Chapter One: Falling from the Sky

"You little punk, you even dare to touch my woman? Watch me break both your hands."

On an ordinary-looking city bus, a burly man was grabbing a skinny young man by the collar, glaring at him furiously.

The man's name was Mr. Cooper, the local thug in this area, and few people usually dared to mess with him. The skinny young man was called Ethan Carter, a hopelessly inept pickpocket—what people commonly call a thief.

The reason Ethan Carter was called inept was because his stealing skills were absolutely terrible. Honestly, he was never cut out to be a pickpocket: not only were his hands and feet clumsy, but he was also slow to react. Out of ten attempts, he'd get caught at least ** times, and that was even when he often targeted elderly folks with poor eyesight.

After being yelled at by Mr. Cooper, Ethan Carter's expression froze, his eyes glazed over, which only made Mr. Cooper even angrier. He slapped him across the face.

"Smack!"

Only after taking the slap did Ethan Carter snap back to reality. He glanced at the beautiful woman beside Mr. Cooper, feeling wronged inside.

Fortunately, while Ethan Carter's stealing skills were lacking, his ability to bluff his way out of trouble was top-notch.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Ethan Carter's face flushed red, and he lowered his head, putting on a look of deep remorse.

Seeing Ethan Carter's reaction, Mr. Cooper's expression finally softened a bit, but he was still upset and cursed, "You little punk, you even dare to mess with Mr. Cooper's woman? You must be tired of living. Go ask around—on this turf, who hasn't heard of Mr. Cooper and Abraham Lincoln?"

Ethan Carter smiled bitterly to himself. He really was down on his luck—he'd randomly picked a woman to target, only to land himself in such big trouble. He quickly forced a smile and said, "Yes, yes, yes, you're right, Mr. Cooper. Next time, even if you kill me, I wouldn't dare lay a finger on Abraham Lincoln."

Hearing this, Mr. Cooper's eyebrows shot up and his face filled with pride. Abraham Lincoln, however, was a bit displeased. The guy had only stolen her wallet, but listening to the conversation between Mr. Cooper and Ethan Carter, she felt something was off.

Abraham Lincoln glared at Mr. Cooper, then quickly moved closer to Ethan Carter, wanting to get her wallet back.

"Damn! Seriously? Not again!"

Ethan Carter was startled and didn't dare let Abraham Lincoln get any closer. He hurriedly reached out to push her away, but in his panic, his hands ended up pressing right onto Abraham Lincoln's ample chest.

Abraham Lincoln let out a startled cry and quickly stepped back a few paces.

Mr. Cooper was now furious. At first, Ethan Carter had only stolen a wallet, and he hadn't wanted to get physical—after all, fighting on a bus could get you fined. But now Ethan Carter had actually groped his woman right in front of him, and that was intolerable.

Mr. Cooper lunged to grab Ethan Carter again, but this time Ethan Carter was ready and dodged, leaving him grasping at thin air.

Normally, Mr. Cooper and Abraham Lincoln were not people to mess with, and Ethan Carter would have just put up with it. But now, knowing things couldn't end peacefully, he stopped being meek and said seriously, "Mr. Cooper, I really didn't mean to take advantage of Abraham Lincoln. It was all a misunderstanding."

Seeing that Mr. Cooper was still furious, Ethan Carter continued, "The onlooker sees more than the player. Everyone saw what happened just now—why not let everyone say what they think?"

There had been quite a few passengers watching the drama unfold, but as soon as Ethan Carter said this, everyone quickly turned their heads away, pretending it had nothing to do with them.

Ethan Carter was dumbfounded. Mr. Cooper felt mocked and grew even angrier, glaring fiercely at Ethan Carter, looking ready to attack.

Just then, the bus suddenly stopped at a station. While Ethan Carter was still in a daze, Mr. Cooper simply kicked him.

When Ethan Carter saw Mr. Cooper's kick coming, he shuddered and tried to dodge, but with his slow reflexes, there was no way he could avoid it.

So, Ethan Carter ended up having a close encounter with the ground in a rather tragic fashion.

The bus driver shifted gears and sped off, splashing muddy water all over Ethan Carter's face, as if the bus had stopped just for him.

Lying on the damp concrete, Ethan Carter looked up and realized it had started to rain at some point. He felt utterly miserable. He'd already spent all his money two days ago, and if things kept going like this, he'd starve to death.

Believe it or not, Ethan Carter wasn't some uneducated scoundrel. On the contrary, he was a graduate from a regular university, and not just any university, but the most prestigious one in H City.

But in a society where PhDs are as common as dogs and master's degrees are like dog hair, a bachelor's diploma is about as useful as a scrap of paper.

On top of that, like his classmates, Ethan Carter had spent his college years playing games and chasing girls, learning nothing.

By the time he graduated, his classmates had all found their way—some through connections, some by giving gifts—while Ethan Carter finally realized his mistakes, but it was already too late.

Ethan Carter was an orphan, raised in a welfare home. His tuition had been paid by the state, and he had little contact with society, so he had no connections.

As for giving gifts, that was even more impossible—he had no money!