“Little David, are you alright?” Seeing David Carter standing there in a daze, Mrs. Thompson spoke, then shot a glare at Grace Parker: “Grace Parker, can’t you see Little David isn’t feeling well? You need to have a conscience, be honest— even people from a small city like me understand that, why don’t you? Little David, don’t be afraid. If you can’t manage, Auntie will help you borrow some money. We’ll pay her the rent and make her furious.”

“You…” Grace Parker angrily pointed at Mrs. Thompson: “Why don’t you mind your own business first? You’re not young anymore, but you still have to meddle in everything.”

Mrs. Thompson just laughed: “I signed this contract too, I live in this courtyard, and unlike some people, I’m not so mean, heartless, and immoral. When we rented this house, you weren’t even the owner of this courtyard. Who knows who you were—last year, when you got married, you and your mother colluded to demand an extra thirty thousand yuan before getting in the car, or else you wouldn’t go. If it hadn’t been for Little David running around and kindly helping to scrape together the money from the neighbors, would you be able to strut around here today? I just can’t stand this kind of thing. Back in my small city, even a verbal promise is as good as a pit in the ground. Who acts like this, acting like you’ll die if you don’t get the money? You’re obsessed with money. If I’d been the landlord back then, I wouldn’t have bothered scraping together the money—I’d have just driven the car to my ex-girlfriend’s or some other woman’s place and married anyone, it’d be better than you.”

Grace Parker was left red-faced by Mrs. Thompson’s words, trying several times to interrupt but never getting the chance. Mrs. Thompson was tall and a bit heavy, so Grace Parker didn’t dare lose her temper, just stood there fuming, breathing heavily, while Mrs. Thompson went on like a floodgate had opened, her words pouring out endlessly. She didn’t curse, but what she said left Grace Parker nearly dizzy.

David Carter was by no means a dull person, but at this moment his mind was filled only with thoughts of his own arm. Yet his left arm was right there on his body—he couldn’t even move it away if he wanted to. And just now, he’d leapt over a wall more than two meters high in an instant, and his running speed was several times faster than normal. All of this left him terrified and uneasy. So he was in a daze, not paying any attention to Grace Parker. Seeing Grace Parker forced back several steps by Mrs. Thompson and no longer blocking his way, David Carter simply walked straight to his own room.

“Sigh, what a good kid—has to take care of the house and work, gets sick from exhaustion and still has to put up with your attitude. Look at how you’ve pushed him.” Mrs. Thompson looked at David Carter, thinking he was acting this way from stress, and couldn’t help but sigh.

“You…” At this moment, Grace Parker tried to block David Carter again.

“You what? I could win an argument with you with half my mouth covered. Bullying a kid—what kind of skill is that?” Mrs. Thompson stretched out her big fan-like hand, already blocking Grace Parker.

“You… fine… I won’t bother with you country folk. The lease is up in three days. If you can’t come up with a year and a half’s rent, then all of you can get out.” Grace Parker, out of breath from arguing with Mrs. Thompson, finally shouted this and stormed upstairs in a huff.

Back in his room, David Carter immediately drew the curtains. Grace Parker’s words about paying the rent in three days echoed faintly in his ears, but he wasn’t in the mood to care. He stood there for a while before slowly walking to the mirror, carefully taking off his shirt. He slowly raised his left arm and looked it over, then checked it in the mirror. The arm was completely intact. He could clearly feel the strength in it, its presence—no matter how he looked, it was the same.

But after looking for a long time, David Carter saw that the spot where his left arm had been injured was also as good as new. He moved it up and down, left and right, made a fist, carefully picked up something—there was no problem at all. It was definitely his own arm; that sense of connection was unmistakable. After a while, he raised his right hand to touch his left arm. The place that should have been amputated didn’t even have a scar. David Carter pinched it—there was a slight pain.

“I’m not dreaming… is this real?” David Carter finally became a bit more clear-headed, muttering to himself, when he suddenly noticed a fruit knife on the table nearby.

David Carter picked up the fruit knife, looking at his left arm, thinking that all this couldn’t possibly be a dream. So how was his amputated left arm alive and well here, working perfectly? Could it be a prosthetic? But he’d never heard of a prosthetic like this. Could he have become a test subject for some new technology, and had a high-tech electronic arm installed without his knowledge?

Thinking this, David Carter placed the fruit knife on his left arm, wondering if he should try making a small cut, or secretly collect some blood for testing. If not, he really couldn’t think of any other explanation—how could his amputated left arm be perfectly fine, and his body have changed so much?

“Is this real or not? What on earth is going on?” David Carter muttered.

“Of course it’s real! Kid, are you actually thinking of hurting yourself?!” Suddenly, a voice rang out in David Carter’s mind. What shocked David Carter even more was that he could clearly feel the voice was coming from inside his left arm.

Chapter Two: The Soul in the Left Arm

Damn, I’m not some high-tech test subject—this is a supernatural event, there’s a ghost! David Carter’s mind buzzed. The voice was rough and carried an air of authority, wild and unruly, with the kind of swagger that says “Heaven is first, I’m second,” boundless pride and dominance.