Chapter 1: An Unlucky Experience

May 1986, Pengcheng Railway Station.

In a soft-sleeper carriage with an hour left before departure, Wu Feng was busy settling their luggage, his mouth not resting for a moment: "Mom, I've already called Third Uncle. He'll pick you up when the train arrives!"

"Be careful on the road. If you run into trouble, don't worry about the luggage. Once you're back home, I'll send you money. It would be best if you could get your old job back!"

At this moment, only mother and son were in the carriage, so they didn't have to worry about being overheard while sharing intimate words.

His mother was a woman in her thirties, of medium build with a face showing the wear of life, dressed in cheap clothes from Hong Kong, her short, ear-length hair streaked with strands of glaring white.

"Da Feng!"

Standing to the side, his exhausted mother suddenly spoke.

Wu Feng turned his head instinctively, only to see his mother struggle for a moment before pleading in a low voice: "If your father comes back, don't get angry or argue with him. Just let him go back to the hometown!"

Hearing his mother's plea, Wu Feng's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, an inexplicable fire surging in his heart.

"Mom, he's a gambler who doesn't care if his wife and children live or die. Why bother with him?"

"Da Feng, don't say that. He is your father, after all!"

A look of supplication appeared on his mother's face, tears welling in her eyes.

"……Fine. Mom, don't cry. I'll listen to you."

He sighed inwardly, forcibly suppressing his anger. There was no reason for his innocent mother to bear the consequences of his gambler father's mistakes; their previous life had already been stifling and oppressive enough.

His mother was a typical traditional woman; while she didn't exactly believe in "the husband as the guide," she still held onto old sentiments regarding the father who repeatedly incurred gambling debts and shamelessly ran away.

They had argued and fought enough; there was no need to continue adding negative emotions to his mother.

Wu Feng could only bottle up his dissatisfaction. Fortunately, such days would be no more.

This time, he had managed to secure a soft-sleeper ticket through the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, providing some guarantee of safety.

As other passengers in the carriage boarded one after another, Wu Feng greeted them politely and even handed out a pack of Marlboros, quickly striking up a conversation.

When the time was right, he asked the other passengers to help look after his mother, gave her a few more patient instructions, and then stepped off the train.

He watched until the train disappeared from sight before walking quickly through the chaotic, crowded station.

With his tall, sturdy frame, floral shirt, jeans, and sneakers, he looked just like a compatriot from Hong Kong; naturally, no one with poor judgment dared to pick a fight.

He got straight into the van parked outside the station and greeted the driver, an underling, "Drive. We're going back to Hong Kong!"

The aging van started up quickly and headed toward Hong Kong.

Leaning back against the seat, his thoughts began to drift.

He was not a person of this world—or rather, not a person of this era.

He had transmigrated from 2024, where he was a professional web novelist.

Also named Wu Feng, his soul had merged with a youth of the same name living in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, in 1986.

Come to think of it, the youth Wu Feng of this world had a rather miraculous history.

He was originally from Hubei Province in the Mainland, having studied in his hometown county since childhood: one year of preschool, five years of primary school, two years of junior high, and two years of high school. Unfortunately, he failed to get into a technical secondary school in the college entrance exam.

He was only fifteen at the time, too young to work in a state unit, and there were no suitable positions anyway.

For the sake of his future, he simply signed up for the army and even participated in the Two Mountains Battle with his unit.

Originally, given his education and performance, he even had a chance to enter a military academy through internal exams, but he was called back by his family after his three-year term of compulsory service ended.

It turned out that his father had an uncle who had been press-ganged by the Nationalist Army back in the day. After the war, he didn't flee to Taiwan but went to Hong Kong with a group of defeated soldiers, settling down in Tiu Keng Leng to marry and have children.

Not long ago, feeling his time was near, he found Wu Feng's father through the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, asking him to come to Hong Kong for one last meeting and to arrange his affairs.

By the time his father arrived in Hong Kong, the uncle, after asking for his opinion while on his sickbed, helped his father obtain a Hong Kong ID card and even secured him a stable job before passing away.

At that time, his father, who had recently graduated from technical school, was already the station chief of the township veterinary station, a section-chief-level cadre.

Shortly after, his father, having established a foothold in Hong Kong, had his mother take unpaid leave to join him.

The yearning for the outside world was quite intense back then, not to mention that the average wage in Hong Kong was shockingly high; anyone who had the chance was happy to come over and make a fortune.

In the spring of 1986, Wu Feng was discharged from his compulsory service and soon rushed to Hong Kong, where he also obtained a Hong Kong ID card.

With his education, finding a decent job in Hong Kong shouldn't have been a problem, but fate was not on his side.

His father, not knowing when, had become addicted to gambling, and the man was completely ruined.

At first, he only gambled with his own salary, but later he started taking his mother's salary too. They had argued countless times over this, but it was useless.

Later, his courage grew, and he even borrowed usurious loans from underground casinos to gamble.

When the loan sharks came to collect, he simply vanished, leaving his mother and Wu Feng to face a group of vicious thugs.

They used all sorts of despicable tactics, like splashing red paint and releasing snakes, along with various unbearable threats.

Wu Feng wasn't afraid; having experienced the baptism of gunfire on the front lines, he wouldn't fear a few street hoodlums. But his mother desperately held him back, refusing to let him fight.

Fortunately, his cousin Huang Wengang from his great-uncle's family couldn't stand it and stepped in to help. Only then did Wu Feng and his cousin drive the debt-collecting thugs away.

At this point, Wu Feng was actually backed into a corner with no choice left.

If he and his mother left Hong Kong immediately to return to their hometown, they would have to leave his cousin's family to face the loan sharks.

With a debt of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, who knew how astronomical the figure would become with compound interest?

The only option was to stay in Hong Kong and resist, though he might be beaten to death by the debt collectors at any moment.

Or perhaps take a crooked path, since he did possess considerable personal combat ability!

His mother only cried, cursing his father's mistakes, without any real ideas or opinions.

At this time, his cousin Huang Wengang proposed a suggestion: join a society!

As it happened, Zhong Ye of the Hong Yi Society thought highly of his skills and wanted to take him under his wing.

He had been hesitant, but if Wu Feng joined as well, he would be completely relieved.

If he didn't know his cousin's temperament, Wu Feng would have thought he was setting a trap for him to jump into; his persuasion skills really needed improvement.

Wu Feng had no choice but to agree, confirming it after meeting Zhong Ye of Hong Yi with his cousin.

Zhong Ye helped pay off the 100,000 in usurious loans—that was a massive favor!

After returning, feeling depressed, he drank himself into a stupor, and then the Wu Feng from 2024 transmigrated over.

Because it was a soul fusion, the memories and emotions of the predecessor were preserved, which was why he reacted so intensely to the topic of his father.

After kowtowing to Guan Gong and becoming an official Four-Nine of Hong Yi, the first thing to do was to properly arrange for his mother to return to their hometown; she couldn't stay in Hong Kong for the time being.

Fortunately, his mother held a work visa and a temporary ID card, so she could continue working after returning.

Wu Feng had originally intended to personally escort his mother back, but Zhong Ye was in urgent need of manpower and wouldn't allow it, which led to the scene in the train carriage.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 2 =====