[Name: Lu Chen]
[Lifespan: 14/60]
[Identity: Refugee]
[Status: Mortal Body]
[Realm: None]
[Talent: Righteous Valor (Blue)]
This was Lu Chen’s Status Panel in the Life Simulation System. It was drastically different from his panel in the real world.
First of all, his age had changed from 25 to 14. His condition had shifted from “exhausted energy” and “terminal illness” to “mortal body.” This meant that Lu Chen’s state in the real world could not affect his state in the simulation world. In this simulation, he was essentially living a completely new life.
However, after each simulation ended, the system would evaluate his performance and grant him a new talent—such as Fated with Peach Blossoms, Undead Knight, Grassroots Hero, Insect Manipulator, Righteous Valor. These were all talents Lu Chen had acquired after completing different simulation storylines.
Unfortunately, each time he started a new simulation, he could only inherit the talent from the previous one. Just like now—“Righteous Valor” was the talent he had obtained at the end of his last simulation.
Thanks to this talent, Lu Chen’s strength far surpassed others his age, even stronger than most adults.
“Whoa, this kid is insane. He can carry two sacks at once!”
“He must have some kind of innate divine strength!”
“Sigh, if I had that kind of power, I’d earn 50% more pay every day just by carrying two sacks at a time.”
“Keep dreaming. If everyone had that kind of strength, the world would have fallen into chaos long ago.”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t the world already in chaos?”
“Shh, Foreman Zhao’s coming.”
“Let’s go. It’s almost time to finish work. Try to carry a few more sacks…”
…
At the dock outside Luo City, the workers who had been watching Lu Chen scattered when they saw Foreman Zhao approaching.
“Brother Zhao, you’re here,” Lu Chen said, finishing the large sack on his shoulder and quickly stepping up to greet him.
Foreman Zhao, a wiry man in his forties, was one of the supervisors at the dock. He managed over 200 laborers under him. Because he frequently docked the workers’ hard-earned wages, people privately called him “Zhao the Skinner.” Lu Chen was one of the workers under his watch.
“Lu Chen, you’ve been working at the north dock for almost a year now, right?” Although he was over forty, Foreman Zhao was still shorter than Lu Chen and had to look up when speaking to him.
“Yes. Just another half-month and it’ll be a full year,” Lu Chen replied with a polite smile. It was through this job hauling sacks that he had managed to gain a foothold in Luo City and even rent a decent little courtyard.
Foreman Zhao patted him on the shoulder and said, “Lu Chen, you’ve done well lately. But the world outside is getting more chaotic, and more refugees are flooding into Luo City. With more refugees, naturally more people are fighting to carry sacks, so…”
His tone paused, and Lu Chen suddenly felt a bad premonition.
As expected, Foreman Zhao forced a smile and said, “So from now on, the pay for carrying sacks is being lowered. It used to be one copper coin for every ten sacks, now it’s one copper coin for every fifteen.”
As soon as these words fell, Lu Chen’s heart dropped. He was only 20 copper coins short of paying the Wild Wolf Gang’s protection fee. Now that the wages were being cut, the money he needed to hand over…
At that thought, Lu Chen quickly forced a smile and said, “Brother Zhao, could you please make an exception and start the pay cut from tomorrow?”
Foreman Zhao sneered coldly, “That’s the rule set by the Canal Gang. If you’ve got the guts, go beg the Canal Gang’s boss yourself!”
With that, he tossed Lu Chen thirteen copper coins and turned to leave.
Previously, Lu Chen could earn 20 copper coins by carrying 200 sacks. Now, he only got 13 copper coins. His income had taken a big hit.
Watching Foreman Zhao’s figure fade into the distance, Lu Chen couldn’t help clenching his fists. “If I ever get the chance, I’ll pay this back a hundredfold!”
The sky was already growing dark. All the cargo ships at the dock had finished work for the day. There was no time left to carry more sacks and make up the protection fee.
“Counting the two copper coins I had left, I’m still short by five.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe I can borrow five copper coins from Aunt Li next door.”
Aunt Li often invited him and Jiang Qingyu over for meals. She seemed like a kind person. Borrowing five copper coins shouldn’t be a problem.
With that decision made, Lu Chen left the dock and quickly headed toward the city.
However, as he reached the mouth of the alley, he saw that members of the Wild Wolf Gang were already waiting outside his door.
“Open up! The Wild Wolf Gang is here to collect the protection fee!” a burly man shouted into the courtyard.
Jiang Qingyu had already hidden herself away in fear. There was no way she’d respond.
The neighbors all quickly retreated into their homes as well. Aunt Li, especially, was the fastest to disappear.
Seeing this, Lu Chen’s heart sank. So much for borrowing money from Aunt Li.
“Is everyone inside dead? Open up!”
“If you don’t open the door, we’ll break it down!”
The two burly men shouted while preparing to kick the door open.
Jiang Qingyu was so terrified that her face turned pale. She didn’t even dare to breathe inside the house. After all, they were members of the Wild Wolf Gang—and each was armed with sharp blades and looked ready to kill. The two beggars they’d encountered at the ruined temple before didn’t even come close to these men.
Just as they were about to kick the door in, Lu Chen rushed over and quickly said with a forced smile, “Gentlemen, I’ve brought the money. Please accept it.”
As he spoke, he handed over every coin he had.
“Only 95 copper coins? What about the remaining five?” one of the men said, frowning.
Lu Chen chuckled awkwardly, “Gentlemen, could you give me one more day? I promise I’ll have the remaining five copper coins tomorrow.”
Clang! The other man suddenly drew his long blade and snarled, “Damn it, do you think the Wild Wolf Gang is a charity?”
“You must pay the full 100 copper coins today, or you’ll be taken to the west side mines to dig!”
At that moment, a timid voice came from inside the courtyard, “Brother Chen, I have five copper coins. I saved it from selling straw sandals.”
After speaking, Jiang Qingyu ran out and handed over the five coins.
The two burly men were immediately stunned at the sight of her.
One of them rubbed his chin and said, “This little girl’s pretty cute, got a good figure too. Give her a few more years and she’ll be a real beauty!”
“How about this? You don’t have to pay next month’s fee, but this girl has to come with us.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out to grab Jiang Qingyu’s arm.
That action triggered Lu Chen’s fury. The rage he had suppressed for so long finally exploded.
Lu Chen snatched the man’s blade and slashed down hard at him.
Then he turned and shouted at Jiang Qingyu, “Run! Run as far as you can!”