London Streets

In the summer of 1989, on the vacant lot across from Wool's Orphanage in the London suburbs, a group of children chased after a battered old football.

More than a dozen children around ten years old ran freely across the lot. This was the orphaned children's favourite activity.

At the edge of the lot, a green figure sat on an old bench, boredly watching the children play.

"So boring. I should go pick through that abandoned factory later. I only need a few more parts to fix the watch I found last week."

The football was kicked away and rolled over here. A filthy child ran over to retrieve it, spotted Roy loafing around at the sidelines, and hugged the ball as he invited him.

"Bee Bro, come play football with us."

"Forget it. You guys go ahead. I'm going treasure hunting."

Roy had no interest in playing football with a bunch of brats. With his skills, playing with them would practically be bullying children.

Roy waved his hand, got to his feet, turned down the invitation, and prepared to leave.

The moment he heard Roy was going exploring, Kyle tossed aside the ball and spoke excitedly to him.

"Bee Bro, I want to go too."

At that moment, the children who had been playing football all gathered around. After hearing Roy, they all wanted to join him.

Everyone knew that Roy always brought back plenty of good things whenever he went scavenging. He had even made quite a few gadgets from salvaged materials, something Bee Doctor himself called recycling waste.

Roy was undoubtedly the leader among these children. Who wouldn't want to follow Bee Bro? They immediately started calling out.

"I want to go too! Me too!"

Looking at the excited children, Roy dampened their enthusiasm.

"Alright, this isn't as easy as you think. Kai and Jack, just you two. The rest of you, get back to whatever you were doing."

Roy only called along the two older children. They might at least be able to help carry things.

Roy led the two children through three blocks and arrived behind an abandoned cement factory.

Many discarded crates had been stacked into a staircase, allowing them to climb over the wall and enter the factory.

Roy somehow produced an old factory floor plan and assigned the two their tasks.

"I've marked out the route to riches for you. Kai, go to the warehouse. Jack, check what's inside the crates behind the factory. Take anything valuable you find."

A serious expression appeared on Roy's unbearably awkward face. Pointing at the map, he carefully instructed them.

"Watch out for the patrols. We'll leave from here in the end. If you get spotted, remember the signal. I'll come save you."

"Bee Bro, does this count as stealing?"

"Alright, quit talking nonsense."

Roy climbed onto the crates first and vaulted over the wall.

Jack and Kyle followed Roy over the wall.

Ignoring Kyle and Jack, Roy sprinted straight toward the central workshop. The best things were all there. After the factory had been abandoned, its valuable machinery had been tossed haphazardly into the workshop. Those machines were Roy's target.

"Cough, cough. That's a lot of dust."

Roy climbed into the workshop, stirring up a massive cloud of dust, then began rummaging through the chaotic piles of machinery.

"Damn, jackpot."

After rolling around in the dust for half an hour, Roy finally pulled a mechanical processing arm out of the scrap heap. It was a little dirty, but still in decent condition.

"If I take it apart, I can get plenty of good parts."

He had just stuffed the mechanical arm into his bag when shouts came from outside.

"Bee Bro, save us!"

"Sigh, looks like that's it for today."

Bee Doctor sighed helplessly and climbed back out through the window.

Following the sound, Roy discovered four or five security guards surrounding Kyle and Jack in a corner. The trapped pair were shouting desperately for help.

"Let them go. I'll take you on."

Bee Doctor descended from above and spoke domineeringly to the guards.

The lead security guard turned around. When he saw Roy's handsome yet somehow sleazy face, he gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Finally caught you, you little brat! Where do you think you're running?"

Roy had been coming to the cement factory to scavenge for a long time, and the guards had never managed to catch him. The lead guard looked as though he had encountered his mortal enemy and charged straight at Roy.

Facing the aggressive guards and seeing the two trapped children, Roy did not panic. He assumed a stance, stretched out a hand, and released a cloud of smoke that blanketed the entire open area. His smug voice rang out.

"Curtains up."

The thick smoke disoriented everyone. Amid the chaos, Roy grabbed the two children and escaped in the confusion.

Only after a long while did the smoke clear, and the guards discovered that all three of them had escaped. Roy had gotten away again, and the lead guard roared in impotent fury.

The streets of London were dyed yellow by the sunset. The enormous afternoon sun had now dwindled to half of itself above the horizon.

"It's getting late. Time to head back."

Roy strolled lazily through London's filthy streets with his two underlings. Checking the time, he saw that it was already half past five.

"Are you hurt? Let me help."

Noticing Kyle limping behind him, Roy stopped, crouched down, and rolled up Kyle's trouser leg. He found that a large patch of the side of his thin calf had been scraped raw and was oozing blood.

A wound like this was child's play for a doctor like Roy, but unfortunately, he had no medicine on hand.

"Too bad I can't bandage it, but luckily, I still have this trick."

A faint green glow appeared in Roy's hand. He then gently pressed it against Kyle's wound.

Kai only felt the pain from his injury ease. When he looked down again, the bloody wound had already begun to heal.

"Damn, Bee Bro, how did you do that?!"

Roy stood up, waved his hand, and began bragging with flair.

"This is my specially made ointment. You're lucky I'm around."

Kai and Jack both looked at Roy with worshipful eyes.

"Oh my God, Bee Bro, where did you learn to make that ointment and do that smoke-spraying thing?"

Looking at the two foolish boys practically throwing themselves at his feet, the familiar scene suddenly sent Bee Doctor's thoughts back to the past. In his previous life, at their age, he had been an idle street punk. If not for the old military doctor he had especially admired teaching him so many skills, he would never have escaped the chaos of the streets and eventually caught GTI's attention.

Now that he was living again, with so many skills at his disposal, should he enlist again?

Besides, there was something else that left Roy even more lost. This world had no country called Azshara, no Havoc, and no GTI.

Thinking of this, Roy felt somewhat confused. His life felt empty. Had dying once on the battlefield not been enough to make him sick of war? And was GTI really on the side of justice?

There were some questions he had not figured out even in death, or perhaps he had never dared to figure them out.

Looking at his own hands, Roy realized that in this life, he had gained some special powers. Without any equipment, he could release smoke and heal illnesses. He did not know where this power came from, but perhaps he could use it to change the world for the better.

"I'll teach you a few tricks later. For now, let's go home."

Patting the two on their backs, Roy led them onward toward the orphanage.

"Maybe I should start by changing the fates of the children in this orphanage."

Roy silently made up his mind.

"By the way, what good stuff did you two find?"

"Oh no, I dropped it during the chaos."

"Damn it, you idiots! Hold onto the things I tell you to carry!"

The moon had already climbed above the treetops when Roy and the other two finally returned to Wool's Orphanage.

The three went straight into the dining hall. The children were all eating there. Dinner was not particularly lavish, but at least it was enough to fill so many children's stomachs.

Despite having lived in Britain for a long time, Roy could not help making a troubled face at the sight of the mushy stewed beans on his plate.

"Honestly, British food isn't even as good as a plate of fragrant fried noodles."

After casually stirring the mushy beans with his spoon, Roy pushed his plate in front of Jack, who was eating with gusto.

"I'm not hungry. You eat mine too. I'm going upstairs first."

Roy went upstairs to the innermost room. Most of the children shared rooms in pairs, but because this room was rather small, Roy lived here alone.

Before he even pushed the door open, Roy heard voices talking inside.

"I assure you, Sister Rose, we are a very proper school. I trust you have also noticed Mr. Smee's exceptional talent. Rest assured, Roy will receive an excellent education at our school."

A vigorous elderly voice came from inside, followed by the sigh of Sister Rose, the orphanage director.

"Mr. Dumbledore, you don't understand. Roy has been clever since he was little. A child as smart as him should receive a proper education, but our orphanage may not be able to afford—"

"There is no need to worry, madam. Hogwarts will provide Roy with the necessary resources for living and studying."

Outside the door, Roy eavesdropped on the conversation, his "handsome" face filled with confusion.

What the hell? Did they discover my abilities?

Roy pushed open the door. The two people talking fell silent and turned to look at him.

Roy finally saw the visitor: a tall, white-bearded old man in robes, whose sky-blue eyes radiated wisdom through thick lenses.

"We finally meet, Mr. Smee."