That year, Eric Turner was eight years old...

“Uncle Jack Evans, is this what you mean by good and evil being repaid?”

Eric Turner held the newspaper fragment in his hand. After realizing the power this fragment possessed, he began to ponder what exactly he should do with it. Money? Power? Women? Or unifying the world?

He thought and thought, and before he knew it, Eric Turner suddenly recalled, from the depths of his memory, that wrinkled yet heartily smiling old man, and those words.

“...Good and evil will be repaid. That is my belief.”

“Yes!”

Eric Turner suddenly gritted his teeth, and as if possessed, shouted loudly, then muttered to himself, “If good and evil are not repaid, then the universe must be partial!”

“Yes, this is my belief, and the belief I will fight for until death! If I am to be a hero, I will repay good and evil! Uncle Jack Evans, you will see it—good and evil will be repaid! They must be repaid!”

Chapter Four: If I am to be a hero, I will repay good and evil! (Part Two)

Having figured this out, Eric Turner immediately felt as if he had taken a great elixir; his whole body and mind were clear and unimpeded, and he let out a heavy breath from his chest. The aura he gave off was now carefree and unrestrained. Holding the newspaper fragment, he paced back and forth in the room a few times before gradually suppressing his excitement, and then silently pondered over the newspaper fragment again.

(Cause and effect, cause and effect—there is just so much information in these two words. Who knows if this newspaper fragment, besides being able to see the future, has other functions? And is it easy or difficult to obtain these cause-and-effect points? Suddenly gaining over ten thousand points seemed simple enough...)

As Eric Turner thought of this, his heart stirred, and he focused his attention on yesterday’s chain car crash. Sure enough, the newspaper fragment detailed the circumstances of the crash, and only ten cause-and-effect points were deducted.

There was nothing particularly strange about the crash itself. The truck driver had dropped his cup in the cab while drinking water, and just ahead was a speed bump outside the university. In his panic, he stepped on what he thought was the brake, but because the cup was stuck underneath, he actually pressed the accelerator instead. The result was a tragedy: a chain car crash that killed many people. Although the details were indeed coincidental, such things do happen, so Eric Turner wasn’t too surprised. What did surprise him was that only ten cause-and-effect points were deducted.

(Could it be because it was something that had already happened, and the outcome was already set? Even if I know the details, it wouldn’t change much, so the cost in cause-and-effect points is very low. Is that what it means? Then, if I want to change the cause and effect of the future—say, have the newspaper show the location of some treasure—well, that’s a bit cliché. What if it showed some martial arts manual left by ancient heroes? Not talking about cultivation, but even just a basic internal energy training method would...)

Just as Eric Turner was thinking this, the newspaper suddenly became chaotic and blurry again. As he was feeling disappointed, words suddenly appeared on the newspaper, and the number of cause-and-effect points dropped by more than seven thousand at once, leaving just over fifty-five hundred. This shocked Eric Turner so much he nearly jumped up, but he quickly calmed down, hurriedly read the passage on the newspaper, then tucked it into his chest. He opened his wallet and carefully counted the money inside. Only then did he grit his teeth, push open the door, and head out.

The words that appeared on the newspaper said that in an antique market on a certain street, in shop number seven, an authentic internal energy cultivation method was hidden inside an old copy of the Dao De Jing. As far as Eric Turner knew, there really was such an antique market in Shanghai, but he knew nothing about antiques and had never visited before. Now he had to go there to buy something, which was a bit troublesome.

(First, the money isn’t really the issue. At most, I’ll just withdraw some of my savings. The key is not to arouse suspicion. Although today is Sunday, I don’t usually visit antique markets. If I suddenly go there, it might look suspicious if someone finds out. And I can’t just linger around hesitantly, as that would be even more suspicious...)

After a brief consideration, Eric Turner immediately withdrew five thousand yuan from the nearby bank, then hailed a taxi to the antique market, having decided to just go with the flow.

Because he had saved that little girl yesterday, it wouldn’t make sense to ignore her afterward. He also knew which hospital she was in, so he decided to use this opportunity to visit the antique market, buy a piece of ordinary jade, and then, using the excuse that the girl had lost her mother and needed something to calm her mind, give her the jade. This way, he could erase the cause and effect of his visit to the antique market. Even if someone noticed he had gone there, they would hardly connect buying jade with buying the Dao De Jing.

(Although it’s just a precaution, if there really is that legendary internal energy method, and I combine it with this newspaper fragment that can foresee and even change certain futures, plus my own intelligence, then I really can carry out my belief...)