Chapter 4

When Soren brought Vivian back to the slum, he spent three copper dellers to buy a thick, black loaf of bread, the kind that is dark, hard, and can be used as a weapon to attack burglars, with a 1D3 damage rating. The lower-class residents ground unhusked rye directly into powder, and the crude technique often left wood chips and other strange things inside. Once it cooled, it became as hard as a club, and could only be swallowed after being sliced with a knife and soaked in water.

Many people who entered this world couldn't bear such food and took desperate risks!

Many players thus began their journey in the evil faction.

Soren was no exception.

So he became a thief!

Perhaps it was because he had entered a more realistic world, or perhaps it was because he had a little girl by his side, but Soren was far more calm and patient than he used to be. He carefully cut the black bread, soaked it in hot water, and then handed it to Vivian, taking a bite himself and enduring the texture of wood chips, silently swallowing it.

It wasn't that he had no way to obtain money.

But he was very clear about the consequences if he were caught!

After all, this wasn't a game.

And he was no longer just a player. In this unfamiliar yet familiar world, he had to be responsible for his actions and for the little Vivian. Amber City had many powerful professionals, and the city guards all had templates of 10th-level Militia/3rd-level Warrior. Unless he strengthened his theft skill to 75 points or more, there was still a chance of being discovered.

If caught stealing, one would be thrown into jail and might even have an arm broken.

Especially if the target was a noble!

Although there was no salt, and it could be described as having a hard-to-swallow texture, Vivian still ate it happily, for she was a girl who was easily satisfied.

And she was really hungry!

As long as her brother was by her side, everything would be fine.

The pressure of the past half month had made the little girl extremely tired. She just wanted to stay by her brother's side, quietly being an unobtrusive little girl.

"Tomorrow I'll buy you something delicious!"

Soren gently stroked Vivian's little head, leaned down to kiss her forehead, and said seriously, "Everything will be fine!"

"Okay."

Vivian nodded lightly.

If there was anyone in this world who could earn her complete trust, it would be her brother.

Because since she was three years old, this young man in front of her had been protecting her!

Supporting her silently until now.

Vivian still remembered when she was very young, her brother was often injured. She couldn't do anything but cry helplessly, and her bruised and swollen brother always comforted her, saying everything would be fine.

Later, they no longer had to wander the streets and finally had a small home in the chaotic slum!

Everything will be fine.

The eight-year-old girl was still naive about many things, but she knew that as long as her brother was there, he would always protect her.

That's really good!

Soren looked at the sleeping Vivian on the bed, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

She was really exhausted.

An eight-year-old girl, supporting herself in such a chaotic slum for half a month, was a very hard thing to do.

She probably hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time.

Soren opened a hidden compartment under the wooden board and took out a gleaming dagger, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

Those scoundrels who dared to have designs on Vivian should be sent to hell!

...

The night quietly descended.

The slum was dark, with only a few places still lit.

There was the Fire Stove Tavern, one of the few luxuries in the slum. Here, one could buy a large cup of watered-down cheap beer for one copper deller, which, though tasteless, was still a rare treat for many lower-class residents. Next to it was a row of low sheds, where for five copper dellers, one could find a cheap prostitute for a quick pleasure. One couldn't expect them to be very attractive; they were just women with chests and buttocks.

Outside the Fire Stove Tavern were dark alleys.

Few people dared to walk them at night, as they were areas frequented by marginals.

The entire slum was filled with such dim alleys, and most people rarely went out at night except for a few.

The Fire Stove Tavern was noisy inside.

There were dock workers, grim-faced gang members, and people from all walks of life.

They mostly discussed the recent gang wars, and some gloated about someone daring to have designs on Vivian. Now that Soren had woken up, someone was in for trouble.

The scarred, thin man who spoke glanced meaningfully at the corner of the tavern.

There sat two men.

They were Baras and Kanopo, who planned to sell Vivian to Sosia. One of them limped, having been bitten by a fierce old dog when they tried to take her by force.

"Let's go."

Baras glanced at the others in the tavern and said, "Let's go back first."

"There's always a way to deal with Soren."

Kanopo drained the cheap beer in his glass. He was a miser and wouldn't waste a drop.

They had already received Sosia's deposit a few days ago. If they couldn't deliver Vivian, someone would soon come to talk to them.

Now it was too late to back out.

Moreover, Soren valued his sister more than his life. If they dared to have designs on her, Soren wouldn't let it go.

A cold wind blew in.

The people in the tavern cursed a few times and saw Baras and Kanopo walk out.

The moon in the sky was gray.

After leaving the tavern, both men shivered. Perhaps because they had drunk a lot, Baras found a small alley and went in to relieve himself.

This was the slum.

Not to mention urination, even defecation was done in the corners of alleys.

Baras unbuttoned his belt and heard the creaking sounds from the sheds next to the Fire Stove Tavern, cursing under his breath in the dialect of the Qibei region.

Perhaps thinking of Soren waking up, his face was grim!

Suddenly.

He felt his body hair stand on end, and he vaguely saw a shadow move in the dark corner of the alley.

Before he could pull up his pants, he reached for the dagger at his waist.

But it was too late.

Soren's figure appeared out of nowhere, his form emerging from the dim shadows, not knowing how long he had been waiting.

A gleaming dagger pierced his back!

Immediately, a hand covered Baras's mouth, stifling his dying scream.

Thud!

Soren expressionlessly pulled out the dagger and wiped the blood on the corpse.

A row of data appeared before his eyes:

"Shadow Hide successful!"

"Backstab activated!"

"Backstab *2 successful, dealing 12 points of damage to the target!"

"Target dead!"

"Extracting target's soul energy, gaining 30 points of killing experience."

...

Although he was only a 1st-level thief, the backstab still caused double assassination damage.

An ordinary slum resident had only about 5 hit points.

With Soren's 15 points of Constitution, he had only 12 hit points after advancing to a 1st-level thief. A mere slum thug was enough for him to achieve a one-hit kill!

Unless he faced other professionals, Soren could easily assassinate his target.

The noise from the alley woke Kanopo, who shivered and called out, "Baras?"

No response.

Hesitating, he cautiously approached to see what Baras was doing.

If anything was wrong, he would immediately turn and run!

A figure crouched and kicked off the wall, then shot out of the alley. With 19 points of Dexterity, Soren could jump to the roof of a first-floor building without assistance. His figure pounced like a leopard, instantly grabbing Kanopo's neck and stifling his scream. The impact forced him to the ground, and a cold blade sliced his throat, then pierced his heart from the front.

Soren held the target until the body stopped twitching, then stood up!

Covered in blood.

He frowned, looked at himself, then took the money bag from the corpse and put the dagger away.

The two thugs didn't have much money, only five silver dellers and a few copper dellers. On Baras's body, he found a packet of cheap drugs, probably intended for His.

"Strength roughly equivalent to a 1st-level adventurer."

Soren looked at his hand, then his figure gradually merged into the shadows and left in the direction he came from.

This was the thief's stealth ability.

Using the power of shadows to hide, Soren had allocated all his skill points to stealth before coming, with 45 points in stealth allowing him to become indistinct and silent in the shadows, enough to fool most ordinary people. If he could raise his stealth to 100 points, he could hide in the shadows without any trace. When stealth reached 150 points, he could achieve a similar effect to an invisibility spell, remaining undetected even when standing in front of someone. Starting from 200 points, even without shadows, a thief could completely disappear without a trace!

The Fire Stove Tavern remained noisy.

It wasn't until a drunk stumbled out that people noticed the two cold bodies by the alley.

No one cared, and no one investigated.

This was the chaotic slum, where deaths were common.

Tomorrow, someone would clean up their bodies!

...

(PS: If you like it, please add to your favorites. The protagonist's alignment is Lawful Evil.)