Chapter 2

At night, the city was brightly lit. Along the riverside of City C, the river breeze blew, taking away a bit of the summer heat. Qin Yue stood by the railing, gazing into the distance, silently watching the river surface. It was a time when the lights were dimming, and the bars by the river were brightly lit and bustling with activity.

The riverside promenade was also filled with pedestrians and nearby residents, some chatting and cooling off, some families taking their children for a walk, and some couples laughing and playing, creating a lively summer city atmosphere. However, as Qin Yue looked at the neon lights flickering in the distance, he felt out of place.

After leaving the Maple Leaf Community, Qin Yue's mind was in a daze, and he wandered aimlessly, eventually ending up here. He quietly enjoyed the river breeze, recalling everything that had just happened, thinking about the time he spent with Zhou Yun, and reflecting on the past 20 years of his life, feeling a sense of melancholy.

The arrogant and disdainful look in Wang Tao's eyes as he left flashed through his mind, igniting a burning anger. "One day, I'll make you taste the feeling of being trampled underfoot," Qin Yue thought fiercely. But when he considered his current situation, he felt a wave of discouragement. "Sigh," he let out a long sigh.

"Hey, young man, are you okay?" a voice came from beside him.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," Qin Yue snapped back to reality. Turning around, he saw an elderly man, who looked to be about 70 years old, looking at him.

"Really? You don't look too good," the old man said.

"Hehe, I'm fine, just feeling a bit down, taking a walk here," Qin Yue forced a smile.

"Got dumped, huh? Hehe," the old man asked with a smile.

"Uh-huh!" Qin Yue's voice was somewhat low.

"You young people, a little setback and you think the sky is falling. Life is decades long, and people come and go. Maybe there's someone better waiting for you ahead. Don't be too discouraged. Go home, take a good shower, and get some sleep. Everything will be better," the old man patted his shoulder and said.

"Thank you, sir. I know what to do," Qin Yue looked at the old man's wrinkled face, which was filled with an encouraging smile, and felt grateful. "Hehe, that's good, that's good. Go home early..." The old man waved and slowly walked away.

Watching the old man's departing back, Qin Yue felt a sudden realization. Did I really have deep feelings for Zhou Yun? It was only three months, and our relationship was limited to holding hands. Thinking about how he had lowered himself and tried to please her, he wondered if this was the kind of love he wanted.

Perhaps his despondency was more about Wang Tao's condescending attitude and Zhou Yun's indifferent abandonment. "The past is gone, and the present is full of troubles."

"Phew," he took a deep breath, as if exhaling all his worries. "Home!" He clenched his fist and walked with a determined step toward his rented place.

Qin Yue's rented place was in the old district of City C, where the streets were crowded, the environment was poor, and the security was not good, especially at night when the area was a mix of all sorts of people, with various night food stalls and street vendors, and a chaotic atmosphere. It was said that the city government had once planned to renovate this area, but for some reason, the plan was abandoned.

The rent here was very cheap, but people with money wouldn't live here. Most of the residents were migrant workers and economically poor people. Qin Yue had chosen to live here because of the low rent.

By the time he returned to the old district, it was already late at night. The streets were still brightly lit, and there were still many people drinking and playing games at the night food stalls on both sides of the street. The street vendors were also busy with customers haggling and buying. The smell of the food from the night stalls made Qin Yue's stomach growl; he had not eaten dinner since he went to Zhou Yun's house after work and encountered this incident.

He found a random spot, ordered a couple of small dishes and a bottle of beer, and started eating and drinking heartily. After a while, feeling satisfied, he paid the bill and got up to go home.

"Hey, handsome, come play with me." Just as he walked less than 50 meters, a heavily made-up woman saw him and approached him like a cat drawn to the smell of fish, grabbing his arm. "Sorry, I don't have any money," Qin Yue said calmly. "Damn," the woman flipped him the bird and walked away cursing.

Qin Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead. This was a common occurrence, and at first, he would blush and not know how to respond, but after living here for a while, he had gotten used to it.

He used this tactic to get rid of a few more women and finally reached the building where he rented his room. Just as he was about to go upstairs, a voice called out, "Hey, buddy, come take a look, I've got some good stuff." Qin Yue turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved shirt squatting on the ground, waving at him from the corner opposite the building.

The man was in his thirties, of medium build, with hair like a bird's nest, and a small mouth and large eyes that looked rather sleazy. He had a piece of cloth on the ground with various items on it, including rings, jade pendants, bracelets, and porcelain bowls. Out of curiosity, Qin Yue walked over and saw that the stall had a variety of items, such as rings, jade pendants, bracelets, and porcelain bowls.

"Hehe, buddy, these are all good stuff, antiques. 200 yuan each," the man said as soon as Qin Yue approached.

"Antiques? These? 200 yuan each?" Qin Yue was speechless and turned to leave.

"Don't go, buddy. Look, this bowl was used by Emperor Kangxi, this jade pendant was used by Emperor Qianlong during his southern tour, this thumb ring was used by Empress Dowager Cixi, and these... If you think it's too expensive, I can give you a discount," the man quickly grabbed his arm and started introducing the items.

Qin Yue watched as the man spoke with enthusiasm, frowned, and squatted down to pick up the bowl the man had mentioned. He turned it over and saw "Made in China" printed on the bottom, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

"Hey... Hey, buddy, do you think Emperor Kangxi would use such a bowl?" Qin Yue held the bowl and pointed to the "Made in China" on the bottom, waving it in front of the man.

"Ah? Hehe, this... this..." The man's voice trailed off, and he laughed awkwardly. Qin Yue put the bowl down and got up to leave.

"Hey... Buddy, don't go. Look, I've got a lot of good stuff. It's not easy to do business at this hour. Just buy one thing," the man put on a pitiful face and grabbed Qin Yue's arm again.

"Hey, hey... Don't hold me so tight. Okay, okay, I'll buy one, I'll buy one," Qin Yue, seeing the man's sleazy face, wanted to punch him. These cheap items were being passed off as antiques, treating him like a fool, but the man's pitiful face and tight grip made him think it was better to just buy something and leave.

"Great, which one do you want? I'll give you a discount," the man looked excited.

"Okay, this one. How much?" Qin Yue picked a black bracelet at random.

"Hehe, you have good taste. This is a treasure. This thing is..." The man started talking again as soon as Qin Yue picked the bracelet.

"Enough, enough, just tell me the price," Qin Yue interrupted him impatiently.

"Um... Originally 200, how about 180?"

"20 yuan."

"Ah? That's too low. 160, you take it."

"20 yuan, or I'll leave."

"No, no, no, okay, okay, I'll sell it. You got a great deal today," the man looked miserable.

"Phew, these things are 5 yuan each at the market. Stop talking, here's 50 yuan. Goodbye," Qin Yue took the bracelet, handed over 50 yuan, and walked away without looking back.

"Hehe... Sold a 5-yuan item for 20 yuan, not bad," the sleazy man smiled to himself as he watched Qin Yue leave, but Qin Yue was already too far away to hear.

Back at home, Qin Yue entered his room, took off his clothes, and threw them aside, lying heavily on the bed. He closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened today: Zhou Yun, Wang Tao, the kind old man, the heavily made-up woman, and the sleazy vendor.

Hmm? The vendor? Thinking about the vendor, Qin Yue took out the black bracelet from his pocket, the one he had bought from the vendor. He hadn't looked at it closely when he bought it, just picked it up casually. Now, he saw that the bracelet was entirely black with some strange patterns and symbols, looking quite intricate and stylish.

Qin Yue thought the bracelet was nice and felt it was worth the 20 yuan. He put it on his left hand. As soon as he put it on, he felt a tightness on his hand, and the black bracelet slowly turned into a liquid and seeped into his skin...

Seeing this terrifying scene, Qin Yue was extremely frightened. His mouth opened wide, but he couldn't speak, and his body was completely out of his control. He could only watch as the liquid entered his body, feeling a deep sense of horror...

"Ding... Establishing a mental link with the host..." a mechanical voice sounded in his head.

"Host's species is human, conditions met..."

"Initializing... Scanning..."

"Scan complete..."

"System initialization complete..."

"Enter the space...?" The voice kept coming, and Qin Yue was confused. What was happening? As the strange voice said the last sentence, Qin Yue's body slowly regained control, but his mind was in turmoil.

"Enter the space...?" The voice came again.

"Yes!" Qin Yue said, almost involuntarily. As soon as he said it, a bright light flashed before his eyes, and he closed them due to the intense light.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a misty white world with only a few buildings in front of him. "Welcome to the Super Invincible Summoning Space..." a voice said in his ear.

"Who, who is it?" Qin Yue was startled by the sudden voice.

"Respected host, hello. I am your system guide, you can call me the Guide Angel!" As the voice spoke, an angel appeared before Qin Yue's eyes.

Yes, an angel! Qin Yue rubbed his eyes and saw a figure with flowing golden hair, a perfect face, and a halo above her head. She wore a white, unfastened robe and had a pair of beautiful white wings, floating in the air.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Qin Yue was so shocked that he was numb.

"Respected host, this is the Super Invincible Summoning Space. Here, you will have access to countless martial arts techniques, abilities, items, and life skills," the Guide Angel said, pointing a finger, and a huge screen appeared before Qin Yue.

Martial Arts Techniques (Innate): Toad Technique, Yi Jin Jing, Nine Yang Divine Skill, Nine Yin True Scripture, Northern Darkness Divine Skill, Tai Xu Divine Skill...

(Advent): Golden Goose Technique, Beggar Technique, Purple Micro Technique, Pure Yang Technique, Lion Roar Technique, Ice Cold Power...

Martial Skills (Innate): Seven Injuries Fist, Thousand Leaf Hand of Buddha, Six Yang Palms of Mount Tian, Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Six Pulse Divine Sword...

(Advent): Iron Sand Palm, Great Vajra Palm, Ice Cold Silk Palm, Empty Bright Fist, Big Dipper Divine Fist...

External Martial Arts: Intention Form Fist, Eight Trigram Palm, Half Step Collapse Fist, Grand Ancestor Long Fist...

Abilities: Heavenly Eye, Golden Pupil, Mind Reading, Mental Shackles...

Items: Detox Pill, Qi Recovery Pill, Great Revival Pill, Longevity Pill...

Life Skills: Medical Proficiency, Culinary Proficiency, Calligraphy Proficiency...

The screen flipped to the next page, and the advertisement began.

The screen flipped to the next page, and the advertisement ended.