108: Chapter 108 The sea is wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.

Silence is sometimes having nothing to say, and sometimes it is a silence that speaks louder than words.

After a long while, Chen Zhi gave a silent smile. "The sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly."

Lin Ning did not pick up the thread of conversation.

"You don't need to worry about the message Li Xianmin sent out. He only mentioned a name and didn't include your specific details. There are many people in the world named Lin Ning, and what's more," Chen Zhi said with a look of disdain, "this is China!"

After the initial shock and anger passed, Lin Ning also felt it was alright. For one, his own strength was increasing, and for another, this was China. Therefore, the greatest threat to him had never been those bastards, but rather...

Lin Ning cut off his own thoughts and said, "What about Jason Wu? They're on the same line; it's time to close the net, isn't it? Besides, he knows my name is 'Lin Ning.' If he gets out after a year or two, he'll still be a hidden danger."

Chen Zhi: "People have already been sent to arrest him."

"Our policy is to handle cases according to the law. But..." As he spoke, a cold light flashed in his narrowed eyes, and he sighed, "Sometimes accidents are everywhere; it's truly regrettable."

The moment Chen Zhi spoke, Lin Ning noticed a hint of dark red emerge within the gold above his head. After swimming around for a bit, it dispersed and vanished without a trace.

However, that gold seemed to have a subtle color difference compared to before.

??? Lin Ning suddenly had a moment of realization. The Golden Finger was not a person; it didn't have preferences or inclinations. It simply followed established rules.

Hiss— He thought of Director Li's golden-red color. How many "rule-breaking" things has this old man done?

But if it's this kind of "red"...

Lin Ning was delighted. He's so bad, and he likes it so much~~~

Seeing Lin Ning's sly and happy smile, Chen Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt that some things still needed to be said—not to mend a rift, but as a necessary explanation.

He began, "You already have two sets of files. Your confidential file level has been—has been raised to the highest level. Only a handful of people can access it."

Then, raising his voice, "We've added an entry to your public file."

Saying this, he gave Lin Ning a meaningful look. "'May 20XX, DNA verification successful in Beijing, family reunion achieved.' This is a red-labeled entry."

This was the greatest compensation.

Lin Ning was a bit dazed. Who did he reunite with? Whose family? What happened?

"What does that mean?"

Chen Zhi tilted his head. "A red label represents the family of an important leader."

Lin Ning vaguely grasped the meaning. They fabricated a background for him? Whose family? Did they swap his parents? Just kidding.

This was an identity marker. Anyone within the system would understand it upon seeing his file. With Lin Ning's talent for "causing trouble," he wouldn't end up defeated by petty local thugs.

Lin Ning grew more excited the more he thought about it. With this identity, many of his actions and sources of money would have an added layer of protection.

Furthermore, he knew the situation in other regions. If he didn't want to turn a blind eye, it was best not to wander around. Now with this, he no longer had to be stuck in Beijing; he could go and explore the great mountains and rivers of the motherland.

After Lin Ning figured it out, he broke into a wide grin. "Can I walk sideways from now on?"

"Are you a crab?" Chen Zhi rolled his eyes. "It's just a form of protection to cover up some of your peculiarities and give petty people some pause. But if you commit a crime, you'll still be handled according to the law."

Chen Zhi looked at Lin Ning and said solemnly, "We will arrange all necessary protective measures. We won't let a hero bleed..."

"Stop right there!" Lin Ning quickly interrupted him. "Stop! Don't insult the word 'hero'!"

Lin Ning said seriously, "I'm just a craftsman mingling in the streets, making a living off reward money from reporting. I can neither treat money like dirt nor face death unflinchingly. At most, I'm just an ordinary person with a conscience!"

Lin Ning would never admit to being a hero, had never wanted to be one, and certainly couldn't act like one.

He was greedy, lustful, and loved to play. He had no moral character, and didn't even have integrity. Just two days ago, he was still brooding over not finding the right website. What kind of hero is like that?

Even if he had now given up on the second floor of the foot massage parlor for the sake of a bright future—giving up on No. 88, No. 98, Xiao Hong, Xiao Lan, and Wang Gang—ptui! Cross out that last one.

He was just a small fry lucky enough to live a second life. With a bit of skill, he only wanted to be a carefree person in this era of peace and enjoy life with style.

This was the best of times. The upper echelons were not yet corrupt, and the common people still had passion. How fortunate was that?

Heroes emerge in troubled times, but a peaceful era is a graveyard for heroes.

The current China didn't need heroes.

Chen Zhi wanted to say more, but Lin Ning changed the subject.

"What's the situation with those online 'Five Hundred Thousands'?"

Seeing that Lin Ning wanted to move on, Chen Zhi cooperated.

He replied, "They're all Chinese people taking money from foreign organizations to do their bidding."

As he spoke, he clicked his tongue, looking somewhat disgusted and annoyed. "They're all small fries, but their influence and destructiveness are significant. Some are handed over to the public security, where their illegal acts are given the maximum sentence. We'll handle the other part, the main culprits."

Lin Ning was most disgusted by this group. Even more than those who fought face-to-face with real blades and guns, these people were more nauseating and caused no small amount of harm.

No country dared to use direct military force against China now, but the invisible war had never stopped.

When Western 'bibles' like 'Yilin' lost their market, they switched to a mode of systematically belittling and attacking the country's system and culture.

Who doesn't have some frustrations in life? How could a society not have flaws? Once these were magnified and played up by them, social contradictions and hostility naturally rose higher and higher.

It was that whole strategy of disintegrating from within.

They used it very skillfully in the Middle East or Africa.

Chen Zhi naturally knew how destructive this stuff was.

But they had started late in this area, missed many opportunities for correction, and couldn't just gag everyone.

If they gagged everyone, the long-term harm would be even greater because, in the end, they might be blocking the channels for the lower classes to speak out.

Lin Ning felt uncomfortable and grumbled, "You guys should use your brains. Are you just going to let them keep being so destructive and disgusting?"

Chen Zhi rolled his eyes. "How can you say we haven't? We're debunking rumors and educating people on the backgrounds and motives of these individuals."

He said with a sigh, "Unfortunately, the results have been minimal."

Lin Ning felt the same way. "Conspiracy theories and scandals have a bigger market!"

After a pause, Lin Ning asked, "Back in the fifties and sixties, people lived hard lives. Why didn't people feel as much pain or have such sharp social contradictions then?"

Chen Zhi: "That's because life was even harder before, and later everyone suffered equally. But the country wanted to escape poverty and backwardness; it needed to develop. And the development process inevitably..."

Lin Ning waved his hand to interrupt him. "Don't talk politics, and don't give me a social science lecture. I don't understand it."

"You also said everyone suffered equally back then. The gap between the lives of officials and workers was about the same, so social contradictions weren't that big. Therefore, the biggest problem is still the inability to tolerate the unfair distribution of social resources."

Chen Zhi opened his mouth to explain again, but Lin Ning didn't want to hear his grand theories on social development.

They were both educated; they knew the theories. But for the people suffering, why shouldn't they be dissatisfied? If you yourself are the price being sacrificed, are you supposed to be 'sensible' and 'understanding'? What, are you a masochist? Besides, it's just some complaining; it's not like there's an uprising, right?

Lin Ning's eyes darted around, and he changed the subject. "Those people are stirring up trouble domestically, but what about you? How is the 'soft' war going for you abroad?"