Nighttime Brawl

As Mel Carlo hesitated, the scarred man beside him secretly slipped a handful of copper coins into his hand.

"20 Oren, here you go."

"Thanks." Mel Carlo hadn't fully processed it yet, but he clutched the money and walked towards the small gang leader in front of him.

The currency in the game was all gold coins, but the money in his hand now was all copper. This was a world very similar to the game, yet not entirely the same.

He walked forward slowly.

He wasn't exactly scared; instead, he found it quite interesting, a peculiar sensation. The elite monster that would have been instantly defeated in the game was now the boss deciding his fate.

"Did you steal money? Or do you want a whipping, kid!" The fat gang leader scratched his belly with one hand and gripped a whip with the other. A boy, who had just been whipped, knelt before him.

Mel Carlo didn't say a word. He simply took out the 20 copper coins from his hand. He wasn't sure of the purchasing power of these 20 copper coins yet, or if they would be enough to save him from the whip.

"Only 20 Oren? Are you trying to fool me!"

Mel Carlo was kicked away, but he avoided the whipping. Although he stumbled on the ground, it actually felt much better than being whipped. By falling backward upon impact, he could dissipate the force.

Though he didn't look up, he wasn't truly afraid. He just needed to avoid eye contact with people like this, as it could easily provoke their anger. The moment the other person kicked, he was already prepared to absorb the impact.

Then, several more children entered the yard. It seemed they were also forced to beg or steal. Each of them handed over money; those who didn't received a whipping.

A little boy protected a little girl and received several extra lashes. He was curled up on the ground. Mel Carlo couldn't help in this situation; he was struggling to save himself.

Mel Carlo had already sat down in a corner of the yard, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Anke slowly walked over to his side, and Mel Carlo looked at Anke.

This scarred man didn't seem as bad as he had initially thought.

"Uncle Anke, why did you help me?"

Since he wanted to understand this world, it was natural to start by understanding the people around the original body. At least for the short term, this scarred man didn't seem so bad.

"I just felt it was a shame for you to die from a whipping after you'd already managed to survive this long."

"Oh." Mel Carlo felt a little touched. It was indeed a shame to die when he had a second chance at life.

"Do you know? For those controlled by gangs, there's only one path: to completely integrate into the gang like me and become the kind of person you used to despise."

"Are there no other choices?" Mel Carlo didn't believe he had to stay in this wretched place. Relying on his memories from his previous life, as long as he could accumulate some funds to leave, he would surely live a better life than staying here.

"You can also choose to die. Never think of escaping. If you're caught, you'll wish you were dead." Anke seemed to see through the thoughts hidden beneath Mel Carlo's calm exterior.

"Thank you." Mel Carlo stood up.

To survive, he had to actively adapt to the rules, like a cockroach, adapting as quickly as possible, rather than clinging to his past values and having them shattered in this world.

At night, Mel Carlo was locked in a room with other children. There were no beds, only some areas covered with dry straw and empty rice sacks that were somewhat comfortable. The mixed smell of various things was unbearable.

The gang enforcers distributed dinner: a piece of black bread, not too big, not too small. It smelled sour and looked unappetizing.

When he put it in his mouth, it was hard and dry. It was truly difficult to resist spitting it out.

Looking at the iron-like black bread in his hand, he couldn't help but wonder, "Is this food meant for humans?"

He had accumulated good karma in his previous life, so why was he reincarnated as a beggar?

However, the other children in the same room didn't seem to mind. Even this dry, dark piece of bread was a rare delicacy to them.

Some children who had been whipped were lying on the dry straw. They hadn't managed to get any money, so they didn't get dinner.

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A dirty girl was squatting by the dry straw. The injured boy had been whipped more because he was protecting her. Now, her stomach was growling with hunger.

But among the beggars in the same room, no one would give their hard-earned food to others.

"Hey, kid, have this! I can't eat it." Mel Carlo handed the black bread in his hand to the little girl beside him.

The little girl hesitantly took the black bread, and at the same time, it attracted the attention of others in the room. Some children without dinner were now looking at it with shining eyes; it was not impossible for them to snatch the food.

"Thank you." The little girl's voice was weak. They didn't seem to know each other well; many children were locked up here.

A slightly larger boy rushed over, wanting to snatch the bread. Mel Carlo acted quickly. Facing an opponent who was a whole size bigger than him, a direct confrontation would surely be disadvantageous.

The best approach was to grab the opponent by the neck from behind. Once the opponent lost their balance, it would be easy to take them down.

"Give me the bread! Or I'll beat you!" The little fatty waved his fists menacingly, pretending to strike.

Mel Carlo, from behind, suddenly attacked, grabbing the little fatty's neck and pulling backward with his full body weight. Even though he was thin, using this technique was still effective in a fight.

Despite the little fatty's struggles, Mel easily subdued him and then landed two punches to his face.

"Stop hitting, I was wrong."

"Wrong, and you're still going to snatch it?" Mel Carlo raised his fist. He knew how to fight because his unreliable parents in his previous life had forced him to be more aggressive to avoid being bullied.

"I won't snatch it! I won't snatch it."

Seeing that the leader had been taken down, the other beggars who wanted to snatch food didn't dare to come forward.

"Remember this! My name is Mel Carlo. I call the shots here. Whoever I give the bread to, it belongs to them. If I don't give it to you, you can't snatch it!" Mel Carlo landed two more punches before letting go. The reason he hit twice more was that many little scoundrels would counter-attack after begging for mercy.

He spoke a little louder to make everyone in the room know that he was not to be trifled with. After all, even within the weakest groups, there were differences in individual strength.

The room fell silent again. Mel Carlo lay back down on the hay, while the little girl beside him tore pieces of bread and fed them to him.

Once she had fed him enough, the little girl popped the remaining bit of bread into her own mouth, chewed it carefully, and swallowed.

She turned her head to look at Mel Carlo.

"Hello, my name is Lily. Thank you so much..."

The girl's voice was soft, but very sincere.

"It's nothing. I couldn't swallow that stuff anyway. This kid took lashes to protect you, right? I saw it when I was in the yard."

"Yes, he was punished for protecting me..." The girl felt a little guilty.

"What's his name?"

"His name is Akai."

Lily's hair was a grayish color, not quite white, looking more like a result of malnutrition.

The boy named Akai, however, had striking blonde hair. Such a noticeable hair color wasn't suitable for a little thief; it seemed he could only beg.

He looked to be only six or seven years old, the age for first or second grade in elementary school, yet he had to endure such hardship.

"What about that chubby kid? In this godforsaken place, how could he get so fat? Does he often steal food?"

"Yes, but didn't you forget?" Lily scratched her head and continued, "Before, we all thought you couldn't speak. They even said you were sick and dying, and that you might not come back after today."

Mel listened. According to this logic, it was because the original host had died of illness that he was able to be reborn into this body. However, the only information he could currently access were the red and blue bars and his level. He also didn't have points to use for the lottery function and had no idea how to obtain them.