Bad Habits (Please Support the First Subscription)

Habits were a frightening thing. Without even realizing it, you had long since formed certain patterns of thought.

And without even noticing, you left behind vulnerabilities.

Lu Zeyu lay on a lounge chair on the balcony. Haidai’s weather had been quite nice these past few days—no wonder that international marathon had been scheduled for this season.

In the past, weather like this would probably have put him in a good mood. But now, sunlight only made him irritated and afraid.

Only after fitting the windows with thick blackout curtains did he dare lie there in peace and think over his next move.

Lu Zeyu repeatedly tossed the can of rum in his hand into the air, then caught it again. He liked this liquor that did not belong to this world; it always had a flavor that made him feel special.

It was a delicacy exclusive to people like him, those chosen by the Reincarnation Space. Mediocre mortals could never enjoy it.

But suddenly, as Lu Zeyu caught the can of rum, he remembered the can he had placed in the public Team Space in the Demon Slayer World to send Elizabeth a signal.

He hurriedly opened the Team Space, but did not find it there.

A bad feeling rose in Lu Zeyu’s heart. Yet he had actually stored plenty of rum in his Backpack, and he could not tell whether the particular can he had put in there was one he had played with like this.

When an item tainted with too much personal information ended up outside one’s possession, it carried risks.

In the Reincarnation Space, prophecy and divination were extremely popular types of abilities. At first, these abilities were used to search for hidden items and people in mission worlds, but later, most people treated them as tools for hiring assassins to hunt one another.

Lu Zeyu suddenly felt somewhat panicked. He rose and went to the living room, using surveillance footage to check the corridor outside his apartment and the area around the residential complex. He had secretly bought and installed several cameras himself, precisely to guard against a situation like this.

Nothing unusual had happened, but Lu Zeyu still could not put his mind at ease, so he called the company.

He had already used up all of this year’s annual leave at once. He had intended to wait out these days at home, return to the Reincarnation Space, liquidate all his resources, and then decide what to do next.

But now, that sense of terror made him desperate to learn more.

For instance, could the enemy use that can of rum to divine the location of the industrial park where he was, then go to the company and discover that he was on extended leave?

Taking a long vacation at a time like this was far too suspicious.

Lu Zeyu made several calls in a row, and his colleagues all told him that nothing was out of the ordinary.

No suspicious people had come to the company, nor had any strange food deliveries or packages arrived bearing his name.

Only then did Lu Zeyu relax enough to lie back down. He took a heavy machine gun from his Backpack. Anyone with even slightly lower Strength might not be able to hold this thing up and fire it for long. Its rate of fire reached a hundred rounds per second; even a wall would be riddled with holes in an instant.

Although using this thing in battle within East Xia would most likely force him to flee afterward, Lu Zeyu was not without preparations. From what he had learned at the Xianyu Gathering—

Quite a few East Xia Reincarnators had fled to the chaotic region of Northern Myanmar next door, where they ruled as kings. He had snatched that purple prescription from the Special Reincarnator Mercenary Tao. As long as he successfully traded it away, his strength would surely rise another level.

Once he entered Bing-level, going to a place like that—even if he could not rule as king, living freely and comfortably would not be a problem.

Thinking this, Lu Zeyu relaxed slightly. The television in his living room was broadcasting the schedule for tomorrow’s international marathon. He noticed that roads near his company’s industrial park would also be closed, in order to provide the runners with a safe environment.

"Tch. These mortals really do know how to entertain themselves."

Lu Zeyu closed his eyes. Ordinary people’s competitions seemed so laughable in the eyes of a Reincarnator. A distance of over forty kilometers was long for ordinary people, but once a Reincarnator’s Constitution exceeded 10 points, their endurance was simply beyond what normal people could imagine.

Luoshui stepped out of that red Mercedes-AMG sports car, drawing plenty of attention. College students had already begun to encounter the realities of society and no longer thought sports cars were merely pretty.

The immense wealth represented by such a car had begun to captivate both men and women.

What was more, Luoshui herself was beautiful, with an oval face and an innocent smile that naturally inspired affection.

At that moment, Luoshui frowned as she thought.

"You want to represent the school in the international marathon?"

Bai Cangshu wore his trademark smile. He held the leave slip given to him by his faculty advisor. Smiling was Bai Cangshu’s habit, and also the habit he believed was least likely to reveal his true thoughts.

Yet inwardly, he thought that this was quite a coincidence. The officer named Song Xian had been distracted by other matters and could not spare the time, so he had assigned this "easy-to-talk-to" policewoman to monitor him.

Bai Cangshu would not have his thoughts disturbed by Luoshui’s beauty. On the contrary, in his eyes, the woman before him was quite a "soft" type of person. From the way her gaze had been unconsciously drawn to him the first time she saw him, to the politeness in her speech—

Bai Cangshu could tell that this woman named Luoshui had likely been well protected and well educated since childhood. A person like that would naturally be an impeccable lady in daily life.

But when facing someone like him, heh, she would always suffer for it.

Luoshui carefully examined the leave slip in her hand. She had even called the faculty advisor to confirm it, and it truly was a reasonable and legitimate excuse.

Her master had also said that Bai Cangshu was merely an observation subject and that they could not push him down an extreme path. With his physical abilities, participating in athletic events was better than engaging in "self-defense" that put other people in the hospital.

Luoshui tried to contact Song Xian, but the call would not go through. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and said, "After the competition, you have to return to school. Understand? You’re still under observation."

She had done her best to remain stern, but the handsome man before her merely kept smiling at her. She forced her face into a hard expression, then turned and got back into the car, planning to report to her master again once she returned.

Bai Cangshu waved vigorously at the sports car, his smile bright and sincere. To everyone else, he seemed like an innocent young man in the full bloom of romance, but Bai Cangshu was thinking of another man.

"Lu Zeyu, do you hear that? The countdown to your death has begun."

From the Reincarnator codenamed Damascus, he had paid the price of 1 C-rank Anomaly Point to have the most precise divination performed through the destruction of an item.

That can of rum Elizabeth had given him was tainted with a great deal of Vincent’s information.

Elizabeth was not as simple as she appeared. Though she had acted reluctant, she had secretly remembered Vincent’s habit of repeatedly tossing and catching the rum in his Backpack whenever he was thinking.

In the end, Bai Cangshu gave up the compensation Elizabeth had promised him—the Drop Card from killing Lower Rank Four—and Elizabeth gave that can of rum to Bai Cangshu.

Damascus divined that the area where Vincent appeared most often was an industrial park within Haidai. With a simple search, Bai Cangshu found information on Haidai Energy Group. He then used the virtual currency left behind by Evans to hire hackers on the dark web to obtain information on every employee in the group.

This kind of information could be found with enough time and research; no hacker was needed. But Bai Cangshu was not someone who cared much about money—he valued efficiency more.

After obtaining the list and searching for the former codename Lu Ziyang, a name that strongly resembled a real person’s name, Bai Cangshu ultimately narrowed it down to Lu Zeyu, whose initials were also LZY.

Combined with the spending records the hacker had obtained for Lu Zeyu, Bai Cangshu became even more certain that he had found Vincent’s true identity.

A normal person who suddenly began spending lavishly and frequented all kinds of private clubs had either struck it rich through gambling or was under some unusual pressure that made him desperately need to unwind.

The bad habit of throwing things, the bad habit of choosing codenames, the bad habit of relieving stress through alcohol and women…

Taken together, they successfully brought Lu Zeyu into Bai Cangshu’s sights.

"Song Xian, if you have something to deal with, just answer the phone. What terrible thing could I possibly do right in front of you?"

The woman had dyed red hair cut short and sleek, and she wore a black jacket that made her look crisp and capable. Her features were not particularly striking, but her eyes left a deep impression.

Her gaze was extraordinarily sharp, emphasized further by her long eyeliner.

Leaning against the door of a black G-Wagon, she watched East Xia’s hound hang up call after call, a mocking smile on her lips.

She had seen plenty of idiots like this—people who still went on about patriotism and national sentiment even after becoming Reincarnators. They were all dead now.

Song Xian merely glanced at it. It was a call from Luoshui. He guessed it was probably nothing urgent; given the current situation, he had little attention left to spare for Bai Cangshu.

No matter how much trouble the other party caused, it could not compare to these ferocious threats.

He lit a cigarette. Smoke curled upward, and his entire demeanor began to change.

Perhaps many people, Bai Cangshu included, had grown accustomed to Song Xian’s image as a diligent, conscientious police officer. But a Reincarnator was still a Reincarnator. Of those who had made a name for themselves and survived until now, which one had not crawled out from a mountain of corpses?

"Hongye, I know you’re here for that card too, but I’ll be honest with you. After we killed Phantom Sword, that card never appeared."

"Phantom Sword most likely handed it over to someone else while he was in the space. Coming to Binhai City is nothing but a waste of your time."

As Hongye watched Song Xian light his cigarette, she straightened slightly. This hound despised by so many Reincarnators was definitely not as simple as the rumors made him out to be.

For multiple Reincarnators with considerable Fierce Reputations to suffer silent defeats in East Xia, Hongye did not believe he relied entirely on the authorities’ power.

She had challenged the state apparatus in White Elephant Country before. She believed that with a Reincarnator’s abilities, even if they lost, they would not die without a sound.

She nodded.

"Phantom Sword was a tough one, a lone wolf. If someone like him truly died, I believe he would have made arrangements beforehand."

"But…"

A dangerous smile appeared on Hongye’s face.

"Who can guarantee that he’s really dead? Perhaps you secretly hid Phantom Sword away."

"I know you want to cultivate your own Reincarnator team too. There’s nothing more valuable than a Special Reincarnator, is there?"

Song Xian exhaled the smoke in his lungs, and his gaze turned dangerous as well. As expected, none of these people were willing to give up so easily.

Unfortunately, that card really had not fallen into the authorities’ hands.

Binhai City was now inevitably about to become the center of a storm. To make these dangerous people know when to stop, perhaps he truly needed to do something.

The white smoke did not disperse in the wind. Instead, it grew thicker and thicker.

Hongye instantly became alert.

A Devil Fruit ability?

Or a Logia Type?!

But at that moment, the window of the black G-Wagon slowly rolled down. A man in sunglasses sat in the back seat. Seeing Song Xian and Hongye poised for battle, he raised a hand and knocked on the car door.

Knock, knock.

Song Xian froze. Looking at the man, he had no information on him at all, yet he felt an intense threat. Hongye’s reaction confirmed some things as well.

After the man appeared, Hongye moved back slightly.

"Officer Song, I think you may have misunderstood us."

"We have no intention of causing trouble in Binhai, nor will we commit any crimes that aren’t permitted… well, we’ll try not to."

"Miss Hongye merely accepted my commission to help me find the person who obtained the card. I’m very interested in the card’s next owner."

As the man spoke, a crimson glow lit up on the back of his right hand.

Song Xian’s heart immediately began pounding violently.

A Great Sin System Special Reincarnator!

This man was an unconfirmed Great Sin System Special Reincarnator!

Song Xian felt that the danger and complexity of this situation had far exceeded his imagination.

At that moment, in a suite at Binhai City’s finest hotel, a woman stood before the window as well, staring expressionlessly at the sea beneath the heavy clouds.

Behind her, an elderly man in a suit said quietly, "Miss, East Xia’s security personnel will arrive soon. We can proceed with the site inspection as scheduled tomorrow."

The woman did not respond. Instead, she said, "Push back the site inspection. Tomorrow, I’m going to Binhai University… for a look around."

The old man frowned.

"Miss, do you know anyone there?"

The woman chuckled softly.

"Perhaps."

That night, as a violent storm began sweeping across Binhai, Bai Cangshu had already boarded the train to Haidai. Even by high-speed rail, the journey from Binhai to Haidai took nearly nine hours, but Bai Cangshu was in no hurry.

He slept soundly through the night and arrived in Haidai shortly after five in the morning.

As he exited the station and saw that the sky outside had already begun to brighten, Bai Cangshu stretched. His muscles and bones crackled, like a rusted precision machine starting up once more.

The weather in Haidai was clear. Bai Cangshu had successfully left Binhai’s wind and rain behind him.

With a simple shoulder bag on his back, he ate a hearty breakfast before taking a ride to the registration point for the national marathon.

This international marathon would start near Xiacheng Park, follow the coastline past multiple scenic spots and parks, then pass near Haidai Industrial Park before reaching the finish line.

By the time Bai Cangshu arrived to register, quite a few people were already there.

As an international event that also encouraged ordinary people to take part, the turnout was enormous.

Bai Cangshu also saw quite a few Black runners warming up, bearing sponsorship logos from different companies.

After registering, he sat by himself off to the side. In an event involving tens of thousands of people, no one would notice who fell behind halfway through, and plenty of participants gave up as well.

After the starting gun fired, everyone set off amid cheers. Aside from the professional runners sponsored by companies, most ordinary participants, carrying the mindset that participation itself was success, started at an unhurried pace. Bai Cangshu blended into the crowd without drawing any attention.

Bai Cangshu regulated his breathing through his nose and mouth, silently running past the people around him. They did not care either. With tens of thousands of runners, there would always be some show-offs who sped up and increased their pace.

Bai Cangshu maintained his rhythm. After an hour, when he successfully reached the vicinity of the industrial park, there were not many people left around him.

Pretending to be exhausted, he headed off the road. Once he had left the main route, he swiftly pulled a cap from his waist pouch and put it on. His figure vanished from sight like a cat.

He had an excellent memory and knew the roads within the industrial park by heart from the map. Before long, he arrived at the residential complex where those employees rented apartments.

Bai Cangshu took in one surveillance camera after another from the corner of his eye. He tugged down the brim of his cap, lowered his head, and entered the stairwell of Building 7. As he did so, he casually stuck the Barrier Talisman: Curtain (simplified version) inside the stairwell.

An invisible barrier spread out. Standing in the stairwell with his head lowered, Bai Cangshu watched as the ordinary people staying home seemed to suddenly remember something urgent and left their apartments one after another.

He then silently arrived outside Apartment 705, whose windows were all covered by thick blackout curtains, and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

Bang!

Amid a terrifying boom, the door exploded apart.