September 12, 2005.
United States, Los Angeles.
In a mid-to-high-end apartment.
Brian pushed away the softness enveloping him, rose from the bed, and groggily opened the window, supporting his somewhat sore back, as he watched the clean streets washed by the overnight downpour. His consciousness, initially still in slumber, gradually awoke.
His movement awakened the woman in the bed.
Her golden, thick hair spread out, revealing the fair face beneath.
She was a young-looking Caucasian female.
Her face still held a lingering flush from the previous night's frenzy.
Cold air poured into the room.
The woman tightened the blanket around her, and her sleepy, big eyes flashed a seductive look, "Why not continue to sleep a bit?"
Brian didn't respond.
He tightened the cashmere pajamas around his body, approached the desk, and took out a piece of sheepskin paper with intricate patterns. He began to write hurriedly in the language of the United States:
Vehicle Appraisal:
"..."
At the end of the paper.
Brian signed his name and took out a stamp, pressing it on top of the signature.
With that,
a fresh vehicle appraisal was produced.
He presented his assessment to the woman still curled up in bed, "Thank you for your business. You can take your things and leave now. If you want to take a shower, that would be an extra twenty dollars."
"No fun!"
The woman muttered, accepting the appraisal document.
But when she saw the 'A' grade on it, she couldn't help but reveal a joyful smile.
Last night's effort had not been in vain!
The man with black hair and brown eyes in front of her was a vehicle appraiser with a modest reputation in Los Angeles in recent years.
With this professional appraisal report,
her value would increase significantly.
"Thank you very much for the appraisal, Brian. If you need anything, contact me anytime!", the woman winked at Brian, "For free!"
Brian didn't react much to the woman's insinuation, merely nodding faintly.
He insisted on doing vehicle appraisals partly because he was currently short on money.
On the other hand,
this method helped alleviate the worsening of his mental illness.
...
After sending off the disappointed woman,
Brian, massaging his sore back, turned on the television.
Recently, high-intensity part-time work had left him physically and mentally exhausted.
In his twenties, with the body of a man in his thirties and the physiology of someone in their fifties, this was the most accurate description of his current state.
Fortunately, he had finally managed to gather this month's medical bills for his foster parents.
Today, on this rest day,
Brian planned to give his nearly exhausted body a well-deserved break.
On TV, the news was currently broadcasting a hot topic, "...observed by the astronomical observatory... tonight ... a rare Blood Moon phenomenon that occurs every thirty years.."
"Not this news again."
Brian frowned and switched to a channel playing soap operas.
Blood Moon...
The Blood Moon mentioned in the news wasn't the simple reddening of the moon of his past life.
Instead, the entire earth, regardless of the hemisphere or whether it was day or night, at that specific time, would be enveloped in blood red!
This astronomical phenomenon, absent in his previous life, always reminded Brian of the teachers who had accompanied him through many lonely nights in his past life.
Unfortunately, they were no longer around.
...
Brian was a transmigrator.
This world is somewhat like a parallel world to his previous life.
However, some names of countries had changed.
Some technologies were also much more advanced than in 2005.
As for Brian, he was a transmigrator in the womb.
His mother was a pure-blooded Italian, and his father was a mix of Italian and Chinese, both with good looks.
Inheriting the excellent genes of both parents, Brian, in this lifetime, had black hair, brown eyes, well-defined features, and delicate pale skin, making him look exquisite like a porcelain doll from a young age.
Until Brian was eight years old.
His parents disappeared during a car trip.
Just like in his previous life, Brian once again became an orphan.
Because his relatives in New York had Mafia backgrounds, were entirely evil, and had a record of misconduct, they couldn't pass the guardian qualification review by the child welfare agency, and there were no suitable adopters at the time, so Brian was sent to the Children's House, waiting for adoption.
This place was not as warm as one might imagine.
Sometimes, an outstanding appearance is not a good thing for a child without parental protection.
Fortunately, Brian wasn't really an eight-year-old child.
He had the help of some distant relatives.
After experiencing some unpleasant incidents.
Ultimately, with the help of his uncle, Brian was adopted by a kind-hearted couple and grew up safely.
...
As for the part-time job as a Vehicle Appraiser, it was also somewhat related to Brian's relatives.
Several years ago.
While still in college, Brian was troubled by expensive student loans and started thinking about ways to make money.
However, despite having lived two lives.
In his previous life, Brian was just a socially inexperienced nerd with average IQ and low EQ, living on the inheritance left by his parents, spending his days either gaming or keying away on the keyboard, pontificating online, or researching some "study materials" to polish his ancestral treasure.
Making money?
Sorry, as an unmotivated loser, he couldn't make a penny!
The greatest achievement of Brian's previous life was probably the study materials in his computer hard drive, vast enough to start several community websites.
This was also his biggest regret in his past and present life.
He died too suddenly.
Didn't even have time to format his study materials.
Isn't this what let an abiding, law-abiding, untouched successor die ambiguously?
"Hard work" will not be disappointed.
Leveraging the accumulation and foundation of countless days and nights from his previous life.
Brian quickly found a suitable path for himself.
Through the channels of his Mafia relatives in Los Angeles, relying on good looks and smooth talking, he successfully got the part-time job as a Vehicle Appraiser, and quickly built some reputation in the field after his internship.
Some ambitious independent women in Los Angeles would spend money to get "training" from Brian through various channels, finally obtaining the appraisal reports issued by Brian.
Like the young girl just now.
She was recommended by her mother, who had also benefited and was ambitious.
There were many similar cases.
Over the years.
Brian, supported by these independent entrepreneurial women, not only paid off his student loans but also rented his current residence in the city's mid-to-high-end community.
The reason for not buying.
In addition to the fact that this residence was priced at over 1.3 million US Dollars, it was also because Brian's respected adoptive parents had both been diagnosed with a severe genetic disease earlier this year.
This not only drained his previous savings but also plunged him into considerable debt.
..
However, the job as a Vehicle Appraiser was only Brian's part-time job.
His main job was an assistant at the Forensic Bureau in Los Angeles County.
A forensic doctor, also known as an Autopsy Officer, though slightly different between the two, both were specifically responsible for examining the bodies discovered by district police stations, determining the causes of death, and issuing authoritative reports.
As someone who got the job through connections, had been working for two and a half years, and was still an unskilled assistant.
Brian really couldn't muster any passion for this profession.
The reason he didn't quit was simple.
If he quit, he would die!