Li Ang went to purchase a new weapon the next morning after completing his construction work.
He lost his old sword to thieves who broke into his house and now requires a new weapon for defense.
He's planning to re-enter the world of martial arts and confront the strange anomalies. A ranged weapon came to mind. He naturally assumed a crossbow would be a weapon that was easy to learn to use.
Having arrived at the market, he located a weapon shop by asking people where he could buy weapons.
The prices, ranging from 180 to 140 taels, nearly caused Li Ang to leave, but he considered it an investment in his growth in both worlds and stayed to ask about a crossbow and its price.
The crossbow cost 220 taels. After some bargaining, Li Ang purchased a sword, crossbow, and 15 arrows for 340 teals.
With only 5 taels left in his pocket, Li Ang's heart ached. He spent all his money in a single day preventing himself from savoring his newfound wealth.
If he could get rich once, surely he could repeat rich again.
Seeking a place to practice his crossbow and test its range, he traveled to the outskirts of the city. He felt more assured of his crossbow skills after practicing for an hour.
He went back to his room after practicing martial arts for another hour.
The next two days he went into his usual routine of working for construction and practising for 2 hours in martial arts and archery and returning to the inn room before night.
Tonight, after exploring his mirror as usual in his mind, he summoned the void portal, leading him to believe it enters a three-day cooldown period after activation.
He prepared himself for the other world by gathering supplies before using the portal.
To navigate the darkness safely, he took a torch, and to avoid those who want him dead, he wore a hooded cloak.
He arms himself with his new weapons to confront the anomalies.
Finally, after checking if the portal was safe, he took a step inside the portal.
It seems it was nighttime here.
The house he lived in for 18 years now felt unsafe as he stepped back inside. The items he relied on to scare off the anomalies were stolen. Moreover, those seeking to harm him know that he once lived here. If they found out that Li Ang is still alive, they will try to kill him again.
In order for him to survive, He's got to find a new home and adopt a new identity to avoid being discovered.
Thinking that he would spend sometimes in this world, he closed the void portal.
After glancing one last time at his house, he walking toward the city that half a mile away from his house.
On his way, Li Ang encountered a strange anomaly, the goat anomaly. An anomaly that even a grandmaster hate to deal with in close distance.
A humanoid monster standing 180-190cm tall, characterized by its muscular build, goat's legs, and long, horned head. A monster possessing blue magical fire that could reduce even a grandmaster to ashes. Fortunately, he can't breathe fire from a distance, and his running speed is no faster than a human's, making him a simple target for the crossbow arrows.
Despite having defeated the anomaly, Li Ang discharged a few extra rounds into its skull to double-check its demise. Despite shooting it in the head, Li Ang remains hesitant to confirm its death and counties on his journey.
As he neared the city, the guards guarding the gates stopped him.
The guard asks him a question.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Lin Mu."
"Lin Mu, what is the purpose of your visit here?"
"I'm here to serve the government as a demon hunter."
"A demon hunter, I see. We do need your help. We need new warriors to defend against the city anomalies."
"Can you remove your hood before we let you enter?"
Li Ang complies with the guard and removed his hood. Not noticing anything suspicious about him, they granted him passage.
The Xia County's city, Xia city, used to be a bustling place, home to over 100,000 people. Now the city's population has shrunk to under 90% of its former size because of the strange anomalies invasion for the past 10 years.
The majority of the city's inhabitants are warriors. The world became increasingly unfriendly to ordinary people.
There are many gangs in the market, and armed fights often occur.
Some masters misuse their martial arts skills, wreaking havoc, and showing no regard for human life.
The government turns a blind eye to the abuse of ordinary people by warriors, and when caught, warriors are let off with minimal punishment. They only take things seriously when warriors battle each other.
Li Ang heard that the government offers a place to live in and food for these who join their demon hunting force, and he was interested.
Li Ang went straight to the government office building and asked to join the demon hunters.
The reception desk official explained to Li Ang that, as a new member, he would be obliged to serve the government for four years before being allowed to resign.
Li Ang had no problem with it and signed the contract.
The receptionist then gave Li Ang a residence voucher and told him where his quarters were located.
Li Ang was instructed to collect his monthly allowance of 200 yuan in advance tomorrow. Yuan is the currency used in this world.
After collecting the residence voucher, he went to his house.
Using the mirror in his mind, he journeyed through another world before bedtime. Each time he used the mirror with his mind, he discovered he could travel deeper into the other world while feeling less mentally exhausted.
Although unsure if the mirror helped his mental strength, Li Ang became addicted to it because of the improvement he experienced.
With his mental vision, he went from his inn room to the inn lobby, but then he found something strange. The people in the lobby were moving in slow motion.
Could it be that time flow differently between the worlds?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt tired and drifted off to sleep.