Zhou Chen had made his decision. He was going to be the king of the grind in North Carolina!

·

·

North Carolina.

Crocodile City.

Heavy, black clouds blanketed the entire city. The world was exceptionally dim, as oppressive as the apocalypse.

Inside a sweatshop, machines rumbled and roared. Countless low-wage laborers toiled away, while vast plumes of polluted gas billowed from smokestacks into the sky, becoming part of the haze.

A scrawny man in his twenties was working numbly on the assembly line when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a short, fat man in an expensive suit, so obese he resembled a penguin.

The fat man smacked the scrawny man’s rear hard with his walking stick, his face etched with displeasure. "Move your ass! I didn’t hire you to slack off. Hey, you! Increase this kid’s quota by 200 today. If he doesn’t finish, dock his pay."

"Yes, yes, of course..." The nearby assembly line foreman bowed and scraped, forcing the scrawny man to bow to the fat man. "Hurry up and apologize to the boss!"

"I’m sorry, boss. I’ll work harder!" the scrawny man said.

The fat man walked away without a backward glance.

After the inspection party left, the scrawny man resumed his work with the same numb expression, his movements now considerably faster.

"That kid Bart has it rough. His parents died three days ago, his younger siblings died yesterday, and now he’s all alone. On top of that, the boss is giving him a hard time... Wouldn’t be surprised if he joins them tonight."

"Tell me about it..."

A few workers whispered from a distance. There wasn’t a hint of sympathy in their voices, just the casual discussion of a commonplace event. Was death really anything to be surprised about?

Bart heard their chatter, but he didn’t react. He just threw himself back into his work on the assembly line, like a machine.

He worked overtime late into the night until he met his quota.

Exhausted, Bart walked out of the factory and took a deep breath of the comparatively fresh air outside. He wandered the streets in a daze, utterly dejected.

’What’s the point of living anymore?’ Bart’s heart was filled with despair. He thought about ending it all tonight. After all, being alive was just another form of suffering.

Just then, his stomach let out a hungry growl. Bart twitched his nose, catching a fragrant aroma drifting on the air.

He wasn’t far from a food stall.

’At least let me have a full meal before I die.’

With that thought, Bart walked up to a merchant’s stall. There were many tasty-looking foods on display, like roasted earthworms, grilled rats, and gruel... For the lower class, this was the food they’d eaten since childhood. Once you got used to it, it didn’t taste half bad.

More importantly, it was filling and staved off hunger.

Bart had wanted to treat himself to a couple of grilled rats, but when he felt his pocket, all the money he had wasn’t even enough for one. Resigned, he could only afford to buy some roasted loaches and a piece of cheap, dark bread.

The stall owner, who had crystalline Ore growing on his face, sized Bart up for a moment and said with a grin, "My friend, I see the space between your eyebrows is dark. Has your luck been a bit down recently?"

"What’s that supposed to mean? Give me twenty skewers of roasted loaches and two slices of dark bread. Extra chili sauce," Bart said.

"It’s a saying from the East. It means you’re plagued by bad luck and headed for a major disaster," the stall owner said, skillfully grilling the loaches as he spoke.

"I’ve already had plenty of disaster," Bart said, his face expressionless, his voice filled with exhaustion and despair.

"I have a way to help you change your fate. Care to give it a try?" The stall owner flipped the roasting loaches and gave a mysterious smile. "Not only can it make you rich, but it can also help you marry a beautiful, sweet-smelling wife. You work at the Fat Penguin’s factory, right? Your boss’s daughter is quite a looker. Ever think about marrying her?"

"You mean... Grace?"

Bart couldn’t help but think of the woman he’d only seen once. She was plump, with delicate skin, and spotlessly clean. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had fallen for her at first sight and often dreamt of her.

"Yes, that’s the one. Do you want to marry her?"

"Of course," Bart answered without hesitation. The Dream of every man in the factory was to make Grace his wife. That way, they could also naturally inherit the Fat Penguin’s factory.

"Then, would you like to make a deal with me?" the stall owner chuckled.

"What kind of deal?"

"You’ll get everything you’ve ever dreamed of. And when the time comes, you cannot refuse whatever I ask for in return." The stall owner’s gaze was profound as he looked at Bart.

Bart thought about it. ’I have nothing left to lose, anyway. Even if the stall owner asks for my life, it doesn’t matter. At least I’ll have lived it up for a while...’

At this thought, Bart suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh. ’Here I am, fantasizing about something so unrealistic. Does he really think that if I agree to the deal, he can just give me everything I want?’

’Don’t be ridiculous.’

’Still, since I’m going to die anyway, what’s the harm in agreeing...?’

Bart said casually, "Fine. I accept your deal. Go on, make it happen."

"You’ll have to wait until tomorrow," the stall owner smiled. "Don’t die tonight, or you won’t get to marry Grace."

For some reason, those words seemed to carry a strange Magic Power. Bart, who had planned to go jump in the river and kill himself after his meal, found himself inexplicably heading home. He fell into bed, and just before sleep took him, he was surprised to find himself actually looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.

The next morning, Bart arrived at his workstation with his usual deadpan expression and started his shift.

He was long accustomed to the numbness of the assembly line, and the morning flew by. Bart still hadn’t seen any sign of the stall owner’s so-called "deal."

’A liar, just as I thought. I guess I’ll go jump in the river tonight after all,’ Bart sighed.

But just then, a series of gasps came from the distance. He turned his head and saw her—the one who haunted his Dreams, Miss Grace.

Grace had inherited her father’s build; she wasn’t tall and was on the plump side. But because her family was wealthy, her skin was fair and delicate. That, combined with the fact that she was spotlessly clean, made her the most beautiful woman in the world to the sweatshop workers who had never seen anything better.

Bart couldn’t help but stare, dumbfounded. When he came to his senses, he was horrified to see the Fat Penguin heading his way with a group of people. He quickly threw himself back into his work to avoid another punishment.

’Wait a minute. I’ve already decided to die tonight. What’s there to be afraid of?’

Bart had just resolved to be defiant for once when he turned to see the Fat Penguin stop in front of him with Grace. The man raised his expensive Walking Stick and pointed at Bart. "This is the one. What do you think?"

Grace shyly hid her face and nodded gently. "He’s very nice..."

Bart was dumbstruck. ’What is happening?’

"Your name is Bart, isn’t it? From now on, you are Grace’s husband." The Fat Penguin leaned on his walking stick, showing an expression Bart had never seen before... ’Approval?’

"All the trouble I gave you before was just a test. You performed well and successfully passed my trial, so I’ve decided to marry Grace to you," the Fat Penguin said, stepping forward to pat Bart’s shoulder.

Bart was in disbelief. The world spun around him. His first instinct was that he was dreaming, but then he immediately thought of last night’s mysterious stall owner, of that impossible deal...

「Meanwhile.」

On a street in Ping Mountain City, a worker, out buying cigarettes during his lunch break, was walking briskly when an old man appeared and accidentally fell in front of him. The worker helped him up, and the old man thanked him profusely. Just as the worker was about to leave, the old man grabbed his arm and said with a smile, "You helped me, which means you’re a kind person. I have a deal that can help you change your fate..."

On a street in Guan City, a child picked up a piece of fruit that had fallen from a stall and returned it to the owner. The owner smiled, patted his head, and said, "Little one, I have a deal that can make you a millionaire. Want to hear about it?"

On a street in Rusted Iron City, inside a seedy motel room with suggestive lighting, a man was smoking a cigarette after they had finished. The woman beside him wrapped her arms around him and chuckled, "You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever been with. I want to make a deal with you..."

·

"Let’s make a deal..."

"I want to make a deal with you..."

"How about a deal?"

...

All across North Carolina, countless people were extending invitations for a deal. They all wore smiles, like shrewd Merchants.