Praise

Li Wei entered the small town and began scoping out the bars and certain shops, always pretending to "casually" pass by nearby.

But after wandering around for nearly half an hour without spotting any helpful townsfolk, he instead caught the attention of a town patrol officer.

"Hey, Asian guy over there, stay where you are!" After spotting Li Wei wandering all over the place, the round-bellied officer first radioed the station, then slowly pushed open his car door. One hand rested on the holster at his waist as he cautiously walked toward him.

Li Wei spotted the officer too. Looking around, he found that the pitifully few pedestrians nearby were all European or American, and he was the only Asian. He pointed at himself in confusion.

"Yes, you! Put your hands where I can see them, don't make any sudden moves, and turn around!" The fat white officer pointed at Li Wei, his attitude extremely unfriendly.

After half an hour of wandering, Li Wei had already learned through various channels that this world was still in 2007, the period when America was at the height of its confidence. He had also sensed the ever-present undercurrent of racial discrimination.

White people treated the recently emancipated Black people terribly. Things had not yet reached the level of political correctness from Li Wei's previous life; all kinds of discrimination were carried out openly.

Though Li Wei was not Black, he had still felt plenty of unfriendly stares while wandering around.

Now that the officer had stopped him, he really wanted to know why.

"May I know why you're arresting me, a law-abiding citizen?"

The fat officer let out a snort. "Someone reported that you illegally entered a law-abiding citizen's home and molested a boy! If you're smart, raise your hands and turn around... law-abiding citizen~!"

Oh-ho~!

So there was no room to play around, then!

Li Wei spread his hands. The fat officer's words made him think of that little boy from earlier. Well, damn—when something happened, the brat actually knew to call the police!

During his craziest fighting days, he had never been labeled a criminal. Yet now he had become a target for arrest by American police!

"I said, put your hands up!" the fat cop suddenly roared, pulling a handgun from his waist and aiming it at Li Wei.

When the handful of bystanders saw Officer Bob actually draw his gun, they immediately fled far away, afraid a ricochet might hit them.

At the same time, they were curious about what kind of criminal had appeared in town that needed to be held at gunpoint.

What a joke!

Li Wei had been hunted by the military and lived through the apocalypse. How could he possibly be frightened by the little pistol of this high-blood-pressure, high-cholesterol, high-blood-sugar cop?

His body burst into motion in an instant. He fled with a nimble Z-shaped maneuver, not even using thirty percent of his speed before he had already vanished from Officer Bob's sight.

He slipped through the gap between two small houses. His body shuddered, dark-red fleshy tendrils writhing as he Disguised himself as a young white man.

He even brazenly chose to return the way he came. He saw Officer Bob turn on the police car's lights and roar past him, and could still hear Bob cursing as he called for backup.

"Interesting~!" Li Wei said, suddenly feeling watched. He turned his head and looked toward the upper right.

There was a little girl lying by a second-floor window, her face blank. The lollipop in her hand had already fallen outside, and even her outstretched tongue had frozen halfway.

Her shocked eyes were locked on Li Wei's face. She looked rather cute, and she had clearly seen what he looked like while changing.

Another child. I hate little boys. Little girls can be forgiven a little.

The little girl was around six years old, and she was far cuter than that little brat he had met before.

Li Wei smiled and waved at her, then placed a finger against his lips...

"Are you a demon?!"

Before he could even shush her, the little girl covered her mouth with both hands, then cried out in surprise.

Heh!

What exactly was I expecting...

Li Wei withdrew his finger and slapped his face. Obedient children truly existed only in fantasies; they were simply impossible in reality!

"No, I'm not. Don't talk nonsense. I didn't do it!" He immediately unleashed a triple denial. After looking around for a while, he activated Pulse Sensing. Once he confirmed that no one nearby was watching, Li Wei leaped up to the second-floor window where the little girl was.

"Gasp~!" The little girl sucked in a breath and backed into the room, frightened by Li Wei's sudden approach.

Li Wei followed her into the adorable little room. Spotting a tiny chair, he pulled it over and plopped down on it.

He stared intently at the little girl and lowered his voice with a smile. "Big brother here is a good person. As long as you lend me a little money, I'll grant you one small request. How about it?"

To change the little girl's impression of him—and because he could not think of anywhere better to go for the moment—he planned to stay and play with her for a while.

"Demon?!" Hearing Li Wei lower his voice, the little girl unconsciously lowered hers as well. She even took two steps forward. Rather than frightened, she seemed a little excited as she asked, "Demon, can you turn Terry's teddy bear into a real bear?"

Li Wei beckoned to the little girl. She obediently walked over, and he casually ruffled her hair before rubbing his hands together and smiling. "That'll cost extra!"

Twenty-five minutes later, Li Wei jumped out through the window with the pocket money a little girl had saved up. He also waved back at the little girl, who was smiling and waving at him.

After wandering around town until evening, Li Wei used the girl's money to buy a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Then he began looking for targets, hoping to find some distinctive idle types so he could earn money and pay the little girl back.

Puffing on a cheap cigarette, he entered the town's only bar. Old-fashioned jazz played from a player, and many hippies in brightly colored headscarves sat inside. They spoke softly and looked harmonious, nowhere near as rowdy as Li Wei had imagined.

He sat at the bar. The bartender and owner was a standard American with a huge beard, an indescribably severe three-high physique, and thick body hair, like a powerful wild boar.

Seeing Li Wei, an unfamiliar face, enter the bar, the owner came over. Rather than acting exclusionary, he warmly asked what Li Wei wanted.

"Does water cost money?" After sitting down, Li Wei looked around. When he saw the hunting rifles hanging on the wall, he almost thought this was Texas.

The bar owner, who had been fairly friendly, slowly lost his smile upon hearing Li Wei's question. He placed an empty glass on the counter, picked up a pitcher, and poured him a glass of water while praising Li Wei for being thrifty.

"You really are a cheapskate. This glass is free. The next one costs one cent."

"One is enough, thanks."

Li Wei took the filled glass and drank a sip, then casually asked, "I only got into town today. I talked with an officer earlier, and I heard there's a perverted child molester around here..."

"Now you're talking!" The bar owner became energized the moment Li Wei brought up the matter he had just learned about from Officer Bob.

Bang!

Just as he was about to talk about that perverted Asian man, the bar's saloon doors were flung open by a sudden hurricane after violently swinging back and forth. They slammed into the wall with a deafening crash that overwhelmed the jazz.

The sudden gale also made the bottles on the shelves clatter. The hippies who had been drinking and chatting stood up in confusion and looked outside.

The bar owner frowned and stepped out from behind the counter. Bracing against the wind, he went to the entrance and glanced at the sky. His expression immediately fell. After watching for a moment, he turned to the patrons and said, "All right, folks, drinking time is over. A hurricane might be coming, so hurry home and reinforce your houses! The bar is closed!"

Li Wei, who had been drinking water, paused. The Key icon appeared in his vision again, along with an arrow pointing in a certain direction.