Chapter Eighteen: There Was Once a Thief in the House

Knock, knock.

The door sounded. Jiang Taichu opened it, letting in Yang Xuan, whose face was tinged with oddity.

“Supervisor Yang, have you finished the investigation?” Jiang Taichu asked impatiently.

“It’s done. All the compensation funds have been distributed, including to your family—no issues at all.” Yang Xuan’s expression was complicated. “Are you certain neither you nor your brother received the money?”

“I’m sure.” Jiang Taichu spoke gravely. “I may not be wealthy, but I would never stoop to cheating for compensation.”

“Then do you have an uncle, Jiang Yaoxing?” Yang Xuan asked.

“Him?” Jiang Taichu was startled. “What did he do?”

“According to what I found out, after the gold extraction team’s accident, Jiang Yaoxing came to the company immediately. Where were you at that time?” Yang Xuan pressed.

Jiang Taichu remembered: his former self had just graduated and planned to pursue a future elsewhere, but upon hearing of his parents’ deaths, he returned home. His younger brother, Jiang Taixuan, was still at school, only learning of their parents’ sacrifice days later when the company notified them.

His face darkened. “I should have dealt with that old bastard myself!”

“After arriving at the company, he signed the compensation contract as your father’s brother, claiming he was your guardian after your parents died,” Yang Xuan explained.

“Nonsense! I need him to be my guardian?” Jiang Taichu’s heart exploded with fury.

That was compensation for his parents’ sacrifice. With that money, his brother could gain strength and have a better future at university, and he himself could improve, eventually investigating the place where his parents met their end.

“Calm down,” Yang Xuan tried to soothe him. “There’s a way out. I’ve already applied to have the payment account switched to yours. Starting next month, the funds will be deposited directly.”

Jiang Taichu was burning with rage—how could he calm down? “Let me go back. I’ll confront him properly.”

“Don’t ruin your life for that scum,” Yang Xuan held him fast. “Have you considered how he managed to arrive at the company so quickly?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Taichu’s gaze locked onto him. “Is there more to this?”

“When the accident happened, word hadn’t spread. We hadn’t even notified the families, but he was already there,” Yang Xuan said in a low voice.

Jiang Taichu’s heart grew cold. “Someone notified him?”

“He acted as if he knew in advance,” Yang Xuan continued to calm him. “Even if you killed him, it’d be useless. You’d destroy yourself and drag your brother down with you. If you broke the law, your brother would suffer.”

Jiang Taichu gradually calmed. On Blue Star, the law tied a person’s transgressions to their family.

Jiang Taixuan was very gifted, always scoring full marks in calculations, and was destined to become a mech engineer, to enter the research institute.

If he acted rashly and killed Jiang Yaoxing, his brother would be implicated.

Yang Xuan went on, “If you want to deal with him, lure him to the planetary graveyard. That’s a place outside the reach of the Heavenly Law.”

Planetary graveyard!

Over the years, as Blue Star developed through countless wars, some stars depleted their energy, others were riddled with killing formations.

Those places, haunted by remnants of ancient battlefields, were often the sites of hidden treasures.

Some swindlers even buried valuables there, charging people for the chance to hunt for them.

Certain factions traded illicit pills and artifacts there, beyond the light of the Heavenly Law, which did not cover planets without value.

Even if someone died inside, the Heavenly Law would not know, and the blame could be placed on the residual killing formations.

“I understand,” Jiang Taichu pondered.

The best way to trick someone like Jiang Yaoxing was by baiting him with profit.

“And the one who notified Jiang Yaoxing must be someone from Earth Company, probably with higher status than mine,” Yang Xuan said solemnly.

Jiang Taichu’s face grew grim as Yang Xuan continued, “For now, endure. Did your parents offend anyone?”

“My parents were always kind, never made enemies,” Jiang Taichu shook his head.

Could it be because of that recording?

Did Jiang Yaoxing enter their home?

He hadn’t returned at the time, nor had his brother; if someone entered, they would have been unaware.

But if his guess was correct, how did Jiang Yaoxing get inside without the password?

The door’s password was only changed after he returned.

“Think carefully. Stay calm, don’t do anything foolish,” Yang Xuan admonished him again.

“I know. I need some time alone,” Jiang Taichu said quietly.

Yang Xuan sighed and left.

In his mind, Tang Yu’s voice sounded: “Taichu, Taixuan and his friend are looking for you again.”

“I’m coming.”

Jiang Taichu connected with the Heavenly Law and entered the war game.

Within the virtual game space, four figures stood together. One, dressed in white with skin fair as snow and an icy expression, spoke coldly: “You’re finally here. Dare you fight?”

Jiang Taichu ignored him and turned to Jiang Taixuan. “Taixuan, let me ask you: after our parents’ accident, when did you return home?”

“Big brother, you forgot—you came back first,” Jiang Taixuan replied.

“Did you notice anything strange at home?” Jiang Taichu pressed.

“Strange? My study notes were moved, some missing. I thought you’d taken them,” Jiang Taixuan’s face turned sour. “If it wasn’t you, who else could it be?”

“I see,” Jiang Taichu said, then exited the game.

He had returned home first. While Jiang Taixuan was still at school, he wouldn’t know about the home’s arrangements. Even when Jiang Taichu came back, he wouldn’t touch his brother’s study notes.

With this in mind, Jiang Taichu contacted Yang Xuan through the Earth formation spirit: “Supervisor Yang, grant me a few days’ leave. I want to visit my brother and check the neighborhood surveillance.”

“Alright, but don’t forget my matter,” Yang Xuan reminded him.

The main reason Yang Xuan helped Jiang Taichu so much was because Jiang Taichu could help him in return.

“I won’t forget.”

After speaking, Jiang Taichu decided to take Tang Yu and the other along. They weren’t working anyway—might as well go home.

Yang Xuan agreed and approved their leave.

The three left Earth Star No. 10. Zhang Jing asked, “What’s going on? Why are we suddenly heading home?”

“Just remembered something at home that needs attention,” Jiang Taichu replied, removing his mech suit and heading for the elevator.

“Why worry? Paid leave is great,” Tang Yu muttered.

After leaving the company, they took the bus home.

Upon arriving at the community, Jiang Taichu didn’t go home, but instead headed to the property’s surveillance office to review footage.

Any resident could access surveillance in this world, where property management was run by fully automated mech monitors—not like those landlords of his previous life.

Inside the surveillance room, a middle-aged woman stood up. “Which apartment’s footage do you want to see?”

“Four and a half months ago, plus two or three days before that,” Jiang Taichu said.

“That’s already uploaded to the company database. I’ll contact the manager for you,” she offered.

She used her spirit-powered wristwatch to get in touch, and soon received a string of passwords.

Logging into the company website through the spirit network, she entered the password to access the backend. “Here it is—take a look.”

Jiang Taichu nodded. “There are many videos. Can you transfer only the footage in front of my door to my wristwatch?”

“Sure,” she replied. “8-805, right?”

She quickly located the surveillance from in front of Jiang Taichu’s door and uploaded all footage from four months ago to his wristwatch.

Jiang Taichu thanked her and took the wristwatch home.

He connected to his home’s spirit network, allowing him to play all the videos at once, making the search easier.

Soon, in one clip, he spotted Jiang Yaoxing. He watched as Jiang Yaoxing swiftly entered the password and opened the door.

“How did he get the password?”