Chapter 225: End of Volume: Prisoner of Fate
’I haven’t done anything wrong, so why did my family have to leave me? Why are my relatives so cold? Why don’t I even have a chance at revenge? Why... is it so hard just to live a normal life?’
’What is the purpose of my existence... What is it, really...?’
Tossing and turning under a bridge, unable to sleep, Tang Yuan finally crossed his own moral line.
’I just want to live a decent life... I’ll only have to do it a few times.’
’I don’t need to resort to robbery. I can just use my ability to go into some rich people’s homes and steal a little cash. That’ll be enough.’
’It’s just borrowing... Once I’m stable and find a small job, I can still take the adult Holy Ascension Selection Test. I’m still young, and my grades were pretty good before. All I need is a little start-up money, and I can definitely get my life back on track... When that happens, I’ll absolutely pay the money back.’
Muttering to himself, trying to convince himself, Tang Yuan took several deep breaths to calm his trembling body. He stood up, stared at the frozen river before him, and broke into a stiff, incredibly cold smile.
’If the world won’t give me a chance, then I’ll just have to take one for myself.’
’After all, I’m a Superpower User.’
Life was a cycle of taking and being taken from. Since the world had always been the one taking his future, this time, it was his turn to take from others.
「February 18, 2015. New Year’s Eve.」
Wandering through a residential complex, Tang Yuan decided on his target.
’It’s New Year’s Eve, so a lot of people have gone back to their hometowns, leaving their homes empty... My Spiritualization lets me ignore heights and walls, and I’m even invisible to normal people, but it’s still best to avoid contact. I can’t risk any accidents.’
Tang Yuan wasn’t stupid. His grades had always been good; it was just a series of misfortunes that kept him from living a normal life. Even for a theft like this, he had prepared meticulously: ’I won’t take much. Other people have to live, too. With my ability, I could rob an entire building in one night. If I just take a little from each apartment, it’ll be hard to get caught, and I won’t affect their lives too much.’
He still had some semblance of a moral compass, but if it were ever challenged, it would likely shatter completely.
’I’ll start with that one—the lights in that apartment have been off ever since I started watching. They must have all gone back to their hometown for the Spring Festival.’
The thought of the Spring Festival made Tang Yuan’s heart ache. When his parents were still alive, the Spring Festival had been a day of joyous reunion. Even during the time he was treated like he was invisible by the Tang Family, the relatives who usually ignored him would at least offer a polite smile on that day. But all of that was gone now.
Calming himself, Tang Yuan activated his Spiritualization and flew up to one of the higher floors. He searched everywhere for hidden cash... and he found a lot of it! It wasn’t hard for the spiritualized Tang Yuan to get his hands on any of it, whether it was bundles of cash in a safe or a secret stash tucked away in a corner. His Spiritualization allowed him to make objects he touched spiritualized as well, and he’d tested the limit to be an object about one cubic meter in size.
It was the perfect ability for infiltration and theft.
’What a haul today!’
In no time, Tang Yuan had already pocketed tens of thousands of yuan in cash. Joy spread across his stiff face: ’This is enough for me to live in the northeast for a long time... It’s more than enough for start-up money.’
But since he’d already started, he might as well take a little more. The more money he had, the more secure his future would be.
As time passed, Tang Yuan grew bolder. Once he realized that normal people truly couldn’t see him, he even dared to enter apartments where he could hear voices inside. ’Why not? I’m a Superpower User. So what if they find me? It’s not like I can’t escape, right?’
But his growing sense of recklessness was suddenly shattered by a little girl’s voice.
"Huh? Mister with the big bag, how did you suddenly appear in Xiaxia’s room?"
’Who’s there?!’
Hearing a hushed voice call out, Tang Yuan was genuinely terrified. His bloodshot eyes darted toward the sound, and he froze.
He saw a very frail little girl sitting dazedly on the bed, her vacant eyes fixed on him.
"How did you get in here, mister?" For some reason, the little girl who called herself Xiaxia wasn’t afraid of a stranger appearing in her room—it seemed she didn’t even have a concept of danger. "Grandma said this is Xiaxia’s home, and no one else is supposed to come in!"
The girl’s voice was so quiet that Tang Yuan wouldn’t have been able to make out her words if the room weren’t completely silent.
Meanwhile, Tang Yuan stared at the little girl, his face twisted with confusion.
’How can she see me... Everyone else can’t see me at all. How did she spot me?!’
’My ability... it’s not perfect?!’
For a moment, a truly vicious and dark thought crossed Tang Yuan’s mind, but he quickly suppressed it. ’So what if she saw me? A little girl can’t possibly describe what I look like... It’s just theft. The Patrol won’t put much effort into it, and it’ll be hard for them to catch me.’
’There’s no need...’
After calming down a bit, Tang Yuan looked at the little girl again. This time, he finally noticed something was wrong. ’Wait a minute.’
