Era of Mist

HAAAH—Shi Tiexin opened his eyes, the last vestiges of memory still echoing in his mind. Completing a stage of the Mandate Mission yesterday had accelerated their release. Combined with the historical records he’d researched and watched last night, he now had a basic grasp of his identity and circumstances in this world line.

He was twenty-one years old, a gang member trying his luck in Japan. His gang was called "Daxing." The name was tacky, but its power wasn’t insignificant—on Tokyo’s turf, it was considered near-first-rate. The gang had ranks like Big Dragon Head, Squad Leader, Hall Master, and Incense Master. The Big Dragon Head never showed his face in Japan.

He’d gathered a group of followers and formed a Biker Gang. Everyone called him "Big Bro," but in reality, he held no official rank. Strictly speaking, he was just a grunt.

However, among all the grunts, he was the one with the best shot at getting ahead—the one most likely to become an Incense Master.

’Heh, the big fish in a small pond of minions? At best, I’m just an Elite Monster. Nothing to write home about.’

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but feel perplexed, perplexed by the choices his other self had made in this timeline. ’What’s so great about being a gangster? Isn’t it better to just study hard? It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even have anyone to carry me and help me rank up...’

Then again, to say there were no benefits at all would be dishonest.

Hmm, to be fair, there were actually quite a few.

For starters, just take this apartment. ’I’ve never lived in a place this nice.’ When he followed his instincts back here last night, he almost couldn’t believe it. Only after he pulled out his key and opened the door did he finally accept that this place was really his.

It wasn’t that it was particularly luxurious or anything—not some super-mansion from a TV show, just a unit in a perfectly ordinary apartment building. But this apartment had one very big feature, and that was, in a single word—BIG!

Extremely big!

How big, you ask?

Big enough to have separate rooms!

’Ward Heaven, it has its own kitchen~! And its own bedroom~! And its own living room~! And its own bathroom~~! Whoa, look over here, look over here, there’s also a... a... what do you call this thing? A balcony, right? Yeah, that must be it, a balcony.’

’My apartment actually has a bal~co~ny!’

’Who would even believe me if I told them!’

’Out of the several thousand people at the Orphanage, has anyone ever seen a home with so many doors? All you students in the trash class at Fengming First Middle School, did any of your dorms have a water heater? Do you have any idea, when I turned on the shower last night and found out it had hot water twenty-four-seven, I was so moved I almost cried!’

—Don’t blame this Old Tie for exaggerating. It’s really, truly, absolutely the case that I’ve never lived in a house this good.

Sinking into the sofa, the soft cushions gave way beneath him, enveloping his entire body in softness. The feeling was simply sublime. The motorcycle from yesterday was great, of course, but Shi Tiexin himself didn’t actually know much about bikes, so he didn’t quite grasp just how valuable the Black Venerable truly was.

But when it came to the everyday necessities—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—it was obvious: a boss was truly a boss. There were definitely perks to choosing this gangster life after all.

Shi Tiexin was overwhelmed with emotion. He felt that aside from the ceilings being so low he could almost touch them with his head, the apartment was absolutely perfect. The soft sofa beneath him was practically the physical manifestation of his life’s dreams.

But he soon discovered he was still being naive. The perks of being the boss were far, far greater than he had imagined.

Boss Shi’s day of luxury began with opening the wardrobe.

SWISH. The wardrobe doors slid open, revealing an interior packed with clothes. The sheer quantity wasn’t the crucial part. The crucial part was that one of the items was actually displaying attributes in his Vision System!

[Handmade Motorcycle Protective Suit, Quality: Fine]

[Provides 3-5 points of protection to joints and internal organs.]

[Attribute: Sturdy and Wear-Resistant. This protective suit is meticulously crafted from high-quality materials. It is durable, wear-resistant, and not easily damaged. Provides an additional 1 point of protection.]

Shi Tiexin took out the suit. It was a set of motorcycle gear that looked incredibly professional. He lifted it. Whoa, it had some real heft. Tapping and feeling the surface, he thought, ’Yep, it’s definitely sturdy. That protection value is no joke.’

’If armor hadn’t been forbidden during the minor county trials, and if He Chong had been wearing a suit like this, my body slam probably wouldn’t have worked in one go.’

Shi Tiexin looked at the protective suit and nodded to himself. ’This is how it’s done. When you ride a motorcycle, you should be fully kitted out, from gloves to helmet. Otherwise, one bad slide could put you in a wheelchair for life. When I get the chance, I’ll get these for my boys. I’ll force them to wear it. No gear, no hitting the road.’

However, the protective suit wasn’t the only item in the wardrobe that had attributes.

"Are these... headphones?"

That’s right, a pair of headphones. They weren’t very large, and nothing about them seemed particularly special on the surface, but the Vision System saw their true worth.

[High-Fidelity Headphones, Quality: Legendary]

That was it.

Just that single line, and nothing more. There was no functional description, no explanation of attributes.

Shi Tiexin fiddled with them for a while, figuring it was probably for the same reason his system didn’t react to the lectures from the teachers at Fengming First Middle School. He’d never encountered headphones like this before and had no concept of what they could do. That was likely why the Vision System only gave a rough quality rating and nothing else.

’Whatever. It’s a Legendary-quality item, anyway. I’ll just try them on later and find out, won’t I?’

Shi Tiexin finished getting dressed. This time, he didn’t put on his all-black leather getup. Instead, he chose a more casual, less aggressive-looking athletic outfit. Once he was ready, he clipped a box to his waist. It looked like a small, grayish, unremarkable brick, but it turned out to be a Fine-quality music player.

He connected the headphones, put them on, and pressed play—HO~~~LY~~~SHIT~~~~!!

Dynamic music exploded from the headphones. He couldn’t tell if it was the equipment or the magic of the song, but Shi Tiexin felt he could barely control his limbs; he wanted to start dancing to the pounding beat!

As the music filled his ears, Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. His self from this world line really knew how to live. ’Legendary-quality headphones really live up to the name.’ He decided then and there that as long as nothing special was going on, he would wear them everywhere.

And so, amidst the thumping music, the day in the life of a Biker Gang boss officially began.

Following his body’s instincts and the fragmented memories that had already surfaced, Shi Tiexin began a day of settling into his new identity. And the very first thing he encountered—breakfast—left him stunned.

It was just a small restaurant downstairs from his apartment building, yet the breakfast they served actually had attributes! What’s more, a single meal gave him six wisps of primordial essence—a whole six wisps!

So, how much did a meal like this cost?

Eighty-five Dragon Coins.

The Dragon Coin was the currency of the Eastern Realm, with purchasing power equivalent to the US Dollar.

By now, the Japanese yen had completely collapsed, becoming little more than waste paper. Even citizens of Japan no longer used yen to settle accounts; the island nation’s financial system had been completely taken over by the Dragon Coin and the US Dollar. Economically, the Eastern Realm and its Western counterpart now dominated Japan.