abnormal mutation

Chapter 14 Hungry Wolf
The next day, as dawn broke, Roland awoke from his deep sleep. With the two wolves guarding him, he slept exceptionally soundly.

The wounds on his chest and abdomen were a little numb and itchy, and it was still painful to turn over or move around, but he felt energetic, full of spirit, and in better condition than ever before. He was increasingly satisfied with his body.

In his previous life, he lacked exercise and was in a state of severe sub-health, living a half-dead state every day, and had no idea what it meant to be strong.

The room was dark, with only the burning fireplace emitting a rich red glow. Evan and the others were already awake, but they were all lingering in bed, unwilling to leave their warm blankets except to urinate or add fuel to the fire.

Roland got up, lit the oil lamp, and rummaged through the cabinet in the corner for his old clothes, putting them on one by one. He also quietly hid his revolver inside his fur coat. His previous clothes were either stained with blood or stolen and didn't fit him well.

"Big brother is awake..." Luke saw Roland get up and called the others to wake up as well.

Normally, everyone gets up early at this time. They need to move the charcoal burned the day before out of the carbonization furnace and transport it to the East Market to sell after dawn, earning a very meager profit.

Even small shops need to have someone look after them. The fish market is closed and there are few people at the West Gate, but some regular customers from the neighborhood will still come to buy things, and they usually need to have the goods delivered to their door.

The situation is different today. In the days since Roland went missing, the carbonization furnace has been shut down, and there isn't much stock left in the yard, not even enough for their own use.

Several people gathered around the large fireplace, where a kettle was bubbling away, and each person was drinking water from a cup.

"We're going out to eat today; the charcoal business is temporarily suspended," Roland said after a long pause.

The hidden threat has not yet been eliminated, and purchasing timber would require leaving the city, greatly increasing the danger. He decided to lay low for a while and focus on recovering from his injuries.

He also didn't plan to go to the law enforcement agency, because he couldn't explain it clearly; one flimsy lie after another would hardly fool those professionally trained law enforcement officers.

“But the fish market won’t open for another three months. We can’t just sit around and do nothing. How about the rest of us start working? You take good care of yourself, brother. We can manage…” Luke frowned, looking even older.

"Yes, brother, what about the orphanage...?" Evan's tone was slightly hesitant. He didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't want his brother to feel any pressure.

He knew that if his elder brother only cared about himself, he could live a good life, but in order to fill the hole in the orphanage, he forced himself to become penniless.

The orphanage was originally an imperial government institution, but in recent years the empire's financial deficit has been too great, and the orphanage's funding has been delayed again and again. Social donations are also scarce, making life increasingly difficult for the orphanage.

In Roland's time, children could stay in the sales home until they were eleven and attend community schools for free. Now the age limit has been changed to nine, and schooling is limited to primary school. Even so, the remaining children still go hungry.

“This is only temporary; the charcoal business isn’t doing well.” He pulled out yesterday’s newspaper and handed it to Evan. “A super-large coal mine has been discovered in Grantham. Officials predict it will be the largest coal mine in Almosid County, and coal prices will be very cheap from now on…”

The market for charcoal in Binghe Town is small; most people just burn wood directly because it's cheap, and quite a few people also burn coal.

Seeing the worry on their faces, Roland comforted them, "Don't worry about this. Get moving, sort out those two big bags of clothes, clean them up, keep a few that fit, and send the rest to the orphanage."

"Yes……"

With clear instructions, the group quickly got to work, their hesitation gone.

Roland sorted through the weapons on his own. There were nine in total. Evan chose a crossbow, Targen took a short hunting knife with a spearhead, Luke preferred a combination spear, Andrew picked a camping axe, and the others tacitly left him the large bear hunting knife with feather patterns.

He kept the Ulu knife for his own use, and the remaining three knives were in good condition. Including the old hunting knife he replaced, there were a total of four knives, which should be worth some money.

At 12:30, it was already bright outside.

Roland opened the inner fur window, and the sunlight immediately streamed in through the outer glass window, making the frost patterns on it look like a work of art.

He took the kettle off the fireplace and went into the east-facing washroom. There was a half-length mirror with a missing corner, and a large wooden basin filled with half a basin of ice water on the shelf below. There was also a cubicle on the right.

As I opened the inner window of the bathroom, sunlight instantly filled the room, and a figure both strange and familiar appeared in the mirror.

He was tall and slender, at least 1.9 meters tall, and very thin. His pale skin clung tightly to his muscles and bones, making his face appear extremely gaunt. Beneath his medium-length blue-gray hair, a pair of dark eyes peeked out, fierce and sharp, like a hungry wolf ready to pounce at any moment! His face did not look very friendly. Roland took a few deep breaths, relaxed his mind and muscles, and tried to soften his gaze and expression as much as possible.

"Your facial features and proportions are good. If you were a little chubby, you wouldn't look bad." He raised his arm and made a grasping motion, his muscles bulging. "You need to eat more, otherwise you won't be resistant to illness or the cold."

When he finished washing up and came out, the fur coat had already been cleaned.

They bundled the items into two bags, one for Luke and one for Andrew, one for Evan, one for Roland, and one for Roland. After closing the door, the five of them filed out.

Targen carried nothing with him; he jogged off to inform the sales home that Roland had returned safely and that they should stop looking for him.

The town of Binghe under the morning sun is full of life. Every household has a fire burning, and plumes of smoke rise straight up. Xiuyuan Street is bustling with people, and the flow of people becomes denser as you go east.

"Roland is back..."

"came back."

"Where have you been? Luke and the others have been looking for you for days."

"They went to catch chickens, but got stuck in the blizzard."

"..."

Glacier Town is not large, with a permanent population of several thousand. Roland has lived here for twenty years and knows many people, especially the people of Xiuyuan Street.

The search for the person at the orphanage was quite a commotion, and people inevitably asked questions after hearing about it. Roland responded with a smile, making himself appear as usual. The original owner of this body wasn't a humorous person and usually didn't talk much.

After crossing a small intersection, the number of shops on the street increased: tailor shops, general stores, bakeries, taverns...

The tavern is called Good Luck Whitebeard, and it has been there since Roland could remember. The signboard and the owner have never changed, but the chef has changed to Old Tom's son, Little Tom, who is good at making all kinds of soups and also has a big beard.

Roland lifted the thick windproof curtain and stepped into the tavern, the old wind chimes on the door rattling.

The tavern wasn't crowded in the morning. Old Tom lay dozing on a deckchair, with a half-full glass of gin, Hot Tody, on the fireplace beside him. It was his favorite drink, and he drank it every morning without fail.

"Old Tom, a customer's here." He tapped the bar heavily with his knuckles.

Old Tom opened his sleepy eyes, glanced at the newcomer, and his snow-white beard bristled: "Roland, you're still alive?"

"You know, I've always been lucky." Roland grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, looking quite relaxed.

When he first left the sales home, he was too frail to be hired by any of the factories. It was Old Tom who took him in and helped him through the most difficult period.

Old Tom stood up, leaning on his cane, his gait unsteady, his bulky fur coat seeming to weigh him down. Roland took two steps forward, just in case, but didn't offer to help; Old Tom was a strong-willed man, and such an action would only annoy him.

"How did you lose so much weight?" Old Tom's gaze lingered on Roland's face for a moment, then he shook his head slightly. "Like a bloodstained sword, too sharp and it's easy to hurt yourself."

The word "bloodstained" made Roland's heart skip a beat. He suddenly realized that "fierce and ruthless" might not have anything to do with the original owner of this body. It was his stress response to the unfamiliar world and a mental manifestation after killing.

The personality differences between the two worlds are so great that, on the surface, he appears to be playing the original owner, but in essence, he is hiding himself and preventing outsiders from prying into his life.

“If anyone says you’re old, I’ll be the first to disagree,” Roland said, half-jokingly.

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(End of this chapter)