He saw the man’s dagger suddenly flip, then slice a gash across his own arm. After that, he let out a low, unintelligible shout.

Bathed in the glow of a streetlamp, Fang Chenyi was completely baffled. ’What the hell? What’s going on here? Are these two trying to extort me? Or are they trying to frame me? But I don’t think I ever touched that knife, did I? They can’t possibly frame me without my fingerprints. Man, idiots really should read more books...’

Of course, that wasn’t what was actually happening. The man’s low shout roughly translated to: ’Hey, foreign kid! See that? When I get vicious, I’ll even off myself. If you know what’s good for you, just hand over the money!’

Seeing his accomplice’s move, the other homeless man couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, inwardly praising him as a ’real man’!

"You... want my bag?"

Fang Chenyi pointed to the satchel in his hand, asking the two idiots across from him with a puzzled look.

Seeing that Fang Chenyi was so perceptive, the two men quickly nodded and reached their hands out toward him.

But what they didn’t expect was that just as they reached out, the foreigner across from them pulled something out of his satchel. With a flick of his wrist in front of them, a large, woven bag appeared before their eyes.

Staring at the woven bag in the foreigner’s hands, the two buddies were dumbfounded. ’What’s going on??’

When their gazes shifted back to the satchel, they saw it was now empty. ’Could it be... he put all the money in that woven bag?’

’Yes, that’s right. It has to be.’

But by the time the two of them processed this, Fang Chenyi had already taken out a retractable trash grabber and was walking toward the trash can behind him.

[*Host has collected one imported plastic bottle. System reward: 1,500 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the host’s bank account. Please check your balance.*]

He casually picked up a plastic bottle, and a system notification immediately sounded in his mind. The reward amount made Fang Chenyi jump. ’Fifteen hundred yuan for one bottle! And wait, how is it considered ’imported’??’

But regardless, this was indeed fifteen times the reward he got back home!

As he thought about it, countless little stars flashed in Fang Chenyi’s eyes. It seemed that one day of picking up trash abroad was equivalent to half a month’s work back home!

Meanwhile, the two homeless men behind him were stunned when they saw the foreigner actually picking up trash. They looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

’We were going to rob this foreigner, but it turns out he’s in the same line of work. No wonder he was out here alone in the dead of night!’

Catching the two men’s awkwardness out of the corner of his eye, Fang Chenyi turned and walked back to them. He glanced at the foreigner whose arm was still bleeding, then, without a word, reached into his trouser pocket. After fumbling for a moment, he pulled out a thick wad of five and ten-yuan bills.

He peeled off a chunk of them, probably about a hundred yuan or so, and held it out to the man:

"Here. You seem pretty dedicated to your craft. Take this and go see a doctor. Oh, right, here’s some more. Get your head checked out while you’re at it. You really need to get that treated."

The two men stared in bewilderment as the foreigner across from them muttered something while pointing to his own head. Though they couldn’t understand a word, they certainly knew that what he was handing them was money!

They quickly snatched the wad of cash, stuffing it inside their clothes without a second glance. After tucking it away, they noticed the man was still holding another wad. They exchanged a look, their eyes widening. Pointing their daggers at the remaining money, they once again started shouting in that same unintelligible language.

Fang Chenyi’s brow furrowed slightly. ’Clearly, these two aren’t satisfied.’

He shook his head in resignation. Then, the arm holding the trash grabber shot out like a bolt of lightning. Before the two men could react, their daggers CLATTERED to the ground.

His arm shot out again, and Fang Chenyi snatched the two daggers off the ground, tossing them into his woven bag.

[*Host has collected one crappy rusty dagger. System reward: 500 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the host’s bank account. Please check your balance.*]

[*Host has collected one crappy rusty dagger. System reward: 500 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the host’s bank account. Please check your balance.*]

Clutching their now-empty hands, the two homeless men saw that their daggers had been confiscated. All their arrogance vanished. Letting out a strange cry, they turned and bolted!

Watching their retreating figures, the corner of Fang Chenyi’s mouth curled into a charming smile.

With no one to disturb him, Fang Chenyi resumed his grand undertaking of picking up trash.

He spent nearly three more hours at it, cleaning out almost all the trash cans near the hotel. While the cash rewards were substantial—a total of three million yuan—it was a shame that no special rewards had appeared.

By now, the sky was beginning to lighten, and traffic on the streets was gradually picking up.

Finding a deserted corner, he folded the woven bag and put it back in his satchel before strolling back to the hotel.

As he passed through the hotel lobby, Fang Chenyi smiled and nodded at the two attendants before taking the elevator straight to his floor.

He took out his key, opened the room door, and changed out of his clothes and shoes.

Even though his trash grabber was immune to all harmful bacteria, Fang Chenyi still washed his hands and face meticulously before quietly slipping back into bed.

A groggy Bai Menghan felt Fang Chenyi getting frisky behind her. Mumbling, she rolled over, draped a leg over him, and slurred, "Stop it~ I’m sleepy."

...

Early the next morning, having been... *busy* for two hours before finally falling asleep, Fang Chenyi was jolted awake by his ringing phone.

He irritably snatched up the phone and glanced at the caller ID. It was Demo Did. He answered and immediately snapped into the receiver:

"Do you have any common decency, you bastard?! Calling me this early! Spit it out! I need to get back to sleep!"

Hearing Fang Chenyi’s tone, Demo Did, on the other end of the line, shrugged.

"Oh, Boss, it’s like this. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve arrived in Paris. But I need to get over my jet lag first, so I won’t be able to hang out with you today. I’m going to sleep now..."

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and beat the hell out of the guy!

’Why the hell are you calling to report to me that you’re going to sleep?!’

[To be continued...]

PS: A mini-climax is coming soon, folks.