As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Ordinary days slip by like flowing water.

A month is neither a long nor a short time.

Jiangcheng has fully returned to normal.

The facilities on the street that had been gnawed by rats have long been repaired, and the new streetlights are even brighter than the old ones.

The bus stop signs that had been chewed into honeycomb shapes have been replaced with a more robust alloy material.

It's said to be able to withstand attacks from C-class alien beasts—of course, nobody wants to try.

The ten million yuan donated by Su Wenjin played a huge role, and the school's renovation progressed twice as fast as expected.

Lingdang was both happy and sad that she could return to school after only one week. She was happy because she didn't have to stay at home staring at Lao Deng anymore, but she was sad because she had to eat the "terrible" food in the cafeteria again.

Li Xian responded: "What's it to me?"

The rapid response team's work remains relatively relaxed.

Ever since the God Group was completely eradicated, even petty theft has decreased in Jiangcheng.

Magnet String is currently researching a new type of electromagnetic detector, which is said to be able to detect lurking underground beasts in advance.

He spends his days writing and drawing in front of the screen, and a rare glimpse of a researcher's fervor shines through his usually stern face.

Xiao Yuan's gossip is constantly being updated. Today she says that so-and-so from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has made a breakthrough, and tomorrow she says that a cat that can talk has been caught in the next city.

When Li Xian heard this, he subconsciously glanced at Fatty Orange. Fatty Orange gave him a look that said, "It has nothing to do with me."

The others went about their own business, and everything was peaceful.

Li Xian really liked this tranquility.

When he's not on duty, he can go home and slack off, lying on the sofa all day.

Lying down from sunrise to sunset, and then from sunset to sunrise again—of course, I have to get up in between to cook for Lingdang.

Fat Orange also likes this kind of peace.

It now lives a "double life"—staying at home as a pet during the day and going out as the king of cats at night.

Li Xian could occasionally sense it sneaking out in the middle of the night and returning before dawn, its body carrying the scents of various female cats and perfumes it had somehow picked up.

"Take care of yourself," Li Xian finally couldn't help but remind him.

Fat Orange gave him a look that said, "I know what I'm doing."

Li Xian decided to ignore it.

Anyway, it's a B-grade, so it should be... alright, right?

---

Two weeks ago, Li Yu and Chen Zhe went to Beijing to attend an S-level seminar held by the General Administration.

Lin Mo even sent him a WeChat message, offering Li Xian a spot so he could also go and take a look.

Li Xian had no interest in this at all.

"Isn't it just a bunch of S-class people sitting together bragging?" he said. "What's so great about going?"

Li Yu looked at him with a somewhat complicated expression.

"Brother," she said, "the General Administration is taking the destruction of the God Group very seriously."

"oh."

"They want to know who did it."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know," Li Yu shook her head.

"Lin Mo's report only stated that 'the causal link has been locked, and the General Administration will handle the follow-up,' without mentioning any specific process. The General Administration suspects that a reclusive master was involved, but they have no leads."

Li Xian leaned back on the sofa, his expression calm: "That's good. It saves us trouble."

Li Yu looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

She always felt that this matter had something to do with her brother.

But she had no evidence.

Moreover, when her brother doesn't want to talk, no one can get him to say anything.

"Never mind," she sighed. "Anyway, the outcome is good. We're leaving now. You take good care of Lingdang at home."

"Um."

Li Yu and Chen Zhe walked for three days.

Three days later, Li Yu returned with a whole bunch of gossip.

"This meeting, though called a seminar, was really just about eating and drinking."

She sat on Li Xian's sofa, eating an orange as she spoke.

"On the first day, the leaders of the State Administration of Radio and Television gave a speech that lasted for three hours, and I fell asleep. On the second day, we had group discussions about unusual events in various places, but the discussions turned into a roast session. On the third day, we had free exchanges, which were basically just a group of people sitting together and bragging."

Li Xian peeled an orange, listening with great interest.

"Brother Jiang, also known as Ice Emperor, said that he found the skeleton of an S-class alien beast in Antarctica. After studying it for half a month, he discovered that it was the skeleton of the beast he had frozen to death three years ago."

Li Yu couldn't stop laughing.

"Sister Honglian laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, saying, 'You've finally met your match.' Brother Jiang was so angry his face turned pale, but he couldn't hit Sister Honglian like he hit Lin Mo, so he could only sulk."

Li Xian's lips twitched.

"Dr. Zhao's behavior is even more outrageous."

Li Yu continued, still enjoying herself.

"He brought a portable lab with him, saying he wanted to show everyone his latest research findings. However, a small accident occurred during the experiment, almost blowing the roof off the conference hall. Director Zhou turned green with anger and immediately announced that Dr. Zhao would be strictly prohibited from bringing any experimental equipment to future meetings."

"And then?"

"Later, Lin Mo used his causal abilities to rewind time by three seconds and saved the day. But Dr. Zhao's experimental data was all lost, which made him so angry that he cursed Lin Mo for three minutes on the spot."

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh right, right," Li Yu suddenly remembered something.

"Brother Lin Mo mentioned something related to Jiangcheng at the meeting, and I'm a little concerned about it."

"What?"

He said that the cause-and-effect relationship in Jiangcheng has recently become particularly "clean," as if... it has been combed through.

Li Xian paused for a moment while peeling the orange.

"He also said that those who can trace the cause and effect are at least among the top ten in the sequence. But he knows all the people in the top ten, and none of them are in Jiangcheng."

Li Xian didn't speak.

Li Yu looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Brother, do you think... it could be that person?"

"Which person?"

"That reclusive master who destroyed the God Group."

Li Xian put the orange in his mouth and chewed it.

"I don't know," he said.

Li Yu stared at him for three seconds, then gave up.

"Okay." She stood up. "I'm going to pick up Lingdang. You stay home and rest, don't overexert yourself."

"Um."

Li Yu is gone.

Li Xian leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

Top ten in sequence.

Outline the cause-and-effect relationship.

A reclusive master.

He suddenly remembered Lin Mo's smiling face.

That guy, though he said "I don't know," probably already knew in his heart.

But he didn't say anything.

"He's sensible," Li Xian muttered. "I'll carry him through a few ranked games later."

--

Life continued on uneventfully.

Today is just an ordinary Tuesday.

The sun is shining brightly, and the temperature is just right—perfect for lying down.

Li Xian lay on the sofa, with Fat Orange lying on his stomach. The two of them looked like two lumps of mud, sprawled out with a sense of self-righteousness.

My phone suddenly rang.

Li Xian glanced at the caller ID.

Su Qianqian.

His editor.

Li Xian remained silent for three seconds.

Then he made a difficult decision—to not accept.

The phone rang once and then stopped.

Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, a WeChat message came in.

Su Qianqian: [Image]

Su Qianqian: Look where this is?

The image is a location screenshot, showing the location as follows:

Jiangcheng, at the entrance of Li Xian's residential compound.

Li Xian's pupils contracted slightly.

Su Qianqian: I happen to be on a business trip in Jiangcheng, so I thought I'd stop by your house for a visit.

Su Qianqian: Open the door, I'm downstairs.

Li Xian: "…………"

He glanced down at Fatty Orange.

Fat Orange gave him a "none of my business" look.

He glanced again at the little goldfish swaying on the balcony.

Little Jin swayed slightly, as if saying "Keep it up."

Li Xian took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"This is outrageous!" he said in a low voice. "How can I, a man of high standing... be manipulated by others?"

Fat Orange opened one eye and looked at him.

"I'm not opening it today!" Li Xian sat up, her tone firm. "Let her wait if she wants! Let's see how long she can wait!"

The voice just fell.

Ding dong.

Doorbell rang.

Li Xian stared at the doorway, motionless.

Ding dong ding dong.

It rang again.

Li Xian remained motionless.

Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong—

The doorbell rang incessantly, like a death knell.

The fat orange cat's ears twitched from the shock, and it meowed in dissatisfaction.

Li Xian gritted his teeth.

He stood up, walked to the door, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties, wearing a beige trench coat and glasses.

Her long hair was as messy as ever, and she was carrying a large bag that was bulging inside, the contents of which were unknown.

She wore a professional smile, but her eyes clearly said, "You're finished."

"Long time no see, Writer Li."

Su Qianqian spoke, her tone so gentle it could melt hearts.

"I heard you've been really busy lately, you haven't even been replying to WeChat messages?"

Li Xian replied expressionlessly, "No, I'm just lazy."

Su Qianqian's smile froze for a second.

"Too lazy to even reply with an 'um'?"

"Um."

Su Qianqian took a deep breath.

Then she pushed past Li Xian, went straight into the house, and put the bag on the coffee table.

"This is your royalty payment for this month. I've brought it to you directly."

She pointed to the bag.

"And here are some local specialties I brought for you."

Li Xian looked at the bag and remained silent for a moment.

"You came all the way from the capital just for this?"

"Of course not."

Su Qianqian sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs.

"I'm here to urge you to finish your manuscript."

Li Xian sat down opposite her, his expression remaining calm.

"I didn't delay."

"You didn't drag it out?"

Su Qianqian took a tablet out of her bag, opened a document, and turned the screen toward Li Xian.

"Look at this, your latest chapter, updated last Monday. What day of the week is it today?"

Li Xian glanced at it.

on Tuesday.

"It's been a week," Su Qianqian said. "You haven't updated for a week."

"I'm working on it."

"A week to come up with the idea?"

Good food is worth waiting for.

Su Qianqian looked at him with a helpless expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"

"Li Xian," she said, "we've known each other for quite some time now. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Li Xian didn't speak.

"You're just lazy," Su Qianqian said bluntly.

"I'm late with my manuscript because I'm lazy, I'm not replying to messages because I'm lazy, and I'm too lazy to even explain."

Li Xian thought for a moment and nodded: "You're right."

Su Qianqian: "..."

How can this person be so calm?

"Alright."

She rubbed her temples.

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you. You have to submit your manuscript today, or I'm not leaving."

Li Xian looked at her and remained silent for three seconds.

Then he stood up, walked to the computer, and sat down.

Open the document.

Start typing.

Su Qianqian was stunned for a moment, then a relieved smile appeared on her face.

"That's more like it..."

Then she leaned over and took a look.

The screen displays:

chapter Ten

Li Xian stared at the screen, motionless.

Su Qianqian waited for ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

"Why don't you just write it?" she couldn't help but say.

"I'm thinking about it."

"What are you thinking about?"

"What should I write for Chapter Ten?"

Su Qianqian took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and then relaxed it.

"You just said you've been working on it for a week?!"

"Um."

"I've been brainstorming for a week and still don't know what to write for this chapter?!"

"What I'm conceiving is the outline."

"Where's the outline?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Su Qianqian closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"Li Xian." She opened her eyes, her tone eerily calm. "If you don't submit your manuscript today, I'm staying here."

Li Xian turned around and looked at her.

"I don't have any spare rooms in my house."

"I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Fat Orange won't allow it."

The chubby orange cat meowed at the opportune moment, indicating its agreement.

Su Qianqian glanced at the fat cat, then at Li Xian's "what can you do to me?" face.

She suddenly smiled.

"Fine." She stood up, picked up the bag, and said, "You're not going to write it, right? Then I'll take the royalties in this bag with me."

Li Xian paused for a moment.

"Oh, by the way," Su Qianqian added, "the local specialties in this bag are pastries from a time-honored brand in Beijing. I had to queue for three hours to buy them. I was thinking of giving you some to make up for your hard work writing these articles."

She picked up the bag and made a move to leave.

Li Xian stared at the bag and remained silent for half a second.

"Wait a moment."

Su Qianqian stopped and turned to look at him.

Li Xian stood up, walked up to her, and took the bag from her.

"I'll send you the manuscript tonight," he said.

Su Qianqian raised an eyebrow: "You mean it?"

"Um."

"You're not lying?"

"I'm not lying."

Su Qianqian looked at him and smiled.

"Okay, I'll trust you this time."

She turned and walked to the door, then suddenly turned back.

"By the way, does your cat really not let you sleep on the sofa?"

"real."

"Then I'll bring a sleeping bag next time."

Li Xian: "..."

The door closed.

The living room returned to silence.

Li Xian looked down at the bag in his hand, opened it, and inside were several stacks of cash and a box of exquisite pastries.

He took out a piece of pastry and took a bite.

Yes, it's really good.

He sat down on the sofa, picked up the chubby orange cat, and placed it on his lap.

"That girl Qianqian," he said, "is quite good at handling things."

The chubby orange cat meowed, which can be interpreted as: "You're just being stubborn."

Li Xian ignored it, took out his phone, and sent a message to Su Qianqian:

"Let me know when you get home."

Three seconds later, Su Qianqian replied:

"Stop kidding, get back to writing!"

Li Xian smiled.

I'll talk about writing tonight; it's about time I went to pick up Xiaolingdang…