Poverty is the protagonist’s destiny.

*Bang!*

The old gun’s barrel was slightly hot, and the brown-haired young man’s chest heaved rapidly. His finger, still trembling slightly, rested on the trigger. The barrel was aimed at the corpse of a monster with a huge maw and no discernible facial features—its body resembled a mix between an earthworm and a centipede, with a moist exterior and multiple legs.

The gunshot had alerted the people who had stayed behind in the off-road vehicle. Two men and one woman quickly approached the brown-haired young man. One of them, who appeared to be the captain, wore a serious expression: “What’s the situation?”

“I—I was suddenly attacked by that monster,” the young man’s face had turned pale with fright. He turned his head to point at the place where the monster’s corpse had been but was horrified to find nothing there.

“I’m telling the truth, I’m not lying or hallucinating!” His voice pitched high in panic.

In the Inspection Bureau, sudden hallucinations and auditory delusions in an investigator are considered dangerous signals, indicating that the investigator’s mental state is on the verge of collapse. If this occurs during an operation, the action needs to be paused or the investigator should withdraw. 

Out there in the wilderness, finding someone to provide psychological treatment had been impossible, so the only option had been to withdraw from the mission.

However, the brown-haired young man was still just an intern. If he withdrew from this mission before even starting, not only would he lose his chance at the current operation, but he would also certainly miss out on any opportunity for a permanent position.

“Okay, don’t get worked up,” the captain said, patting the brown-haired young man’s shoulder. “It might not be hallucinations on your part; we’re probably getting closer to Arkham City.”

“It seems that the rumor is true; the closer we are to that city, the higher the chance of encountering creatures from that world,” another investigator remarked thoughtfully, glancing at the pale-faced brown-haired young man. “For those with strong intuition, the effects might be even more pronounced.”

However, another investigator, a short-haired woman, did not share this view. She was strong-willed and disliked the easily frightened brown-haired young man, coldly saying, “It might just be a hallucination from someone scared out of their wits.”

“I’m not hallucinating!” the brown-haired young man immediately protested.

“Who can say? We didn’t see anything. There’s no monster carcass at the scene, only your bullet marks. We didn’t hear any suspicious sounds before this.”

The brown-haired young man fell silent again.

In the end, it was the captain who had spoken first who came to the rescue. “Edmund has a high level of intuition. The intel also mentioned that some residents see clearly otherworldly creatures at night. We’re here to investigate this matter, after all.”

Under the captain’s disapproving gaze, the short-haired woman snorted but didn’t press further. However, with the team’s atmosphere already tense before they had even formally entered the mission area, the team captain was left with a serious headache.

The group returned to the vehicle and continued on their way. The brown-haired young man, Edmund, quietly asked, “I really wasn’t lying.”

“Don’t worry, I know you had no reason to do so,” the team captain reassured him softly, noticing Edmund’s still pale face and thinking he was anxious about the mission. “Don’t fret. We’re just investigating the cause of this phenomenon. If there’s any danger, we’ll withdraw immediately. We’re only the vanguard team.”

“Captain… when you mentioned creatures from that world… does that mean these anomalies aren’t from our world?”

“Oh, right, you’re still an intern and haven’t had access to that part of the literature,” the captain hesitated before continuing, “but it’s too dangerous to keep investigating without knowing anything. Alright, let me give you a brief explanation.”

“You must have some talent to have joined the inspection bureau. Occasionally, you might see things that ordinary people cannot. But aren’t you curious about where these anomalies come from?”

“From the other world you mentioned?”

The captain nodded. “This is classified as an internal A-level secret. Besides our known world, there is a dimension temporarily referred to as the Dream World. The anomalies you’ve seen are residents of the Dream World. They are only visible and interactable to ordinary people when they are summoned into our world.”

“Dream World, as it is said, is the realm of the gods and also an ancient battlefield of the deities. Countless indescribable beings exist there, and if they were to descend, they could easily annihilate the creatures on the surface.”

As the captain explained, Edmund’s face grew paler. “So, does that mean our world is very dangerous?”

“Haha, don’t worry. The Dream World is the abode of the gods and also serves as a natural shield. The stronger the beings from the Dream World, the harder it is for them to enter the surface world. Summoning a being capable of destroying the world would require an extremely rigorous ritual. If such a thing were to happen, the inspection bureau would certainly intervene.”

“So there are no so-called ‘gods’ in the surface world.”

Edmund sighed in relief and said earnestly, “This world is indeed too dangerous for ordinary people.”

However, the captain shook his head. “You’ve got it wrong, young Edmund. It’s those with highly intuition who find this world most monstrous. Just like you, if you can’t see those anomalies, they can’t harm you.

The rules of Dream World creatures state that unless they descend into reality through a summoning ritual, they cannot interfere with reality. As long as you lack intuition, even if you unwittingly become involved in an incident, you can die peacefully.”

“Sometimes, being able to see isn’t necessarily a good thing. The more you see, the more things there are that can harm you. Based on what you just described, what appeared before you was likely just a D-level anomaly or something so insignificant it doesn’t even have a classification. But what if it had been a C-level or B-level anomaly? By the time we arrived, we might have only been able to retrieve your corpse.”

Edmund swallowed hard, anxiety building inside him.

Seeing the rookie so scared, the captain’s serious expression suddenly shifted, and he burst into laughter. “Don’t worry, it’s not that easy to spot those things. The stronger the anomaly, the less likely it is to be seen, and the farther its dimension is from that of ordinary people.”

“Relax, this world isn’t nearly as terrifying as you think.”

—-

This world is too terrifying!

He has to move—move out of this awful place as soon as possible!

Ranen was on edge the entire way, terrified that his charm would be just as “effective” as it had been in the hospital, drawing in a dozen or more anomalies. But fortunately, those anomalies didn’t approach him. Since they didn’t make any moves, Ranen pretended not to see them. He walked past a crow with a human face, his expression unchanged, recognizing it from experience as a B-level anomaly, the Funeral Crow that only appeared in special late-game dungeons. He then deliberately stumbled to avoid stepping on the wriggling plant on the ground.

That was a C-level anomaly, the Bone-Eating Grass.

In the game, aside from the common anomalies frequently encountered in various copies, there were also “special anomalies” that only appeared in specific copies. For instance, the two he had just passed were from the later campaign copies, “Who is the Dead?” and “Please Protect the Environment.”

And here… they were everywhere.

Is this the “newbie village” the forum talked about? The “harmonious and friendly Arkham”?

Ranen was feeling very unsettled.

Lost in his thoughts along the way, Ranen followed Ogre back to their rented neighborhood. The area was mostly deserted, filled with detached residential buildings. The house had two floors, with a surprisingly large interior. The furniture was arranged quite warmly, with soft lighting and homey decorations in many of the cozy corners.

It felt very welcoming and warm.

Ranen was a bit surprised. He had expected the apartment of two bachelors to be messy, but it turned out to be so tidy. Then again, it made sense—although Ogre looked rough on the outside, his careful care for Ranen earlier had shown that he was actually quite meticulous.

However, the potential dangers lurking in Arkham City kept Ranen from feeling any joy.

“Ranen, what’s wrong?” Ogre asked in confusion, noticing that Ranen had yet to step inside.

Ranen remained silent for a moment before speaking in a heavy tone, “Ogre, let’s move. Leave this city.”

“Why? Is there something wrong with this place?” Ogre asked.

“It’s not that it’s bad.” Ranen struggled to explain his reasoning, thinking that having such a clean and considerate roommate was probably a reward for saving the galaxy in a past life. Ogre had also taken care of him for a whole week in the hospital.

Ranen wanted to repay him, but this place was simply too dangerous.

If they continue to stay in this cursed city, who knows when their luck will run out?

“But…” Ogre slowly brought up a sad reality, “Moving is expensive.”

And that was when Ranen learned about his financial situation.

His original self had been a poor student, attending university on loans. Foreign student loans were extremely costly, and Ranen had just graduated, which meant he was already buried in debt without having done anything yet. Forget about moving out of the city; even surviving until next month was going to be a challenge.

“Don’t worry, Ranen,” his considerate roommate reassured him from the side. “I still have a little money left. It might not be enough for us to move, but it should be enough to get by for the next couple of days.”

Oh right, Ranen recalled that his hospital bills had also been covered by this roommate.

In other words, not only was Ranen burdened with a student loan, but he also owed his roommate some money.

Ranen didn’t pay much attention to Ogre’s words and forced a somewhat strained smile. “Sorry, Ogre. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

“It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry.”

But Ranen was in a hurry.

He had already realized that this was a game. According to the timeline on the game forums, the next round of beta testing was about to begin. He remembered that in his previous life, the beta ended after a month, and just as it was about to conclude, the game’s first dungeon raid began. The brutality of this raid was one of the reasons the game gained so much attention.

The outcome of that raid? Arkham City disappeared.

Yes, it disappeared in the literal sense. The entire city, along with its 500,000 inhabitants, vanished without a trace—neither alive nor dead.

Originally, Ranen wouldn’t have cared much about the game’s plot, but knowing that this would be the fate awaiting him and those around him in a month made his skin crawl.

He needed to find a way to earn enough money to move before the next month arrived. If nothing else, even just enough for a plane ticket would be helpful, so he could leave the city with Ogre.

So now, he needed a way to make money.

Ranen had studied psychology in his previous life and was quite skilled in his field, though he had limited experience. 

The original Ranen was also a fresh graduate with no connections or accumulated clients. In a profession that relied heavily on client referrals and valued privacy, it was obvious that starting out would be extremely challenging.

…But there was no other option.

Given both his previous life and his current background, Ranen’s career options were quite limited. He hadn’t ventured into other industries. Is he supposed to become an actor?

Hmm, considering his current looks, it might not be an impossible idea. He could probably make a significant amount of money, but given the inherent dangers of this world, it might not be worth the risk.

In the end, Ranen decided to stick to his original profession. After asking his roommate for some information, he found out that the original owner of this body had actually rented a clinic for providing psychological counseling. It wasn’t far from where they lived, so he decided to go check it out.

The clinic was located just across the street from their apartment, at a corner where a coffee shop used to be. The shop owner couldn’t keep the business going and had rented it out at a very low price to the ambitious recent graduate who was eager to make a name for himself.

Ranen was baffled but also quite shocked.

Normally, a psychologist entering the field would first join a senior practitioner’s private clinic or a large hospital, slowly building up their client base and network. Once their income became stable, they would consider opening their own clinic to see patients. Jumping straight into it like this could only be described as very courageous.

Now, Ranen had to deal with the consequences.

When he learned from the landlord that last month’s rent hadn’t been paid, and combined with this month’s rent, he owed a total of 7,500 Western Dollars, Ranen nearly shed tears of despair.

What… what should I do…?

He spent the whole afternoon sitting in his clinic, but not a single client came through the door. Sighing deeply, he touched his face.

Is he really going to have to rely on his looks to make money?

Just as he was caught in this mental tug-of-war, someone finally walked in.

“Welcome!” Ranen instantly straightened up.

The visitor paused for a moment and then took a couple of steps forward. His tall frame was immediately illuminated by the lights, revealing a handsome face with smooth lines and deep-set features. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he was the epitome of a foreign heartthrob. His smile evoked images of vacations, sunshine, and beaches.

“You’re out of the hospital, huh, Ranen.”

Ranen blinked and nodded awkwardly. “Yeah, long time no see, Senior Aiken.”

That’s right, the person in front of him was someone the original Ranen knew from university—a senior named Albert Aiken. He had even visited Ranen when he was in the hospital, but by that time, the person inside this body had already changed. Ranen had used amnesia as an excuse to cover it up.

Albert Aiken’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Ranen, are you feeling unwell?”

Ranen immediately became cautious. “No, why do you ask?”

“You used to call me by my first name,” Albert said, sounding a bit hurt. “But now you’re calling me Senior Aiken.”

“Really? Sorry, I don’t quite remember,” Ranen forced a smile. Under Albert’s expectant gaze, he reluctantly called him by his first name. “Albert.”

“It’s okay. I know you just got out of the hospital.” Albert seemed to have already found an excuse for Ranen. “How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good… Albert, did you come here just to catch up?”

If possible, Ranen wanted to avoid people who knew the original Ranen, to prevent them from noticing anything unusual. Especially this senior—he was quite well-known in Arkham, supposedly a rising star in the police force, having solved several major cases and even been featured in the newspapers. He had a strong sense of justice, and Ranen had already experienced his keen insight during his time in the hospital. If he could, he would prefer not to keep in touch with this person.

After all, he wasn’t the original Ranen, and coming back from the dead was a secret that needed to stay buried forever.

“Actually, I do have a small favor to ask,” Albert said apologetically. “You know I work at the police station, right?”

“Uh… I think you mentioned it before.”

“We’re dealing with a tricky case right now. The suspect refuses to talk, and even the interrogation experts aren’t making any progress. I remember you specialized in psychology, so I wanted to see if you might be able to find a way to get him to open up.”

Ranen wanted to retort that if the interrogation experts couldn’t crack the suspect, how could he? The gap between their fields was huge—this really seemed like a desperate move. Just as he was about to decline, Albert added something else.

“Of course, you won’t be doing it for free. The daily rate is 600 Western dollars.”

Ranen’s gaze grew sharp as he stepped forward and grasped Albert’s hand. “I’d be more than happy to help.”

He didn’t notice Albert’s body stiffen at the sudden gesture. After a brief handshake, Ranen quickly let go, turned around, and hastily packed a small bag, his expression serious. “Let’s go right now!”

Albert was a bit slow in returning the handshake, and by the time his fingers curled to respond, his palm was already empty. He stared at his hand, feeling a bit disappointed. “Alright.”