Chapter 75
“Comrade Jiang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope I didn’t disturb your meal. My surname is Tao. If you don’t mind, you may call me Grandpa Tao.”
The leader sent from headquarters didn’t put on the airs of a high-ranking official at all. Talking to him felt like a warm spring breeze—one could genuinely feel respected.
This entire leadership team had that kind of style—cultured, composed, seemingly without aggression, yet always able to achieve their goals.
Jiang Jitang had already put away most of his pastries and sweet soup. He followed the lead naturally: “Hello, Grandpa Tao, please sit.”
A man of such age still traveling so far… it must be tiring.
It also showed how much importance they placed on him, an “external aid.”
“You came because of the ‘external aid,’ right? Honestly, I’m not that useful. The games are random and uncontrollable, and I can’t make contact with players before a game ends.”
“Don’t belittle yourself. Your mere existence there is the greatest contribution.” Mr. Tao immediately comforted him. As long as the external aid lived, he was a symbol shown to all players—an irreplaceable spiritual support.
Because external aid meant hope in desperate situations—meant survival.
Everyone knew the gods were intangible, yet people still prayed. Wasn’t it for spiritual comfort? Players were the same—they lit incense normally and prayed that when misfortune struck, they’d draw the lucky prize.
Correspondingly, the external aid’s situation was extremely dangerous. Once exposed, assassins would flood into C-Nation endlessly.
But not exposing himself was impossible. As a healer—an exceptionally powerful one—Jiang Jitang had to engage with players. And as external aid, he also had to engage with players.
One day, someone would recognize him.
Mr. Tao only hoped that day would come later, so they had time to prepare.
Jiang Jitang wiped his hands with a wet wipe. As long as I stay alive? No other requirements?
The government’s attitude looked fine so far, but he didn’t know what they truly thought. With that in mind, he wanted to probe a bit. He smiled and said:
“Don’t we feel like the Monkey King and Taibai Jinxing right now?”
Mr. Tao, long past forty and seasoned by decades in politics, immediately understood. The young comrade was worried that he’d be neglected and waste his golden years.
“Heaven’s court was too petty—we mustn’t be like them.” Mr. Tao reassured him with a steady voice. “If you want to stay here and live as you always have, then we’ll keep everything as before. Don’t worry—the most important thing is keeping a cheerful mind.”
“Wouldn’t that make your security work more difficult?” Jiang Jitang asked.
He would be free—able to go anywhere—but it meant much more work for the protection team.
“This is nothing. We’re on our own turf, we’re not committing crimes, and if someone still manages to hurt you, that would make our government incompetent.” Mr. Tao answered firmly.
That sounded great.
Since the old man put it like that, Jiang Jitang decided not to hold back.
Jiang Jitang began sharing—how he became an “external aid” drifting on the edge of the Cubic World, and what types of games he participated in.
But he said nothing about the system or his past life.
Mr. Tao also believed that the existence of external aid might be related to the use of the “Life and Death Register,” but the problem was that the copy was closed, and the only three registers—one used on Jiang Jitang, one used inside the copy, and one used outside on a player—were no longer usable.
So even for experimental purposes, replicating the phenomenon was impossible.
“The Cubic World wouldn’t allow such loopholes. There must be other factors involved. External aid is too accidental—hard to reproduce.” Mr. Tao thought privately. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or regretful.
If it could be replicated, ordinary people might be forced into becoming external aids.
But if it couldn’t, players lost a major safeguard.
Jiang Jitang had thought of all these too, though he pretended otherwise.
“Grandpa Tao, the external-aid games aren’t the same as regular Cubic games. The rewards are different. After completing a game, I get a lottery ticket which grants items.
“Usually nothing great, but sometimes big surprises—like the two special buildings currently under my ownership.”
“Oh? Tell me more.” Mr. Tao didn’t know about this; Jiang Xingzhou hadn’t reported it.
Jiang Xingzhou: What’s wrong with protecting my own people? If there’s a BGM generator, why wouldn’t there be an upgradeable building? What’s so report-worthy about this?
“It’s a type of special building that can upgrade.
“One is called the Dream-Fulfilling Food House. Anything I make becomes imbued with special effects and can be replicated through recipes. This building is already grounded—located in the university town.
“The other is a special structure called the Shrine. It can dispel evil energies and grant buffs. I haven’t used it yet. You may manage it for me.”
Mr. Tao stayed quiet—Jiang Jitang clearly wasn’t done speaking.
“It’s not for free though. My contribution must be recorded.”
“That’s it?” Mr. Tao was genuinely surprised—not by the existence of a bug-tier building, but by Jiang Jitang’s request for “credit.”
Recording a contributor’s achievements—wasn’t that natural?
Jiang Jitang merely smiled and didn’t answer.
These weren’t the real landmines. The biggest one hadn’t exploded yet—his healing ability worked on all life, not just players, barring natural aging.
But he could never reveal that. If he did and someone got gravely injured, and he didn’t arrive in time… their death would be pinned on him.
Medical disputes? More like the world lynching him.
Just imagining it made his scalp explode.
And once people pinned all hope on him, no one would bother advancing medical technology. They’d expect ready-made miracles. If he died—what then? Would humanity give up?
So Jiang Jitang fervently hoped this ability would never be exposed.
But “never” was the most fragile word. What if one day, he met someone he had to save—even if exposure was the price? A crucial scientist, for example.
For such a possibility, he laid groundwork now. If he were exposed someday, the government would have to protect him because of his great merits.
He refused to entertain the idea of them “failing to protect him.” With his temperament, the more other people pushed, the more he rebelled. If someone attacked him, he’d take one down and expect their entire clan to accompany.
He knew himself too well.
But saying that out loud would terrify people, so he didn’t.
“Child, you…” Mr. Tao felt four words rise in his heart—a pure and honest heart.
“There are reasons for this,” Jiang Jitang said half-truthfully. “Grandpa Tao, I’m a healer, but there are people I don’t want to heal. If one day someone tries to use status, morality, or anything else to force me to go against my will, I hope you’ll stand by me. After all, I’m a meritorious contributor.”
“As long as I, Tao Fengxian, am still in this position, I will never allow such a thing to happen.” Mr. Tao extended his hand. “Rest assured, Comrade Jiang.”
Thus the meeting ended. Aside from giving away a “mini shrine” he didn’t really want, peacefully “exposing” his external-aid identity, having his personal file classified as top-secret, and receiving the latest wristband-style smart device, Jiang Jitang didn’t feel anything had changed.
Well… maybe he had gained the status of a level-one protected national treasure. If he got into a fight and lay on the ground, the opponent would start at seven years jail minimum.
Meanwhile, the government had plenty to do.
Guo Jie had to be made a cautionary example; everyone involved in the Dongying Society was brought in for questioning. Guo Jie already had cases on him—now he had to be permanently silenced. Thankfully, the outside world didn’t know everything; otherwise, even more cleanup would be needed.
They also had to keep the external-aid identity protected with decoys, while preparing for the possibility of exposure.
For Jiang Jitang, they opened a private information database, opened game-item warehouses, and raised his priority level. Even S-class items had to be prioritized for him if he needed them.
Mr. Tao submitted a report requesting that the “Immortal Grass,” a ninth-level Cube World item and currently the highest protected item, be gifted to Jiang Jitang.
If Jiang Jitang hadn’t said he couldn’t form teams, the entire special-operations division of elite young men and women would have been assigned to follow him—in and out of games.
Since he couldn’t team up, they had to strengthen him instead.
The top headquarters expert group began drafting training plans based on his physical condition and recorded learning performance—comprehensively upgrading both body and mind.
“His learning ability is very strong, especially memory and operational skills. Slightly aloof, but excellent social skills and high EQ. How did someone with this talent not enter a top university? Oh—he took the college entrance exam in second year of high school. Not enough academic accumulation? What a pity.”
“Physically, he’s a bit weaker—especially balance and endurance. Lung capacity is average. PE scores barely passed. But he’s been getting stronger recently—maybe due to items?”
“He has great shooting talent, perfect vision. I think he should specialize in long-range—maximize strengths, avoid weaknesses.”
“Impossible to avoid. Boss fights require close combat. But since he’s a healer, that increases survival.”
“He has wide interests and curiosity about everything. In college, when he was cyberbullied by a celebrity’s fans and lacked the ability to fight back, he chose avoidance. Later, he spent six months gathering evidence against that celebrity’s agency for tax evasion. Good resilience and psychological stability.”
“Balance study and rest. His daily activity level is already high. Add two hours of study per day.”
“I say two and a half hours is fine.”
—
Far away in Jin City, Jiang Jitang had no idea about his impending “post-graduation tutoring classes.” He was on a call with his mother.
“Mom, I’m working in a government department now. The position is a bit special. I can’t say much, but… there might be people trying to pull strings to approach you.”
He didn’t mention the games—ordinary people couldn’t participate, and knowing would only cause worry. But he feared someone might approach his mother because of him—even if not life-threatening, emotional manipulation was unacceptable.
So he gave advance warning.
“I understand. Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to fool. Ah, I didn’t expect my baby to land a lifelong stable government job. Your grandmother always wished someone in the family would ‘eat from the state.’”
“But remember—we’ve suffered from corrupt officials before. You must stay honest and upright, understand?”
“I know. But some people still like to take crooked paths.”
Jiang Sujin understood—pride in her tone, mixed with worry.
“Baby, is your work dangerous?”
“No danger. Just… special value.”
She didn’t ask what kind of “special,” and he didn’t elaborate.
“I see. Perfect—these months, I want to focus on studying too. The last few orders earned enough. I need to settle myself. Besides, this place isn’t like C-Nation—it’s chaotic. Yesterday I planned to go to the mall but had a bad feeling, so I stayed home. Turned out there was a shooting. Dozens dead and injured.”
She sighed. “It’s strange. This isn’t even a country with legal gun ownership. How did they get them? X-Country really needs better security measures.”
“If you’re not used to it, just come back.”
“Mm, after I finish my work here, I’ll come back.”
“Hey, don’t jinx it. Come back when you want to.”
Seeing how anxious Jiang Jitang looked, she humored him—raising three fingers and making a serious promise to retract her previous words. She would return whenever she wished, without conditions.
Only then was Jiang Jitang satisfied. He set his phone down and examined the new smart wristband. Then he asked the system:
“Is the last task ready for settlement?”
A bubble popped up: [Training gear for Punch Frog has been ordered. Task complete. Rewards: 20 points, 3 wishing stars, and 163 gifts.]
“All from the Magical Beasts?” He still remembered those tearful eyes when he left—so beautiful…
Ahem. So sad.
With such brief encounters, how could he be worth their attachment? Magical Beasts were too sincere.
“How are they now? Doing well?”
“After half a month of training, Punch-Punch Frog passed the preliminaries. It overcame its battle-stage phobia, fought braver with each round, used its learned boxing techniques skillfully, and defeated its final opponent to win third place.
“In its life journey, it accumulated enough ‘courage’ and evolved into Sky-Holding Frog. It also formed a new heart-link with Maitian.”
“In the future timeline, Punch-Punch Frog becomes the region’s most iconic fighting Magical Beast. It will even defeat its former owner.
“One of the wishing stars comes from Punch Frog, along with a bronze fighting medal. It wants to share this honor with you.”
Jiang Jitang held the medal—bronze, with a phantom-beast silhouette. Holding it felt like holding the courage that carried Punch Frog to victory.
“He completed his comeback.”
“The other wishing stars and gifts come from Maitian and others you helped.”
“And Maitian too?”
“When he reached out to Punch Frog, it completed its own comeback. With his faint ability to communicate with Magical Beasts, he opened a ‘Problem-Solving Shop’ with a stray handler.
“But no one knows why—none of the ‘small problems’ they take on are truly small. Magical Beasts from the slums have helped them through many strange cases.”
Jiang Jitang recalled that crying little guy. Had he been “carried” by his Magical Beast? He looked at Golden Eye.
“When will you carry me someday?”
Golden Eye: confused stare.
“What about the slum Magical Beasts?”
“They’ve recovered their health. Some went out to train; others stayed. But none returned to their old lifestyle. They now earn money through their own abilities.”
“Good.” Jiang Jitang said with genuine joy. They had jobs now and no longer lived near filth, eating mosquito larvae.
The rest of the wishing stars and gifts fell into his hands—miscellaneous trinkets of all kinds.
“Candy wrapped in laser foil—hmm, that little chubby bee? It loves sweets. Seashell—probably from Blue Otter? Ooh, rose quartz! Keeping it. Amber claw—plucked-eagle’s? Bells? Is it Woof-Woof’s or someone else’s…”
Jiang Jitang placed each treasure on a display shelf and covered them with a dust-proof case.
“There seem to be many stray cats and dogs near here.” Jiang Jitang stroked his chin. “Those without survival ability—I’ll get them a sterilization package and send them to the nearby animal shelter. Consider it a gift for their brothers and sisters in another world.”
The bubble: “…”
