When Feng Yongrui opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the ground. His surroundings were really dark, and he had to blink a few times to adjust his eyesight. However, when he blinked, Feng Yongrui felt a drop of water fall into his eyes and winced.
Feng Yongrui heard the steady sound of pattering raindrops and realized that it was raining. Not only that, his entire body was cold to the bones. He felt like his muscles had been stretched and remolded like dough, and his veins were filled with cold water instead of blood.
Feng Yongrui used his right hand to shield his eyes from the downpour and used the other hand to prop himself up in a sitting position. He had no idea where he was, but Feng Yongrui knew that if he stayed under the rain like this, he would die of the cold.
Feng Yongrui didn't want to fail this mission simply because he stayed in the rain -- failing because of such a trivial matter would definitely make the System laugh at him -- so he tried to stand up.
Wobbling slightly, Feng Yongrui felt a rush of dizziness as he tried to stand. When he finally stood on his two feet, Feng Yongrui looked at his surroundings. He was in the middle of the street, and there was no one there.
There were a few lamps on the side of the street, where a torch was lit inside a glass container. The light from the lamp was flickering, casting shadows on the cobblestones underneath Feng Yongrui's feet.
Feng Yongrui looked at the neat rows of houses on the side of the street. All of the houses had their doors shut tightly and the windows were closed shut. Where could he go?
Feng Yongrui couldn't stand the heavy rain that was beating down on his body. When looked down, he realized that his hands were smaller... These weren't the hands of an adult. How old was he again?
Feng Yongrui wanted to say something when a blue screen appeared in front of him. Feng Yongrui quickly read its contents.
It was an introduction about his identity. His name was Lucky, and he was from the slums. He was currently 12 years old. Lucky's parents had died when he was very young, so he lived by eating scraps and stealing food.
As he grew older, he grew stronger and smarter as well. Lucky was no longer satisfied with stealing from small vendors. He wanted to be rich, he didn't want to simply "survive".
And so, step by step, Lucky had climbed his way and moved from city to city, getting more adept at stealing, running away, and selling the items he sold in the black market. Recently he had moved to Leardale, the second largest city in the kingdom.
In Leardale, Lucky had been stealing food and jewelries, selling them in the black market. This, however, attracted the ire of the largest gang in the city, The Thunder Death Gang.
This gang was trading and shipping drugs, jewelries, and other miscellaneous goods. They had long gained a foothold in Leardale, and they managed to keep their gang standing because they had a backer, who was probably a noble.
The Thunder Death Gang wanted Lucky to join their gang, and Lucky had been tempted. However, after some consideration, he decided not to join them. Of course, the Thunder Death Gang were upset...
This was the reason Feng Yongrui was currently standing in the middle of nowhere, with rain pouring on his head. Earlier that day, the Thunder Gang's members had given a tip to the knights patrolling the city.
The tip told the knights that there was a thief and juvenile delinquent named Lucky, who was going to rob a certain shop. Lucky had no idea that he was already being targeted. After all, no matter how smart he was, he was just a 12 year old boy.
The knights found Lucky, and a thrilling chase ensued. After dodging and running, Lucky was finally able to evade the guards, but he was so tired that he collapsed in the middle of the street...
And that leads us to the present.
Feng Yongrui was finished reading the information and he sighed. How was a small thief-boy like him supposed to finish the System's main mission...?
Forget about saving this world, it would be great if he managed to survive...
Feng Yongrui blinked as the screen in front of him changed. Now, the screen was green color, and the contents were different.
"This must be part of the punishment that the System mentioned previously, where the higher ups will give me directions on what to do..." Feng Yongrui muttered.
[What occupation will you choose?]
[The prince's study companion] or [An assassin]
Feng Yongrui looked at the choices and mulled over it for some time. Logically speaking, becoming the prince's study companion would be better. If he became the prince's study companion, he could get closer to the BUG prince and stop the bug from ruining the world.
But... the 'assassin' choice was rather tempting... Being an assassin would be hard work, and he probably couldn't get too close to the prince, but if he chose to become the assassin, then he would have more space to do things in the dark and make sure the bug didn't make the world collapse.
Feng Yongrui thought long and hard, alternating between the two choices. Finally, he couldn't stand it and stretched out both of his hands.
Only fools would make choices! He wanted both!
Feng Yongrui pressed the two choices at the same time, and two notification windows popped out in front of him. On his left side was a map and instructions on how to go to a certain place, so that he could become the prince's study companion. On his right side, there was a map and directions for him to become an assassin.
Unfortunately, the two maps were different. If Feng Yongrui chose to go to become the prince's study companion, he had to turn to the left, whereas if he wanted to become an assassin, he had to turn to the right.
Feng Yongrui sighed. It seemed like he really couldn't have the best of both ways...
Feng Yongrui chose to turn to the right. He stumbled and wobbled through the winding streets, before he heard a "Ding~". He had arrived at his destination.
Feng Yongrui looked at the building in front of him and almost coughed up blood. What kind of building was this?! Wasn't it just... a shed?!
The shed itself looked about twice the size of public toilets that he saw on earth. Feng Yongrui wanted to complain -- what if these directions were wrong, and he ended up in a weird place?
But... he had been walking under the rain for so long now, and his arms were stiff from the cold. Feng Yongrui ignored the pain in his legs and the ice cold numbness in his veins.
He pushed open the shed door and was greeted with dust. There were wooden crates stacked neatly on one side of the wall, and on the other side, there was a stack of dry hay.
The space inside the shed was limited, coupled with the thick dust that covered the entire room, Feng Yongrui felt like he was being smothered. Thankfully, there was one small window near the dry hay, and a single candle was lit by the windowsill.
Feng Yongrui walked closer to the light and stepped on the hay. He was barefoot, so when he stepped on the hay, he could feel the prickly sensation on the soles of his feet.
Feng Yongrui sat down on the hay and looked at himself. He was wearing a dirty, yellowish tunic that seemed as if it had seen better days, as well as trousers that reached his ankles. These trousers were obviously too big for him, and there was a brown rope that was meticulously tied across the waist to keep the trouser in place.
Feng Yongrui was exhausted; he originally planned to contact the System once he arrived in this world, but he was too tired to even keep his eyes opened. Feng Yongrui glanced at the candle by the windowsill and lay down on the hay.
This was... probably the worst bed he slept on since he transmigrated. Even when he was in the other three worlds, his conditions were better than this.
Feng Yongrui gazed at the flickering candle silently. Everything around him was strangely quiet and still, making him painfully aware of every single detail.
For example, he could hear the loud pattering of the rain against the roof and against the windowpanes. Feng Yongrui could smell the thick musty scent of dust coating the room. He could feel the hard cold ground underneath the thin layer of hay.
He could feel the biting cold that surrounded his bones and the throbbing of his head... Even his feet felt like countless ants were biting him. Feng Yongrui wanted to adjust his sleeping position, but he was too tired and simply fell asleep.
***
You return to medieval times and get to choose any occupation. What do you want to be and why?
Comment below~