Iron Skin First Success! Midnight Killing Intent!

The joy of breaking through subsided, and what followed was an intense emptiness inside his body.

The realm breakthrough had brought a leap in his physique, but it had also instantly drained the energy he had just replenished.

"The stronger I get, the more I eat."

Lu Chen rubbed his protesting stomach again and gave a helpless bitter smile.

There was no more food left at home; that one catty of pork belly had only been enough to sustain the breakthrough just now.

"Tomorrow, I'll have to find a way to earn some quick cash."

Just hauling cargo at the Dock, earning sixty or seventy coppers a day—even if he worked himself to the bone—couldn't fill this ever-growing bottomless pit.

To keep getting stronger, he needed more money, or directly acquire some tonics.

Lu Chen returned to his bed. Though hungry, his spirit was exhilarated. Listening to the wind outside the window, he mulled over his plans for the future.

Maybe he could try his luck on the outskirts of Great Swamp Mountain. It was dangerous, but now that he had the "Iron Skin" trait, ordinary beasts shouldn't be able to harm him.

Or perhaps take on some under-the-table jobs?

Just as he was thinking, a faint sound of footsteps arose outside the courtyard wall.

After his breakthrough, his five senses had sharpened, and his hearing was especially acute.

These footsteps didn't sound like someone passing by; instead, they were deliberately muffled, drawing closer.

Lu Chen's mind stirred. His originally closed eyes narrowed into slits.

The bolt on the courtyard gate was gently pried open from outside with a thin blade.

A soft click.

The door opened.

Two dark figures slipped inside, using the cover of night to head straight for Lu Chen's room.

Lu Chen's bed was near the door; these two had clearly scouted the place beforehand.

"Is this it?"

"Yeah, I saw this kid buy a whole catty of pork belly during the day, and he's been working the hardest these past few days. He's definitely got some money saved up."

The two exchanged whispers, their tones dripping with greed and malice.

Lu Chen sneered inwardly.

So he'd been targeted.

This was the norm in the slums—resent those who have, mock those who don't.

When you're poor, no one pays you any mind. The moment you live a little better, even just eat an extra bite of meat, you attract the gaze of starving wolves.

The two dark figures crept to Lu Chen's bedside. One of them pulled out a rusty dagger, glinting faintly in the dim light.

"Make it quick. Knock him out first, then search him."

The man raised the hilt of the knife, aiming to strike at the back of Lu Chen's head.

In that instant.

Lu Chen moved.

He didn't get up. Instead, on the narrow wooden bed, he suddenly drew his legs in and then kicked out viciously!

This kick was fast and heavy.

It landed squarely on the chest of the dark figure holding the knife.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking ribs exploded in the silent room.

That dark figure didn't even have time to scream. His whole body flew backward, slammed hard into the opposite wall, and then slid down like mud, blood gushing from his mouth.

"Who's there?!"

The other dark figure was terrified out of his wits, completely unable to process what had just happened.

Was this still the honest, simple laborer who only knew how to use his strength during the day?

Before he could figure it out, a large hand reached out from the darkness and clamped tightly around his throat.

Lu Chen flipped up from the bed, lifting the man off the ground with one hand. His eyes in the dark were like those of a predatory beast.

"Urgh... urgh..."

The man's feet kicked wildly, and he desperately tried to pry Lu Chen's fingers away, but that palm was as hard as iron, unmoving.

The intense suffocation made his eyes roll back, and the fear of death instantly drowned him.

"Who sent you?"

Lu Chen's voice was low, devoid of any emotion.

He loosened his grip slightly, letting the man catch a breath.

"Cough... cough... it's... it's Baldy... he said you have money..."

The man was a mess of tears and snot, pleading desperately, "Spare me, please spare me! We were just momentarily possessed by greed..."

Baldy?

Lu Chen's mind conjured up a sleazy figure—a local thug who lived in the neighboring courtyard, usually loafing around and fond of petty theft and swindling.

It seemed his recent habit of buying meat too often had caught the attention of the wrong people.

A sharp glint flashed through Lu Chen's eyes.

In this world, people bullied the meek, just as horses were ridden when they were gentle.

If he hadn't broken through tonight, if he hadn't been alert, he might be the one lying on the ground now, his money stripped clean, maybe even crippled.

When it came to those who wished him harm, Lu Chen never showed mercy.

"Next life, keep your eyes sharper."

Lu Chen's fingers suddenly clenched.

Crack!

A crisp sound, and the man's neck went limp, twisted to one side, completely lifeless.

Casually tossing the corpse to the ground, Lu Chen walked over to the shadowy figure he had kicked flying.

That man wasn't dead yet, twitching in agony on the floor, blood frothing from his mouth, staring in terror at the approaching Lu Chen, wanting to beg for mercy but unable to make a sound.

"Since you're here, don't leave."

Lu Chen's face expressionless, he raised his foot and crushed the man's throat with a single stomp.

Instantly, the room fell into a deathly silence.

The surrounding workers slept like logs; the brief scuffle hadn't woken them. Maybe someone had stirred, but they certainly wouldn't dare make a sound.

In a place where life was as cheap as weeds, minding one's own business was the first rule of survival.

Lu Chen looked at the two corpses on the ground, feeling neither the nausea nor panic of a first kill, but instead a strange calm.

Perhaps cold-bloodedness ran in his veins.

Or maybe this cruel world had forced him to become cold-blooded.

He crouched down and began to search the bodies.

Since these two had come to rob him, their belongings were now his as repayment.

Soon, Lu Chen fished out two thin money pouches and that rusty dagger from the men.

He emptied them and counted.

A total of one hundred and twenty copper coins, plus a few bits of silver, adding up to about one tael.

"Broke bastards."

Lu Chen clicked his tongue in disdain, but he pocketed the loot without hesitation.

It was still a windfall, enough to buy him plenty of meat.

Disposing of the bodies was a hassle.

But this was the slums, not far from the river.

Lu Chen found two burlap sacks, stuffed the bodies inside, added a few heavy stones, and tied the openings tight.

Then, he hoisted the two heavy sacks and walked out of the courtyard with ease.

Under the cover of night, he reached a secluded spot by the river.

The river surged, flowing endlessly.

Lu Chen hurled the sacks with force; they arced through the air, splashed into the river's heart with two unremarkable ripples, and vanished in an instant.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

Lu Chen clapped his hands and turned away.

The Angry River's depths held countless nameless corpses—two more or less made no difference.

Even if someone noticed them missing tomorrow, no one would care about the whereabouts of a couple of thugs.

Back in the courtyard, Lu Chen cleaned up the bloodstains on the floor and lay back down on his bed.

After all that commotion, he wasn't hungry anymore.

Killing, sometimes, was a form of release.

"Baldy..."

Lu Chen stared at the pitch-black ceiling, silently committing that name to memory.

If the root wasn't pulled, the weeds would grow back with the spring breeze.

Since he had already killed the two who acted, the mastermind behind them naturally couldn't be left to celebrate the New Year.

But he couldn't rush it.

Killing Baldy now would leave evidence; he needed to find the right opportunity, to do it without anyone knowing.

The next morning at dawn.

Lu Chen got up as usual, practiced his punches, drank water, and then headed to the Dock.

As if nothing from last night had ever happened.

But when he stepped into the Dock, many sharp-eyed people felt that this usually quiet and taciturn youth seemed to have a different aura about him.

More composed, and also... more dangerous.

"Yo, young Lu, looking pretty good today."

Uncle Wang saw Lu Chen and teased with a smile.

"Had a good meal."

Lu Chen smiled faintly, revealing his white teeth.

When he went to the foreman to get his work tag, Lu Chen unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure.

Baldy.

That guy was usually too lazy to even move, so why was he at the Dock today?

Baldy was craning his neck, scanning the crowd, and when he saw Lu Chen walking over safe and sound, his face instantly turned deathly pale.

He had clearly sent those two ruthless guys... so why was Lu Chen still fine?

Had those two taken the money and run?

Lu Chen naturally saw Baldy too, and their eyes met in the air.

Lu Chen's gaze was calm, even carrying a faint hint of a smile.

But Baldy felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He shuddered, turned around, and tried to slip into the crowd to escape.

"Since you're here, no need to rush off."

Lu Chen sneered inwardly.

Heaven has a path you refuse to walk; hell has no door, yet you barge in.

Dealing with him here might be more convenient than in the slums.

After all, accidents happen every day at the Dock, like... falling into the river.

Lu Chen got his tag and deliberately chose a job near the riverbank, hauling heavy logs.

This was the hardest and most dangerous work; one misstep could get a leg crushed by a rolling log, or end up in the river.

But it also paid the most.

He hoisted a log weighing several hundred jin onto his shoulder and casually walked in the direction Baldy had fled.

Since you wanted to harm me, then pay with your life.