After treating their injuries, Lin Ze and Xiao Monü temporarily stayed at the farm to recover.
Teacher Ju and his wife's kindness was like a beacon in the darkness, bringing warmth and hope to these two children who had been on the brink of death.
They took meticulous care of the two children, preparing nutritious meals in various ways every day to help Lin Ze and Xiao Monü replenish the energy their bodies needed.
However, the couple was stunned by the two children's appetites; their stomachs were like bottomless pits, and if they ate freely, they could probably consume an entire cow.
Lin Ze remembered that in the real world, someone had deeply analyzed this farm couple, with a darker analysis suggesting that they were very likely retired personnel from the gene-editing company.
It was said that their residence was suspicious, and their identity was that of people who had returned from a beautiful country to live in seclusion.
Furthermore, after Xiao Monü arrived here, she had not been harassed, and given the gene company's power, it was absolutely impossible for Xiao Monü to remain hidden for ten years, and so on.
Lin Ze also had such suspicions, but as long as he remained vigilant, he did not believe that these two could harm him and Xiao Monü.
Moreover, for now, temporary safety was enough; once they had recuperated, they would leave here.
Taking Xiao Monü away and arranging for her to go to another place would allow him to collect more modification points.
In the peaceful and harmonious environment of the farm, the advantages of their genetically modified bodies were fully evident.
After just one week, the scabs on their wounds gradually fell off, revealing pink new skin, that new skin seemed to speak of life's tenacity and resilience.
At this rate of recovery, it was expected that soon, even scars would not easily remain, and their bodies would recover to their former perfection.
Lin Ze knew clearly that as he and Xiao Monü continued to grow older, their powers would become increasingly strong.
Just as depicted in the movie, Xiao Monü after ten years had almost become immortal; as long as her brain was not damaged, she could not be killed.
This miraculous power of genetic modification was both a gift from heaven and their greatest reliance for survival in this cruel world.
If only there weren't such huge side effects.
Whenever night fell, Lin Ze would lie on the farm's grass, gazing at the starry sky, silently contemplating his future path.
Slowly, Lin Ze had an idea: if there was one place in this world that was safest, it was only one country—the Dragon Country.
The movie mentioned that the gene-editing company also had a branch base in Shanghai, Dragon Country.
He wondered if the Dragon Country government knew about this.
“System, what will happen to this world after I leave it?” Lin Ze called out to the System in his mind.
“When the host accumulates 100 modification points, this sub-world will become a parallel world to the original world.
If the host fails to accumulate the basic points for departure, after the host's death, this world will return to its original timeline.”
“System, are you making so many of us transmigrate to different worlds and then disrupt the timeline to collect some kind of energy?” Lin Ze asked.
“The host can understand it that way!”
“So, I'm still a workhorse now? Before, I worked for the boss; now, I work for the System…”
“Otherwise, what?” The System replied coldly… Since this world would continue to evolve after he left, he had to ensure Xiao Monü's future was settled before he could leave with peace of mind.
Alas, Lin Ze, this “old father,” was truly worried sick.
During his time at the farm, Lin Ze gained a deeper understanding of this unfamiliar world through conversations with Teacher Ju and his wife, as well as his own observations of the surroundings.
From the perspective of the general public, this world did not have many significant differences from the real world.
People were busy striving for life, pursuing material and spiritual satisfaction.
Lin Ze knew that to gain a foothold in this world and achieve his goals, the first thing he needed to do was accumulate wealth.
At this point in time, August 13, 2007, he began to ponder methods for quickly making money.
Lottery? In the real world, Lin Ze did occasionally buy tickets, but he never memorized which numbers were for which issue, and besides, he was currently in the Stick Country.
World Cup? It had just ended last year, and the scene of Italy's Leap was still vivid in his mind, but the next one would not be for another three years; distant water could not quench immediate thirst, so it could not be a way to make money now.
Casinos… Hmm? It seemed feasible!
However, Lin Ze quickly abandoned this idea.
The main difficulty was that gambling was illegal in the Stick Country; only a few casinos catered exclusively to foreigners.
Moreover, they were two children without identification, so they couldn't get in at all.
Underground casinos run by gangs did not have nationality restrictions, but two children… that also seemed unrealistic.
After much deliberation, Lin Ze's gaze turned to a high-risk, high-reward area—“borrowing” from gangs.
In this world, gang forces were deeply entrenched; as long as he found their lair, borrowing a few hundred million Korean Won should be easy.
He secretly calculated that with his genetically modified body and his recovered psychokinesis, he should be able to achieve it.
“Zi Yun, big brother is going out for a bit.”
That day, Teacher Ju and his wife went to work on the farm, and Lin Ze found Xiao Monü.
“Oppa, let's go together!” Xiao Monü didn't ask what Lin Ze was going to do.
“You should stay here! I'll be back soon, and it'll save Teacher Ju and them from worrying; if they call the police again, it'll be even more troublesome!” Lin Ze thought for a moment and decided against bringing Xiao Monü.
Although this little loli had extremely high intelligence and exceptional combat power, her social experience was not high.
This trip was to “borrow money” and wouldn't be dangerous.
More people would only make it easier for things to go wrong!
“Okay!” Xiao Monü blinked, seemingly confirming Lin Ze's decision, and finally compromised.
Cheonan City, South Chungcheong Province—the nearest city, with a train station.
After a simple disguise, Lin Ze looked like a middle school student going on an autumn outing, appearing much older.
He casually rummaged a few tens of thousands of Korean Won and an ID card from a Fat Man's wallet and then boarded the train to Cheonan City.
The trains in this small place, Stick Country, were also quite interesting, like subways, and unlike Dragon Country, they didn't require ticket checks.
In the real world, Lin Ze had never been to the Stick Country, so sitting on the train and watching the scenery along the way had a unique flavor.
During the day, Lin Ze took a taxi and toured the city, getting a general understanding of its overall appearance.
There was even a Dragon Country Street here, and he was pleasantly surprised to see Lanzhou Lamian.
Having not eaten Chinese food for several years, Lin Ze was instantly craving it, so he got out of the car and walked in.
“Boss! One bowl of beef lamian, and one bowl of egg fried noodles, extra noodles, extra egg!” Lin Ze shouted.
“Coming right up!” The boss wasn't surprised at all to hear pure Dragon Country speech.
Soon, a steaming bowl of lamian was served.
“Young man, are you alone? The fried noodles will be ready soon too!”
The boss looked around and saw no one else had come in, just a half-grown child, seemingly worried that Lin Ze couldn't finish it all.
“Slurp, slurp… I can finish it, I can finish it, I always eat a lot… Uncle, can you get me some garlic?” Lin Ze slurped down noodles while chatting with the boss.
“Oh, young man, you can eat raw garlic at such a young age? Where are you from?” The boss looked at Lin Ze, who didn't seem like a child but rather appeared mature, and became interested.
So he sat down at a nearby table.
“My hometown is HA, boss, are you from LZ?” Lin Ze asked.
“No, no, I'm from SD, I learned to make this; I'm not from a minority group.” The boss had a Huazi cigarette in his mouth, just about to light it.
“Boss, why aren't the fried noodles ready yet? Give me one too.” Lin Ze finished the noodles in a few slurps, then took a delicious sip of the beef soup with cilantro.
“Hey, fried noodles take a bit longer to cook.
Are you an adult? Can you smoke this?” The boss was a bit surprised.
“Hehe, don't let my age fool you, I'm already an adult… an old smoker.” Lin Ze didn't care if the boss was willing or not, he casually pulled out a cigarette from the pack, then skillfully lit it and took a satisfying puff.
Judging by his demeanor, he was indeed an old smoker.
The boss opened his mouth, somewhat disbelieving, but didn't stop Lin Ze anymore.
He figured this kid was just a delinquent who didn't go to school.
Forget it, it was better not to provoke him.
“Uncle, do you know anywhere fun around here?” Lin Ze asked.
“Fun?” The boss was a bit confused.
“Hehe, you know… that…” Lin Ze winked and made faces.
“Ah?… Ah… No!” This confirmed that this kid was no good.
“Hehe, boss, stop pretending.
I just saw the ads pasted in your bathroom stall.” Lin Ze said with the tone of someone who had been there before.
“Then you call them yourself; I don't know!” The boss stood up and walked towards the back kitchen.
He hadn't expected the handsome Lin Ze to be an uneducated hoodlum; he hated such people the most…
“Hehe!”
Lin Ze didn't mind.
He had originally intended to chat with this fellow countryman, who seemed very friendly, and incidentally gather some information from him.
However, he hadn't expected to be misunderstood by this compatriot.
Lin Ze just wanted to find those gray areas, where he could find some people to target.
Before he had even finished a bowl of egg fried noodles, Lin Ze saw the lamian boss rush out of the small shop and stand at the doorway, watching the commotion.
Lin Ze's divine sense swept over and he knew what had happened.
Across the street was a grocery store, and the store owner was a balding, pot-bellied old man with a receding hairline, who was currently bowing and pleading with a disheveled, ruffian-looking long-haired man.
Listening closely, it turned out the old man seemed to owe a foreign debt, and the long-haired man was there to collect it.
Interestingly, the long-haired man did not smash things or beat the bald old man, but instead pulled out a plastic bottle from his armpit bag, filled with gasoline.
Lin Ze thought the guy was going to pour the gasoline on the old man.
But to everyone's surprise, the long-haired man raised the bottle and guzzled two big mouthfuls.
Then he asked the old man to drink with him… “Holy crap, what a ruthless guy.
Are debt-collecting thugs this civilized now?” Lin Ze found it amusing.
The thug's actions truly scared the old man, who turned and went inside to retrieve several stacks of cash.
The thug didn't take much money, just a portion of the debt, then cursed and left.
“Interesting!” Lin Ze felt this scene was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
So he got up, paid the bill, and followed the thug out the door.
“Ugh, ugh ugh…” The thug turned the street corner, saw no one around, and bent over a trash can to vomit.
“Want a cigarette to calm down?” Lin Ze teased.
Hearing someone behind him, the thug immediately straightened up, putting on an arrogant demeanor; in street life, face was very important.
If it weren't for the grime still clinging to his mouth, he might have had some presence.
The long-haired thug saw it was an unfamiliar half-grown kid, raised his hand and waved it as if threatening to drive Lin Ze away.
Then he ignored him, took wide, splayed steps, and quickly left the area.
Lin Ze smiled and trailed far behind; he wanted to follow this thug to find their boss and “borrow money.”
After many twists and turns, the long-haired man went up to the second floor of a bar.
It was still daytime, and the bar wasn't open, so Lin Ze didn't follow him in.
Instead, he released his divine sense to observe inside.
Sure enough, the bar's second-floor office was the loan shark's lair.
An ugly, fat man was the long-haired thug's boss.
The long-haired man collected his bonus and left, but Lin Ze stayed; he wanted to wait for an opportunity to get his first pot of gold.
Lin Ze squatted near the bar's entrance.
Throughout the afternoon, several other people went up to the second floor; some came to borrow money, others to repay it.
He hadn't expected such a small hideout to have so much business.
After several observations, everything was clearly scouted, even the safe's password was remembered clearly.
Lin Ze used the ID he had “borrowed” to check into a small hotel nearby and started sleeping.
He didn't wake up until three or four in the morning, then headed towards the bar.
The young people in the Stick Country truly had endless energy; even at past two in the morning, there were still people enjoying the nightlife.
It wasn't until three or four that things quieted down.
Arriving at the bar's back wall, Lin Ze was like a nimble monkey, using the drainpipe and outdoor air conditioning unit to easily climb to the second floor.
He used psychokinesis to open the window latch, slipped inside, thus successfully bypassing the security guard on the first floor.
“Why does a loan shark even bother with surveillance?”
Lin Ze grumbled while casually destroying the cameras in the hallway.
Before he climbed through the window, he had already used psychokinesis to turn them aside, and only after getting inside and closer was he able to successfully destroy them.
At this moment, the second floor was empty, which was convenient for Lin Ze.
He walked towards the office, and under his psychokinesis, the door lock automatically opened from the inside.
A safe that required a six-digit password plus a key was effortless for Lin Ze; he entered the password, and with psychokinesis, it opened easily.
“Oh boy, I've never seen so much money in both my lives combined.” Lin Ze was excited looking at the contents of the safe.
Stacks of cash, plus some pawned watches, gold necklaces, rings, and so on.
Perhaps because they were low-level gangsters, there were no US dollars here, mostly Korean Won; otherwise, he would have made even more.
“Still inexperienced, huh! I forgot how to take so much away.” Lin Ze had never seen so much cash, and now, when it was time to take the money, he felt speechless looking at his backpack; it couldn't even carry half of it.
He hadn't expected such a small gang hideout to store so much cash.
“Just take as much as I can for now, I guess?
This crappy system doesn't even have a storage function; it'd be great if I could get a storage ring sometime.”
Thankfully, this group of thugs wasn't completely useless; at least the money was neatly stacked in different denominations.
Lin Ze first put the gold jewelry and famous watches into his backpack, then started filling it with 50,000 Won banknotes.
He remembered calculating the exchange rate in his previous life; at that time, one 50,000 Won note was equivalent to 260 Chinese Yuan, and now, at this time, it might be around 300.
A full backpack was about 500 million Korean Won, equivalent to about nine million Chinese Yuan.
Lin Ze weighed it; with the gold necklaces and watches, it was estimated to be around 15 kilograms.
Although Lin Ze's current physique could carry more weight, what could he use to carry it now?
He couldn't go out and buy another bag in the middle of the night, could he?
“Forget it, human greed knows no bounds, but this much money will be enough for a short while.” Lin Ze was seeing so much money for the first time, and he felt like a mouse that had fallen into a rice bin.
In fact, Lin Ze took all the large denominations; the rest were small change of 10,000 or 5,000 Korean Won.
This nameless gang organization was now completely bankrupt.
Lin Ze put on his backpack and climbed out of the second-floor window again.
Going down was slightly strenuous, mainly because the drainpipe was somewhat unable to bear Lin Ze's weight plus the backpack.
It creaked and wobbled, but he still reached the ground safely.
Seeing the direction clearly, Lin Ze jogged away from the crime scene.
By the time he returned to Dragon Country Street, it was already five in the morning, and most shops hadn't opened yet.
However, diligent Dragon Country people are the most diligent wherever they go.
Breakfast vendors had already started bustling early.
Lin Ze found a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant, ordered a pile of various dim sum, and also tried fish slice soup and watercress soup.
He had a delicious meal that he had never eaten in his previous life.
Lin Ze felt the taste was a bit bland, but it was much better than what he had eaten in the lab in previous years.