He snapped the phone's screen off.
Wang Yiyang turned his head and looked out the window.
The crowd of people boarding the bus was endless, a constant stream of movement. It was impossible to tell who was a suspect and who was a member of Jane's team.
Suddenly, he felt something poking him in the back.
He looked back and saw, through the gap in the seats, the little boy from the row behind staring at him, poking a chocolate bar through the opening.
A smear of chocolate stained Wang Yiyang's light-colored t-shirt.
The boy, seeing his little prank had been discovered, quickly looked up and offered a placating smile.
Wang Yiyang smiled back.
"Is that for me?" he asked.
The boy blinked, a sense of foreboding dawning on him, but it was too late. Wang Yiyang swiftly grabbed the chocolate bar and snatched it away.
Crunch.
Wang Yiyang popped the chocolate bar into his mouth. He watched as the boy's expression crumpled, and a moment later, a wail erupted from behind him.
A smile on his face, he turned back around and sat properly in his seat.
"Finished with your call? You didn't finish what you were saying earlier," Su Ling, who had witnessed the scene, said, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. She brought the conversation back to their previous topic of interest.
"Oh, right. My grandfather's martial hall doesn't actually teach that many things. The basic fist techniques are just a few forms, repeated over and over…" Wang Yiyang collected himself and continued his explanation with a smile.
...
...
At the edge of the bus station's parking lot.
Dada, with his shock of yellow hair, stood out. The tight black tank top he wore only accentuated his powerful muscles.
He had two black dragons tattooed on his arms and the character for 'Eye' tattooed on his neck. Combined with his somewhat sinister looks and aura, he projected a unique quality that set him apart from common street thugs.
A black tank top, white trousers, and white leather boots. That was his entire outfit.
Watching the bus Wang Yiyang was on slowly start to move, Dada dropped the cigarette butt from his lips, crushed it under his foot, and rolled his shoulders.
"I really don't get why Black Mantis won't just do it himself. Has he gotten soft after all this time?" he scoffed. He took a long stride toward the bus.
The bustling crowd provided him with the perfect cover.
In a chaotic place like this, killing a single person was almost too easy for someone like him, a master of Yin Fist and Hard Skill.
Dada flexed his fingers, and a metal needle slid silently between them.
Tch!!
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The faintest sound of a gunshot had barely registered in his ears when he felt his back go numb.
"A sniper?!" Dada instantly took a series of rapid, small steps to his left, moving two meters away into the cover of the crowd in less than a tenth of a second.
Once shielded by the people, a savage grin spread across Dada's face.
"Heh heh... a sniper? Someone actually has a sniper protecting that kid? Ridiculous. As if a mere tranquilizer dart could..." Clack.
In that instant, more than five guns were pressed against him from all sides—front, back, left, and right.
The hard barrels of the guns pushed firmly against his torso.
The savage grin on Dada's face froze.
Tch.
Just before he lost consciousness, he vaguely heard someone hiss beside him.
"Take him away. The Head wants to see him."
...
...
Wang Yiyang got off the bus, his mind still trying to process the system's abilities.
This system seemed to grant him hidden identities out of thin air.
What he couldn't figure out was where this hidden identity came from.
Was there already a Head of Security at Myst Pharmaceuticals, or was this identity created by the system from nothing?
Furthermore, based on the mountain of information that had flooded his mind, the entire life of this Head of Security, from childhood to the present, somehow fit perfectly with his own growth and experiences.
The two-hour bus ride wasn't particularly long.
After getting off, Wang Yiyang exchanged contact information with Su Ling and hailed a taxi to leave the station.
He soon arrived back in Yingxing City, at the small studio apartment he rented.
Yingxing City was located on the easternmost coast of the Mien Federation, a trade city by the sea.
Though not large in area, it had developed quite well, with its economy centered on the marine and sea-mining industries.
It was considered one of the larger third-tier cities in the federation.
Yingxing City had a total of five industrial parks. The Qiushang Industrial Park, where he worked, was a full thirteen kilometers from his apartment.
But because the rent was cheap, the old Wang Yiyang had no choice but to wake up early every day to catch the subway.
But that was the past. He was different now.
Plop.
Wang Yiyang threw himself onto the single sofa, letting the soft leather envelop him.
On the surface, he had only made a trip back to his hometown to visit his grandfather in the past two days. But in reality, the complexity of the events that had transpired was staggering.
Wang Yiyang rested for a good while before taking out his phone.
He first checked his call log. Two missed calls, both from his dad.
Without much thought, he quickly dialed the number back.
After a few rings, the call was answered.
"Hey, son, did you get to see your grandfather?" His dad, Wang Songhai's, voice was highly recognizable.
"Yeah, I saw him. He's the same as always, strong enough to kill a bull with one punch," Wang Yiyang laughed.
"That's good. We're out of town and can't go back to see him right away, so we can only count on you to visit from time to time. What about you? How's work? Got a girlfriend? Need your old man to help you out?"
"Forget it, I'm not in the mood for that right now. By the way, Dad, do you know where Grandpa's eldest disciple, Senior Brother Zhong Can, is from? How did he become Grandpa's student?" Wang Yiyang decided to ask about Zhong Can, to see if his dad knew any secrets.
"Zhong Can? Your grandpa found him. He's like an adopted son. He has a real talent for martial arts. Back then, your grandpa couldn't find an heir, so he placed all his hopes on him. Zhong Can will probably inherit your grandpa's Moon Empty Martial Hall in the future," his dad said with a sigh.
"What about Senior Brother Zhong Can's parents?"
"No idea. The kid was already almost ten when your grandpa found him. He was filthy. Oh, you don't know, that was right when the ozone layer depletion was getting worse, during the great global famine. There were orphans starving to death everywhere."
"Alright, it's fine if you don't know. Where's Mom?" Wang Yiyang asked casually.
"She went out shopping with her sisters. I had some free time today, so I called to check on you," Wang Songhai continued. "I see you're just lazing around all day. You should find a girlfriend soon. Your mom and I have been wanting to have a grandchild for ages, but you're just not delivering..."
"Alright, alright, I know," Wang Yiyang said, annoyed by the topic.
After a bit more small talk with his dad, he hung up and checked his messages.
Colleagues, classmates, his supervisor—a huge pile had accumulated.
There were over sixty messages alone, not even counting the attachments.
Back at the company, Wang Yiyang, as a product planner, had naturally designed a decent product.
From the concept to the simulation model and the market research surveys, the new product had received good feedback.
Originally, if he had completed this project, he could have used it as a stepping stone to advance further, to truly enter the company's management level.
But now, with such a huge crisis on his grandfather's side...
The series of sudden changes left Wang Yiyang feeling as if he were still in a dream.
He simply had no heart to go back and focus on planning.
The company he worked for, Xinda Network, primarily tailored specialized network systems for clients.
It also undertook network security tasks.
The company was divided into two main parts: the product development department and the security maintenance department.
He was in the product development department.
Holding his phone, Wang Yiyang quickly skimmed through all the messages.
A classmate inviting him to a wedding, colleagues asking him to a dinner party. His supervisor asking when he would be back.
An old buddy asking him to go on a trip.
Then there was a pile of spam messages: insurance, real estate, jewelry, new network features, data plan promotions, and so on.
He swept them all into the trash.
"For now, I'll ignore the person Jane's team captured. First, let's see how much money I, the Head of Security, have..." Wang Yiyang took a deep breath.
As a 'moonlight clan' member who barely broke even every month, money was the most direct thing that could change his life. It was also the source of confidence for most people.
He carefully opened his phone's web browser and, following the Head of Security's memories, skillfully accessed the exclusive Federal Bank app, entering the account number and password.
Then, he passed the fingerprint security verification.
Soon, his personal account in the Federal Bank clearly displayed his current balance.
'Your balance is: 22,177,935 Yuan'
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, ten millions! Hiss..." As Wang Yiyang counted the digits, his voice began to tremble.
That was a balance of over twenty-two million yuan!!
He knew that the entire annual profit of his company, Xinda Network, was just over six million.
And right now, he had over twenty-two million in a single account.
This was a huge sum of money. And this was just the smallest of the five accounts associated with this identity.
"And... and this is just a Bronze tier identity from the system... Amazing! This is too amazing!" Wang Yiyang, whose annual salary was only a few tens of thousands, felt his breathing grow heavy at the sight of over twenty-two million in savings.
Immediately.
He quickly logged into other banking apps to check the other personal accounts of the Myst Pharmaceuticals' Head of Security.
One huge number after another made him feel as if he were floating on a cloud, unable to believe it.
The total balance of all these accounts added up to over two hundred million.
"And this is just the liquid cash on hand. There are also the Myst Group stocks, and other real estate..." Wang Yiyang felt as if a mountain of gold had just fallen on his head.
From head to toe, his body seemed to glow with a golden light. Even the air he breathed out seemed to smell of money.
"...No, I need to calm down! I still haven't figured out what's going on with Grandpa, and in a month, there's the huge trouble this identity might bring!"
Wang Yiyang quickly recalled the system's initial message.
There are gains and losses.
The more powerful and formidable this identity appeared, the more troublesome and severe the potential dangers would be.
"First, I'll arrange for people to protect Grandpa and monitor the Moon Empty Martial Hall at all times. Just in case something really happens!" he quickly decided.