I'm Liu Ren — the Ren Who Wins People over with an Axe!

I'm Liu Ren — the Ren Who Wins People over with an Axe! April, 1912! This was a day worth remembering, for today was the maiden voyage of the Titanic. She would set out from Southampton, bound for New York across the ocean— and this ship was the largest, most luxurious liner in the world today, 269 meters long and 28 meters wide! She boasted the most lavish fittings anywhere in the world, and was courted by countless wealthy patrons! As the warm Atlantic winds scattered the heat of the blazing sun on the deck, the guests raised their glasses and cheered to the people on the dock, as if celebrating their beautiful dreams for the future. Hearing the clamor drifting up from the engine room, a youth clutched his head in pain and wrenched his eyes open from the darkness, his face contorted in a grimace. But the moment his whole body was drenched in sweat, his breathing turned frantically rapid. "You fucking bastard, Zhang!" "Ahh!" A hysterical roar erupted. The youth kept gasping for breath, as though he had just been dragged back from the brink of death. But once the fury passed, he looked around, lost and adrift, his face a picture of collapse— for this was not the first time he had faced death. Even so, who would ever want to go through it again? Thinking of his string of failures, and of being "transferred" to yet another new world, the youth's face went blank as he slumped to the ground and said, "Ah, forget it, forget it... everyone has it rough..." "Rough, my ass! Fuck it all to hell! When I find my chance, I'll blast you to death in one shot!" Standing up, the youth raised his hand and swiped open a screen before his eyes. Collection Task activated! Commission Task: Port Supernatural — Failed! Collection Task activated again: Commission · King of Europe! Failure Reward — Ability: Orc Beastman! Now playing: Century Film Ability — Orc Beastman: "I reckon I'll get to fight to my heart's content if I follow this one... Waaaaaagh..." Name: Liu Ren Gender: Male Constitution: 8 Agility: 8 Adult Attribute: limit 5 Talent: In the Prime of Youth — "Eternal Youth"! Abilities: Storage Space, Orc Beastman! Looking at the panel before him, Liu Ren couldn't help clutching his forehead and said, "Damn... as blunt and bare-bones as ever, huh!" But even as he said it, Liu Ren sighed in complete resignation, for he'd once been nothing but an "honest and hardworking" deliveryman—who'd have thought he'd end up a transmigrator? From childhood, the teachers at the orphanage had always told him that the children of poor families—bah, honest and kind people—need fear nothing wherever they go. The problem was, he wasn't afraid; but across the road came charging the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! One loaded truck, and they call it "hitting the jackpot." Two trucks, "Death comes knocking." Three trucks, "King Yama's calling your name." So what do you call four? Huh? What do you call four? Recalling his utterly wretched and disgraceful transmigrations, Liu Ren couldn't help but stand up, brushing the coal off his trouser legs as he said, "From today on, no one gets to shout at me ever again! My Ren will be the Ren of 'winning people over with an axe'!" But just as Liu Ren finished speaking, a hysterical roar came from the distance: "Ah-Ren, you little brat, what are you doing?! Hurry up and get over here to haul coal! Can't you see everyone's busy?" Hearing this so suddenly, Liu Ren instinctively shouted back, "Coming, uncle!" Dashing out of the cramped rest cabin, the moment Liu Ren reached the enormous boiler room, the searing heat struck him in a rolling wave of scorching air! The temperature here was simply unbearable, and the busy workers were frantically shoveling coal into the boilers, driving the heat ever higher. Picking up a shovel from nearby, Liu Ren instinctively began to work, as if it were a memory already carved into his muscles. And as memories surged in like a tide, Liu Ren finally understood exactly what sort of person his "Predecessor" had been! Four years ago, his father had fallen gravely ill. To pay for the treatment, the Predecessor sold himself to the largest local gang, trading himself for cheap, utterly useless medicine—yet his father died of the illness all the same. And the Predecessor was then shipped aboard this ship like a piece of cargo by the gang, becoming the lowliest Chinese stoker! If nothing changed, he would probably work here until he died... perhaps not even living to reach adulthood! And it was precisely because the Predecessor had completely departed that he had come to this world! "Heh heh." A bitter smile rose on his face. For some reason, Liu Ren suddenly felt a flicker of admiration for the Predecessor, for in this era, a stoker faced not only the dangers of the searing heat, but had to watch out for being treated as disposable! After all, in an age when even Great Britain ran roughshod over its own people, Chinese laborers fared far worse—needless to say. The very existence of overseas Chinese laborers was itself a century of blood and tears, and precisely because their nation was not strong enough, they drifted ten thousand li to beg a bite to eat beneath another household's eaves! "King of Europe, huh? Interesting!" Beneath a face smeared pitch-black with coal dust, the seventeen-year-old youth smiled for the first time. Liu Ren was not one to back down, because from childhood everyone had told him one thing—that he had no choice... Abandoned at an orphanage as a child, never adopted, dropping out of middle school, the orphanage shuttered, scraping and scrambling his way through society—everything, absolutely everything, told him he had no choice left... he had no way back! In the busy boiler room, the workers hauled coal until they lost all track of time, and when they were finally allowed to rest, Liu Ren simply collapsed onto the ground. Luckily, he had already begun "transferring" the moment he woke, otherwise he truly didn't know how he would survive such infernal working conditions. At this thought, Liu Ren couldn't help but admire the Predecessor, for he had endured it all. Just then, a bearded man stepped over and shoved a piece of black bread into Liu Ren's arms, saying, "Ah-Ren, not bad today! You're really getting the hang of it!" Looking at the black bread in his hands, Liu Ren couldn't help but blink—so this was what he got to eat after a whole day of work? Staring at the slightly hardened bread, Liu Ren said nothing, and simply took a bite. Mm, the taste matched its appearance—bitter, astringent, and coarse... Barely washing the black bread down with some water, Liu Ren was now beyond words, because this stuff was truly awful to eat! "Uncle Qiang, you say our ship has already set sail and is still headed for New York—can we go up on deck to see the view at sea?" Looking happily at the bearded man, a somewhat slight, thin man beside him asked. "Go on deck? Is the deck even a place for the likes of us? You know exactly how those foreign devils treat us—watch out, or you'll get a beating!" Just as the thin man finished speaking, a companion beside him snapped at him, for everyone knew that stokers like them could never possibly go up on deck—why, even stepping out would draw interrogation! But just as everyone was chatting away, Liu Ren's expression turned blank and vacant, because he seemed to have just received some rather bad news! "The Titanic... New York..." His short-circuited brain was jolted in an instant, and Liu Ren's face filled with terror as he cried, "Holy shit? Where the hell did I get dumped this time?" He'd thought he was just a Chinese laborer abroad—but now look: not only a Chinese laborer, but one who was about to lose his life! Good news: he's alive. Bad news: he's about to die. Zhang Cheng: What kind of divine opening is this?! Let me have that spot—I'll go instead! Thinking of how, once the Titanic sank, the first place to be flooded was the boiler room down in the ship's hull, Liu Ren's eyes instantly turned bloodshot—because even in a brand-new world, he still had to die? Liu Ren: Do I have to die no matter what?! Huh!