Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

That's not a cage for people.

It was a little over a meter tall and fifty or sixty centimeters wide. The iron sheets on the surrounding railings were rusted and peeling off, revealing rough, flesh-grinding iron filings underneath. Mixed with specks of unknown blood, a stench permeated the air.

Pei Du was originally standing at the corner, but he noticed the alien species in the cage and unknowingly walked to the center of the arena.

Humans infected with the virus undergo a transformation, either decaying and becoming unpleasant to the touch, or shedding their skin and regenerating. In either case, they cannot maintain their original human form.

It grows claws like a beast, and crawls on all fours; it grows scales like a fish, and its eyes bulge out.

The mutant species that can live like normal humans after infection almost never exist in the world where Pei Du exists today.

The alien creature in the cage was tall, its ill-fitting shirt collar torn open, revealing bruises all over its collarbone. Its wet hair clung to its face, obscuring the lower half of its features, while its long, cold eyes, like those of a cheetah, warily surveyed its surroundings.

Pei Du's gaze fell on the taut muscle lines on his arm, where the veins bulged out. They weren't the blue veins of ordinary humans, but rather a distinct deep red—this indicated that he was a survivor of the virus infection.

"Isn't buying him illegal? He's a human being..."

"Who are you? The previous laws have already been enacted. Mutants who have completely lost their humanity no longer have citizenship. What's the difference between them and wild beasts? Don't forget that the virus they carry is contagious!"

"Even if you don't buy it today, he'll still be executed if the military catches him. But who's so tired of living that they'd buy this stuff?"

"If he bites you, you're done for..."

Pei Du stood at the front of the crowd, looking at the man curled up in the iron cage, his emotions unchanged.

The alien creature, which had been banging its head against the iron bars before he arrived, finally calmed down after experiencing the pain of its skin being torn open.

His forehead was badly mangled, and he collapsed on his knees like a trapped beast that knew its death was imminent, so small that he could barely support his back in the cramped cage.

Pei Du stared intently at him. As if sensing Pei Du's gaze, the person in the cage turned his head, his amber pupils meeting Pei Du's eyes—along with that sharp, undiminished face.

Pei Du's breath hitched.

...Envy of the prosperous times?

what happened?

Sheng Shixian had been receiving treatment at the Sheng family's sanatorium after contracting the virus, so how did he end up in the black market? And in such a terrible state.

Isn't he the male protagonist of a web novel?

Pei Du asked himself, "How can one survive by clinging to life?" The creature, floating in the air, clicked its tongue.

"Oh, that's how it is with male protagonists on Qidian. They only rise after a great fall. Don't be fooled by his current miserable state. He lived to be ninety-three in his previous life, a full seventy years longer than you!"

Pei Du: "..."

"Suffering is a blessing! How can he grow if he's not tortured? How can he rise to prominence if he's not tortured? This is the basic treatment for the male protagonist—"

Pei Du glanced at the festering wounds on Sheng Shixian's body and tugged at the corner of his lips, "Looks like I'm still doing alright."

"Yes, yes," he said, trying to comfort him. "It's a blessing that you died young; you never suffered much."

Pei Du: "...Do you want this good fortune?"

To live a life of ignominy: "..."

"It's easy to talk about living a life of ignoring others when you're not the one suffering." Pei Du ignored him and refocused his attention on the iron cage in the center of the arena.

All he has now is a guide to madness, and besides that, all he has left are the names of the two main characters provided to him by the struggle for survival.

After being infected with the virus, Sheng Shixian spent nearly two years in a sanatorium for treatment. Two years later, he joined an army specially formed by alien species, transforming himself from a businessman into a military commander.

With Sheng Shixian's help, An Jia returned to high society and successfully became a new generation of wealthy heiress.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman, envied by all.

Of course, Pei Du was unaware of all these plot details. At that time, all that remained of him, this ATM-like supporting character, was his ashes floating in the sky.

After hearing this, Pei Du casually asked about the final outcome of those who lived a life of ignominy. Due to the current laws restricting mutants from marrying ordinary people, Sheng Shixian did not end up with An Jia.

An Jia married someone else, and Sheng Shixian retreated from the limelight, remaining devoted to her for the rest of his life. This was their final fate.

Pei Du couldn't help but click his tongue. Sheng Shixian's life as a male protagonist on a web novel was truly miserable. Not only was he tortured to the point of death the whole time, but in the end, his wife wasn't even his.

Kuqie Tusheng, however, greatly admired Sheng Shixian: "You're already a male protagonist on a web novel, what need do you have for a wife! Your career is the most important thing!"

Pei Du and the "Survival on the Brink" system were simply amazing. He looked ahead again.

Sheng Shixian knelt hunched over in the cage, his lips pressed tightly together, his gaze fixed on Pei Du through the fine, damp hair on his forehead.

Pei Du suspected that Sheng Shixian had already recognized him. He pulled his mask tighter and secretly asked Gou Qie, "If I pretend I can't see him now, will he try to kill me later?"

"Um." He hesitated, clinging to life, "...Maybe?"

Pei Du clicked his tongue.

Sheng Shixian certainly won't die in the black market now, but if he holds a grudge against Pei Du because of this, Pei Du might be killed a second time by Sheng Shixian's underhanded tricks before he even finds the murderer.

Sheng Shixian was still watching him. He was gripping the iron bars with his hands, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something. But before he could utter a sound, the vendors outside grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out of the cage.

"He's very obedient and well-behaved; he would never bite anyone! Look at him, he's got muscles, and his looks are just perfect! He'd be great to keep as a cat or dog..."

"Ugh!" Sheng Shixian frowned deeply, his scalp tingling, and his face contorted in pain.

The trafficker used pliers to pry open his lips and teeth, forcibly widening his mouth. "Look, his teeth are almost the same as a normal person's. This kind of humanoid mutant is very rare. I've already examined him. The virus he has is a common flu virus with extremely low infectivity. You can rest assured."

The man standing in front of Sheng Shixian was heavily pregnant. Sheng Shixian looked up at him, his vision blurred by the hazy air.

His lips were stretched so wide they almost split open, and all he could hear were the sounds of them negotiating prices.

"Is it really not contagious? He doesn't look well-behaved either. What happened to his leg over there? It's twisted like that, is it broken?"

"Sigh—that was to prevent him from escaping. Treating him won't cost you much... Never mind, I'll give you a 50% discount, how about that? I can't go any lower..."

"He won't let us touch him, he gets angry if we do, he has a bad temper, wouldn't he? Wouldn't buying him be torture?"

"Hey, are you going to buy it or not? It's normal for him to have a little temper; cats scratch people sometimes, too."

Sheng Shixian curled his fingers, staring blankly upwards, his eardrums throbbing from their conversation.

What did they take him for?

Is it dead meat on a cutting board, or a stray dog ​​no one wants?

He is human!

Sheng Shixian's breathing became heavy. After gathering his strength, he tensed his muscles and, taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, suddenly rammed his head into the vendor's body.