Chapter 6: Sixth Day of Lying Flat Like a Salted Fish

Lu Yuan wasn’t actually that opposed to killing.

How should he put it? After over a decade on the battlefield, even if most of what he killed were bugs, he was well-acquainted with the cycle of life and death.

However, he didn’t want to break the rules he had established.

Furthermore…

Even if he let this man kill someone, the man wouldn’t necessarily leave quietly. On the contrary, if Lu Yuan showed any lack of resolve or strength, this person might take an inch and try to grab a mile.

Besides, Lu Yuan still harbored doubts about the man’s motives. He was clearly not telling the whole truth.

If he were truly here just for Lao Tong, there was no need to linger in this place for so long, nor to interact so extensively with the locals under the guise of a traveler to fish for information.

That wasn’t the style of an assassin.

Moreover, Goudan said Lao Tong couldn’t beat him, and Goudan couldn’t beat Siming, so Siming should be far stronger than Lao Tong. Yet yesterday, the two of them had clearly fought back and forth, even managing to collapse a house.

When Siming was beating up Goudan, he hadn’t caused nearly that much of a commotion.

Then there was his behavior after Goudan brought him back; something felt off.

…Lu Yuan got the feeling that this man was still after him.

Or, even if he hadn’t been after him initially, he was now.

The only question was, what exactly did he want?

Lu Yuan mentally reviewed the events of the past two days from start to finish. After a moment’s thought, he took a closer look at Siming.

The man looked like the difficult type; getting tangled up with him would surely be a hassle.

Setting aside whether the story of being hunted by an organization was true or false, the man himself…

He wasn’t like Goudan, who was sensible enough not to ask what shouldn’t be asked and not to do what shouldn’t be done. This man looked like a fox – shrewd and cunning. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted to know or achieve.

Siming met Lu Yuan’s gaze with a beaming smile.

“You didn’t come here to kill Lao Tong,” Lu Yuan said. “Killing her was a way to test me. You wanted to see if I would intervene, and how I would handle it. You wanted to know exactly how much control I have over this area.”

That was why they had wrecked the house at first without any real killing intent. Only after realizing that a simple fight wouldn’t draw Lu Yuan out did they start using lethal force.

Siming’s expression remained unchanged, and he didn’t respond.

Lu Yuan continued, “Zhu Rong coming to buy a game console yesterday was likely influenced by you. When you chatted with Goudan, you mentioned me as well. You’re very interested in me, and you’re very interested in this shop.

“You want to know my purpose for opening this shop, and whether I intend to bring civilization from outside the Desolate Planet here. Or rather, you suspect that is my goal.

“The lies you told are full of holes. You weren’t trying to deceive me; you wanted to see if I could see through them and how long it would take. That was another test of my abilities.

“Your target is me. You want to know what kind of person I am, and based on that, you might want to use me for something.”

“You haven’t guessed why I initially came here,” Siming noted.

“Lao Tong called you? Or perhaps you can track her? Regardless, it doesn’t matter.” Lu Yuan shook his head. “I’m not interested in your previous motives. I’m laying this all out to tell you that no matter how capable I may be, I have no intention of reforming the Desolate Planet, nor can I be bothered to play king here.

“If you’re interested in reforming this planet, feel free to go ahead, but don’t try to drag me into it. That’s impossible. If you want the Desolate Planet to remain in its state of chaotic disorder, then you don’t need to worry about me. I only influence this small area. In fact, I’m not even the one in control here as you assume; Goudan is.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Yuan repeated the explanation he had given Goudan many times before about why he opened the shop and maintained order.

It was a bit of a hassle, but to avoid even greater trouble, Lu Yuan decided it was worth wasting his breath.

…Seriously, he just wanted to find a place to live out his days in peace. Why was it so difficult?

Other planets were connected to the StarNet, and he would be recognized the moment he appeared, so he could only stay on a Desolate Planet.

But the Desolate Planet was chaotic and lawless, where everyone lived hand-to-mouth. Even though he was powerful enough to avoid being robbed, he still couldn’t just lie flat in peace; he had to deal with all sorts of harassment every day.

To reduce the harassment, he’d had no choice but to claim a piece of land and establish order… and now he was being suspected of having ulterior motives.

Life was hard.

Lu Yuan let out a deep sigh.

He wasn’t sure how much of it Siming actually believed.

“Is that so?” Siming looked entirely unconvinced. His deep black eyes rested on Lu Yuan’s face with a hint of scrutiny. “To be honest, I find it hard to believe that a powerhouse like you would be this decadent and lazy.”

“Goudan didn’t believe it at first either.” Lu Yuan shrugged. “But that’s the truth. I did work hard once, but now I’ve given up. Lying down is truly comfortable.”

“To be honest, I still don’t quite believe it!” Goudan chimed in. “If you told me you were biding your time here, hiding a secret agenda and plotting some grand scheme, I’d believe that.”

While the two were talking, he had already started his daily binge-watching. However, he still spared a bit of attention for the two of them, enough to follow their conversation.

“…” Lu Yuan was speechless. “If I wanted to pull off some grand scheme, would I really need to bide my time?”

As a former Empire Marshal, even if he wanted to lead an armed rebellion, it wasn’t entirely beyond his reach.

He just couldn’t be bothered.

His goal from start to finish had been to kill all the bugs; he had never had any other ambitions.

A glint flashed in Siming’s eyes.

Lu Yuan thought, Crap. By letting a hint of his past slip, he had likely piqued the man’s interest even further.

Then he saw Siming’s eyes dart around before he spoke. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.”

“…It’s fine?” Lu Yuan said tentatively.

“Actually, I just wanted to confirm the environment of the place where I plan to settle down,” Siming said leisurely. “This place is more harmonious than the vast majority of the Desolate Planet. I like it very much, so I want to stay here.”

“I’m a cautious person by nature, so I conducted a few tests to get a feel for the situation and the rules here. I’m truly sorry for the trouble I caused you. From now on, I’ll follow the rules properly. No killing, no arson. I’ll just work hard and earn a living.

“Don’t worry, the organization won’t hunt me down. Even if I fail the mission to kill the traitor Lao Tong, no one will come here to kill me or bother you.”

He smiled. “Because I am the head of the Temple.”

“By the way,” he added, “the Temple is our organization. If there’s anyone you want dead but you’re too lazy to kill them yourself, feel free to come to me. I’ll help you out for free.”

“…”

Lu Yuan fell into a long silence. “I’m really nothing special. I’m just a salted fish wasting my life away. There’s no need for you to stay here for my sake.”

Lu Yuan didn’t believe for a second that this person had intended to settle down here from the start.

• He definitely just decided to say that this very moment! –

“Rest assured, I won’t let it become a burden to you.” Siming smiled broadly. “I am indeed interested in you, but I’ll do my research while you do your lounging. I won’t ask you to do anything extra. I’ll just observe you to satisfy my curiosity.

“Observation itself shouldn’t affect you, right? I promise I won’t stir up any more trouble to test you.”

“…” If that was the case, it didn’t seem like there would be a problem? Lu Yuan wasn’t entirely sure.

“So you’re going to live here?” Goudan put down the tablet, suddenly becoming enthusiastic. “Where are you going to stay? What kind of work will you do? Let me tell you, robbery isn’t allowed here. If you want something, you have to pay for it.”

“I’ll just stay at Lao Tong’s place.” Siming winked. “As for work… does your male lead get a salary?”