CHAPTER 53: WILL BE FIXED SOON

I tore it open like an excited kid unwrapping birthday presents.

With nothing else left to read, I finally closed the system window.

"Phew. Alright, let’s just put all these ridiculous quests aside for now."

I took a deep breath. "Time to focus on what I should actually do first. Should I go back to the city and resume the life the original Aiden Edwards had...or just start over somewhere far, far away?"

Just as I was about to start thinking it through, I noticed something important.

I was still standing in the middle of the dump site.

"This is definitely not the place to make life-changing decisions," I chuckled to myself.

Before I walked away, I grabbed a piece of dirty cloth from the site and carefully wrapped up all the gifts I received from Althea. I tied it tight to make sure nothing would fall out.

Then I set off, following the sound of running water I’d been hearing in the distance.

A few minutes later, I spotted a small stream winding through the forest.

For someone who was slowly dying of thirst, the clear water looked more tempting than anything I’d ever seen.

I picked up my pace, starting from jogging, then sprinting, like I had just spotted a naked woman beckoning me over.

The second I reached the bank, I dropped to my knees, shoved my face into the stream, and opened my mouth wide and started devouring the water as though I hadn’t drunk for a week.

Shortly after, I pulled my face and took a long deep breath.

"So refreshing," I muttered, feeling a little more alive.

Even though I knew drinking untreated water could give me the runs, I couldn’t resist. Some risks were worth it.

"Phew. I can definitely think better now that I’ve had a drink and cooled my head."

I sat down on the grass by the stream, savoring the rare moment of peace, and started going over my options out loud.

"If I go back to Apel City, the trip alone will take me at least ten days, that’s ten day going to waste. And if I decide to settle in some random place, it’ll be even worse. The range of jobs I’d have access to would be so limited that at that point...it might actually be better to become a bandit."

The whole process took less than five seconds before the cute box looked completely ruined, as if a wild animal had gotten to it first.

I eagerly peered inside.

"Err... what exactly are these?"

Looking up, I saw two skinny guys standing in front of a small passageway that probably could only accommodate about one to two carriages, connected to the city wall.

Through the dirty cloth draped over my head, covering half my face, I could make out their worn-out clothes and the daggers strapped to their waists.

They were standing there with their arms crossed, trying way too hard to look intimidating.

"This road was opened by me," one declared.

"This tree was planted by me," the other chimed in.

"If you want to pass here, leave your money behind."

Naturally, I knew better than to mess with guys like this. If I were still the same person back on Earth, I probably would’ve just handed over the money or tried to look for alternative routes.

In fact, right now, I even felt the urge to poke fun at their little act.

"What tree? I don’t see any tree here."

They both froze, clearly caught off guard by my response.

There were three items, well, technically dozens, but most were duplicates. In essence, there were three different kinds of items.

I curiously picked up what looked like a talisman on the left side of the box. There were exactly ten of them.

"This tree was planted by me," the other chimed in.

"If you want to pass here, leave your money behind."

While the original Aiden had only lived in the city for less than a year, thus leaving me with limited knowledge about the place. Some information stuck out clearly in my mind, such as the details of Five Rings, the Sadis Gang, and a man known as "Rat" Peter.

They were dangerous, and maybe that’s why Aiden paid extra attention to them.

For example, the Five Rings was the name of a criminal organization that had just come into existence several years ago. It was formed through an alliance between five already well-known and powerful gangs, one of them being the Sadis Gang.

Each of the five founding gangs had its own specialty.

In the case of the Sadis Gang, it was information. They were experts at digging up secrets.

In a way, they operated like private investigators or information brokers. You could practically hire them to dig up anything. But unlike professionals, they had no sense of ethics. They had no bottom line and weren’t scared to cross the boundary without hesitation.

If they needed to, they’d break into someone’s home, kill the occupants, and wait inside just to eavesdrop on a target living next door. As long as it helped them get what they wanted, they didn’t care who got caught in the crossfire.

Their infamous motto was:

"There’s no such thing as a forever secret—only cowards who don’t dare to uncover it."

Naturally, as the gang’s reputation grew, so did the notoriety of its top members.

Within the Sadis Gang, no name was more well-known than "Rat" Peter. It was rumored he served as the left hand of Alduin Sadis himself, the gang’s leader.

And now that very dangerous man had shown up at my house?

What could possibly be the meaning of this?

His involvement suggested the original Aiden’s death wasn’t simple at all!

At first, I thought the original Aiden had simply gotten on the wrong side of some small gang. That alone would’ve been bad enough.

But if one of the Five Rings was behind everything, this whole matter might run deeper and complicated than I ever imagined.

’What would they gain from killing the original Aiden? And what were they searching for in his house?’

"It was nighttime, so I couldn’t see clearly. But I saw "Rat" Peter standing outside your house with a few of his men. I could hear stuff breaking inside. Then someone came out and whispered something to Peter, and he went in himself. After that, I didn’t stick around. I was afraid they’d spot me." Richie said.

Naturally, I knew better than to mess with guys like this. If I were still the same person back on Earth, I probably would’ve just handed over the money or tried to look for alternative routes.

But maybe it was because I had already died once. Inherited Aiden’s memories, that was filled with bloody, adult-rated scenes, really far from anything peaceful. Met a goddess-like being and even conversed with her. Compared to those, meeting a few street thugs just didn’t seem frightening anymore.

In fact, right now, I even felt the urge to poke fun at their little act.

"What tree? I don’t see any tree here."

They both froze, clearly caught off guard by my response.

For a moment, neither said anything, looking speechless. Finally, one of them snapped out of it and yelled, "You fucker! That’s not the point you should be concerned about! If you want to pass through us, you have to pay!"

"But you just said you planted a tree, and I don’t see one. And you claimed you built this road, but everyone knows it’s been here for more than twenty-five years. Judging by how you two look, you can’t be older than thirty. Are you telling me you were laying down roads when you were just less than ten?"

I paused, then put a hand over my chest and bowed my head solemnly.

"If that’s true, I must say...I pity you. My condolences."

The two froze again, but this time they snapped out of it faster. Their faces turned bright red, like they were about to explode from rage.

Grinding his teeth, one of them drew his dagger and charged straight at me.

"You’re courting death!"

"Damn, this guy can’t take a joke," I grumbled quietly.

In just a few seconds, he had closed the distance. His arm lashed out like a snake, aiming the blade straight at my chest.

At first, I had no idea what to do. Back on Earth, I had almost zero street-fighting experience; hell, I had never even thrown a proper punch at someone.

Yet, just as the dagger was about to reach me, my body moved on its own, almost purely on instinct. I twisted sharply to the left, and the blade missed me by a hair.

Still processing my own reflex, I looked up to find the hatchet man glaring at me like I had just insulted his mother.

"You dare to dodge?!" the thug roared.

Unlike a normal talisman with a complex inscription or writing, this one simply had a drawing of an eye without eyelids.

[Inspection Talisman]

[Function: Allows the user to see a target’s personal information, such as name, stats, race, and age. It can also reveal weaknesses or hidden conditions and illnesses.]

[Usage: Aim the talisman at your target. It can be used from a distance. Speak your chosen Incantation to activate it.]

[Note: