Chapter 1: The Grand Swindler

The heavy dark clouds surged across the vast sky, and in the dense forest, scattered specks of light fell upon the leaf-covered ground.

On a twisted tree trunk hung a man in strange attire, his belt barely catching on a thick branch.

Ash from cigarettes lay scattered beneath the tree; this was the seventh cigarette Chen Yi He had smoked, which had fallen from the sky and hooked onto the tree, sparing him from being smashed to pieces but leaving him unable to free himself.

From bewilderment to discovering this desolate, signal-less, personless place, Chen Yi He trembly lit the last Zhonghua cigarette in his pack.

He slowly exhaled a breath, "Damn heaven, you bastard, if you've got the guts, send someone to save me!"

Having inexplicably ended up here, if he isn't rescued soon he'll starve to death!

"Whoosh!" The dark clouds above finally closed in, a thunderous downpour that extinguished Chen Yi He's last cigarette as well.

Chen Yi He was drenched to the bone, he raised his middle finger at the sky, "You're also playing with me, huh!!"

Just as Chen Yi He's heart was collapsing, he suddenly heard a commotion from afar!

Chen Yi He happily peered through the leaves, about to shout for help, but before he could, he was dumbfounded.

This is... a film crew shooting site?

After a moment, Chen Yi He immediately denied it, because he saw no crowd carrying filming equipment around.

"Hahaha! Brat, I see where you're trying to run!"

"You dare steal from our Evil People Gang? I'll hack you with forty-seven cuts, turn you into minced meat for my brothers to enjoy with drinks!"

Counting them, Chen Yi He saw eight bare-chested, big-knife-wielding bald thugs surrounding a scrawny white-clad scholar.

Seeing the thugs encircle him, the white-clad scholar immediately grew fearful, he knelt on the ground with a servile grin, "Sirs, spare my life, I know I was wrong, I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending several of you!"

"I still have some money and valuables to offer you all." The white-clad scholar produced a pile of gold, silver, and jewels from his person.

Chen Yi He up in the tree stared wide-eyed; those glittering gold, silver, and jewels were genuine, making him covetous.

"Hmph, too late!" the bald leader sneered, kicking the white-clad scholar to the ground with one foot.

His lackeys behind him swiftly gathered the gold, silver, and jewels from the ground.

"Sirs, I truly didn't know you were the Evil People Gang; otherwise I wouldn't dare steal your treasures even if I had the gall of a bear and leopard!" The white-clad scholar collapsed on the ground, curling up, trembling.

Chen Yi He figured it out: the white-clad scholar had tried to steal a big shot's treasure, but apparently hadn't succeeded.

Chen Yi He sized up the Evil People Gang; the coldness in their eyes was definitely from having seen real blood!

"Damn, I must not have time-traveled, right?!"

In fact, Chen Yi He had entertained this thought while hanging in the tree; before falling from the sky, he had been clutching a pirated wuxia novel, cursing the author's lack of scruples, and in an instant ended up in this rundown place.

Chen Yi He pulled out that tyrant-black phone from his pants pocket.

"In novels, transmigrated protagonists either have girls throwing themselves at them or are trashy geniuses who rise to power; if I transmigrated without a cheat, I wouldn't survive past chapter three!" Chen Yi He felt utterly miserable; now all he had on him was a single phone.

This limited-edition Apple 17 phone, which he had seen in a TV ad, he didn't believe it, but after calling the ad's number, the phone arrived at his door via international courier in less than three seconds.

The TV said this phone had two top-tier functions.

Extremely hard. Made from spacecraft-grade material, it won't break even if thrown from a hundred-story building.

Ultra-long standby. The TV claimed its battery would last a user a lifetime, with no charger needed.

Indeed, you get what you pay for.

Seeing this dangerous scene, feeling helpless to call for help, Chen Yi He picked up his phone, ready to dial 110!

Slapping his forehead, he realized he had transmigrated; what 110 could there be here?

"Could this phone be my cheat after all!"

Chen Yi He clung to a sliver of hope; he wanted to photograph the people before him with his phone, maybe something miraculous would happen!

Chen Yi He frantically snapped photos at the bald thugs and the white-clad scholar.

"Click."

"Click."

"Click." Three consecutive flashes, three blinding beams shot out from the tree; Chen Yi He thought he was doomed, having forgotten to turn off the flash.

What the hell, this is no cheat at all!

"Ah! What is this!" The thugs had their eyes dazzled by a sudden white flash.

"Boss, it's sorcery!" one of the lackeys shouted in panic.

"Maybe the tree got struck by lightning!" the bald leader covered his eyes with his knife-wielding hand.

"The rain's stopped, where's the thunder coming from, boss!"

"Boss, could it be that some unparalleled master has shown up? This brat dared steal our loot—could he have backing?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? In Clear Water City, even if the heavenly king himself came, he'd have to give face to our Evil People Gang!" The bald leader looked toward the direction of the flash and saw a young man hanging upside down from a large tree, holding a palm-sized black box aimed at him.

Instantly, Chen Yi He felt a chill; seeing the bald leader, his face drained of color.

Neither laughing nor not laughing was appropriate.

Chen Yi He trembled with his lips, not daring to utter a sound for a long while.

"Who are you!?" the bald leader strode over, pointing his knife at Chen Yi He, suspicious and uncertain.

"Boss, this guy's dressed really weird—he's not from our Clear Water City, is he?" a lackey asked.

"Could he be a great hero from outside?" the bald leader panicked.

"Probably so. This is the wilderness, not inside our Clear Water City." the lackey nodded thoughtfully.

"Then, that blinding flash just now—was he practicing some art?" the bald leader's eyes flickered with fear; according to him, the toughest martial artists in Clear Water City couldn't produce such a move.

Seeing the bald thugs panic, Chen Yi He immediately caught on, then nodded meaningfully, thinking that if he could bluff these guys away, he'd be safe.

"Click." He snapped another photo of the bald leader with his phone, his expression steady, feigning authority: "A bunch of juniors dare disturb me? It's because I've been secluded too long; you've forgotten my prestige."

The white light flashed again, terrifying beyond measure!

"That's a great hero's treasure!" the white-clad scholar suddenly exclaimed.

"Great hero, great hero, spare my life, don't kill me!" the bald leader, who had just been arrogant, immediately dropped to his knees begging Chen Yi He for mercy; indeed, his eyes had been flashed again just now.

"Ahahaha! Really laughing me to death, my goodness, there really is such an idiot." Chen Yi He let out a sigh of relief in his heart, even forgot he was hanging upside down on the tree, he put his phone into his pocket, and said solemnly, "I've put away the treasure, I won't pursue your responsibility!"

"Thank you, great hero! Thank you, great hero!"

Bai Yi Shu Sheng gritted his teeth, a clever idea struck him; if Chen Yi He didn't save him, he would surely die!

For a sliver of hope, Bai Yi Shu Sheng hurriedly moved his knees, knelt before Chen Yi He, and shouted, "Master, save the disciple! Master, please save the disciple!"

Chen Yi He was startled, but being called 'great hero' and 'master' really felt good! Taking advantage of this was also not bad.

"Is this your master?" the bald boss asked Bai Yi Shu Sheng with a pale face. The two knelt facing each other.

Exactly, you've offended the wrong person; my master's martial arts are peerless, and he also has a treasure's aid—the black iron box in his hand is a top-tier treasure in the jianghu, capable of killing invisibly. Hmph, if my master really used it, you'd all die here.

Chen Yi He, hearing Bai Yi Shu Sheng's bluff, almost laughed out loud, but he kept a straight face, looking stern: "You bunch of clueless bald rascals, disturbing this great hero—go to hell!"

"No, great hero, we were wrong!" The remaining burly men also hurriedly knelt, bowing their heads to Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He also knew he was bluffing; he tilted his head back against the branch, looked down at them and laughed, "Then hurry up and get lost!"

The bald boss blinked, seeing Chen Yi He so easily let them off, doubt arose in his heart; looking at Chen Yi He, who wasn't that old, could he really possess peerless martial arts?

Seeing them dumbfounded, Chen Yi He put on a stern face and barked, "You don't want to leave, huh? If you truly don't want to live, I'll send you on your way!"

"No no no, great hero, we'll leave right away, immediately!" the bald boss, dust-covered, hastily led his men in rolling on the ground.

Seeing their figures rolling away, Chen Yi He almost couldn't hold back his laughter! Holding in laughter is really hard.

Looking again at Bai Yi Shu Sheng still kneeling on the ground, Chen Yi He waved at him.

"You..." Bai Yi Shu Sheng approached cautiously.

"No nonsense, hurry and help me down..." Chen Yi He, uncomfortable from hanging upside down, urgently told Bai Yi Shu Sheng.

Bai Yi Shu Sheng blinked, then without delay hurriedly let him down.

Chen Yi He felt refreshed all over, but he felt a bit sorry for his LV belt, which was covered in green tree sap; "Looks like I need to change the belt."

"Thank you, great hero, for saving my life." Bai Yi Shu Sheng bowed and thanked Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He found this person interesting; he cleared his throat, hands behind his back, displaying the full demeanor of a great hero, "Ahem, a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

"I didn't expect the great hero's black iron box to really be a treasure!" Looking at Chen Yi He, Bai Yi Shu Sheng's eyes shone with excitement.

"Treasure is treasure, not a killing treasure; that bunch of bald guys earlier were just scared off by me—just thinking about it is funny!" Chen Yi He laughed and shook his head; after relaxing, the hunger from hanging upside down returned, and his stomach growled.