...Endure...
...Endure again and again...
Gurgle, gurgle—the consciousness had not merely awakened; it seemed to have boiled over, becoming more active than ever. It was not fully unfurling to seize control. Rather, something seemed to have triggered it. Certain memories, immense obsessions, violent emotions, all suddenly ran wild. Crackle, pop—thunder seemed to roll through the mental domain, lightning seemed to flash, and one increasingly fervent spark after another lit up.
—I can endure no more!—
—I... don't want to endure anymore!!—
Immense emotion shattered the congealed clump of consciousness. A tremendous voice, like a thunderbolt crashing down, reverberated throughout the entire mental domain. Images suddenly flashed before Shi Tiexin's eyes—memories etched into the other consciousness's very bones.
Shi Tiexin's eyes instantly went blank as he began receiving those scattered fragments of memory.
He saw the arrogant, wild laughter of delinquent youths.
He saw beatings, extortion, threats, and bullying.
He saw a boy from the countryside who, in order to continue his studies and not betray the hopes and trust of his fellow villagers, decided that less trouble was better than more and chose endurance over resistance.
He saw the immense pressure buried within that boy's heart, the breath he held as he desperately wanted to study hard and stand out. He saw the boy grit his teeth and weep when alone, telling himself to endure a little longer, endure a little more. Once those wicked people lost interest, everything would pass.
But he also saw how things went against his wishes. Those delinquent youths loved tormenting people who did not resist. The more one endured, the more they pushed their luck. Even though this boy came from a poor family with no oil to squeeze from him, they still often came to bully him simply for their own amusement.
He saw vicious faces and heard arrogant insults and clamor. Mixed together, wave after wave, fragment after fragment, they surged toward him. Among countless shattered memories, every single one held humiliation—and at the end of every humiliation was Teng Chaoguo's face.
"Get on your knees and crawl through here..."
"Come on, good grandson. Call me Grandpa, and Grandpa will let you off..."
"Drink this piss, and I won't make you pay up..."
"Aren't you tall? From now on, whenever you see me, you'd better squat down, hahahaha!"
"When I tell you to kneel, you kneel. Won't kneel? You're getting rebellious now? Beat this good grandson to death!"
Scene after scene blended together in chaos. Within that boundless chaos, Shi Tiexin suddenly felt that everything before him was so familiar.
Wasn't this exactly what he had once suffered in Tumubao?!
Wasn't this exactly what he had suffered at Star Engineering Cadet School?!
Other consciousness... so you and I really were the same!
And this grief, this indignation, this unwillingness to accept it—we were the same in all of it!
The moment that thought arose, a thunderous boom sounded. The chaotic vortex of memories was split apart by a brilliant light, as though heaven and earth were being cleaved open. In the end, that light transformed into several large words floating in Shi Tiexin's field of vision.
**Activation: Destiny Mission!** Destiny Mission 1: **Might Cannot Be Bent.** Description: Even a lone child from a humble family must stand tall and upright! Completion Conditions: Explore on your own Completion Reward: Explore on your own
A Destiny Mission?
Shi Tiexin had no idea what it was or what it represented. The completion conditions and reward both said to explore on his own—so vague that it made one scratch one's head. But he did not care about that right now. He merely clenched his fists and stared at Teng Chaoguo, who was swaggering ahead of them. His gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp.
So that was it. There was no way he could stay out of this. This was his own business!
Shi Tiexin did not care about completion conditions or completion rewards now. He only carefully sensed that continuously active consciousness, feeling his emotions and his thoughts. Then, Shi Tiexin suddenly called out in his heart.
—Hey, other consciousness, are you afraid of that guy?—
The other consciousness abruptly paused, then sent over emotions of dejection and shame.
—Afraid.—
Communication between consciousnesses could not lie. Afraid meant afraid; there was no pretending otherwise. Yet Shi Tiexin did not despise him. Instead, he earnestly conveyed, —Being afraid is normal. I have been afraid too. I have been cowardly too. When facing violence you cannot resist, fear is a natural reaction. But other consciousness, have you ever submitted?—
The other consciousness suddenly erupted, releasing explosive torrents of emotion.
—I will not submit!—
—I will never submit!—
—I don't want to endure anymore. I want to fight him to the bitter end!!—
Shi Tiexin suddenly smiled. —Good. Now, watch me. Let me show you that there is no need for us to fear someone like this—
As that thought moved, the group had already left the teaching building and reached a secluded spot in the farthest corner of the academic district. A separate one-story toilet stood here, and the stench could be smelled from afar.
"Get out, all of you!" One lackey rushed in two steps ahead. Soon, the sound of shuffling footsteps rang out inside, and a group of boys ran out in a panic. They all secretly glanced at Shi Tiexin before brushing past him and fleeing in disarray.
"We're here. Go on in, Scholar Stone?" Teng Chaoguo gave a sinister grin and entered the toilet first. Two lackeys blocked the way behind, cutting off the retreat. Shi Tiexin did not care either, and simply stepped inside.
His vision suddenly went dark. After his eyes adjusted to the light, Shi Tiexin finally made out the state of the toilet.
This place really was... rotten to the core!
Even in the most historically faithful television dramas, Shi Tiexin had never seen such a terrible toilet!
The layout was not much different from the toilets in the Trash Class dormitory building. On one side was a long trough for urinating. On the other was a long, narrow row of squat pits. A huge water tank was nailed to the wall. There was no instant flushing system; only after a while would it rumble and release a great dragon of water, so the place stank to high heaven.
There were no windows in the walls and no lights overhead, so it was very dark inside. Only a row of ventilation holes had been opened high on one wall near the roof. Weak light shone through fist-sized holes, barely allowing people to see.
All in all, it was ordinary enough—not exactly outrageous.
But there was one fixture here that was far worse than even the Trash Class toilets. That was the urine trough, which was crammed full of buckets. Yes, you saw that right—blackened, enormous Urine Buckets!
These Urine Buckets packed the trough until it was full. When the boys relieved themselves, they could only piss into the buckets. It was only midmorning, yet the buckets had already accumulated more than half a bucket of yellow liquid. With the weather turning warm, the fishy stench rose straight to the heavens. Looking closely, quite a few dead flies and cigarette butts floated inside, bobbing up and down amid the foam. It was revolting beyond measure.
This was the Black Toilet.
The arena where the delinquent youths of the Trash Class settled their problems through violence.
Before you continue