CDJMM – Volume 2 – Chapter 11 The State Slaps and Teaches the Scum a Lesson (11)

Le Jing had already pieced together the main plot of the period novel Reborn into the Simple Life of the ’80s and ’90s from what viewers in the livestream room had been saying.

The main plot was not complicated at all — summed up in one sentence: forty-year-old Song Caiying is reborn as her fifteen-year-old self, and by using her foreknowledge of the future she makes up for past regrets, studies hard, hooks up with Li Yian (a wealthy catch), buys houses and land, invests in stocks, leads her whole family to prosperity.

As one viewer in the livestream with the ID “African Salted Fish” put it, “It’s basically the story of Song Caiying using her knowledge of the future to be a fortune-bringing wife.”

Yes — the author gave Song Caiying the huge golden trump card of rebirth precisely so she could become an unbeatable presence beside the male lead, so that by virtue of being a fortune-bringing wife she could marry into a wealthy family and achieve class mobility.

From Le Jing’s analysis of the novel, in a sense this work was actually a spiritual opium for lower-class women: it satisfied their secret hope of obtaining something for nothing, namely by demonstrating value in front of the male lead through an invisible, untouchable “fortune-bringing” quality and thus marrying into the upper class.

This phenomenon didn’t only exist in female-oriented novels; the male market had plenty of similar setups too — rich girls throwing themselves at poor guys is hardly rare. The famous “Heavenly Match” is basically a tale that satisfies the fantasies of lowly losers: a celestial beauty throws herself at a herdsman.

You could argue this is a human tendency shared by both sexes.

But Le Jing was destined not to understand that way of thinking.

During the Republican era he had seen many women.

They fought desperately, gritted their teeth and persevered, bled and cried — all to win the chance to control their own destiny.

Yet Song Caiying, who could easily have taken control of her own fate, instead pinned her future on the male lead. Even though she had the golden trump card of rebirth, in the end she used that trump card to sew a wedding dress for the male lead. To Le Jing, this was like picking up sesame seeds and throwing away a watermelon — utterly not worth it.

Even if Song Caiying didn’t, like Le Jing, throw herself at the state and use her foresight for things that benefit the nation and its people, she could have made her fortune through investing in real estate and the internet. As one tycoon of the future said, “If you stand in the right wind, even a pig can fly.” Besides, Song Caiying wasn’t a pig — the fact she later manages to get into university shows she wasn’t lacking intelligence.

It could only be blamed on the original author’s narrow scope, which produced a heroine of similarly limited vision.

According to the livestream viewers, Song Caiying was so frantic she didn’t even bother with avoiding suspicion — she rushed to find Li Yian to beg him for help.

【Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests: I remember something like Song Caiying’s brother was framed and arrested by the police, and might face prison. Song Caiying knew the male lead was the son of a high-ranking official from the capital, so she recklessly sought him out.】

【Paeony About to Leave: So even rebirth is useless — some things that are meant to happen will still happen.】

【Shadow of a Thousand Instruments: Who cares about the male and female leads! I only care when the state is going to arrest the streamer (shaking voice)】

【MandalaFlower: Ahhhhh this program in this world is so annoying! The streamer is so excellent! Why can’t she score better than the male lead, grr!】

【cookien: I keep wondering — if the streamer uses tech from the system store to push current technological development and directly changes the course of world history, would the program that controls this little world collapse?】

【call me Anthony: ??? holy shit】

【Catnip: You saying that… gives me chills.】

【Palace of Peril 33: Gives me chills +1!!!】

Le Jing closed the book in his hand with deliberate calm and smiled as the livestream filled with comments about creeping terror. I was wondering when you’d all notice this, he thought. Yes — that’s my intention. He openly admitted, “The country growing strong and technology taking off are just side effects that happen to serve this main purpose.”

Now the system couldn’t stay quiet: 【System: Host, do you know this is maliciously attacking the program? It could cause our company huge economic losses!】

Le Jing smiled and asked back, “I believe the economic benefit my livestream brings can fully make up for any losses caused by a program crash?”

The system was left speechless.

Thinking it over, it did seem possible.

Besides, from another angle, for a host to be able — by their own efforts — to accelerate the course of world history and cause the program that governs the world to crash, thereby freeing this small world from the program’s control and allowing it to develop independently and sustain itself — from the system’s short ten-year perspective of running things, this would be utterly unprecedented.

In the entertainment-obsessed Twenty-Sixth Century, the four words “one-of-a-kind” themselves represented enormous amounts of money and business opportunities. The host’s livestream was seeing a surge in viewers and countless tips — proof enough of the value wrapped up in those four words.

The system immediately urged enthusiastically: 【Host, don’t send letters to the State! Hurry up and proactively find the State and throw yourself into joyful scientific research — that’s the only way to destroy the program settings that control this world sooner.】

“Don’t worry. Even if I don’t go find the State, the State will find me sooner or later. I have a lot of confidence in the State machine’s reach.” The boy clasped his hands under his chin; an inexplicable light flickered in his eyes and he gave a sly smile. “I’ve been holding it in for so long — this time, let me have some proper fun.”

【Call me Guo’er: …Why do I suddenly feel like the streamer’s kinda villainous?】

A flurry of “+1” messages floated across the screen.

【Jianlancao: I was gonna say this before — I’ve always felt the streamer is a bit scary…】

【Little Seven Who Likes Diving: I study psychology. Actually, I’ve always thought the streamer is pretty cold and ruthless. Most of his emotions — smiles, helplessness, anger — are performances. And yet just now, his excitement was the real deal.】

【Rong Yi·Ruo Feng: Wait, wait?? Are we even watching the same streamer? I think he’s totally normal. Isn’t this just the classic “one face, different inside” smiling-tiger trope?】

Le Jing ignored the chat’s debate about his personality. Right now there were far more interesting things to do.

He decided to send a second letter to the State.

…

…

The Fox Hunt task force received the second letter from “Canned Food.”

【I waited for you for a week — you’re really slow. Fine then, I’ll give you another clue: I live near the capital. If you still can’t find me after three weeks, this game of hide-and-seek is officially over.

One more friendly piece of information for you: on January 17, 1991, the United States, under the pretext of helping Kuwait restore its sovereignty, attacked Iraq — known as the Gulf War. In that war the U.S. military first deployed large amounts of high-tech weapons in actual combat, demonstrating overwhelming air superiority and electromagnetic dominance. On February 27 of the same year they achieved victory with decisive advantage. That war showed clearly how modern armies use high technology in warfare and offered many insights into military strategy, operational tactics, and force development.

So how exactly do you use high tech to fight a war? Well, first you need to find me.】

In the task force members’ minds the image of Canned Food’s arrogant, strutting smugness rose up in unison; many of them felt a visceral urge to rough him up.

Finally, team leader Luan Hang laughed and shook his head. “What a mischievous little fellow.” He stood, slowly scanned the room of team members, and said calmly, “He’s given us clues this clear — if we can’t find him now, we really can’t justify it to anyone.”

Cang Bohai smiled helplessly too. “We really must find him quickly and get him protected. This kid knows too much. If he stays out there another day, I won’t be able to sleep.”

Ge Yi was puzzled. “What does he want out of this? With the value he’s shown, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the whole country would protect him. If he obediently served the State, the State could satisfy any of his requests. If he’s sent us this letter, that means he’s patriotic. So why does he keep delighting in this hide-and-seek?”

Zhu Liang pushed up his glasses and answered pointedly: “For the thrill. People with high intelligence and tons of energy always like to stir things up and flirt with disaster.”

“Enough talk. Time’s tight — split up. Ge Yi, Guan Zhou, you cover Jin Province. Cang Bohai, Kong Dubo, Zhu Liang, you take Ji Province…”

…

…

The system asked Le Jing anxiously: 【Host, what if the State can’t find you after three weeks? Will you go back into hiding? Then what happens to our livestream ratings?】

“If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.” Le Jing answered calmly. “I’m just bored and looking for fun. It’s even better if they find me. If they can’t, I’ll turn myself in.”

System: …

Livestream viewers: …

【Mo Xiao Li: …So, streamer, you stirred up such a huge fuss just for fun?】

Le Jing smiled and replied: “Don’t you think it’s exhilarating?”

【San Lue er: I used to naively worry that if the State caught the streamer they’d lock him down and slice him up for research… I was really worried that’d be the plot.】

【Yu Wo Chang Mian: Stop overthinking. Don’t worry — the State isn’t that stupid. If they did that, it’d be a huge loss. The streamer is the only person in the world who knows the future and possesses advanced tech from beyond — with him, the country’s politics, economy, and technology could leap forward decades. They’d be sneaking with joy to have him, not dissecting him.】

【jojo: Right. Besides, they’d be careful to pamper him — they’d be terrified he might get angry and feed them false information that would cost the country enormous losses.】

【Nian Fei Guo Hai: Exactly. That’s why I think the female lead, Song Caiying, was dumb. If she’d directly sought out the State like the streamer, the State would’ve pulled her brother out long ago — she wouldn’t have had to cling to that idiot Li Yian so painfully.】

Le Jing didn’t know whether Song Caiying would regret it after learning this, but it was her own fault for not properly using the gift Fate handed her; she had no one to blame.

Three weeks — that was the deadline Le Jing set for the State departments. It was also the time remaining until the next final exam.

It was the deadline he set for himself.

If within these three weeks he couldn’t break free from the plot’s constraints by his own power, then after the final exam he would rely on the State’s power to embrace a brand-new life.