And so, Slade became the Blood Hand Gang's new "accountant."
Though he had no proper place to stay, still sleeping on the hay in the gang's woodshed, at least he was free from the cage and had some limited freedom.
One, Eyed Wolf, however, made it clear that Slade was not to leave the gang's territory. Despite the new title, he didn't fully trust him, so he assigned a thug, nicknamed "Skinny Monkey," to keep an eye on him.
The reasons for the surveillance were twofold: to prevent Slade from escaping and to make sure he didn't cheat with the accounts.
But One, Eyed Wolf had misjudged "Skinny Monkey." Slade knew that even if he openly falsified the accounts right in front of him, the man wouldn't notice a thing.
Slade's first task was to sort out the entire Blood Hand Gang's accounts and their "business."
He was given some rough parchment and cheap ink to work with.
But as he got to work, he quickly realized that the few otherworldly scripts he knew weren't enough, he needed to learn more.
The gang members had very limited education; many of them couldn't even write their own names. The accountant, previously the most literate member, had been "optimized" out of his position.
Having done so much "dirty work," even if the gang leader didn't punish him, the vice, leader wouldn't let the accountant off the hook.
One, Eyed Wolf didn't give Slade any opportunity to seek outside knowledge. Instead, he was told to copy down unfamiliar characters and pass them to the gang members, who would then inquire about their meanings and inform him.
This method made his learning extremely slow.
But there was a silver lining to it!
While Slade couldn't fully understand the otherworldly script, the gang members also couldn't understand the English or Arabic numerals he wrote!
An idea struck him instantly.
He grabbed a thin wooden board and some charcoal sticks and turned to Skinny Monkey, who was monitoring him. "Using these for recording is safer and more convenient; the gang's secret accounts shouldn't be leaked."
Skinny Monkey didn't understand exactly what Slade meant, but thought it sounded reasonable.
So, Slade set to work, using English, Arabic numerals, and a set of simplified symbols he invented to create a "coded ledger" on the wooden board that only he could understand.
To anyone else, it was just a haphazard collection of random symbols.
Using his sharp logical thinking and mathematical skills, Slade swiftly untangled the Blood Hand Gang's chaotic finances.
However, the numerous discrepancies in the ledgers pointed directly to the vice, leader, "Ghost Fox," who had clearly been pocketing a hefty profit over the years.
This revelation created a rift between the once, unified leaders, sending the gang into a state of tension and volatility.
Slade redesigned the lending system and adjusted the interest rates, implementing a system of "predatory lending." Under this new scheme, borrowing ten silver coins would only yield nine in hand, with interest still calculated on the full ten. He also imposed harsher penalties for late payments.
This method, especially the "compound interest" system, led to the ruination of countless ordinary people.
The worst hit were the gamblers in the casinos, many of whom were trapped in "usurious loans" every single day.
By the end of the month, Slade had completely sorted the gang's ledgers. His "efficiency" and "sharpness" impressed One, Eyed Wolf immensely.
He was rewarded with a small sum of copper coins and a worn, out thick linen garment. It was also announced within the gang that Slade had officially become the new "Abacus Snake!"
From then on, Slade enjoyed a bit more freedom.
Yet, every time he walked through the streets, he was met with resentful and fearful glances from the common folk.
Luckily, no one dared to act against him within the gang's territory.
Slade, however, had far greater ambitions than just this.
Behind the scenes, he used his knowledge of the gang's finances, manipulating information asymmetry and complex "codes" to quietly amass wealth for himself.
He secretly kept a portion of the protection money he collected.
He skimmed a bit off the top of the loan interest.
When purchasing supplies, he inflated prices...
All of this was carefully hidden within the ledgers, complicated and obscure, so no one could decipher it.
He knew the risks; if anyone discovered his actions, it would mean certain death. But he had no choice.
He couldn't remain in this filthy gang forever. He needed capital, he needed to pave the way for a future escape.
At the same time, Slade began formulating his self, rescue plan. If he wanted to escape one day, a strong body would be essential.
Now that he had regained his long, lost health, Slade, who had been bedridden for many years, felt a sense of freedom he hadn't experienced in ages.
Each night, he secretly worked on simple physical training in the shadows of the woodshed while Skinny Monkey slept:
Squats, push, ups, sit, ups.
His body was healthy again, but still weak and in need of conditioning.
He wasn't foolish enough to try escaping while Skinny Monkey was asleep, there were too many guards around the gang's territory, making any attempt near impossible.
But as he gained One, Eyed Wolf's trust, his freedom gradually expanded.
However, when Slade requested permission to enter the academy to learn more and improve his accounting skills, the gang leader refused outright.
The academy had too many powerful figures, figures their small gang couldn't afford to offend. If Slade got involved with them, he would become uncontrollable.
With no other choice, Slade settled for buying books to study on his own.
This time, One, Eyed Wolf agreed more readily, even giving him an additional thirty silver coins to purchase books.
So, during a trip to buy writing materials, Slade found himself in a small, nearly deserted bookstore.
He saw this as a chance to read more and gain a better understanding of the world he now found himself in.
In this world, knowledge was reserved for the nobility; ordinary people barely scraped by, unable to afford education.
The bookstore owner, seeing Slade's shabby clothes, initially intended to toss him out.
But Slade subtly slid a few silver coins into the hand of a skinny boy standing nearby, who didn't notice.
The owner, surprised, hesitated for a moment before pretending to be casual and clutching the coins tightly.
Slade didn't rush to buy a book. Instead, he casually picked one up and began flipping through its pages.
Just as his fingers brushed the yellowed paper, a semi, transparent screen suddenly unfolded before his eyes:
[Memory Library Activated]
[Recording: "A Brief History of the Continent"... 1%... 15%...]
Slade froze, shocked beyond belief.
He almost cried out but quickly stifled the surge of emotions welling up inside him.
This... was this a belated cheat code?
Slade soon realized that as long as he picked up a book, it could be swiftly scanned by the "Memory Library."
Through his retina, he could access the contents of these books at any time, even if he hadn't read them yet!
Suppressing his excitement and maintaining a calm expression, Slade quickly scanned book after book into the "Memory Library."
Literacy Primer, Common Language Teaching, The Untold Story with the Succubus Lilith, Basic Herbal Compendium, Ancient Language Dictionary, The Ogre's Delicious Recipes, Knight Training Outline, Herbalism of the Kingdom of Hess...
Slade "scanned" every book he found useful.
The bookstore owner and Skinny Monkey watched in confusion as Slade acted strangely.
Had the kid lost his mind?
What was he doing with those books?
Slade ignored their bewildered looks, his hands continuously flipping through pages, absorbed in his task.
The bookstore owner, having received a bribe, didn't dare say anything and could only watch in silence.
The farce finally ended by evening.
Slade, pleased with his newly purchased Language Primer and Common Language Teaching of the Continent, left with Skinny Monkey to return to the gang.
Back in the woodshed, while Skinny Monkey went off to the outhouse, Slade eagerly summoned the light screen.
The screen displayed the contents of all the books he had "read," neatly organized.
At the bottom of the screen, the word "Analysis" stood out, clearly another function of his cheat system.
Slade decided to try the analysis function on Common Language of the Kingdom of Hess.
A progress bar appeared: [Basic Analysis in Progress: Common Language of the Kingdom of Hess... 0.7%]
It was clear now that this function could help him analyze and learn the language of this world, allowing him to understand its content!
This ability drastically reduced the difficulty of his learning, eliminating the need for him to painstakingly study each book in detail.
Though the cheat system appeared somewhat rudimentary, offering no combat power, quests, or skill points, it was more than enough to help Slade become a learned individual, like a "scholar" or "professor."
After the initial rush of excitement faded, a strange sense of disappointment began to creep in.
Okay… I admit, this cheat code is still pretty useless…
But having it is better than nothing. What more could I ask for?
Slade consoled himself as he "browsed" the books in his mind, soaking in the knowledge about the world.