Half an hour later, after walking along the highway, Lin Li finally reached Chenghua Avenue.
He moved into the shade of a roadside tree to escape the scorching sun.
He took his phone out of his pocket, opened a ride-hailing app, and placed an order. Then, he leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes to wait.
A moment later, a taxi appeared in the distance. The driver was a young man, only five or six years older than Lin Li.
He saw someone waving at him from under the tree and immediately pulled over.
"You the one who called for a ride?"
"That's me! Let me show you my order number."
"No need. Just get in. You're the only person I've seen on this whole stretch of road."
CLICK... THUD.
Lin Li nodded, opened the back door, and sat down.
The young driver turned the steering wheel, made a U-turn, and started heading toward the city center.
Having toiled for half a day in the treacherous wilderness, Lin Li sank into the soft seat. His already weary body was immediately overcome with drowsiness.
The driver glanced at Lin Li in the rearview mirror, his eyes focusing on the crudely wrapped gauze on the other man's left hand.
The customer was wearing camouflage clothes flecked with grass clippings and had a weary expression. Combined with the injury on his hand and the fact that he was on Chenghua Avenue, he had to be an Exotic Beast Hunter—and most likely a rookie.
'This rookie has it rough!'
The driver had given rides to plenty of Exotic Beast Hunters before. Backpacks and weapons were practically their standard equipment; they were never seen without them.
But this young Exotic Beast Hunter, a few years his junior, had nothing but the camo on his back.
'He must have been attacked by a Mutant Beast in the wild and fled for his life.'
The phrase "lost his shield and threw away his armor" instantly popped into the imaginative driver's mind.
The more the driver thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. His gaze toward Lin Li filled with sympathy.
He wanted to say something comforting, like, "It's okay if you lost your weapons and gear, as long as you made it out alive."
But the words died on his lips. He felt it wasn't his place to say something like that.
He'd heard that the weapons used by these Exotic Beast Hunters were special Spiritual Weapons for Cultivators, and even the cheapest ones cost several hundred thousand.
'Several hundred thousand! I kill myself driving this taxi all month for just six or seven thousand. It would take me years of work to afford a single Spiritual Weapon.'
This young man, a few years younger than him, had gone out to the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts. Not only had he come back empty-handed, but he had also lost his incredibly expensive Spiritual Weapon. 'Sigh... How tragic!'
The drowsy Lin Li had no idea that in the driver's eyes, he had become a pitiful, tragic figure.
Of course, even if Lin Li had known what the driver was thinking, he wouldn't have cared. Right now, all he wanted was to get home, take a hot shower, and lie down for a nap.
...
SCREECH...
The ride was smooth, and twenty minutes later, the taxi pulled up to the entrance of the Ping'an Garden District.
After paying the twenty-five-yuan fare, Lin Li got out of the taxi. As he was about to enter the district, he saw a girl eating ice cream by the roadside. He thought for a moment, pursed his lips, and walked toward the convenience store at the entrance.
He spent five yuan on a chocolate-flavored ice cream bar. Lin Li tore open the wrapper, threw it into a nearby trash can, and started eating as he walked.
With his last five yuan spent, Lin Li was now completely broke, but he wasn't the least bit worried.
He had checked the app earlier. Superfast Recycling had already logged the Wild Boar Beast and rabbit beast he'd hunted into their cold storage warehouse.
The next step was the sale. It shouldn't be long before he received a payment.
"Oh? Lin, didn't you go camping with your friends? Why are you back so early? Your hand... How did you hurt your hand?"
Just as Lin Li finished his ice cream bar and was about to enter the lobby of Building Six, Ms. Wang came walking over from a distance, on her way to throw out the trash, and happened to see him.
'Ah, of all people, I had to run into Ms. Wang,' Lin Li thought. 'From now on, I should leave the camo on the Mysterious Small Island and only change into it when I get to my destination. That should save me this kind of trouble...'
Seeing Ms. Wang looking at his injured left hand with concern, Lin Li smiled and explained, "I took a nasty fall while camping and hurt my hand, so I came back early."
"Is it serious?"
"Just a minor injury, nothing serious. It'll be fine in a few days..."
Hearing Lin Li's explanation, the worry in Ms. Wang's eyes immediately faded.
"Well, I won't keep you, Ms. Wang. I'm heading home."
"Okay."
Lin Li turned and walked into the lobby. When he went to take the elevator, he saw it was sealed off with tape.
He looked at the notice posted on the door. It said the elevator had malfunctioned, was awaiting repairs, and would be out of service for the day.
After reading the notice, Lin Li silently cursed his luck and turned toward the stairwell.
Fortunately, he lived on the sixth floor, which wasn't too high up. He reached his front door a short while later.
With a thought, he retrieved his backpack from the Mysterious Small Island, unzipped it, and took his house key from a hidden compartment.
CLICK.
He opened the door, stepped inside, and pulled it shut behind him.
"Finally back. Nothing beats being home!" Lin Li kicked off his shoes, placed them in the shoe cabinet, slipped on his house slippers, and strode into the living room.
THUMP.
He casually tossed his backpack onto the sofa, then turned and went into his bedroom. A moment later, he emerged with a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
...
The sun set in the west. Having toiled all day, it packed its things and headed home, leaving behind a brilliant crimson sunset as its final farewell.
CLICK.
The bedroom door opened, and a newly-awakened Lin Li emerged, yawning.
After his short nap, all his spent energy had returned. He felt like he was in good enough shape to go a full three hundred rounds with the Wild Boar Beast he had killed earlier.
He turned to look out the window. The sky was growing dark, and the streetlights would be turning on soon.
Lin Li sat down on the living room sofa. He felt like eating some fruit, but unfortunately, the fruit bowl was long empty.
He picked up the TV remote from the coffee table and pressed the power button, but the television didn't respond.
'No way! The TV is broken?! I just bought this thing last year!'
Lin Li was aghast. The ultra-thin, widescreen TV he had spent over six thousand yuan on was broken.
...