Chapter 50 WeChat Payment

Chapter 50: WeChat Payment

Original price: 3899.

After government subsidy: 3590.

12-month installment plan.

3 interest-free installments.

Installment fee rate: 0.7%.

Monthly principal: 3590 ÷ 12 ≈ 299.

The first 3 installments are interest-free, so they are 299 each.

Subsequent installments will include a service charge: 3590 × 0.7% ≈ 25.

So the remaining 9 installments are 299 + 25 = 324.

Digestive System: "."

These were the tiny crystals buried deep in Lin Jianyuan’s mind.

What on earth was Lin Jianyuan thinking about all day, instead of getting proper sleep?!

It couldn't understand a single line!

But this time, the crystals didn't seem to be work-related?

"Now that you mention it, I remember something," Squeeze Toy suddenly said. "I think I've seen this 'government subsidy' somewhere before... Oh, right. Wasn't this when you were mopping his floor last time..."

Digestive System: "."

It remembered too.

It had once seen a message like this on Lin Jianyuan’s phone:

Your purchased [Government-Subsidized XXX Sweep-Mop Robot, Self-Cleaning All-in-One Mop (Extended Reach) (3 Interest-Free Installments Available)] has been shipped!

Although the Digestive System was highly anthropomorphic, it was not human.

At the time, it had only registered "sweeping and mopping robot."

The rest of the words were just "gibberish" to it, automatically ignored.

And yet...

They had turned into crystals?

The Digestive System turned its "head."

Gazing at Lin Jianyuan as he slept.

So hard to understand.

Humans.

...

Late at night. 700 North Jiangchuan Road.

The psychiatric center was dark, save for the emergency department, which remained brightly lit.

The outpatient building was as black as a ghost.

Oh, and the inpatient department.

The inpatient wards were also eerily dark, but the nurse station and doctors' offices were still lit.

And filled with a palpable sense of resentment.

Places like these were most prone to attracting anomalies.

Thus, the Management Bureau had long made preparations.

Even before this "Encounter with Evil Domain" incident, the Bureau had already stationed personnel in hospitals of all levels.

Especially psychiatric hospitals.

"Recently, a total of three anomalies have been observed at 700 North Jiangchuan Road: the B-class [Heavy Slumber], and the C-class [Insomnia] and [Lure]."

The field agent responsible for the long-term station at 700 North Jiangchuan Road was named Wang Fu.

In his early forties, he was easygoing and unkempt. At first glance, he looked like a disheveled middle-aged man.

But only Shi Shaoning knew the hardships he endured.

The Management Bureau categorized anomalies into five levels.

From lowest to highest:

D-class (harmless/mildly harmful) → C (regional) → B (transmissible) → A (mental pollution) → S (physical destruction).

For example, the B-class [Heavy Slumber].

Its true form was a giant goldfish swimming through the air.

[Heavy Slumber] would drift through crowds. With a flick of its tail, humans struck by it would feel physically heavy and extremely drowsy.

Commonly described as "exhausted to death," "drowsy to the point of collapse," and "can't be bothered to do anything."

Since most humans could not see anomalies with the naked eye, they had no defense against [Heavy Slumber]'s attacks.

And as everyone knew, when humans felt sleepy, they tended to yawn. Humans who saw others yawning would also yawn.

[Heavy Slumber] thus spread through crowds.

[Insomnia], on the other hand, was the opposite.

As the name suggested, it was an anomaly that caused sleeplessness.

The term "regional" referred to the limited range of such anomalies, usually confined to a specific area.

Like a building, a room, or even a mattress.

Hence, [Insomnia] was C-class.

However, even within the same class, the danger level to humans could differ.

...such as [Lure].

Its ability was to attract mosquitoes.

Its food was the negative emotions generated when humans were repeatedly harassed by mosquitoes.

...an anomaly with low offensive capability but extremely annoying...

"Currently, both [Insomnia] and [Lure] have been contained. Only [Heavy Slumber] remains at large, and its Mark has already..." Wang Fu continued his report.

He spoke rapidly, knowing full well that Captain Shi was an impatient and irritable man.

Sure enough, Shi Shaoning cut him off before he could finish: "No need to report anything below A-class. Any A or S-class incidents?"

Wang Fu: "None. Things have actually been quite peaceful lately."

Upon hearing "none," Shi Shaoning was about to leave, but his footsteps halted abruptly, and he turned back.

"Lately?" Shi Shaoning frowned slightly, his tone sharp. "How recently?"

Wang Fu thought for a moment: "The past three... well, actually four days."

Shi Shaoning felt something was off and pressed for details, quickly uncovering the anomaly.

It turned out that the three anomalies Wang Fu had reported had been active around 700 North Jiangchuan Road for some time.

The Bureau had limited personnel and resources. With such constraints, they could only prioritize containing anomalies that posed a threat to humans.

Thus, harmless or minimally harmful anomalies were often left alone.

But the past three days were different.

Not only had mid-to-high-level anomalies vanished, but even low-level ones had disappeared entirely.

It was as if they had all migrated overnight.

Or perhaps—

—they had been devoured.

Shi Shaoning frowned, remembering that stormy night again.

That night, his squad had encountered the S-class anomaly [Evil Domain]. [Evil Domain] clearly had no interest in fighting and bolted directly toward Jiangchuan North Road.

Could it have been rushing to feed?

Shi Shaoning: "."

Shi Shaoning clenched his fist, feeling a sense of insult.

Damn it! He pulled endless overtime! Filming during the day! Rushing to contain anomalies at night! Even making time for some shitty middle-management meetings!

And yet, the most powerful enemy he had ever faced turned out to be an anomaly obsessed with eating?!

Fuck!!!

This is insane!

Here he was, fully armed and prepared to die, and the damn thing didn't even look at him!

All because it was in a hurry to eat!!!

He was furious.

His fists were clenched.

Shi Shaoning took a deep breath, controlling his emotions as he said to Wang Fu, "If those anomalies were indeed eaten by [Evil Domain], it's highly likely that it has already staked claim to 700 North Jiangchuan Road as its territory. It will return."

Anomalies were territorial like dogs. Once they marked a place, they wouldn't tolerate anyone else infringing upon it.

Especially powerful S-class anomalies like [Evil Domain].

Just one of its Marks was enough to send all anomalies below S-class in the vicinity fleeing in terror.

"As for the still-at-large [Heavy Slumber]," Shi Shaoning said, "it's highly likely that [Evil Domain] has already eaten it too. So your task now is..."

Wang Fu pointed at himself in shock: "Contain [Evil Domain]? Me?"

Shi Shaoning: "."

He almost couldn't hold back an eye-roll.

Shi Shaoning raised his wrist and operated his mobile terminal.

Wang Fu's mobile terminal immediately beeped, indicating the receipt of important data.

Shi Shaoning said, "These are the collected Mark fragments of [Evil Domain] so far. The tech department has analyzed 90% of it. Theoretically, one more collection should be enough to piece together the complete Mark of [Evil Domain]."

Wang Fu perked up at this: "Oh! I thought you wanted me to contain an S-class. So it's just collecting Mark fragments. That's much better. I just need to track it down and follow it. Don't worry, Captain Shi. If [Evil Domain] dares to show up at 700 North Jiangchuan Road, I'll make sure to snag a piece from it, even if I have to tear it out."

Shi Shaoning had been about to leave after assigning the task, but upon hearing this, he turned back, gritting his teeth.

"Scrape my ass!" Shi Shaoning snapped. "S-class anomalies aren't like the garbage you usually deal with! S-class anomalies possess the power of physical destruction! I'm warning you, don't treat this like some ordinary mission! You're risking your life here, so you better take this seriously! What's the Bureau paying you that's worth your life? Got anyone waiting for you at home?!"

Wang Fu: "???"

Was that concern? Or an insult?

Whatever. Captain Shi's temper was notorious in the Bureau.

After all, he was a celebrity by day and had to work at the Bureau at night. That was tough enough.

It was normal for him to be irritable. Everyone with part-time Bureau gigs was like that.

Not like him—a full-timer. Permanently assigned to 700 North Jiangchuan Road.

To outsiders, he was stuck in a mental hospital, unable to return home, and subjected to gossip.

But only he knew how sweet this assignment actually was.

Most of the time, his "stay" at 700 North Jiangchuan Road didn't involve much real work.

All key areas were equipped with detectors; he just had to make rounds at each checkpoint like a security guard.

The rest of the time, he could do his own thing.

Like practicing calligraphy and working out.

Wang Fu had previously posted videos of himself practicing calligraphy on Xiaohongshu, but they received very few likes and comments. He had been feeling pretty discouraged.

Then one day, he absentmindedly rolled up his sleeves, revealing his toned, well-defined forearms.

Damn. The likes and saves blew past 30k.

He finally understood how things worked.

…And that’s how he successfully grew his following.

So lately, Wang Fu had been loving how busy he’d been every day. After finishing his day job duties, he’d immerse himself in Xiaohongshu, filming his forearms—wait, no—his calligraphy videos.

He had no idea why fans came rushing in, yelling stuff like “daddy” and “alpha.”

Well, that’s the perk of working within the system.

If you pick the right position, you can totally use your slacking-off time to run a side hustle.

But this job at the Bureau was a bit special.

Not only did it affect your mental state, but there was also a chance you’d face life-threatening dangers, like this S-class emergency.

So when Shi Shaoning chewed him out, Wang Fu’s first reaction was surprise, but his second was actually quite touched.

This young man is pretty decent, he thought.

Just a bit sharp-tongued.

All in all, he had a pretty good impression of Captain Shi. He felt that Shi Shaoning was nothing like the diva image the hot search often portrayed him as.

As he reflected, Wang Fu walked Shi Shaoning out.

—After all, this was a psychiatric hospital. The inpatient department was tightly controlled at night, with every entrance and exit locked, accessible only by swiping an employee card.

Of course, as an undercover agent stationed here by the Bureau, Wang Fu naturally had the clearance to come and go as he pleased.

“Thanks for your help, Captain Shi, then…”

Wang Fu swiped his card to open the main gate, politely ready to see Shi Shaoning off—

Blare!

A sharp, urgent alarm blared simultaneously from both their mobile terminals!

Wang Fu was stunned, but Shi Shaoning had already reacted!

He yanked the unprepared Wang Fu behind him while racking the slide in one swift motion!

The standard-issue weapons provided to the field team were designed to be highly lethal to anomalies but harmless to humans.

Seeing this, Wang Fu also snapped into action, quickly drawing his weapon and assuming a combat stance.

However.

“…Captain Shi?” Wang Fu noticed Shi Shaoning’s back weirdly tense up.

The alarm on the mobile terminal was also odd—it beeped once and then fell silent, making him wonder if it was a false alarm.

Wang Fu stepped forward, puzzled.

Peering over Captain Shi’s shoulder in his black combat gear, he saw one… no, half of one.

Half of a giant goldfish.

Wang Fu: “?”

The enormous goldfish lay twisted on the ground.

It was only half because the lower part of its tail was missing.

Bitten off.

Clearly chomped off by a massive, gaping mouth.

The bite marks were a full half a meter wide.

The big goldfish was still alive but couldn’t flop around anymore. It could only lie there like a dead fish.

After all, its tail was gone.

Wait, this goldfish?

Wasn’t this the B-class anomaly [Heavy Slumber]?

Why was [Heavy Slumber] here?

And with half its tail bitten off?!

This was too absurd!

Wang Fu exclaimed in shock, “Is it the [Maw of the Abyss]?!”

As far as he knew, there was only one anomaly with a mouth that big.

That would be the [Maw of the Abyss].

But Shi Shaoning gritted his teeth, forcing out two words through clenched jaws: “It’s not.”

Wang Fu: “Huh?”

Shi Shaoning: “It’s not the [Maw of the Abyss], it’s [Evil Domain].”

Before Wang Fu could ask why, he saw Shi Shaoning quickly bend down and pick up a large rock nearby.

Only then did Wang Fu notice a piece of paper pinned under the rock.

An A4 printout.

On it was a line of text:

“80% kickback. No backing out.”

“Need money. Urgently. Transfer tonight.”

Below it was a QR code.

Shi Shaoning: “…”

Shi Shaoning resisted the urge to roll his eyes, took out his phone, and scanned it.

Ding.

It was a WeChat payment QR code.

Wang Fu: "?"

Shi Shaoning: "………………"

Wang Fu was shocked. Wang Fu couldn't believe it.

Wang Fu stared at Shi Shaoning, his entire worldview shattered.

"Captain Shi, have you lost your mind?!" Wang Fu said with anguish. "How could you collude with anomalies to take bribes and extort benefits? Your conduct is highly questionable!"

Shi Shaoning: "………………[censored rage]"

*What damn corruption and extortion?!*

*Why don't you look more carefully before speaking?!*

*Who the hell is the one taking bribes and extorting benefits here?!*

*I’m clearly the one being shaken down, okay?!*

Shi Shaoning gritted his teeth. Shi Shaoning suppressed his anger.

Using every bit of his self-control, Shi Shaoning used the Management Bureau's internal permissions to trace this WeChat payment QR code.

The ID card linked to this WeChat account came up immediately.

It belonged to a 108-year-old man.

Well, well, well.

A centenarian engaging in a double-cross, boldly asking for kickbacks, huh?

*—Who the hell believes that! This is obviously a fake ID, damn it!*

Crack.

Shi Shaoning’s phone was crushed in his hand.