Shinigami Eye

New York, Queens.

A young man sat on the edge of an old seven-story building by the street. The brilliant sunset draped him in a golden robe, and a gentle breeze stirred his black hair, revealing a pair of brown eyes.

The setting sun sank toward the horizon as the bright moon climbed high.

Under the cold, faint light, a soft sigh drifted across the rooftop.

One month.

He had been here for a full month. Although Hong Fei did not know why he had transmigrated, he had finally figured out the chips he held in his hand.

He had inherited many of the protagonist's abilities from the game "Red Dead Redemption 2," which he had just finished before crossing over, though they had undergone some changes.

The combination of reality and the game had birthed a special ability with a sense of conflict.

Doing good deeds could improve his physical fitness, while doing "bad deeds" would increase the special energy within his body.

The sole purpose of that energy was to fuel the "Shinigami Eye."

Shinigami Eye: Slows the passage of time; reduces damage taken; automatically marks any body part of an enemy as a target once aimed; also possesses auxiliary capabilities such as night vision and tracking.

This was all the information Hong Fei had mastered so far.

This summary had not come easily; after all, he did not have a system in his head that could spout snarky remarks or list data.

"Mister! I'm here!"

A childish shout from downstairs caught Hong Fei's attention. Looking down, he saw a little boy who looked to be only six or seven years old.

Hong Fei gestured, then turned and headed downstairs.

This building was his.

Strictly speaking, he had inherited it from his predecessor, who in turn had inherited it from his deceased parents. According to his memories, the former Hong Fei had practically scraped together every penny he had to pay the exorbitant inheritance tax just to keep the building.

From this, it was clear that Hong Fei was not only a yellow-skinned foreigner here, but he was also completely alone.

He took the elevator to the first floor, where his eyes were met with an array of books; the very air was filled with the scent of real paper.

Don't misunderstand; Hong Fei would never dare to claim he was a scholar.

The real scholar had likely gone to another world to live in his stead. Thinking of that person having to face those incoming challengers with a gentle, refined soul, Master Hong smiled quite unkindly.

"Mister, what are you laughing at?"

Looking down, the boy was clutching a yellow lunchbox tightly to his chest. He blinked curiously at Hong Fei, a glimmer of lively light seemingly flickering in his eyes.

Hong Fei took the lunchbox and ruffled his hair. "Nothing, Peter. What's on the menu today?"

Peter immediately began to enthusiastically list the dishes for Hong Fei.

The dinner was, of course, prepared by Aunt May. Peter Parker's Aunt May was already a pitiful widow.

But again, don't misunderstand; Hong Fei had only met Aunt May once, though he had hit it off quite well with six- or seven-year-old Peter.

That was over half a month ago. Hong Fei had taken to the streets to look for targets to test his hypothesis, and along the way, he had casually chased off a few kids who were saying nasty things to Peter.

Children who had lost both parents always seemed to encounter a few unpleasant classmates at school.

Since Hong Fei's bookstore was on Peter's way home, the two had grown familiar over time. Every Friday night, Peter would pack a portion of his family's dinner and bring it to Hong Fei. After this happened a few times, Aunt May, as his guardian, had even visited the bookstore alone once; Hong Fei had simply pretended not to recognize her.

Sitting behind the counter, Peter watched quietly as Hong Fei polished off all the food, his face filled with a joyful smile.

Getting up to wash the lunchbox, Hong Fei said, "Let's go, I'll walk you home."

"Okay!"

Closing the shop door and hanging up the sign, the two walked forward side by side. Suddenly, Peter's hand quietly slipped into Hong Fei's.

Hong Fei, feeling the anomaly, twitched his eyebrows, then gripped Peter's small hand and led him all the way home. Peter, meanwhile, was so happy he was bobbing his head, his steps suddenly becoming much lighter.

Ten minutes later, the two arrived at the building.

"Peter, you don't need to come over next week. I might be going abroad for a while."

Peter asked in surprise, "Mister, where are you going?"

Hong Fei laughed. "On a trip. I'll go wherever the road takes me."

"Oh, okay, I understand." Peter looked a bit disappointed. "Then, can you tell me when you get back?"

"Of course. Don't you pass by the bookstore every day?"

"That's right! Then I hope you have a safe trip, Mister!"

Waving goodbye, Hong Fei watched as Peter stepped into the elevator. As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of Aunt May at one of the windows in the building.

On his way back, while still some distance from the bookstore, Hong Fei already saw some uninvited guests gathered at the entrance.

As he drew closer, a young man in a suit, with slicked-back hair and a greasy face, stepped out from the group of thugs.

"Hong, have you thought about it?"

The man's name was Hall, a volatile young man. Since the day before yesterday, he had been negotiating with Hong Fei on behalf of Fisk Industries regarding the acquisition of this building, including the land it stood on.

However, the price he offered was clearly not enough to satisfy Hong Fei. To be precise, Hong Fei had no intention of selling at all.

Seeing Hong Fei remain silent, Hall continued, "I can increase yesterday's price by another 5%. I've brought the agreement; we can sign it tonight. You'll see the money in your account immediately, and I can even give you a generous signing bonus!"

Hong Fei's reaction was to have no reaction at all.

He had already clearly stated that he had no intention of selling, but Hall turned a deaf ear to this, convinced that Hong Fei was merely holding out for a higher price, perhaps even feeling that Hong Fei was being ungrateful.

Hall had come alone yesterday, but today he brought a group of thugs with him; the intent to threaten was plain to see.

Hong Fei walked past Hall without slowing his pace, then sauntered through the crowd of hostile onlookers. Only after pulling out his keys and unlocking the shop door did he turn around and smile. "Mr. Hall, I heard you aren't a real lawyer yet. How about..."

Hong Fei's gaze swept over the group behind him. "...you have your boss send someone professional?"

"You..."

Before Hall's anger could be vented through words, Hong Fei slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

A Black man with dreadlocks squeezed up to Hall, shaking the baseball bat in his hand as he said eagerly, "Sir, do we...?"

Hall stared at the tightly shut door, breathing heavily, looking as if he might signal his men to rush in at any moment.

Yet, after a rapid shift in his expression, he suddenly turned, hurried to his sports car parked on the street, and sped away, leaving the group of thugs to look at one another in confusion.

Inside the speeding car, Hall gripped the steering wheel with a fierce look in his eyes, muttering, "Once Mr. Fisk returns, I will personally throw you into the ocean to feed the fish!"

Inside the shop, Master Hong, who had just relaxed his tensed muscles, couldn't help but chuckle. He turned and took the elevator straight to the top floor.

He was, of course, not the only one living in this seven-story building. Aside from the bookstore on the first floor and his own residence on the seventh, the middle five floors had been converted into apartments and rented out.

He turned on the television, where a talk show host was shouting in an exaggerated voice, "I seriously suspect the owner of Maxim Magazine is involved in gambling! Otherwise, why would they have chosen twin sisters as cover girls last December? He just wanted to round up twelve women for Stark within a year! Good heavens, I was so angry I nearly jumped off a building! I heard Stark has already bagged another peak award; a friend of mine has already spotted him in Las Vegas."

Hong Fei turned the volume down significantly and walked into the bathroom.

In the past, the seventh floor had been the home of Hong Fei's family, while the six floors below were all part of the bookstore.

The current Hong Fei found it hard to imagine just how much his parents had loved reading!

After they passed away prematurely, Hong Fei, having sold everything he owned to pay the inheritance tax, had been forced to grit his teeth and take out a bank loan to renovate the middle five floors just to recover and survive. In that regard, he certainly had a lot of guts.

Such a change was clearly worth it, as it not only allowed him to pay off the loan quickly but also enabled him to live a life that most people in this city dreamed of, simply by collecting rent.

Five floors, three units per floor, totaling fifteen rooms—some one-bedroom, some two-bedroom. Fifteen rent checks earned him more than some people made working fifteen jobs.

Furthermore, if the current Hong Fei were not Master Hong, he might have already sold this old building and the land it sat on to the boss behind Hall.

The other party's offer was substantial, a sum Hong Fei couldn't earn in a hundred years of collecting rent.

The reason he didn't sell wasn't because he was waiting for a better price, but because the actual value of this land was far higher.

Not to mention the appreciation after development, Hong Fei currently had neither the intention nor the capital to do so.

However!

The thing buried beneath this land could not be measured by money at all.

After showering and sitting down in the living room, a rich red glow suddenly surged from the depths of Hong Fei's dark brown pupils; this was the manifestation of the Shinigami Eye being activated.

The moment his eyes turned deep crimson, all the noisy sounds in his ears vanished instantly.

In his field of vision, the once vibrant and colorful world instantly shed all its hues. In this black-and-white view, the images playing on the television began to skip frame by frame.

Furthermore, he could see a swirling golden current of Qi rising through the floor, almost enveloping the entire building.

Even more wondrously, amidst the churning golden current, Hong Fei could occasionally see a phantom, miniature dragon soaring within it.