Chapter 2

What was a “black street”? As buildings increased in height with the advancement of technology, areas with a high concentration of skyscrapers blocked sunlight from narrow alleys at the bottom of these clusters . These streets were dark most of the day, so people called them “black streets . “

The area where Fang Zhao now lived was surrounded by mass housing blocks more than 100 stories tall . There were gaps between these towers, and beneath these gaps lay the “black streets . ” People who lived on black streets were also called “those who lived in the gaps,” a euphemism for the poor .

Conditions were rough on black streets . In addition to the lack of sunshine, it was a dangerous setting .

After the original owner of Fang Zhao’s body signed with a record label, he moved off-campus . Living alone was more conducive to creative work and was more private, but he had limited funds, so he could only afford to rent a container-style room on a black street . The original owner wanted to move out after he was paid for his work, but before he could submit his work, it was stolen by a trusted friend .

The original owner had four childhood friends: Fang Sheng, his ex-girlfriend Xi Hong, Zeng Huang, and Zeng Huang’s fiancée, Wan Yue .

The five of them grew up together . They lived in the same building as kids . Unfortunately, when they were in secondary school, an explosion occurred in the building and only a tenth of the residents survived . Only children who were boarders survived .

The government paid out a substantial amount in compensation and a strong welfare system was in place, so the five of them could afford to finish university with cash to spare . They attended the same primary school and secondary school and went on to attend college in Qi’an City . They attended different universities, but they stayed in touch . However, they weren’t as close as when they were children .

After the apocalypse, a global alliance was formed . The entire planet was a unified whole . There were no countries .

The alliance comprised of 12 continents—eight major continents and four special continents .

Fang Zhao lived in the political and financial hub of one of the eight major continents, Yanzhou, the capital city of Qi’an .

The original owner of the body was the best student among the five . The university he was admitted to was the best music school in Yanzhou: the Qi’an Academy of Music .

Since the beginning of the New Era, the composition department at the Qi’an Academy of Music accounted for nearly half of Yanzhou’s 100 most influential composers . Among them were composers who had global influence . The academy was a dream school for many .

Final-year students of the composition department were mostly signed by record companies before graduation . The original owner of the body was one such student . Half a year before graduation, he signed a six-month trainee contract with Silver Wing Media, one of Yanzhou’s three major entertainment conglomerates .

During the first three months, the original owner of the body ran errands for senior musicians and attended classes scheduled by the company . The second half of the internship was devoted to preparing for the annual new talent competition . How the trainees performed in the last three months determined if they would stay on at Silver Wing as full-time employees and shaped their futures . Silver Wing would allocate resources based on their performance in the new talent competition .

But the pieces the original owner had toiled on for the new talent competition were stolen by his childhood friend Fang Sheng .

Fang Sheng shared the same family name with the original owner – they were distant relatives . He was a good brother and partner, but he stabbed the original owner of the body in the back at a critical juncture . Caving to the painful blow and the pressure, the original owner committed suicide .

Fang Zhao stopped searching his new memory and noticed that it was getting lively outside . The movement of people could be heard everywhere . The apartment was located on the second floor . Right beneath it was a large shop where people could be heard opening shop and moving things . Residents of the building across the street had also opened their windows and were staring outside .

Even though it was quite dark, Fang Zhao still examined the street like taking in a rare piece of art .

Things had changed so much since the apocalypse, which was both alien and intriguing to Fang Zhao at the same time .

This was the new world .

A golden age had emerged after the near-apocalypse, also known as the Period of Destruction .

Those old friends who survived the end of the war must have been delighted . The 100-year war, which cost billions of lives, resulted in the prosperous times everyone had hoped for .

The noise and the dark should have gotten on his nerves, but Fang Zhao was an untapped bundle of energy . The world he had longed for was afoot again .

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Fang Zhao greedily took in the fresh air of the new world .

Inspiration rumbled in his head, ready to burst out . His blood had risen to near-boiling temperatures . Every single one of his hairs was trembling in excitement .

But that wasn’t enough .

To create a masterpiece, that bit of inspiration wasn’t enough .

The noise grew louder, and it was bright outside . It was getting louder and brighter at an increasing pace .

Fang Zhao stopped searching his memory and locked the window . Based on the memory he inherited along with his new body, Fang Zhao knew that the busiest and also most valuable period of the day on a black street—daytime—was about to arrive .

He scanned the house and his gaze landed on the bracelet on top of his nightstand for two seconds . Fang Zhao darted over and fastened it to his left wrist . This was an item that 90 percent of people in the new world owned, something like a personal computer terminal .

Virtual currency was the norm, so Fang Zhao needed the bracelet to buy things . It also served as the key to his apartment .

After he fastened his bracelet, Fang Zhao paused before the door and turned back to scoop up the stray dog, who was staring at him, and brought him along .

As he left, Fang Zhao noticed that many others were headed to the first floor, just like him . His building was like a beehive, housing a massive number of residents . Most, like Fang Zhao, also struggled to make ends meet and could afford no more than a tiny, cramped room devoid of sunlight for most of the time .

Where tall buildings were clustered, even though it was daytime, the streets below were dark most of the time . People who could afford to moved to higher floors . People are always drawn to the light .

As for those who couldn’t afford an apartment on a higher floor or were handicapped, they set their sights on noon every day, the only time when black streets were briefly graced by sunlight .

The people who were rushing downstairs glanced at Fang Zhao quickly and walked past him . They only had a vague impression of him . They didn’t know him well, so they didn’t bother to say hello .

Several of them gave Fang Zhao a curious glance when they noticed he was carrying a dog . Fang Zhao didn’t mind and smiled at them in return .

The fellow residents were obviously taken aback . They were probably surprised that this usually depressed young man was smiling .

The people who went outside around that time to get a tan were mostly elderly . The crowd that emerged from the elevator was mostly made up of stumbling, grey-haired old men and women .

As he emerged from the lobby of his building, Fang Zhao noticed that the street was already quite crowded . Major forms of transportation were diverted elsewhere, so black streets were usually free of car traffic . During the day, they were very empty, except for now .

As the sun rose, it shined on the lower levels of the mass housing blocks . People who didn’t go outside also opened their windows to take in the precious sunshine .

Fang Zhao wasn’t in a hurry to stake out his spot . Instead, he walked into the shop on the first floor . He was starving . Everything else could wait .

Because of the apocalypse, the planetary government of the New Era did not impose gun controls initially, lest another major war break out again . In the unfortunate scenario where events unfolded that way, at least people could fight right away . But eventually, the situation grew out of control . Arms became prolific and riots rampant . Several continents went through leadership changes and the planetary government was nearly toppled . That was when gun controls were implemented . Gun controls were especially strict in the past century . It was impossible for the average citizen to own a gun .

But Yue Qing, the owner of the shop, was a veteran and one of the few people on this black street that owned arms legally . The punks of black streets didn’t dare mess with people with arms, which was the main reason why this shop could operate in peace .

When Fang Zhao entered the shop, a yawning Yue Qing gave him a quick glance . He remembered Fang Zhao from yesterday, when the kid was hellbent on killing himself and oblivious to feedback . He’d thought another black street suicide was in the works, but low and behold, Fang Zhao showed up again .

Yue Qing’s line of sight shifted to the dog Fang Zhao was holding . That’s right—it was the kid from the yesterday . He saw him take the stray dog home . Several punks who were shopping at his stores started a bet on what Fang Zhao would do with the dog—whether it would become a burial item or if he would kill it and eat it . It looked like they were all wrong .

Fang Zhao sensed Yue Qing’s probing eyes, but his stare suggested curiosity and no ill will, so Fang Zhao didn’t react . Drawing from his memory, he bought the cheapest items: three thumb-length sealed strips . Their size was misleading—the strips felt like metal in hand . Low-end compressed food .

Yue Qing stopped staring and eyed the item Fang Zhao had picked . “That’s 9 dollars . You want them decompressed?”

Decompression referred to the decompression of compressed food, which restored these compressed blocks into an edible form .

“Yes . And a cup of tea please,” Fang Zhao said .

“Decompression is fifty cents, the tea is another fifty cents—the total is 10 dollars . ” As he spoke, Yue Qing opened the three strips and stuck them into a decompressor . Ten seconds later, he removed the tray from inside, on which sat three items that resembled dim sum . They were each about 20 centimeters by 8 centimeters in size and steaming hot .

“Takeaway?” Yue Qing asked .

“No, I’ll eat here . ” Fang Zhao took the plate and asked, “Boss Yue, can I move a chair outside?”

“Not too far out,” Yue Qing answered without lifting his head . He wasn’t afraid the kid would steal his chair . Very few people had the guts to steal from him on this street .

Fang Zhao put down the dog near the store entrance and returned inside for a chair .

Fang Zhao gave the dog one of the three compressed cakes and kept the other two for himself . If this were the apocalypse, he would not have generously shared his food with a dog he just met, but Fang Zhao was in a good mood, having been reborn into the New Era . He was willing to share . Since the original owner of his body adopted it and it did not die, he would keep it for now .

The compressed cakes tasted horrible, and the tea was cheap powder-based stuff—otherwise they wouldn’t be so cheap . But for someone who had survived the apocalypse, Fang Zhao thought the food was a delicacy . During the end of days, he had to endure famine . Later on, he didn’t have to worry about food, but he wasn’t picky .

Compared to simple and crude food items and the stress of war, compressed cakes were exquisite . Now he could actually sit and enjoy lunch in peace . That already meant the world to Fang Zhao .