Death Compensation

Cold, lonely. As if he had touched something, Lu Bai suddenly jolted awake.

A dim, worn-out ceiling came into view before Lu Bai's eyes. The familiar ringtone of his phone sounded in his ears.

"An unfamiliar ceiling."

Though he had a habit of sleeping in, Lu Bai still sat up today. It was a big day.

He pulled back the curtains and looked outside, confirming once more where he was. Beyond the gloomy sky was a netlike barrier, like an upside-down bowl covering the entire city.

He drew the curtains shut. With a shift in his expression, an Ouroboros Ring, its color changing between black and white, appeared in his hand.

After examining it for a while, he returned the ring to his mind. It certainly counted as a cheat, but unfortunately, he still didn't know what it did.

Maybe I'm still missing some conditions? Lu Bai thought.

Lu Bai tucked an envelope into his shirt, put on his clear-lensed glasses, straightened his clothes, and headed out.

Once aboard the battered bus, Lu Bai warily watched the people around him, arms wrapped around his chest as he clutched the envelope tightly.

Inside the envelope was his death compensation.

On the ground were gangs and old-fashioned vehicles, while all kinds of aircraft zipped through the sky. Watching the fantastical scenery stream past the window, Lu Bai still felt as if it weren't real.

"This future isn't what I imagined. Of course, it's even more exciting." Lu Bai's thoughts stirred. "I can't wait to see the scenery inside that dimension!"

"But Tianwu Group's 'Jianghu' dimension is finally opening its doors today. With this compensation, I can enter a dimension and become a Traveler, too."

In this era, the most dangerous profession was called a Traveler, and the most prestigious profession was also that of a Traveler. Everyone wanted to become one.

Unfortunately, all the Dimension Keys that could open the Gates of Thousand Dimensions were monopolized by a handful of pioneers. Unless you were an insider, tickets for each entry were exorbitantly expensive—and often impossible to find at any price.

Lu Bai had been waiting for a chance to buy a ticket.

"Tianwu Group." After getting off the bus, Lu Bai spotted the building across the street. A huge sign hung above it. This was his destination.

Filled with anticipation, Lu Bai was about to cross the road toward the building when a van drove by.

Lu Bai's nerves instantly tightened, and he went on alert.

Yongfeng City, where he lived, wasn't known for its good public order. A van like that could unload a whole gang of bandits at any moment, and soon afterward, you'd be nowhere to be seen.

He backed away a few steps to put some distance between them, his hand moving toward his pocket. Then he saw the van's door slide open.

A group of masked bandits charged out. Their eyes fixed on Lu Bai—or, more precisely, on his chest.

"They're after the compensation." Lu Bai reacted instantly, his hand in his pocket already gripping a small pouch.

"Lucky bastard, hand over the money, and maybe we'll let you live. Otherwise, we'll kill you again!" The bandit leader's grating voice rang out. He pulled out a pistol, while the others spread out to cut off Lu Bai's escape route.

"This compensation came from the Church of Thousand Dimensions. You dare rob me?"

"The Church of Thousand Dimensions is so high and mighty. Why would they care about a little thing like this?" The bandit grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

He knew that seventy-seven years ago, God of Thousand Dimensions had collected Earth as a specimen. The world had been transformed into one where different companies ruled different cities, and the Church of Thousand Dimensions had never done a thing about it.

Lu Bai was just a lucky bastard who had died when the dimensions changed, then been dragged back from death along with the rest. He'd slept for seventy-seven years and woken up with no one to rely on. If they didn't rob him, who would they rob?

"Enough talk. Hand over the compensation, now!" The bandit waved his gun and barked.

At that very moment, Lu Bai moved. As a mixture of white powder and red powder scattered into the air, he lowered his body and slid forward.

Caught off guard, several bandits felt a sharp pain in their eyes. Quicklime and chili powder were a nasty combination.

With a scream, Lu Bai reached the armed bandit in an instant.

His clear-lensed glasses offered excellent protection. Lu Bai seized the bandit's gun hand with precision, twisted it, and flung the gun away. Then he raised an elbow and drove it straight into the bandit's neck.

But what he felt through his elbow wasn't a throat. It was like steel.

"Supernatural power?" Lu Bai was taken aback. The other man's skin had taken on the sheen of black iron. If he had supernatural powers, why would he be after Lu Bai's compensation?

"Cough, cough. You're dead!" The bandit's furious voice rang out as his other blackened hand reached straight for Lu Bai, giving him no time to think.

Lu Bai was a little distracted, but he didn't stop his next move. His follow-up attack was already in motion: he whipped out a kick aimed between the bandit's legs, like a soccer shot, or a swimming dragon darting forth.

Along with the sound of something breaking came a thunderous crash from nearby, followed by a violent tremor.

A hole had opened up in one of the floors of the nearby Tianwu Group building. Shards of glass rained down, and thick black smoke billowed from the opening.

A woman in a black trench coat fell from the building as well, clutching a black box in her arms.

There were no ropes or anything of the sort, but the woman in the black trench coat managed to keep her balance in midair. The falling shards of glass seemed to be pushed aside by an invisible force.

Behind the woman in the black trench coat, a streak of light shot out, hurtling straight toward her.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, the woman somehow found leverage in midair and twisted around, holding the box in front of the streak of light.

But the light didn't stop. Instead, it plunged straight down, pierced the box, and struck the woman's shoulder.

Only then did it become clear what the streak of light was: an ancient-looking longsword.

It might have seemed like a lot had happened, but it had all taken place in the instant after the explosion.

Though Lu Bai was surprised by the commotion nearby, he didn't pause in his attack.

He had already built up a mouthful of saliva. Like a spitting fish, he sprayed it onto the bandit's face.

The saliva reacted with the quicklime. The searing pain of the heat once again interrupted the bandit's attack.

Just as Lu Bai was about to pull a thin awl from his sleeve and use his next move to finish off his enemy for good, a black box fell nearby, and a winged key tumbled out of it.

The woman in the black trench coat landed with an injured shoulder. Her gaze fixed on the box, and when she saw the key, her expression changed in alarm. But it was already too late to stop it.

Indescribable light burst forth, and a Gate of Thousand Dimensions opened wide. Several people standing nearby were sucked inside before they could even react.