The Gift of Sincerity

The 5% of school graduates refers to those who survived the graduation exams almost completely intact; severe disabilities or being on the verge of madness are not counted.

Yue Junyang seemed high-spirited on the surface, but he was actually a hidden imperfect graduate, belonging to those outside the 5%.

Of course, he didn't want to be controlled or disposed of, so he hid the price he had to pay.

That day, the anomaly [Gift-giving Crab] he met at the top of the mountain merely gave him the benefits in advance. The price, in the form of debt repayment, required him to receive 100 genuine gifts within three months.

If he didn't receive a single genuine gift, Yue Junyang would die.

If he received more than one but less than 100, he would be fine, but the people who had given him genuine gifts would die.

Only successfully receiving 100 gifts would be considered a success, clearing the debt.

At first, Yue Junyang didn't think this was difficult.

He had a wide social circle at school, and his parents were in business, with many connections.

At the time, he was full of joy, thinking he had scored a bargain, and ignored the truth that "no anomaly is simple."

After a few days of operations since he got back, he finally realized that the problem was very serious.

The problem wasn't the gifts, but that the gifts received had to be "genuine."

The gifts from classmates he usually hung out with weren't necessarily genuine.

The gifts exchanged with neighbors weren't necessarily genuine either.

The seemingly intimate gifts of affection from relatives were equally watered down.

Not to mention his parents' social friends in the business world.

What was even more terrifying was that Yue Junyang could no longer figure out what the standard for a "genuine gift" was.

It had been five days since graduation.

The number of qualified gifts he had received so far was six, still in the single digits.

These included his parents, his uncle, a childhood friend, the son of the breakfast stall owner downstairs, and a strange wanderer.

He had tried every method.

Treating people to meals, giving away gifts, visiting relatives and friends, and even charity activities—he had tried everything he could.

It was only then that Yue Junyang finally started to panic.

If he couldn't reach the target of 100, his family would be gone!

If it were just acquaintances and fair-weather friends, he could have hardened his heart and let it go, but now the only ones that counted were the people who genuinely held goodwill toward him.

He couldn't watch this small group of people die in his place.

It had been almost a week, and he was nearly despairing at the possibility of completing the task.

So he began to change his train of thought: assuming it couldn't be completed, how could he default on the debt?

The [Gift-giving Crab] wasn't the strongest in the world either; it couldn't just point at someone and make them die.

What if he could avoid its attack when the time expired, or kill it in advance?

Yue Junyang sought out Chen Miemie.

At noon, after Chen Miemie woke up, he was invited to a restaurant in the Southern District.

"Chen Miemie, you're here. Have a seat." Yue Junyang was very enthusiastic, greeting him right at the door of the private room.

"Yue Junyang, what's the rush? Why did you want to see me?"

"I heard you joined the [Silver Moon Court]?"

"Yeah."

"I have something I need help with from the people in your society, and I wanted you to act as a middleman."

"Tell me the situation first."

"I've encountered a situation, and I want to calculate the probability of success."

Yue Junyang wasn't sure if the pre-arranged agreement would still be valid after killing the [Gift-giving Crab]. Before making a move, he needed a relatively certain answer.

"Who do you want to do the calculation?" Chen Miemie didn't ask what exactly was being calculated.

"Anyone whose [Mystery] ability is related to probability will do. More than half of your society fits that description."

"What, are you saying our society is just a bunch of gamblers?"

Yue Junyang was already used to Chen Miemie being slow on the uptake. Since Chen Miemie lost his memory, he often asked many common-sense questions.

"Of course. Who doesn't know that your [Silver Moon Court] worships the Frost Moon?"

Chen Miemie didn't reply, waiting for him to continue.

"The prominent feature of the Frost Moon, aside from extreme cold, is playing with probability. Worshipping such a thing doesn't just happen out of nowhere; people with related abilities naturally find it easier to get close to the Frost Moon." Yue Junyang indeed added.

The ahoge on top of Chen Miemie's head stood up again, turning into an exclamation mark.

So, the aloof Xiao Shuang, besides being cold, also liked to play with probability? How come he had never noticed?

Chen Miemie thought back for a moment.

Among the people he knew.

[Painter] Xi and [Critical Point Dancer] Cassan both had abilities linked to probability and possibility. Thinking about it this way, the Frost Moon really did have a talent for this?

Yue Junyang knew Chen Miemie well. "You just need to introduce me; I'll discuss the details myself. Whether it works out or not, I'll give you 300 years. If it succeeds, I'll give you a red envelope of 500 years afterward."

Chen Miemie was no longer short of time now, so he flatly refused:

"I'm not getting involved in this. You know me well, and I know you well. High-reward matters are inevitably accompanied by high risks. If it were that simple, you could just go directly to our society to find someone. Why go through a middleman like me?"

Since he had refused, Chen Miemie didn't touch his chopsticks and prepared to get up and leave.

His arm was grabbed by Yue Junyang.

"Chen Miemie, this matter concerns my life. I guarantee it won't harm the person doing the calculation. We were classmates, help me out. The people in your [Silver Moon Court] are too aloof to outsiders, otherwise I would have gone directly."

Chen Miemie didn't continue to get up.

Yue Junyang had been cocky since he was a kid, loved to show off, and liked to pretend to be a good person. It was rare to see him take such a low posture.

Although more than half the class knew Yue Junyang's good-guy image was fake, he had indeed kept up the act for six years without doing anything detrimental to everyone.

Behind those everyday small favors was real money, and some even took a lot of effort.

For example, dispatching a private bodyguard like [King Kong] to try and protect Chen Miemie at his home—the cost of this was actually not low, going beyond the scope of ordinary classmates helping each other.

Chen Miemie picked up his chopsticks. "Next Eternal Moon night at 8:00 PM, same place. If they don't want to take this job, I'll message you in advance."

Yue Junyang's face lit up with joy. "Thank you."

Chen Miemie didn't drink alcohol, so the two just dug into the food, skipping the formalities of toasting back and forth.

"Chen Miemie, I heard later that the bodyguard company found out something. Around the time of his death, [King Kong]'s family received a sum of time from an unknown source, about 200 years."

"200 years, that's quite a lot."

"Isn't it? He only gets 2 years for a single bodyguard mission."

"And they still can't trace the source?"

"Of course. As long as a stranger knows your watch number, they can transfer time to you."

"No attached message?"

"No."

Chen Miemie returned home and stuck the new information note on the wall.

Qinghua looked at the note:

"So, there's a high probability that this [King Kong] saw the person who received the package on behalf of someone else in Room 1803 of the Paradise Building at the time, and the two of them might have reached some kind of deal."