“Hoo~” Jiang Shang let out a heavy breath, looking at the street in front of him, which was devoid of people.
How many years had it been? He had finally escaped this dreadful place.
Jiang Shang was not a good person; on the contrary, he was a criminal. He had killed his parents—more accurately, his adoptive parents—who were also the culprits behind the death of his biological parents.
The year Jiang Shang turned six, his parents were in a car accident, and the perpetrator later became his adoptive father.
The court's judgment of his adoptive father ultimately acquitted him, stating that the adoptive father was not the perpetrator, but merely lent his car to the actual culprit.
His adoptive father, using his financial power, found a scapegoat, while he himself transformed into an innocent victim who had unfortunately lent his car to the perpetrator.
Afterward, he heavily publicized the narrative that “although he wasn't the one who hit the people, it was his car after all, so as compensation, he decided to adopt the orphan of the deceased,” even gaining both fame and fortune through this.
As for Jiang Shang, who would care about an unknown child from an unknown family?
His parents' death didn't bring him much grief; even when their blood splattered on him, there was only a slight ripple in his eyes.
From a young age, Jiang Shang's emotional fluctuations were terrifyingly small; things that would scare children his age, and even adults, had no effect on him.
His parents took him to see a doctor, who said it was a very rare condition. People with this condition could hardly be emotionally affected by any person or event.
After being adopted by his adoptive parents, Jiang Shang completely lost the emotions a normal person should have. Also, because he was no longer considered a “person” in his adoptive parents' home, often treated worse than an animal, he was merely a burden taken in by his parents to better absolve themselves of guilt.
Perhaps he wasn't even a burden; at least his adoptive parents could vent their emotions on him, and he ate even less than their dog.
These were ten years of hell. For ten years, Jiang Shang was forced by his adoptive parents to wear long sleeves whenever he went out, even in the hottest summer. Even if others called him a freak, Jiang Shang had to constantly wear long sleeves, because if his adoptive parents discovered he wasn't wearing long sleeves, a brutal beating awaited him.
The reason his adoptive parents made this demand was simply to hide the 'masterpieces' they had personally carved onto Jiang Shang's body with long sleeves.
By the age of sixteen, Jiang Shang's body, except for his neck and head, was covered in various scars. A closer look would reveal that Jiang Shang had not only knife wounds and blunt force trauma, but also animal bite marks and burns. It was a miracle that Jiang Shang had survived.
It was also in this year that Jiang Shang finally understood that his adoptive parents' reason for adopting him was not any so-called guilt; it was likely only to abuse him as revenge for his biological parents causing them legal trouble.
Of course, it might also be because they felt a perverse pleasure in abusing victims.
Also at the age of sixteen, Jiang Shang was imprisoned for the brutal murder of his parents. When the police received Jiang Shang's emergency call and arrived, his adoptive parents were unrecognizable, while Jiang Shang sat calmly on the sofa next to their bodies, watching the police. Only Jiang Shang's younger half-sister, who was hiding in the closet, was completely unharmed; Jiang Shang had not touched her in the slightest.
Due to the shocking nature of Jiang Shang's injuries, the court ruled his actions as righteous indignation, and considering he was a minor, among other reasons, Jiang Shang was ultimately sentenced to twelve years.
However, due to Jiang Shang's good behavior in prison, he was released today after serving ten years.
After ten years in prison, Jiang Shang's physique had at least doubled in size compared to before he went in. After all, the prison food was quite good, at least better than when he was treated like an animal at his adoptive parents' home.
Coming out after being in, Jiang Shang felt isolated from the world. He casually found a small, uncrowded stall and sat down, looking up at the menu.
"Boss, one mixed noodles."
Jiang Shang called out to the boss, who was sitting nearby playing on his phone. He remembered seeing something like that in his adoptive parents' hands; he'd even been hit on the head with it. But the one in the boss's hand looked more advanced.
“Alright, mixed noodles are four yuan.”
The boss put away his phone and walked into the kitchen.
Opening his luggage bag, Jiang Shang pulled out a five-yuan note from a hidden compartment and placed it on the table, holding it down with his bag.
"What's this?"
Suddenly, Jiang Shang discovered a small pouch in his bag. Pulling it out, he saw it was a small sachet-sized bag. Jiang Shang didn't remember owning such a thing.
The small pouch was bulging as if filled with something, but from the weight, Jiang Shang was certain it was an empty bag. However, no matter how hard Jiang Shang tried, he couldn't flatten the small pouch. One should know that Jiang Shang was no longer the scrawny guy he used to be; his forearm circumference was now a full thirty-three centimeters, almost as thick as a normal adult's upper arm. Yet, he was powerless against this small pouch.
With no success from brute force, Jiang Shang decided to open the bag to see what was inside.
Opening the bag and looking closely, it was empty; there was nothing inside. Just as Jiang Shang was puzzled, a suction force appeared out of nowhere from the bag, directly pulling Jiang Shang inside.
...
Where is this?
Jiang Shang looked at the boundless white in front of him, and a long-lost sense of nervousness surprisingly arose in his heart.
【Welcome to Pocket Space】
A voice that Jiang Shang couldn't describe appeared out of thin air in his mind.
【Would you like to view the beginner's tutorial?】
The voice sounded again, and at the same time, a screen suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Shang, with two buttons: 【Yes】 and 【No】.
Is technology so advanced now? A random Pocket can create so many tricks?
Shaking his head, Jiang Shang cast out the jumbled thoughts from his mind, dismissing his strange idea.
"Yes."
Jiang Shang realized that ever since he came to this so-called Pocket Space, something felt off. He felt inexplicably panicked and kept overthinking, so he simply made his choice.
Subsequently, Jiang Shang felt a mysterious power surge into his brain, and then he suddenly gained a memory containing information about this Pocket Space.
After reviewing this memory a few times, Jiang Shang roughly understood that this Pocket Space was something that allowed him to go to other worlds to cause trouble, and after causing trouble, he would receive rewards. As for what kind of rewards, Jiang Shang wasn't sure, only knowing that it seemed like all kinds of rewards were possible.
"Uh, open my panel."
Jiang Shang had a preliminary guess about the reason for his becoming "abnormal" since arriving here, and immediately opened his attribute panel to verify.
【Name: Jiang Shang】
【Skill: The Indifferent】
Sure enough, a strange item appeared in the skill bar.
Click to view The Indifferent entry.
【Skill: The Indifferent】
【Description: After using this skill, your emotional fluctuations will significantly decrease.】
【Remark: With your physique, cultivating the Grand Supreme Forgetfulness Art is guaranteed to achieve great success overnight.】