I Am Extraordinary Alone
Chapter 360 - 358: Retain Innocence

Chapter 360: Chapter 358: Retain Innocence

Rada Gan’s residence arranged in Felda wasn’t as luxurious as his car; it was an old red brick apartment building near a shallow bank of a tiny river.

For the price of a gold bar, he had bought the building and an entire gang, who in turn became his eyes and ears. Although it looked shabby, no one dared to underestimate this blond upstart.

Rada Gan accompanied Wei Tianyang to the fifth floor of the riverside apartment, to a room specially reserved for him, as if Rada Gan had known he would come.

When Wei Tianyang walked into the apartment, he realized it wasn’t very large, roughly about 50 square meters, crammed with second-hand furniture, making it feel cramped.

Yet even so, the place was organized to be very cozy with every living necessity available, which reminded him of the small apartment in Chicken Snake Country where he used to meet Moby Dick in private.

He felt like he had become another Moby Dick.

Outside the window, he could see the gently flowing inner river connecting to the sea whose name he didn’t know. In the distance, a grey, fuzzy iron bridge connected the old town to the upper city district.

"Before the hotel matter is settled, you’ll have to condescend to stay here," said Rada Gan, bowing slightly like a butler.

"What’s delaying the progress?" asked Wei Tianyang.

As he spoke, he dropped his backpack on the bench by the window and ran his fingers over the small square table, checking his fingertips. There was no dust.

"We need to legally operate the hotel, which means we need to blend into the local political and business circles, and before that, we need a legal identity," stated Rada Gan.

Wei Tianyang nodded and said, "Violence on my part won’t be of help in this matter."

He couldn’t rely on his influence to resolve this because doing so would defeat the purpose of opening the hotel.

To make this place a safe harbor, he had to hide his identity and stay in the shadows.

"I can handle the issue; it just needs some time," Rada Gan said.

Wei Tianyang walked over to the rather empty bookshelf and casually picked up an old blue-covered book from the third shelf. He hadn’t read a book in a long time.

"We have time. I believe you can handle it before I fill this bookshelf," Wei Tianyang said.

Rada Gan bowed and replied, "Of course."

Wei Tianyang looked at Rada Gan and said, "There’s no need for you to be so humble."

"You saved my life, and compared to you, I’m just a mortal. I have come to see you as a deity, and you have given me the opportunity to stand by your side. I’m truly basking in the light of a king," Rada Gan bowed as he spoke.

"Go do your job, and read less of those sacred texts. You’re starting to sound exactly like those folks from Yixu," Wei Tianyang shook his head.

"I’ve gotten used to speaking this way. Consider it a side effect of my time spent with Azaha," Rada Gan said.

"I may be here for a while—actually that’s not quite accurate. I should say I’ll visit from time to time—no need for any grand arrangements or to offer any services. Just..." Wei Tianyang paused, looking around, then continued, "Get me a coffee grinder, some bags of coffee beans, an electric kettle for boiling water, and a mug for the coffee. And... books."

"No problem, I will arrange that immediately," Rada Gan nodded, then added, "The key to the room is on top of the cabinet on your left hand side. Downstairs, there’s also an inconspicuous red old car that drives really fast, should you need it, just pair it with your room key."

"Okay, that’s all for now," nodded Wei Tianyang.

Rada Gan left the room to arrange for Wei Tianyang’s requests, and he turned his attention to the small blue book.

The book was a Swahili version, a language with over one hundred million speakers in Heisai State, making it the largest and most universal language used there. Of course, Wei Tianyang didn’t know this language, but in this era, language barriers had long been broken by smart wearable devices.

He took out his AR glasses, and a translation layer appeared over the text on the pages. He flicked through virtual spaces with two fingers, switching between dozens of languages, and finally settled on Chicken Snake language.

Even if one doesn’t understand Swahili, the name of the book was indeed plain and cryptic. On the blue cover, four white numbers floated: 1984.

Heisai State didn’t need his justice, the United Council didn’t acknowledge his justice, and Baphomet directly denied his justice.

He needed time and space to calm down.

He had lost everything. If even the thing that he had been pursuing became meaningless, then what was he?

He carried the blood debt of a million people; he had brought pain and death to a city, but he had also saved a million people and allowed a city to survive.

In this, there must be a meaning that could be explained, and that meaning was what he was searching for.

Before he could convince himself, he decided to first take the position of an observer to see how those who fabricated meaning went about it.

He needed an answer, he needed to become, he must become that one.

Wei Tianyang took the book back to the table, only to find Baphomet squatting on the table, squinting its eyes, occasionally shaking its black fur as if it were dozing off in the sun.

He thought to curse at the creature, but remembered Baphomet had been traveling the objective reality on his behalf, crossing oceans and continents, which was indeed tough.

Therefore, he unusually didn’t shoo it away, but instead sat down on the chair with his right hand holding the book, and his left hand gently stroking the goat’s back, petting the goat while reading.

Baphomet was startled at first, its body shrinking, but then it got used to Wei Tianyang’s touch, and felt so moved that tears welled up in its eyes. It shook its ears comfortably, curling up a little tighter, stretched its neck, poked its goat head up from the table, and rubbed against Wei Tianyang’s body, closing its eyes to continue snoozing.

Wei Tianyang said, "After you wake up, go back to Yin Country. That woman must be looking for me too. If you stay there, she’ll be a little more at ease."

Baphomet bleated in response and then drifted back to sleep.

After flipping through roughly ten pages, the door was knocked on.

Wei Tianyang got up to open it, only to find a tall, thin black man standing in front of the door. He wore a gray Henley shirt and black work pants, with a pair of dirty sneakers on his feet, and seemed very young, holding a large bag of stuff in his left hand.

He stepped back a little to let the other person in.

"Rada Gan sent me to deliver some things to you, coffee beans and a grinder, as well as a coffee pot," the black man said.

"Thanks. I’m Yishenmali. And you?" Wei Tianyang replied with a smile.

"I’m Quigui Ge." Quigui Ge said. He spoke in a somewhat unskilled Western language.

"Quigui Ge, are you a local?" Wei Tianyang asked with interest.

"Yeah, I was born in the Old City," Quigui Ge said.

He was tall, but seemed to be somewhat malnourished and skinny. And even though he was taller than Wei Tianyang by two heads, his eyes looked somewhat timid when directed at him.

"How long have you been involved with the gang?" Wei Tianyang inquired further.

"They say I’m just good for running errands, but I’m tall, and can make a presence in a pinch," Quigui Ge acted as if he wanted to prove his worth, deliberately putting on a tough front.

Wei Tianyang glared at Quigui Ge, and with the eyes of a man who had killed before, immediately scared the black man off.

"Can you teach me that look?" Quigui Ge pleaded.

"Keep to how you are now, Quigui Ge. The world doesn’t need too many people like me," Wei Tianyang said.