Fang Can knew he was superpowered.
Or, rather, he was born with an extraordinary ability unlike anything ordinary people possessed.
He called this ability [Extreme Misfortune Brings Prosperity].
Whenever he encountered danger, the greater the danger, the more his intelligence, endurance, luck, willpower... and so on would improve accordingly.
You could also think of it as "turning misfortune into fortune": first came the misfortune, and only then the good fortune.
He believed he had a superpower because of the many things that had happened to him growing up.
When he was six months old, his parents fed him inferior baby formula made by a well-known brand.
As a direct result, three days after the incident, he could walk; five days later, he could talk; and ten days later, he could hold a fluent conversation, becoming a child prodigy renowned throughout the neighborhood.
When he was in middle school, roughhousing left his right arm badly shattered. That same month, his family won ten million in the lottery.
That money also let his rather strapped family send Fang Can straight to the best... ICU in the area.
In high school, he caught the flu. Studying while sick raised his score by a full 75 points that month, bringing him to the level needed to get into one of the top universities in the country, Peking University or Tsinghua.
All those experiences growing up had convinced Fang Can that he was superpowered.
Now, Fang Can was a senior in high school, on the verge of reaching the University Realm and at the peak of his mental and physical abilities. When he woke from sleep, he found himself in a rundown alley.
"Did I... cross into another world?"
Wearing his pajamas, Fang Can rubbed his chin and stood in the alley, feeling a little gloomy.
His Old Deng still had millions in assets that Fang Can hadn't inherited, and he'd crossed worlds without even getting a single coin out of it?
Through the shifting light and shadow in the alley, Fang Can could see the scene beyond it.
It was early morning. The Great Sun had only just begun to rise, its rays illuminating the view before him.
A quaint, old-fashioned town spread out before him. Shops lined the stone-paved street, their wooden signs swaying gently in the breeze.
Outside, pedestrians wore simple, coarse clothes like those in period dramas. The vendors' cries mingled with the chatter from teahouses, creating a remarkably harmonious scene.
Judging by the surroundings, the timeline seemed to be somewhere in the modern era, though technology had yet to advance very far.
Fang Can tugged his pajamas a little tighter. He wasn't too worried about his current situation.
After all, he was superpowered. Surely he wouldn't starve to death. What was there to be afraid of?
"Even though I didn't get a system like the ones in novels, at least—"
Before Fang Can could finish the thought, a shout in what sounded like a local dialect rang out behind him: "Short-hair, you've got some nerve barging into our turf!"
"Hmm... there are people in this alley?" Hearing the voice, Fang Can turned around in confusion.
Five young men with hastily tied-up hair and mismatched clothes were getting up from some discarded wooden crates.
Their clothes were plain and shabby, and they looked unkempt. Their hair was matted from going so long without a wash or a comb. They were unmistakably street thugs from the lowest rungs of society.
Their cheeks even bore the gauntness of people who had gone hungry for a long time.
"Well, look at that. A pretty little pretty boy."
As Fang Can turned, the thug in the middle, who looked like the leader, narrowed his tiny eyes, which were uncannily like Li Ronghao's.
Not long ago, the five of them had gathered to figure out how to get more money to see them through the end of the year.
Then they'd looked up and seen a short-haired boy in expensive-looking clothes standing in the alley.
After sizing him up, the thug who looked like "Li Ronghao" decided the boy wasn't some rich young master.
His plush coat looked expensive enough to be worth at least five taels of silver. He had an exceptionally handsome face, unusually short black hair, and bare, pale feet that weren't protected from the dusty bricks and stones.
"He doesn't look like a young master. More like a servant who ran away in a hurry from one of those rich households. Could he be one of those pretty boys who sell themselves to the young masters?"
The thug in charge was certain of it. There was no way those rich young masters would shave their hair into such a bizarre style.
Meeting Fang Can's calm gaze, the leader grew bolder. A trace of menace crept into his eyes.
"Kid, if you don't want us to drag you to the authorities, hand over everything valuable on you."
"Yeah, and that outfit too," said a young man with a bulbous nose beside the leader, greed gleaming in his eyes.
That roomy coat looked like it was made of good material and worth several taels of silver at least. There was their winter money.
As for whether Fang Can could make it through the winter after they stripped him of his clothes, that wasn't their problem.
Fang Can paid no attention to the threats from the thugs.
His attention was focused on a virtual frame that had appeared before him at some point, made of bone-white mist.
Name: Fang Can
Body: 1.2
Mind: 1.2
Energy: 1.0
Talent Trait 1 [Extreme Misfortune Brings Prosperity]: The worse the environment, the higher your hidden attributes. Turn danger into safety! Turn misfortune into fortune!
Talent Trait 2 [Unwavering Resolve]: Only by coming infinitely close to death can you understand the true meaning of life!
Description Bar: None
"What is this?" Fang Can eyed the bone-white panel in his field of vision, feeling a little curious.
He'd never seen anything like it in his previous eighteen years. Then he crossed into another world and got one right away. It looked just like a character status screen from a game.
Fang Can's silence in the cold, damp alley clearly made the five thugs think he was scared.
Even more convinced he was an escaped servant, the leader reached out to strip off his clothes.
Watching the ill-intentioned hand pass through the transparent panel as it reached for him, Fang Can irritably swung his arm forward.
"Smack!"
The leader grimaced and pulled back his right arm. The spot Fang Can had struck was bright red.
The pain pushed him past his patience. He'd already decided Fang Can was a runaway servant, and now he wanted to beat him to a pulp.
But before he could make a move, a powerful right leg slammed into his stomach.
With a muffled grunt, the leader was kicked hard onto the ground. He clutched his stomach and groaned in pain.
Looking at the group of useless thugs before him, Fang Can's eyes held a trace of disdain.
"You worthless scum from another world, you've got fewer than five people and you still dare rob me?"
As he spoke, Fang Can stepped down on the fallen thug's chest and said matter-of-factly:
"I'm in a good mood, so get out of my sight while you still can."
As his words fell, the thugs' gazes grew dangerous. Fang Can lifted his right foot and changed his tone.
"Wait. I've changed my mind."
"Hand over everything valuable on you, and the five of you can pool together a set of clothes for me. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"
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