Ordinary Person

"Uncle, I want a banana!"

"A banana is one piece." Zhang Fusheng squatted at the street corner, skillfully picked up a yellow balloon, blew it into a long strip, and tied it. He smiled and handed it to the little boy:

"That'll be five yuan."

The little boy left, overjoyed.

Zhu Xiaoming, leaning against the steps, asked in confusion:

"You can actually make balloon animals?"

"I can't," Zhang Fusheng said calmly.

His good friend scratched his bald head:

"Then what is this?"

"The first pot of gold for successful people is often not very clean," Zhang Fusheng said.

Zhu Xiaoming was bewildered:

"I don't understand."

Just then, two little girls, like dolls, arrived. They were twins, hopping and skipping. One was chubby, and the other was also chubby. They looked so tender and pink, the kind that would cry loudly if you pinched their cheeks.

"Uncle!" The twins raised their heads, light in their eyes.

"I want a butterfly!"

"I want a puppy!"

Zhang Fusheng spoke softly:

"Ten yuan each. Do you have the money?"

"Yes!" The twins said in unison, pulling out a hundred-yuan bill.

"Okay, one is ten, two is twenty."

Zhang Fusheng took the hundred-yuan bill with a straight face, gave back eighty yuan in change, and then picked up a balloon.

He 'poofed' and blew it into two long strips, handing one to each of the doll-like twins.

The little girls took them and said sweetly:

"Uncle, I wanted a butterfly!"

"Uncle, I wanted a puppy!"

Zhang Fusheng looked serious and pointed to the long balloon in one little girl's hand:

"This is a caterpillar. Keep it for a few days at home, and it will turn into a butterfly."

He then pointed to the balloon in the other little girl's hand:

"This is a little hot dog. You can't eat it, it'll pop if you bite it."

The twins looked bewildered, then silent, the bright light in their eyes gradually fading.

"Waaah!"

They ran away crying.

Zhu Xiaoming stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

After a long while.

"You"

His eyelids twitched, wanting to say something, but he only saw the delicate-looking young man stand up, pat his butt, and say with a sigh:

"I told you, the first pot of gold for successful people is never clean."

With that, Zhang Fusheng quickly packed up his small stall, rolled up the cloth bag:

"Let's go!"

"Why run? Isn't it still early?"

"If we don't run now, you'll see two crying dolls dragging their furious parents here."

Zhu Xiaoming was speechless.

After they had run far away.

"How much did you earn today?"

"Eighty-seven yuan and fifty cents."

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaoming shook his head:

"The tuition for the Martial Arts Academy is a hundred thousand. How many years will it take you to save that? Why don't you just ask Uncle Zhang directly? Your dad is a doctor, after all. He must have enough money, right?"

Zhang Fusheng rolled his eyes:

"I can't be bothered to explain to rich kids like you. My dad is a doctor, yes, but he's a doctor with integrity. Forget it, it's too hard to explain."

He sighed, carrying the cloth bag, and as he walked, he looked at the Jiangzhou River to his right.

Zhang Fusheng said softly:

"I'm here to earn my first pot of gold. I'm here to see how I can earn my first pot of gold."

Zhu Xiaoming was a bit confused:

"Old Zhang, haven't you already earned it? How much was it, eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents?"

Zhang Fusheng smiled without answering, lost in thought for a moment.

A Pact.

He possessed a Pact that could buy and sell anything: comprehension, aptitude, memory, cultivation, lifespan.

Zhang Fusheng had learned the Visualization technique two days prior and had manifested the Pact in the center of his brow.

Initially, it was dim and unusable, but it gradually brightened. Just moments ago, it finally shone, allowing him to conduct one buy-and-sell, or rather, one transaction.

According to the information naturally conveyed by the Pact, there were no restrictions on its use. Anyone could be a trading partner, but...

The trading partner must completely and genuinely desire to complete the transaction from the bottom of their heart.

Coercion was not allowed.

It was like the devils in Western stories who bought souls, but the people whose souls were bought were willing because the devils offered a price they couldn't refuse.

So how could he make a genius sell his talent, a person who had practiced the blade for many years sell his swordsmanship, or a long-lived individual sell his lifespan?

How could he earn his first pot of gold, or in other words, complete his first transaction?

This was a question.

Zhang Fusheng had considered finding a renowned but dying great figure to sell their lifespan. But then the problem arose again.

In any era, stepping stones were of paramount importance.

Not to mention that he had no way to even meet such a great figure, nor how to make a great figure believe he possessed such a miraculous ability.

What about after selling their lifespan?

An innocent man possessing a treasure is guilty. It could be predicted that he would be kept captive, endlessly trading with person after person, and all the proceeds would flow to that great figure.

"Old Zhang."

Zhu Xiaoming rubbed his bald head:

"How about I tell my dad, and he can lend you some money first? No interest, you can pay him back when you're successful."

Zhu Xiaoming, Zhang Fusheng's high school best friend, was an incoming freshman in the Martial Arts Department at Jiang University. His family was well-off, and his father owned a construction company.

Zhang Fusheng shook his head:

"Forget it. It's not ten thousand yuan I'm lacking, it's talent. You started the Visualization technique in your first year of high school, and I only started two days ago."

He sighed softly. He was also an incoming freshman at Jiang University, but unlike Zhu, who was in the Martial Arts Department, Zhang was in the Computer Science Department.

Jiang University's Martial Arts Department, in addition to academic score requirements, also required students to cultivate at least one of the Visualization technique or Breathing Technique to the minor success level before the college entrance examination. The former tested comprehension, and the latter examined aptitude.

Zhu Xiaoming said guiltily:

"You know my situation. I don't have any talent at all. My dad just spent money to pile resources for me. Someone like Chen Nuanyu, that's what you call talent. Her academic performance is excellent, not to mention she's achieved major success in both Visualization and Breathing Techniques. I heard she's almost a Martial Artist and got recommended for Jiang University's Martial Arts Department."

Chen Nuanyu was an elite among elites in Linshu Middle School's gifted class, a peerless prodigy to be admired from afar.

Of course, they knew of Chen Nuanyu, but Chen Nuanyu didn't know them.

"Talent..." Zhang Fusheng sighed. "My neighbor, Old Master Wang, has been practicing the Visualization technique for fifty years, and to this day, he still hasn't reached the introductory level. He can't sense the Mysterious Factor. I'm a little better, but not by much."

Zhu Xiaoming comforted him:

"Actually, studying computer science isn't bad either. It's easy to find a job. The Federation is really focusing on AI Technology now. Martial arts isn't the only path."

Zhang Fusheng shook his head:

"Isn't the Federation developing artificial intelligence to serve the Martial Artists? Martial arts isn't the only path, but it's the best path."

"Since we've come to this world, why shouldn't we strive towards the summit? I also want to experience what it's like to fly in the sky."

Zhu Xiaoming was silent for a moment, then asked in confusion:

"Old Zhang, I always feel like you've changed."

"Changed what?" Zhang Fusheng smiled. "Become more confident?"

"No."

Zhu Xiaoming shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"You've become unrealistic."

Zhang Fusheng laughed heartily.

"Alright, I need to go back and help. See you later."

"See you later."

The two parted ways at the intersection, one returning to the bustling Mid-Level District, the other heading towards the Lower-Level District, which seemed perpetually shrouded in a haze.

The Federation was a Federation with a clear class system, where even city districts were divided into nine tiers. From one to nine, the smaller the number, the wealthier, more prosperous, peaceful, and tranquil the district was.

Zhang Fusheng lived in the Seventh District, which wasn't a slum, just a place for ordinary common folk.

However, his father wasn't ordinary.

Passing by rows of shops on both sides of the street, he turned into a dark alley that led directly to the Eighth and Ninth Districts. Ignoring the flirtatious prostitutes winking at him, Zhang Fusheng finally stopped in front of a small clinic.

The clinic's door was shut, with a "Closed" sign hanging on it—which precisely meant there was business.

He entered the clinic and went down to the basement.

In the dim basement, a middle-aged man in a white coat was calmly performing surgery.

On a simple operating table lay a cold and aloof young girl.

The girl held a pistol in her hand, its dark muzzle pointed at the doctor. Seeing someone arrive, she turned the muzzle toward Zhang Fusheng.

"Dad," Zhang Fusheng called out softly, ignoring the pistol pointed at him.

He glanced at the girl.

Chen Nuanyu, the pride of Linshu Middle School, the best high school in the Mid-Level District, and a guaranteed admission to Jiang University's Martial Arts Department.