```
In a state of slight intoxication and relishing the moment, Chen Miao, upon hearing the voice beside him, calmly tossed the cigarette butt in his hand into the disposable cup in front of him. Then he stood up and gestured for Hungry Monkey across from him to follow as he, without turning his head, began to walk towards the distance.
He waved his hand dismissively at the boss to signal that the money had been paid.
His pace did not quicken, it remained steady, only he didn't look back.
After walking dozens of steps and hearing no movement behind him, he suddenly sped up from a jog to a full run and, at the end of the road, turned and ducked into a dark alley.
"Phew!"
Only after poking his head out of the alley and seeing no one following did Chen Miao let out a breath of relief. Wasn't Fengtian City supposed to be a bustling city with a population of millions? How could he have run into the very first customer they had tricked today?
Although he hadn't seen the man's face clearly.
But that voice was all too familiar; it was undoubtedly the first man they had flayed!
Moreover, he clearly didn't come off as a decent person but more like some gang leader. If trapped by such a person, it was likely they'd have the chance to closely admire the layout of Fengtian City's sewers.
"Let's go!"
Once he saw everything was safe, Chen Miao pulled Hungry Monkey with him as they wound through the alleys before eventually heading home.
As long as they weren't caught on the spot, everything would be fine.
...
Having arrived bare-bottomed, he certainly had no place to live; these past few days, he had been staying in Hungry Monkey's house.
It must be said.
Although Hungry Monkey hadn't made much money, he managed to buy a standalone house in the suburbs of Fengtian City with his own abilities.
Surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear water, devoid of people, it was extremely peaceful.
Food was everywhere; there were no concerns about natural disasters or human calamities.
Natural protection and shelter, deep silence in the dead of night, no one approached.
A standalone house and courtyard, the epitome of luxury, a symbol of nobility.
With night security and the safety of residents being of utmost importance.
A feng shui master had chosen the site; settling down here meant blessings for generations to come.
It's just that the ceilings were a bit too low, and the place a bit small.
"..."
Chen Miao sighed lightly and greeted the cemetery entrance security guard, walking into the graveyard, and his eyes immediately found the small self-built house among numerous tombstones.
Even though he had seen this scene several times.
Every time he saw it, it still felt almost too much to bear.
It was his first time seeing the living dwell among the graves and even buying himself a plot.
According to Hungry Monkey, right after he left the orphanage, he worked tirelessly, taking advantage of his natural strength to do heavy lifting with great skill. He also met a woman he loved.
The woman was very good to him.
She knew Hungry Monkey couldn't afford a house and didn't want to put too much pressure on him, but they needed a house for marriage. If they didn't have a house to live in before death, they should at least have one for after, so they could be buried together, united in death as doomed lovers.
After all, a house for the afterlife is much cheaper than one for the living.
The woman spoke with such sincerity.
Hungry Monkey was excited and thrilled, his mind clouded by the phrase "doomed lovers," believing that the woman was truly thoughtful and considerate. How could an orphan, who had never been loved, withstand such earnest and passionate confessions?
He immediately withdrew all his savings and borrowed from his coworkers from all around, fully paying 80,000 Star Coins upfront for a 30-year lease on a cemetery plot.
After that, the woman disappeared, and he later discovered she was in sales, specializing in selling cemetery plots.
From then on, Hungry Monkey worked even harder. After paying off all his debts, he completely gave up, earning one day to eat for three days, then again earning for one to eat for three, completely losing the determination he had when he first left the orphanage.
All his spirit was gone.
When Chen Miao heard this story, he remained silent for a long time, unsure what to say.
Although he once said that all stories in the world are much the same, only the names of the protagonists change, sometimes he had to admit that the world still contains stories unfathomable to the human mind.
In theory, he could understand, as someone who had never received love could easily, upon feeling warmth for the first time, pour out all their passion, eager to tell the world that they were loved.
But after much thought,
he still couldn't wrap his head around someone purchasing a graveyard plot as a marriage home.
To what extent had they been deceived? Compared to conning a normal person into buying a cane, he still thought conning someone into buying a graveyard plot to use as a marriage home was even more impressive.
But what's bought is bought, and even if he was scammed, it shouldn't go to waste, right? Hungry Monkey tried to resell the plot but found it was basically unsellable unless the price was drastically lowered, which would be too great a loss. So Hungry Monkey packed his bags and moved to the cemetery, building a self-made house over his own plot.
The above-ground layer was 1.4 meters high.
The underground layer was 1 meter high.
The total height came to 2.4 meters, a bit cramped, but he could at least stand up straight. As for the area of the house, it was less than 10 square meters. This was after the cemetery security guard, having heard Hungry Monkey's story and looked at him with pity, turned a blind eye, pretending not to see.
```
Anyway, the graveyard owner never comes here, and most people who come to pay their respects don't care about this.
There's no water or electricity.
Water is fetched in buckets from outside. Hungry Monkey has no use for electronic devices either—it's enough to charge the wristwatch while working, and at night, if hungry, there's always the chance to scrounge for some fresh offerings.
Lucky finds can include cigarettes and alcohol.
"..."
Chen Miao couldn't help but sigh again, looking at the low entrance he had to stoop to enter, his lips twitching slightly, "In a few days, we'll move, and we can just leave this one here."
"Ah? Wouldn't that be a waste?"
"Not a waste. When you die, I'll bury you in it. Now go to sleep. Seriously, meeting you was a calamity—damn, you're really something!"
Buy a burial plot, get a coffin free.
Hungry Monkey had laid soft pads inside the coffin, and that's where he slept normally.
The lid was half-closed to allow for ventilation and warmth.
After Chen Miao arrived, Hungry Monkey started sleeping on a makeshift bed next to the tomb chamber, giving up his beloved coffin to Chen Miao.
Originally, Hungry Monkey had planned to dig up a coffin quietly at night to give to Miao as a bed, but after receiving a stern and angry rejection from Chen Miao, he finally gave up on the idea of stealing a coffin.
It's apparent that Hungry Monkey's moral standards aren't very high.
This was also an important reason why he had agreed to team up with Hungry Monkey in the first place. A person with too high moral standards can be a real hassle when trying to get things done, like with the clinic business; high morality doesn't bring profits.
But being a stranger in a new place, he needed to quickly earn tens of thousands of points to craft a weapon and survive the major event in seven days. Could he do that without resorting to some tricks and not risking his neck?
Unexpectedly to him,
Hungry Monkey's moral standards seemed even lower than he had imagined, almost to the point of having no qualms at all...
...
The next day.
As sunlight hit his face, Chen Miao lay in the coffin, expressionless, slowly opening his eyes and looking at the florescent light above him. It was something Hungry Monkey once said he had grown used to – waking up with sunlight on his face. After moving to a new place without sunlight, he often had trouble getting up.
So he came up with this thing.
Set for a specific time, the light would turn on when the time came, signaling it was time to get up, just like waking up to sunlight on his face.
A warm feeling, like the embrace of a mother he never met.
The first night he slept here, waking up to this thing shining on his face, he thought he'd damn well traveled through time again!
"Sigh."
Chen Miao couldn't help but sigh again. After washing up, he stepped out of the tomb chamber, sat at the doorway, and looked up at the fully lit sky. He lit a cigarette and put it to his mouth, gently massaging his temples in an effort to calm down.
Today, he had to buy materials. Once he had the materials, he could craft his own Occupational Weapon and then try his luck in the secret realms.
Activating the "Gunner" occupation required three conditions.
The first condition was to craft an Occupation Exclusive weapon, and he had enough money for that.
The second and third conditions were to clear a secret realm once and spend 200 Star Coins.
Star Coins were a currency exclusive to the secret realms, only obtainable there, meaning the second and third conditions could only be achieved by entering the realm, making it crucial to fully activate the "Gunner" occupation before the big event in six days.
It would be ideal to Level Up to LV1, which would also activate the Attribute Panel.
And just then—
A young man with a bunch of white chrysanthemums entered the cemetery, and upon seeing Chen Miao sitting at the entrance of a tomb chamber, he said with mild surprise, "Dude, you're here at the crack of dawn for grave-sweeping?"
Chen Miao glanced at the black and white photo of Hungry Monkey pasted on the tombstone behind him and, without expression, pushed the cigarette he was holding into the dirt in front of the photo, replying, "Ever heard that the early bird catches the worm?"
"Oh, right."
The young man frowned a bit as he looked back at the tomb chamber behind Chen Miao, which seemed somewhat amiss, and said, "Dude, how come your tomb chamber... is so much larger than mine?"
"Family death toll's higher, wouldn't fit in a small one."
"What, you want one too?"
"..."
The young man hesitated for a moment before striding away with his white chrysanthemums, muttering under his breath some angry words about crazy and unlucky people.
As for Chen Miao, he wasn't the least bit troubled by this interlude, instead lighting another cigarette without expression and putting it in his mouth. Then he lifted his arm and knocked heavily on the tomb chamber door.
"Are you done yet?"
"Hold on, Miao, almost ready!"
...
ps: Thanks to "You Are Wind and I Am Sand" for the 5000 Starting Point coins reward, and thanks to "Invincible Iron Bull Star Cannon," "YIBAI," "Pomelo Beating Lemon," and others for their rewards and monthly ticket support.
Grateful to the old readers for their unwavering support!