The only window was a long, flat slit at the very top of the wall, level with the ground outside. Through it, you could see the ankles of passersby and the occasional scurrying rat.
The room itself was long and narrow, like a tube. Aside from a separate bathroom, the living room, bedroom, and dining area were all in a single space, partitioned only by a few of the cheapest blackout curtains.
"I partitioned off a 'little room' for you, too," Don Quixote said, pointing proudly at a filthy mattress he had obviously scavenged from somewhere. "What do you think? I even got you a mattress."
Even the most optimistic person would have sighed at being reduced to such a state.
Li Wei said nothing, pushing his suitcase into his 'room'.
"If you need to jerk off, do it in the bathroom. Otherwise, I'll be able to smell it," Don Quixote said, glancing at his phone with its cracked screen. "I have to go wash dishes at the restaurant in half an hour. Come on out, let's talk about what you're going to do next."
Li Wei pushed the curtain aside and came out, carefully sitting on a dilapidated sofa with peeling upholstery.
He felt something hard digging into him from underneath. Reaching into the crevice of the sofa, he pulled out a book—'A novel about knights?'
"Oh, that's mine," Don Quixote said, taking the novel from him. "It's one of the few things I brought from home. I've dreamed of being a Knight ever since I was a kid... I even have a suit of armor I bought in my corner of the room."
"I know you want to start earning money right away," Don Quixote said, putting the book back. He cleared his throat and adopted a serious tone. "But you can't. Not until you're eighteen, at least. Until then, you can only work part-time. The minimum wage is 15.50 US Dollars an hour."
"But I won't be eighteen for another year," Li Wei said with a frown. "What am I supposed to do until then?"
"You're going to school," Don Quixote said, pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and carefully extracting a single one. "Even if it's the worst high school, you have to go until you graduate. If you'd snuck in illegally, that would be one thing. But you came here legally on a B-2 visa, so you can't work under the table. The law in New York is that if you want to stay, you have to switch to an F-1 student visa and then wait two years. Only then can I, as your legal guardian, sponsor you for a green card."
"Too many people have tried to use a student visa as a cover to work illegally. The ones who came before you have already blocked that path," he said, a hint of gloating in his voice. "No matter how desperate you are, you have to wait two years for that green card."
Li Wei hadn't expected it to be so complicated. He thought it would be like on TV or what he'd read online—that as long as you were in the United States of America, you could make several thousand USD a month, even just waiting tables.
"Now that you're out of the country, you don't have to worry about your debts back home for a while," Don Quixote said, lighting up his cigarette with no regard for smoking in front of a minor. "As your uncle, I'm going to give you some advice. If I were you, the things I'd be worried about are school, and what kind of life you want to have."
"School?" Li Wei repeated. "What, are there school shootings in New York high schools every day?"
"Shootings? Oh, that's part of it, I guess, though the death rate is relatively low," Don Quixote mumbled. "I'm talking about that pretty face of yours."
"If I were you, I'd spend the next month working out," he said, returning to his corner and emerging in a different set of clothes. "Or maybe carry a small knife. You've got that pretty, mixed-race face, you're an outsider, and you're not exactly built. I think you know what I'm saying... I'm off. You're on your own for dinner. If I'm not back by 3 AM, I'm probably dead somewhere. Remember to call the cops for me."
As Don Quixote grabbed a set of keys and left, Li Wei let out a long sigh and gazed out the dim window.
Evening was falling. Upstairs, people were already arguing loudly in a language he couldn't understand, their voices punctuated by the THUMP THUMP THUMP of pacing feet.
But none of it could overcome Li Wei's exhaustion. The fatigue from the jet lag, the long journey, and the sheer shock of his new reality washed over him all at once. Without a second thought, he fell asleep fully clothed.
Luckily, it was August in New York. The basement was damp and chilly, but not so cold as to keep him from sleeping.
In the haze between waking and sleeping, a voice echoed in his mind:
[Welcome to the Middle Ages, Adventurer Li Wei.]
[Middle Ages Adventurer System has finished loading.]
[This is a world of both crisis and opportunity. Good luck.]
Li Wei paid it no mind, however, and sank deeper into sleep.
Drifting in a state between dream and reality, he heard a sound. RUSTLE... RUSTLE...
At first, he thought it was a rat. But the noise grew louder, accompanied by a metallic CLANGING and CLATTERING that made it impossible for him to sleep.
He opened his eyes and pushed the curtain aside to see:
Crooked beams of light from a streetlamp stabbed through the long, narrow window, illuminating the silhouette of a man putting on a suit of armor.
"Uncle Don Quixote?" Li Wei asked, still groggy. "What are you doing? It's only... oh, 3:30 in the morning?"
"Who's there!" Don Quixote's eyes, still squeezed shut, turned toward him. "Who speaks!"
"It's me," Li Wei said. By the dim light, he could see that Don Quixote seemed to be sleepwalking. "I'm your nephew, Li Wei."
"Nephew?" Don Quixote exclaimed, as if a great realization had just dawned on him. "I know!"
Despite his eyes being shut, he clapped a hand accurately onto Li Wei's shoulder. "You must be my Attendant, Li Wei."
He pointed to the boots at his feet. "Attendant Li Wei, help me put on my boots!"
Li Wei didn't make any sudden moves. He stood still and watched Don Quixote for a moment, who then proceeded to put on the boots himself.
Then, Don Quixote shoved open the basement door.
"Where are you going?" Li Wei had no choice but to throw on a shirt and follow him. "What are we doing?"
Knight Don Quixote snorted, his voice full and strong. "Have you forgotten? This Knight has been commissioned by the village chief to clear out the goblins harassing the village!"
And at that very moment, the voice echoed in Li Wei's mind again:
[Hero Li Wei, you have encountered Knight Don Quixote Cervantes.]
[Quest Received: Assist the Knight in clearing out the goblins.]
[Reward: System Panel unlocked, +0.1 Attribute Points, 1x Random Skill.]
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