Chen Ming noticed that Chief Constable Zong's form of address toward him had changed. He vaguely recalled that during his participation in producing a TV drama set in the late Qing and early Republican era, there was a bit of common knowledge: in thelate ancient China, males of similar age who were on good terms addressed each other as "brother."

  Catching the hint, he smiled and clasped his hands in return. "Brother Zong."

  The place wasn't far from the County Government Office; they arrived in a short while. It was a three-story building. With Chief Constable Zong stepping in, the agent naturally received him with great hospitality and explained the building's history.

  It turned out that this had once been the site of the County School. Later, the school was relocated, leaving behind the lecture hall and dormitories, which were gradually reclaimed by the County Government Office. The government office had rented out the lecture hall, converting it into various shops. As for the dormitories, they had been converted into apartments for rent.

  These apartments were originally for students, so they weren't large, but their advantages were convenient transportation, elegant environment, and complete facilities. Each apartment came with a balcony, a washroom, and a bedroom, furnished with a bed, wardrobe, desk, and chairs—only a kitchen was missing. However, the nearby former lecture hall had been transformed into shops, with eateries lining the streets; whatever you wanted to eat, you could find. Additionally, the rent wasn't expensive, only three yuan per month.

  Chen Ming was very satisfied. He chose an apartment on the second floor, signed the contract, and paid the deposit. The agent also sold bedding and other daily necessities on the side. Chen Ming, too lazy to go shopping elsewhere, bought them directly from the agent, spending another several yuan. Since the apartment had already been cleaned long ago, it was essentially ready for him to move in with just his luggage.

  Seeing Chen Ming yawning repeatedly, Chief Constable Zong said, "Brother Chen, I won't disturb you any longer. Get some rest first; we'll catch up when you have time."

  Chen Ming said gratefully, "Thank you for your help, Brother Zong."

  He closed the door, hastily spread the bedding the agent had given him on the bed, and collapsed onto it. Within moments, he was fast asleep.

  While Chen Ming slept, a conspiracy targeting him was drawing near.

  "Sir, this subordinate's plan to push that Chen fellow into a corner and probe his background has been set in motion. That scoundrel took the bait indeed, tricked by this subordinate into becoming a Night rover. If he dies, then all problems are solved. If he doesn't, then there's definitely something fishy. And sure enough, this subordinate senses that this man is absolutely not simple."

  "Excellent. So what are your plans next?"

  "This subordinate has lured him to live near my own residence, making surveillance convenient. If there's any unusual movement, we can act at any time. Once his true nature is exposed, we'll eliminate him immediately to prevent future trouble."

  "Good. Keep a close watch. Don't ruin the grand plan."

  "This subordinate has one more matter."

  "What is it?"

  "This subordinate has followed you for many years, Sir, and handled numerous tasks. I wonder when I might become a cultivator like you?"

  "Hmm? You think it's that easy? With your meager contributions, you think you deserve to become a cultivator? Back in my day, I risked life and death before I earned our patron's favor and obtained this opportunity. However, if you perform your duties diligently, considering your hard work, I might give you a chance someday."

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  "Thank you, Sir! This subordinate will spare no effort and live up to your expectations!"

  Chen Ming didn't wake until afternoon. Rising from bed, he was momentarily disoriented before realizing that, finally, the damn Great One had stopped tormenting him. At last, things were stable.

  Chen Ming washed up briefly and headed to a nearby snack shop to fill his stomach. Having eaten noodles every day, he was tired of them. This time, he changed his appetite and ordered stir-fried rice cakes, a dish from his hometown. Mingzhou rice cakes were famous worldwide; paired with green vegetables and shredded pork, the flavor was rich, almost transporting him back to the days before his transmigration.

  After eating his fill, Chen Ming finally had time to attempt something every transmigrator does upon arriving in another world—social investigation. He planned to read newspapers, books, and other materials to systematically understand this world's history, geography, customs, and so on.

  Additionally, he had another thought: he wanted to make something of himself. Unfortunately, this world had already developed to a level similar to the early 20th century in his own world. World-shattering inventions like glass or soap were probably out of the question. Besides that, the simplest method was, of course, plagiarism! Martial arts novels, fantasy novels—he could copy as many as he wanted. He might not get fabulously rich, but at least he could scrape by.

  He decided to first scout the situation, figure out what kind of books people here preferred, and then plagiarize accordingly.

  With his mind made up, Chen Ming went looking for a bookstore. After wandering around, he found no bookstores nearby. Then he remembered that this area originally belonged to the County School, which had a public library still open to the public. He decided to go there to read instead.

  Entering the library was very simple: just sign your name in the register to prove you were literate.

  Inside, Chen Ming saw it wasn't large—about the size of two classrooms. On one side were over twenty bookshelves holding several thousand books. On the other side were desks and chairs for people to sit and read. At this time, there weren't many people—only five or six, who looked like students, reading.

  Chen Ming searched the shelves for book categories: "Commerce," "Grammar," "Popular Fiction"... He headed straight for the "Popular Fiction" shelves. The moment he looked, he nearly choked on his own blood.

  There, neatly arranged on the top shelf of "Popular Fiction," were martial arts and fantasy novels: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, IVANHOE, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, THE LOST WORLD, DRACULA, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, all classics of adventure and fantasy.

  On the lower shelves, there were even works targeting a female audience, such as GONE WITH THE WIND and JANE EYRE.

  Even stranger, all these books were credited to "Plagiarist of Library."

  Chen Ming stood dumbfounded for a long moment, cursing inwardly: This malicious predecessor transmigrator didn't even leave a path for those who came after!

  His plagiarism plan had "failed before it could even begin." Dejected, Chen Ming left the "Popular Fiction" shelves. From the "History" shelves, he randomly pulled out a copy of A CONCISE GENERAL HISTORY. Finding a seat by the window, he sat down, opened it, and began to read.

  The history of this world was utterly bizarre. Before the Tianqi Empire era, it was no different from the history Chen Ming had read. Internally, the Ming Empire was plagued by rebellious rioters; externally, eastern barbarians caused chaos—the typical signs of a dynasty in decline.

  As the saying goes, when a kingdom is about to perish, portents appear. In the sixth year of Tianqi, a great explosion suddenly occurred in the capital, historically known as the "Tianqi Incident." The gate to a world of chaos burst open.

  All kinds of demons and monsters descended upon the human world from unknown places. Wherever they went, living creatures suffered, blood flowed like rivers. The Tianqi Emperor and his successor, the Chongzhen Emperor, struggled on for over a decade but were powerless to turn the tide. Seeing the situation was hopeless, the Chongzhen Emperor ultimately hanged himself on Coal Hill, and the Great Ming fell.

  Because the Great Ming would later be revived, to distinguish between the two, this period of history is called the Former Ming.

  Thereafter, the realm descended into a three-way struggle. Remnants of the imperial court sought to restore the Great Ming, rebel forces carved out territories and declared independence, and the eastern barbarians watched with covetous eyes.

  As the power of demons and monsters expanded rapidly, they formed a vast Demon Court, ruled by a demon king with heaven-defying strength, who led armies in an all-out offensive against humanity.

  The three human factions, once irreconcilable enemies, were forced to unite against the Demon Court. Yet, due to the disparity in strength, they suffered defeat after defeat. Numerous cities fell, commoners were massacred and became food for the demons, and humanity teetered on the brink of extinction.

  At this critical moment, the Tiandao Originator appeared, rising abruptly. She was a sage sent by heaven. With incomparably powerful cultivation, she suppressed the realm, single-handedly held off the demon king, and repelled the Demon Court's armies, barely maintaining humanity's precarious situation. From then on, humanity and the demons and monsters entered a stalemate.