The broad streets were bustling with people, and the sound of car horns echoed, causing irritation. The air was thick with exhaust fumes, coating the nearby trees with a thin layer of gray. The scorching sun beat down on the rough streets, adding to the discomfort.
Yang Feng walked home slowly, his hands stuffed into his pockets. His pace was slow, like an old man, and his heart was filled with frustration. He couldn't believe that after confronting a spoiled young master, he had been fired. Is this how dark society is? Are people just going to stand by when a girl gets bullied? His heart raged with anger, wanting to find something to vent his frustrations on.
At that moment, in the street nearby, an elderly man riding a tricycle was suddenly pulled off by a young man with yellow hair, who then punched him. The old man fell to the ground, and the trio of thugs began shouting insults. Yang Feng couldn't hear the exact words, but the sight of an elderly man being beaten ignited a surge of anger in him. How could they hit a man over sixty years old? What kind of people do this?
Although Yang Feng had been in a few scuffles since high school, he would never bully the weak, especially not an old man like this. Seeing that the elderly man was surviving by collecting cans, probably earning only a few bucks a month, Yang Feng felt his anger boil over. The thugs took the old man's few coins from his pocket, spitting on him as they did.
Without thinking, Yang Feng picked up a red brick from the ground and charged at the thugs, swinging it fiercely.
"Who the hell are you?!" One of the thugs, the yellow-haired leader, felt a sharp pain on his head as the brick struck him, stumbling back in pain.
"How can you bully an old man like this? Are you even human?!" Yang Feng shouted, continuing to swing the brick at them.
The three thugs, surprised by Yang Feng's sudden attack, hesitated for a moment. They looked at each other, unsure whether to back off or fight. After all, Yang Feng was just a student, dressed in the blue-and-white school uniform, obviously no match for three thugs.
However, in the end, they lunged at him, grabbing his arms and knocking the brick away. The yellow-haired thug took hold of the brick and struck it sharply against Yang Feng's head, hitting him on the temple.
Yang Feng felt a sharp pain in his head, and his vision went dark. He collapsed to the cold ground, unconscious.Is he dead?" one of the thugs asked in fear, seeing the blood trickling from Yang Feng's head.
"Let's go... Let's get out of here!" The yellow-haired thug, known as Feng Ge, said nervously, his voice shaking. The last thing he wanted was to be caught for manslaughter. With that, the three thugs quickly ran away.
At that moment, the elderly man smiled faintly, pulling out a transparent triangular object that glimmered like blue crystal. His eyes were filled with a deep, knowing wisdom as he muttered softly, "You are the first kind-hearted young man I've met on this planet. You have great potential. I don't need this, but you do. Take it. Three years from now, I'll come find you…"
The strange triangular object hovered above Yang Feng's body, and to his surprise, it slowly began to merge with him.
This encounter would change Yang Feng's life forever, though the old man never realized that the young man he had helped was not exactly the noble youth he had assumed…
The old man disappeared with the wind, vanishing from the planet and leaving through a wormhole, heading into the vast universe beyond.
——————
Around six in the afternoon, the sky had darkened, and heavy rain began to fall. In an alley, where no one else had passed, Yang Feng slowly opened his eyes. He felt something wet on his face, and realized he was lying in a small puddle. He stood up, trying to recall what had happened.
He remembered seeing the elderly man being bullied by the thugs, and his anger had made him rush over to fight back. But he was struck on the head by the yellow-haired thug with a brick. So why did he feel no pain? His body felt unusually light, and his head was clear.
Could it be that the brick had made him smarter?
Yang Feng looked at his white school uniform, now soaked with water and mud. He glanced up at the sky. It was already nearing evening. He had missed an entire afternoon of class!
"What a disaster… I've never skipped class before," he thought, sighing. "Oh well, I'll just take the scolding when I get back."
Yang Feng walked out of the alley, joining the bustling crowd on the street as he made his way home.
His home was in a low-income residential area built by the local government for struggling families. The rent ranged from a thousand to three thousand a month, and Yang Feng paid the cheapest—only a thousand. The apartment was small, a single room with a small section partitioned off as a bedroom, just enough space for a bed and a desk.
Despite the cramped living conditions, the utility bills were cheap, under a hundred a month, which was affordable. Yang Feng climbed the stairs to the seventh floor, unlocked the door, and as he entered, he heard a sweet, melodious voice.
"Yang Feng, you're finally back! I'm starving!"
He looked up to see his younger sister, Yang Lianqing, who was wearing the same blue-and-white school uniform. She had a bright smile on her face, and as usual, she playfully complained as she put down her pen and approached him.
"Why didn't you order takeout if you were hungry?" Yang Feng replied, his mood obviously not great after being fired earlier. He walked past her into the bathroom to change clothes.
"By the way, Yang Feng, have you had dinner? I'll order takeout for both of us," Yang Lianqing said, holding her old phone in one hand and glancing at him.
"No need, I'm not hungry." Yang Feng replied curtly, still in his school uniform. He didn't want to waste money and preferred to save on meals whenever possible. He walked into his small bedroom, closed the door, and lay down on his bed, feeling defeated.
Yang Lianqing looked at her brother with concern. She knew he was always working hard to support their family, working late hours to keep up with their expenses. She understood that today he must have been fired. Taking a deep breath, she set her phone down and decided to skip her own dinner, drinking water to stave off hunger. She then began to do her homework.
Yang Feng lay on the bed, sighing again. Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Ding dong~ The All-Class System is fully loaded. Now initializing!".