[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-start-with-a-mysterious-island":3,"chapter-i-start-with-a-mysterious-island-i-start-with-a-mysterious-island-chapter-24":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Start with a Mysterious Island",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1664982,2132,"Chapter 24: To Be Looked Upon with Pity","i-start-with-a-mysterious-island-chapter-24",24,"\u003Cp>Half an hour later, after walking along the highway, Lin Li finally reached Chenghua Avenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He moved into the shade of a roadside tree to escape the scorching sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took his phone out of his pocket, opened a ride-hailing app, and placed an order. Then, he leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, a taxi appeared in the distance. The driver was a young man, only five or six years older than Lin Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw someone waving at him from under the tree and immediately pulled over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You the one who called for a ride?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s me! Let me show you my order number.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need. Just get in. You’re the only person I’ve seen on this whole stretch of road.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLICK... THUD.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Li nodded, opened the back door, and sat down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young driver turned the steering wheel, made a U-turn, and started heading toward the city center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having toiled for half a day in the treacherous wilderness, Lin Li sank into the soft seat. His already weary body was immediately overcome with drowsiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The driver glanced at Lin Li in the rearview mirror, his eyes focusing on the crudely wrapped gauze on the other man’s left hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The customer was wearing camouflage clothes flecked with grass clippings and had a weary expression. Combined with the injury on his hand and the fact that he was on Chenghua Avenue, he had to be an Exotic Beast Hunter—and most likely a rookie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This rookie has it rough!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The driver had given rides to plenty of Exotic Beast Hunters before. Backpacks and weapons were practically their standard equipment; they were never seen without them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this young Exotic Beast Hunter, a few years his junior, had nothing but the camo on his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’He must have been attacked by a Mutant Beast in the wild and fled for his life.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phrase \"lost his shield and threw away his armor\" instantly popped into the imaginative driver’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more the driver thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. His gaze toward Lin Li filled with sympathy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to say something comforting, like, \"It’s okay if you lost your weapons and gear, as long as you made it out alive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the words died on his lips. He felt it wasn’t his place to say something like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d heard that the weapons used by these Exotic Beast Hunters were special Spiritual Weapons for Cultivators, and even the cheapest ones cost several hundred thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Several hundred thousand! I kill myself driving this taxi all month for just six or seven thousand. It would take me years of work to afford a single Spiritual Weapon.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This young man, a few years younger than him, had gone out to the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts. Not only had he come back empty-handed, but he had also lost his incredibly expensive Spiritual Weapon. ’Sigh... How tragic!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drowsy Lin Li had no idea that in the driver’s eyes, he had become a pitiful, tragic figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even if Lin Li had known what the driver was thinking, he wouldn’t have cared. Right now, all he wanted was to get home, take a hot shower, and lie down for a nap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SCREECH...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ride was smooth, and twenty minutes later, the taxi pulled up to the entrance of the Ping’an Garden District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After paying the twenty-five-yuan fare, Lin Li got out of the taxi. As he was about to enter the district, he saw a girl eating ice cream by the roadside. He thought for a moment, pursed his lips, and walked toward the convenience store at the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spent five yuan on a chocolate-flavored ice cream bar. Lin Li tore open the wrapper, threw it into a nearby trash can, and started eating as he walked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his last five yuan spent, Lin Li was now completely broke, but he wasn’t the least bit worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had checked the app earlier. Superfast Recycling had already logged the Wild Boar Beast and rabbit beast he’d hunted into their cold storage warehouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next step was the sale. It shouldn’t be long before he received a payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh? Lin, didn’t you go camping with your friends? Why are you back so early? Your hand... How did you hurt your hand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Lin Li finished his ice cream bar and was about to enter the lobby of Building Six, Ms. Wang came walking over from a distance, on her way to throw out the trash, and happened to see him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Ah, of all people, I had to run into Ms. Wang,’ Lin Li thought. ’From now on, I should leave the camo on the Mysterious Small Island and only change into it when I get to my destination. That should save me this kind of trouble...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Ms. Wang looking at his injured left hand with concern, Lin Li smiled and explained, \"I took a nasty fall while camping and hurt my hand, so I came back early.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it serious?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just a minor injury, nothing serious. It’ll be fine in a few days...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Lin Li’s explanation, the worry in Ms. Wang’s eyes immediately faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, I won’t keep you, Ms. Wang. I’m heading home.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Li turned and walked into the lobby. When he went to take the elevator, he saw it was sealed off with tape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the notice posted on the door. It said the elevator had malfunctioned, was awaiting repairs, and would be out of service for the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading the notice, Lin Li silently cursed his luck and turned toward the stairwell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, he lived on the sixth floor, which wasn’t too high up. He reached his front door a short while later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thought, he retrieved his backpack from the Mysterious Small Island, unzipped it, and took his house key from a hidden compartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLICK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened the door, stepped inside, and pulled it shut behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Finally back. Nothing beats being home!\" Lin Li kicked off his shoes, placed them in the shoe cabinet, slipped on his house slippers, and strode into the living room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>THUMP.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually tossed his backpack onto the sofa, then turned and went into his bedroom. A moment later, he emerged with a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun set in the west. Having toiled all day, it packed its things and headed home, leaving behind a brilliant crimson sunset as its final farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLICK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bedroom door opened, and a newly-awakened Lin Li emerged, yawning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his short nap, all his spent energy had returned. He felt like he was in good enough shape to go a full three hundred rounds with the Wild Boar Beast he had killed earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to look out the window. The sky was growing dark, and the streetlights would be turning on soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Li sat down on the living room sofa. He felt like eating some fruit, but unfortunately, the fruit bowl was long empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up the TV remote from the coffee table and pressed the power button, but the television didn’t respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’No way! The TV is broken?! I just bought this thing last year!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Li was aghast. The ultra-thin, widescreen TV he had spent over six thousand yuan on was broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>",1240,"2026-06-06T12:43:53.640Z",1,"novelbin.me","1eb9260a1df688d507adf1391510d8f227a511e969e087612d0effd6537db989","i-start-with-a-mysterious-island-chapter-25","i-start-with-a-mysterious-island-chapter-23",305,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-start-with-a-mysterious-island-cover.jpg"]