People were coming and going on the street, and Oliver stood at the center of the street like a stone statue. He did not fit in with the environment at all.
As a young man, although he was talented in plays and experienced in certain aspects, and he had been away from home before, such a situation was still beyond what he could bear. It was his living expenses for the next few months!
What should he do? What about his meals? What about his sleep?
Countless questions, accompanied by annoyance, frustration, and anger, poured into his mind, making him feel that the sunny afternoon had suddenly become dark, and the noisy crowd around him was indifferent and distant, as if they were not in the same world.
"Damn thief!"
After a long time, Oliver burst out a scream that made the passersby's legs tremble.
While he was screaming, he held his suitcase tightly with his right hand, fearing that another thief would show up and take away his last belongings.
Ignoring the disdain and amusement of the passersby, Oliver vented his anger to his heart's content. It was not until a long time later that he finally calmed down and began to consider carefully how he should survive.
"Calm down, calm down, Oliver. You have talent, appearance, and strength. You will definitely be able to survive the difficulties." Oliver encouraged himself in a low voice. His brain was spinning quickly, trying to find a way to deal with such a dilemma from his own experience. What he had seen most were plays.
"Yes, yes, yes. At this moment, I need to find someone who appreciates me. My new life will begin there." Finding his experience from the plays, he clenched his fists and said, "Oliver, your most precious belongings are not the wallet just now but your head and the plays in your suitcase. As long as you take them to the Drama Association and find a gentleman who appreciates you, you will be able to exchange them for a generous reward immediately."
Having figured out a solution, Oliver regained the vigor of a young man. He found a few thick stacks of papers from his suitcase and clutched them tightly. While asking for directions, he imagined what he would do after he made a fortune. A luxurious villa, obedient and beautiful maids, delicious food, famous wine that was worth treasuring, beautiful and passionate lovers, and … and … "I will hire someone to kill the damn thief!"
The Drama Society was not far from the city gate. Oliver soon saw the unique building that was supported by gray stone pillars.
He glanced at the mercenaries guarding the door and paused. He remembered a common scene in dramas where the protagonist was arrogantly rejected by the gatekeeper because of his shabby appearance and tattered clothes. As a result, he had no choice but to reach his goal in a more complicated and sorrowful way.
"I can't make such a mistake." Oliver felt that he was too smart to have thought of this in a timely manner. Thus, in a flash, he walked to the nearby square and combed his hair that had become messy when he was venting. Then, he took out a black high-collared coat from his suitcase to replace his dusty clothes. Finally, he took out a white handkerchief, folded it into a flower shape, and put it in his chest pocket.
"Elegant gentleman." Oliver nodded with satisfaction and carried his suitcase to the entrance of the Drama Society.
When he reached the entrance, he did not look around. However, when two mercenaries stopped him, he snorted condescendingly.
The two mercenaries were confused by his calm attitude and excellent appearance. They thought that he was a noble gentleman, so they did not dare stop him and slowly retreated.
"Haha, Oliver, you're awesome! You'll definitely succeed! "Oliver praised himself in his heart and sped up to walk through the door.
"Hey, hey! Let me tell you, I'll be the greatest playwright in the future! You can't be so rude! "
A few minutes later, Oliver was dragged out by two burly men, who threw him down the stairs.
"Get lost, liar!"
"Arrogant lunatic!"
The two of them cursed and threw Oliver's suitcase and manuscripts down as well. Pa. The suitcase landed and opened. Clothes flew out and the manuscripts fluttered like snow.
Seeing the manuscripts that he treasured flying in front of him and landing on his face and dust, Oliver was dazed for a moment. Then, he roared angrily, "You'll regret this!"
I'm such a young drama genius. I'll definitely make a great career out of it!
After packing his suitcase miserably and painfully, Oliver wandered aimlessly on the street. He did not know what he could do or where he could go.
"I'll find a place to take shelter from the rain tonight. Tomorrow, I'll go to the city hall, the tavern, and other places to see if I can find a job." Seeing that the clouds were beginning to gather, Oliver came back to himself from his depression. Gnashing his teeth, he said, "I know how to write poems, and I know how to write. Why would I be afraid of starving to death in Renstadt?"
He slowly regained his confidence and found a protruding eave to hide under.
Hualala. The rain fell, splashing white mist on the ground.
Looking at the scene in a daze, Oliver suddenly became happy. "What I've experienced today will be the source of my future drama creations!"
Pa. The pain exploded in Oliver's head. He turned around with difficulty and saw a homeless man glaring at him fiercely.
"This is mine!" He pointed under the eave.
All the anger that Oliver had accumulated today exploded. Being a young man, he roared angrily, "I took it, so it's mine!" He pounced forward and fought with the homeless man.
Suddenly, his expression froze, and his eyes lost their light. It turned out that another homeless man had come from behind him and hit him hard on the head with a wooden stick.
Darkness, blood, pain, and cold continued to entangle Oliver, making it impossible for him to escape from this unimaginably painful situation.
After using all his strength, Oliver suddenly sat up. The darkness in front of him faded away, revealing the dim candlelight.
"Where, where am I?" He looked at the simple and narrow room and muttered to himself. He felt a burning pain in his head.
"My home." A cold male voice sounded. The door leading inside opened, and a short, fat, and strong bald man walked out. "You've been sold to us."
"What?" Oliver jumped off the bed in disbelief, only to be knocked to the ground by the thug's punch.
"Call me boss, do you understand?" The bald man showed off his strength. "Shut up and listen to me."
Oliver was dizzy from the beating. He touched the corner of his swollen mouth and looked at the bald man with fear.
The bald man chuckled. "You're just an outsider. You have no money and no strength, yet you dare to fight with the local homeless. Hehe, after they knocked you out, they took your clothes and sold you to me. From today onwards, you're my subordinate. You can only regain your freedom when you've contributed the equivalent of the money I've given you."
This man didn't seem too bad … Oliver covered the corner of his mouth and said, "What do we do?"
"Bury the dead," the bald man said with disgust.
At dawn, the bald man George brought Oliver to the morgue.
"These are the corpses of those who have no relatives or no money. We're responsible for burying them in the new cemetery. The payment will be given by the church and the city hall." George opened the door. The stench of rotting corpses immediately spread out, making Oliver, who had never been in contact with such things before, retch.
There were also a lot of burymen in ragged clothes in the morgue. They were all George's subordinates.
"Yo, there are a few more babies today." George said exaggeratedly. Then, he walked to the newly delivered corpses and searched carefully for valuables. If the corpses' clothes were still intact, he would strip them directly.
Oliver was soaked in cold sweat and trembled. He felt that he was in hell.
After collecting the corpses, George laughed aloud. "Boys, time to work!"
Oliver unwillingly moved the corpses to special carriages. When he touched the cold skin, he almost jumped away. He felt that his hands were so dirty that even his body seemed to be rotting.
On the way from the morgue to the new cemetery, the burymen stayed together and did not give Oliver a chance to escape. George even told him viciously that he had connections in the church and the city hall. If he dared to escape, he would bury him directly in the new cemetery.
The stench of rotting corpses was everywhere in the new cemetery. It drifted into the city and covered the nearby slums with the same stench.
"There are only poor people here. The pastors of the church won't cleanse them," George complained and asked Oliver to find a place to dig a hole.
The new cemetery had been cleaned by the pastors in advance, so the chances of undead creatures appearing were very low. They were more at ease.
Oliver dug the hole mechanically with a shovel. As he dug, bones suddenly appeared in the hole. He took a few steps back in fear.
"Have they been buried here?" George touched his bald head. "It's fine. Just bury them above them," he said unconcernedly.
Corpses were thrown down one by one, and shovelfuls of soil were sprinkled down. Soon, the ground was flat again.
George found a wooden tombstone and inserted it into the center of the cemetery. There was no pattern or epitaph on it. There was only a shabby cross.
"Will my life always be like this?" Oliver thought numbly in the stench of rotting corpses.
… …
In a manor in the suburbs, the hall was ablaze with lights, and the smell of delicious food spread out.
"Who's that, uh, Vicente, do you want one? This is the best tobacco from the Kingdom of Brianne. " A fashionably dressed young noble with black hair and blue eyes said to Vicente with a smile, holding a few bright yellow cigarettes in his hand.
Whether it was his expression or his tone, there was a sense of condescending arrogance.
Vicente's face slightly blushed. He shook his head and said, "Sorry, I don't smoke."
"What a good boy. No wonder Shirley likes you." The young noble said mockingly.
Shirley, who was next to Vicente, stepped forward and raised her head. "Yes, I hate men who drink and smoke without any manners."
Then, she dragged Vicente to the table nearby and said in a low voice, "Vicente, don't mind it. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to come to this party."
"It's fine. We're about to get married. I'll face such things sooner or later." Thinking of his dream, Vicente said in high spirits, "I'm very frank. It's true that I'm not a noble, and I can't enjoy these things since I was young, but I'll work hard to be better than them so that your life won't be worse in the future.
Far away, Shirley's parents watched the scene in silence with indifference.
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