“Hey, wake up. Hey, A’Luo,[1] time to eat.” In his groggy state, Chen Luo felt someone calling him.

When he finally managed to rouse himself, he saw a girl standing against the light, looking down at him. Stretching lazily and shaking off the last remnants of exhaustion, Chen Luo realized it was Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience.

“Oh, it’s you, Fu Hua. Morning.” Chen Luo greeted her half-heartedly.

“Good morning, though it’s night now, 1:00 in the morning.” The Herrscher of Sentience patted Chen Luo’s head, and a strange sensation surged through his body, instantly snapping him awake.

“Strange, I’m wide awake now.” Chen Luo blinked, his previously foggy mind now crystal clear.

“Of course! I’m the Herrscher of Sentience—I can do anything. But seriously, what were you up to? Your mental energy’s all drained.” She eyed him curiously.

“Well… I was practicing with this.” Chen Luo casually tossed his Vision to her.

“What’s this?” She examined the glowing Anemo vision, puzzled.

“Think of it as a special organ. With it, you can control an element—mine’s Anemo, so I can manipulate wind.” With a flick of his left hand, the Vision floated back into his grasp as if pulled by an invisible force.

“Whoa, that’s amazing!” the Herrscher gasped.

“Not as amazing as you, oh mighty Herrscher.” Chen Luo rolled his eyes.

“True.” She nodded smugly.

“But seriously, where’d you get this thing? Did you just… find it?” She leaned in, intrigued.

“Uh… it’s complicated. Can I explain tomorrow? I really need sleep.” Chen Luo pointed upstairs.

Though his mental fatigue had been relieved by her powers, sleep was still a biological necessity.

“Sleeping upstairs, huh… A’Luo, were you waiting here just for me to come home?” Her eyes gleamed as she pressed closer, her face close to his.

“Nope. Just fell asleep while playing with my phone.” He turned his head away slightly.

“Heh. Sure, whatever you say.” She crossed her arms, grinning down at him, and chuckled.

As the Herrscher of Sentience, no one can deceive her.

“Enough about me—what about you? Weren’t you out ‘robbing the rich to feed the poor’? How much startup capital did you score?” Chen Luo shot back, unable to endure her teasing.

“I did succeed in enacting justice! That’s why I brought back… takeout.” She gestured to the fragrant spread of food on the coffee table.

“Smells great, and I’m starving.” Chen Luo dug in without hesitation, grabbing a skewer.

Training with the Vision had drained him both mentally and physically. Besides, there was no way she could finish all this alone.

“So… where’s the rest of the money?” he asked between bites.

“Gone.” She took a skewer and shrugged.

“Gone?! You were out enacting justice for hours and all you got was food?” Chen Luo stared at her in disbelief.

The feast could feed three or four people, but it was only about four or five hundred yuan at most. Was this her idea of “robbing the rich to help the poor”?

“D-Don’t look at me like that! How was I supposed to know no one in this world carries cash anymore? Everyone uses phones to pay! And I don’t have one! So how can I robbing the rich to help the poor?” She huffed, cheeks puffing up indignantly.

“Oh, right. Almost forgot. Here, this phone is for you.” Chen Luo smacked his forehead, then pulled out a phone—the delinquent’s—and handed it to her.

“A phone? Yours?” She blinked.

“A trophy from my own ‘justice.’ I was gonna ditch it, but it’s decent, and I figured you could use one. Deleted all the shady stuff, though—kept the evidence on mine.”

“Your ‘justice’… You mean the guy buried in the backyard?” She remembered the guy buried there.

“You saw that?”

“Obviously. His muffled screams were quiet, but not to a cultivator like me. So, what’s his deal?”

“Not a good guy—bullies kids. I stopped him once, and he held a grudge. Today, I caught him messing with my bike, so I knocked him out with a brick. Then tonight, he tried sneaking into our place. So I buried him.” Chen Luo explained

“Swift justice. I like your style, A’Luo.” She gave an approving nod.

“Problem is, phone passcodes lock everything. You’ll need to get his password before you can set up fingerprints. Until then, this thing’s useless.”

“Easy. Wait here.” She snapped her fingers and dashed out.

“So impatient.” Chen Luo sighed and kept eating.

Moments later, she returned—phone unlocked.

For the Herrscher of Sentience, reading memories and manipulating minds was child’s play.

“Oh, Fu Hua, your room’s ready—right next to mine. And don’t stay up too late on your phone. Also, don’t overeat. It’s bad for you.” Chen Luo glanced at the clock, his tone similar to a father warming his troublesome daughter.

“I know, I know.”

“Good, then I’ll go back to my room and sleep first” He stuffed most of the leftovers into his inventory—where time stood still, keeping them fresh for later.

“Oh, and if you have time, look up Honkai Impact 3rd on your phone.” With that final remark, he trudged upstairs.

Sleep. It’s past 1 AM. Any later, and I’ll drop dead.

…Wait, tomorrow’s Saturday. No need to wake up early.

TL Notes:

[1]: calling someone “A” before their name is a affectionate way of calling someone