Before I could utter a word, the youngest of the three children cried out, "Uncle! Superman Uncle!"

When I looked at the little girl, I recognized her—it was the child who had nearly been crushed by the refuse truck yesterday.

I knew I hadn't actually been the one to save them, yet these three children seemed genuinely grateful, which left me feeling somewhat bewildered.

I gently patted the little girl's head and said, "Uncle isn't any Superman. I can't even afford a meal right now. Have you ever seen such a poor Superman?"

The little girl wiped her nose and replied, "It's okay, Daddy will make you noodles."

The shop owner patted his daughter's head and said, "Stop fooling around, sweetie. We have to catch our train now."

With that, he lifted the girl up, while his wife took the hands of the other two children and headed toward the door.

At that moment, my emotions were a complicated mix; I felt deeply grateful to the shop owner, yet helpless against the oppression inflicted by Boss Tong.

Although the owner claimed he didn't want to run the business anymore, I knew that being driven to this desperate point was entirely due to his inability to resist that man surnamed Tong.

Furthermore, he had paid a heavy price to keep my address secret, and now I had absolutely nothing to offer him in return.

The owner walked to the entrance and called out to me, "If you don't come out now, I'm locking up."

I hurried out and watched him pull down the rolling shutter and secure the lock.

Then, I suddenly remembered I still had a set of designer suits at home, so I said, "Boss, wait a moment. I have a set of brand-name suits at home—take them. Consider it some form of compensation. I'm completely broke now and truly don't know how else to repay you."

The owner didn't turn back to me, replying, "I don't need that little bit of money. You keep them. If you really want to repay me, just leave this place quickly, lest I take a beating for nothing."

With that, supported by his wife and leading the children, he walked toward the main road.

I followed them out until I saw the family of five board a city bus.

At that moment, the little girl, nestled in her mother's arms, looked back at me and said, "Goodbye, Superman Brother! I'm going to ride the train now!"

I waved back at her and watched the bus pull away.

Then, I pulled out my last remaining cigarette, and without caring how dirty the ground was, I sat down right there and lit up.

Recalling the child's smile from earlier, a sudden bitterness welled up in my heart, because children are unaware of life's hardships, thinking that riding a train is something worth celebrating, without realizing their own future is uncertain and bleak.

While smoking, I thought, I must find a way to bring down that Boss Tong; otherwise, I wouldn't believe in justice.

But just as the thought crossed my mind, my stomach rumbled loudly.

I aggressively stubbed out the cigarette, stood up, and told myself, "The very first step is not to starve to death; I must survive."

Asking around the vicinity, I quickly got the address of a construction site. It turned out the site was in the same direction as the bus they took, about seven or eight li away.

That was no short distance, but without money for the bus, I had no choice but to walk along the roadside in that direction.

Two hours later, I was parched, thirsty, and hungry, squinting under the blazing sun. Across the road, a huge, circular structure had already reached a height of over ten meters, scaffoldings erected around it, with many people working above.

Cranes and trucks surrounded the area, along with temporary shacks built for the migrant workers.

This project is truly massive, I thought inwardly.

Crossing the road, I arrived at the main entrance of the construction site.

What they called a gate was actually just a gap sectioned off by advertising banners, featuring a shack-like structure.

The banners displayed renderings of the finished project, along with advertising slogans like "Dedicated Comprehensive Stadium undertaken by [Company Name]," seemingly for public service, but it was obvious upon inspection that it was a privately built entertainment facility intended to charge admission fees.

The gatekeeper was an old man. Seeing my brand-new sportswear and my dehydrated appearance, he asked, "Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

I felt around in my pocket and pulled out my cigarette pack. I had intended to offer the elderly man one, but upon opening the box, I saw it was empty.

So, I casually tossed the pack aside and offered the old man an awkward smile, saying, "I... I'm here looking for work. I have great stamina; I can handle any heavy labor."

The old man scrutinized me, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Based on your accent, you don't sound like you're used to this work. Are you a college student trying to experience life?"

I conceded; having spent years in research, my speech was indeed rather refined. Coupled with the old man's sharp intuition, he saw right through me, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

To prove I had strength, I pulled up my shirt, revealing the six-pack abs I had developed through multiple harrowing adventures, and said, "Look! I have strength!"

The old man took out a cigarette for himself, lit it, took a drag, and asked, "Which gym did you train at? Nice physique, but seeing how pale you are, I doubt you have much real strength."

I thought to myself, I can’t exactly tell him that I got this pale from adventuring in underground ruins, can I?

So, after some thought, I said, "If you don't believe me, you can find some strenuous work for me to do, just to see if I'm capable."

The old man clicked his tongue, smoking his cigarette, and said, "It's not that I won't let you do this work. Even if you lacked strength, I could still assign you tasks, but I worry you won't be able to endure the hardship."

Hearing that, my spirits lifted considerably, and I replied, "Oh, oh, I'm not afraid of hardship, not at all!"

The old man frowned and said, "Alright then, follow me. I'll take you to meet the foreman."

The old man stepped out of the shack and led me deeper into the site.

Not far in, I saw two workers wearing red helmets mixing cement, and standing with their backs to us was a stout man in a blue jacket with a bald head, talking on the phone.

The old man approached him and shouted, "Foreman Li, a college student is here looking for work!"

A million curses flew through my mind; Could he please not call me a college student?

Foreman Li, noticing someone approaching, hung up the phone and turned to size me up from head to toe.

He had a large mole to the left of his nose, and his eyes twitched slightly when he looked at people, making him incredibly irritating.

Still, I maintained a forced smile and didn't dare speak rashly.

He hesitated for a long moment before saying, "Skinny as a chicken, and quite handsome too. Why are you here doing this instead of auditioning for some 'Super Male Vocalist' competition?"

I was inwardly displeased with his description but retorted, "I can haul and lift; I can do anything the other workers here can do."

"Oh?" Foreman Li's eye twitched again, and he said, "Fine then. Go move those two bags of cement over there and dump them into the mixing pool for them to combine."

I chirped, "Sure thing," and walked toward the two bags of cement.

Actually, the cement bags didn't look large, but they were extremely heavy. An ordinary bag of cement weighs at least a hundred jin [50 kg]. For someone of my build, even just lifting one off the ground, let alone holding it up, would be incredibly difficult.

The two migrant workers mixing cement stopped their work when they saw me genuinely going to lift the bags, watching me with expressions that suggested they were waiting for a joke. Foreman Li and the gatekeeper old man also wore expressions that were half-smiles.

I thought, Go ahead and laugh. Just a few days ago, I carried the 180-plus jin [90+ kg] Xiong for nearly two li in muddy terrain. This little bit of cement is child's play for me.

It's just that I hadn't had breakfast; otherwise, I would have brought both bags over at once.

With that thought, I gave a slight smile, grabbed the corner of one cement bag with each hand, and easily lifted them both.

This feat caused the jaws of all four men to nearly drop to the ground.

Because even the strongest men on the site struggled to lift one bag with one hand, yet I managed so effortlessly.

I smiled faintly, spun around in place, and tossed the cement bags down near the two workers, much like throwing a shot put.

The resulting burst of cement dust choked the two men into coughing fits, but they didn't dare say anything, because judging by the strength displayed, I could have knocked them both down instantly.

After a while, Foreman Li finally spoke, "Good! I didn't expect someone so young, skinny as a chicken, to have such strength. Could you possibly be a competitive diver?"

I thought, What on earth are you talking about? Are athletes this destitute these days?

Foreman Li pondered for a moment and said, "You seem refined. Although you have strength, I shouldn't really put you on hard labor. How about this: the site is currently short on an electrician—someone to maintain the daily circuits, especially checking if the machinery circuits are operating normally. Can you handle that?"

I knew that technical work was not only easier but also paid better wages than general labor.

Although electrical circuits weren't my specialty, I had been a top-ten science student in the city during high school, so handling the minor circuits on a construction site shouldn't be an issue.

So, I nodded happily and replied, "Yes!"

Foreman Li probably thought he'd found a talent. He came over, patted my shoulder, and said, "Work hard, and I’ll pay you five thousand next month."

Hearing that, I immediately pressed, "Can't you give me a little bit upfront? I’m so hungry I can't afford food, and I can't pay rent."

When Foreman Li heard this, his face immediately sobered, and he said, "That bad? But the site has rules; we can’t issue wages early. How about this: I’ll lend you a thousand now to get by, and it will be deducted from your salary later."

I was so moved I was nearly in tears, thinking, There are truly many good people in this world.

Foreman Li reached into his pocket, getting ready to count out the money for me.

Just then, the main gate of the construction site opened again, and a black BMW sedan drove in.

Foreman Li saw the car and said, "Hold on a second, Boss Tong is here. I need to go see."

The moment the words "Boss Tong" left his mouth, my heart sank, thinking, No way it’s that coincidental, is it?

Then, when the car stopped not far in front of me, and a lecherous old man stepped out, my face turned completely pale.

Boss Tong spotted me immediately. He paused for a moment, then broke into a sinister smile.