Chapter 53

On May 19, 2000, early summer, in Qingshan City, Hedong Province.

Hedong Province is a well-known energy province, famous for its high-quality coal resources. Qingshan, a prefecture-level city that is neither the provincial capital nor the largest in Hedong, is no exception. However, compared to other cities, Qingshan's coal reserves are not particularly high. Instead, it is rich in metal deposits, and it is said that rare metals have been discovered, though they have not yet been developed. Therefore, compared to other cities in the north, Qingshan is considered a relatively developed city.

Qingshan City has an ancient bell and drum tower at its center, with one main street extending in each of the four cardinal directions. The names of these streets are straightforward: East Street, West Street, South Street, and North Street. Qingshan City has detailed administrative divisions, but the old residents of Qingshan are accustomed to referring to the areas around the four main streets simply by direction plus the word "guan" (gate): Dongguan (East Gate), Xiguan (West Gate), Nanguan (South Gate), and Beiguan (North Gate). These four areas with "guan" in their names almost encompass the entire Qingshan urban area.

Nanguan is the most prosperous area in Qingshan City. It is a commercial district with numerous large shopping malls and two large comprehensive markets. In addition, almost all banks have high-level branches here, and several telecommunications operators have many service halls, including a headquarters. On the side streets branching off from South Street, there are food streets, electronics streets, clothing streets, hotel streets, and restaurant streets, making it the area with the highest pedestrian traffic in the entire city.

In such a prosperous area, land and housing prices are naturally sky-high. At this time, the regulations for nearby school enrollment were not yet strict, and the concept of school district housing was not yet clear. In Xiguan, where education was the most developed, housing prices were not particularly high. Even if one lived elsewhere, it was not difficult to attend the best schools in Xiguan, at most requiring a bit more money. For the residents of Nanguan, that extra money was not a big deal.

Xingwang Road in Nanguan is home to many residential complexes, especially high-end ones. Ping'an Garden is one of them. The houses here are all over 150 square meters. In the central area of Ping'an Garden, there are the best residential buildings in the neighborhood, with all units over 200 square meters. One of these units is the home of He Ping and his parents, He Xiangdong and Yin Xiulan. It is also the best and largest unit He Ping lived in during his previous life, the only one over 100 square meters.

He Ping is currently in his bedroom, which is about 50 square meters, with snow-white walls and a complete set of furniture including a large bed, wardrobe, and writing desk. He Ping suddenly felt an urge to cry. For so many years, since moving away from here and returning to his mother's hometown, He Ping had been constantly missing this life. Compared to his mother's hometown, where the entire house was only 50 square meters and the bedroom was only about 10 square meters, and the 80-square-meter house he later bought in the suburbs of the capital, with a 20-square-meter bedroom, this place was incomparably better.

However, He Ping ultimately held back his tears. He was an adult and could control his emotions. Additionally, he noticed something seemed off in the bedroom. The furniture was all his, and this was indeed his bedroom, but the bed was still a mess, even though He Ping remembered always making his bed every day. Moreover, his primary school uniform was scattered on the floor by the bed, which seemed odd. The most critical issue was the electronic perpetual calendar on the bedside table.

This electronic perpetual calendar, which was no longer a high-end product by the time He Ping grew up, was still quite modern in this era. He Ping's electronic perpetual calendar was a gift from his father, who brought it back from a business trip to another big city. The date and time displayed on the electronic perpetual calendar were the same as those on the door in the high tower he had seen. What caught his attention was the alarm clock icon that was continuously flashing on the display.

This electronic perpetual calendar, which has an alarm clock function, would make a sound when the set alarm time was reached, just like any other alarm clock. If the sound was promptly turned off, the alarm clock icon on the display would remain displayed. If left unattended, the sound would continue for a few minutes, and after it stopped, the alarm clock icon would continue to flash. He Ping's alarm clock was set for 7:00 AM, meaning he had not touched the electronic perpetual calendar since 7:00 AM.

Considering his pajamas and other unusual circumstances, He Ping came to a conclusion that left him speechless: the initial time of his rebirth must have been before 7:00 AM. After that, perhaps due to the Personal Arsenal System, he remained in a deep sleep until 12:00 PM, when he was directly transported to the Arsenal World. If this conclusion is correct, then a rather frustrating fact is that he had skipped school for the entire morning.

His parents were very busy and had left for work before 7:00 AM. After that, He Ping had apparently slept all morning, not even changing out of his pajamas, and no one had come to wake him up. Of course, there might already be countless missed calls on the home landline. He Ping quickly opened the bedroom door and, familiar with the layout, went to the dining room. Sure enough, the breakfast prepared by Yin Xiulan was still on the table, long cold.

It was now 12:00 PM, and school had already let out. His parents had also finished work and had likely already learned from the teacher that he had skipped school. What would happen next...

Just as He Ping was lost in thought, a sound of a key turning in the lock came from the front door. The door opened, and a man in his thirties stood there, dressed in a full suit, his shoes polished to a shine, and carrying a briefcase. His face bore a faint resemblance to He Ping, and his hair was meticulously styled with a 3-7 part, seemingly set with gel.

"He Ping! You little brat, get over here!" This man, of course, was He Ping's father, He Xiangdong. Seeing He Ping still in his pajamas and not having eaten breakfast, He Xiangdong's anger immediately reached its peak, turning red. He had received a call from the homeroom teacher at work, saying that He Ping had not come to class, and calls to the home landline had gone unanswered. He Ping had not gone to school until the end of the day, which was absolutely unacceptable to He Xiangdong!

Without a word, He Xiangdong threw his briefcase onto the sofa in the living room, pulled out his expensive-looking belt, and dragged He Ping over to his lap. He then began to beat He Ping's buttocks with the belt, making a loud "slap, slap, slap" sound.

This kind of high-damage, short-cooldown attack, which also has a built-in invincibility and hardening effect, is a nightmare for children. However, for the current He Ping, it did not cause much pain, only bringing back memories. Looking at his young, strong, and energetic father, He Ping could no longer control his emotions and shed his first tear since his rebirth.

[PS: Second update of the day! The chapter in the real world officially begins!]

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