I Must Make a Name for Myself

The urban village where Gao Teng lived was in a wretched state.

Makeshift, crooked buildings were piled together in a chaotic mess, and the alleys were flooded with sewage, the stench so thick it was almost impossible to breathe.

Fortunately, Gao Teng had lived a miserable enough life in his previous world, so he was well-adapted to this environment; it felt just like coming home, filled with a sense of familiarity at every turn.

"Hey handsome, want to have some fun?"

On the way home, middle-aged women would call out to Gao Teng from time to time.

They wore revealing clothes and heavy makeup, their bodies reeking of pungent perfume.

Gao Teng was already used to this; he ignored them completely, cycling past the women until he reached the dilapidated building where he lived.

Shouldering his bicycle, he walked into the dark, damp stairwell, climbed quickly to the third floor, and pulled out his key to open the iron door, its green paint peeling away to reveal a cramped room.

The room was only about forty square meters, with the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom crammed together, leaving pitifully little space to move.

Gao Teng gave a self-deprecating laugh; when he was delivering food in a big city in his past life, this was the kind of studio apartment he had lived in.

If not for the powerful strength surging within his body, he would have suspected he had returned to Earth—it felt far too familiar.

"In this life, I must rise above the rest!"

Gao Teng took a deep breath, a look of ruthlessness flashing across his face.

He wanted to live a life of luxury and indulgence; he never wanted to hole up in a cramped, damp, broken building again, living without a shred of dignity!

To achieve this dream, he had to work twice as hard, hunting monsters to earn merit points and exchange them for more theft attempts.

Only then could he meet the admission requirements for a top-tier university.

Gao Teng went to the bathroom to splash his face with water, changed into his Public Security Bureau auxiliary uniform, and then, carrying his long blade, flashlight, recorder, mask, rat bait, and insect repellent, he shouldered his bicycle and left the rental room.

He had found a job at the Public Security Bureau, going into the sewers every night to exterminate insects and rats. Six hours of work earned him three hundred yuan, with extra bonuses for killing mutated creatures.

Because major pharmaceutical factories dumped sewage indiscriminately, the flora and fauna of this world had mutated.

Linshan City had already suffered multiple insect and rat plagues, making the cleaning of the sewers a top priority to curb the breeding of these disasters at the source.

However, the sewers were filthy and foul-smelling, and no one in the Public Security Bureau wanted to do such grueling work, so it was outsourced.

Gao Teng had only managed to snag this opportunity after passing an interview among a crowd of applicants.

"Hey handsome, come play for a while, I'll only charge you twenty."

As he cycled toward the edge of the urban village, people continued to call out to him from time to time.

He still acted as if he hadn't heard them, and before long, he emerged from the village and reached the side of a wide road.

Across the street, high-rises stood in rows, neon lights flickered, and the scene was one of complete prosperity.

Behind him, the urban village was filthy, chaotic, plagued by germs, and scarred beyond recognition.

Heaven and hell, separated by only a single road.

Gao Teng sighed slightly in his heart before picking up his cycling speed.

Ten minutes later, he locked his bike by the roadside near the Regent Hotel and walked to Sewer No. 3, not far from the hotel.

The sewer was not only home to rats and insects, but also to many homeless people.

Gamblers, addicts, beggars, the terminally ill, martial artists buried in endless debt... it was a complete mess.

Gao Teng acted as if these people didn't exist, waiting at the entrance for a few minutes until a tall young woman arrived late.

The girl was also wearing the Public Security Bureau auxiliary uniform, her hair tied up and tucked under a baseball cap, her face covered tightly by a mask.

Even so, just looking at her figure, one could tell she was a beautiful girl.

"Good afternoon."

Gao Teng raised a hand to greet her. Today was his fourth day partnered with Zhang Meizhu, and the two had already gained a rough understanding of each other.

He knew Zhang Meizhu was a student at Third Middle School with the fifth-best grades in the entire school; the reason she worked in the sewers was to earn money for cultivation resources.

Furthermore, Zhang Meizhu's background was remarkably similar to his; both her parents had died in a rat plague six years ago, and she had no one left to rely on at home.

"Good afternoon."

Zhang Meizhu replied, turning on the recorder clipped to her chest.

Working in the sewers required recording audio and video for the entire duration, and the footage had to be uploaded to the Public Security Bureau after the shift.

She had no intention of chatting with Gao Teng and immediately entered work mode.

The two walked into the sewer one after the other, holding flashlights in one hand and gripping their long blades tightly in the other.

Passing by shacks built from broken wooden boards and plastic sheets, the people inside wore various expressions: some had hollow, numb eyes, some looked indifferent, and others were sizing the two of them up like prey...

Gao Teng even saw someone swallow a blue pill, then lie down on a tattered mat, falling into a state of near-manic pleasure.

He knew what these blue pills were—a psychoactive drug called Blue Elf that could induce intense pleasure in a short period.

It was cheap and potent, and once hooked, it was nearly impossible to quit.

Almost everyone living in the sewers was using Blue Elf to escape the cruel reality.

Gao Teng scanned the crowd vigilantly; although his uniform provided some deterrence, he still had to remain cautious.

Normal people wouldn't dare act recklessly, but those lunatics who have lost their minds to the drug's effects are a different story.

They walked for over ten minutes like this until the haphazardly constructed shacks disappeared, leaving the sewer in total darkness, save for the flickering beams of their flashlights.

The two pulled out rodent and insect attractants, sprayed them over their bodies, and continued deeper into the pipes.

Once they reached the territory where the vermin were active, peace would be a thing of the past.

They hadn't gone far when a rustling sound emerged from a nearby drainage pipe, followed immediately by a rat the size of a bulldog that lunged out, heading straight for Zhang Meizhu.

"I've got this!"

Gao Teng moved instantly, swinging his blade in a strike.

The slash was fast and ruthless, cleaving the rat in two in an instant and splattering filthy blood across the ground.

[You have gained 28 Merit Points]

As the rat died, a pleasant notification chimed in Gao Teng's ears.

It was a pity that this rat hadn't mutated into a monster yet, so the Merit he gained was pitifully low.

"Let's keep moving."

Gao Teng swept his flashlight around a few times, and after confirming there was no danger, he said this to Zhang Meizhu.

Zhang Meizhu wore a strange expression: "Why do you always steal my work? You don't like me, do you? Could you please not have such strange thoughts? It really bothers me."

Gao Teng rolled his eyes: "I'm doing this to hone myself and strive to improve my grades in these last two months. Aren't you overthinking this a bit too much?"

Zhang Meizhu breathed a sigh of relief: "There are too many people at school fawning over me, and since you keep stealing my work, I can't help but overthink it.

It's a good thing you don't have any designs on me; otherwise, I'd have to find a new partner. I don't want to waste my time on such boring matters."

Gao Teng said with a straight face: "Rest assured, I only want to improve my strength. I have absolutely no designs on you whatsoever."