Just like in his previous life on Earth, Lin Li was all alone in this parallel world. The difference was that on Earth, Lin Li had been a corporate drone working a 996 schedule. After two or three years of work, he still had barely any savings.
But in this parallel world, his deceased family had left Lin Li two apartments, each over a hundred square meters, and a million yuan in savings.
This inheritance allowed him to live the rest of his life comfortably in this world, even without working for someone else.
It was precisely because of this comfortable safety net that Lin Li had the confidence to become a carefree "salted fish" after discovering his terrible aptitude for cultivation meant he could never become a Cultivator.
...
"RRRRING..."
Just as Lin Li was standing by the window, watching a person in the complex exercise with a faint golden Spiritual Light emanating from their body, the phone on his nightstand began to ring.
He turned, walked to the nightstand, and bent down to pick up his phone, glancing at the name on the caller ID.
'Why is this woman calling me so early in the morning?'
"Hello, what's up?" Lin Li answered, his tone irritable.
"Lin Li, my kitchen drain is clogged. Can you come over and help me fix it?" A very pleasant, melodic female voice came from the other end of the line.
"Su Yue, I just unclogged that drain for you last week. How is it blocked again so soon? Besides, I'm your landlord, not your personal plumber," Lin Li said, annoyed.
"If there's a problem with the rental property, aren't you supposed to find the landlord to fix it?" Su Yue muttered under her breath after hearing Lin Li's words.
"If there's a problem with the apartment, of course you can come to me to solve it. But that doesn't include unclogging your kitchen drain or changing burnt-out lightbulbs.
Think about it, how many years have I been renting my place to you? All these years, I've unclogged drains for you, changed lightbulbs for you, and even killed cockroaches.
How many times have I done these trivial little things for you? How can you have the nerve to ask me again? Just find a handyman yourself to unclog the drain," Lin Li said to Su Yue on the other end of the line.
"I'll cover lunch. I'll personally cook your favorite dish, boiled fish in chili oil," Su Yue said lightly.
"..." Lin Li fell silent for a moment before saying in a flat tone, "Deal... But let me make one thing clear. I'm not helping you just for your cooking.
It's just that, aside from being landlord and tenant, we're also good friends who've known each other for years. If a good friend's drain is clogged and I have the time, I should go and help..."
"Mhm, mhm, I know. Thank you! My adorable landlord and good friend," Su Yue said to Lin Li with a giggle.
"Adorable? If you don't know how to use adjectives, don't use them. Who calls a man adorable?" Several dark lines instantly appeared on Lin Li's forehead as he corrected Su Yue's poor choice of words.
"Yes, yes, yes, my mistake. Can I use 'handsome' next time?" Thinking of the clogged kitchen drain at home, Su Yue quickly changed her tune.
"That's more like it. I'll head over to your place to unclog the drain after I finish breakfast."
"Okay, make sure you come over soon!"
"Got it. Talk to you later."
Lin Li hung up the phone. The thought of getting to eat another delicious meal for lunch instantly put him in a very cheerful mood.
It couldn't be helped. He had no talent for cooking in his previous life, and after being reborn in this parallel world, he still had no talent for it.
Even though he lived alone and cooked often, he still hadn't managed to improve his skills. 'It's so unscientific!'
'Meanwhile, my female tenant and good friend barely seems to cook, so why are her skills so good? Heaven is so unfair!'
...
Breakfast was very simple: two hard-boiled eggs, a piece of bread, and a glass of milk.
After finishing breakfast, Lin Li wanted to enter that small island again to have a look, but he found he couldn't get in. The reason was that his Spiritual Energy had been completely depleted.
He estimated his Spiritual Energy recovery rate and figured it would take until after ten o'clock at night to fully replenish. 'Looks like the next time I can enter the island will have to be tonight.'
...
On the mysterious island, after Lin Li was forced to leave due to the depletion of his Spiritual Energy, the two-meter-tall sapling in the center of the island suddenly began to glow with a faint golden light.
The vast white mist covering the surrounding water's surface began to swirl as the sapling radiated its faint golden light.
The white mist churned violently, then transformed into wisps of Spiritual Energy.
The faint golden light emanating from the sapling in the center of the island grew increasingly brilliant. The Spiritual Energy, transformed from the white mist, surged rapidly toward the dazzlingly radiant tree.
Several minutes later, the faint golden light from the sapling vanished, and the churning white mist all around returned to a state of calm.
Everything seemed to have returned to how it was before. But upon closer inspection, one would find that on the sapling in the center of the island, a vibrantly red fruit had surprisingly appeared.
The fruit was as red as fire, and a faint golden light would flash across its surface from time to time.
...
The sun was bright, not a cloud in the sky. 'What a beautiful day!'
After breakfast, Lin Li set off for Su Yue's home. The apartment he rented to her wasn't far from his own complex, only about a ten-minute walk away.
As Lin Li ambled along the road, he observed the pedestrians rushing past him.
These were all office workers rushing to their companies. Watching their hurried expressions, Lin Li couldn't help but think to himself.
'If I didn't have that million yuan in savings and two apartments, I'd be scrambling for a living just like them.'
The technology on Blue Star was not much different from the world before Lin Li's reincarnation, and the urban development was almost identical.
If it weren't for the two people arguing a short distance ahead, both of whom were radiating a faint golden Spiritual Light, Lin Li might have thought he was still in his world from before he was reborn.
"Do you even know how to ride? Who rides an electric scooter on the sidewalk?"
"I always ride on the sidewalk on this stretch of road. What are you gonna do about it?"
"What am I gonna do about it? You almost hit me! You need to apologize."
"Apologize? You're dreaming! If you hadn't suddenly jumped out, how could I have almost hit you?
If anything, you should be apologizing to me. I fell down trying to avoid you just now. Look, I even scraped my hand."
The two young men argued louder and louder. Passersby who saw what was happening subconsciously stopped in their tracks, transforming into a crowd of onlookers to watch the two men quarrel.
...