Throw the Clothes into the Sea First

Time was life.

For Su Li, that was no longer a metaphor.

He dashed behind a massive black reef.

It was a blind spot.

Unless someone deliberately came around, they would never notice anyone hiding there.

Su Li yanked off his black hoodie.

The cotton fabric brushed against his skin with a faint rustle.

Then came the jeans.

The sneakers.

Even the cartoon-print underwear.

Everything came off.

Not a single piece remained.

The sea wind swept across his skin, raising a dense layer of goosebumps.

His teeth chattered from the cold.

But Su Li had no time to care about that.

In a country at war, they would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one suspect go.

He did not want to experience being roughly shoved into a prison cart again.

Squatting on the ground, Su Li swiftly picked up several heavy stones.

He wrapped his clothes, pants, and shoes together, stuffing the stones inside.

Then he tied a knot.

He cinched it tight.

It was a skill honed through fifty years of dockside drudgery. His knots were more professional than a sailor's.

After finishing, he hugged this bundle of "evidence" and crept to the edge of the reef.

Ahead lay the deep-water zone.

The seawater was murky and black, with undercurrents churning beneath it.

"Off you go!"

Gritting his teeth, Su Li hurled the massive bundle with all his strength.

Splash.

The spray was small.

The cloth bundle containing the products of modern civilization swiftly sank into the pitch-black seabed.

The destruction of evidence was complete.

Su Li let out a breath and shrank back behind the reef.

Now there was a problem.

He was naked.

"This is probably the most pathetic transmigrator ever..."

Su Li hugged his shoulders.

It was miserable, sure, but still better than losing his head.

The heavy footsteps in the distance were drawing closer.

There was also the metallic clatter of armor rubbing together.

That was the sound of standard-issue leather armor from the Orenda Kingdom.

Su Li held his breath and pressed himself tightly against the icy rock, wishing he could embed himself inside it.

A naked unfamiliar man did not exactly look normal, either.

Hopefully, these guards were just going through the motions on a routine patrol.

One minute.

Two minutes.

The footsteps stopped more than ten meters from the reef.

"This damn weather is freezing."

A coarse voice complained.

"Let's finish this round and get back for drinks. I heard they got new stock over there."

The other voice sounded somewhat lecherous.

"Heh heh, there isn't even a ghost in this shithole. Who would land here? Unless they're some idiot from the Baris Empire."

The two guards grumbled, even taking a piss toward the sea.

Then they turned and left.

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Only after he could no longer hear them did Su Li finally relax.

He had passed the first hurdle.

But he could not stay naked here forever.

If someone saw him, he would be arrested as either a spy or a pervert.

Su Li poked his head out and looked around.

This was the edge of Grey Gull Port, near the garbage disposal area.

Or, as it was more commonly known, "the slums' backyard."

Huge amounts of garbage were dumped here every day.

Su Li knew this place all too well.

When he had escaped in his previous life, he had even slept here.

Though he had been caught and dragged back afterward.

Barefoot, he stepped over ground littered with broken stones and shells, barely feeling the pain in his soles.

Compared to staying alive, this little pain was nothing.

As long as his skin did not break and the wounds did not get infected, it was fine.

He burrowed into a garbage heap that reeked of sour rot.

Then he began rummaging through it with practiced ease.

"Rotten wood... fish bones... torn fishing nets..."

Finally.

From beneath a broken wicker basket, he pulled out something.

A linen-colored robe.

Or rather, it had once been linen-colored.

Now, it was covered in black oil stains and had several large holes gnawed by rats.

It was basically a rag.

But in Su Li's eyes, it was practically an imperial robe.

He also found a pair of pants with only half a leg left, barely enough to cover the important parts.

Without another thought, he pulled them on.

The sour stench instantly enveloped him.

Su Li sniffed, and somehow, it felt a little familiar.

That was more like it.

This was the smell of Grey Gull Port.

After putting on the outfit, he tousled his hair and smeared two handfuls of black mud across his face.

Now.

Anyone who saw him would take him for a standard homeless man living at the bottom of society.

He blended perfectly into the background.

Su Li emerged from the garbage heap and followed the small path from his memories toward the edge of the city.

He needed to get something to eat first.

His stomach was already protesting.

As soon as he reached a somewhat wider dirt road, several women carrying baskets approached him.

They were heading to the docks to pick up small fish and shrimp that had fallen there.

Instinctively, Su Li lowered his head, stuck close to the wall, and prepared to slip past quickly.

However.

As he passed the women.

The women, who had been loudly gossiping about this family and that family, suddenly fell silent.

Su Li's heart skipped a beat.

No way, was I exposed?

I mean, there's nothing particularly unusual about these clothes.

Could these clothes be so tattered that they drew attention?

He did not dare raise his head and quickened his pace.

"Oh my god..."

A very soft gasp came from behind him.

There was no disgust in that voice. Instead, it carried a... strange tremor.

"That beggar..."

"Did you see that? That profile just now..."

Their whispers reached Su Li's ears.

But he did not dare stop.

He jogged all the way to an abandoned reservoir before stopping to catch his breath.

"What the hell is wrong with those aunties?"

Su Li wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He walked to the reservoir's edge, planning to wash his face and remove some of the mud he had smeared on earlier. Otherwise, he looked too much like a fugitive.

The water's surface was as still as a mirror.

Su Li bent down, scooped up the icy water in both hands, and splashed it over his face.

The grime washed away.

He raised his head and looked at his reflection in the water.

In that instant.

Even Su Li froze.

Was that person in the water really him?

It was still the same nose, the same mouth, the same facial features.

But put together, they had undergone a complete transformation.

His brows resembled distant mountains brushed with dark ink, his eyes like bright stars fallen into the sea.

His once utterly ordinary face now carried a peculiar air.

Especially those eyes.

Even in the reflection on the murky water, they shone so brightly it was frightening.

Deep, melancholy, yet carrying the clarity unique to youth.

Paired with his messy wet hair and the filthy, tattered linen robe on his body.

He did not look disheveled at all.

Instead, he had a kind of...

Fragile beauty.

Like an immortal swordmaster.

Su Li touched his face, and the corner of his mouth could not help twitching.

"Holy shit..."

"This is an F-rank reward?"

"This is practically plastic surgery plus a level-ten beauty filter!"

He finally remembered the description of that trait.

[Sword Brows Starry Eyes: Your appearance will be significantly enhanced... You will possess an impossible-to-ignore charm.]

The system had not lied to him.

Facing the water, Su Li tried making a pained expression.

The person in the water furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze sorrowful.

Then he tried smiling.

That smile held thirty percent self-mockery, fifty percent helplessness, and ninety-one percent unrestrained spirit.

Su Li took a deep breath and straightened up.

Even if he became a prostitute, he could probably earn a much higher rating than in his previous life, right?