Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Xilun acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

His gaze never left the pages of the book, as if the mockery was merely the sound of the wind outside the window, utterly meaningless.

This disregard only made those people feel bored. After grumbling a few times, they went to grab the buckets of water for washing.

"Still watching?"

A tired voice sounded beside me.

Cage trudged over, carrying an enamel basin in his hand.

His face was deathly pale, and he kept his hand on his lower back as he walked, a result of occupational disease caused by long-term heavy lifting.

Xilun nodded and moved aside slightly: "Yeah, just started watching."

Cage leaned closer and, by the candlelight, made out the book title.

"Classical Literature?"

Cage looked at Siron in surprise. "You want to learn this? This isn't something people like us can understand."

"Just browsing," Xilun said casually.

No, I know what you mean.

Cage shook his head, his expression becoming somewhat complicated, even tinged with admiration. "You want to study the occult, right? I heard from an old editor at the newspaper that to enter the world of the occult, classical literature is just the foundation; you also need to be proficient in chemistry and biology, and even understand some astrological charts. Even if you go to a regular church night school, it would take two or three years to get the basics down."

Xilun was taken aback.

Do we also have to study chemistry and biology?

He originally thought that all he had to do was overcome the language barrier.

"It seems I still have a lot of lessons to catch up on," Xilun said thoughtfully.

"You've really changed, Celen."

Cage sighed, pulled a worn-out stool from under the bed, sat down, and gently rubbed his lower back. "Before, we only thought about how to carry one more bag of goods and how to save a penny. Now, you... feel a little unfamiliar to me."

"People always have to move forward." Xilun took out a small packet of cheap tea leaves from the drawer, grabbed a handful and threw them into the cup, then poured warm water from the thermos over them.

The tea leaves swirl in the water, creating a layer of murky foam.

"Yes, keep moving forward."

Cage gave a wry smile and pointed to his back. "I'd like to leave, but my back is about to break. That damn Morgan deliberately assigned me the heaviest boxes of lead today. He knows I'm going to the newspaper and wants to push me to the limit in this last month."

"More than a month left?" Xilun asked.

"Yeah, they said there's a vacancy at the end of next month." A glimmer of hope flashed in Cage's eyes. "Once I get to the newspaper, even if it's just a type editor, at least I won't be exposed to the wind and rain, and I won't have to see Morgan's sour face. And..."

He lowered his voice, as if sharing a huge secret: "I heard that you often come into contact with some big shots at the newspaper office. Maybe one day you'll get lucky and become a familiar face."

Xilun took a sip of the bitter tea and nodded: "It's fine."

Everyone is struggling to survive.

Cage chose to flee the docks to find a decent job; while Celion chose a more dangerous and steeper path.

"Oh, right."

Cage hesitated for a moment, then took out a piece of hard candy wrapped in parchment paper from his pocket and handed it to Siron, "Here, this is the last one."

Xilun looked at the candy, remained silent for two seconds, then reached out and took it: "Thanks."

"Go to bed early, don't ruin your eyes."

Cage patted Celen on the shoulder and got up to line up to wash up.

Xilun unwrapped the candy and popped the hard candy into his mouth.

A cheap saccharin flavor melts on the tongue, almost cloyingly sweet, but for a brain severely lacking in sugar, it's an unparalleled treat.

He picked up a piece of rye bread that was as black as coal and gnawed on it with difficulty while drinking tea.

The bread was dry and hard, even mixed with sawdust and grit, and each bite required a lot of effort, like chewing a piece of dried rubber.

Xilun swallowed without expression.

His gaze remained fixed on the grammar analysis in the book.

With food in the stomach, sugar in the brain, and a slowly growing sensation of energy in the body.

This is enough.

Only after the small piece of candle had completely burned out, turning into a pool of warm wax, did Xilun close the book.

By this time, the moonlight outside the window had also dimmed.

The dormitory was filled with thunderous snoring, and various sounds of teeth grinding and sleep talking mingled together, like an absurd symphony.

Xilun blew out the last spark and lay down fully clothed on the hard bed.

Almost the instant he closed his eyes, he entered a deep sleep.

……

Monday morning.

The fog over the Greywater River was thicker than usual, and the damp, cold air was penetrating everywhere, as if it would freeze one's very bones.

"Ouch—it's so cold!"

"Damn this weather! It's only a few months old, how come it's already so cold?"

A chorus of complaints erupted in the dormitory.

The workers, one by one, hunched their shoulders and trembled as they crawled out of their blankets.

They wrapped themselves tightly in their tattered cotton-padded coats, yet their lips still turned purple from the cold and their teeth chattered.

Cage stomped his feet and breathed on his hands, trying to regain some feeling in his stiff fingers.

"Silen, aren't you cold?"

Cage turned his head and looked at Siron, who was putting on a single layer of clothing, in surprise.

Xiren was wearing only a thin linen shirt, with a faded work jacket over it, not even buttoned up properly, revealing the outline of his strong chest muscles.

"good."

Xilun stretched his neck, making a cracking sound.

He really didn't feel cold.

After a week of breathing exercises, coupled with the [Black Scale Pattern] talent brought by the mutated Garuda Serpent yesterday, his physique has undergone a qualitative leap.

At this moment, he could clearly feel a warm current flowing slowly through his limbs and bones with his breath.

It's like having a small furnace built into your body.

The moment the cold air from the outside touched his skin, it was blocked by that black keratin membrane that was barely visible to the naked eye.

That feeling was wonderful.

In the past, he would shiver from the cold and develop sores on his hands and feet, just like everyone else, in this kind of weather.

But now, he only felt cool, and even had an urge to run in the cold wind.

Xilun carried the washbasin to the sink at the end of the corridor.

The water flowing from the tap was icy cold and had an unpleasant odor.

The people next to them just dipped their fingertips in water, wiped their faces haphazardly, and that was it; no one dared to actually wash their faces.

Xilun, however, turned on the tap, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it hard on his face.

Whoosh!

Cold water droplets slid down his cheeks, flowed down his neck, and seeped into his collar.

But he did not flinch at all; on the contrary, he felt invigorated, and even a faint warmth rose from his skin.

"monster……"

The coworker next to him watched this scene and couldn't help but mutter something, his eyes showing both astonishment at seeing a madman and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

I've finished washing up.

Xilun returned to his dormitory, took out the remaining coins from under his pillow, and put them in his pocket.

"I'm leaving."

He greeted Cage.

"Be careful," Cage cautioned. "I heard things' been a bit unsettled in the lower city lately; they still haven't caught 'The Ripper.'"

"Um."

Xilun nodded and pushed open the door to go out.

Outside the door, the cold wind howled.

The dockworkers, their necks hunched, swarmed toward the grey riverbank, a place filled with suffering and exploitation, like a swarm of gray ants.

Xilun, however, went against the flow of people, straightened his back, and strode in another direction.