Edward stepped out of the relic storage room looking pale and drained. His hand pressed against his stomach, tight with hunger. Even after downing four bottles of potion to ease his headache earlier, the gnawing emptiness in his gut hadn't faded at all. Outside, the rain had finally stopped.
"I need to go out, Fay."
"Where do you wish to go, sir?"
"To find food."
"I will accompany you, sir."
"Alright."
Edward entered his room to look for his wallet. He also grabbed several bills he had hidden in a concealed compartment of the wardrobe—money reserved specifically to pay off his delivery debts.
"What paper is that, sir?"
"This is called money, Fay. In this world, paper like this is more valuable than coins."
"Does your world not have gold?"
Edward let out a small laugh.
"We do, but we don't use it for transactions. This paper is enough."
Fay didn't ask further. Meanwhile, Edward was checking his phone.
"No battery…" he muttered. He quickly searched for a charger cable and plugged it in.
As soon as his phone began charging—
"Let's go, Fay."
"Yes, sir."
Without wasting a moment, Edward stepped out of the house. He shut the door firmly before leaving.
The air outside was cold. Evening was approaching its end. Sirens, helicopters, and various vehicles echoed in the distance, overlapping each other. The earlier incident had occurred at the back of his apartment building.
Edward walked between narrow gaps formed by abandoned buildings and piles of collapsed rubble. Many of the paths he used to take were now ruined and blocked by wrecked vehicles.
"Where have the people here gone, sir?"
Edward observed the surroundings.
"I don't know, Fay. I haven't gone outside for years myself."
"This place looks like a dead city."
"There aren't even signs that this place was attacked. Most of the buildings are intact. The destroyed roads might be from tremors."
"You're right, sir. There are no signs of an attack at all. But… are all the Monsters that invaded your world that large?"
Edward smirked.
"Sorry, Fay. I don't even know what's happening out here."
His steps came to an abrupt halt when a group of uniformed men armed with rifles appeared and began walking toward him.
"Who are they, sir?"
"Soldiers." Edward continued walking without any hint of fear.
"Stop!" one of the soldiers ordered. Edward obeyed.
"Where are you going?"
"To buy food," Edward replied calmly.
"Where do you live?"
Edward pointed behind him.
"An apartment near the river."
The soldier looked him up and down with a firm, assessing expression. At that moment, another soldier approached.
"All residents in this area have been evacuated. Why are you still here?"
"Because they had somewhere to go… and I don't. If I follow them, where exactly am I supposed to go?"
Both soldiers fell silent, glancing at each other.
"Earlier this afternoon, the city area was attacked by a Monster. Did you hear about it?"
"Yes, I heard. It happened near the back of my apartment."
"Did you see a tall man wielding a spear?"
Edward paused for a moment, pretending to think.
"I only heard a voice… but I didn't see the person."
"Alright, that's all. Be careful on the road."
"Yes, thank you."
**
All the soldiers from earlier walked away. Edward let out a slow breath before continuing on.
"Why were they looking for you, sir? Aren't you the one who defeated that Monster?"
"Let them search until they drop dead," Edward replied with a lazy grin.
"Since I arrived in your world, your ability assessment system is no longer the same as in Valdora," Fay said as he activated a holographic display beside Edward's head.
"Of course it isn't the same. Here, I'm just an ordinary human, Fay," Edward said, continuing forward without even glancing at the display.
"Your current level is… zero."
Edward gave it a sideways glance.
"That zero is pretty obvious."
"Strength, defense, HP, stamina, skills… everything is zero. Meaning you are now truly like a normal human. Completely without power," Fay explained in a serious tone.
"I already said that earlier," Edward answered casually.
"But I noticed those soldiers just now… they also had level 0, just like you."
"They're not Awakened, Fay. Same as me. They only rely on weapons to survive. To become Awakened, humans must enter the Tower."
"Why do they need to go in there? Is there a dragon inside that grants humans power?"
Edward gave a faint smile.
"Tomorrow, we'll find out what's actually in there."
Fay looked around as Edward stepped out of the tight gap between buildings.
"There are a lot of people here, sir."
"This is one of the busy areas of Newark," Edward replied without slowing down.
"Where are you going, sir?"
"A Chinese restaurant. It belongs to my friend's father," Edward said while moving through the constantly shifting crowd.
The roads were clogged with vehicles, yet strangely, not a single horn sounded. The silence felt unnerving to Edward.
He took the chance when traffic paused and crossed the street. His steps didn't stop until he reached a dimmer alley squeezed between rows of small shops—much quieter than the main road.
As he walked through the passage, he spotted from a distance several broad-shouldered men exiting the restaurant owned by his friend's father.
They moved in a group, wide shoulders, heavy footsteps—and when Edward passed by them, his heart clenched immediately.
Something was wrong.
Their appearance—worn leather jackets, thick chains, scarred faces—looked far more like gangsters than ordinary customers.
Edward immediately quickened his pace, his heartbeat spiking. When he reached the front of the restaurant, his eyes caught sight of two motorcycles lying on the road—badly damaged, as if someone had intentionally smashed them.
His gut feeling grew heavier.
Without a second of hesitation, Edward pushed the door open and rushed inside.
And exactly as he expected—chaos.
Tables and chairs were overturned, some broken apart. Shards of plates, bowls, and cups littered the floor. The mixed scent of spilled hot soup and splintered wood filled the air.
Near the counter, several workers were huddled together, their faces pale and shaken.
"What happened!?" Edward barked as he hurried over.
All the workers turned at once.
"Brother Ed!" one of them called out—Chow, Brigitte's younger brother.
"Hey, Chow… what—"
Edward's words died instantly when his gaze fell upon someone lying motionless on the floor.
Brigitte's father.
"Uncle Tan!" Edward dropped to his knees, panic tightening his voice.
He knelt quickly beside the older man. From beneath Uncle Tan's stomach, blood was pouring out—Chow was pressing down on the wound with both of his trembling hands.
"What happened, Chow!?" Edward's voice rose, frantic.
Chow shook his head, breath hitching. He was too shocked to answer.
Edward turned to the other workers.
"Did anyone call an ambulance!?"
"Yes, we did!" one of them replied, panic thick in his voice.
Amid the chaos, Fay spoke into Edward's ear—calm, but urgent.
"Sir… based on that wound, he won't survive long enough for help to arrive. You need to give him a healing potion."
"Fay—give it to me now."
A faint glow instantly formed in Edward's hand, shaping itself into a small bottle. Chow and the workers gasped in unison.
"B-Brother Ed… what is that?" Chow asked, stunned by the object that had appeared out of thin air.
"A potion," Edward replied simply. "Quick, open your father's mouth."
Chow obeyed, still shaken. Edward poured the liquid into the old man's mouth.
The effect was instantaneous—the bleeding stopped at once, a soft light sealing the flow. Chow slowly lifted his hands as the puncture wound beneath them began stitching itself back together, the skin pulling tight until no blood remained.
Chow was speechless. The workers behind him covered their mouths, some nearly stumbling backward.
Their expressions were the same—pale, stunned, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Moments later, Brigitte's father slowly opened his eyes.
"Uncle Tan!"
"Dad!"
"Oh… Ed," Uncle Tan breathed out, relief washing over him. "It's been a while since Uncle last saw you."
Edward offered a faint smile. "Do you feel any pain, Uncle?"
Uncle Tan squinted, as if examining his own body. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"The pain is gone… my body feels strange," he said. Edward and Chow quickly helped him sit up.
"What happened? Where did the wound go?" Uncle Tan asked, confusion flooding his expression.
"Brother Ed gave you something to drink," Chow said.
"Just a healing potion. Don't worry about it," Edward replied calmly.
"Where did you get something like that, Ed?"
"Long story. If Uncle wants to hear it, it might take nine years."
"Just shorten it to ten seconds. I want to know." Uncle Tan retorted casually.
Edward chuckled. "Let's leave that for later. What actually happened? How did Uncle end up getting stabbed?"
Uncle Tan didn't answer right away. Instead, he raised his hand slightly—a signal immediately understood by his workers.
Several workers quickly lifted the overturned tables, arranged the chairs, and cleaned up the scattered mess. Once things were somewhat orderly, Uncle Tan invited Edward to sit.
"Actually, Ed…" Uncle Tan took a deep breath. "A few months ago, my restaurant started getting harassed by the Mad Buffalo gang. They demanded I pay protection money every month. But I refused to bow to them."
"Did they not know that Brigitte is an Awakened?" Edward asked.
"At first, they really didn't know. The second time they came, Brigitte taught them a good lesson. After that, she went to confront their leader. Unfortunately, their boss is also an Awakened—and his level is higher than Brigitte's. She had no choice but to ask her Guild for help."
"What's the name of her guild?"
"Flame Dragon Guild — the third strongest guild in America."
Chow cut in, looking frustrated. "If sis were here, they wouldn't dare touch us. Somehow they found out she entered the tower yesterday. They came in furious… smashed everything in the restaurant. Even our savings—they took all of it."
"Where's their hideout?" Edward asked, his voice calm but sharp.
"Why do you want to know, Ed? They're gangsters. They have a lot of men," Uncle Tan said worriedly.
Edward rose slowly, his expression turning serious.
"Uncle doesn't need to worry about that. Just give me their address."
"Ed…" Uncle Tan got up as well, trying to stop him. "This is our problem. Don't get involved. And your condition…" He paused, swallowing hard as he took in Edward's thin, weakened body.
"You… have you even been eating properly, Ed?"
"Don't worry about my body. Just give me the address, Uncle. Now."
"No!" Uncle Tan snapped the moment he saw Chow moving toward the counter. But Chow answered his father in Mandarin—their voices clashing in a tense, emotional back-and-forth argument.
In the end, one of the workers behind the counter quietly handed Edward a small address card.
Uncle Tan immediately scolded him. "Why did you give it to him?!"
"Don't blame him, Uncle," Edward said as he took the card. He started toward the door, but Uncle Tan suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Don't, Ed! If you go there, you'll die. Look at yourself—you can't even be sure you can lift a stick. How are you supposed to fight them?" Uncle Tan pleaded.
But Edward walked out of the restaurant without looking back.
"Ed! Please listen to Uncle! I don't want anything to happen to you! This is my problem—let me deal with it!"
Edward halted and turned around.
In front of him stood Uncle Tan, Chow, and all the restaurant workers—faces filled with worry and fear.
"Uncle, Chow… and all of you," Edward pointed at the restaurant workers, "Keep secret whatever you're about to see."
"What do you want us to keep secret, Ed? Keep secret that you're going off to get yourself killed?" Uncle Tan snapped, his voice a mixture of anger and fear.
Edward only shook his head slowly while raising his index finger. Then he reached his hand toward his ear—pulling out something that clearly shouldn't have been hidden there.
In an instant, a blinding light exploded, accompanied by a roaring gust of wind that shook the entire restaurant. Chairs and napkins flew off the counter. Uncle Tan, Chow, and the workers staggered back, shielding their faces.
When the light faded, they all froze.
Their eyes went wide. Their mouths hung open.
Standing before them was no longer the skinny Edward—but a figure radiating a golden aura, a soft-furred tail behind him, his hair standing on end, and a staff resting on his shoulder.
"Remember. Keep everything you see as a secret."
"M-Monkey King!!!" Uncle Tan screamed, dropping to his knees. Chow and all the workers followed, faces filled with terror and awe.
"Ed! H-How can you turn into the Monkey King?! That belongs to the Chinese!"
Edward burst out laughing, his posture and expression identical to Sun Wukong himself.
"Hahahaha! From now on, it belongs to me. But Uncle—don't forget to prepare good food. I'll be back later."
Edward lifted his hand to the sky and shouted:
"JINDOUYUN… LAI! LAI!"
The sky rumbled as if responding to his call. Clouds gathered and swirled, forming a massive vortex. From within it, a small golden cloud emerged, descending slowly—almost like a living creature obeying its master.
The cloud drifted down and stopped right in front of Edward.
Uncle Tan, Chow, and all the workers could only watch—frozen, pale, and unable to believe what their eyes were witnessing.
Note
"To my dear readers,
Starting from now, I'll be doing my best to update the story every week with two or three chapters at once, instead of releasing them one by one.
Thank you so much for your continuous support. Your encouragement truly"