Misfortunes Never Come Singly (Thanks to Ye Youyueguang for the Alliance Leader Support)

In the silence, there was only the sound of rain falling.

Ji Jue stared blankly at it all. After a long while, he collapsed onto the threshold.

He was exhausted to the point of death.

"What the fuck is all this?!"

He pried open his stiff fingers and tossed the railing he had been clutching desperately onto the ground, then looked around. The bleak little courtyard was still silent. Fortunately, Ji Jue's home was rather secluded, and the nearest houses on either side had long since been vacated. Otherwise, who knew how much chaos this would have caused by now.

He gripped the phone in his hand. Several times, he wanted to call the police, but the instant the number went through, he abruptly hung up again.

Call the police?

How was he supposed to report it? Say that an old man had broken into his house, eaten his White Cut Chicken, smashed his front door and refrigerator door, and then tried to eat him? The body? Oh, it had burned to ash. It was right there in the mud, look. I'm absolutely innocent—I acted in self-defense.

Would that do any good?

Over the past ten years, Yacheng's annual security budget had shrunk further and further, public order had become increasingly chaotic, and the police had grown more and more human-like. It was said that even the new Governor couldn't stand it; when he first took office, he had intended to outsource all police business.

Besides... it had all turned to ash.

Ash.

Ji Jue looked at those two tattered pieces of clothing and sighed helplessly.

What the fuck were you after?

Yesterday, crashing into me on a tricycle was one thing. Today, you came straight here to gnaw on people... and then suddenly turned to ash and vanished!

Why?!

Just to tell me, "Brother, you smell so good"? And leave some unlucky kid with permanent psychological trauma?

Had he gone insane?!

No, he truly hadn't looked lucid. From beginning to end, he had been filled with madness—and there had also been... that blood-red Spiritual Substance no ordinary person could possess. It had seemed alive. No, it had been more like a parasite concealed within his shell of flesh.

What the hell was that thing?

Amid his confusion and panic, his phone suddenly vibrated. The cracked screen lit up, displaying a familiar name. He froze for a moment, then his heart settled at once.

Lu Feng!

Feng Ge had served in Central Earth for four years. He had rolled around in that Mud Pit as a paratrooper and come back with all his limbs intact. Though he never mentioned those past experiences to anyone, judging from his dense tattoos and the medals he tossed to his younger siblings as toys, he definitely had experience with this sort of thing.

"Hello? Feng Ge!"

Ji Jue answered the phone and gathered his courage. "Listen, I..."

"Little Ji, are you free right now?"

Lu Feng's voice was hoarse over the phone. "Come to Jici Hospital."

He said, "Mom's been hurt."

Ji Jue shuddered.

It was as though he had been struck by lightning.

.

.

Half an hour later, without bothering to clean himself up, Ji Jue threw on a change of clothes and rode his eighth-hand Little Motorcycle through the standing water to the hospital.

The hospital was nearly packed to the brim. Makeshift beds had been set up everywhere in the corridors, and the air was heavy with a stale, rotten smell. Repeated washing had made the mildew scent less obvious, but it remained impossible to ignore.

Common people who couldn't afford private hospitals or bills that ran into the thousands for a single registration and consultation could only rely on a few public hospitals, where the queue stretched to the end of next year, or the charity hospitals funded by Chongguang Church.

Amid the hurried comings and goings of nurses and doctors, Ji Jue finally found Lu Ma in the corridor outside the examination room.

"Ah, it's no big deal. Just a little bump, nothing serious. That Little Dog of ours just loves making a mountain out of a molehill."

With bandages still wrapped around her face and more than half her short hair shaved away, Lu Ma waved her hand and forced a Doesn't matter smile. "Don't worry, don't worry. This old lady's perfectly fine."

Old Third and Youngest were nowhere to be seen. They were probably being good and doing their homework at home.

Lu Feng said nothing, squatting by the entrance outside the corridor to smoke while clutching a slip of paper and waiting for the test report.

"What happened?"

Ji Jue stared dumbfoundedly at the bandage on her arm and the wounds on her face. Second Girl Lu Ling, who was keeping her company, clearly had red-rimmed eyes and kept blaming herself. "I should've stayed at the shop with Mom last night. It's all my fault, all my fault."

Lu Ma slapped the back of her head. "You? If you'd been there, you'd only have been another dish served up to the robbers! And what started as robbery might've turned into rape!"

Last night, near midnight, thieves had pried open the door and broken into the Auto Repair Shop, turning the place upside down.

Lu Feng had gone out drinking with his old comrades and hadn't returned. Second Girl had been studying at home while looking after the two younger children, leaving only Lu Ma at the shop. After being awakened, Lu Ma had widened her eyes and roared in fury, grabbing a wrench longer than Ji Jue's arm to fight the thieves to the death. But two fists couldn't beat four hands. In the pitch-black darkness, she took a blow to the back of the head, passed out, and was nearly carried away.

If she hadn't been lucky—if the thieves hadn't run into an Old Woman pushing a late-night food cart home after closing up, who recognized her while they were moving her—they might never have seen her again.

Who knew where she would have been sold off to.

At the thought of the Consequences, Ji Jue was seized by lingering fear, his entire body turning cold.

"Ah, it's fine. A minor problem."

Lu Ma patted her chest, raised an arm thicker than Ji Jue's thigh, and shook it. "This old lady's tough as nails. Aren't I still alive and kicking?"

"It's good that you're okay. It's good that you're okay."

Ji Jue didn't know what to say. He slumped down beside Lu Ma, repeatedly wanting to speak but stopping himself. Somehow, he felt even more terrified and helpless than when he himself had narrowly escaped death.

Over the years, the hardships of an orphan with no father or mother surviving alone in Yacheng were beyond what outsiders could understand. But If there is no Lu Ma's care and shelter, Ji Jue would certainly have long since Became Dead Jue.

Leaving aside how she had taught him every last thing she knew about car repair... Tianmen University was Haizhou's foremost institution, one of the Federal Five-School Alliance. How difficult was it to get in and change one's fate? It was enough to make nearly every student suffocate. If Lu Ma hadn't supported him without sparing any effort, could Ji Jue have become a Tianmen student with a boundless future?

Dream the fuck on!

Go pick pockets at South Station Railway and Dock, kid!

Now that he saw Lu Ma was unharmed, he Couldn't help but Sighed in Relief. Yet as he leaned beside her, that Horrifying prompt Once again... Emerged before his eyes.

[Abnormal Spiritual Substance detected. Extract?]

Ji Jue's smile froze on his face.

He turned his head with difficulty, looking at Lu Ma's pale face as she still forced a smile, and swallowed.

On Lu Ma's body... now, when his Spiritual Substance activated the Wristwatch, he could faintly see specks of crimson light beneath the bandages, like mold.

"Lu Ma, there seems to be some dust on your bandage." Ji Jue raised his hand and gently placed it over the bandage. "I'll pick it off for you."

Patterns like a Metal Matrix reappeared across his palm. In that instant of contact, they swept past, and every trace of crimson vanished. Then the Matrix receded.

"Ow, you child, you're so clumsy..."

Lu Ma cried out in pain, but soon her face blossomed into a smile. "Hey, now that you mention it, I do feel much better. My chest isn't so tight anymore either. When Little Dog was applying the medicine just now, he acted like he was trying to murder his own mother. I'm telling you, he still needs more practice. What the hell do they teach in the army..."

"Mom." Second Girl nudged Lu Ma, signaling her to stop.

Lu Feng returned with the test report, a faint smile appearing on his gloomy face.

"It's fine, Mom. The wounds are only a little infected. Two shots of anti-inflammatories and tetanus medicine will do." He handed over the report. "But there's a mild concussion. The doctor says you need rest, so stay home and take it easy these next few days. Little Ji and I will take care of the shop."

Naturally, Lu Ma refused. She was still thinking about going back to clean up the Auto Repair Shop. Lu Feng and Lu Ling could only keep trying to persuade her, while Ji Jue also spent a long time talking her down. At last, she finally gave up the idea.

In fact, including Lu Feng, none of the four siblings were Auntie Lu's biological children.

Lu Ma had suffered a serious illness in her early years. Excessive hormones had ruined her body, and she had never married in her life.

The four children at the shop, Lu Feng included, had all been picked up off the streets by Lu Ma. She had raised them through all these years of bitter hardship, and their family bond was even stronger than blood.

Unfortunately, aside from the second child who had just been admitted to university, not a single one of them was good at studying...

No wonder Lu Ma treasured Ji Jue, who had come to work at the shop, so dearly. Ever since he arrived, she had never again gotten high blood pressure over Youngest's mathematics and foreign language grades.

After all these years, she had long considered him family and had never treated him as an outsider.

Now that Lu Ma had agreed to rest for a few days, Ji Jue Sighed in Relief as well.

After they finished persuading her, Lu Ling took the prescription to collect the medicine. Lu Feng gave Ji Jue a look, and the two made an excuse about smoking before heading outside again. Standing beneath the eaves, they watched the rain pour down in sheets.

Ji Jue neither smoked nor drank, but Lu Feng was a heavy smoker. It was a bad habit he had brought back from the army.

"Sorry to make you come all this way." Lu Feng thanked him. "I panicked this morning and have been rushing around without a clue until now. My head's completely empty."

"Why the fuck are you being polite with me?" Ji Jue shot him a glance. He said nothing else, only asked, "Do the police have any leads?"

"No."

Lu Feng Shook head. "Counting on those useless bastards? Heh... they told us to go home and wait. The plate number was fake too. White cargo Minivans are everywhere in North Mountain District. There's no way to find it."

"Any surveillance footage?"

"There's footage in the shop, but it didn't catch their faces. As for the cameras outside... they've been nothing but decorations for years. Most of them have long been broken."

"..."

In the silence, Ji Jue looked at his Wristwatch. After a long while, he suddenly said, "I'll go back to the shop and take a Look Around. Maybe I can find some clues."

"Clean up while you're at it. Otherwise, Mom definitely won't be able to sit still again. Fix what can be fixed. If something can't be fixed, don't tell her—quietly throw it away. Otherwise, she'll be heartbroken again." Lu Feng patted his shoulder, then gave him a hard squeeze. "Thanks for the trouble. I'll get you a new computer later."

Ji Jue rolled his eyes. He wasn't buying that bait at all. "You just want a new computer for gaming, don't you?"

"Hahaha, you got me."

Lu Feng grinned. After flicking away his cigarette butt, he tossed the car keys to Second Girl. "Take Mom home later. The family's relying on you these next couple of days."

"Huh?" Lu Ling froze, staring wide-eyed. "What about you?"

Lu Feng lowered his head and merely waved his hand. "I'm going out to ask a few friends around, see if there's any news. I won't be coming back tonight."

"...Little Feng!"

Seeing him turn to leave, Lu Ma suddenly raised her voice. She wanted to say something, but after he turned back to look at her, her lips moved soundlessly, and she no longer knew what to say.

Only this time, she hadn't called him by his childhood nickname.

Lu Feng smiled and waved.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just asking around."

He turned and left, disappearing into the curtain of rain.

Half an hour later, Ji Jue raised his hand and lifted the rolling shutter of the Auto Repair Shop.

What he saw was utter devastation.

From the counter to the shelves, everything had been overturned.

It was nothing like the casual way Lu Ma had described it. This had plainly been a... life-and-death struggle where someone had given everything they had!

Ji Jue pulled down the shutter behind him and walked toward the counter.

The old man who had harmed people, the bizarre crimson color, the inexplicable attack.

There were too many things he couldn't understand.

There had to be some thread of evidence left behind.