That shadowy figure was none other than the thoroughly drunk Grace Bennett.

Last night, after downing a dozen beers in a row, he hadn’t even realized he could drink so much. But after pouring all that alcohol into his stomach, Grace Bennett finally collapsed completely. He vaguely remembered that, because he was so drunk, he even banged his head somewhere.

Shaking his head slightly, the just-awakened Grace Bennett still felt the pain of a hangover in his brain. All the memories came flooding back into his mind once more. In an instant, a trace of pain and a bit of confusion flashed through his eyes. However, all his thoughts quickly transformed into determination.

The past is the past. Since he had already told himself to stand up again, he would start walking forward from today!

Since he had decided to leave home, he might as well leave Ning City for good.

He didn’t know where to go for the moment, but soon, the image of a city surfaced in his mind—Linzhou, the provincial capital of Huaijiang Province. Other than this city where he was born and raised, only Linzhou in this world had given him the deepest memories.

Just thinking of that city, a wave of warmth inexplicably welled up in Grace Bennett’s heart, and a graceful figure once again filled his mind.

The deepest memory of that city was none other than her.

During his university years, if it hadn’t been for that graceful figure who, after a chance encounter, entered his world, often encouraged and comforted him, and always passed on her cheerfulness and happiness to him, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to regain his lost confidence even now.

It could be said that she occupied a place in his heart as vast as the sky.

The two characters Emily Bolton had long since left an indelible impression in his heart.

But unfortunately, although Grace Bennett had regained his former confidence, it was not quite enough. So from beginning to end, the two of them were just very good friends of the opposite sex. Until graduation, faced with his mother’s constant persuasion, and truly wanting to prove to her that he, Grace Bennett, was capable, he returned to Ning City and applied for a civil service job.

He never expected things would end like this.

Walking out of the alley, Grace Bennett glanced up at the sunlight overhead, then continued along the roadside. Occasionally, passersby looked at him with surprise, and some even covered their noses, but none of this could affect Grace Bennett in the slightest anymore.

Arriving at the nearest hotel, he booked a room and asked the attendant to prepare a new set of clothes and a simple breakfast for him. Only then did Grace Bennett start to wash up, and it was only then that he noticed a small bloodstain on his forehead.

This made him pause for a moment, then he just smiled wryly and ignored it.

After tidying up his appearance, he sat on the edge of the bed to rest, and a wave of inexplicable irritation welled up in Grace Bennett’s heart.

Even though he had decided to go to the provincial capital, he still didn’t feel at ease.

Because in the past, he had imagined countless times that if he ever saw her again, even if he wasn’t dazzlingly successful, at least he would be spirited and able to stand tall and proud.

And judging by how things were going a few months ago, his future would have been bright. If he just waited a little longer, he could have straightened his back and stood before her. Maybe he could have even mustered the courage to confess the affection he held in his heart.

But he never expected that things would change so suddenly.

Now, he was left with nothing—family, job, even money—he had almost nothing left.

After all, he had been working in a government office these past few months, and his achievements weren’t monetary. Now that he was leaving, those things couldn’t be taken with him.

All told, he now had only one bank card in his pocket, with less than three thousand yuan.

If he went to see her like this, it would be hard for Grace Bennett not to smile bitterly.

After a moment of silent contemplation, a glimmer of determination flashed in Grace Bennett’s eyes again. He had already lost everything, so what was there to fear? As long as he still had confidence, that was enough.

As long as he had confidence, he believed that even starting from scratch, he could rely on his own abilities to reach a point where no one would ever look down on him again.

“Right now, the most important thing is to go to the provincial capital and find a job first…”

As he pondered silently, a wave of hunger gradually rose in him. Thinking about it, he realized he had barely eaten anything all day yesterday—he had only drunk a lot of alcohol.

Listening to his stomach growl, Grace Bennett gave another wry smile, gathered his thoughts, and walked over to the bedside.

On the nightstand, a plastic bag contained a few pieces of fried dough sticks and a cup of eight-treasure porridge, already slightly cool. Grace Bennett didn’t mind at all. He simply opened the bag and reached for a dough stick.

Just then, a strange thought surged into his mind the moment his fingers touched the dough stick.

“Food can be fused, 1, consumes 1 energy, current energy, 3!”

The sensation was as if someone was whispering in his mind, incomparably clear.

That sentence startled Grace Bennett so much that his hand trembled, letting the dough stick slip from his grasp. He quickly turned around, looking left and right.

But after a glance, he saw no one at all.