Li Qiang: ...
Li Cuicui: ...
Aunt Li: ...
Lin Shi's unexpected move left the three of them bewildered. It wasn't until Old Li's wails of pain brought them back to reality. "Ouch, my hand is broken!" Old Li trembled, clutching his hand, his face contorted in pain. Lin Shi's stomp was no light tap. What was supposed to be a fake injury had turned into a real one.
The other three were seething with anger, ready to lash out. Suddenly, Lin Shi said, "Why don't you take the old man to the hospital first? I'll cover the medical expenses later, how about that?"
This sudden concession caught them off guard, leaving them with a choking sensation. Aunt Li almost couldn't breathe. But since he had already agreed, if they continued to make a fuss, what if he changed his mind?
"You... You have to pay for the medical expenses, nutritional fees, and compensation for emotional distress! And also for lost wages!" Aunt Li panted, testing the waters.
Lin Shi nodded, surprisingly agreeable: "Alright. You go ahead. My house isn't going anywhere, and treatment is the priority."
Even though their goal seemed to be achieved, they felt an inexplicable sense of frustration. Old Li's wails continued. Li Qiang, not daring to delay, pointed at Lin Shi: "You, if you dare not pay, I will make you regret it!" After a few more threats, the three helped Old Li onto the tractor and drove down the hill.
Lin Shi watched the tractor leave. Of course, he had no intention of paying any medical expenses; he just wanted to get rid of them. Because it will become extremely difficult to climb the mountain in the days after a snowstorm.
Lin Shi walked towards a grove of trees. As soon as he stepped out of the shelter, he sensed someone watching him from the woods. Since his rebirth, Lin Shi had become particularly sensitive to being observed. He could detect a gaze from within fifty meters.
As Lin Shi entered the woods, his phone suddenly rang, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps rapidly fading away. He only caught a glimpse of a dark figure disappearing among the trees. Lin Shi took out his phone, the caller ID showed "Zhao Xiao." He answered irritably, "What is it?"
Lin Shi guessed that Zhao Xiao, having been ignored for two days, was getting restless. "Lin Shi, guess who I ran into here?" Zhao Xiao's voice was filled with mystery.
Lin Shi raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
Zhao Xiao's voice was excited, "The son of our city's richest man, Shen Jinbin!"
Lin Shi's grip on the phone tightened. "Shen Jinbin?!"
"Yeah, he even talked to me! He heard I was in Shashi and invited me to go diving tomorrow, and he wants you to come along too."
"Lin Shi, you actually know such a super-rich second-generation, and you've kept it hidden so well, that's not very nice of you," Zhao Xiao rambled on, but Lin Shi's mind was stuck on the phrase "Shen Jinbin in Shashi," and he couldn't hear anything else.
Shen Jinbin, one of the main culprits behind his death in his previous life. The enmity between Lin Shi and Shen Jinbin had roots that went deep. Lin Shi's father had once been an employee at Tianqi New Energy Company. On the day of the incident, the chairman of Tianqi New Energy, Shen Fanren, brought his son to inspect the factory. When they reached the power area overseen by Lin Shi's father, Shen Jinbin, the chairman's son, suddenly poured a drink onto the electrical equipment, causing a short circuit and explosion. Lin Shi's father died on the spot.
To settle the matter, Chairman Shen Fanren offered a large sum of hush money to everyone present and made them sign non-disclosure agreements. He then paid a hefty compensation for the death, closing the case. However, an employee close to Lin Shi's father secretly told him the truth. Lin Shi learned that his father's death was not due to a work error but was caused by someone else—Shen Jinbin.
Lin Shi had told his mother about it. He would never forget the look she gave him, a mix of conflict, hesitation, disgust, and pity. In the end, she said she would investigate and told Lin Shi to focus on his studies. From then on, the employee who had revealed the truth disappeared. A few months later, his mother remarried, and her new husband was none other than Shen Fanren, the chairman of Tianqi New Energy!
Lin Shi felt like he was caught in a massive conspiracy. To avoid danger, he never mentioned this to anyone in his previous life, only telling Zhao Xiao after the apocalypse. He tried to gather evidence in secret but found that the Shen family had covered everything up. The survivor shelter in Hai City in his previous life was also established by the Shen family. He found no chance for revenge, and the one opportunity he had before his death was interrupted.
Now, with Shen Jinbin in Shashi, he thought, "If I kill him now, there should be no one to save him, right?" His knuckles turned white from the force, and it wasn't until the phone screen cracked with a sharp snap that he came back to his senses.
"Lin Shi? Lin Shi? Are you coming or not, give me a clear answer!" Zhao Xiao was still urging on the other end. Zhao Xiao, unaware that Shen Jinbin was Lin Shi's father's killer, was still waiting for a response.
"I'll go, of course, I'll go." No matter why Shen Jinbin was in Shashi, he was determined to kill him. Lin Shi lowered his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips, sending chills down anyone's spine. Birds in the forest scattered, sensing the killing intent.
...
On the afternoon of June 3rd, the countdown in the upper right corner of the Treasure Basin read 21 hours. Lin Shi arrived at a private yacht dock. From a distance, he saw Zhao Xiao animatedly talking to a young man with white hair, whose back was turned. Lin Shi recognized the figure instantly—Shen Jinbin.
Concealing the murderous intent in his eyes, Lin Shi approached the two. "Lin Shi, what took you so long? Young Master Shen has been waiting for a while," Zhao Xiao scolded, standing beside Shen Jinbin. This stance suggested that Zhao Xiao had already switched his allegiance to Shen Jinbin, just as he had in both lives.
Lin Shi smiled coldly inside. "Traffic was bad, I'm late," he said, maintaining a calm facade.
Shen Jinbin turned around, revealing a pale face, a result of overindulgence. His white, cropped hair gave him a rebellious air. His eyes, as haughty as ever, scanned Lin Shi as if he were a cheap commodity. At this point, Shen Jinbin didn't yet have the brutal aura he would develop during the apocalypse. In his previous life, Shen Jinbin often killed people for the slightest displeasure and treated women as his personal property, acting like the emperor of Hai City.
Shen Jinbin waved his hand, "It's fine, as long as you're here. Let's go, get on the boat."