The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins-Chapter 43: Cruelty

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Tia swatted away her brother's hand that was patting her head and shouted defiantly.

"What do you mean by 'live one day at a time'?"

"I'll prove that I am one of the best transcendents in this world, the future Human God who will ascend to the Divine Throne!"

"I will advance to SP in this world and make it to the finals!"

Watching his sister storm off, the young man murmured wistfully to the breeze over the Yangtze River.

"My dear sister... you have no idea what you're about to face..."

"The endpoint you dream of is merely the starting point for others, those Immortal Buddha Saint Sons descending from Supreme Heaven, how do you plan to face them?"

"There's even an Abyss Level monster among them!"

Thinking of this, the young man felt even more pained, not just for his sister, but for all the [humans] participating in the competition this time. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

This competition is unfair to them and too cruel.

.........

On the other side, passing by an ironclad warship, the boat regained its course, yet Zhu Haomiao gazed thoughtfully at the departing warship.

This was the first time he had seen a Purple Gold Badge, does this mean there's a rank above Gold?

Hmm... my transcendent knowledge is indeed a bit lacking, I should find time to catch up on this subject.

While Zhu Haomiao pondered his future plans, the boat flowed down the river and smoothly arrived in Shanghai as the sun passed overhead.

In just half a day's journey, Zhu Haomiao felt as though he had stepped from ancient times into the modern era, no longer seeing old wooden shacks, but many multi-story concrete buildings along the riverbanks.

The wide roads were no longer dusty, having been paved with cement, with spacious sidewalks on both sides.

Tall trees and rows of street lamps stretched to the horizon, the subtle familiarity made Zhu Haomiao briefly feel as if he had arrived in the Shanghai of the future.

If it weren't for the majority of vehicles on the road being horse-drawn carriages, Zhu Haomiao might have truly felt lost in time.

In that instant, Zhu Haomiao suddenly understood what Li Cang meant by [lost].

"Mr. Zhu, we've arrived."

The boat slowly docked, and Liu Heng respectfully approached Zhu Haomiao, inviting him to disembark.

After all the cargo was unloaded, Zhu Haomiao was about to thank and bid farewell to Liu Heng when his stomach suddenly grumbled with unbearable hunger.

Having eaten nothing but dry biscuits these past two days, he was almost starving.

Realizing that if he didn't consume enough nutrition soon, his health would be affected, Zhu Haomiao hesitated for a moment before speaking to Liu Heng.

"Can you lend me some money?"

The sudden audacious request left Liu Heng stunned for a moment, but after a brief hesitation, he nodded immediately.

"Of course, please wait a moment, Mr. Zhu."

With that, he walked over to his brothers, and after some short discussion, they pooled together a heavy bag of money and brought it over.

"Mr. Zhu, our assets are all invested in the cargo, so we only have this thirty taels of silver for emergencies, is it enough?"

Receiving the money pouch offered by Liu Heng, Zhu Haomiao weighed it, feeling its heaviness.

But since he didn't know the current purchasing power of a tael of silver, he could only nod vaguely.

"It should be enough."

With that, he casually conjured a mysterious and lavish gold coin between his fingers like magic and handed it to Liu Heng.

Seeing the gold coin presented to him, Liu Heng's breath hastened momentarily, but he quickly suppressed his greed, stepped back, and waved his hands repeatedly.

"I can't... I can't accept this, it's too valuable!"

"It's not for you to keep, just a pledge with you, I'll redeem it along with interest in a few days."

Without further ado, he pressed the gold coin into Liu Heng's hand, patted his shoulder, and left with a carefree wave of his hand to the others: "Take good care of it."

Liu Heng watched the boy's departing figure, and then looked at the gold coin in his hand, his eyes flickering with regret, conflict, and reluctance before gritting his teeth and nodding firmly.

"I'll take good care of it."

However, the distant boy could no longer hear his words, and a few brothers came over, looking at him in confusion.

"Big brother, why did you lend him all our emergency money?"

"Now that he's gone, where will we find him?"

"Exactly!"

...

Listening to his brothers' complaints, Liu Heng shook his head calmly.

"Don't worry, a person like him would never break a promise."

Meanwhile, the famished Zhu Haomiao walked briskly, following the tempting aroma to a tavern.

Right at the entrance of the tavern, the corner of the waiter's eye caught sight of a figure patched all over approaching, ready to drive him away, but turned just in time to meet the boy's cold and indifferent gaze for a fleeting moment. After a brief surprise, his look of impatience instantly transformed into fawning servility.

"Esteemed guest, please come in! Please come in!"

Bending almost ninety degrees, the waiter ushered Zhu Haomiao inside, subtly observing him along the way, becoming more astonished the more he looked, his humble head bowing lower and lower.

"Sir, would you prefer to sit in the main hall or a private room?"

The ravenous boy casually waved his hand: "Just the main hall."

"This way, please."

Leading the boy to a quiet corner, the waiter remained hunched by his side, not daring to stand straight.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?"

"Bring one of each of your signature dishes, and make it quick, I'm hungry."

"Alright, please wait a moment, I'll arrange it right away."

Watching the waiter disappear around the corner, Zhu Haomiao curiously surveyed his surroundings, his eyes filled with wonder.

The bright, transparent floor-to-ceiling windows provided excellent lighting, combined with what would be considered avant-garde decor by today's standards, the overall atmosphere was both classy and stylish.

However, by modern standards, Zhu Haomiao could only compliment it as: retro!

On the other side, the waiter who had been bustling out of the kitchen was stopped in his tracks by the shopkeeper.

"Why did you bring a beggar in here?"

Hearing this, the waiter shivered, nervously glancing in Zhu Haomiao's direction, relieved only after confirming that the distance made it impossible for him to hear their conversation. He pulled the shopkeeper into a corner and whispered.

"Shopkeeper, he's no beggar, he's invaluable!"

"Oh? How so?"

"Just take a closer look, what beggar is as clean and handsome as him? And when he entered, he gave me a look as if he saw a mere insect!"

Struggling for words for two seconds, the waiter finally found a suitable description.

"That one look gave me goosebumps on the spot, that's when I realized what 'contempt for all living beings' means, think about it, what kind of family can raise such a young master?"