The man looked about forty, with sunken eyes, a dull gaze, and a scraggly beard. His clothes were worn to tatters, and a pungent odor reached them from a considerable distance. Chen Mu had also noticed the moment he entered that his right leg was lame. He was the very picture of a man reduced to utter poverty.
Chen Mu did not look down on him in the slightest for his shabby appearance. As a child, he had been in even more miserable straits than this middle-aged man.
The fat man sighed again at the sight of him. Drawing Chen Mu aside, he said quietly, "I've known him for years. He used to be quite famous, too. I never imagined he'd fall this far." Glancing at his old friend, he could not help sighing once more, then lowered his voice. "He clings to his pride for dear life. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up like this. I wanted to help him out, but he refused. The Digital Series Cards have caused such a stir lately that he somehow heard about me and asked me to bring him to see you. He helped me a great deal in the past. If it's convenient, please lend him a hand. Whatever terms you need, just tell me."
"All right." Chen Mu nodded. The fat man stepped aside after finishing, and Chen Mu walked up to the middle-aged man.
When he noticed Chen Mu, the man's eyes lit up, and his slightly stooped back abruptly straightened. His clothes were still the same, his face was still covered in beard, and the pungent odor remained, yet in Chen Mu's eyes, he seemed an entirely different man. Inwardly surprised, Chen Mu recalled what the fat man had just said: this man had once made a name