Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector
Chapter 18 - 16: Opening the Warehouse at Midnight

Chapter 18: Chapter 16: Opening the Warehouse at Midnight

A bone-chilling cold doused him, shocking the accountant into sitting bolt upright.

He gasped for breath, his eyes dazed, thinking he was having a nightmare.

But then, he saw the dark figure standing before him.

It was a masked man, standing there in silence, as unnerving as a Ghost.

Only then did the accountant, Old Li, realize he wasn’t dreaming, and the terror nearly made him pass out again.

Just then, a hoarse, emotionless voice rang out, "Go. Wake everyone up."

Old Li shuddered. Not daring to utter a single word of protest, he scrambled toward a corner of the courtyard and began shakily shoving the shop hands who had been knocked unconscious.

Soon, a dozen or so shop hands began to stir. They rubbed their aching necks and looked around in a daze.

"What’s going on?"

"Who the fuck ambushed me?"

But when their eyes fell upon the warehouse entrance and they saw Wang Shun’s corpse—his eyes staring blankly in death—all their curses died in their throats.

’Shopkeeper Wang... is actually dead?’

There were over a dozen of them patrolling the courtyard, yet they had been taken down one by one without seeing so much as a shadow, without time to even let out a single scream.

And when they woke up, Wang Shun was already a corpse.

’Is this something a human could do?’

’It must be a demon come to reap our souls!’

As this thought took hold, a chill ran through the shop hands. They trembled like leaves in the wind, not daring to risk a single glance at Chen Ye.

Just then, Chen Ye spoke again, his voice still the same hoarse rasp.

"Open the doors. Time for business."

Upon hearing this, the men exchanged bewildered glances. Old Li was completely baffled.

He had assumed the masked man was here to rob them. He had even decided that the moment the intruder demanded it, he would reveal the location of the hidden silver without hesitation, all to save his own life.

’But he wasn’t after their money, nor did he seem intent on killing them. He just wanted them to open the shop for business?’

’The problem was, it was the middle of the night. Who were they supposed to sell to?’

"Hm?" Chen Ye grunted, a cold edge to his voice.

Old Li flinched in terror. Daring not to hesitate a moment longer, he hurriedly called a few shop hands over. Trembling, they ran to remove the door planks and throw open the rice shop’s main doors.

Immediately after, Chen Ye issued his second command.

"Move the rice from the storeroom out front."

The shop hands didn’t dare to refuse. They could only brace themselves and start hauling the heavy sacks of rice from the storeroom to the shop entrance, stacking them in neat piles.

When they had finished, Old Li and the shop hands all stared at Chen Ye in confusion, waiting for his next command.

Chen Ye paid them no mind. He simply pointed to the nearest shop hand and ordered, "Go out into the street and shout that Fuman Cang is distributing grain to aid the refugees. One portion per person, first come, first served. No charge."

As soon as the words were out, everyone thought they must have misheard.

’Distributing grain? For free?’

’Is this man insane? He went to all this trouble, killed Wang Shun, and seized control of the entire rice shop, just to give the Lin Family’s grain away to that rabble for free?’

In times like these, grain was worth more than gold. A single measure of rice could sometimes be traded for a young, unwed woman.

While they all stood there in a daze, Chen Ye spoke again, his voice flat.

"Do as I said. If you can distribute all of this grain within two hours, you might just survive. But if anyone dares to shirk their duties, or tries to slip away and raise the alarm..."

Chen Ye gave a cold sneer, leaving the consequences unspoken. Nevertheless, everyone present shuddered, because Wang Shun’s corpse was still lying in the courtyard.

After finishing his instructions, Chen Ye stepped back and instantly melted into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.

At the sight of this, the shop hands’ eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

’A living person was right there a moment ago, and now he’s just... gone? Right under our noses?’

And with that, the last flicker of hope in their hearts was extinguished.

"What are you all standing there for? You want to die?" Old Li was the first to react.

"Get a move on! Do exactly as that man said."

They knew they’d be in for it once the Lin Family found out, but that was a problem for later. If they didn’t do this now, they would die for real.

Soon, a few of the shop hands were hustled out onto the street.

They walked onto the street and looked at the Refugees huddled in corners like living corpses, a complex mix of feelings churning inside them.

"Ahem... Fuman Cang is distributing grain! It’s free! Come and get rice!" one of the shop hands finally worked up the courage to yell.

His voice echoed down the empty street, but it drew no reaction.

The Refugees merely lifted their heads numbly for a moment before dropping them again, their eyes hollow and vacant.

’Liars.’

Fuman Cang always had the highest prices, and their staff were as vicious as thugs. There was no way they would suddenly start giving away grain. It had to be a trick.

The shop hands had no choice but to swallow their frustration and keep shouting.

Once, twice, three times....

Finally, a boy, so starved he was nothing but skin and bones, staggered up from a corner and began shuffling toward the rice shop. Maybe he was desperate enough to try anything, or maybe he was simply too hungry to care.

All eyes were fixed on him.

The boy reached the shop’s entrance, and sure enough, a shop hand scooped a large ladle of gleaming white rice into the boy’s sack.

The boy froze. He stared at the rice in his sack in disbelief before dropping to his knees and frantically shoving the raw grains into his mouth.

It was real!

They were really giving away grain!

In an instant, the entire street erupted.

"Quick, Fuman Cang is really giving away rice!"

"It’s free! It’s really free!"

The news spread as if it had wings, flying through all of South City with incredible speed.

Countless Refugees, who had been hiding in the shadows waiting hopelessly for death, suddenly saw a beacon of hope. They flocked from all directions like a crazed tide.

Soon, a massive line formed in front of Fuman Cang. The queue stretched from one end of the street to the other, a dense, dark sea of people.

With tears in their eyes, the people who received rice began kowtowing to the shop hands and the accountant inside.

"Thank you, great benefactors! Thank you, you living saints!"

"We will repay your immense kindness by serving you as horses and oxen in our next lives!"

The accountant, Old Li, looked at the scene before him and heard the chorus of heartfelt gratitude, but inside, he was terrified.

He certainly didn’t want to take the "credit" for this upon himself.

So he quickly shouted, "Everyone, don’t thank us! The one who truly saved you is a masked hero who wishes to remain anonymous! It was him! He forced us to distribute the grain and help you!"

His words sent another wave of shock through the crowd.

’A hero?’

’In this day and age, there was actually a hero who sought neither fame nor fortune, only the well-being of the people?’

At once, countless people, their eyes welling with tears, began to kowtow toward the empty air in gratitude.

Meanwhile, Chen Ye stood on the roof of a small building not far away, silently watching the scene. He only turned to leave after confirming that all the grain had been given away.

「That night, the name of the masked hero spread throughout the Capital City.」

And the Lin Family was enraged!