Chapter 10: Whispered Plots in Loud Voices
Inside the taxi.
Shen He glanced at the few lines of text that appeared before his eyes, a trace of satisfaction crossing his face.
[Favorability with Liu He, one of the Sixth-Tier Gemini, has increased.]
[Current favorability: 70]
[...]
[Favorability with Liu Shan, one of the Sixth-Tier Gemini, has been activated.]
[Current favorability: 60]
[...]
[Favorability with the Fourth-Tier Mutant Dog has been activated.]
[Current favorability: 70]
[...]
Upon seeing the last entry, Shen He was momentarily stunned.
He hadn’t expected that even Da Huang would have a favorability rating, and that it would start as high as seventy.
But why was there no favorability for Liu Qing, the Director? That didn’t make sense!
Could it be that, according to the system, he was already considered dead...
If that were true, then it actually made sense. After all, the system operated based on the future timeline; perhaps by that time, Liu Qing was indeed gone.
Sitting in the car, Shen He carefully reviewed the description of favorability levels.
Fifty signified a stranger, sixty to seventy meant friendly, seventy-one to eighty-nine indicated friends, and anything above ninety denoted a close confidant.
As for anything below fifty, that was reserved for the likes of Wang Long and Zhao Hu.
The lower the number, the more they hated him.
Shen He let out a long breath, feeling a wave of contentment wash over him.
He instructed the driver to detour to Cloudtop Tower. After all, that place had once been where he toiled like an ox.
Besides, he was curious to see how Zhao Hu was faring now.
Those materials had been sent straight to the top; even if Zhao Hu had someone backing him, he’d still be ousted.
If things got serious, he might even end up in jail.
As the car pulled up in front of Cloudtop Tower, a line of text appeared before Shen He’s eyes.
[Warning! Warning! Player is approaching a Second-Tier Mutant Beast Nest. Please cherish your life and stay away from danger.]
Shen He glanced at Cloudtop Tower, surprise flickering across his face.
So, in the future, this place had become a Second-Tier Mutant Beast Nest?
It was, after all, one of the city’s landmarks.
It seemed that, despite the organized resistance in the future, they were still stretched thin.
After all, the spiritual energy tide had come too swiftly, and the mutation of plants and animals was even faster—no one could react in time.
Shen He sighed deeply.
Just then, a familiar voice sounded behind him. “Hey, Shen, what are you doing here?”
Shen He turned around. It was Wang Long.
At this moment, Wang Long was staring at him with a look of suspicion, as if Shen He had no business being here.
Shen He shot him a glance and said, “No manners at all—how do you talk to your father?”
Wang Long’s face instantly flushed red.
He pointed a trembling finger at Shen He, stammering, “You, you…”
Shen He swatted his hand aside. He’d used too much strength and couldn’t control it; a red mark instantly appeared on Wang Long’s hand.
Wang Long clutched his hand and hopped in pain, muttering curses under his breath, resembling a comical little clown.
Seeing this, Shen He grinned. “Sorry about that! Young man, I’m a bit too strong—hope you can forgive your old man!”
Wang Long gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. “You’ve already been fired. What are you doing here?”
“Oh?”
“Don’t tell me you’re here looking for a job?”
“Let me remind you—my brother-in-law has already put out the word in the industry. In the whole province, you won’t find work—no one will hire you.”
“Even if you go out of the province, you won’t find much. Just wait for your doom!”
He let out a loud, mocking laugh.
Shen He eyed the laughing Wang Long, a trace of suspicion crossing his mind as he summoned his interface, focusing on the favorability section.
All this time, this guy hadn’t triggered a favorability entry.
Nor had he triggered the system, so he probably hadn’t awakened any abilities, or else he died early in the future.
With that thought, Shen He looked at Wang Long with a hint of pity.
Wang Long felt a chill under that gaze. He snorted coldly, “What are you looking at? It’s too late to beg for mercy now—just wait for your doom…”
At that moment, his phone rang.
Wang Long answered, grumbling, and turned away to speak in a low voice, “What’s going on with you people? That guy is right in front of me. When will it be done?”
“What? There’s a new female student in financial trouble who needs help?”
“Fine, I got it. You’d better make sure it’s real. I’ll bring people tonight—you hurry up and deal with that guy.”
“Don’t let him keep—ah!”
Before he could finish, a hand landed on his shoulder, startling him so badly he dropped his phone.
He spun around to see Shen He’s smiling face.
Shen He gestured at the phone on the ground. “Plotting out loud, right in front of me—discussing how to deal with me?”
“And you’ve already found a new student for your brother-in-law? Playing around every day—haven’t you tired yourselves out yet?”
“Your whole family’s pretty wild—can’t satisfy your sister, so she’s off to the club for young men, and you’re out ‘helping’ disadvantaged girls.”
“Are you all from some island nation? How messed up is that?”
Wang Long’s face turned ashen. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll sue you for slander! You’re the one from an island nation—your whole family is!”
He snatched up his phone and stormed into Cloudtop Tower.
Shen He glanced at the entrance, weighing whether to go inside.
Even though there were no prompts about increasing exploration progress, perhaps that was simply because he hadn’t gone in yet.
Just then, he caught sight of a familiar face—an old classmate from Yu Province University.
He’d heard she’d joined an investment bank after graduation, originally working in Shanghai, but for some reason she’d returned last year and joined an investment firm in Cloudtop Tower.
Shen He walked straight over and greeted her.
Dressed in a smart suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, Liu Qingqing turned around. Seeing Shen He, a look of surprise flickered in her eyes.
Though she knew her old classmate worked in Cloudtop Tower, their paths rarely crossed.
She couldn’t understand why Shen He was greeting her now.
He leaned in and said softly, “Hey, old classmate, help me out—I forgot my work badge. If I don’t get inside soon, I’ll be late.”
Liu Qingqing chuckled softly. “You were scatterbrained in school, and you’re still like this at work.”
“But since we’re old classmates, I’ll help you this once. Don’t forget it again.”
“Thanks,” Shen He replied, following behind Liu Qingqing and entering Cloudtop Tower.
Once inside, Liu Qingqing headed for the eighteenth floor. Shen He waved goodbye, saying he’d been working out lately and would take the stairs.
Only after the elevator doors closed did he let out a sigh.
It seemed his old classmate’s future wasn’t all that great either—a real shame.
As he stepped into the stairwell, a series of lines appeared before his eyes.
[Exploring Second-Tier Mutant Beast Nest.]
[Daily Quest Two completion increased by 55%.]
[...]
Shen He’s eyes lit up.
So it really did require entering to trigger the quest, and this 45% completion was no small amount.
Adding the portion from Qingsong Nursing Home, he now had 70%.
That meant, once he finished exploring Cloudtop Tower, he’d be close to completing Daily Quest Two.