The bus arrived in the city just before dawn.
After twelve hours of rough roads and sleepless passengers, Li Wei stepped down from the old bus with stiff legs and tired eyes.
Cold morning air brushed against his face.
The city stood before him—massive, loud, and alive.
Tall buildings stretched into the grey sky, far taller than anything he had ever seen in Qingshan Village. Neon lights flickered even though the sun had not fully risen. Cars rushed through the streets like endless rivers of steel.
People walked quickly, their faces cold and distant.
No one looked at him.
No one cared.
Li Wei tightened the grip on his worn travel bag and stepped onto the crowded sidewalk.
For the first time since leaving home, uncertainty crept into his chest.
The city was bigger than he had imagined.
Much bigger.
But he pushed the doubt away.
This is where people become rich, he told himself.
This is where my life changes.
By midday, Li Wei had already been rejected five times.
The first factory told him they were not hiring.
The second demanded experience he didn't have.
The third simply laughed when he said he came from a small village.
"You country people think the city is easy?" the supervisor sneered. "Go back where you came from."
Li Wei walked out without responding.
By the afternoon, his stomach began to ache with hunger.
He spent five yuan on a small bowl of noodles from a street stall, eating slowly to make it last longer.
Across the street, a giant billboard showed a smiling businessman in a sharp suit holding a luxury watch.
The slogan below it read:
"Success belongs to those who dare."
Li Wei stared at the billboard for a long time.
Then he finished the last bite of noodles and continued walking.
By evening, the city looked completely different.
Neon lights filled the streets.
Bars, clubs, and karaoke lounges opened their doors, spilling music and laughter onto the sidewalks.
Men in suits entered buildings guarded by security.
Expensive cars stopped outside bright nightclubs.
Li Wei felt like a stranger in another world.
His last hope was a construction site he had heard about earlier that day.
But when he arrived, the gate was already locked.
A sign hung on the metal fence.
"Workers Full."
Li Wei stared at it in silence.
The sky above had turned dark.
Rain began to fall again.
Slowly at first.
Then harder.
He stood there for a long time before finally turning away.
Hours later, Li Wei found himself in a narrow alley behind a row of nightclubs.
Garbage bags piled against the walls.
Music thumped loudly from the buildings nearby.
His legs were exhausted.
His wallet was nearly empty.
For the first time since leaving the village, fear crept into his mind.
What if the city doesn't want me?
As he leaned against the wall to rest, three men suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley.
Young.
Rough-looking.
Their hair dyed strange colors.
One of them noticed Li Wei immediately.
"Well, well," the tallest one said with a grin. "Looks like a lost farmer wandered into the wrong place."
The others laughed.
Li Wei straightened slowly.
"I'm just passing through," he said calmly.
The tall man stepped closer.
"Passing through with a bag?" he said. "You must have money."
"I don't."
The man smirked.
"Then we'll check."
Before Li Wei could react, one of them shoved him hard against the wall.
Another grabbed his bag.
Li Wei tried to fight back, but exhaustion and hunger had drained his strength.
A fist slammed into his stomach.
Pain exploded through his body.
Another punch hit his face.
The world spun.
Within seconds, Li Wei collapsed onto the wet ground.
The men quickly searched his pockets.
"Only fifteen yuan?" one of them cursed. "What a useless beggar."
They threw the empty wallet back onto his chest.
"Next time, don't come to the city if you're this poor."
Laughing, the three men disappeared into the rain.
Li Wei lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
Rain mixed with the blood on his lip.
For several minutes, he didn't move.
Then slowly… he began to laugh.
Not loudly.
Just a quiet, bitter laugh.
"So this is the city," he murmured.
Suddenly, a calm voice spoke from the darkness.
"Not everyone survives their first night here."
Li Wei looked up.
A black car had stopped at the entrance of the alley.
A tall man stepped out, holding an umbrella.
Behind him stood two silent bodyguards.
The man studied Li Wei carefully.
"You tried to fight them," he said. "Even when you were outnumbered."
Li Wei wiped the blood from his mouth.
"What does it matter?"
The man smiled slightly.
"In this city… courage is more valuable than money."
He stepped closer.
"My name is Chen Guoqiang."
Li Wei had never heard that name before.
But if he had lived in the city longer, he would have known something important.
Chen Guoqiang was not just a businessman.
He controlled half of the underground world in the district.
And tonight, he had just found someone interesting.
Chen looked down at Li Wei.
"Tell me," he said calmly.
"Do you want to keep struggling like this…"
Or do you want to learn how the city really works?"
Rain continued falling between them.
Li Wei slowly lifted his head.
At that moment, he didn't know that the choice he was about to make would change his life forever.
And destroy the lives of the people he loved most.
But deep inside him, something had already begun to change.
The poor village man who left Qingshan was fading.
And in his place...
A far more dangerous man was about to be born.