"Whatever you want." Grace Bennett gave up on pressing further, shifted the topic, and stared at Jason Carter with interest for a while before speaking. "So, shouldn't we talk about my payment now?"

"What do you want as payment?" After pondering for a moment, Jason Carter asked. He really had no idea what currency was in circulation in this world.

"C-type batteries, food, sub-crystals, any of those will do, but personally, I prefer food." As Grace Bennett spoke, her tongue lightly licked her red lips. She paused, then continued, "Oh, right, do you still have any of those... uh, canned curry chicken?"

"You already ate them all." Jason Carter sighed, pretending to be heartbroken. He had never even seen those batteries or sub-crystals, so using food as payment was naturally the best option.

"Uh, sorry." Grace Bennett scratched her head a bit awkwardly, but her face quickly returned to that fierce expression. She put one foot up on the armrest and, without any courtesy, started to haggle. "Payment: ten cans a month. Meals included!"

"Deal."

Jason Carter's straightforwardness actually made the aggressive Grace Bennett feel a bit of unnatural guilt. Although on this wasteland, only an idiot would still have a conscience, it had to be said that a sliver of conscience still lingered deep in people's hearts.

Fierceness was just a protective color.

"...I'll be responsible for your safety." Grace Bennett coughed, adding with a hint of guilt.

No kidding, if I die, who will pay you? Jason Carter grumbled viciously in his heart. Although this cost wasn't much to him, it was still a hundred or so cans.

"So, my beautiful bodyguard, can you untie the ropes on me now?" With the crisis finally resolved, the relaxed Jason Carter let out a sigh of relief. His limbs were almost numb from being tied up.

Grace Bennett skillfully pulled a dagger from her waist and, with two swift motions, cut through the hemp rope binding Jason Carter.

Stretching his gradually recovering limbs, Jason Carter glanced at Grace Bennett with a hint of grievance and picked up his thoroughly rummaged backpack.

Grace Bennett smiled awkwardly, her face a bit red, and whistled as she put the matter behind her.

"So, what now? Are we leaving here?"

"Leave? Why? This is our gathering spot for now."

Outside the window, the city of steel and concrete had long lost its former vitality. The once bustling streets were devoid of people, replaced by endless zombies. Occasionally, unknown mutant monsters would appear, gnawing on lifeless corpses and letting out lordly howls. In the distance, faint gunshots could be heard. In this city filled with death, battles that felt all too familiar played out every day. Humans and monsters, humans and humans...

Through the stained and mottled glass, Jason Carter saw danger, death... and gold scattered everywhere.

Chapter 2: The Jump Bracelet

The universe is pluralistic.

A butterfly flapping its wings unintentionally in the Amazon jungle might, two weeks later, set off a tornado in Texas, USA. That is, any tiny change, when amplified infinitely, can have an impact big enough to alter the course of the future.

In other words, the future as we understand it is extremely unstable.

Jason Carter, male, 23 years old, college graduate. After graduation, he worked as a salesperson in a clothing store, but he had already been laid off. His ever-shrinking wallet forced him to face a dilemma: should he stay in Shanghai and keep job hunting, or give up his rented apartment and return to his hometown?

Honestly, he didn't want to slink back home in defeat. Being able to live in a big city like Shanghai was not only his lifelong dream, but also his parents' expectation for him. How many people who have never seen the world don't long to go out and see it?

Even if he already knew that reality might leave him battered and bruised.

That night, he got drunk. It was the first time since graduation that he drank himself into oblivion alone. After venting all his pent-up frustration, he vaguely felt as if his head had been struck by something, and he passed out completely. The unidentified metal object that hit his wrist seemed to merge with him and then disappeared.

After that, he gained an unbelievable ability—traveling between worlds!

Of course, it was months later before he discovered this strange ability.

The bizarre markings circled his right wrist like a watch. Even if he looked closely, the only conclusion he could draw was that it was some kind of strange tattoo.

But here's the thing: Jason Carter had never gotten a tattoo before.

He didn't know why he was chosen, only that his chance to reach the pinnacle of life might have arrived.