Great Flame New Kingdom Fang Shuwen

The nineteenth year of the Great Flame New Kingdom, April 22nd.

Jiangnan Province, Xikou County.

Under the old locust tree at the street corner, seven or eight people were gathered in a circle, their necks stretched long like a flock of geese held by the throat.

From time to time, a shout of "Good move!" erupted from the circle, drawing the attention of passersby.

"Rook one to five."

The speaker was a youth of sixteen or seventeen.

His voice was not loud, yet it carried a sense of calm and composure.

He sat on a low stool, leaning slightly forward, picking up a red rook and placing it steadily onto the chessboard.

The old man in green across from him raised his eyelids, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, but he remained silent as he moved his knight.

"Check!"

Fang Shuwen dropped another piece, his tone light.

The old man's brows knitted even tighter.

He stared at the board for a long while before suddenly reaching out to jump his knight forward again.

"Old sir, that knight has been blocked by me twice now."

Fang Shuwen tilted his head, and the piece in his hand fell.

"You have no moves left now."

The outcome on the board was suddenly beyond doubt.

The old man in green stared blankly at the board, his lips moving twice as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

He reached out to stroke his beard, then let his hand drop.

"Hmph, I suppose I lost."

"It's only ten silver dollars; it wouldn't even cover a single meal for me!"

The old man snorted coldly, his expression stiff.

His words betrayed his refusal to admit defeat; he was quite a proud old man.

But in an instant, the old man could no longer maintain his aloof demeanor.

Because after fumbling for a full minute, he had only managed to produce five silver dollars.

The old man's face shifted through several expressions for a long time, until he finally seemed to make up his mind; gritting his teeth, he pulled a piece of miscellaneous jade from his bosom and pushed it toward Fang Shuwen along with the five silver dollars.

"I left in a hurry today and forgot my money; this piece of jade will be a bargain for you."

Then, He stood up, brushed the non-existent dust from his hem, and glared fiercely at the youth.

His footsteps were fast and heavy, his cane clattering loudly against the ground.

It was unclear whether he couldn't accept losing to a half-grown lad, or if he was feeling the sting of losing that jade.

"Young Master Fang is quite lucky today; he actually caught a sucker."

An idler with a black mole on his face clicked his tongue.

"Indeed, winning five silver dollars in one go is enough to equal a month's wages for us poor wretches."

A short, stout man nearby chimed in, his voice full of envy.

Hearing these words, Fang Shuwen showed no sign of pride on his face.

In these times, a typical able-bodied man only earned a few silver dollars a month.

Taking in five silver dollars and a piece of miscellaneous jade all at once was a bit too eye-catching.

Fang Shuwen knew he couldn't continue like this.

He stood up, gave his stool to an old man standing nearby who looked tired, And then casually gathered the pieces from the chessboard, packing them into his cloth satchel.

These were his tools for survival; he couldn't afford to lose them.

"Many thanks to all you uncles for looking after me today; I'll treat everyone to tea."

As he spoke, He pulled a dozen copper coins from his pocket and pushed them onto the table.

After making money, one couldn't be stingy.

Otherwise, no one would support him in the future, and it would be hard to make a living in this trade.

Fang Shuwen cupped his hands in thanks, playing the part perfectly.

He then grabbed his cloth satchel and walked out of the street corner at a steady pace, turning into a narrow alley.

Before he could even catch his breath, he suddenly accelerated, darting along the base of the wall like a cat chased by a dog.

His soles slapped against the bluestone pavement, creating a rapid, rhythmic sound.

Fang Shuwen did not look back.

But his ears remained pricked.

From behind, the faint sounds of coarse cursing and hurried, chaotic footsteps drifted toward him.

Sure enough, someone was giving chase.

It seemed the allure of five silver dollars was enough to make people risk their lives.

"Bah, what a damn world this is. I barely earned a few coins and I'm already being targeted!"

Fang Shuwen cursed under his breath, turned, and charged into Xikou East Street ahead.

This was the busiest street in Xikou County.

The street was filled with the sounds of hawkers.

There were rickshaws, and from time to time, black automobiles drove past.

Fang Shuwen merged into the crowd, calculated the timing of his pursuers' arrival, and slipped into a nearby shop.

The shop was filled with the scent of ink and paper, with several bookshelves standing against the walls.

It was a bookstore.

A young woman in a qipao behind the counter glanced up at him, then lowered her head to continue flipping through her book.

Beside the woman, a sign stood on the desk.

Paid reading: one dime per hour for a seat, two dimes for a cup of clear tea.

Heh, the consumption model is quite McDonald's-esque.

Too bad, I'm just here to freeload.

If asked, I'll just say I'm illiterate.

Fang Shuwen chuckled inwardly and walked righteously to the innermost seat by the window.

He placed his cloth satchel by his feet.

His gaze, however, looked through the glass window toward the street.

At this moment, two men emerged from the alley.

One was thin and tall with a black mole on his face, while the other was short and stout, walking like a penguin.

They were the very same two who had been watching the chess game earlier.

"That little brat runs fast."

The tall, thin one snorted coldly, then, seemingly struck by a thought, smacked the short, stout one on the head.

"It's all your fault! If your legs weren't so slow, that kid wouldn't have escaped today!"

The short, stout one looked at the tall, thin one with grievance and stammered:

"B... B... Big Brother, that kid... isn't he... attending the public... middle school..."

Upon hearing this, the tall, thin one's eyes lit up.

"Well said. We'll just go block the school gate in a few days; surely he'll come out eventually?"

The two cursed and grumbled a bit more before finding a corner to squat in.

Inside the bookstore.

"It's just five dollars and a worthless piece of scrap jade; these two have chased me for three streets and still won't give up? Are they actually going to camp out here?"

Seeing this scene, Fang Shuwen couldn't help but complain.

Five silver dollars and a piece of scrap jade.

Just for such worthless items, two grown men had chased him through three alleys.

Now they were even guarding the street, looking as if they wouldn't stop until they achieved their goal.

Fang Shuwen looked down at his own washed-out grey cloth gown, then looked at the sky outside the window, which was gradually darkening.

His expression grew increasingly grim.

This godforsaken world.

If this were his past life, he would have dialed the police to show these two guys why the flowers are so red.

That's right, Fang Shuwen is a transmigrator.

The original owner was a middle school student who hung around with a young master surnamed Guo.

To be precise, he was the guy's lackey.

Sucking up and bootlicking, he actually thought he was a cut above the rest.

A few days ago.

While wandering the temple fair with Young Master Guo's group, he spotted a girl.

Egging him on, Young Master Guo actually goaded him into running up and pinching her bottom.

Well, that certainly stirred up trouble.

Who would have thought, A burly man suddenly stepped out, declaring that such hooliganism deserved a beating.

He landed a single punch on the original owner's chest, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

That punch finished off the original owner and sent Fang Shuwen from the twenty-first century into this Great Flame New Kingdom.

When he first arrived in this world, he thought he had transmigrated to the late Qing Dynasty or early Republican era.

But within a few days, Fang Shuwen realized something was wrong.

If you say this world is like the late Qing or early Republican era, it is.

Sturdy ships and powerful cannons, foreign concessions and trading houses, warlords carving up the land—everything is there.

But if you say it isn't, it really isn't.

The streets and alleys are plastered with notices about demon extermination, and steam engines power not just trains and ships, but also steel-forged powered armor.

Those who practice martial arts to a high level possess blood and qi like a furnace, capable of standing firm against firearms.

And there are even bizarre demons and monsters crawling out of the deep mountains and old forests, devouring people without leaving a bone behind.

Ordinary people live from hand to mouth, struggling to survive!

And he is just one of those ordinary people.

He was beaten to death, and there was nowhere to seek justice.

What a screwed-up world!

Thinking back on the original owner's actions, he felt even more speechless.

The original Fang Shuwen came from an ordinary background, living with his father, Old Fang, after his mother died early.

Old Fang worked as a gatekeeper for a wealthy family, selling off everything he had to put young Fang through public middle school, hoping he would make something of himself and get ahead in life.

But, unexpectedly.

Fang Shuwen was a fool who treated school as a platform to cozy up to the powerful and act as a dog for others.

He didn't study, failing six out of seven subjects.

He looked like he was on the verge of being expelled.

Fang Shuwen transmigrated during the summer break and took over this mess.

To live better, to eat meat at every meal, and to scrape together enough for tuition, he had no choice but to hustle for money.

Thus, armed with a wealth of chess manuals and knowledge of endgame puzzles, Fang Shuwen began playing street chess to earn cash.

Because of the chaotic times, he had been very careful.

He didn't expect to be targeted today regardless.

"Young man, a regular seat in the book club is ten cents an hour."

A voice that could melt bones reached his ears, followed by a graceful figure that caught Fang Shuwen's eyes.

Looking at the person who approached, it was the woman from the counter just a moment ago.

Well, she was clearly a cold, aloof big sister.

But the moment money was mentioned, she became inexplicably tacky.

He had half a mind to argue that he was illiterate and then just walk away.

But out of the corner of his eye, the fat and thin figures in the shadows of the wall outside were still there.

Fang Shuwen shook his head inwardly and reached out to pull out a ten-cent copper coin.

Compared to his life, what was money? If it's gone, he could always earn more.

The woman took the money and swayed her hips as she returned to the counter.

However, at this moment.

Fang Shuwen had no heart to appreciate the view.

Before his eyes, a brilliant screen of light emerged.

[Absorbed foreign energy, conditions met.]

[Activate Martial Arts Panel?]