"WHOOSH—BANG!"
"WHOOSH—BANG!"
"WHOOSH—BANG!"
The last bus of the night, an old, rickety thing, swayed as it drove beneath the thinning neon streetlights. Inside, only two or three weary passengers were heading home.
Li Wen sat by the window, the continuous clamor from the night sky outside ringing in his ears.
In the air, brilliant fireworks bloomed one after another. Multicolored sparks briefly illuminated the lead-gray night sky before instantly vanishing, leaving behind the faint smell of gunpowder that drifted in through the cracks in the window.
Gazing at the fleeting splendor, Li Wen paused for a moment, finally pulling himself from his relentlessly racing thoughts. 'Oh, right. Tomorrow is New Year's Day.'
The ringing in of the new year also meant the end of the semester was fast approaching. Final exams were just around the corner.
'These final exams...' Li Wen subconsciously rubbed the faded sleeve of his school uniform, his gaze returning to the receding streetscape outside the window as he quickly began to calculate in his head.
'Top ten in the class... The school's highest "Annual Progress Award" is a thousand Huaxia Coins, plus the five hundred for the "Academic Excellence Award" for being in the top ten... That adds up to fifteen hundred, which should be enough to buy three Level 1 Qi and Blood Potions.'
Three potions. The thought was like a tiny flicker of flame, temporarily dispelling the gloom that had settled over his heart.
With these three extra supplements, he could raise his physical body level a bit more during the upcoming winter break.
That way, when the selections for the Feixing Class began at the start of next semester, his biggest weakness—his physical body level score—wouldn't be left too far behind by the others. It wouldn't render all his hard-earned advantages in skill useless.
However, a flickering flame could not, in the end, illuminate the heavy foundation of reality.
A nearly inaudible sigh escaped his lips.
'I'm poor. Just so, so poor.'
It was true what they said: even a hero can be felled by a single coin.
'Otherwise... with a cheat-like [Scholar] panel like this, why would I need to rack my brains and pinch every penny over such worldly trash?'
As his thoughts churned, the bus sputtered and chugged its way out of the bustling, prosperous main city district.
The flowing neon lights outside the window vanished as if wiped away by an invisible giant hand. The booming of the fireworks also faded rapidly with the growing distance, until it fell completely silent.
In an age overrun by Demon Beasts and scarce in resources, fireworks were far from ordinary. Only the wealthy and powerful, those with vast fortunes, had the spare cash to splurge on such a momentary blaze of glory.
A ban on fireworks? It had long since become empty talk. Between survival and pleasure, people's choices were always so... clear-cut.
The bus entered the old district, and the view outside was reduced to a thick, impenetrable darkness, dotted with a few scattered, dim yellow lights. Li Wen sat silently in his corner, his shadow drawn out long and thin.
...
「The next morning, January 1st, 226. New Year's Day.」
There was no holiday. In the third year of high school, New Year's Day was just another slightly different number on the calendar.
When Li Wen woke from a light sleep, his father, Li Hong, and his mother, Wang Juan, were already gone from their cramped home.
Only the old wooden table in the center of the empty living room held the lingering atmosphere of early morning life.
A familiar cardboard box with a purplish-brown pattern sat solemnly on the tabletop. Tucked under the box was a small, folded piece of notepaper.
Li Wen walked over and gently lifted the box. Beneath it, his mother's familiar, elegant handwriting came into view:
"Ah Wen, Happy New Year! —Mom"
The few short words carried a warmth like that of a leftover breakfast.
A gentle smile curved Li Wen's lips. He carefully folded the note and placed it in the inner pocket of his school uniform, as if tucking away that warm concern along with it.
Next, his gaze fell upon the box. This was it—his three guaranteed Qi and Blood Potions for the month.
It wasn't much, but it was a critical bargaining chip for his physical body level test at the end of the semester.
He carefully inspected the inside of the box to make sure everything was in order before picking it up. He then turned, walked to his small room, and safely hid it in the bottom drawer of his nightstand.
He had no intention of taking them immediately. His plan was to consume them on the three nights leading up to the start of his final exams.
The reason was none other than a single word: efficiency.
He needed to use this precious time to raise his proficiency in the a little higher.
Even if it was just an increase from his current 5 points in Minor Achievement to 10 points, the effect would be completely different.
If he took the Qi and Blood Potions then, the circulation and absorption of his qi and blood, as well as the efficiency of stimulating his physical body, would all be much higher.
Maximizing his limited resources, calculating every last bit—this was a reluctant necessity etched into his very bones, a way of life he had no choice but to accept.
'Keep asking his parents for more? How could he bear to do that unless it was the absolute last resort?'
The figures of his parents, weathered yet resilient, rose earlier and returned later than him every day. That heavy love and sacrifice had long made it impossible for him to ask for anything more.
'As for borrowing money...' A bitter smile touched Li Wen's lips. 'Those relatives... he'd already borrowed from everyone he could.'
To scrape together the fifty thousand Huaxia Coins for the "class selection fee" back then, he had already exhausted all goodwill. *The poor are ignored, even in a bustling city.*
He quickly washed up, then rapidly but meticulously ate the simple breakfast his mother had left to keep warm on the table, not wasting another second.
Li Wen slung his faded, worn-at-the-edges canvas schoolbag over his shoulder and once again stepped out alone into the biting New Year's Day morning wind.
...
「Bluestone Third Middle School, Senior Year Class (21) Culture Classroom.」
As expected, Li Wen pushed open the classroom door while the first rays of dawn had yet to fully banish the shadows from the hallway.