To Be Looked Upon with Sympathy

Half an hour later, Lin Li, trudging along the highway on foot, finally reached Chenghua Avenue.

He walked over to the shade of a roadside tree to escape the blazing sunlight.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he opened a ride-hailing app, placed an order, then leaned back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes to wait.

A moment later, a taxi pulled up from the distance. The driver was a young man, only about five or six years older than Lin Li.

Spotting someone waving at him from under the tree, he stopped the car right in front of him.

"You the one who called the car?"

"That's me! Want me to show you my order number?"

"No need, just get in. I drove all the way here, and you're the only person around."

Click... thud.

Lin Li nodded, opened the door, and slid into the back seat.

The young driver spun the wheel, turned the car around, and headed toward the city center.

After a grueling half-day out on the perilous wilderness, Lin Li sank into the soft seat, his already weary body instantly stirring a wave of drowsiness.

Through the rearview mirror, the driver studied Lin Li, his gaze lingering on the clumsily wrapped gauze on his left hand.

Dressed in a camouflage suit speckled with grass clippings, his face etched with exhaustion, and with an injured hand to boot, showing up on Chenghua Avenue—this passenger was a Beast Hunter, likely a rookie.

"This newbie's got it rough!"

The driver had ferried plenty of Beast Hunters before; backpacks and weapons were practically glued to them, the standard gear for those hunters.

But this young hunter, a few years younger than himself, had nothing but the camo on his back.

Probably got jumped by some beast out in the wild and bolted without a second thought.

The phrase "throwing away armor and weapons" instantly popped into the driver's fanciful mind.

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and when he looked at Lin Li again, his eyes were full of sympathy.

He wanted to say something comforting—like losing gear was no big deal as long as he made it out alive.

But the words caught in his throat; it felt awkward to say out loud.

After all, word had it that the weapons these Beast Hunters used were Spiritual Energy weapons exclusive to Cultivators, with the cheapest ones costing several hundred thousand.

Several hundred thousand! He busted his ass driving a taxi all month for maybe six or seven thousand bucks—it'd take years to afford just one Spiritual Energy weapon.

This kid, a few years younger, went out to hunt beasts in the wild, came back empty-handed, and even lost a pricey Spiritual Energy weapon. Tsk... what a miserable mess!

Exhausted as he was, Lin Li had no idea he'd become a pitiful wretch in the driver's eyes.

And even if he did know, he wouldn't care. All he wanted right now was to get home, take a hot shower, and crash on the bed for a bit.

Creak...

The ride was smooth, and twenty-odd minutes later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of Ping'an Garden Residential Area.

After paying the twenty-five-yuan fare, Lin Li got out. As he was about to head into the complex, he spotted a girl eating ice cream by the roadside. He hesitated, licked his lips, then walked toward the convenience store at the gate.

He spent five yuan on a chocolate-flavored popsicle, tore open the wrapper, tossed it into a trash can by the road, and ate as he walked.

With that last five yuan gone, Lin Li was now flat broke, but he wasn't worried at all.

Earlier, he'd checked the app, and the "You Speed Recycling" company had already stored the Boar Beast and Rabbit Exotic Beast he'd hunted in their frozen storage.

Next up was the sale process, and it shouldn't be long before he got a payout.

"Huh? Xiao Lin, weren't you going camping with your friends? Why are you back so early? And your hand... how'd you hurt your hand?"

Just as Lin Li finished his popsicle and was about to enter Building Six's stairwell, Auntie Wang, coming out to toss the trash, spotted him from a distance.

Ah, ran into Auntie Wang. Next time, I'll change out of the camo on the Mysterious Small Island before heading out, and only put it on at the destination, so I don't run into this kind of hassle again...

Seeing Auntie Wang's concerned gaze fixed on his injured left hand, Lin Li smiled and explained, "I tripped while camping and hurt my hand, so I came back early."

"Is it serious?"

"Just a minor injury, nothing major. A few days of rest and I'll be fine..."

Hearing that, the worry in Auntie Wang's eyes faded away.

"Auntie Wang, you go ahead. I'm heading home."

"Mm."

Lin Li turned and walked into the stairwell. When he went to call the elevator, he saw it was sealed off with tape.

He glanced at the notice on the door, which said the elevator had a malfunction and needed repairs, so it was out of service for the day.

"..." After reading the notice, Lin Li silently cursed his bad luck, then turned toward the emergency stairs.

Luckily, he lived on the sixth floor—not too high—and soon he was at his doorstep.

With a thought, he retrieved his backpack from the Mysterious Small Island, unzipped it, and pulled out his house key from the inner pocket.

Click.

He opened the door, stepped inside, and casually closed it behind him.

"Finally back—home sweet home!" Lin Li kicked off his shoes, put them in the shoe cabinet, slipped into his indoor slippers, and strode quickly into the living room.

Snap.

He tossed his backpack onto the sofa, then turned and walked into his bedroom. A moment later, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

The sun set in the west, its day's labor done, packing up and heading home. The crimson glow of dusk was its final farewell to the world.

Click.

The bedroom door opened. Lin Li, just waking from his nap, stepped out with a yawn.

After a short sleep, his spent energy had fully recovered. He felt he could now go three hundred rounds with that Boar Beast he'd killed earlier.

He turned to look out the window. The sky was darkening; soon the streetlights would flicker on.

Lin Li walked over and sat down on the living room sofa. He wanted a piece of fruit, but the fruit bowl had long been emptied.

He picked up the TV remote from the coffee table and pressed the power button. The TV didn't respond.

"You've got to be kidding me? The TV's broken?! I just bought this last year!"

Staring at the ultra-thin widescreen TV he'd spent over six thousand yuan on, now dead, Lin Li's face was full of disbelief.

PS: Thanks to "08a" for the 200-point tip.