Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 33: Player One

As soon as Jiang Ning got home from his evening self-study session and parked his bike, he stepped out and walked away.

Xue Yuantong found it odd and wanted to tell Jiang Ning to stay safe and return early, but that would be out of character for her and make it seem like she was too concerned about him.

"Hmph! I want to see what time you come back today!"

Yesterday, she had stayed up until two in the morning waiting for Jiang Ning to return, only sleeping after confirming his safe arrival.

Jiang Ning strolled to the dam. Seeing that nobody was around, he employed the Concealing Qi Technique and hurried to the electric substation thirty kilometers away.

A dozen minutes later, Jiang Ning arrived at the substation.

In the same two spots as last night, two men were squatting in surveillance.

"It's been fixed again?" Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

The wires inside the substation had been reconnected, and the voltage was running normally.

He then sprinted to the riverbank, found the pipes still blocked, and in the field, two men were lying in ambush.

If not for the Concealing Qi Technique, Jiang Ning would have definitely been spotted by them.

After thinking, Jiang Ning approached a nearby factory plant, where machines were quiet and not operating.

A young man sat at the entrance, smoking, his face a portrait of worry.

Jiang Ning returned to the substation and utilized the high-voltage current for Body Refining. During the Body Refining, the young man brought people to check the situation.

Jiang Ning stayed invisible aside, waiting until the Body Refining was complete before casually releasing a Sword Qi to cut the wires.

The lights at the factory went out, and Yan Bo's heart dimmed as well.

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

He clutched his chest, gazing into the dark factory hall.

Feelings of anger, grievance, and an intense sense of helplessness surged in his heart.

Yan Bo felt that electricity was like a schoolgirl he had a crush on in his childhood: he longed for it but couldn't attain it.

...

Lin Zida lay comfortably on the couch, holding a PS3 controller.

The 55-inch TV displayed a thrilling game scene.

"Amazing, 'The Last of Us' is truly a masterpiece!" Lin Zida clapped in admiration.

"Such a masterpiece!"

"I'm already looking forward to the sequel!"

Suddenly, the door opened, and a figure entered.

The girl was dressed in a fitted black suit, elegant in stature, with a cool demeanor and a strikingly fair complexion.

"Aren't you discussing investments with Sister Ding? You're home early?" asked Lin Zida without turning his head.

Ding Shuyan responded, "There's a banquet tonight with my aunt and local officials. There wasn't much for me to do there, so I came back early."

"And from now on, don't call her 'sister', call her 'aunt'."

Lin Zida, multitasking, replied:

"She would tear me up."

"Is it just you at home?" asked Ding Shuyan.

Lin Zida nodded toward the kitchen, "Aunt Han is in the kitchen; Uncle Han will come over for dinner later too."

Ding Shuyan took out her phone, "I've read the text you sent me; I've found quite a bit of information."

Lin Zida paused the game and told Ding Shuyan all the details Wang Yong had shared with him about Jiang Ning.

Then he plunged back into the bizarre world of the game.

Ding Shuyan entered the study room and closed the door behind her.

She took off her blazer and draped it across the chair back.

Sitting at the desk, her expressions soft and fingers idly pressing her temples, Ding Shuyan reflected.

Her aunt had procured a fund from the family enterprise and planned to invest over three billion in real estate in Yuzhou City. The negotiation team set up for this was already dozens strong.

Ding Shuyan, still a high school student, was brought in by her aunt to observe and participate in the entire investment process from beginning to end to see a bigger picture.

Such an opportunity was something many would dream of, yet Ding Shuyan found it somewhat boring.

Nevertheless, she didn't resist and made every effort to engage.

For this, she even postponed her high school entrance by a month.

She picked up a pen, pondering the information Lin Zida had provided, and mumbled to herself,

"Maybe I should just play games to relax."

The scattered pieces of information in her mind quickly connected, forming a clear picture.

This morning's medical diagnosis from Uncle Han matched her suspicions: Song Sheng's leg had been struck by an object resembling a stick.

That night in the urban area, her Sixth Sense had strongly alerted her that someone was watching her.

Her Sixth Sense was never wrong.

That absolutely meant someone had been watching her; it was undeniable and unquestionable.

But she didn't find that person.

Perhaps someone was observing from afar with a telescope, she had not ruled out this speculation.

Yet, if Song Sheng's leg injury was included, things became strange.

She had witnessed the whole process of Song Sheng stepping forward, his leg suspended midair without falling, suddenly bizarrely bending.

She hadn't seen wrong.

That definitely wasn't a sprain from walking, especially considering the hardness of leg bones and Song Sheng's age, it wouldn't be that fragile.

So, she grew suspicious.

Ding Shuyan had someone review the footage from the gym that night, showing that Song Sheng hadn't undertaken any leg workouts.

Medically, in her eyes, the fracture of Song Sheng's leg was abnormal.

The decisive factor that made Ding Shuyan resolve to investigate was that, after Song Sheng was placed in the ambulance, the feeling of being observed secretly disappeared, and the Sixth Sense warning ceased to appear.

That indicated that someone was lurking in the shadows, had observed her, and then had broken Song Sheng's leg with a stick.

Absurd, even Ding Shuyan didn't quite believe it herself.

But such was her stubborn nature, she insisted on investigating further.

She started with the people around Song Sheng, the person who must have held a grudge against him, deliberately seeking revenge that night.

She contacted Lin Zida to investigate Song Sheng's enemies.

She immediately pinpointed Jiang Ning, who had had conflicts with Song Sheng.

Jiang Ning had once kicked Song Sheng across the room during military training, witnessed by many.

Jiang Ning was about 172 cm tall, with a slender physique.

Logically, it didn't seem possible for him to kick Song Sheng, who weighed around one hundred seventy pounds, flying.

But rumors had it that Jiang Ning admitted that he had trained in martial arts, which made the incident plausible.

However, another doubt caught Ding Shuyan's attention.

During military training, Jiang Ning had shown off, and Song Sheng had made sarcastic remarks; Jiang Ning heard them but pretended not to.

Strangely, a few minutes later, Song Sheng screamed in pain out of nowhere, and started rolling on the ground as if in severe agony.

A few minutes later, Song Sheng screamed a second time, but he didn't roll around; instead, he stood in place, looking embarrassed, seemingly uninjured.

Song Sheng's behavior was too abnormal.

Having insulted Jiang Ning earlier and then suddenly suffering misfortune, it was hard not to arouse Ding Shuyan's suspicions.

She tried to analyze Song Sheng's strange phenomenon.

Song Sheng screamed twice, the first time resulting in severe pain that made him roll on the ground.

The second scream was just that, a scream, after which he didn't roll but just stood frozen.

Was it possible that during the second time, he thought a certain attack was imminent, causing a conditioned reflex to scream out, and then the imagined attack didn't occur?

These matters were unclear to Ding Shuyan; she needed to consult a psychiatrist about Song Sheng.

If this was true, was it possible, then, that Song Sheng's screaming behavior could be man-made?

Such behavior, for the attacker, undoubtedly held more entertainment and pleasure value compared to just launching an attack, aligning more with human behavior logic.

Ding Shuyan slowly filled in her conjecture bit by bit.

"Jiang Ning seems a bit suspicious."

Ding Shuyan smiled radiantly.

However, this conjecture was so absurd, completely contrary to conventional logic.

If her aunt knew about it, she would definitely suspect she was ill.

Nor would any official law enforcement believe her, they would just send her for drug testing.

But precisely because she wasn't her experienced aunt, she wasn't an adult, she was full of fantastic ideas.

"Next, is to refine this hypothesis."

Continue to investigate Jiang Ning, that she could leave to Lin Zida.

"Lin Zida being overweight, having him move around a bit is good for him."

Thinking of this, she sent a message:

"Uncle Han, can you check if Song Sheng has any mental disorders?"

The clues temporarily converged here, and she'd wait until feedback from both ends before making further conjectures.

She wrote down 'Jiang Ning' on a piece of paper.

But it was merely written down for fun.

Ding Shuyan pushed the paper aside.

Like pushing aside a chess board played halfway through.

She had never met the real Jiang Ning and had no interest in meeting him.

For her, this deduction was merely somewhat intriguing game, nothing more.