freely at home. In that case, the main character should have no trouble taking down the kidnapper. And he wasn't drugged or anything."

"Wait a minute..."

Sheng Qingquan's expression darkened even more.

"The book doesn't say how old he is. Is the main character still a kid? If he's just a kid, he's not strong enough to fight off a grown woman."

"People who traffic kids are the lowest of the low. They deserve the death penalty! Nothing less will satisfy the public's outrage."

"Hold on, Jiang Zhilan... that name rings a bell."

"Is this jerk someone I know?"

Remembering Ning Luoxing and Luo Huanian, also main characters in novels, Sheng Qingquan felt a chill.

The bodyguards, who knew the neighborhood inside out, caught on quicker than Sheng Qingquan.

"Jiang Zhilan? That's the cop who lives next to Sheng Qingquan, right?"

"It's her!"

"No wonder she could overpower the main character."

It dawned on Sheng Qingquan why the main character never called the cops.

"I got it all wrong. The poor guy."

"Who would've thought Jiang Zhilan, who seems so sweet, could be like this?"

"Officer Jiang Zhilan, a lawbreaker in uniform. Does she deserve her badge and the trust of the people?"

"I need to see you pay for this!"

Fuming, Sheng Qingquan tore through the last free chapter.

Then his anger just popped like a balloon and vanished.

"Hold up, the main character isn't even human?"

Even if it's not human, this is still wrong. Monsters have rights too, you know.

The bodyguards were outraged. Although they had never heard of monsters before, with the apocalypse happening, it's not impossible for monsters to appear. Besides, aren't there often legends of animals becoming spirits in folklore?

"The main character's a little white cat? Just a regular, meowing, non-talking kitty?"

Sheng Qingquan felt like he understood something.

"So, the abduction and confinement, could it be that Officer Jiang wanted to keep a cat, and instead of buying one, she 'kidnapped' a stray cat on the street?"

"As for the kissing, hugging, and cuddling, it's true, but doing that to a little cat..."

Sheng Qingquan's righteous speech suddenly couldn't be uttered.

No pet cat is safe from this kind of love.

"No wonder the neighbors were so indifferent to the protagonist's plight. Even among those who took advantage, there were children."

Everything suddenly made sense.

"Probably they just found the kitten cute and petted it a few times."

Sheng Qingquan had often done such things in the past. So, was I the outlaw all along?

Could it be that from the cats' perspective, this is actually pretty rude?

Should I be more careful in the future?

"So the protagonist isn't an ordinary kitten in the end!"

After finishing the free chapters, Sheng Qingquan bought the VIP chapters.

After reading the first few VIP chapters, Sheng Qingquan finally figured out what was happening.

"The protagonist is an alien, and his species resembles cats."

"The protagonist is indeed underage. He was traveling with his parents when they encountered a star explosion. The explosion caused a spaceship accident, separating the protagonist from his parents. He ended up stranded on Tianlan Planet, mistaken for a stray cat and taken in."

"Because his translation device was lost, he couldn't translate his speech. This led to misunderstandings."

"Not long after, the protagonist's parents showed up looking for him. Discovering that their child had suffered such a terrible ordeal, they were furious and wanted to destroy Tianlan Planet. Even though Officer Jiang tried to take the blame, it wasn't enough to satisfy them."

"So the 'heavenly disaster' in the title refers to this alien threat."

It fits the title. So it wasn't the golden finger causing problems after all.

Sheng Qingquan realized that the alien's anger was understandable—any parent would be furious if their child went through something like that. Although he didn't agree with their actions, he could somewhat understand their feelings.

On the other hand, Sheng Qingquan also felt that Tianlan Planet was quite unlucky.

"Who would have thought that the cat was a sentient being?!"