New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 21 Toilet Duel!

After the abnormal space-time event ended, Yuan Zhu had a safe journey and did not encounter any other strange things. He arrived safely downstairs of his home.

He looked up and saw a four-story red brick building, familiar yet strange. Its architectural style resembled the Soviet Union's corn-farm houses, with a cramped layout and clotheslines tied with wire extending from the densely packed windows.

His home was on the third floor. Entering through the pitch-black stairwell, a damp, unpleasant odor immediately hit his nose. Climbing the stairs, he saw the walls peeling and covered in moss. Entering the crowded, narrow hallway, the walls and ceiling were covered in black smoke from cooking.

A few live rats, frightened by the prospect, hid in a corner, furtively glancing at their relatives hung on the door. "Why do you all smell so good, while we're being scorned and beaten?" Someone, hang me, the rat, up there too.

Yuan Zhu looked at it and shook his head. The living conditions were too poor. This shabby place was no better than a slum. It was a shame that he was a top student with a high school diploma, living in a place like this? Where was the money he earned?
Following memory and instinct, he identified his door. Pulling out a loose brick, he fished out the spare key from inside, unlocking it successfully. He traced his hand along the threshold, felt for a dangling light cord, and tugged hard.

Snapped!
The limited space inside was immediately illuminated by the dim light. The small living room contained a table, a few chairs, and a shelf. The rest of the space was filled with daily necessities and metal machine parts, most of which were defective products Yuan Zhu had brought back from the factory.

In the center of the roof hung a lamp the size of a leather ball. Its upper hemisphere was a complex metal structure, while its lower hemisphere was a transparent glass cover. Alchemical elements were injected into the container, releasing light and heat through the filament.

A full charge costs only 1 yuan and can last for about a month. The steam factory where Yuan Zhu works produces this thing.

The room wasn't big, just over 30 square meters with two bedrooms and a living room. There was no toilet, kitchen, or balcony... We cooked in the hallway, washed and urinated in the bathroom, and in winter we had to light our own stove.

Therefore, the probability of fire and CO poisoning in winter is very high. He moved twice, and both times, fires broke out in the neighboring building and downstairs. Then there's no need to panic: just pack up your valuables, open the window, and jump out. You won't die from the fall anyway.

"elder brother?"

The young man resting inside was startled. He rubbed his eyes, pushed open the door, and looked at Yuan Zhu, who was wearing ill-fitting clothes. He asked with concern, "Why are you back so late? Did you run into any trouble?"

The boy's name is Yuan Su, and he also takes his mother's surname. He is his half-brother. He is 14 years old this year, but looks like 15 or 6.

He has short black hair, wine-red eyes, fair skin, a slender figure, delicate features, a gentle personality, and excellent grades. He is very popular among his female classmates, and often has bold girls come to his house to bring him food. He looks like an orphan from another family.

Yuan Su has shown academic potential since she was young. She is introverted and gentle, emotionally stable, and proficient in housework. She is very popular in school and receives scholarships every year. Even changing her gender would not be out of place.

Yuan Zhu had been training him to become a university student since he was little, with him receiving special investment. Yuan Zhu, however, shared the same surname and eye color as his younger brother, but was different in every other way.

He is 187cm tall and weighs 85kg, tall and healthy, towering over his thinner brother by a head and a half. Just one punch from him can make his younger brother cry for a long time.

Yuan Su has a gentle and handsome appearance, while Yuan Zhu has black curly hair that goes down to his ears, a straight nose, prominent brow bones, deep eye sockets, slightly narrow eyes, sword-like eyebrows and thin lips. He looks very wild, with the eyes of an eagle and a wolf, but his good looks are overlooked.

Whenever he made eye contact with someone, it was considered a provocation, and violent clashes would ensue. Over time, he became accustomed to this way of making friends. So, from a young age, he began practicing boxing, because it facilitated communication and allowed others to sense his moral standards. (Conquering others with virtue)

As an adult, he seamlessly transitioned into an underground boxing career to earn extra income. This is a classic case of face determining destiny: his sharp, striking gaze from childhood passively fostered an aggressive and friendly personality, ultimately leading him to the path of a part-time underground martial artist.

His academic performance was somewhat uneven, not as good as his younger brother's all-around academic master, but he respected knowledge and always paid the high tuition fees for both brothers. Unfortunately, in his last semester of high school, he was expelled after a fair fight broke out with the principal in the bathroom, forcing him to drop out early.

Incidentally, the principal was hospitalized with a concussion and a broken bone, then backstabbed by the dean, leaving him in disgrace and returning to his hometown to raise Tasmanian devils. Afterwards, the dean not only gave Yuan Zhudu a belated graduation bonus but also helped him contact his current job at the steam factory, where he became a senior technician.

Yuan Zhu has been positive, optimistic, and cheerful since childhood. Having shouldered the sole responsibility of raising her younger brother, she's become particularly outgoing and driven. She deeply yearns for wealth, power, and status, ultimately developing a relentless and driven character.

Since I didn't plan to go to college (the tuition was too expensive), I simply accepted the underground employment of the dean of studies in advance and got a very good job + salary.

In order to get an extra 0.5% salary, I took on three jobs in the factory.

Desiring more income, he took a part-time job in the underground boxing arena and occasionally engaged in fake fights, which put his professional ethics in doubt.

In order to get in touch with extraordinary powers and become the best, he took the initiative to join the [Fire Fang] and rushed to the sacrifice venue on weekends to give away his head.

The brothers worked so hard because their mother, who had been in their late twenties, had tirelessly instilled in them the message, "Our Yuan family is a distinguished and aristocratic family, rich in wealth and culture. Now that we've been stranded in a foreign land and have fallen on hard times, you brothers must strive to rise up, bring honor to our ancestors, revive our family business, and provide us with a good life."

Unfortunately, my mother was not ambitious enough. She was greedy for fame and wealth, and refused to find a down-to-earth man to marry. After her second marriage failed, she fell ill but insisted on traveling to a foreign country to fight for the inheritance, and eventually died on the way.

Although he became an orphan at the age of 10, the brainwashing that lasted for ten years also made Yuan Zhu imprinted with the idea of "bringing honor to the ancestors and revitalizing the family business". Step by step, he has become the hardworking person he is today, and he never gets tired of it.

Facing his brother's concerned gaze, Yuan Zhu casually waved his hand: "It's okay, I encountered a small problem and have already dealt with it. I came home late today, how did you eat dinner?"

Yuan Su: "I made it myself and left some for you."

"Okay. Here's 20 yuan for your living expenses. I have some personal matters to attend to over the next few days, so my home time won't be regular. You can go out to eat by yourself and don't have to wait for me."

As he spoke, he pulled out a leather wallet left behind by a believer, opened it, and revealed a stack of banknotes of various sizes. He then pulled out four 5-yuan bills. This was a normal adult's salary for a hard-working week, more than enough for living expenses.

Seeing the bloodstains on the banknotes that seemed to have not yet dried, Yuan Su looked worried: "Brother, where did you get all this money? How can there be so much? I have never seen a wallet like this. Are you not tired from work, so you are doing something illegal?"

"Get lost! Although I do feel that work is too tiring and I earn too little, this money is earned cleanly and honestly. Even the Security Bureau can't do anything to me. It's just a little blood. I've seen blood a lot, haven't I? Feel free to use it. I, your brother, am now enlightened in Longchang. I have suddenly realized the truth and plan to change my way of life. Our good days are still to come. Just study hard and be honest. Don't worry about the rest."

Seeing his brother's temperament and mental state clearly abnormal, Yuan Su nodded helplessly and stopped asking questions. Instead, he put the money away. At the same time, he also took his brother's changes to heart, worried that he had encountered some unexpected events during the day, which had caused such a drastic change in his mentality.

The thick stack of banknotes in that stranger's wallet might be the source of the problem. Could it be that Big Brother has really joined a criminal gang?
He vaguely remembered someone once hinting at trying to win over his eldest brother to take on some underground employment. Even the bathroom duel between his eldest brother and the principal helped him get through middle school smoothly, with no school bully daring to mess with him.

Big Brother has a criminal record! Has he finally grown tired of the life of hard work and wealth? Is the White Harbor Fist he has practiced for so many years finally going to be used in the wrong field?
At this moment, his younger brother Yuan Su was worried.

　Please vote, recommend, and comment... Keep reading.

(End of this chapter)