Chapter 56 The Slum Boy's Desperate Comeback (Part 1)
After venting his anger at Fat Orange for a while, Si Yisi returned to the system platform.
Chi Chun was still training there, but this time she switched to "marathon" running.
Si Yisi checked that her gaming pod hadn't arrived yet, then quickly went to sleep in the little house she had bought.
Although Si Yisi didn't personally take down the thirty perpetrators, his points plummeted to the lowest level. Buying a small house further drained the thousand points he had just acquired.
This indirectly led to the fact that even if Si Yisi wanted to buy a house, she could only afford a small one-bedroom apartment.
But a small house is better than nothing, so Si Yisi, the former penniless man, didn't mind at all. He crawled into the tiny room and went to sleep.
He slept soundly for almost half a month before being woken up by the beeping of the house's utility bill payment reminder.
Si Yisi glanced at her points and saw that she had very few left, so she turned around and accepted another task.
Si Yisi was certainly aware that many systems looked down on this kind of grueling task-taking method, which was only used by poor systems.
High-performing systems like to balance work and rest, and often choose the best tasks to do, unlike Si Yisi who just jumps on any task that comes her way.
But so what? Si Yisi wasn't doing the task to compete for performance; he simply wanted to experience this pleasant feeling. He didn't even feel like he was working himself to the bone; it was as if it were an integral part of his being.
But... wait a minute.
Has he forgotten something?
Si Yisi belatedly remembered Ah Tu, whom he had forgotten. When he found Ah Tu again, its waist had swelled up considerably, and it was struggling in a foster cage.
"Uh, sorry."
Si Yisi picked up the now-grown A-Tu, ignoring A-Tu's angry tail slapping against his wrist—a stinging pain for him.
After finding her pet, Si Yisi quickly got a random task assigned to her.
After Si Yisi received several A ratings, the main system probably judged that he no longer needed the foolproof configuration for low-performance systems - Soul Condensation. This time, it still directly threw him into the body of the mission target in the small world.
As soon as Si Yisi entered the body, she felt weak and in pain, and it seemed like she was also feverish.
The original owner's physical condition was extremely poor, to the point that Si Yisi couldn't even stand up for a moment. Si Yisi's vision blurred, and he vaguely saw a hand holding a gray cloth reaching towards his forehead, and then he fell into a coma as he wished.
The original owner was a nameless, thin boy; those who knew him called him by his code name: Q.
This small world is currently in the interstellar age. Earth, after being overburdened by massive resource consumption, has become unsuitable for human habitation. Humans then ventured outwards, leaving their footprints on several planets, thus ushering in the interstellar age.
During the exploration, human regimes split and reunited, eventually stabilizing into two empires: the Shuling Empire and the Kaz Empire.
Interstellar humans have not explored every planet. On the border between the two empires, there exists a difficult-to-explore region. Having received the memories of the original Q, Si Yisi learns that a terrifying and highly destructive creature exists in this dark realm.
—Zerg.
The original Q lived in a slum in the lower echelons of the Kaz Empire. He had no access to any advanced knowledge about mechs and relied solely on fighting with other slum dwellers to seize resources in order to support himself and his mother.
For this reason, the outbreak of war between the Zerg and the Humans was too distant for the original owner of this body. He only knew a simple word, nothing else, and could not provide Si Yisi with any relevant information.
How did the original owner of this body die?
His death was quite mysterious. While searching for medicine for his mother, he was crushed to death by a man in a mech who suddenly appeared in the slums.
At that time, the original owner's mother was infected with a deadly disease, and the special medicine that the original owner risked his life to bring back was his mother's only hope for survival.
Just as the original owner was dragging his battered body home to find his mother, he was struck by a beam cannon fired from a mech. His entire body was nearly destroyed by the immense force... but he did not die immediately.
He desperately protected the medicine, practically crawling towards his and his mother's humble dwelling.
"Smack."
A person who got off the mecha stepped on the original body's hand and crushed his fingers along with the medicine.
The original owner saw the shoes of the person piloting the mecha—a pair of high-end brand shoes that only existed in the dreams of people living in the slums.
Just before he died, he heard the person piloting the mech speak into the communication terminal: "Yes, it's all taken care of. Don't worry, countless people die in the slums every day, his disappearance will definitely be considered an accidental death."
"Oh? You mean his sickly mother? Don't worry. I've already investigated. His mother is currently bedridden and will die in bed within a few days."
Mother, Mother...
"What? You're still not at ease? Alright, I'll go and take care of her right now."
Mother! Mother—! No!
What a bizarre accident! This was clearly a premeditated murder to silence him! The original owner of this body wept blood tears before his death. He couldn't understand why anyone would plan his accidental death, and why they wouldn't even spare his mother!
Is there something about him that they covet?
The original owner's heart was bleeding; if he could, he would tear the person behind it all to pieces!
Can anyone help me?
*
"This kid is lucky; he survived even with his wounds festering like that. Lisa, I'll help you this time out of consideration for our friendship, but I won't be able to help you again if there's a next time."
"Thank you, thank you so much..."
A humble female voice reached Si Yisi's ears. Her voice was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, followed by a few low coughs.
Si Yisi's eyelids were sore and swollen, but she could barely open them.
Si Yisi slowly opened his eyes, and two figures were reflected in his retina.
A woman dressed in coarse linen clothes looked at him with a sorrowful expression. Her forehead was lined with wrinkles, but one could vaguely glimpse her youthful appearance.
The woman was Q's mother, Lisa, who was staring at Sis lying on the bed with her gray, melancholy eyes.
The muscular, slightly better-dressed man next to her shoulder, Si Yisi, was someone Q also remembered once. His name was Huo Zhifou, a doctor at a small clinic in the slums, and also a "patron" of Q's mother.
"Mother."
Si Yisi called out Lisa's name in a hoarse voice.
It's obvious that Q's mother, Lisa, used some method to get Huo Zhifou to treat him. Although Huo Zhifou is a doctor without a medical license, someone who can hold a place in the slums is not to be underestimated, and Lisa must have paid a price, such as a favor.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Huo." Si Yisi propped himself up, and as he did so, he could feel Q's frailty.
Q is the most vulnerable of the original beings possessed by Si Yisi.
He was extremely light in weight and had countless hidden injuries in his body, so it's no wonder that a minor fever nearly killed him.
Q is like that, and so are the other residents of the slum. Si Yisi's mother in front of her was so thin that she was just skin and bones, and her only support was her fairly pretty face.
...Heartbreaking.
This was the first thought that came to Yi Si's mind.
He paused, then continued to Huo Zhifou, "Q will repay what Mother promised you."
Huo Zhifou raised an eyebrow at him: "You are... Hmph, quite interesting."
Lisa quickly said, "No..." but Si Yisi stopped her halfway through her sentence.
Lisa noticed something new in her son's eyes. This new light gave his otherwise empty gaze a glimmer, like a sharp blade, carrying a... fierce aura.
“Trust me, Mother.” Si Yisi’s voice reached Lisa’s ears, and she couldn’t help but believe her son’s words.
“Kid, since you insist on this, then you can pay off the debt your mother owes,” Huo Zhifou said. “The fever reducers you used are hard to come by in the slums, so I’ll give you a thousand copper coins.”
The price proposed by Huo Zhifou is clearly too high.
The currency in this interstellar world consists of gold, silver, and bronze coins, with an exchange rate of one to ten thousand. However, this system of measurement is not applicable to the slums at the bottom of society.
In the slums, residents like Q, who have struggled through life, have only ever encountered copper coins.
Q fights desperately with the slum dwellers every day and takes on dangerous, low-paying jobs, but he only earns five or six copper coins.
Huo Zhifou's asking price was far too high.
Upon hearing this, Lisa's pupils contracted. She grabbed Si Yisi's arm and silently pleaded with him, her lips seemingly ready to utter a no at any moment.
"Okay, Dr. Huo, could you please write me an IOU?"
Si Yisi readily agreed.
Huo Zhifou took the IOU and left.
Lisa, unable to hide her panic, said to Sis, "Child, you were too reckless."
Si Yisi simply looked directly at her and asked, "Mother, what were the conditions you promised Dr. Huo before?"
His gaze was calm, yet it naturally conveyed an irresistible seriousness. For a moment, Lisa saw the shadow of a great man in Si Yisi. She lowered her head with her mouth slightly open, but in the end, she was intimidated by Si Yisi's serious demeanor.
Lisa replied in a barely audible voice, "Spend a week with him."
It's nothing more than a body swap. Si Yisi guessed right.
In Q's childhood memories, his mother had humbly exchanged her body for copper coins. He loathed this, so as an adult, he relentlessly fought to change this terrible situation.
Si Yisi softened her voice: "Mother, you should take better care of yourself."
Si Yisi knew from Q's memories just how terrifying it was when people in the slums vented their anger.
Many times, prostitutes who end up in the beds of people in the slums are even sexually assaulted to death in bed.
The people in the slums are like irrational beasts; their daily lives consist of fighting and killing, and even during sex they try to unleash their wild and unrestrained lust.
It's terrible, but that's reality.
Q never denied that he was one of those beasts, but he had his own weakness: his mother.
He hoped that Sis would take care of his mother, Lisa, while living in his place.
“But a thousand copper star coins!” Lisa exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. “How could you possibly have so many star coins!”
"Don't worry," Si Yisi reassured her. "Aren't there going to be some compatibility tests coming over in a few days? If I'm selected, we can easily pay off this debt."
To demonstrate their generosity, the Empire would conduct a scouting operation in the slums every five years to select so-called "useful talents." This was actually a good way to win people's hearts, but for Sis, it was clearly a good opportunity to escape the slums.
The right candidate will also receive a reward of 100 silver star coins, which is enough to pay off the debt.
Sis didn't intend for Lisa to stay in the slums with him any longer.
They were being targeted by someone of high status, and from Q's memories, it was clear that the attack on him was premeditated.
Judging from Si Yisi's judgment, the reason why the person behind the attack on Q might not be to steal a certain item on his body, but more likely to target Q himself.
Is there anything special about Q's identity?
“But…” Lisa wanted to say something more.
“Don’t worry, Mother,” Si Yisi coaxed. “What if… trust my luck.”
At the same moment, in the Imperial Mech Base, far away from the slums, a red light suddenly appeared in the eyes of an unmanned snake-shaped mech.
Suddenly appearing inside a lump of metal: ? ? ?
Where am I? Where did that annoying owner go?!
A-Tu's consciousness trembled for a while inside the snake-shaped mecha, but in the end, he still didn't dare to move an inch.
Master, I don't despise you anymore, please save me QwQ! There are so many "monsters" here!
He was referring to the rows of neatly arranged, unmanned mechs.
Another place.
An arrogant voice commanded his subordinates: "Go to the slums, find this man, and then kill him."
"Remember to kill him completely, leaving no trace of blood or hair."
"Remember, you must kill him before the Empire goes to the slums to conduct compatibility tests, or the trouble will only increase."
"...Yes! I will obey your orders!" The subordinate, who was completely shrouded in black, knelt down to receive the command.
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