Chapter 2

"Clang!"

The iron cage seemed to have hit something.

Lin Qing, who was unconscious, was jolted awake, his consciousness gradually returning.

"Click!"

The two lids on the iron cage were opened.

Blinding light poured in.

Lin Qing, whose eyes had just adapted to the darkness, couldn't help but close them in the bright light.

He heard a cacophony of curses and shouts.

"Newcomer! He's up!"

"Better if there are more young women."

"The women are for the leaders; it's not your turn, Old He."

When the cage finally stopped, Lin Qing managed to open his eyes.

What he saw were faces.

Excited, greedy, and agitated faces.

Seeing the situation in the cage, people began to curse.

"Why is there only one this time? And he's half-dead?"

"That's not right. Usually, there are at least ten. But at most, only seven or eight are alive."

"Just one? No problem, don't fight over it. This one is for our Nanshan Brotherhood."

"Bullshit! He's for our Hong Gang."

Lin Qing suddenly had a bad feeling.

He studied history, and it felt like he was being inspected by slave owners at a slave market.

The argument among the crowd escalated into a fight, ending with physical violence.

Two burly men, claiming to be from the Nanshan Brotherhood and the Hong Gang, swung their iron fists, fighting fiercely. They even fell from above, causing the iron cage to sway.

The two men cursed each other, treating Lin Qing like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. Whoever won would simply strangle him and take him away.

Lin Qing's eyebrows twitched.

The mysterious space had evaluated him as "Rebellious and Ruthless," meaning he appeared rebellious on the outside and ruthless on the inside. These were terms used to describe those who defied rules and were rebellious.

Even though Lin Qing was just a nobody, he was definitely a very temperamental and individualistic one!

Seeing these people inexplicably waiting by the iron cage, ready to snatch him like human traffickers, how could he just stand there?

Amid the cheers and encouragement from the crowd, the two men fought even harder, blood streaming from their noses and mouths, but they continued to fight.

However, Lin Qing only dodged their punches and didn't move recklessly.

The two burly men eventually fell to the ground, wrestling and struggling, but Lin Qing took a quick step forward, stomped on the shoulder of the man on top, and leaped to grab the edge of the iron cage, jumping out of the two-meter-high cage!

Lin Qing didn't have time to think. He pushed through the crowd and ran in one direction.

Even if someone tried to block his path, shouting and trying to stop him, Lin Qing punched them in the nose, creating a path and fleeing.

The two burly men, who were fighting below, were furious that their prey had flown away. They were restrained by each other, and for a moment, neither could catch Lin Qing.

Lin Qing ran through the "streets."

The term "streets" was used because there were buildings and people, but the buildings were low and shabby, made of grass or wooden boards, and the area was chaotic, dirtier and more disordered than the poorest slums Lin Qing had ever seen. The people had numb faces, barely clothed, and some thugs were committing crimes in the dark corners of the buildings, even on the streets, beating, robbing, and raping, with cries and screams echoing everywhere.

A bolt of lightning flashed in the iron-gray sky.

With the thunder, the dark sky began to pour rain, drenching the crowded, dirty, and sinful streets. The already narrow and muddy streets turned into a swamp.

The town seemed to be quite large. Lin Qing had run for several minutes but still couldn't see any boundaries.

Through the iron-gray rain, Lin Qing could barely see a dark mass in the distance, which seemed to be mountains or a city wall.

Lin Qing knew that the "Nanshan Brotherhood" or "Hong Gang" wouldn't let him go easily. He didn't dare to stop, running as fast as he could in the rain.

The rain was timely.

The difficulty of the thugs chasing him increased, and the number of informants decreased. The heavier the rain, the greater the chance of escaping.

As he ran, he observed the surrounding shacks.

The thugs seemed to have a lot of power, and running away wasn't a good idea. Plus, his weak physique would make him fall ill after running in the heavy rain.

Finding a hiding place would be best.

Lin Qing was running around like a headless fly when he heard a voice in the rain behind him: "Captain Fang, the new guy has escaped!"

"He won't get far! This is South City, our Brotherhood's territory."

"Captain Fang, the leaders of several groups have said that whoever catches this guy will get 10 supply points."

"Let's catch him! 10 points will make the brothers happy for days."

They seemed to be deliberately saying this to Lin Qing, approaching with sinister smiles.

Lin Qing was anxious.

He had just escaped from the dark dungeon to the surface, only to end up in this lawless place, about to be bullied by evil people. How could he accept that?

He had a sudden idea and saw a shabby wooden house nearby.

The roof of the wooden house seemed to have holes, allowing the rain to pour through, bringing in cold and moisture.

Lin Qing's mind was unusually calm and sharp, thinking quickly.

The appearance of the house reflected the owner's situation.

As the saying goes, "The rich have plenty to eat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets."

Compared to the houses reinforced with wooden boards, this house, with its bare walls and leaking roof, seemed to belong to the weakest and poorest owner, or even be unoccupied. The door of the wooden house creaked in the wind and rain, looking very unstable.

Such a house seemed to be the best place for Lin Qing to hide.

The footsteps behind him were getting closer. It sounded like they were about to turn the corner and see where Lin Qing was.

Lin Qing, without hesitation, charged forward and slammed into the wooden door.

There was a crisp cracking sound, and the door opened.

Lin Qing was surprised; the door was so weak!

He stumbled into the house, hitting his head.

A dagger fell from above, aiming for Lin Qing's back.

Hearing the wind, Lin Qing rolled to the side, and the dagger hit the spot where he had been, sparking.

He quickly got up and grabbed the intruder's neck.

For some reason, after coming to this strange world, perhaps influenced by the lawless environment and the pressure of enemies, the hidden side of Lin Qing's nature burst out.

In the real world, he would never have broken into a house and attacked the owner.

But he soon realized that his hand was touching something soft.

A girl?

He stopped.

The dagger clattered to the ground. The girl, about 14 or 15 years old, had a young and innocent face, with a hint of fear and hatred in her eyes.

"You..." Lin Qing didn't know what to say.

If it had been the two burly men, he would have immediately attacked.

But it was a young girl.

Lin Qing couldn't bring himself to do it.

The girl glared at Lin Qing like a little leopard.

They were in a standoff.

A woman's coughing voice came from inside: "Yanran, close the door quickly!"

Lin Qing turned to look.

The roof was leaking, and a woman was huddled in a damp corner, her face flushed, coughing continuously.

The wind and rain from outside battered the door, making it creak and allowing rain to pour into the already leaky and drafty house. The woman couldn't bear it and coughed even harder.

The girl, Yanran, glared at Lin Qing, rushed to close the door, and hesitated for a moment before taking off a red headband and tying it to the door latch, finally blocking the cold rain from outside.

The room instantly became quiet. The cruel world outside seemed to be isolated.

Yanran, full of vigilance, ran to the woman's side and called out, "Mom, are you okay?"

Lin Qing realized he had accidentally entered a mother and daughter's shelter.

He felt uneasy and said with a bitter smile, "Madam, I didn't mean to do anything bad."

Yanran glared at him, "You broke our door, scared my mom, and still say you didn't mean to do anything bad?"

The woman gently said, "Yanran, don't say that. This house isn't ours. We're just hiding here. It's not a big deal if someone comes in..."

She coughed again.

The more she said, the more Lin Qing felt guilty.

He said softly, "I... I'm new here. Someone is chasing me."

The mother and daughter's faces turned pale at this.

The woman, weak and shocked, said, "You... you're a newcomer? You escaped?"

Yanran bit her lip and pushed Lin Qing away, "Get out! Get out now! Don't bring trouble to us. Haven't we had enough bad luck?"

At that moment, they heard someone shouting in the rain outside.

"Captain Fang, that brat, where did he go?"

"He must be hiding nearby. Search for him!"

It sounded like there were at least a dozen people.

The voices were like wolves and tigers, ready to pounce.

Lin Qing saw the mother and daughter's faces turn pale when they heard Captain Fang's voice.

Yanran's eyes were filled with tears, but she stared at Lin Qing defiantly.

At that moment, Lin Qing saw a side of Yanran that reminded him of Zixia from "Journey to the West."

When she looked at Sun Wukong, her expression was full of sorrow and heartbreak, just like Yanran's now.

Yanran was young but undoubtedly a beauty. She had a V-shaped face, neatly cut bangs, long lashes, and large, clear eyes. Despite her young age, there was a lingering sadness in her eyes.

Lin Qing sighed and turned to look behind him.

The house had only one door and no windows, but there were holes everywhere. The back seemed to be covered with newspaper, but it could be used to crawl out.

"I'm leaving!" Lin Qing quickly went to the hole and crawled out.

The woman's gaze softened, and Yanran's eyes dimmed.

It was clear that the intruder was not a bad person.

But the mother and daughter were already struggling to survive and couldn't help anyone else.

Lin Qing crawled into the hole and was halfway through when he heard the door being pounded.

"Open up!" a rough voice shouted, "I'm Fang Lingcheng, Brotherhood search!"

Yanran's face turned pale.

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