Starting with an old man?

A figure in pitch darkness, a blurry silhouette, with a pair of condescending eyes faintly visible.

A spinning coin emitted a low hum, and a heavy throne distorted in his vision.

In a daze, Aaron could hear a muffled human voice.

But the voice was as viscous as if it were flowing with blood, filled with a multitude of unintelligible, jumbled syllables.

Even after hearing it many times, Aaron still didn't know what it meant.

Everything felt so illusory, so bizarre...

He sighed heavily in his heart.

It's happening again...

Ever since he arrived in this world, as soon as he fell asleep, or even felt the slightest bit drowsy, the scene he just experienced would naturally surface in his mind.

Yet, those indistinct syllables seemed to possess a certain magic, causing his head to throb with pain every time he heard them.

It's like they're sprinkling chili powder on my head, how am I supposed to sleep?!

Oh, right, arriving in this world.

Aaron was sure he had transmigrated because his mind was now filled with memories he never had before.

For instance, he, originally named Qin Ming, was a college graduate who had only been a corporate slave for a few years. Now, he was a down-on-his-luck noble named Aaron.

However, ordinary as he was, he possessed an extraordinary curiosity, or rather, an intermittent urge to court death that he couldn't control.

Take this time, for example. Just after finishing his 996 work schedule, he accidentally saw a shiny round object on the ground.

Logically speaking, with how advanced electronic payments were nowadays, hardly anyone carried coins anymore. This round object was likely just some shiny decorative trinket.

But, being poor and curious, this corporate slave couldn't resist leaning closer to pick it up.

And that's when the big problem occurred.

It was indeed a coin, but before he could get a clear look at it, his vision, in a classic move, went black...

When he woke up, he found himself trapped in this endless darkness.

He couldn't open his eyes, couldn't smell anything, and couldn't even move his fingers. All he could hear was his own heartbeat and breathing.

In such a situation, they wouldn't even let him sleep?

It was utterly inhumane!

What kind of earthly suffering was this!

If it weren't for his naturally optimistic disposition and the ability to distract himself by flipping through the residual memories in his mind, he would have gone mad long ago.

In this prolonged darkness, he had accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.

But the problem was, wouldn't someone come and save this poor child?

It was one thing to transmigrate to another world and become a destitute noble, but why was he locked in a dark room right from the start!

Aaron remembered the last relatively clear scene was in a pub. Even if the original host had gotten drunk and caused a scene and was arrested, the punishment shouldn't be this cruel, right?

The only good news was that he still had a heartbeat.

This meant he was still alive. At least he hadn't transmigrated into a tree, a sword, or some strange intelligent undead creature.

But the problem was, he had no idea how long it had been since he last ate!

It was predictable that if things didn't take a turn for the better, he might very well become a transmigrator who starved to death...

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to struggle, but he couldn't even open his eyes, so how could he struggle?

After the Nth attempt at a feeble struggle failed, just as he was about to start counting his heartbeats again to gauge the time, he finally felt something was off.

Faintly, it seemed like there was a vibration?

Immediately after, he finally heard the first sound from the outside world since his transmigration.

Riiiiip.

It sounded like the tearing of fabric.

If Aaron could control his body right now, he would have been moved to tears of joy already.

Even though he still couldn't open his eyes, he could finally sense external light.

At the same time, he heard a kind voice, "Oh, look... look at this little wretch."

Before the voice finished, Aaron suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain in his arm.

That strange sensation of pain quickly spread throughout his body, causing him to let out a muffled groan, caught completely off guard.

But then, his heart rejoiced—he could finally control his body!

The strange pain seemed to be activating his numb limbs, and his will finally returned to his physical shell.

He opened his eyes with some effort, first seeing a sharp wooden stick, then an old, faded robe of yellowish-gray, and finally, a weathered face.

A thought crossed his mind.

Could this be the legendary starting gift of an old man?

The old man crouched down, gently pulling away the white silken fabric from Aaron's body, and said patiently, "The Earth Demon Spider's venom will be neutralized soon, and you'll be able to stand up in a moment."

Earth Demon Spider?

Aaron blinked, the memories in his mind telling him it was a low-level magical beast. Its venom could cause a creature to fall into a prolonged coma, and then, without their knowledge, be sucked dry by the spider until only a husk remained.

So, he had transmigrated into a spider's reserve food supply, almost eaten as a meal?

A shiver of revulsion ran through Aaron, but then he felt something was off.

However, now was not the time to think carefully. With the old man's help, he finally managed to crawl out of the cocoon.

Yet, he had no idea how long it had been since he last ate; just crawling out had nearly exhausted all his strength, let alone standing up.

Fortunately, the old man considerately handed him a waterskin. Aaron quietly thanked him and drank nearly half of it before he felt his strength returning.

He wondered what exactly was in the waterskin, but he was certain that the slightly viscous liquid was definitely not water. It was more like honey water mixed with chili powder – sweet with a subtle spiciness.

After drinking, Aaron felt warm all over, his spirits instantly lifted.

Truly worthy of the title 'Grandpa', five-star review for his service!

"Very good," the old man said, nodding approvingly as he observed Aaron's recovery. "Few people can recover this quickly."

"I don't know how to repay your life-saving grace," Aaron said, bowing slowly in the way he recalled from his memories.

He finally had the time to check his clothes. They were adorned with some kind of decorative patterns he couldn't name, made of what seemed like silk, but the clothes were a bit tattered, with significant wear on the cuffs.

"This is all part of my duty; I am merely following orders."

Following orders?

Whose orders?

Why rescue him?

A series of questions flashed through Aaron's mind. He then glanced around, only to find that the surroundings were completely dark.

Using the torch above his head, he saw the damp brick walls covered in greenish-blue moss, heard the gurgling sound of water from the distance, and finally noticed a lingering stench.

Aaron had a general idea of his situation, but he couldn't help but ask, "Where is this...?"

The old man said kindly, "This is the Leyden City sewers."

The Leyden City sewers?

Aaron's heart lightened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, at least I didn't end up in some weird place. It's good that I'm still within Leyden City.

Wait...!

Aaron stiffened. He suddenly remembered that the Leyden City sewers were rumored to be haunted by man-eating monsters...

Could it be that this so-called man-eating monster was the Earth Demon Spider?

He subconsciously asked, "So, where is the Earth Demon Spider?"

"The Lord has granted me certain means to lure it away. It is not in the vicinity for now."

Aaron's heart settled for a moment, but the old man's next words sent him plunging into an icy abyss.

The old man said kindly, with a benevolent smile.

"After all, we can't let the sacrifice be eaten."