"Therefore, Baudrillard believed that 'things' and 'demands' were false symbols. He criticized Marx's theory of use value and believed that the latter had fallen into the trap of the political economy of capitalism. Hence, he proposed his own political economy of symbols."
Wu Qiren finished his report and clicked on the last slide. He nodded and thanked the teacher and a dozen students. The teacher signaled him to leave the podium and wait for the next student's report.
"Thales!"
The next moment, Wu Qiren, who was once a postgraduate student, woke up from his dream.
He curled up and lay in a cold, abandoned hole in the wall. He felt the cold wind blowing from all directions.
Wu Qiren sighed. It had been five years since he transmigrated, but he still had the dream of his previous life. His life before transmigrating was boring, but it was better than the miserable situation before his eyes.
"Thales, Thales!" A large hand reached out from the hole in the wall and grabbed Wu Qiren's ear. It then violently dragged him out of the small hole.
It was a dilapidated house. Through the half-collapsed roof, the bright stars in the night sky could be seen. However, the arrangement and shape of the galaxy were extremely unfamiliar to Wu Qiren.
Wu Qiren could not resist the violent hand. What could a seven-year-old child do? He was dragged on the rough brick floor. His knees were in pain, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound. This was because the cruel Quide was especially impatient with children's cries. It was said that he once paralyzed a six-year-old girl who wanted to use her tears to exchange for food.
"I asked Rick. Your monthly allowance this week is five coppers less than last week! Did you hide it? "The angry Quide was like a lion with red fur. His protruding nose made him look even more ferocious.
Wu Qiren fell to the ground. His gray eyes glanced at the holes in the walls around him from the corner of his eyes. The five child beggars who lived in the same house with him, ranging from four to ten years old, were all shivering in fear at Quide's furious roar.
In the innermost hole in the wall, the youngest short-haired girl bit her left hand tightly. Her face was red as she looked at Wu Qiren who was on the ground in fear. In the hole beside her, the six-year-old boy, Ned, was so frightened that he screamed.
That was Coria. Wu Qiren knew what she was afraid of.
In fact, Wu Qiren's luck this week was pretty good. He, the child beggar Thales — Wu Qiren's current name — received a total of thirty-seven copper coins this week, which was eighteen more than the previous week.
However, he only handed over fourteen coppers to Quide, the head of the Black Street Brotherhood who was in charge of child beggars. He then used the remaining coppers, along with the money that he had painstakingly saved for two years, to go to Grove Pharmacy. He then 'bought' a typhoid potion from the kind-hearted helper, Yanni, at cost price.
Thales fed the four-year-old Coria the potion. If she got typhoid at her age, without the potion, she would almost certainly die.
In the five years since he transmigrated, Thales went through the memory formation period from when he was two years old to when he was seven years old. From an ignorant toddler, he gradually recovered bits and pieces of memories from his previous life. Among them, the child's memories were fragmented and scattered. Even so, during the two years when he was ignorant and awake, every time he witnessed someone die, it left a deep impression in Thales' mind.
From dying from sickness, falling to death, drowning to being hanged to death, to being beaten to death (there was even one time when Thales personally witnessed a crying child beggar being suffocated to death ten meters away with a psionic ability), the Black Street Brotherhood, which specialized in human trafficking, never had any bottom line or principles. Even a gang needed time to settle down and establish rules and order. The Brotherhood, which originated from Black Street, rose to power in less than ten years.
Moreover, even the Brotherhood's sworn enemy, the Blood Bottle Gang, which had ninety years of history and was known as the 'aristocracy of the gangs', had killed many people.
Most of the time, Thales, who witnessed death, was powerless. Even he himself had to rely on the wisdom and maturity of an adult to avoid being killed more than once.
For example, Quide, who was rubbing his palms excitedly, revealed the cruelty and viciousness of a gang's sadist.
"I did not hide it! It's winter this week, and the number of people passing through the three districts of the lower city has decreased … "Thales got up from the ground. His brain worked quickly as he spat out an excuse.
* Slap! *
What welcomed him was a merciless slap that caused Thales to fall back to the ground.
"Hand over the money you hid, and I will beat you up! Or I will beat you up first, and then you will hand over the money! Choose! "
Obviously, Quide did not want to listen to his explanation. This leader of the Brotherhood might just want to extort some money for wine, or he might just want to beat someone up.
"But you can also be stubborn. I like stubborn children the most." Quide grinned as he moved his fist.
Looking at the fist that was as big as a sandbag, Thales knew that even if he did not say anything, Quide would not let him go.
Last month, Quide had tortured a child beggar from the Fifth House to death.
Thales covered his red and swollen cheek as he quickly thought.
Usually, Quide did not manage the accounts. At night, he would go to the Sunset Bar in the Underground Street to fool around or hold a bottle of wine. It was difficult for him to distinguish how many Middlesex copper coins a Mindis silver coin could be exchanged for. Not to mention how much the child beggars under him paid. That was all handled by his assistant, the seemingly steady Rick. Even someone as smart as Rick knew that it was normal for the child beggars to pay seven to eight copper coins a week.
Someone snitched.
This was the only conclusion.
Thales glanced at the child beggars around him. After he got the money from the noblewoman, he went straight back to the Abandoned House. The children in the same house must have seen him. And in such a harsh environment, the children's hearts would become even more terrifying than the adults could imagine.
Quide kicked him again. Thales secretly used his elbow to protect his abdomen and slightly reduced the force. He pretended to be in great pain, as though he was in great pain from the kick. He could not make a sound as Quide loved children's screams the most.
"I'll talk!" Thales' face was filled with fear. "Don't hit me!"
"That depends on my mood!" Quide looked around and saw that the other five child beggars were cowering in fear. He was very satisfied that his authority was respected.
"On Wednesday morning, I met a noblewoman. She gave me almost ten copper coins!" Thales hid in the corner and said with a trembling voice.
"I knew it! Begging? You must have stolen it, right? No one can hide from me, especially a little thief like you! "Quide ruthlessly rubbed his palms and prepared for the next round of beating." Hand over the money! "
Without waiting for Quide to raise his eyebrows, Thales added, "But I went to Red Street Market!"
"Red Street Market?" Quide lowered his raised palm a little. "You went to the Blood Bottle Gang's territory?"
"Yes, we could not get more money from that place." Other than members of the Brotherhood, skilled rangers, and some guys with special purposes, who would be so blind as to wander around the three abandoned areas near Black Street? Even the city defense team, who carried swords and shields, were unwilling to go near this sinful place.
"The first time I got so much money, the people from the Blood Bottle Gang did not appear. Then I thought that I might have another chance the next day."
"Idiot!" Quide kicked Thales fiercely. Thales saw Coria tremble in the distance. Then, he heard Quide scolding, "Why don't you think about it. Are there so many benefits in the Blood Bottle Gang's territory?"
Thales shrank back a little and said with a trembling voice, "Yes, the next afternoon, the people from Blood Bottle Gang caught me and hung me up. I said that I was lost, but they did not believe me. I gave them all my money, but they still did not let me go."
"Useless! Then how did you escape? "Quide spat fiercely.
"Then, I said that I was one of Boss Quide's men. They … they laughed."
"What?" Quide clenched his fists. He grabbed Thales' tattered sackcloth collar and lifted him up from the corner. "What were they laughing at?"
Thales shook his head in confusion. "I don't really understand what they were saying. “
Quide stared at him fiercely. "Speak! “
Thales pretended to be frightened. He trembled and said, "There was a bald-headed man among them. He said that since he was Quide's subordinate's child, he should spare his life because Quide really needed children —"
Before Thales could finish speaking, Quide threw him fiercely against the wall.
He tried his best to protect his head, chest, and abdomen. He used his back to withstand the impact of the wall. Then, he immediately turned his back to Quide to receive Quide's furious heavy blows. At the same time, he felt the force of the heavy blows and constantly changed the angle of his back to cushion the impact.
"Son of a bitch — you — bald-headed — Sven — how did he know — kill you — kill you — trash — idiot —"
Quide shouted furiously. He kicked Thales again and again. Only a few words could be distinguished from his mouth.
In the hole in the wall, a few children watched in horror as Thales was beaten. However, they tightly covered their mouths and did not dare to make a sound.
Thales breathed a sigh of relief as he endured Quide's violent kicks.
At the very least, Quide would no longer ask about where the extra money went. Moreover, even though he looked terrifying, the enraged Quide was much safer than the Quide who was happily torturing children.
His words were half-truths. Thales did go to Red Street Market, but he hid in the corner of the dark alley and carefully observed his surroundings. He did meet a noblewoman dressed in velvet, but she was accompanied by twenty Swordsmen of Eradication. This was also the reason why the Blood Bottle Gang did not interrupt him when he ran out of the alley to beg. Thales did get twelve copper coins from the noblewoman dressed in velvet (he was not stupid enough to steal in front of twenty Swordsmen of Eradication). However, he did not wait for the noblewoman's group to go far and quickly disappeared into the crowd, never to return.
As for the bald-headed Sven, Thales had never seen him before. He only knew that he was the leader of the Blood Bottle Gang's black debt collection team. Quide used to be a hired thug in the Brotherhood. That was until Quide provoked the wrong person and his lower body was broken. This piece of information was rather secretive. Thales only found out about it when he was lying in the corner of the Brotherhood's big house and overheard the assassin Layork and Felicia secretly mocking Quide while they were fighting with the Fairies.
After Quide vented his anger, he cursed the bald-headed Sven from the Blood Bottle Gang and took out a bottle of wine from his bosom. When he left while cursing, the clothes on Thales' back were already torn and his back was covered in bruises. As Thales had deliberately turned his body sideways to avoid a frontal attack, some parts of his body were scratched and bleeding. Waves of pain assaulted him.
As the blood flowed to the ground, Thales felt a burning pain. It was probably because he had not been beaten up for a long time. He felt as if his muscles were burning.
Ever since he transmigrated to this world, being beaten up, hungry, sick and cold was a common occurrence. However, after he gradually recovered the memories of Wu Qiren, who was a postgraduate student. With his cautiousness and previous experience, Thales had not been beaten up so viciously for a long time.
After Quide's voice faintly disappeared, the other five children in the house crawled out of their holes. They skillfully carried the powerless Quide to the courtyard. The ten-year-old 'Big Man' Sinti grabbed a piece of the broken bowl and scooped up water from the water tank. The crippled Ryan and the black-faced Kellet were both eight years old. They strenuously collected dead branches and weeds. They used flint and worked hard to start a fire. The six-year-old yellow-haired Ned and the youngest, Coria, plucked a few strangely-shaped wild leaves. They chewed them and gently rubbed them on Thales' scarred back.
Thales endured the pain and tried to find something to divert his attention. He looked at the tearful Coria and turned to the dejected yellow-haired Ned. He tried his best to sound calm.
"It's okay, Ned. I don't blame you."
Ned suddenly raised his head. His face was full of fear. The other four children also turned to look at him.
"How did you know?" The six-year-old child could not hide his thoughts. Guilt and fear were written all over his face.
Earlier, when Thales was being beaten by Quide, the three older children stared at him even though they were afraid. Only Coria and Ned hid her face in her hands and did not dare to raise her head. The other looked at the wall and occasionally turned her head to glance at Thales in fear.
Coria's typhoid medicine was the final destination of the copper coins. Of course, she would not tell anyone. However, Thales was not sure if it was Ned. Now, there was no doubt.
He tried to force a smile. "It's okay. Quide will not care about this anymore."
"I, I," Ned's face was unbelievably red. He looked at Thales' back as tears trickled down his cheeks. "I did not ask for money this week, and I did not dare to steal," he sobbed. "Rick did not say anything, but Quide was very unhappy. He said that if this continued, he would sell me to the desert to be eaten by the Barren Bone people. I was so scared, so I told him that Thales, Thales, you brought back a lot of copper coins one day … I thought that they would not … So Quide chased me back and said that he would come over tonight …"
Coria's face also turned red. Her hand that was rubbing the herbs trembled. A few drops of blood dripped from Thales' back to the ground. Thales groaned silently. Only then did the burning pain subside. This time, he was stimulated by Coria's actions again.
Ryan glared at Ned angrily, causing the latter to lower his head even further. Kellet, on the other hand, looked at Ned and Thales in surprise. Sinti was the only one who did not say a word and continued to bring the water over.
"It's okay, Ned, Coria." Thales felt that the injury on his back seemed to have healed a lot. He held Ned's hand gently. "Next time, if any of you can't ask for money, tell me. I will think of a way."
Ned cried even harder. His sobbing words were a little unclear, "Tay, Thales, I'm … I'm not … sorry …"
"It's okay now, Ned. Don't be afraid, I always have a way." Thales smiled as he took the broken bowl from Sinti's hand and drank a mouthful of water.
He turned his head and gently inhaled. Compared to the countless predecessors who had traveled through countless worlds, his luck was undoubtedly much worse.
But even so …
He looked at the five children around him, especially Coria who had just recovered from her typhoid. There was still a trace of fear in her crystal-clear eyes.
'I'll think of a way to ask for more money tomorrow,' he thought.
In the Sunset Temple of Eternal Star City, after the prayers at sunset, an intern priestess who was cleaning up the altar stopped what she was doing. She looked in surprise at a sacrificial lamp filled with Eternal Oil under the stone altar.
Ever since she started taking care of the altar, she had never lit or used this inconspicuous sacrificial lamp. Suddenly, a bright yellow flame was ignited in this unremarkable sacrificial lamp.
The flame suddenly turned red, red, like the color of blood, and became more and more vigorous.
An elderly priestess noticed the intern's loss of composure. She scolded her discontentedly, and the intern turned her attention back to the altar. But when the priestess herself saw the unusual sacrificial lamp, she cried out in surprise.
"Niah, hurry, hurry up and inform the Lord Priestess!"
The elderly priestess could not hide her surprise. She trembled and rushed to the sacrificial lamp. She raised her right palm and turned her left palm up, preparing to pray.
'What's going on?' It was the first time the intern Niah saw the esteemed priestess lose her composure. Even she was affected.
'Did I make a mistake? But I didn't touch the lamp. '
"But, but, what should I tell the Lord Priestess? Did someone secretly light up a lamp next to the altar? "Nia asked in a panic.
"No."
The elderly priestess stared at the lamp, her hands constantly changing the prayer gestures.
"Even if the entire Errol's two continents and countless islands were used, only one person could light this lamp."
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