Wen Qing had been cultivating in her spatial realm for several days, all the way until she reached the Nascent Divinity stage before emerging. Everything outside was calm, and there was no commotion from the golden finger holders. Wen Qing finally relaxed.
At night, she once again rode her flying sword to search for the bearers of the golden fingers, this time extending her gaze to the entire province. Due to her increased cultivation, she could use her divine sense to scan the entire province directly, significantly speeding up her search. In one night, she managed to locate three more bearers of the golden fingers.
One was a curse user, with a certain probability of words spoken by him coming true.
Another was a clairvoyant, originally a street fortune teller who unexpectedly awakened the Divine Eye, allowing him to see the future of others.
The last one possessed a culinary system. With the system's assistance, she became a generation's cooking god. The dishes she prepared were incredibly delicious, but their prices were quite high.
The latter two were fine since fortune-telling and selling food were purely matters of personal choice. If customers didn't want their services, who could force them? It was the first one that posed a bit of a problem. Tang Xiaofei, the curser, was just a junior high school student. Moreover, he was a problematic youth. Just yesterday, after his homeroom teacher reported his less than ideal grades to his parents, Tang Xiaofei was scolded by them and harbored ill feelings towards the teacher, saying, "That old witch will get hit by a car sooner or later!"
Then, today, the homeroom teacher had a car accident on her way to school and couldn't be saved, succumbing to her injuries.
This sent chills down Wen Qing's spine. If Tang Xiaofei had merely said it thoughtlessly, just venting frustration, Wen Qing could attribute it to coincidence. However, it wasn't the case. Tang Xiaofei was already aware of his ability. Although it was inconsistent, he knew that the things he said might come true. In this situation, his words clearly revealed a deep-seated desire for the teacher's death.
This was what truly unsettled Wen Qing. Adolescents hadn't yet developed mature and rational moral values, and when given an ability that surpassed ordinary people, who knew what unimaginable things they might do? While leaving a mark on him, Wen Qing temporarily put Tang Xiaofei to sleep. Until she found a way to deal with his ability, she didn't dare to let him utter any irreparable words.
After completing these tasks, Wen Qing felt a heavy heart. In truth, she hadn't figured out how to handle these carriers of the golden fingers. Obtaining the golden fingers was their chance, and she couldn't stop them from using their advantages to seize opportunities from others. Otherwise, what would differentiate her from those people?
However, with so many golden finger bearers gathered together, chaos was inevitable. Today's example with Tang Xiaofei was just one instance. Not everyone could control their malicious thoughts and refrain from harming others.
Feeling restless, Wen Qing returned to her home. Just as she closed the window, she suddenly sensed a few unusual auras. She discreetly extended her divine sense and quickly identified the source of the abnormal energy from the house across the street.
There were several men in black in the room, all of them well-built and exuding a calm and steady aura, clearly not ordinary individuals. Near the window was a telescope, and one of the men in black was using it to look outside.
After observing for a while, he stood up and asked the others in the room, "Ling Qi, tell me about this person."
Only now did Wen Qing "see" the man. He had an extraordinarily handsome face, sharp as a knife, with brows like swords and eyes like abysses, radiating a sense of calm and composure.
After he asked, a man on his left immediately replied, "Cheng Feng, male, 26 years old, Han ethnicity. After graduating, he couldn't find a job and has been living off his parents. Five days ago, a huge sum of money suddenly appeared in his account, exactly 100 million yuan, which he spent in just three days. Two days ago, another 1 billion yuan appeared in his account from an unknown source, and he hasn't spent it all yet. During this period, we haven't found any records of his interactions with anyone. Apart from spending money, there's no apparent danger for now."
It turned out to be the spendthrift man.
The man by the window furrowed his brows slightly. "Just spending money? No other unusual behavior?"
"Not yet discovered. Oh, by the way, does pretending at the class reunion this morning count?" Ling Qi, the one who spoke, twitched at the corner of his mouth. He had never seen someone so good at pretending. At the class reunion, the man intentionally spoke vaguely, making people think he was a loser with no job, no savings, and no girlfriend. But when he left, he flaunted his luxury car, leaving everyone embarrassed.
After Ling Qi finished speaking, the others who had been tracking laughed quietly. The man by the window glanced at Ling Qi, who immediately corrected himself, saying, "Boss, should we take action and grab him for questioning?"
"Don't be impulsive," the man referred to as "Boss" stopped him with a stern look. "Observe a little longer. Don't become the next..."
He didn't finish his sentence aloud, but Wen Qing could sense that the people in the room seemed to think of something, falling silent for a moment, with some even welling up with tears.
Ling Qi, as if trying to change the subject, asked, "Boss, how's the situation in the south? Did we catch the fire-spewing guy?" He was referring to the esper who had set fire to and killed an entire family a few days ago, someone capable of controlling flames and quite dangerous.
The Boss shook his head, his brows furrowing deeper. "No, he escaped. He knew we wouldn't want to disturb the public, so he intentionally hid among the crowd. We couldn't catch him this time, and it'll be even harder in the future."
Ling Qi sighed, "Ah, what a mess this is. I don't know what's been going on these past few years. It's nothing but strange occurrences and extraordinary people. And up top, they won't let us alert the public. But these people are unpredictable; they're not even afraid of bullets. How can we possibly catch them with our hands tied?"
Someone chimed in, "That's right. They possess abilities that go beyond the scope of science. We can't even scratch the surface of their capabilities. If we knew about their abilities and took precautions, we wouldn't have sacrificed so many lives."
"Sacrificing lives isn't the scary part. What's scary is that even if we sacrifice lives, we still can't deal with these super-powered individuals. That would be a disaster for ordinary people."
...
Wen Qing now understood that these were government agents. It seemed the higher-ups had already discovered the existence of these bearers of golden fingers in society. It made sense because not all golden finger bearers would be cautious; many, like Cheng Feng, would flaunt their newfound powers.
She hadn't yet figured out the government's stance on these golden finger bearers, but she could be certain that those deemed dangerous would be captured, just like the fire-controlling esper. Individuals like Cheng Feng, who seriously disrupted the market economy, probably wouldn't be spared either. Her thoughts aligned with this; those without harmful intent or those not disrupting societal stability could be left alone, but those with harmful intent needed to be monitored. Allowing such individuals to have power over ordinary people would undoubtedly bring disaster.
After observing for a few more days and confirming that these individuals were upright and dedicated to serving the people, Wen Qing decided to cooperate with them.
Wen Qing stealthily entered the room through the window of the house across the street, completely silent. When she entered, the room was discussing another matter.
"What's the latest from Chen Hong's side?"
"He's been meditating all along, no unusual activity."
"How are the victims doing?"
"Their organs are experiencing varying degrees of failure. Doctors say they've lost at least ten years of their functions."
"Damn it! Request authorization again at all costs to apprehend Chen Hong!"
"Yes! But he should already know we're monitoring him, and yet he hasn't reacted in any way. It seems he doesn't take us seriously."
...
Wen Qing was taken aback. Chen Hong? Wasn't he the cultivator? Could there be something she didn't know about? From their conversation, it seemed Chen Hong was also a dangerous individual, with victims already. It wasn't entirely impossible. Wen Qing had only encountered him a few days ago, and as a cultivator, he meditated without distractions, making it impossible for her to read his thoughts. She didn't know what he had done before. Additionally, because he had been peaceful these past few days, she had nearly overlooked him.
"Who?" While Wen Qing was pondering, a sharp gaze suddenly shot in her direction. The man referred to as "Boss" gazed solemnly toward her direction, and Ling Qi and the others immediately went on high alert.
Wen Qing was sure they couldn't see her; they could sense her presence, probably relying on their long-honed intuition. The vast gap in levels between mortals and cultivators was not something easily bridged. She wasn't proud of her status as a cultivator; instead, she worried for these people, imagining they had encountered difficulties dealing with individuals like Chen Hong.
Wen Qing took out a piece of paper from her spatial realm and placed it on the table in the room. Ling Qi and the others were startled to see a piece of paper materialize out of thin air. However, the man referred to as "Boss" remained calm.
He took a pair of white gloves from his pocket and put them on his slender, elegant hands. Then, he stepped forward to pick up the piece of paper. On it was written:
"Cheng Feng, possesses the Prodigal System, which dispenses money. Spending within a specified time frame yields different rewards, such as advanced modern weapons, fortifying elixirs, martial arts..."
Wen Qing clearly informed them about everything regarding Cheng Feng's golden finger, leaving it to them to decide how to proceed.
After reading it, the man's expression finally changed slightly. He looked in Wen Qing's direction with caution and asked, "Who are you? Why are you helping us?"
Wen Qing didn't reply, and the air fell silent for a moment. The man spoke again with a refined tone, "I apologize for my abruptness. If you don't wish to reveal yourself, then I won't press further. If the contents on this paper are true, we are grateful for your great kindness."
His words were refined and polite, almost making Wen Qing chuckle. She handed over another piece of paper that read, "Feel free to ask for anything you need. I can help with anything."
She emphasized this repeatedly to ensure that they wouldn't underestimate her and would be willing to seek her assistance, especially in dangerous situations.
Xiao Lin remained silent for a moment before saying, "Then, we would trouble you to help us capture Cheng Feng."
Though he framed it as a favor, it felt more like a test. Wen Qing understood they couldn't immediately trust her at this point, which she didn't mind. She turned and left to find Cheng Feng.
The room fell silent for a long time. No more pieces of paper appeared, and only then did Ling Qi ask in a hushed voice, "Boss, did he leave?"
Xiao Lin looked in the direction where Wen Qing had disappeared with a mysterious expression. "He left."
Only then did the others relax. "Boss, what did he write on the paper?"
Xiao Lin handed the white paper to him, letting him read it himself. Ling Qi quickly put on the white gloves and took it.
"The Prodigal System? I never expected such a thing to exist!" Ling Qi read through it quickly, surprised.
Xiao Lin nodded slightly. "It didn't mention the origin of the system."
"Perhaps he doesn't know. Who is this person? His abilities are quite impressive!"
"Regardless of who he is, the fact that he's on our side is a good thing."
"That's true."