Chapter 49: Shen Anyu's Routine Is Not Simple!
Although Lu Yan's family had served in the military or as police officers for generations, their family values were upright, almost rigidly so. They never engaged in corruption, and their salaries, while stable, were modest.
So how could they possibly come up with 100 million?
It was an astronomical sum, a number that belonged to a different world than the one she lived in.
Moreover, this 100 million was just for her dose. It was required from everyone who practiced the Lu family's ancestral martial arts; her father, her uncles, her cousins—they all had internal injuries accumulating like a slow poison. They all needed this cup of emerald green liquor to survive.
The total cost would be in the billions.
It was impossible.
Watching Lu Yan ponder, her face pale, caught between a rock and a hard place, Shen Anyu chuckled inwardly.
"Finally, you, this vigilant policewoman, have been played," he thought, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
With Shen Anyu's [Extraordinary Medical Skill], he could certainly treat Lu Yan at a lower cost. He could brew a cheaper alternative, or simply use acupuncture. But wouldn't raising the cost be better?
For a straightforward woman like Lu Yan, who valued honor above all else, a simple favor would be forgotten. But a life debt? A debt that she could never repay with money? That bound her soul.
The more favors, the better; this is the principle of bestowing kindness to receive a return! He was investing in a loyal, powerful pawn.
Just then, Aunt Xiao appeared at the doorway. She didn't speak, but her eyes met Shen Anyu's, signaling she had important news to report regarding the search.
Shen Anyu's expression remained unchanged. He turned back to Lu Yan, his smile warm and disarming.
"Lu Yan," he said leisurely, breaking the heavy silence. "I usually need a sparring partner when I practice martial arts. My guards hold back too much. How about you come over when you're free and work to pay off your debt?"
Lu Yan looked up, surprised. "Sparring?"
"Yes. Sparring, training, maybe some light errands. Consider it a long-term employment contract."
He reached into his spatial storage (disguised as reaching into a drawer) and pulled out a large glass bottle filled with the same emerald liquid.
"Here's another bottle, a thousand milliliters of medicinal wine. Take it back for your family to use. If there's any left, you can continue to use it yourself to boost your cultivation."
"I'm very willing to help you; don't feel too much pressure. Friends help friends, right?"
Hearing this, Lu Yan blushed deeply.
With her intelligence and alertness as a detective, how could she not know that mere sparring and working could never clear a debt of hundreds of millions? It was an excuse. A blatant, generous excuse to save her dignity.
She looked at the incomparably handsome Young Master Shen before her. He was offering her the world on a silver platter, asking for almost nothing in return.
Lu Yan felt both shy and annoyed at her own helplessness. She knew she had been played, maneuvered into a corner where she had to accept his charity.
Yet, she felt a strange joy.
This handsome Young Master before her—a man who could have any woman, any warrior—was willing to pay such a price for her. He valued her.
This made her feel special.
"Okay! I agree to spar to pay off the debt!" Lu Yan said firmly, her eyes shining with determination.
She thought to herself, I will definitely demonstrate the value of a sparring partner! I will train until I drop if I have to. I will absolutely not disappoint Shen Anyu!
And she made up her mind that she would certainly repay Shen Anyu's kindness in the future!
A kindness as heavy as a mountain, to be repaid with her life! If he asked her to jump into a fire, she wouldn't hesitate.
If Shen Anyu knew Lu Yan's thoughts, he would probably laugh wryly.
What would he want with Lu Yan's life? He didn't need another bodyguard; he had armies. He only needed Lu Yan's [Destiny Value].
"Ding! Child of Destiny Xia Liu's emotional line has fluctuated greatly! Plundering +30,000 Destiny Points!"
Shen Anyu raised an eyebrow, his eyes lighting up. This was what Shen Anyu needed.
It seemed that after Shen Anyu resolved the illness of Lu Yan and her family—who had overexerted their bodies by practicing martial arts incorrectly—the "heroic savior" role was filled.
Xia Liu had fewer opportunities to show off and play the hero. His destined path of curing Lu Yan and winning her heart was shattered. His interactions with Lu Yan, the destined heroine, were no longer significant. The red thread of fate had been cut.
Subsequently, Lu Yan stood up, clutching the large bottle of medicinal wine like it was a newborn baby.
She bowed deeply. "Thank you, Young Master Shen. I will not forget this."
She left with the one thousand milliliters of medicinal wine bestowed by Shen Anyu, solemnly promising before she left that she would repay this kindness.
Shen Anyu didn't take it to heart. Without Lu Yan saying anything, Shen Anyu would naturally recover the principal and interest from her... and even get a few hundred million as a bonus in the form of destiny points and loyalty.
After she left, the smile faded from his face, replaced by a cool indifference.
"Aunt Xiao, what happened?"
Shen Anyu's gaze turned to the entering Aunt Xiao, asking.
Aunt Xiao walked in, carrying a laptop. She placed it on the desk and respectfully replied:
"Young Master, there's a message from Butler He Ying. According to your instructions, some unusual individuals have been found in Modu."
Previously, Shen Anyu had instructed that anyone who fit the "protagonist" archetype be flagged.
Anyone who suddenly became famous or rich overnight. Anyone who had profound cultivation but hid in the city as a beggar or a cleaner. Anyone who had an extraordinary background but acted as a live-in son-in-law. Anyone whose parents had died mysteriously and showed abnormal behavior.
Or anyone who shouted phrases like "Don't bully the young and poor," "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," or "My fate is up to me, not the heavens!"
Especially men around stunning beauties!
All of these had to be thoroughly investigated and reported to him!
As the only male of the third generation of the two top families, Yanxia Shen Family and Yanxia An Family, Shen Anyu commanded resources that were terrifying. He could mobilize manpower and material resources that could be described as vast as mountains and seas.
One command, and countless people would serve him! The intelligence network of the Shen Family was like a spiderweb covering the city.
The entire Modu, a world metropolis with tens of millions of people, was screened in just a few days. The search was expanding to other areas, continuing to look for threats.
Shen Anyu currently didn't have a [Destined Child Positioning Card]—he had used it on Xia Liu. But he had a [Son of Destiny Identifier], which could be used for a cost of ten thousand Destiny Points.
Of course, ten thousand Destiny Points was extremely precious and couldn't be wasted on false alarms, so a careful preliminary screening was necessary.
Shen Anyu took the laptop from Aunt Xiao and opened the various files within.
He scrolled through the list. Most were false positives.
Those who shouted "Don't bully the young and poor" were mostly chuunibyou teenagers with too much time on their hands.
After looking through dozens of files, none of them seemed like a true Child of Destiny. Just delusional kids.
Shen Anyu's mouth twitched slightly as he thought, "Should I send them to Professor Yang, the Lightning Law King, for electrotherapy? If they really awaken some fighting qi or magic from the shock, maybe they really are Sons of Destiny!"
Or should I let a big truck hit them to see if they reincarnate?
However, Shen Anyu wasn't that ruthless. Unless it was a Child of Destiny destined to be in an endless struggle with him, the [Destined Villain], or someone who threatened his interests or blocked his path, Shen Anyu wouldn't act casually.
He wasn't a murder hobo. He was a businessman of fate.
But if his interests were threatened? He would transform into a true devil, decisive in killing, eradicating all threats, and playing with the threats until they died!
(Wei Yun, who was now a charred corpse in the morgue: "Shen Anyu, you beast…")
After reviewing hundreds of files, Shen Anyu's gaze finally settled on two documents that stood out.
File 1: Qi Fan.
A junior at Modu University. An orphan. He liked Liu Mi, the campus belle of Modu University—and Shen Anyu's current target.
He used to receive poverty subsidies and eat instant noodles. But recently? He suddenly became rich.
He directly bought a high-end Mercedes Maybach worth over ten million yuan in cash!
Moreover, he also livestreamed on Douyin under the account "Ordinary, Not Ordinary," lavishly tipping female streamers millions of yuan without blinking.
"A bit interesting. I remember Liu Mi is Jiang Linlin's best friend and roommate, with extremely high Appearance and figure, one of Modu University's three campus belles, and also the daughter of Liu Shiming, the director of Shanghai First People's Hospital?"
Shen Anyu had previously sent people to investigate Jiang Linlin, so he naturally knew about Liu Mi. She was the little enchantress of Modu University, one of the three campus belles. He even had the idea of visiting their dorm to complete the set.
"This Qi Fan is problematic. I'll find time to go see him and identify him!"
Shen Anyu sneered. A man around a stunning goddess who also shows abnormal wealth accumulation is very likely a Child of Destiny!
He guessed that he was probably a Child of Destiny of the "Tycoon System" type—someone who gets money for breathing or spending.
Combat power of five Slag. Shen Anyu liked this kind of Child of Destiny the most; he could crush him with a pinky finger!
Next, Shen Anyu looked at the second important file.
File 2: Han Qi.
The illegitimate son of the head of the Emperor Capital Han Family, a first-class major family. He was hated by Han Xiu, the legitimate eldest son of the Han family. His birth mother died in a car accident.
He is now married into the Liu family, an ordinary local family in Modu.
Han Qi's wife, Liu Qingyue, is extremely beautiful—no less than Qin Ningbing or Jiang Linlin.
Moreover, Han Qi and Liu Qingyue still sleep in separate rooms. Their relationship is never intimate in public. He acts like a servant.
"Heh heh, a 'Live-in Son-in-law' type of Child of Destiny? The 'Dragon King' trope?"
Shen Anyu tapped the screen. "The Emperor Capital Han Family isn't much compared to us, and he's just an illegitimate son, so it doesn't seem difficult to deal with!"
However, after Shen Anyu read on, he became interested.
This Han Qi, on the surface, was a cowardly Han family live-in son-in-law. He was often scolded and reprimanded, living like a dog in the Liu family. He even had to fetch foot-washing water for his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
His wife, Liu Qingyue, didn't let him fetch it for her and didn't reward him with foot massages. She was cold but fair.
But in reality... Han Qi was not simple.
He was not just a Liu family live-in son-in-law and a discarded son of the Han family, but rather deeply hidden… waiting for the signal to reveal his true identity as the Dragon King.