Goodbye, Old Four

The train journey lasted through the night.

By mid-morning the next day, around ten o'clock, they arrived in Zhonghai.

Over ten hours.

Cao Cheng hadn’t managed to get a ticket for the Z-series train, so he had to settle for the K-series. Still, it wasn’t too bad—he just slept through the night, woke up, freshened up a bit, brewed a cup of tea, and before he knew it, they were at the station.

"Stinky little brother, over here!"

At the arrival gate, Ren Yuege spotted Cao Cheng immediately—his striking presence made him stand out like a crane among chickens in the bustling crowd.

But it took Cao Cheng several minutes to find her.

Proof that she was just… average.

"Stinky little brother~" Ren Yuege was clearly happy to see him. Even with a mask covering half her face, the delight in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Sweet little sister. Huh, where’s Third Sister?" Cao Cheng asked curiously.

"What’s that supposed to mean? Is it not good enough for me to pick you up?" Ren Yuege’s expression darkened. She had been about to give him a sisterly hug, but his words made her freeze mid-motion.

A hug?

Forget it.

She’d rather kick him!

"Not at all, I was just wondering. Didn’t Third Sister say she’d come yesterday?" Cao Cheng chuckled.

"Hmph, she’s unreliable. Don’t believe her in the future—believe me!" Ren Yuege shamelessly threw Third Sister under the bus.

"…"

Cao Cheng smirked.

Probably something came up.

Ren Yuege studied him. After not seeing him for months, had he gotten even more handsome? And maybe a little taller?

His aura was sharper too.

But…

"Is that all you brought? Just one backpack?"

"One bag’s enough. I shipped the rest ahead," Cao Cheng said.

If not for fear of standing out, he wouldn’t even have bothered with the backpack.

With a storage dimension, why lug around luggage?

Who did she think he was?

Since when did cultivators haul giant sacks onto trains?

Ren Yuege wore a mask and a cap, covering most of her face, but her presence was still striking enough to draw frequent glances.

Tall, nearly 1.7 meters, with long flowing hair—she definitely wasn’t bad-looking.

Of course, having Cao Cheng beside her helped.

A guy this good-looking wouldn’t be seen with someone ugly.

That logic was flawless.

"Let’s go home. Your dad and my mom are waiting."

"Sure."

Cao Cheng nodded and followed her out of the station.

Somewhere in the crowd behind them…

Brother Meng Hu suddenly sensed something.

His gaze locked onto Cao Cheng’s retreating figure—it felt eerily familiar.

Too familiar.

A chill ran down his spine. He shook his head violently, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, but the figure was already gone.

A hallucination?

Was he just scaring himself?

"What’s wrong?" Kuang Long handed his luggage to a subordinate and noticed his brother’s odd expression.

Meng Hu forced a laugh. "Bro, I… I think I saw that bastard?"

"Which one?"

"The one surnamed… Cao."

Kuang Long stiffened, scanning the surroundings.

"Where?"

"He disappeared just now. Bro, you think he’s following us?"

"Are you sure it was him?"

"Not 100%, but it felt like him."

"Damn it!"

Kuang Long smacked him upside the head. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Next time, make sure before opening your mouth."

Meng Hu rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

"So, where to now, bro?"

"Head straight to Uncle’s place first. We’ll settle in there."

……

As Cao Cheng stepped out of the station, he received several notifications of negative emotions—fear, anger.

No names were attached, so he had no idea who was scared.

Not that it mattered.

These alerts popped up all the time now.

He had tweaked the system to only notify him for emotions above 20 points. Anything lower was ignored.

Otherwise, his mind would be flooded with alerts every few seconds—tiny spikes of 1 or 2 points.

Such was the power of the Stock God.

Some newbie investors were only now seeing his posts, and the sheer arrogance in them instantly sparked resentment.

Too cocky.

……

Zhonghai in this era was already prosperous.

Most places here were far more developed than Sanjiang City.

But compared to thirty years later, it still felt… a little shabby.

In his dream of the future, Cao Cheng had lived in Zhonghai for a while, and by then, the city had been completely transformed.

"Hey, just a heads-up…" Ren Yuege said suddenly. "When you see Second Sister later, brace yourself. Don’t engage with her, no matter what face she makes or how she talks. Just ignore it. She’s not a bad person, really."

Cao Cheng knew Second Sister specialized in verbal smackdowns.

Short temper.

Seemed to hold a grudge against him and Old Cao.

So chances were, she wouldn’t be welcoming.

Perfect.

The worse Second Sister’s attitude, the more emotional spikes he’d harvest.

A win-win.

Cao Cheng nodded without comment, focusing inward to study the system.

A new alert had just flashed.

[Ding~]

[Range fusion successful. Emotion multiplier activated!]

The name alone was cryptic.

But after a quick analysis, he got it.

Zhonghai was part of East China, already an emotion-collection zone. Cao Cheng also had province-wide collection abilities.

Meaning, wherever he went, the entire province became part of his harvesting range.

Now, by coming to Zhonghai, the two zones had merged.

From now on, all emotions generated within this range would be doubled.

Damn.

Cao Cheng was thrilled but also slightly annoyed.

If he’d known earlier… he would’ve come here right after the system upgrade instead of waiting.

Do you know how many emotions he’d missed out on?

Stupid system. When would it finally start talking properly?

……

"Fourth Sis—"

"Call me Fourth Sister." Ren Yuege shot him a glare. "I didn’t push it back in Sanjiang, but here, you better show me some respect. Otherwise… hmph!"

One hand on the wheel, she raised a dainty fist and gnashed her teeth in mock threat.

Cao Cheng grinned. "Fine. In public, I’ll give you face. In private, you give me face—call me ‘bro.’"

Ren Yuege shook her head stubbornly. "No way. I’m older than you. Even by just a month, I’m still your elder."

After knowing each other for half a year, he hadn’t called her "sister" even once.

The resentment ran deep.

Cao Cheng was well aware, but calling her "sister" was out of the question. Doing so would undo all the emotional buildup.

He deftly changed the subject. "Tell me about the family. I don’t know much about your side. Oh, what’s your mom like?"

"Call me ‘sister,’ and I’ll tell you."

"Never mind. Focus on driving—talking is dangerous."

"…"

Stinky little brother.

Ren Yuege shot him a furious side-eye.

[Ding~ Negative emotion +202]

Ha!

Cao Cheng grinned.

Double the pleasure, double the fun.

So satisfying.

Even just 20 points felt amazing when doubled.

Imagine if it crit.

Now that would be a beautiful sight.