"I'm suffering..."
In the desolate backyard, Huai Shi sat on the steps of the garden, staring blankly at the ground as he heaved a long sigh to the sky.
At this moment, he deeply felt that he was a child of misfortune.
Deceived by an agent into an interview at a Cowherd establishment, encountering dead bodies on the way home, inexplicably stuffed into a cell because of a box, and then just after being released, he was shoved into another cell by Long Spears and short guns.
Now, in order to survive, he had no choice but to accept the help of a Raven, but the Raven's greatest Ability was to make him keep dying over and over again.
In the end, what was the point of all this hassle?
If he had to die, couldn't he just die once?
He had to die dozens of times...
He died so much that he almost became numb; his 'Death Perception' Skill was on the verge of taking shape!
Huai Shi felt that if he was a bit luckier and managed to hang on this time, he could reach Level 10 with this Skill by exploiting death throughout his life!
"Instead of complaining, you might as well die one more time. This meditation method could at least train your Source Substance. Maybe you will soon break through the 99% progress bar and become a Sublimator," the Raven, whose ink had run low and turned its feathers into a zebra-striped pattern, suggested from beside him.
"I'd have to be a fool to believe you!"
Huai Shi didn't seem to want to deal with her. Fixated on the desolate garden, he began pondering: Who am I? Where am I? School is starting in half a month, and what the hell am I doing other than courting death when I'm so broke I'm about to keel over?
Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, an idea striking him.
"Say, do you have any way to make money?"
"Sure do." The Zebra Crow casually groomed its feathers, pointed to the road outside the door, and said, "Walk for ten minutes, take the bus, get off at the next stop, take a left, and there's a bank. Rob it and you've got everything."
"...Robbing a bank? Who doesn't know how to do that!" Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "Don't you have any sort of Magic for Turning Stone into Gold?"
"Ah, Magic, that's a long story. I do indeed know the technology to create Gold, but..."
"But what?" Huai Shi leaned in, his eyes sparkling.
"But the cost per gram is about 3,000 Dongxia Currency." She said calmly, "The Pure Gold produced is usually used as a material for the spirit foundation in various ceremonies and altars. If you want, I could get you a couple of pounds."
"If I had money, why the hell would I need Pure Gold!"
Huai Shi was left speechless. He just sat on the steps, continuing to stare into space until he was startled by the sound of something breaking. It sounded like a glass bottle had been kicked and shattered. In the scorching heat of the summer afternoon, the sound was exceptionally crisp.
Huai Shi turned his head in astonishment, looking in the direction of the front yard.
"Someone's coming?"
The Raven looked up thoughtfully and said with concern, "Could it be that the theft of electricity from your home's wires has been discovered?"
Huai Shi first froze, then quickly realized, his eyes widening in anger. "When the hell did you do this behind my back!"
"Actually, I also tapped into a network cable. The WIFI signal is not too bad." The Raven pulled out a smartphone from beneath its wings. "Need the password?"
Huai Shi glared at her, stood up, and sneaked to the back corner of the house to peek around. The Raven skillfully stepped on his head and peeked out too.
In a corner of the decrepit courtyard, near the wall, a figure stealthily looked left and right, then extended a hand to help another person climb over the wall. Both individuals landed on the ground, their arms bulging from what they carried, and masks covering their faces.
"Oh my..." the Raven asked quietly, "These days, do the people who come to collect electricity bills climb walls?"
"Probably burglars," Huai Shi gritted his teeth, bending over to pick up half an iron rod from the corner. "Anyway, this isn't the first or second time something like this has happened."
"Oh?" She looked at Huai Shi thoughtfully, then smiled slyly. "Hopefully."
Huai Shi paid her no mind, lowering his voice and stealthily observing the scene before him. The two muscular men put on gloves, looked around, whispered something to each other, then stealthily climbed through a broken window on the side of the house. Huai Shi carefully opened the back door of the house, hearing the old floorboards CREAKING incessantly.
Heavy footsteps roamed the living room for a while, then headed upstairs, accompanied by the continuous sound of doors opening.
Soon, he could hear voices from upstairs.
"No one's up here!"
"Start looking, see where he's hidden stuff!"
Then there was the sound of rummaging through drawers and cupboards, punctuated by the noise of things breaking. Huai Shi winced as he listened. His home was already bare-bones; the few valuables once there had been pawned by his parents long ago, leaving only worthless, shoddy furniture. These old things had barely survived for so long, only to meet disaster today. Fortunately, even though the house was bare, it was big enough, with plenty of empty rooms; even a thorough search would take a long time.
Huai Shi took a deep breath, grabbed the rod, and followed quietly upstairs, hearing the brutal noises coming from his own bedroom.
BANG.
The sound of a drawer hitting the ground.
Damn it, my desk!
CLANG. The contents of the cabinet spilled onto the floor.
CRASH. The desk lamp and other items from the desk also tumbled down.
"Look at this!"
It seemed they had found something. Huai Shi heard the ZIIIP of a zipper as the instrument case was opened, followed by the DULL THUMP of the instrument's body being knocked.
"Not inside this?"
"Could there be a secret compartment?" one of them guessed. "Shall we smash it open to check?"
Fuck your mother! Huai Shi was furious. You've been rummaging through my stuff all along, and I haven't said a word, but now you're going to smash the very bowl I eat from? This means war!
With no time for hesitation, he poked his head out. He saw the two men squatting on the ground with their backs to him; one of them had already picked up an Iron Hammer. Rage surged in his heart, and, driven by fury, he lifted the rod for a leaping chop.