Chapter 32: Successfully Robbed – 3

As the teenager prepared to leave, a halo appeared on Yan Yi’s chest, and a triangular pattern unfurled.
[Prime-Time Ability has been activated.]
[I want to invest 1000N in my preferred actor ‘Tong Wenqi’.]
“Why are you giving me so much? Are you trying to make me disappear!”
The boy shot Yan Yi an angry glare.
Yan Yi was speechless. “This is just a millennial investment… Fine, how much do you want then? Five hundred?”
“Do you think I’m short-lived! Just give me the minimum performance fee.”
“Sigh, you really are hard to please.”
Yan Yi shook his head and changed the time period of the investment.
[I want to invest 10N in the background character ‘Tong Wenqi’. As the Godfather of Ratings, it seems I don’t recognize him as a star who will ignite the primetime slot.]
While investing, Yan Yi asked, “Do you hope that gun gets successfully snatched, or that it doesn’t?”
“Wow, if they actually get their hands on it, it’ll be much easier for us to snatch it. But I doubt these guys aren’t just heading to their deaths.”
“True, not to mention Yang Zicang, even the old drunkard by his side—an old fox like him won’t be fooled that easily. And… Luo Bin has already managed to upgrade his model to a quadrilateral.”
“He must be profiting from this newcomer.”
Both of them showed envious expressions.
Tong Wenqi rolled the candy in his mouth: “Yang Zicang seems to have a natural aversion to our headquarters. If the gun falls into the hands of those robbers, we could actually secure this Century Weapon easier and avoid a direct clash with a new quadrilateral like Yang Zicang.”
“So…” Yan Yi glanced at Tong Wenqi, “You don’t want to watch the ‘mantis stalk the cicada’ act?”
Tong Wenqi grabbed a handful of nuts from the small black glass table, stuffed them into his pocket, and pushed open the door of the RV:
“They don’t want to be recognized, right? That works perfectly. Heh heh, I’ll go lend those robbers a hand.”
He jumped out of the vehicle and quickly disappeared from Yan Yi’s sight.
……
Ordinary folks only care about how mediocre Yang Zicang’s abilities are and whether they can score anything valuable off him.
But for organizations and individuals with more concealed intel, this newly emerged quadrilateral kid is truly a prime target in another dimension.
After his partner left, Yan Yi pondered for a moment, and a light ray refracted from the model at his chest.
“Old Wei, have you entered accelerate zone?”
“{Came in early, almost at the launch nest.}”
“Oh, that’s good. By the way, I have a bit of intel on YangZicang—some group of people plans to disguise themselves and rob him. Want to set up a betting pool for predictions?”
{That new quadrilateral guy? Predicting he won’t lose his weapon?}
“Don’t bet on him winning, because Xiao Qi will step in. Barring any unexpected twists, that gun will end up in our hands.”
{I see, hehehe. Simultaneously predicting the outcome of the ‘Quadrilateral’ and the ‘Century Weapon’—just thinking about it gets me excited… ah, thanks for the tip, Yanzi.}
Yan Yi chuckled too.
He gazed at the screen, where YangZicang, traversing a forested area, seemed to be lost in thought.
……
Just how much time could the “Complete Stamp Emblem” provide?
Factoring in his natural lifespan plus those extra decades of temporal sequence, it should grant him over a hundred years’ worth of usage.
YangZicang was eager to dig up more information on it, but his Chrono Weapon had already drawn plenty of trouble. If anyone learned he’d also obtained the “Complete Stamp Emblem,” things would get even more dangerous.
“If only I could temporarily send the gun out somewhere and redirect the conflict…” he murmured to himself, when a thought struck him. Those guys would never know that he could retrieve the Chrono Weapon remotely!
The instant this idea took root, his heart began to pound with excitement.
YangZicang looked at the silver spear in his hand. After killing many wolves and ordinary creatures from other realms, the shiny surface of the spear had developed some extra fine lines—a sign of the gravitational space expelling impurities through the weapon.
“Buddy, what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” Yang Zicang followed Luo Bin, who was leading the way. “Are there many B-class intersecting zones in this world?”
“Sort of. If you have a frequency crystal, you’re guaranteed to find the corresponding intersecting zone. With my new model, though, I haven’t found any such place yet.”
As he said this, Luo Bin glanced slightly upward at the sky, but there was nothing there.
The three chatted as they walked through a lush, orderly patch of vegetation. A subtle fragrance filled the air. Although it now seemed somewhat neglected, it was clearly once carefully maintained.
“Oh wow, this must have been some kind of botanical garden back on Earth.”
“It’s the interior scene of Shengyuan,” the boy said.
“Shengyuan?”
“Yep, the villa area near my home. I’ve been there before.”
The entrance to this rift was beside a wastewater pool piled with branches and dead leaves, its makeshift opening resembling a collapsed pipe. Luo Bin stood with his arms crossed.
“Hah, once the end comes to everything sooner or later.”
……
Staring at the display on his notebook, Yan Yi saw all signals from Yang Zicang’s group cut off after they entered the intersecting zone.
The screen shifted, displaying the faces of several people in rapid succession, like a car advertisement. These were all who had donated more than ten years of their lifespan within the last 24 hours—currently this was the maximum number she had.
The man in black selected the small image of Tong Wenqi.
[Side character ‘Tong Wenqi’ appears!]
“Quick on his feet.” Yan Yi muttered, watching the scene unravel.
On his screen, the figure had already donned long sleeves, trousers, and gloves, with a black cloth sack over his head and a simple monster mask on top. He was following behind the group, heading toward an area lush with dense trees.
—“Ah-Xiang is right, after we get that gun, others will definitely have their eyes on us.”
—“Maybe we should just sell it—it has to be worth at least five or six thousand chrono, right?”
—“Five thousand? Are you kidding me? Hang out in a B-level crossing zone for a bit, and in less than a year, each of us could be living for a few thousand years like gods.”
“These idiots don’t even know the value of a Century Weapon.”
The triangular display on Yan Yi’s chest flickered.
“Give me a plot summary.”
[After swiftly taking down a thug who was using the bathroom, Tong Wenqi put on the thug’s clothes and blended into the masked team, who were discussing how to use the loot after a successful robbery.]
[They were about to reach Yang Zicang’s location to carry out their planned nefarious scheme.]
[Will these people succeed? And what will Tong Wenqi, merely a minor role, do next? Let’s wait and see.]
Everything was playing out just as he predicted.
Yan Yi took pride in his display’s ability. Though his was merely a triangle model, it had already surpassed ordinary quadrangle models in value.
Back on Earth, he was just a cameraman, but here, he seemed like a god, with clairvoyant eyes and ears all contained within a single display board.
……
Thump, thump!
A strong stag hit the ground.
In this Crescent-level intersection zone, Yang Zicang, Luo Bin, and the young Liang Xi had just stabilized the second Shadow Canvas area, an ancient large-scale structure.
“This staircase is like a theater. It can’t actually be a theater, can it?” Luo Bin, catching his breath, said. “I’ve seen Broadway videos before, and there was some play called ‘Ghost Theater’ with this exact look.”
Yang Zicang, standing on the right side of the Y-shaped curved staircase, frowned. “‘Ghost Theater’ on Broadway? Does that show really exist?”
Liang Xi said, “Uncle, are you maybe thinking of The Phantom of the Opera?”
“What the hell? Well, maybe. I forgot. What a shame, it can’t even be used for firewood.”
Luo Bin knocked on the stone curved staircase, and Yang Zicang’s mouth twitched.
The connection between The Phantom of the Opera and ‘Ghost Theater’… right, anyway… He carried his rifle upstairs, heading toward another flickering three-dimensional stage set that appeared like a distorted 3D puzzle emerging.
Thud! A spear thrown in one shot pinned a sika deer as stout as a wild boar to the ground.
[I obtained 19N.]
Suddenly, a commotion burst from the entrance.
“Someone!”
Yang Zicang, who was drawing his rifle, and the resting Liang Xi both turned their attention to the unstable entrance dozens of meters away. From the grassy stage set area, seven hooded figures rushed out.
“Yang Zicang!”
“Is that Ms. Chrono Weapon? Sure is a refined and beautiful armament.”
Seeing their attire, Liang Xi’s heart skipped a beat—no need for words; these masked men were surely here to stir up trouble. Just as the young boy was filled with worry and turned to look at the approaching Big Brother Yang, he suddenly noticed a hint of joy flickering across Yang Zicang’s face.
But that expression vanished in an instant.
“Huh?” Liang Xi rubbed his eyes, but Big Brother Yang in front of him remained stern and solemn.
……
“So you’re here, bro, you tracked well.” The opposing side laughed heartily, praising one of their own members.
Luo Bin gripped his weapon with a malicious look, stepping forward:
“Gentlemen, since you’re here in the Crossing to work with chronos, why all the masks!”
Seeing the gun now truly in Yang Zicang’s hands, Yu Chen and his group exulted silently.
Cao, disguising his voice, shouted: “Yang, hand over the gun, and we’ll leave immediately. If you intend to marshal funds to stay afloat, we’ll take it by force!”
Yang Zicang gritted his teeth, feigning reluctance: “You lot sure are efficient.”
The circle on his chest model lit up, and the quadrilateral rapidly expanded, merging into the void.
[I, the Great Quadrilateral, begin Chrono Financing.]
“Gentlemen and bosses, someone is trying to steal my Chrono Weapon. Whoever helps me drive these fools away will be repaid by me in the future.”
Countless people within a radius of dozens of miles received the model’s financing request.