novellhall Chapter 45 The Debt Collector Arrives
Chapter 45 The Debt Collector Arrives
At the intersection in Linjiang city, Lu Ren looked around.
This was the first time he had seriously observed the appearance and atmosphere of this world.
Some things are completely unrelated to the previous life, while many things are highly similar to the previous life.
The world underwent a major change in 1688. That year, the Qing government had only lasted for half a century, the Glorious Revolution in England ushered in a constitutional monarchy, the Americas across the ocean were still in the early stages of colonization, Newton had just published "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy," and Leeuwenhoek had only discovered the cell a few years earlier.
At this moment, the various civilizations are exhibiting profound transformative tensions, a moment akin to the birth of the modern world. However, at this very moment, a rift in the void appears, and void beasts emerge, adding a bomb to this simmering pot of soup.
Subsequently, it blasted the original trajectory of this world in a completely different direction from its previous life.
Humans were initially in despair. Although it was difficult for Void Beasts of Gold rank and above to pass through the rift at first, even the Void Beasts of Bronze and Silver rank were like demons that could be easily defeated by humans in the age of cold weapons.
The Swamp Mud Monster, a bronze-level Void Beast, is something that passersby cannot imagine how humans could possibly fight against with weapons like swords, spears, halberds, or flintlock pistols.
A dozen or so swamp monsters can slaughter the people of an entire city.
That was a century-long history of disasters that affected the entire world. When a large number of powerful professionals emerged among humans, a balance was reached between humans and the virtual beasts, and the world order was greatly affected.
The Great Yu Dynasty successfully defended this land and recovered some of the historically controlled territories.
In Asia, the Yu Kingdom was the undisputed leader, with neighboring countries taking it as their head, and their ties were closer than at any time in history.
After paying a heavy price, the Western world finally established the United States of Europe, a federation led by the Vatican, with the Pope as its spiritual leader and composed of traditional powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Spain.
Far across the ocean, the sudden arrival of the Void Beasts interrupted the colonial wave, and the North American continent reverted to the pre-colonial era. Scattered Native American tribes, European survivor settlements, and the Void Beasts shared this land, forming a primitive, tribal social structure.
Then in the 18th century, the revitalized Dayu and the United States of Europe came here to explore and colonize again. After hundreds of years of changes, perhaps due to the inertia of fate, this place followed a similar path to North America in its previous life.
Finally, the "New World Federation" was formed by the early colonists who remained, the exiles during the recolonization period, and the tenacious Native American tribes.
The current world order consists of three poles: Dayu, Europa, and the New World Federation. After abolishing the imperial system in the last ten years or so, Dayu has a subtle sense of dominating the other two poles.
So when Lu Ren first learned that Shen Yaoxing was the eldest daughter of the Shen family, he would still call her princess. As the eldest daughter of the Shen family in Linjiang, her status was even more noble than that of many royal princesses in Europe.
The threat of the Void Beasts has now been minimized, and Lu Ren suspects that with a few more decades of technological development, electromagnetic kinetic energy weapons, hypersonic vehicles, and intelligent war machines will emerge.
By then, even without professionals, ordinary people will be able to deal with Void Beasts of Gold rank and below using only scientific weapons.
However, for those virtual beasts above the Gold level, those comparable to Star Cocoon Realm or even Frost Moon Realm professionals... perhaps the technology in science fiction works is feasible, but even if these science fiction weapons could actually be realized, it would be a very distant future.
It is now 2078. Earth has just entered the deepening of the intelligent era. Some people have just started using 3G touch screen phones, while others are still using Nokia phones.
The virtual beasts in the two virtual realms along the river, the Earth Forest Realm and the Tidal Flat Realm, are very weak and not very suitable for high-level professionals to develop.
But it is precisely because the Linjiang Void Realm is weak that this place is safe and stable enough, which is why it has become the commercial and cultural center of Dayu.
Dayu leads the global economy and culture, while Linjiang is equivalent to the former Shanghai. In some ways, it is no exaggeration to say that Linjiang is the center of the world.
Walking through the bustling area of Linjiang City, Lu Ren's assessment was that the buildings were very tall, the roads were very wide, there were many people, and the cars were very flashy. It was more prosperous than Shanghai in his previous life, and probably comparable to Tokyo in the late 80s.
Lu Ren followed Lin Huanghu and the other two, sightseeing along the way. He felt a mix of emotions from time to time, and there were a few moments when he actually felt very lonely.
Many things that Lu Ren was familiar with are now gone.
"Why do you look so sentimental?"
Lu Ren sighed, "To be honest, I've never really felt the reality of time travel, but standing here on this riverside street now, I realize that I've really traveled to another world."
Seeing something exactly the same wouldn't evoke this feeling, nor would seeing something completely different, but seeing this ambiguous world made Lu Ren realize something was wrong.
It turns out I really can't go back.
"Is that so?"
Jiang Yueying asked, "Is this world very different from your world where there are no Void Beasts?"
Lu Ren would occasionally tell her about games and anime from another world, and sometimes he would utter words she couldn't understand. She couldn't tell if he was making them up or not.
"Some things have changed very little, while others have changed a lot."
"For example, how about..."
"For example, people in my area don't use the sidewalks."
"No, if not the sidewalk, where should we go?"
"We're walking on the road."
"Huh? The road? Isn't it dangerous with so many cars?"
Lu Ren remained silent, only sighing repeatedly.
There are many fun shops here, and the streets are full of young people; it's a vibrant era.
By the way, now that he has money, why doesn't he just rent a place nearby?
The urban villages are quite chaotic. They live in that area, which is the most chaotic place. It's not wrong to call it a slum. The security is not good.
It's inconvenient and unsafe for a pretty and lovely girl like Lu Youhe to travel between the city and the urban village every day.
As for buying a house, he is currently facing some difficulties.
Although he had become a professional, the housing prices in downtown Linjiang were not something a professional who had just broken through to the Candle Illumination Realm could afford to gamble on; only a powerhouse at the Burning Flame Realm could challenge them.
Or is it not in the city center?
Even in a slightly remote area, with a few years of hard work, there's still a good chance of success!
Lu Ren suddenly felt a little more confident.
Lu Ren took a taxi back to the urban village to pick up Lu Youhe, as they were going out for a big dinner that evening.
He had told Lu Youhe last time that he would go home today to celebrate her birthday, so Lu Youhe should have gotten off work early.
The roads inside the urban village were too narrow and the place was very chaotic, so the driver was unwilling to drive in, and Lu Ren got off at the village entrance.
Returning from the city center to the urban village inevitably evokes a sense of being in another world.
A month ago, I was an unemployed homeless person sleeping on the streets, but now I'm a high-class professional.
In front of the mahjong parlor, several local thugs were taken aback when they saw him.
"Lu Ren?! You're not dead?"
Lu Ren recognized these guys; they were all bad boys he used to associate with, none of them good. Looking at them, he couldn't help but laugh.
Although he wasn't a good person, when Lu Ren was down on his luck, he survived by borrowing a bed from one house and eating a meal from another.
In the end, he became too shameless, and his group of cronies couldn't stand it anymore and kicked him out.
"I've only been gone a few days and people are already saying I'm dead? I'm a professional now!"
"A professional, sir? You?!"
"Where did Lu Ren go? I haven't seen you for a month. I thought you'd finally been killed by the debt collectors!"
"Lu Ren, you're still alive? Where the hell have you been this month?"
When the group saw that he was still alive, they laughed heartily, though they didn't say anything nice.
He swaggered over, grabbed the pistol, snatched a cigarette, pushed aside the blond guy, stuck out his butt, pushed the pistol, and fired a shot into the hole—the whole operation was smooth and effortless.
Lu Ren, somewhat smug, said, "What debt collection? I paid it all back long ago."
"Pay it back? Your dad owes over 30 yuan, and you're going to pay it back with your ass?"
"30 million?"
Lu Ren was taken aback. "Wasn't it 20?"
"Didn't you see the new banner over the big banyan tree? It says your family owes 30 yuan."
"Bullshit! That's my sister's and my family's house. When did it become Lu Chusheng's family's house?"
Lu Chusheng, that's the name of their beastly father. This name... I can only say that their grandparents really had foresight.
"Your dad doesn't even have a place to live, so where else could the casino look? They found you and Youhe."
Lu Ren's face darkened slightly. According to the previous situation, it would be impossible for Lu Chusheng to borrow money again, but Lu Ren had cleared all his debts a month ago, and that old bastard was gambling again outside.
Damn it, I should have dealt with that old bastard before I left.
Actually, I wasn't always so reckless. The reason I abandoned Lu Youhe in the first place was because those casino people would come after me.
He wanted to cut ties with this sister and hoped that these people would only contact him.
Those people who couldn't get their money from Lu Chusheng would come to him. He had been blocked and beaten several times before. A casino that could lend money in a place like Linjiang where land is so valuable must have a powerful background. They wouldn't listen to any laws.
The day I transmigrated was actually the day I got beaten up.
He was just a young boy, and he couldn't earn much money by stealing and swindling. So those people used words of coercion and enticement to imply that Lu Youhe was pretty and would be a little beauty even before she grew up.
Those people's intentions were quite clear. He was terrified at the time, so he had no choice but to steal a thousand yuan from Lu Youhe to cover his expenses.
I was so naive. I thought that if I paid back the money, I could live a normal life with my sister. This can't go on like this if we don't deal with Lu Chusheng, the root of the problem.
"By the way, Lu Ren."
The blond-haired man picked up another pole and said:
"There were a bunch of black cars parked downstairs at your place. We told her not to go back until we saw Youhe, but we haven't seen her come back yet."
"Holy shit!"
He had told Lu Youhe that he was coming back today, so Lu Youhe left work early!
Lu Ren cursed and turned to run home. With a physique of 39, he ran with the speed of a cannonball, disappearing in no time, leaving a group of dumbfounded delinquents behind.
"Holy crap, what happened to Lu Ren? Did he really awaken as a professional?"
"Holy crap, you beast! This is fucking monstrosity..."
Why was he running in such a hurry?
"Let's go, let's go take a look."
Lu Ren ran all the way, and when he got to his doorstep, he saw a black minivan parked downstairs at his rented apartment. His heart pounded.
Instead of going down the stairs, he jumped up six or seven meters high, grabbed the railing on the third floor, and flipped himself up.
"Yuhe—"
He had prepared for the worst, hardened the back of his hand, and then punched the door lock until it shattered.
"boom--"
He pushed the door open and entered, but what he saw left him somewhat bewildered.