“Kid, don’t push your luck. I’ve made myself very clear. How old are you now? One hundred thousand yuan is completely enough for you to live comfortably for two years. People, you need to learn to be content, understand?” A yellow-haired youth said with a sneer in front of Lu Chenxing.
Seeing Lu Chenxing, who was half a head shorter than him, remain silent, a trace of helplessness flashed in the yellow-haired youth’s eyes, and he softly added, “You don’t want to end up with nothing, do you?”
After a long pause, seeing that Lu Chenxing still said nothing, the yellow-haired youth shook his head and walked away with an arrogant stride.
Lu Chenxing, who would turn 18 tomorrow, looked up at the yellow-haired youth’s retreating back. His handsome but slightly childish face showed no expression, and his eyes beneath his black, messy hair seemed as calm as water.
Only his tightly clenched fists revealed that his heart was not so calm.
This was the fifth time these people had come to the Card Shop, attempting a forced acquisition. Lu Chenxing turned to look at the somewhat dusty “Super Martial Card Shop” sign, his thoughts complex and unclear.
He was a transmigrator, the kind that transmigrated as a fetus. In his previous life, he was an orphan and died saving a drowning child. So, after coming to this world and having a father and mother, he especially cherished this relationship.
But unfortunately, a few months ago, his parents left the human race’s main base, the Canglan World, to go to the Zhu Tian Battlefield for research and evaluation. Both of them were research-oriented talents and university teachers, so this kind of mission was quite common.
This time, it was said that there was a new discovery in a Little World that had just been conquered, requiring his parents to go to that Little World for investigation. Other researchers went with them. At that time, everyone thought it was just an ordinary mission.
“Son, don’t worry! Your old man will bring you local specialties when he comes back!”
“Chenxing, you must work hard! If all goes well, we might even make it back for your awakening ceremony. If we find you slacking off, watch your backside!”
At that time, Lu Chenxing never imagined that parting would be forever.
When the military district personnel came to his school to inform him, he even thought they were joking, but the items his parents left behind, which they presented, corroborated their story.
According to them, Lu Chenxing’s parents had gone missing, their life and death unknown, and the specific situation was unclear, but the military held a pessimistic view.
Therefore, after searching for a month and finding no trace, they came to notify the family.
Afterward, Lu Chenxing withdrew from school and came to the Card Shop his parents had opened at Super Martial University, where his parents also taught.
When he first arrived, he was accompanied by military personnel, and the principal and the Director of the Academic Affairs Office came together to inquire about the situation, then told him he could stay at the school with peace of mind, and they would help investigate his parents’ matter.
But now, in just over a month, someone had been sending hooligan students from the school to threaten him repeatedly, even offering a hundred thousand yuan for an acquisition.
As far as Lu Chenxing knew, any single piece of equipment in the shop was worth more than that price, not to mention that this was a shop within a university; the land itself was worth a fortune!
So, this was blatant robbery, using coercion and lure, stopping at nothing!
He also went to find the principal and the Director of the Academic Affairs Office, but the principal was not there, and the Director of the Academic Affairs Office merely told him he would investigate, but then nothing came of it.
Lu Chenxing, having lived two lives, immediately understood that the Director of the Academic Affairs Office also wanted a piece of him, and it was even possible that he instigated all of this, or perhaps he had some difficulties, but this person could not be trusted or relied upon.
After standing blankly at the shop entrance for a while, Lu Chenxing pursed his lips, and his slender body walked into the shop, closing the door.
In just a few short months, there was no one left in this world he could rely on; he was once again left to rely only on himself.
Fortunately, he had lived like this in his previous life and was already used to it.
On the other side, the yellow-haired youth, watching Lu Chenxing enter the shop from not far away, sighed softly, “Making me bully such a young child, I really feel guilty… But alas, in this world, one is not their own master. Kid, don’t blame me; you can only blame yourself for being too weak and this piece of meat being too tempting…”
Since a thousand years ago, when the human race was still in the cold weapon era and spiritual energy resurfaced, the gap between social classes became increasingly evident. Whoever had the bigger fist had the right to speak. In this situation, weakness became the original sin.
It wasn’t until a hundred years ago, when the human race reached its peak, and the Canglan World’s spiritual energy broke through its boundaries, connecting with the Zhu Tian Battlefield, that the situation improved somewhat, as the lower-class populace was needed as support, and many talented professionals emerged from them. But it still wasn't much better.
And Lu Chenxing’s current situation was akin to a child carrying gold through a bustling market; how could it not be coveted? Especially in this context, he had almost no power to resist.
The yellow-haired youth shook his head, casting away the last bit of pity in his mind, and walked towards the teaching building. He arrived at the Director of the Academic Affairs Office’s office, took a deep breath, and gently knocked on the door.
A cold, stern male voice came from inside the door: “Come in.”
The yellow-haired youth gently pushed the door open and walked in, then carefully closed the door, lowering his head and saying, “Director, the matter has been handled.”
Inside the office, there was a wall-high bookshelf filled with books, but most of the books were new, with no signs of ever being opened.
In the center of the office, there was a long rosewood table, behind which sat a well-proportioned, stern-faced middle-aged man. His hair was meticulously combed, and his two mustache twirls were carefully groomed, making him look very much like the stereotypical image of an elite.
However, the occasional cold glint in his eyes showed that he seemed to have a hidden side.
Liang Shouji looked at the yellow-haired youth, who was bowing his head in front of him, and his cold, stern voice rang out again: “How did he respond?”
“He… he didn’t say anything…”
“Hmph!” Liang Shouji let out a disdainful cold snort, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes, “An ungrateful little thing!”
Then he looked at the yellow-haired youth in front of him and said casually, “Since that’s the case, ten days from now, you can bring people to take action. Our school’s public property cannot just remain in the hands of an underage child.”
Public property? It sounds good now, but when the time comes, the property deed will probably have your name, Liang, on it, won’t it?
The yellow-haired youth secretly scoffed in his heart, but his face showed no trace of it, and he respectfully replied, “Yes!”
As he answered, a Tier 3 early-stage crystal core was thrown at his feet, like a bone tossed to a dog.
The yellow-haired youth picked it up with a normal expression, then respectfully thanked him, opened the door, and left. This was their way of survival as small figures.
Gradually, night fell, the full moon rose, and stars one after another dotted the sky. It was evening.
Inside the Super Martial Card Shop, Lu Chenxing had turned off all the lights, leaving only the dim glow from the candle stuck in the small cake on the dining table, illuminating the surrounding darkness and Lu Chenxing’s handsome face.
With the flickering candlelight, Lu Chenxing softly sang the birthday song: “Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…”
His voice was very soft, a little hoarse, a little shaky, like he was talking to himself, and sometimes, his voice would inexplicably catch.
When the last line of the birthday song was sung, all that remained was a deep loneliness. He looked at the candle, which had burned down almost halfway, and gently wiped away his tears.
His young face, illuminated by the flickering firelight, was sometimes bright, sometimes dim. Lu Chenxing softly said, “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. I’m 18 now. I will live well, and I will work hard to cultivate. If you’re alive, I will come to save you. If you’re dead, I will avenge you.”
“In short, I will definitely find you! No matter how!”
Lu Chenxing looked up, no longer a single tear in his eyes. He looked at the golden crystal placed next to the cake—it was something his parents left him, an Awakening Stone, and it was the highest quality Awakening Stone! It was also his father’s “local specialty.”
PS: Cultivation is divided into nine tiers, with each tier having four stages: initial, middle, late, and perfect. Also, a unique mission appears with each level up.
