Outside the door, Brian Carter took another deep look into the room, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

A vibrating egg, a pleasure wand—weren’t these things really hers? Hmm, she must be embarrassed, but he still couldn’t help but marvel. Such a stunning beauty actually used these things? What a waste.

He couldn’t help but fantasize for a moment, then Brian Carter pursed his lips and went downstairs, his eyes full of regret.

But soon, he put all of this behind him. Once again, he rode his bicycle into the blazing sun, and the scorching heat made it hard for him to think about anything else.

Chapter 002: Memory

“This damn weather, I wonder how dark I’ll get after running around all summer.” Riding his bike, he cheerfully rang the bell, but inside, Brian Carter was grumbling.

But there was nothing he could do. Who told him not to work hard in school? Coming from a rural single-parent family, he was a bit too playful during his studies. As a result, after repeating his senior year, he only managed to get into a junior college. He muddled through two years there, barely tasting college life before it ended. After graduation, he realized he had achieved nothing and had no capital to his name.

In popular terms, he was the purest of losers—no money, no connections, from a single-parent farming family, with no special skills or talents. His looks were average, and he was even shorter than some women these days. He had nothing going for him.

After being rejected from job after job, and with barely enough to eat, he really couldn’t bring himself to let his single father keep supporting him. That’s when he found a job as a courier, spending every day delivering and picking up packages all over the city.

As long as you knew the local area and could endure hardship, this job was doable. He fit the bill, but after just over a month, the grind nearly broke this young man who had just left campus.

After complaining, Brian Carter quickly regained his resolve, showing no sign of discouragement or retreat. He had already celebrated his 21st birthday and left school. If he had wasted his opportunities by playing around, he could only blame himself. He had to swallow this hardship, whether he liked it or not.

An hour later, on the streets of Shancheng.

There still weren’t many pedestrians or vehicles on the main road. The weather was oppressively hot, even more stifling than an hour ago. Riding his bike to an intersection, Brian Carter frowned slightly at the red light ahead, then looked up at the sky.

Just a few minutes ago, the sky had suddenly changed from blazing sun to pitch-black gloom. Thick clouds had drifted in from who knows where, covering the entire sky above Shancheng. The whole city seemed to be soaked in night, as if a torrential downpour could fall at any moment.

This unpredictable weather was driving Brian Carter a little crazy. The sky had suddenly darkened, but it was still unbearably stuffy, with not a hint of wind. As a courier, Brian Carter’s backpack was, of course, waterproof, so he wasn’t afraid of rain. But if it did rain, today’s deliveries would definitely be delayed.

“Damn it.” He cursed under his breath. The red light at the intersection turned green, and Brian Carter pedaled his bike forward. Only when he was speeding along did he feel even a little bit of coolness.

Boom...

Just as he set off, a sudden clap of thunder rolled across the sky, startling people on both sides of the street into shrieks. But Brian Carter ignored it, quickly heading toward his next destination.

As he sped along, the already ink-black sky grew even darker. In that instant, it was as if he were plunged into a night so deep you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face—an unsettling darkness.

Brian Carter, riding fast, suddenly slammed on the brakes, looking around in astonishment.

Black!

Although the tall buildings around him had already turned on their lights, and passing cars had their headlights on, standing by the roadside, Brian Carter still felt that the sky was oppressively dark and frightening.

In his daze, a sudden chill swept down from the gloomy sky, howling as it rushed toward him. It was like an invisible wind blowing fiercely, but instead of passing by, it seemed to burrow straight into Brian Carter’s body.

In an instant, as he braked to a stop by the roadside, Brian Carter shuddered, letting out a cold hiss, almost falling off his bike.

“What’s going on? So cold!”

Barely managing to steady himself, Brian Carter instinctively clutched his head, then rubbed it hard, looking around in confusion. Just now, he had suddenly felt a gust of wind blow into his body and stay there. When the cold hit, his head throbbed with pain, as if something had exploded inside, and a bone-chilling cold made him feel as if he’d been frozen solid.

The sensation lasted only a moment, but it was crystal clear. Even though he knew he was on a city street in broad daylight, Brian Carter still felt a little creeped out.

But after he rubbed his head, his mind calmed down again. The splitting headache and bone-chilling cold were gone. Looking around, everything was normal—the street was still wide and empty.

Frowning, he scanned his surroundings again. As he looked, Brian Carter suddenly froze, astonished to find that the pitch-black sky was gradually brightening, getting lighter and lighter. The black clouds covering all of Shancheng were slowly dispersing.

Even the scorching sunlight broke through the clouds once more, baking the entire street again.