As Long As I Don't Have Money, No One Can Steal From Me

"Speaking of which, where did this initial asset of seven dollars come from? I don't have any US dollars on me?"

Ma Zhaodi carefully felt his pockets and suddenly realized that the more than fifty yuan in RMB he had used to buy cigarettes had disappeared.

"Fine, fine, fine. I thought it was a gift, but it turns out the sheep is paying for its own wool."

However, looking on the bright side, at least his outfit of a shirt, trousers, and jacket was inconspicuous enough in Gotham.

He sighed and casually purchased "Basic English Proficiency" and "Local Identity." Without these two, his English level would make it impossible to get around – he also bought "Rapid Life Recovery" and "Save Point" at the same time.

"Special prompt: Subsequent quests can unlock the Save Point Forward function. Please do not hesitate to use Save Points; 20 Save Point reads can be distributed across five different time points. Please arrange them reasonably; the current time is a safe node. You will not encounter danger or be able to save for the next half hour. Please do not worry."

Looking up at the sky, thick clouds blocked the sun, and he could only discern that it was night from the dim light, but he couldn't tell the exact time. Ma Zhaodi had no choice but to head towards the exit of the station. He remembered seeing a clock tower on the train and thought that perhaps he could find out the time once he was outside.

Taking two more steps, his pace gradually slowed. Just a second ago, the cacophony of voices from all directions within the station had been inexplicable noise, but in the second after purchasing "Basic English Proficiency," these sounds transformed into fragmented conversations, just like the sounds of the marketplace back home, which his brain could naturally understand.

This novel sensation made Ma Zhaodi, whose English was barely at a passing grade for CET-6, find it incredibly interesting. He pondered some English learning materials and felt that his tattered English had been patched up by the system, now resembling a rickety but incredibly fast, almost demonic, bicycle.

However, this was only because he hadn't adapted yet. In reality, his accent and writing were already quite standard American English. Once he got used to it, the broken bicycle would upgrade into a convenient electric scooter.

Thinking that he should also have a "Gotham Local Identity," he searched his pockets again and found them as empty as his face.

After searching more carefully, he discovered that his identity information and documents, including his driver's license and social security card, were stored within the "Starting from Scratch System." To retrieve them, he only needed to think about it, and the same applied to putting them back.

"Finally, a bit of user-friendliness."

Ma Zhaodi, who had never seen a foreign driver's license before, reached into his jacket pocket. After a few seconds, he pulled out his driver's license, examined it curiously for a moment, and then put it back. He urgently needed to find a way to make a living in Gotham. Otherwise, before being killed by gangsters, terrorist organizations, assassin groups, supervillains, or common robbers and murderers, he would starve to death from lack of food and drink, or freeze to death on the streets from lack of shelter.

After all, he had no idea how American homeless people usually lived, and there were unlikely to be any harmless homeless people in Gotham City.

Of course, he might gradually become familiar with the life of a homeless person in the future, as he truly had no property locally, so becoming homeless wouldn't be surprising at all.

It's worth mentioning that although some homeless people can receive relief money after submitting federal income tax returns and providing valid bank account information, unfortunately, even though the system provided Ma Zhaodi with an account, he had never earned any money, and therefore had never paid taxes.

Stepping out of the bustling platform, Ma Zhaodi truly saw the city up close.

Fine rain dripped from the sky, casting a thin, misty veil over the city in the darkness. Vehicles and motorcycles occasionally sped by on the brightly lit streets. The lower halves of the dense skyscrapers were shrouded in the city's light, while the upper halves vanished into the night, with only floodlights faintly illuminating the edges of the buildings.

Thick smoke rose from factories in the distance, adjacent to a low-lying slum. In the rows of dirty, chaotic buildings, there was almost no light, only the occasional sound of sobbing, beating, and gunshots from the alleys. Homeless encampments were typically found here, with dirty people living in makeshift tents, using abandoned factories, underpasses, and other derelict buildings as shelter, burning waste oil drums filled with old newspapers or tattered books for warmth.

Ma Zhaodi looked up in the distance. Amidst the flashing lights of screens and signs, the clock tower indicated half-past nine at night. It was clear he wouldn't find a job today and would have to hold out until the next morning.

"This start is f***ing ridiculous."

A gust of evening wind blew, carrying the chill of icy mist. Ma Zhaodi shivered and instinctively shoved his hands back into his jacket pockets. He hunched his body, trying hard to think, but couldn't come up with anywhere to spend the night. The overly bustling streets would surely get him kicked out, while the too-quiet corners were prone to danger.

"Is there really no other way?"

He carefully browsed the system and found a mall. Upon opening it, he saw almost everything imaginable, and things that weren't, from small daily necessities like food and knives to powerful skills and supernatural items. He didn't look at anything further down, as he couldn't afford it anyway.

He only had three dollars available in the system. Based on the current situation, he would most likely be sleeping on the streets tonight.

Ma Zhaodi walked while browsing the cheaper items in the mall and suddenly realized his driver's license was missing from his pocket.

"?"

He was certain he hadn't put the license away, so it should still be in his jacket pocket.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

Ma Zhaodi turned his jacket inside out with both hands but couldn't find his driver's license anywhere, making him almost curse out loud. Just then, his hand suddenly brushed against his trouser pocket.

"?"

"It's here?"

It took him a few seconds to understand what had happened. He had just arrived in Gotham City, and within the short hundred-meter distance from the station to here, he had been pickpocketed by a local thief.

Then, the thief discovered his pockets were as empty as his face and casually put his driver's license back into his trouser pocket.

Hilarious. The entire pickpocketing process had gone completely unnoticed by him.

However, on second thought, this also served as a reminder. A skilled pickpocket might be able to steal money from a wallet, a watch from a wrist, or a phone from a pocket, but clearly, they couldn't steal money from a penniless person.

As long as he remained penniless, he was invincible.

If he encountered someone trying to rob him, they might even pity him after looking into his pockets and give him a few dollars to buy something to eat.