“You aren’t planning to get up to something, are you? ” Jim Klest looked over at him.

“Yes, may I ask what you plan for us to do? ” With all this gold and silver, Long Huogang knew the Fogfolk wouldn’t part with it for nothing.

“If I’m not mistaken, a cold snap is coming in two days. ” Standing on the reef, Yang Zicang said, “I know there’ll always be another dip in temperature shortly after the spring thaw, and this year’s will be a bit fiercer. “

“Cold… “

Already the air had taken a chill over the past two days, driving them to rekindle their charcoal fires.

Slightly confused, the two of them asked, “You want us to stock up on cold weather gear? But even if we had the money, there’s nowhere to spend it here. “

To their surprise, “Yang Buchen ” shook his head.

“I intend to give half to the journalist. You keep the rest and use it as you see fit in the emergency situations that lie ahead. “

“What?! “

“Half goes to the journalist? “

Yang Zicang nodded. “He braved danger to come all this way. Even if his character isn’t entirely reliable, it’s at least sturdy enough to earn him one trial. “

Lost in thought, the men stared at the hoard.

“You… do you have some plan in mind? “

“I want to ask him to report everything that’s happened here, and do it wide and far! “

The two men looked as though they’d just heard something terrifying.

“W-w-wait—hold on just a minute. ” Gold Clust stammered, pacing his words, “You’re not actually thinking of throwing yourself against the f**cking unwritten pact between nations, are you?! “

“Nothing so drastic. I only want him to report whatreallyhappened here. “

Yang Zicang glanced up at the sky, then toward the faint silhouette of the Green Commune jutting out over the distant cliff.

“But that alone will weigh on the journalist like an impossible wall. And this wealth? It’s the blade that will cut through that wall. That’s simply how this world works. “

Long Huogang lifted his head abruptly. Wearing his horn-rimmed glasses with his hair combed back, he looked every bit the true intellectual—no one would notice he was merely an ordinary scholar from a seaside village.

Some rumors flickered through this man’s mind.

…The Fogfolk seize every opening… The Fogfolk seize every chance to escalate a situation… The Fogfolk will bring change to a stable society…

…The Fogfolk will turn the tide of events… and manufacture disasters.

He realized what this Fogfolk man was planning to do.

Long Huogang swallowed a gulp of saliva and closed the lid of the box.

“Around here, even the Grand Dukes barely bother with this place. No prince or marshal is going to give a damn about a few little villages… You, do you really think anyone will care? “

“Someone will care, won’t they? “

……

Jean Conrad never expected anyone to knock on his door so late at night—and especially not that Fogfolk man.

“Can all this news you’ve collected actually cause a stir back home? “

The reporter, who had been jotting down notes with a pencil stub under the faint glow of a small oil lamp, threw on his coat and stood up. “A stir? I wouldn’t dare dream of that. It can’t even make it to the front page. “

He walked to the table, poured himself some water into a tea mug, took a couple of sips, and added, “But plenty of people still care about the situation here, I’ll give you that. “

Yang Zicang gave a faint smile, exchanged a few more words, and then left.

{President, looks like we’ve still got more bricks and mortar to add. }

Anxi, lurking in the shadows watching this, inquired. Yang Zicang shielded the small glowing ring on his chest with his hand.

｛Perfect timing. I’ll tell you a few things to do tonight to save some lives. Go to the sea cliff over there at 11 o’clock.｝

Yang Zicang pointed to a spot.

｛Someone there will jump off the cliff, unable to bear the despair.｝

{What?! No way. }

｛Then, around 12:15, if you have time, go to the fifth room on the west end of the neighboring village. A robbery will be taking place.｝

{Huh? Boss, can you see the future now? }

｛At 4 in the morning, a rock on the mountain will fall and injure someone who’s sleeping soundly.｝

{Ah…? }

……

Back in his own room, he opened the door and immediately saw Tazmin Qi, the distributor, sitting on the floor by the bed, doing some handicraft.

“You scared me. What are you doing in my room? “

“It’s really windy today, big bro. Since you know the temperature’s about to drop, you must know the wind picks up before a big cold snap, right? If these powders get blown away, it’s a huge loss. “

There were some specks of golden powder in a small jewelry box. In his hand, he wasn’t holding the pendant necklace Yang Zicang gave him.

“Where did this… gold come from? “

Yang Zicang stared at him in hesitation, looking at the gold dust smeared on the longevity lock meant for the baby.

“Ah, well, this, uh… a client asked me to modify some jewelry. I just happened to have a little leftover that couldn’t be used… “

“That customer was me, wasn’t it! ” Yang Zicang yelled, slamming the door shut. He hurried over to the distributor’s wooden crate, crouching down to rummage through it.

“Hey~ Don’t mess around! It’s just a bit of gold; it’s not like I’ve never had any before. Think of it as a handling fee, alright? “

Suddenly, his hand touched something.

-｛Dual-sided Gold Skull Pendant indicates: Distributor February. Di’an requests to perceive the life experiences I am currently undergoing.｝

Yang Zicang grabbed the pendant—both sides bore tiny skulls, their four eye sockets inlaid with four emerald-green gemstones—and stood up.

“Ah, I was just about to tell you it was finished. “

“Hmph. ” Yang Zicang tossed a blanket from the bed at the kid. He knew the distributor, like himself, couldn’t freeze to death, but shivering was still unpleasant. Simultaneously, he opened up a slight perception connection for Di’an.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an gave me a negative review.｝

“Hey, what are you planning to do? ” Tamaging watched Yang Zicang, who was getting ready to sleep.

Yang Zicang collapsed onto the bed, pulling the thin quilt over his head. “I’m sleeping. Don’t bother me if it’s nothing important. ” The model on his chest flickered outward. On the other side, Yao Xiaoqin was also in her bed, the flimsy sheet tightly clinging to the curves of her body, a vision of breathtaking beauty.

{President, I’ve been missing you so much. } The opposite side spoke, blinking its eyes, {After I finished reporting to you back then, I kept thinking about when I could talk to you again, and fortunately, you reached out to me. }

｛Oh, I just wanted to tell you that by the seaside tonight…｝

Suddenly, the bed shook, and Yang Zicang stuck his head out. The troublesome kid was draped across the foot of the bed, both elbows resting on it, propping his head up to look at Yang Zicang.

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi indicates “viewing while lying down. “｝

“Didn’t you yourself say that relying on things like serving fish soup during the day, bulletin board encouragement, material distribution, and limited lunch deals for the elderly and weak at low prices would make it hard to cause a stir in the city? “

“Exactly, so I need to make an even bigger move. “

{President~ Want to go to the sea? I… I was thinking of going night swimming. Will you join me? It might be a bit cold, but it could be a wonderful experience, right? So far, I don’t have a swimsuit—what should I do? }

“So, what exactly are you planning? ” The distributor leaned on his hands, staring intently.

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie looked through my life experience.｝

Yang Zicang glanced at the projection communication screen. “I just want to give you something. ” He then looked at the distributor again, answered nonchalantly without thinking, and disconnected the Telepathic Link.

The wind outside the house grew stronger.

Yang Zicang gritted his teeth and replied, “We’ll just have to keep courting country cousin refugees. “

……

The next day’sQingying Gazettepublished a warning that temperatures might soon drop, urging everyone to take precautions. At the same time, the bulletin board newsletter rarely praised the contributions made by theFire Dance Gazette.

It lauded its founder for being able to “reform ” those who had negatively impacted the collective into good people who recognized their own mistakes.

This filled Ma Shuo with deep shame.

Desperate to prevent the opponent from seizing the “Glory Light, ” Ma Shuò racked his brains, thinking about what else he could do to attract the besieged crowd and push the situation even further.

Just as he and Yin Bo were gloomily discussing their options, a city dweller in a soft hat knocked on their door, rubbing his hands together, and said:

“Hello, respected Sir. “

Ma Shuò, who opened the door, looked at him with suspicion.

“Over at Qingying, they said the temperature might drop. We’re asking around to see if anyone can possibly put us up in their houses. ” Long Mingjie craned his neck to glance into the room.

“Can you squeeze in a few more people? Hmm… I know it’s only a bit bigger than this, but it should fit about a dozen. Could we bring in some elderly folks, like grandfathers and grandmothers, if that’s alright with you? “

Ma Shuò’s gaze passed over the skinny man, watching a few people around him who, in the cooling weather, were still knocking on other doors.

The young man then looked toward the surrounding warehouses and let out a casual, sighing complaint, “Sigh, if only we had a few more warehouses like this one. Then we wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble. “

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck inside Ma Shuò’s mind.

“More big houses… “

Murmuring, the spark of a plan was born, and Ma Shuo began to tremble with uncontrollable excitement.

This is an opportunity!

I’m definitely playing the good guy this time!

He slammed the door shut with a bang, then cracked it open again:

“This is the headquarters of theDancing Fire Gazette. While letting people stay would be a good thing, we have more important matters to attend to, so the peace here can’t be disturbed for now. “

“Yes, yes, you’re right. I was out of line. ” The young man left.

Ma Shuo stepped outside. It was only midday, yet the temperature was already this low—he dared not imagine what tomorrow would bring.

Excitedly, he turned back into the house, “Brother, add an extra issue. “

“What? ” Yin Bo rushed out, his hands covered in soap bubbles, staring at the man as if dazed.

“Spread the word immediately. We’re organizing to build wooden shelters! “