Little Ford said to the system, "I'll be relying on you from now on. Please take care of me."

System: "......"

Although it was a bit touching, the system inexplicably felt that something was off about these words. It was similar in nature to a "last meal"—giving someone a good meal before executing them.

Very soon, the system realized something was wrong: "This isn't the way to Brian Young's house."

Little Ford replied as if it were obvious, "Of course we're not going home. Otherwise, why would I hypnotize him?"

System: "......"

Little Ford glanced at the car's navigation system, confirmed the destination, and then said, "...I want to go somewhere."

Chapter 3: The Genius Cannon Fodder's Counterattack (Part 3)

Forty minutes later, Little Ford arrived at his destination.

As soon as he got out of the car and saw the four big characters "Beimang Cemetery," and took in the dark, windy night around him, the system nearly blacked out.

It asked warily, "What are you planning to do?"

Little Ford pulled the handbrake, turned off the engine, looked at the sleeping Brian Young in the rearview mirror, and gave a sinister grin: "Hehehe."

System: "......"

Little Ford asked, "Excuse me, how much favorability does it cost to exchange for a razor blade?"

The system replied expressionlessly, "Calling the police is free."

Little Ford: "If you don't have a blade, a piece of wire will do."

System: "...?"

Little Ford looked at the cemetery gate. "Forget it, I don't need it after all."

Little Ford didn't do anything to Brian Young.

He got out of the car and stood facing the cemetery for a while in the bleak, cold wind, seemingly deep in thought.

Of course, this wasn't the famous burial ground known as "Born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, buried in Beimang," just a place with a fancy name selling a fake product. A huge rusty copper lock hung on the iron gate, wild grass grew everywhere, and the large copper character "Mang" had half fallen off, leaving only a lonely right ear.

Little Ford took off his down jacket and placed it on the hood, then stepped back a few paces facing the gate to leave enough room to accelerate, and charged straight at the iron gate.

He seemed quite practiced at climbing gates. When he was three steps away, he jumped, landing his foot precisely on a rusty iron flower carved between the bars, grabbed the copper "Bei" character with his right hand for support, then brought up his other foot to step on the top crossbar, and with a nimble leap, got himself over to the other side.

After landing, Little Ford rotated his ankle.

System: "Are you okay?"

Little Ford frowned, "A bit numb."

The system said nothing, but silently connected to his neurons and smoothed out the numbness in his tendons, instantly relieving the sensation.

Little Ford let out a little "huh," stomped his foot, and thought, That was a quick recovery.

He didn't dwell on it, and after regaining his composure, walked into the tall wild grass, which was as high as the tombstones.

The system asked, "What are you here for?"

It was afraid Little Ford would say, I'm here to scout the place.

Luckily, Little Ford's answer was fairly normal: "To find someone."

The system grew curious, "Who?"

Little Ford didn't answer, but stepped on a patch of wild grass growing out of the cracks between bricks.

The winter grass was dry and brittle, crunching loudly underfoot.

He used his phone as a flashlight, ignored the densely packed tombstones arranged like a honeycomb, and walked straight toward his target.

Soon, he stopped.

The phone's glow fell on a cheap stone tombstone, with the name Wang Jianguo engraved on it. Born in 1949, died in 1989, aged 40.

Little Ford brushed away the weeds and dust clinging to the tombstone, stood in silent tribute for a moment, then turned and left the way he came.

The system tentatively asked, "Who was he to you?"

Little Ford replied, "I don't know him."

System: "......"

Little Ford added, "Good thing I don't."

System: "??"

To make it easier to climb the gate, Little Ford had taken off his down jacket. A black, fitted sweater outlined the lean, attractive lines of his waist and abdomen.

With both hands in his pockets for warmth, he spoke, white breath slowly drifting from his mouth: "...You said that, to make it easier to carry out the mission, the world line of the first world would be very close to the one I originally lived in."

...The system seemed to understand something.

It remembered seeing in the new host's profile that Little Ford's birthplace had the same name as this city.

Little Ford continued, "...Both are called Beimang Cemetery, and the layout is exactly the same. What a coincidence."

...But the person buried here wasn't the one he was looking for.

Little Ford took a cigarette from his pocket, pulled out a lighter, and analyzed, "In this world line, Brother Lowe might still be alive."

The system didn't know who "he" was, but considerately didn't ask, "Are you going to look for him?"

The system was a bit worried that Little Ford might get caught up in his personal affairs and neglect the main mission.

After all, only during the newbie tutorial does the main system provide a world line similar to the host's original world for practice.

After the tutorial, all sorts of strange world lines could appear. If you wanted to find someone, this was your only chance.

"No," Little Ford was still clear-headed and replied, "He's living his life just fine, and he doesn't even know me. Why would I go looking for him?"