Chapter Forty-Three: The Human Trafficker

Shen Ye was completely unaware of Wen Xiuting’s ordeal at this moment.

He had opened his shop to make money, yes, but he refused to do so at the expense of enjoying life. So, with the arrival of the May Day holiday, he granted himself a day off.

Now, driving his recently purchased Ford, he had returned home.

“Brother, you bought a car? When will you take me out for a spin?” Shen Xiaoyun was also off today—after all, it was the May Day holiday.

“Sure, anytime you want,” Shen Ye replied.

“Oh, never mind, there’s nowhere interesting to go. N County is only so big—I’m already bored of it. But in the summer, you have to drive me to Yang City for a trip.” Although N County was under the administration of Yang City, it was still dozens of kilometers away. People seldom went all the way to Yang City for shopping unless they had a reason.

“No problem,” Shen Ye nodded.

“Right now, you should focus on your high school studies and not think about fun,” Lin Mei said as she brought out the dishes.

The food at home, of course, was not as exquisite as that served at the Seaside Retreat. Yet Shen Ye still preferred his mother’s cooking; it possessed a special, unique flavor.

The family of three ate together, chatting idly as they dined.

Their conversation soon turned to the topic of raising children.

“It’s tough to raise a child these days. Not only is formula expensive, but kindergarten fees are high, too. And there are so many child traffickers about. You know Zhu Zimao from the next alley?”

“He’s two years older than me. I used to play with him when we were kids. I think he’s working at a repair shop now—what happened?” Shen Ye asked.

“His son, just two years old, was abducted by traffickers yesterday and has disappeared. Their entire family has gone out searching for him. I heard that even today, there’s still no sign. Those traffickers are truly despicable, stealing children like that.” Lin Mei sighed. “I really don’t understand how those people’s hearts work—darker than anything in this world.”

“The main problem is that the country’s laws are too lenient. If you ask me, every trafficker should be executed. And those who buy children too. That would put an end to this vile trade,” Shen Jiaoping, Shen Ye’s father, said as he ate.

“Yes, the laws are far too soft,” Lin Mei agreed, nodding. “Zhu’s wife has nearly cried herself blind these last two days. Shen Ye, when you’re out these days, be careful. And if you by any chance see Zhu Zimao’s son, make sure you save him immediately, do you understand?”

“Understood, Mother.” Shen Ye nodded repeatedly.

“Child traffickers, huh?” Shen Ye’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

The first time, he had killed those guilty within the pyramid scheme; the second time, he’d eliminated Ma Guosheng’s gang; the third, Lu Youwei; the fourth, Lü Daqi. Each incident was sparked by harm to himself, his family, or friends—crimes that struck close to home.

But what does it mean to be a true hero?

To act when injustice is seen, to uphold righteousness.

He realized that his responsibility did not stop with his own family or friends, but extended—to the whole world.

If something evil crossed his path, he would see it through.

Child traffickers deserved nothing but death.

They must be eradicated.

…

N County, boasting the beautiful Silver Beach, was considered something of a tourist destination. During the seven-day May Day holiday, the crowds were immense.

Shen Ye’s method for finding traffickers was simple and unadorned.

He would activate the Eye of Justice and sweep his gaze about.

Having used the Eye of Justice for so long, he understood its workings well enough. Activating it for two hours cost a single point of stamina. The average adult man possessed just one point; women, generally, had none. Most pretty young women out on the streets had stamina ratings of just 0.4 or 0.5; the more delicate ones had only 0.2 or 0.3.

Shen Ye’s own stamina was four—four times the average man’s. The cost to use the Eye of Justice was barely noticeable to him.

“Zeng Zhuo, university student, Justice Value: zero.”

“Liu Mingxin, university student, Justice Value: 0.1.”

“Zhang Tiecheng, police officer, has devoted his life to finding missing infants, Justice Value: fifteen.”

This was the first time Shen Ye had seen anyone with a Justice Value as high as fifteen. He sized up the policeman: a plain-looking man, weathered by the elements, deep wrinkles etched on his face. His eyes scanned the crowd. Zhang Tiecheng had been investigating the recent infant abductions, intent on tracking down the traffickers. He had picked up some leads, but the bustling holiday crowds made tailing suspects nearly impossible.

“Guozi, a henchman of Xiong Xinxing. Has killed two people and injured many more. Evil Value: sixteen.” This Guozi stood about 1.8 meters tall, wearing sunglasses and exuding an air of menace. Shen Ye, pressed for time to prevent the traffickers from selling children and making them harder to recover, decided to postpone dealing with this high-Evil-Value criminal. The account was noted for later.

“Zhang Minsheng, street vendor, always short-changes customers. Evil Value: 0.2.”

“Qin Sheng, teacher, wholeheartedly educates generation after generation of students. Justice Value: six.”

“Zhang Mingsheng, official, governs his small jurisdiction with dedication. Justice Value: three.”

“Li Erzhuo, official, a corrupt bureaucrat. Evil Value: three.” As Shen Ye scanned the information on these two officials, he couldn’t help but sigh: for every honest and diligent public servant, there was another corrupt and incompetent one.

Just then, Shen Ye caught sight of a thin, shifty-looking man. His eyes darted restlessly, fixated on the children around the crowd. It seemed that if the jostling grew intense enough, he’d make his move. Shen Ye swept him with the Eye of Justice and saw the words projected above his head: “Li Tietou, child trafficker, has sold multiple children. Evil Value: fifteen.”

Shen Ye fell into deep thought. The Eye of Justice had its own logic for assessing justice and evil. In the past, he’d noticed that only murderers saw their Evil Value skyrocket. Petty cheats, corrupt officials, or the like rarely scored above three, no matter how many misdeeds they committed.

But now, scanning Li Tietou, he saw that although the man had never killed, his Evil Value had soared to fifteen simply for trafficking children. Clearly, in the logic of the Eye of Justice, child trafficking was a grave sin, its Evil Value rising rapidly with each offense.

Which suited Shen Ye perfectly.

For traffickers, he felt not a shred of mercy.

With that in mind: kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

But Shen Ye did not strike immediately. Instead, he decided to shadow Li Tietou a while longer.

Cast a long line to catch the biggest fish.

(The next chapter will be updated around midnight.)