Chapter 3: The Taste of Freedom

Half an hour later, Gu Changqing tied his hair back and put on a pair of baggy shorts and a t-shirt. The t-shirt bore a few understated words: “Weak Constitution, Only Hanging On Through Sheer Will.” On his feet was a pair of sneakers two sizes too large. In his pocket, he had a little over forty yuan, found in a drawer in the apartment, though he had no idea what its purchasing power was here.

He’d considered borrowing some money from a neighbor. As the old saying goes, “At home, rely on your parents; outside, rely on your neighbors.” But after thinking it through, breaking into a home to borrow money would be a serious crime anywhere, so he gave up on that idea. Especially since he didn’t even have an identity in this world—if he got caught, it would be trouble.

He made his way downstairs, finding himself in an older residential compound. It was actually quite sizable, and he wandered for a while before finding the main exit. Unlike the tranquility inside, the world outside was completely different—bustling traffic, rows of shops on both sides, and crowds of pedestrians going back and forth.

Gu Changqing surveyed everything as he walked, especially keeping an eye out for any security cameras. After all, sometimes whether business was good or not depended on how many cameras were around. The good news was, there were very few.

But the store signs on both sides left him feeling half-illiterate, which was a bit unsettling. He’d originally wanted to find an internet café to check out the world’s situation—especially the laws. His father had taught him from childhood: whether as a person or in business, always obey the law. And then there was that thing in the apartment—what was it, and where could he find more? Gu Changqing rather liked her, especially since she had long legs.

But with his current vocabulary, that clearly wasn’t realistic.

He wandered into a supermarket to get a sense of local prices. Canned fruit went for five to eight yuan, canned fish for six to ten, and bread for two to five—slightly cheaper than in his previous world. What disappointed him was the absence of sweetened sparkling water; all the drinks were various fruit juices, priced at two to three yuan.

This world had no cigarettes either, but there were “mushroom candies” that, after eating, let people see fairies. They came in many varieties and weren’t cheap, costing thirty to fifty apiece.

Gu Changqing was quite intrigued by these.

After a stroll, he left with a bottle of juice, which he gulped down immediately outside. It tasted a bit like mango juice with honey.

“Phew—” Gu Changqing let out a long breath. He’d finally gotten some sugar. His body had been warning him lately—severely sugar-deprived. Now he felt much better.

He found a noodle shop with a television, ordered a bowl of seafood noodles, and spent three hours there watching TV, including the midday news. By then, Gu Changqing had a rough understanding of his current circumstances.

He was now in a country called Southern Chu—a constitutional monarchy with both a king and a prime minister. It covered about 800,000 square kilometers, had a population exceeding eighty million, and was divided into six provinces. Gu Changqing was in a place named Angang.

Southern Chu lay in the southeast of the continent. To the east was a strait, and on the far side stood a great nation, ten times the size of Southern Chu.

To the west and north was another major country, also more than seven or eight times larger than Southern Chu. The legal system here was primarily divided into two or three branches: foundational law, civil law, and criminal law.

“Boss, time to pay!” Gu Changqing rapped the table as he leaned back in his chair. The owner had been eyeing him for over an hour. If Gu Changqing hadn’t stood at a solid 1.8 meters with muscle bulging all over, the owner would have kicked him out long ago.

“Boss, you like my shirt?” Gu Changqing tugged at the one that read, “Weak Constitution, Only Hanging On Through Sheer Will.”

“It’s quite amusing…” the owner forced a smile.

“Like it? I’ll sell it to you at a premium!”

“You’re a real joker, sir…”

Gu Changqing laughed heartily and let the matter drop, then changed the subject: “I’m here sightseeing—any advice? Places I should avoid?”

“The south side of the city and the docks are a bit rough. It’s fine during the day, but don’t go there at night. Some gangs specifically target tourists, especially in the alleys. Best to stay away from those. If you want to go out at night, stick to Ma Street. Plenty of brothels there, but the security’s good.”

“You’re a wise man!” Gu Changqing laughed, tossed down twenty yuan, and after giving the owner a friendly pat on the shoulder, staggered out.

One street over, he spotted an internet café and walked in. Scanning the room, his gaze fixed on a chubby, bespectacled man at the very back, who looked quite honest—and there was an empty seat beside him.

Gu Changqing bought another juice, pulled over a chair, sat down next to the man, set the bottle in front of him, and draped an arm over his shoulder.

“Brother, this is for you. I need you to look something up for me.”

The man was in the middle of a game and stared at Gu Changqing, confused.

“I’m gaming! Look it up yourself!”

“Is gaming really that important?” Gu Changqing smacked him on the back of the head. “If I could read, would I be asking you for help? I’m buying you a drink, just asking you to look something up for me. At home, rely on your parents; outside, rely on friends. If you keep acting like this, how are you going to survive in the world?”

Gu Changqing gave him a fierce stare.

The man, a little intimidated, could only sigh at his bad luck and reluctantly quit his game.

“What do you want me to look up?”

“Those really unusual, scary ghost stories and the like.” Gu Changqing naturally grabbed the man’s juice, downed half the bottle, and put it back.

The man glanced at him. “You said that was for me!”

“So can’t you buy me half a bottle? Why so stingy, man?” Gu Changqing gave him another smack on the back of the head.

As the man searched, Gu Changqing asked casually, “Ever seen anything scary yourself? Any friends or relatives run into anything strange?”

“What’s the deal with the brothels here? Any famous ones?”

An hour later, Gu Changqing finally left the internet café.

What interested him most was the thing in the apartment—it could be absorbed and refined into blood energy, which was an incredible boon for him. Compared to refining ordinary people, this thing was much more suitable.

But the supernatural tales in this world, while numerous, were more like urban legends. Gu Changqing guessed there were probably special people who dealt with such things; otherwise, the rumors would be rampant.

As for the local brothels, they were for entertainment, not sex. The women would chat, drink, or even date you, but what happened outside was nobody’s business.

Being illiterate was tough. Gu Changqing realized his top priority was to get himself an identity, earn some money, and then go to a brothel to find a girl to teach him to read!

He hailed a cab on the street.

“To the south side of the city!”

…

The southern district was the old part of town, the poorest area in Angang. The poorer the place, the more likely crime and gangs flourished, and so it was here. The docks were also rife with competing interests, which meant plenty of gangs.

Despite its poverty, the south side was the most densely populated area in Angang, its streets lined with all kinds of shops and stalls—a vibrant slice of city life. There were also plenty of old, dilapidated buildings, many with their exteriors covered in messy graffiti. Groups of oddly dressed youths roamed the streets, laughing and joking.

Gu Changqing had never been to a place like this before, and he gazed around with curiosity, even witnessing a fight on the street.

After getting out of the cab, the aromas of food and the cacophony of voices made Gu Changqing begin to like it here. The air was thick with the flavor of freedom.

“Hey, sir, you haven’t paid yet! That’ll be twenty-eight!” The taxi driver leaned his head out and shouted.

In high spirits, Gu Changqing tossed all the money left in his pocket—about a dozen yuan—into the car window.

“Keep the change!”