He successfully harvested Lu Feng's awe, the Second Young Lady's shock, Old Three's fear, and the youngest's sorrow.
Helping others sure is great.
Ji Jue munched happily on the melon the aunt had sliced, while the youngest, knowing her days were "numbered," started crying and demanding snacks.
"I'll go buy some."
The instigator Ji Jue wiped his hands on his pants and, enjoying the resentful gazes behind him, spoke up, "I'll just swing by and snag a free power source on the way."
"Get me a Coke." The Second Young Lady, having narrowly escaped trouble by getting into college, needed something to calm her nerves.
"Bring a pack of cigarettes."
Lu Ma, her reading glasses perched on her nose, was wrestling with the ledger and said without looking up, "Put it on my tab with Zhang Min."
"Right away, thanks a lot, Lu Ma."
Ji Jue didn't bother with further pleasantries and whistled his way out the door.
Amidst the bright sunny summer day and the refreshing sea breeze from afar, even the stray dogs scurrying around the streets opted to lounge in the shade, enjoying the quiet. The teahouses on both sides were packed, and amidst the hardworking electric fans, old men in tank tops could be seen digging at their feet while sipping tea and playing cards, maintaining the harmonious and lively atmosphere as usual.
Whistling to himself, Ji Jue walked about ten meters to the convenience store at the street corner, bought what he needed, and then decided to splurge on some ice pops for everyone.
He tore into one himself and took a big slurp in the cool breeze of the air conditioner, immediately letting out a contented sigh as the sweetness and chill spread from his mouth.
Even the raging sun outside seemed less fearsome now.
Ice pops are the best.
Humming, he left with the intention of returning to the store but was stopped by a piercing noise.
It came from behind.
In the street, a tricycle loaded with cardboard suddenly zipped out of its lane like a headless fly, drawing a huge arc. Amidst screams from the crowd, it swiped past a steamed bun stall on the curb, overturning it and sending buns skittering and hot water splashing.
It was like a rampaging hippopo in motion.
And it was heading straight for Ji Jue!
"Dammit—"
Ji Jue bit his ice pop in half on reflex, too late to dodge, instinctively gripped the handlebars and looked up at the old man pedaling.
The old man's eyes were white, bloodshot, and he was foaming at the mouth.
He seemed to be having a sudden fit, convulsing violently.
Then...
He didn't forget to furiously keep pedaling!
Ji Jue was not okay.
Why struggle, old man? You're spasming like that... are you trying to pin this on me today?
After a moment of standstill, the mountain of cardboard in the tricycle's basket tilted due to inertia, broke free from the plastic ropes, and collapsed, pulling the entire thing onto its side.
Both men were pinned beneath it.
Only a trembling pile of cardboard was visible at first, then a weak hand reached out from beneath, pushed aside the trash, and Ji Jue's dirt-smudged face emerged.
Gasping for air.
Grateful that this time his bad luck wasn't too severe.
It was just a rickety tricycle, after all. If it had been a truck, wouldn't he be...
But then, he heard the screams from around him.
The gathering crowd dispersed in a frenzy, replaced by a deafening roar that nearly shook the soul.
— Horns!
"What the hell is that noise?"
Ji Jue turned his head sluggishly, only then feeling the gale hitting his face.
And on the street, he saw the approaching behemoth screaming like a giant ferocious beast—its steel face smeared with mud, not caring about something as trivial as rated load capacity.
Sixteen point five meters long, two point five meters wide.
It was a Nanfeng semi-trailer...
Barreling towards him, a rushing truck!
"You have got to be..."
Ji Jue was dumbstruck.
In that moment of petrified despair, he could already see the face of the driver in the cab, more twisted with hopelessness than his own.
He forgot to breathe, his hairs on end, wanting to scream and shout, but it was already too late to make a sound.
I couldn't dodge it.
But what unexpectedly came to mind wasn't cursing but an indescribable confusion, bewilderment, and even... peace.
"Damn, that's such a classic plot."
Could it be that I've been accumulating good deeds and today my quota for reincarnation finally got approved!?
Wait, wait, it's not just about crossing over, do I get a perk?
Which station do I belong to? Do I get a system? I've heard some authors are shameless, not even giving out perks and forcing you into Hell difficulty while insisting it's a joyride without torturing the protagonist—it's all lies, and you might even get cut off...
No, no, hold on!
Ji Jue sharply realized the blind spot—there's more than just me here, right?!
What if it's not me who's reincarnating, but this old man on the ground?
Wouldn't that mean I'm screwed?
In the future, when this old guy is off to the Otherworld, starting his harem and blowing up the demon king, I wonder if he'll remember some unlucky kid called Ji Jue from years ago? I wonder if he'll take it as a lesson and thereafter do more good deeds.
I better not die in vain.
But it seemed like I really was going to die in vain.
From that moment of enlightenment, Ji Jue finally understood what the looming infinite darkness meant.
I was going to die.
Die.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...
That sound, like an illusion, crisp to the ears, so rhythmic, not hurried or delayed, as if it's the footsteps of death approaching.
I couldn't escape it.
92... 97... 98...
Ji Jue dully stared at the massive truck inching closer, watching the death-grip tires friction against the earth, stones bouncing and rising from the truck bed amidst the jolts.
The engine roared furiously, spraying flames in the cylinder, pistons thundering up and down like thunder, brake pads and rotors grinding, sparks scattering like rain.
99...
Stop.
"I want to say, please stop."
I'm begging you, stop, stop, sto...
Stopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop—
I said:
—"[Stop]!!!!!!"
Click!
In that instant, on the watch face, the numbers pushed to the brink abruptly reset to zero!
The shrill screeching sound ended abruptly, the wind ceased, and a mass of mud and sand erupted from the shattered bed of the truck, sweeping across the street like a mudslide, enveloping the front of the truck, flying into the sky.
And then, like fine rain, it fell.
Covering Ji Jue's dazed face.
Beneath the sand, his eyes blinked, staring at the truck front nearly touching his nose, the front quivering, fissures appearing, as if lamenting.
Then the sound of the chassis fracturing followed. The entire truck collapsed as if falling apart, quickly disintegrating, the glowing red transmission axle piercing through the chassis, out from the mud, slanting towards the sky.
Ji Jue slumped to the ground.
Within the lingering stupor and confusion, he slowly lifted his hand to touch his wet mouth and nose, only to find it covered in blood—nosebleed...
It seemed like screams and curses were rising around him.
The uproar was delayed in reaching him.
A child cried out for his mother; the bewildered mother rushed out from the shop, witnessing the scene, raging like a mad bear, yanking off the truck's door, and pummeling the driver's face without aim.
There was also someone who looked like Lu Feng, who kicked the old man aside and squeezed through, desperately supporting Ji Jue's shoulders, shouting something.
But he wasn't paying attention to that anymore.
What emerged in his mind, in that last moment, was the sharpness that emanated from the truck.
It echoed through his brain and into his instincts, like thunder shaking heaven and earth.
That was the mechanical roaring, responding to his own words.
It said, "[Your command]."