The New York Subway is Full of Amazing People

The next morning, when Livy woke up, Don Quixote had already disappeared.

Li Wei got up from the mattress, glanced at the dried-up road and clear sky outside the strip glass, and knew that he had gone to the construction site to move bricks again.

When he came out of the cubicle, he saw that the fried beef leg he had left for Don Quixote on the table had been completely eaten, and there were also several letters addressed to Don Quixote on the table.

Li Wei picked it up out of curiosity and saw that the bold red lettering looked fierce and menacing, as if it wanted to devour him.

Li Wei casually opened the first envelope, which had the prominent logo of the New York City Department of Finance printed in the upper left corner.

[Dear Mr. Cervantes, your parking ticket with license plate GDT-592 is overdue.]

Li Wei glanced at the following amounts: fine of $115, late payment fee of $10, total amount due $125.

In New York, street sweepers are allowed to pass through at fixed times each week, and if they are found parked on the side of the road, they will be ticketed.

"A street sweeping ticket..." Li Wei shook his head, put down the first ticket, and picked up the second one. "Edison & Associates?"

As of this month, your account is $342.45 in arrears. If full payment is not received by August 25th, we will have to cut off your electricity and gas supply.

"$342 for electricity?" Levi gasped, glancing around the dark, damp basement, devoid of any decent appliances. "How long has it been since he paid the electricity bill?"

Next came administrative penalty notices from the electronic road toll system, water bills, litigation fee bills, and so on. This morning alone, seven or eight bills were delivered, totaling seven or eight hundred US dollars. Even Li Wei himself felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of them.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the capital of the bald eagle and the heart of black-hearted capitalism. Li Wei now understands just how difficult Don Quixote's life was.

Working 16 hours a day, without a break all year round, he only earns a little over $3000 a month. The bills and alimony from his ex-wife alone have already taken up $3000.

Li Wei glanced at the bill from the law firm demanding $2000 in alimony for this month's divorce proceedings, shook his head, and placed $150 on the table as a small token of his help.

"I'll pay you back when I'm successful," Li Wei said casually, ate some bread, picked up his bag, and headed out the door towards the subway station. "I can't give you much right now."

Yesterday's shooting caused the 8th Avenue subway station to shut down. But when Levi returned to the station today, the bustling crowds seemed unfazed by the incident.

Li Wei took one last look at the bullet holes, bloodstains, and the marks marked by the cordon on the wall. After thinking it over, he decided not to jump over the subway turnstile like the Latino immigrant child in front of him. Instead, he obediently swiped his card for $2.9 and bought a subway ticket to Madison Square Garden.

He is currently at a critical juncture in his transition from a B-2 visa to an F-1 visa, and there is no need for him to risk being caught for a mere $3 ticket.

Madison Square is an affluent area, and exiting the station there could lead to being caught. If he is convicted of a minor offense and arrested, he would have no choice but to be deported.

As you walk down the concrete stairs stained with black chewing gum, an indescribable, complex gas is swept up from underground by a huge industrial fan, blowing evenly across the faces of everyone rushing to catch the subway.

In the vision of the Li Wei 1.1 spirit, this station is filled with disturbing high-definition details: large patches of white tiles have peeled off the walls, revealing red bricks that look like dried flesh; white lime water stains run down the walls, and in the corners remain stains that are hard to tell whether they were washed away by yesterday's rain or by the urine of homeless people and drug addicts.

"squeak--!!!"

With a sickening metallic shriek, a huge gust of air carrying rusty dust swept past, and an N Line train covered in graffiti and with its stainless steel shell covered in scratches burst out of the dark tunnel like a giant steel worm.

The carriage door opened, and a burst of energetic music blared out, accompanied by a system notification in Li Wei's mind:

Adventurer Levi, this is your first encounter with the 'Steel Dragon'.

The steel dragon is one of the main modes of transportation in this magical empire. Its semi-enclosed ecosystem and unique environment have given rise to a group of rat-people who emit mental disturbances and noise.

[Task Posted: Mental Barrier]

A true knight, even amidst the chaos of battle, can construct a sanctuary of absolute tranquility within his mind. Faced with the mental attacks of the ratmen, your will must not waver in the slightest.

[Before the ratmen's performance ended, he single-mindedly recited the entire knightly lesson.]

[Quest Reward: Spirit +0.1]

"Rat-man?"

Before Li Wei could react, he was shoved into the carriage by a tremendous force, followed by a deafening, low-quality bass that exploded in his ears, making his eardrums buzz.

"What time is it?!" A Black teenager wearing a crooked baseball cap and half-up underwear darted out of the crowd, grabbed the handrails on the roof of the carriage, and flung himself into the air like an ape. "It's show time!"

The carriages, which were originally as crowded as sardine cans, now seemed to part like Moses parting the sea, squeezing out a narrow, elongated space in the middle.

Li Wei was squeezed to the corner of a bench and sat down there.

"These are ratmen?" Li Wei sighed as he watched the group of Black teenagers spinning, doing handstands, and splits wildly on the handrail. He then took out an AP Macroeconomics book from his bag and began to read it seriously.

Despite the great difficulty, Li Wei finally managed to enter a state of flow, and the moment the music ended, he snapped the book shut.

[Mission Completed: Mental Barrier]

You maintained your rationality amidst the mental pollution of the rat people.

[Quest Reward: Spirit +0.1]

[Spirit 1.1] - [Spirit 1.2]

It's like pouring a splash of minty water onto a scalding hot CPU.

The world before Li Wei's eyes became clearer again, and at the same time, the content he had just read was almost completely imprinted in his mind, improving both his memory and comprehension abilities.

Li Wei stared at the black boy begging along the train car with a hat in his hand. Li Wei even caught the weakness in his eyes. He couldn't explain his analysis or reasoning process yet, but it was like a kind of inexplicable feeling that gave him a superhuman sense of synesthesia.

[Mental Upgrade Detected] — [Changes Detected in Poor Eloquence Skills]

[Effect: You have a 60% chance of persuading a greedy person with weak willpower.] — [Effect: You have a 70% chance of persuading a greedy person with weak willpower.]

[Knight's Trial: First stage of the quest completed, Spirit attribute reached 1.2, Gold +3]

Li Wei felt his pocket bulge as three gold coins, now worth perhaps more than $500, slipped lightly and silently into his pocket.

"Now I have 4 gold coins and my skills have been upgraded," Li Wei thought. "Does this give me a better chance of persuading that unscrupulous merchant, Leon?"