New York Subway, Full of Strange People

When Li Wei woke up the next morning, Don Quixote had already disappeared.

Climbing off the mattress, Li Wei took one look at the dried-up street outside the strip of glass and the clear sky, and knew he had gone off to haul bricks at a construction site again.

When he stepped out of the partitioned room, he saw that the fried beef shank he had left for Don Quixote had been completely devoured. There were also several letters addressed to Don Quixote on the table.

Curious, Li Wei picked them up and looked them over. The bold red lettering seemed vicious enough to swallow him whole.

Li Wei casually opened the first one. The upper-left corner of the envelope bore the conspicuous logo of the New York Department of Finance.

Dear Mr. Cervantes, your ticket for illegal parking involving license plate GDT-592 is overdue.

Li Wei glanced at the amount below: fine, $115; late fee, $10; total due, $125.

In New York, street sweepers came through during designated hours every week. If a car was still parked by the curb when they came by, it got ticketed.

"Street cleaning ticket..." Li Wei shook his head, set the ticket down, and picked up the second letter. "Consolidated Edison?"

As of this month, your account has an outstanding balance of $342.45. If full payment is not received by August 25, we will be forced to discontinue your electricity and gas service.

"Three hundred and forty-two dollars in electricity bills?" Li Wei clicked his tongue and looked around the dark, damp basement, which did not even have a single decent appliance. "How long has he gone without paying the electric bill?"

Next came an administrative penalty notice from the electronic toll collection system, a water bill, a litigation fee bill, and so on. Seven or eight bills had arrived that morning alone, totaling seven or eight hundred dollars. Even Li Wei's scalp went numb from looking at them.

No wonder it was the capital of the bald eagle, the heart of black-hearted capitalism. Li Wei now understood just how difficult Don Quixote's life was.

Working sixteen hours a day without a single day off all year only brought in a little over three thousand dollars a month, while bills and alimony to his ex-wife already ate up three thousand.

Li Wei gave the law firm's bill one last look. It demanded two thousand dollars in divorce alimony for the month. Shaking his head, he took out one hundred and fifty dollars and placed it on the table as a small gesture of help.

"I'll pay it for you once I make it big," Li Wei said. After casually eating some bread, he grabbed his bag and headed out toward the subway station. "Right now, this is all I can give."

Yesterday's shooting had shut down the subway station on 8th Avenue. But when Li Wei returned to the station today, the bustling crowd seemed completely unfazed.

Li Wei took one last look at the bullet holes and bloodstains on the wall, as well as the traces marked off by police tape. After some hesitation, he decided not to jump the subway turnstile like the Latin American immigrant kid in front of him. Instead, he honestly paid $2.90 for a subway ride to Madison Square.

He was at a critical stage of changing from a B-2 visa to an F-1 visa. There was no need to risk getting caught over a three-dollar fare.

Madison Square was a wealthy district. He could get caught when exiting there, and if he were arrested on a misdemeanor charge, he would have no choice but to be deported.

As he walked down the concrete stairs covered in black gum stains, an indescribably complex stench was swept up from underground by massive industrial fans, blowing evenly across the faces of everyone rushing to catch the train.

Through the vision granted by Li Wei's 1.1 Mental attribute, the station was filled with unsettling high-definition details: large patches of white tiles had peeled off the walls, exposing red bricks like dried flesh and blood; white lime streaks ran down the walls, while the corners retained stains that might have been left by yesterday's rain or by the urine of homeless people and drug addicts.

Screeeech—!!!

Amid an ear-piercing metallic shriek, a huge gust of wind carrying rust dust howled past. An N Line train covered in graffiti, its stainless-steel shell scarred with scratches, charged out of the dark tunnel like a gigantic steel insect.

The carriage doors opened, and pounding music burst out from within, accompanied by a system notification in Li Wei's mind:

Adventurer Li Wei, you have encountered the "Steel Dragon" for the first time.

The Steel Dragon is one of the primary modes of transportation in this magical empire. Its semi-enclosed ecosystem and unique environment have given rise to a group of Ratmen who emit mental interference and noise.

Mission issued: Mental Barrier

A true knight can construct a sanctuary of absolute silence within his mind even amid the clamor of the battlefield. In the face of the Ratmen's mental assault, your will must not waver in the slightest.

Before the Ratmen's performance ends, recite an entire lesson of knightly course material without distraction.

Mission reward: Mental +0.1

"Ratmen?"

Before Li Wei could react, a tremendous force squeezed him into the carriage. Then a deafening, low-quality bass exploded beside his ears, making his eardrums buzz.

"What time is it?!" A Black teenager in a crooked baseball cap, with half his underwear exposed, sprang out from the crowd. Grabbing the overhead handrail with both hands, he flung himself into the air like an ape. "It's showtime!"

The carriage had been packed like a can of sardines, yet the passengers now parted to either side like Moses splitting the sea, forcibly clearing a narrow strip of open space in the middle.

Li Wei was squeezed beside the bench in the corner and simply sat down.

These are the Ratmen? Li Wei watched the Black teenagers spinning wildly on the poles, hanging upside down, and doing the splits. With a sigh, he pulled out a copy of AP Macroeconomics from his bag and began reading seriously.

Though it was extremely difficult, Li Wei ultimately managed to enter a state of flow. The instant the music ended, he snapped the book shut.

Mission complete: Mental Barrier

You preserved the bottom line of your sanity amid the Ratmen's mental pollution.

Mission reward: Mental +0.1

[Mental 1.1]—[Mental 1.2]

It was like a splash of mint water poured over a scorching CPU.

The world before Li Wei's eyes became clearer once again. At the same time, almost everything he had just read was deeply imprinted in his mind, and both his memory and comprehension had noticeably improved.

Li Wei stared at the Black teenager holding a hat and begging his way down the carriage. He could even catch the weakness in the boy's eyes. He could not yet call it analysis or deduction, but it felt like an instinctive sensation that gave him a trace of extraordinary [Synesthesia].

Mental upgrade detected—Clumsy Eloquence skill has changed.

Effect: You have a 60% chance of persuading greedy people with weak willpower. — Effect: You have a 70% chance of persuading greedy people with weak willpower.

Knight's Tempering: First-stage mission completed. Mental attribute reached 1.2. Gold +3.

Li Wei felt his pocket bulge as three gold coins, each perhaps worth more than five hundred dollars now, slipped lightly and silently into it.

Now I have four gold coins, and my skill has leveled up too, Li Wei thought. Does that mean I have a better chance of persuading that crooked merchant Leon?