Chase Game

It was already 10 p.m. when we returned to Zhuncheng County.

Ling Yi sat on one horse and led another empty horse.

After running for several hours, the horse was naturally tired. Zhang Qiang was in a hurry and couldn't wait, so he transformed into his beast form and went ahead.

Upon entering the outer city, Ling Yi still saw refugees from Dongshan Village gathered there.

When these people saw someone riding a tall horse, they were filled with a mixture of fear and anticipation, and they cautiously gathered around.

"Sir, please have mercy and give us some money. We haven't eaten anything for days..."

"Sir, please consider this an act of kindness; we will pray for you every day!"

"Yes, sir, we adults can go hungry for a few days, please have pity on the children..."

Ling Yi didn't actually have any money. He originally wanted to harden his heart, pretend he didn't see it, and leave as soon as possible.

But upon hearing the word "child," he subconsciously glanced down.

It was a pale and thin woman with a four or five-year-old boy who was also pale and thin.

In a flash, the image of the boy who had been cruelly persecuted last night flashed through Ling Yi's mind, and she sighed inwardly.

He untied the cloth bag from the horse's back, and the crowd's eyes gleamed with anticipation as they watched him.

However, when Ling Yi took out a few pieces of dry rations from the cloth bag, a hint of disappointment flashed in some people's eyes.

Ling Yi could also see clearly that these people probably assumed he was either a rich young master or a wealthy merchant because he had two horses with him, and naturally expected him to throw money around.

However, only he knew that both horses were brought out by Zhang Qiang, and the cloth bag contained nothing but a few flatbreads as dry food.

So be it, they're disappointed anyway. They're definitely not getting any money, and the cakes weren't even meant for them.

He took out a dry, basin-sized pancake and handed it to her. The little boy in the woman's arms couldn't wait to snatch it and stuff it into his mouth. He couldn't stop him.

The woman repeatedly expressed her gratitude and apologies.

Ling waved his hand, not thinking it was a big deal.

After all, when people are starving, they don't care about etiquette, especially when it's such a young child.

As the saying goes, good deeds are rewarded. Ling Yi gave out the dry rations out of good intentions and did not expect any reward.

But the reward came!

[Received goodwill from the public, good karma +1]

[Received malicious thoughts from the public, negative karma +1]

[Received from the public...]

"Wow, this can increase karma?"

Ling Yi thought to himself.

The source of the good intentions is easy to understand; it should be the woman from earlier.

As for the source of the evil thoughts, it's easy to guess.

There must be some envious people who see others have it but they don't, and then they blame Ling Yi for not giving them more.

In response, Ling Yi said, "That's exactly how it should be!"

Love me!

Hate me!

May my karma grow rapidly!

Next, Ling Yi carefully observed the eyes of the refugees around him. For those who sincerely begged, he would give them a piece of bread and thus receive a bit of kindness, while at the same time receiving a bit of malice from the red-eyed monster.

Adhering to the principle of avoiding extravagance and waste, he also tore the cakes into small pieces for distribution.

But if the object is smaller than the palm of your hand, many people, even if they are sincerely begging, will not have any compassion for him.

"greedy!"

After Ling finished distributing the last piece of cake and saw no increase in goodwill, he couldn't help but curse.

Now that the cake has been distributed, his good karma has increased from 5 to 15, and his bad karma has increased from 4 to 10.

"It's a pity, one person can only accumulate a little karma, but..."

Ling Yi looked around and saw that there were at least 170 or 180 refugees gathered here.

Most importantly, there is no limit to the growth of this karma!

"I don't know if it's because S-rank dungeons are difficult, but it suits me just fine."

In Ling Yi's eyes, these cold and indifferent refugees had transformed into warm and comforting karmic forces.

Unfortunately, his financial straits made him beat his chest in frustration, and he even considered killing the horse on the spot and treating these people to a whole horse feast.

After thinking about it, he gave up on the idea.

It wasn't that he felt sorry for the horse's life, but rather that he was thinking, if everyone is well-fed and good deeds increase rapidly, what will happen to bad deeds?

After much thought, he came up with a more reliable solution, but it required some funding.

Where does the money come from?

Anyway, Ling Yi didn't have a single penny, but then again, money comes from whoever has it.

and so--

"Meng Dong, I'm here to give you gold coins!"

Riding his horse through the crowd, Ling Yi couldn't wait to head towards the Meng residence.

Upon returning to the gate of the Meng residence, Meng Dong and Zhang Qiang were already waiting there.

"Having connections is great; at least I don't have to use a VPN to get in this time."

Ling Yi said jokingly.

Meng Dong made way for him, gestured for him to enter, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

A figure flashed past behind the door.

Ling Yi turned her head to take a closer look and found that it was Zhou Jie.

"It seems he's acting as a scout for Wang Yun."

Zhang Qiang followed Ling Yi's gaze and turned around, only to see Zhou Jie's departing figure.

He scoffed dismissively, "Heh, you're quick on your feet."

Meng Dong saw it too, but he didn't care much. After welcoming Ling Yi in, he led her to the reception hall.

There was a large round table in the reception hall, with three seats set up, and servants were constantly serving dishes.

"You must be hungry after traveling such a long way. Please sit down, let's eat and chat."

Goodness, why does this sound like something out of a bureaucracy?

Ling Yi muttered to himself, but the saying "invite someone to dinner before asking them to do something" does have some truth to it.

He hadn't eaten anything decent for a day and a night, so seeing the table full of exquisite food, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

However, there is one more important thing to prepare before we eat.

"Brother Meng Dong, can you do me a favor?"

Meng Dong was a little puzzled, wondering what Ling Yi wanted him to do for her, and didn't immediately agree.

"Tell me first. I'll definitely help with anything I can."

"Actually, it's just a small matter for you. Just have the kitchen cook two big pots of porridge and make a hundred flatbreads."

"that's all?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Meng Dong was stunned for a moment. He thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be just this.

"No problem, no problem, but I still want to ask what you're going to do with these. Of course, if you don't want to say, that's fine too."

Zhang Qiang had already taken his seat, broke off a large chicken leg and was gnawing on it, while also looking at Ling Yi with curiosity.

As Ling Yi ladled soup into her bowl, she laughed and said, "Of course it's for disaster relief!"

Zhang Qiang suddenly realized and exclaimed, "You mean the refugees from Dongshan Village?"

"Yes, it's them."

Meng Dong only knew that Dongshan Village had suffered a disaster, but he did not personally witness the group of homeless refugees in the outer city.

However, listening to Ling and Zhang's conversation, he could guess the general idea.

"So, you mean to distribute the thin porridge and flatbread to the refugees in the outer city?"

"I see. I have no objection. If I had known beforehand, I would have arranged for relief as well."

"Although they are just NPCs in the game, since I have the ability, I'll lend a hand."

Listening to Meng Dong's words, Ling Yi recalled his bold statement: "Slay demons and monsters, protect our home and country!"

Meng Dong is indeed a rare idealist and action-oriented person, but this time, Ling Yi is going to shamelessly "steal" the credit.

He said to Meng Dong, "No, I hope this disaster relief will be carried out in my name."

Ling Yi's idea was to first conduct a disaster relief effort in his name, thus reaping a wave of goodwill.

Then spread rumors that they were just taking credit for others' work, so that they could reap another wave of evil intentions!

As for why porridge and flatbread were used for disaster relief, it was because we didn't want too many people to give us their good intentions at the beginning, so that when the second wave of evil intentions was harvested, there wouldn't be many left.

The consequence of this is that good deeds overflow, while bad deeds are still far from being done.

Hey!

Being too kind isn't a good thing after all!