Eat First

Li Changan woke up from his dream, and the punch that hit his chest seemed to appear before his eyes once again.

He sat up in bed, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. The night outside the window was like a black veil covering his vision, hazy but still revealing the starlight.

It was relatively quiet outside, with the distant drunkards' roaring in the night and faint sounds of family quarrels.

Li Changan could also hear the soft breathing of his mother and younger sister from the adjacent rooms. He quietly left the house and hailed an unmanned taxi downstairs.

Thirty years had passed since the apocalypse, and the social landscape had changed drastically. Unmanned taxis were everywhere.

There were also designated aerial roads for flying cars.

Of course, none of this meant anything to Li Changan. He couldn't fly, nor could he afford it.

With a little money in his hand, he couldn't change much about the environment at home. Besides, he had something he had to get his hands on, so he didn't tell his family.

Li Changan firmly believed that having supernatural abilities would change his fate. He had suffered enough as someone without abilities, and this society was not friendly to the weak.

Even though many people didn't consider him weak, there were plenty of people stronger than him who died at his hands. From the perspective of someone without abilities like him, anyone should be stronger than him.

In reality, the majority of superhumans were still flesh and blood. If their heads were smashed or their hearts pierced, they would die just like anyone else. In matters of life and death, things were occasionally fair.

The car stopped by the roadside outside the black market, and Li Changan got out and entered a nearby residential building. The inside of the hallway was dim, showing signs of age.

He knocked on the door at the end, and the door opened automatically.

"You again?" A middle-aged man in a white coat walked out from the corner of the room.

After glancing at Li Changan, the man snuffed out the cigarette in his mouth and casually put a toothpick in, furrowing his brow in displeasure. "Did you go to Wuxuan?"

Li Changan nodded without wasting words. He took off his shirt, revealing a scarred upper body. And on his chest was a terrifying mass of flesh, as if something had pierced through and left a fresh scar.

"Tsk tsk, impressive. The trial ended in the evening, right? With injuries like these, you dared to endure until nighttime before coming to me? If you don't want to live, why didn't you die in the Trials Facility?"

The man furrowed his brow, clearly displeased, but gestured with his finger towards a rudimentary operating table behind him, indicating for Li Changan to lie down.

Once Li Changan was lying down, the man approached with a medical kit in hand.

As he worked on Li Changan's wound, disregarding Li Changan's gritted teeth and pain, the man said, "Isn't this enough? Including this time, you've been through seven trials already. Do you really intend to go through all nine trials? Gambling once is risking your life, but gambling nine times is seeking death."

Li Changan gritted his teeth and remained silent. Without the assistance of the man's supernatural ability, this excruciating pain of surgery without anesthesia would have made Li Changan faint.

The two had known each other for over a decade, but Li Changan only addressed the man as Brother Lin and never inquired about Brother Lin's supernatural ability or ability level.

According to the classification of the Empire, there are five levels: S, A, C, D. He speculated that Brother Lin belongs to the A-level esper. A-level espers not only have human rights but also enjoy privileges.

Setting up a shabby clinic in the black market doesn't seem to fit his A-level status.

Brother Lin never inquired about Li Changan's esper ability and level. On the contrary, Li Changan, in order to conceal his true abilities, pretended to be a D-level "Power Enhancement" esper.

After a moment, the wound on his chest was bandaged. Based on past experience, it would take about two days for it to fully heal.

The physical fitness of the general public is far superior to that before the doomsday, but his self-healing ability is indeed much better than that of an ordinary person.

"I'll pay you the medical fee in a few days. I have to rush for the next trial, and I'm worried I won't have enough money," said Li Changan, putting on his clothes and planning to slip away before Brother Lin got angry.

"Why are you running? Did I say you have to pay me? Can't I just give you a free treatment since I'm in a good mood?" Brother Lin packed up his things, spat out the toothpick unkindly.

"Next time? How many next times do you have in life? The next time you go might be your last," he said.

Surprised, Li Changan didn't pretend or act. Since there was no need to leave in a hurry, he didn't rush to go. Taking advantage of Brother Lin's good mood, he could stay and have a cup of tea.

As if seeing through Li Changan's little thoughts, Brother Lin poured two cups of tea on the table, handed one to Li Changan, and then sat on the sofa, his gaze distant.

After a while, Brother Lin said as if talking to himself, "How did it feel this time?"

"Not very good," Li Changan shook his head while picking up the tea. "This time there were more strong contenders. There was even an S-level powerhouse who chased me for over a month.

After fighting for more than a month, I finally tried to counterattack, but I failed. I almost died in the trial."

"Yet you still want to continue?" Brother Lin rolled his eyes, showing more concern than blame.

Li Changan took a deep breath and said seriously, "Brother Lin, in this city, there are tens of millions of people, but how many are strong and how many are weak?"

By weak, he meant not just low-level espers. Espers can be divided into two major categories, one of which includes the four levels mentioned earlier, and the other is the producers.

Producers are not classified because it's unnecessary. Their esper abilities are too weak. If a D-level esper is compared to a furnace, then producers can only be likened to matches.

The bottom layer of the world is occupied by producers. Their esper abilities are limited to lighting cigarettes and performing physical labor.

Li Changan's mother is a producer, and he remembers the hardships she endured. Therefore, he hopes to have a powerful esper ability himself.

Producers are considered insignificant, let alone someone like him who doesn't possess any esper abilities. The best outcome for him would be to be studied in a laboratory.

Brother Lin frowned and said, "Producers make up more than half, there are less than five thousand S-level espers, around a hundred thousand A-level espers, and millions of C and D-level espers."

After carefully considering his words, Li Changan continued, "My potential is limited, and unless something unexpected happens, I'm afraid I'll forever be a D-level esper."

"If there were any other way to change my talents, I wouldn't choose this most dangerous path. As a weakling, if I don't even dare to fight, I might as well die early."

"Don't talk about death all the time!" Brother Lin exclaimed, giving Li Changan a pat on the head.

Li Changan didn't get upset. He grinned. This world treated him poorly, but fortunately, there were some people who treated him well. He could distinguish between good and bad.

"It doesn't really matter. We're all made of flesh. And even though I don't engage in direct confrontations with them, I'm quite skilled at sneak attacks," Li Changan responded solemnly.

Brother Lin didn't say anything. He was well aware of Li Changan's combat abilities.

If a person practices day after day for ten years, integrating killing skills into their daily life, then as long as this person gets close to someone, it's basically a death sentence.

Li Changan was that person. To others, he appeared focused, but without any special abilities, these skills were his only means of survival.

Because he lacked special abilities, he couldn't intuitively determine his own strength level. As long as the opponent didn't have time to react, anyone could be killed.

Brother Lin lit a cigarette for himself. "If you're fine, then get lost. Don't expect me to treat your injuries next time."

"Alright, you're the boss! Can I leave now?" Li Changan stood up, pushed open the door, and just before stepping out, he suddenly turned around with a bright smile.

"Brother Lin, thanks!"

"Get lost!"

As he turned and closed the door, Li Changan's smile faded away. Even though Brother Lin was one of his only two friends, he couldn't reveal the secret of his lack of abilities.

This secret had weighed on his mind for over ten years. Every day, he endured the torment, and only gaining special abilities could bring him relief.

Starting as a powerless nobody, he struggled through countless near-death experiences and arrived at where he was now, where killing was as ordinary as eating and drinking.

In his eyes, any person with special abilities was stronger than him. So when he sensed their malicious intent, he was accustomed to striking first. After all, if he waited for the opponent to use their abilities, he might not have a chance.

His body was covered in scars, his badges of honor.

Those who knew Li Changan well understood that beneath his cautious exterior was a crazy soul.

"The eighth trial," he sighed helplessly, shaking his head, and left the building.

Before doing anything, he needed to have a full meal.