My profession is too unique.

Chapter 6 "Home"

Jiang He lived in an affluent area, full of detached villas, many with lights on in the windows, and patrolling guards in uniforms with thin metal rods hanging from their waists.

Every time Su Chen encountered a guard, he could feel their scrutinizing gazes, filled with suspicion.

But he remained calm and showed no fear, and his clothes suited the atmosphere of the place, so no one came up to question him.

Emerging from this affluent area, the streets became noticeably wider.

It grew increasingly dark, the yellow light of the streetlights flickered erratically, and the areas between them were unusually wide, with some shadows almost as dark as night.

My gaze fell on a car parked on the side of the street.

Su Chen stepped forward and knocked on the window. The driver glanced at him, seemingly puzzled. "Su Chen?"

“It’s me.” He nodded.

The driver looked at the clothes on his body, as if he recognized them, hesitated, and secretly marveled at how the lady of the house was getting better and better at having fun.

"Let's go."

The car door opened, and Su Chen sat in the back seat, looking around. The structure of the car was not much different from that of a regular car.

The driver ran his hand across the dashboard, and with a humming sound, the car trembled slightly as the scenery on both sides rapidly fell and then lifted into the air.

"...Hmm, to the outer city, take C-7, it's clear now..." the driver murmured. Su Chen looked out the window, and although he couldn't see clearly below, the overhead lights were much brighter.

Whoosh--
The push-back sensation made Su Chen lean back slightly. His gaze swept across the window, and he finally saw clearly that those long strips of light were indeed steel tracks, and some kind of transportation must be running there during the day.

"Outside the city lies an endless fog, where anything could possibly exist: mutated monsters, machines..."

He tried hard to recall some relevant information about this world, but the original owner didn't know much about it either. The inexplicable fog seemed to isolate everything.

What changes occurred in the world to make it this way, or was it always like this?

The original owner of this body had no memory of it, only that it had been like this since his birth.

“However…” Su Chen frowned slightly. In the original owner’s memories, he was not a native of Nanfeng City. He came from another place when he was five or six years old, and his memories were already very vague.

"In other words, the outside world is not absolutely dangerous, but it is also not something I can come into contact with."

I don't know how much time had passed, but I felt a slight jolt in the car, and then I landed.

"We've arrived." The driver was very polite.

"Thank you." Su Chen got out of the car, and the cool air rushed into his lungs.

Far from artificial light sources, it was much darker, and one could barely see the surroundings. On both sides were densely packed gray shacks with shadowy figures, and the roads were full of potholes.

This is where he lives, on the outskirts of the city, commonly known as the slums.
Following his memory, Su Chen found several familiar landmarks and headed towards his home.

Given the unique external environment, it's almost impossible for someone to just laze around and wait to die in the city.

Whether it's a family or an individual, they must have value to offer. Allowing them to stay unconditionally until adulthood is already the greatest mercy in Nanfeng City.

After reaching adulthood, they either serve as cannon fodder to explore the fog, or if they are lucky enough to return, they can survive for half a year.

"Su, Su Chen?" A slightly familiar voice came from the shadows.

Su Chen stopped in her tracks; it seemed she had arrived at her "home."

"Why are you dressed like this?"

Seemingly confirming his identity, several ragged-looking men, none of whom looked very old, suddenly appeared from the side.

Huang Peng… Black Dog… names flashed through my mind.

"You... have entered Nanfeng Academy?" someone asked cautiously.

Su Chen's mind raced. Although the original owner had lived here since childhood, due to environmental factors, he could only say that he was "playing around" with most people.

Seeing his silence, there was a faint sound of relief, one of them saying jokingly:
“I said before that it’s not impossible to trade your body for your future, but you are a man after all. Nanfeng Academy is not a place we can get into.”

"It's okay that we didn't go in. Didn't you say that woman was quite pretty? It's not a loss." "Yeah, we also got this outfit, it must be quite valuable. Can I borrow it?"

As he spoke, someone reached out and tugged at his coat, seemingly trying to pull it off.

Su Chen frowned, his arm trembled slightly, and the person who reached out staggered backward, falling to the ground with a cry of "Ouch!" before angrily shouting, "What are you doing?"

The sudden commotion silenced the surroundings.

"Ha, you think you're something special just because you slept with that slut?"

"Alright, it didn't work out. They're in a bad mood, so don't bother them. Go back to sleep."

"... "

As the crowd dispersed and the surrounding sounds gradually subsided, Su Chen, with a calm expression, accurately located his "home" in the darkness and pulled back the tattered cloth covering it.

Following his memory, he touched a lamp, and the dim light made him feel much more comfortable.

It was called a "home," but it was just a few pieces of sheet metal, and the space was extremely cramped, so much so that you could only curl up to sleep.

There was still solidified white porridge in the small pot on the ground.

He shook his head, not caring, and just squatted there.

“Brother Su Chen…” The rag was lifted, and a small figure walked in, his belly bulging and his face covered in soot.

Upon seeing Su Chen, he seemed somewhat stunned, standing there without saying a word.

“…Little pigeon?” Su Chen called out tentatively.

"Ah..." she exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Su Chen, you...you look...quite handsome..."

She muttered to herself, then glanced cautiously to the left and right, pulled out a package from under her fairly tidy clothes, and handed it to Su Chen.

"These are for you," she whispered.

"Where did you get the food?" Su Chen looked at the canned food in the bag. Nanfeng City only provides them with two meals a day, which is barely enough to fill their stomachs.

The bags contained canned goods in fairly nice packaging, which were quite valuable to them.

"I have a secret to tell you, but don't tell anyone else..." The little pigeon leaned closer, its eyes sparkling, and whispered, "I'm leaving here soon..."

"Where to?" Su Chen frowned.

"...Sister Xiaoxi...will take me away..." She lowered her head, seemingly feeling somewhat guilty, and said hesitantly, "However, she can only take me with her now..."

Sister Xiaoxi?

A figure appeared in Su Chen's mind: a guy with a dark face, bald hair, and a serious expression.

She was also a member of the slums, but now she should be called Bai Fengxi.

This guy must have had some incredible luck; apparently, he caught the eye of some big shot in the city and was sent to Nanfeng Academy, where he was renamed Bai Fengxi.

This matter is a secret; almost no one here knows about it.

He wasn't very familiar with the other person; their interactions mostly revolved around Little Pigeon, and it was Little Pigeon who told him these things.

Although the original owner kept it a secret, he was still somewhat agitated by it, which is why he ended up in Jiang He's bed.

"It's fine." Su Chen felt slightly relieved.

"Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to get you out of here with me," the little pigeon quickly added.

"Don't worry about me, just take care of yourself," Su Chen said gently. Little Pigeon had also wandered over with a large group of people a few years ago, and her predecessor had taken good care of her.

She put on a serious expression to indicate that she wasn't talking nonsense before turning and leaving.

Su Chen chuckled, put the things aside, and opened the panel.

(End of this chapter)