“Stealing again in the middle of the night? Didn’t those thieves just leave not long ago?” Henry Webb asked.

　　“I don’t know… maybe it’s another wave of newcomers fighting for territory.” Emily Webb sighed, picked up a piece of clothing, and began mending it with needle and thread.

　　“Anyway, you’re out there, always having to endure everything—be careful. If someone tries to rob you, just give it to them. We’re still here at home, we won’t let you go hungry.” Second sister Emily Webb earnestly reminded him.

　　“I know.” Henry Webb nodded.

　　His expression was a bit numb.

　　Coming to this world, he had transmigrated and been reborn as Henry Webb, an ordinary, unremarkable young man.

　　He wasn’t completely without something to rely on.

　　It’s just that this reliance couldn’t be activated at all right now.

　　It was a bead, or rather, the image of a bead, imprinted right in the center of his chest.

　　From the residual information in his mind, the bead was called the Breaking Realm Bead.

　　And its ability was very simple.

　　That was to break through realms.

　　When it accumulated enough energy, and he himself reached a critical point, it could help him break through a martial arts bottleneck.

　　The reason he knew this was because, when he transmigrated, the bead left a bit of information in his mind, like implanted memory.

　　As for whether it was real or not, that remained to be seen.

　　After the Breaking Realm Bead finished accumulating energy, it would change from a nearly skin-colored translucent hue to pitch black.

　　But now, even after more than three months, Henry Webb still hadn’t seen the bead’s pattern turn black.

　　At most, the color had just deepened a little.

　　Of course, these days he barely ate enough to be full at each meal, so there was no extra energy to spare for the bead.

　　The energy the bead needed mainly came from his daily meals, converting surplus food into vital essence, which it would absorb and slowly accumulate.

　　At first, Henry Webb had hope for it, but as time went on, after three months, the excitement that hope brought had gradually faded into indifference.

　　He lay down on the bed to rest for a while, still fully clothed. There were only three beds in the house: one for the parents, one barely big enough for the eldest and second sisters to squeeze together, and one for him.

　　In a house of less than sixty square meters, the three beds could only be crammed into one spot, while the rest of the space had to fit the stove, table, chairs, and so on—extremely cramped.

　　But this was already a middle-income household among the local commoners.

　　After sleeping for a while, Henry Webb got up, planning to go out for a walk.

　　He had the Breaking Realm Bead, and thought that if he had the chance, he’d find some decent martial arts to practice, then use the bead to break through and improve.

　　But right now, there was no way to find any martial arts at all. His eldest sister in the Blackwater Gang only managed to hold her ground by being ruthless and reckless.

　　And the Breaking Realm Bead showed no sign of activity.

　　Feeling helpless, Henry Webb would wander around the city a few times every day after work.

　　He was small, dressed in shabby clothes, and clearly had no money, so no one bothered to pick on him.

　　When he got up, second sister Emily Webb was already asleep, slumped over the only table.

　　Henry Webb carefully left the house, closed the door behind him, and walked out of the alley to the right.

　　Cough, cough…

　　As soon as he left the alley, he heard a fit of coughing from the right.

　　He looked up and saw Sister Zhang, a neighbor who often looked for work with second sister Emily Webb, holding her hand over her mouth and coughing repeatedly.

　　“Xiao He, keep your distance.” Someone beside him pulled him back.

　　The one who pulled him was a short old man with a tobacco pipe.

　　Wearing a sweat-stained, smelly white jacket, he pulled Henry Webb out of the alley and walked a few more steps.

　　Then he lowered his voice, looking grim.

　　“There’s been a plague in the city lately… That Zhang girl, no one knows what happened, but she’s been coughing ever since she came back a few days ago. You’d better be careful, don’t catch it. Tell your second sister to be careful too.”

　　“Thank you, Grandpa Clark.” Henry Webb felt a chill in his heart. He’d heard about the plague before, supposedly spreading in the north of the city, but now it had suddenly reached his doorstep…

　　Over the past three months, he’d tried hard to use his advanced thinking as a transmigrator to help his family’s finances.

　　Unfortunately, all attempts ended in failure.

　　No matter what method he tried, in this city, there was always one thing he couldn’t get around.

　　That was the gangs.

　　In the lower districts, territories were divided, with different gangs controlling different areas.

　　Whether opening a shop or running a small business, you had to pay the gangs. Without connections, if your business did well, you’d be targeted immediately.

　　The result: either hand over your business and become a worker, or pay a hefty sum every month and barely make a living.

　　This was a harsh era where any commoner with a bit of money would be targeted.

　　Henry Webb didn’t linger. He quickly left the alley, walked through the city’s winding lanes, and soon arrived outside an old, gray courtyard.

　　From inside the courtyard came the sound of children reading aloud, occasionally interrupted by the low, stern voice of an elder.

　　At the entrance hung a plaque with three red characters: 讲经堂 (Lecture Hall).

　　Henry Webb found a suitable spot along the wall, sat down, and quietly listened.

　　The Lecture Hall was where the wealthy families in the city sent their children for early education.

　　It was said that the teachers inside were all scholars who had once passed the imperial exams.