Chapter 1: The Golden Finger and the Recurring Date

Under the high moon, neon lights shimmered.

Tucked away in a secluded corner of the sprawling city, a place beyond the reach of any magical girl’s detection.

Years later, whenever he faced the woman intent on confiscating his ‘niuniu’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term for male genitalia), Su Qianyu would invariably cast his mind back to the arrogant captain in that room.

“So, madam.”

“Are you suggesting, then, madam, that upon discovering your wife’s child carries the genes of your mistress, you wish for me to eliminate both of those… harlots?”

A cool autumn breeze drifted in from outside, gently stirring specks of dust that settled silently.

Though her face was veiled, the glint of opulent gold ornaments peeking from her attire unmistakably betrayed her wealth, prompting a faint frown to crease Su Qianyu’s brow beneath his own mask.

“Indeed, Mr. Su. I’ve long been acquainted with your particular talents. Eliminate them for me, and a substantial reward will assuredly follow.”

A clear, resonant female voice filled the air, punctuated by the crisp slap of a savings card landing on the table.

Yet, only a moment later, a voice of firm refusal abruptly broke the silence.

“You know, miss, at this time every year, I don’t take any….”

“This is the retainer: two million. The remaining balance will be transferred to this card at ten times that amount.”

A brief, heavy silence descended, a stillness so profound that even the wind outside seemed to hush its clamor.

“But Miss An, you know very well that I am a very principled person….”

“Five million. If it’s not enough, I can add more.”

“Deal.”

He despised the wealthy.

****

As dawn broke, Su Qianyu watched his esteemed client depart, then let out a weary sigh.

Yawning, the young man returned inside.

He drew the curtains and closed the door.

With the sole incandescent bulb extinguished, the entire room plunged once more into profound silence.

Alone in the quiet, Su Qianyu gently closed his eyes and indulged in a languid stretch.

In the pitch-black room, only a full-length mirror offered a reflection of the young man, lost in thought before an electronic screen.

The mirror, though not large, perfectly framed the young man’s delicate features.

His black hair cascaded over his shoulders as he gazed at the card in his hand, Su Qianyu sinking into a profound contemplation.

It was a contemplation of life, and of the future itself.

‘If I finish this job, I’ll wash my hands of it all, won’t I?’

As he idly counted on his fingers, Su Qianyu’s mind drifted, carried back to an age long past.

So far back, in fact, that it predated his arrival in this current world, reaching into his former lives.

Indeed, he was a transmigrator—one who had journeyed through nine distinct lives.

From the initial bewilderment to the eventual, grudging adaptation, only the heavens knew the trials Su Qianyu had endured.

In his first life, clutching the land deed his grandfather had left him, he’d assured himself he could return and claim his inheritance—only to discover, upon his arrival, that he was traveling by horse-drawn carriage, not a bus.

His second life saw him reborn as a doctor on Terra, poised to flex his newfound power and gather a harem of beast-girls for his palace, only to find this world inexplicably boasted golden toilets.

For his third transmigration, he simply opted out of humanity altogether, becoming a mere chair.

Yet, before he could even begin to reminisce, he was violently used to shatter a boy’s legs, perishing instantly.

Fourth, fifth… until the ninth.

And so it continued, a relentless cycle. Including his present existence, he had been reborn a staggering nine times over.

Gazing at the card in his hand, Su Qianyu offered a wry, helpless smile.

From outside, the clamor of children grew steadily, drawing closer.

A dull thud echoed repeatedly as a ball struck the wall, and the persistent sound caused the young man inside to subtly knit his brows in irritation.

‘That child,’ he thought, ‘had the audacity to return, despite my numerous warnings.’

Not long ago, that same child had, on more than one occasion, used a ball to shatter his windowpanes.

His gaze shifted from the card in his hand towards the outside world, and with a swift motion, Su Qianyu slipped the card into his pocket.

Perhaps his preceding eight reincarnations had been excessively tragic.

Or, perhaps it was just pure luck this time?

Unlike his prior ‘blank slate’ reincarnations, this time, he had awakened a ‘golden finger’ (TL Note: A common web novel trope referring to a special cheat, power, or ability granted to the protagonist).

Su Qianyu merely closed his eyes, and instantly, a vivid image of the house’s surroundings materialized in his mind.

In stark contrast to the clamor outside, the room remained utterly silent, save for the faint sound of the young man’s hand movements.

A subtle pinch, a delicate grasp.

The half-eaten candied hawthorn that had been on the table now rested in his palm.

This, then, was his ‘golden finger’: remote object manipulation.

Or, would ‘telekinetic relocation’ be a more accurate description?

In mere moments, the candied hawthorn in Su Qianyu’s hand vanished, and concurrently, the incessant thud of the ball from outside abruptly ceased.

There’s a saying: ‘Children who eat candied hawthorn will be plump and fair in a hundred days.’

Not long after, the painful wails of the child outside reached his ears.

—’He moved the candied hawthorn into that b-child’s anus.’

A soft chuckle escaped Su Qianyu’s lips as he savored the outcome of his little prank.

While this ability certainly didn’t rival the formidable, punching purple specter, nor did it possess the subtle concealment of that black notebook aptly named ‘Your Name’…

…it was undeniably more useful than any rapier-wielding swordsman whose eyes served merely as decorative ornaments.

It was precisely this unique talent that enabled him to routinely engage in acts of murder and plunder.

In a metropolis teeming with magic, possessing such a ‘golden finger’ proved nothing short of ideal.

After all, no one could actually witness him manipulating objects *into* another person’s body, could they?

Yet, as his gaze fell upon the calendar, Su Qianyu couldn’t help but murmur in thought.

After all, having been reborn countless times, he hadn’t remained entirely oblivious.

A bitter smile touched Su Qianyu’s lips as he recalled the myriad ways he had perished in his previous transmigrations, and he slowly shook his head.

Suffice it to say, while the methods of his demise varied wildly, the dates themselves remained eerily, unexpectedly consistent.

And, as fate would have it, today marked the very day he had met his end in each of his prior eight lives.

Today.

Despite having lived in this world for several years, Su Qianyu’s vigilance remained unwavering.

Glancing at the ‘target information’ displayed on his phone, the young man promptly tossed it aside.

Come what may, he vowed not to take a single step outside that door today.

With provisions already prepared, Su Qianyu settled onto his bed and began to surf the internet.

After dismissing countless wanted posters bearing his own face, the young man finally unearthed what he sought.

‘Wow, so much cringe.’

‘Long press to forward, share with group friends.’

Gazing at the screen filled with digital lamentations, the young man closed his eyes, a sense of deep satisfaction washing over him.

He simply reveled in the sight of his group chat friends, fuming with exasperation on the other side of their screens, utterly powerless to touch him.

After forwarding several more ‘piles’ of cringe in rapid succession, Su Qianyu quickly found his inbox flooded with friend requests.

‘See? They’re getting desperate again.’

‘He just likes moving ‘cringe’ without paying taxes’ (TL Note: A playful modification of a Chinese idiom, ‘moving bricks without paying taxes,’ referring to untaxed labor. Here, ‘cringe’ replaces ‘bricks’ to imply sharing bad content).

‘Consuming cringe is effortless, but those who *move* cringe must contend with far more.’

It was also fortunate that this world’s cybersecurity was surprisingly robust; otherwise, by his reckoning, his face would have been plastered all over the internet by now.

After preemptively lashing out and thoroughly cursing the strangers attempting to add him, one particular friend request stood out, an irritatingly conspicuous entry.

‘Magical Girl Illo?’

The mere sight of the name sent an involuntary shiver through Su Qianyu’s entire body.

‘That person,’ he recalled, ‘had ambushed me during my last mission, nearly catching me in the act.’

Despite being a magical girl, she wielded such raw, unrefined brute strength that she’d nearly caved in his skull.

Thankfully, his concealment had been sufficient, preventing her from capturing him.

‘But then again.’

‘Who would use their real name online in an anonymous era?!’

A look of profound disgust twisted Su Qianyu’s features as he stared at the username on his phone.

‘Yu Yan Ding Zhen (TL Note: A popular internet meme in China, implying a fake or suspicious person/thing) — Verified as fake.’

He’d sooner believe himself to be Qin Shi Huang than believe a magical girl would use her real name online.

‘I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, you little 🖊️ brat!’

After unleashing a torrent of vitriolic trash talk, Su Qianyu immediately deleted the friend request, then blacklisted the user—a complete one-two punch.

‘Hit and run!’

Rubbing his nose, Su Qianyu shifted his position, settling back into a new recline.

‘Hehe, swearing feels great, especially when the other side is an online enemy with a profile picture of a nemesis.’

‘An enemy’s friend is an enemy, and an enemy’s fan is, of course, also an enemy.’

‘Just charge it to that Magical Girl’s account.’

Coincidentally, while using his ‘golden finger’ earlier, he had also noticed that his neighbor had ordered takeout and left it by their door.

Without a second thought, Su Qianyu immediately used his ‘golden finger’ to retrieve it.

‘Ordered takeout and still expect to eat it? Why should you get all the good things?’

For staying indoors, this ability was surprisingly useful.

However, as Su Qianyu ate the neighbor’s pizza, he received a message on his phone from the netizen named Illo, whom he had previously deleted and blacklisted in one swift motion.

‘Strange, this shouldn’t be happening.’

‘After blacklisting someone, shouldn’t I be unable to see anything from them?’

Eating his takeout, Su Qianyu opened the message.

Upon seeing the words that greeted him, the young man’s movements suddenly froze.

–”Does the pizza I ordered taste good?”

–”Eh, you actually ate it?”