The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 183 - 131: Illusion Dream_2

"I used my connections to get you a job, working as an apprentice for a chef. You better learn well, so in three to five years, you can become a chef yourself." The male monster said, taking a sip of beer.

Zhou Yuan hesitated slightly, "I want to find a job myself."

"This isn’t a notification. It’s an order. You don’t have the right to argue." The male monster barked sharply.

"Why?"

Zhou Yuan frowned. The pent-up rage inside him finally ignited. Did he not even have this bit of freedom?

He had endured for so many years just to one day escape this family, but now, all that hope had been doused in cold water.

He still underestimated his parents’ need for control.

"Because I’m your father. I brought you into this world and raised you. You have to listen to me." The male monster’s attitude was non-negotiable.

"You guys didn’t consult me before bringing me into this world, did you? As if I really wanted you two as parents." Zhou Yuan retorted.

"You little shit, dare to talk back?"

The male monster instantly flew into a rage, throwing his beer can at Zhou Yuan, soaking him in beer, "Try talking back to me again!"

The female monster got up to grab a broom, "You really are asking for it!"

Blood rushed to his head, Zhou Yuan, with reddened eyes, fought them. But these two monsters were surprisingly strong. He was soon beaten up, bruises all over.

With a bang, Zhou Yuan was pinned against the wall, the male monster’s hands choking his neck, glaring angrily as if trying to choke him to death.

Flames were burning, bringing searing pain.

Want to kill me? Even if I die, I’ll bite off two chunks of your flesh!

Zhou Yuan, filled with determination, punched the male monster in the jaw, forcing it to release its grip. Then he followed up with a knee strike, crashing fiercely into its belly.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that when he stood his ground, these two monsters didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.

The flames on the male monster began to extinguish, and the needles on the female monster softened, their strength weakening.

Bang!

Zhou Yuan kicked the male monster in the face, knocking him to the ground. He then grabbed the thermos from the table and smashed it onto the female monster’s head, causing her head to bleed profusely.

He didn’t stop, smashing again and again, until the female monster went completely still.

"You little bastard!"

The male monster suddenly choked Zhou Yuan from behind.

Zhou Yuan swung the thermos backward, hitting the opponent on the head, seemingly striking the temple. The male monster went black, collapsing to the ground.

Bang, bang, bang!

Zhou Yuan seized the moment, delivering a barrage of hits to the head.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere.

After a long while, Zhou Yuan stopped, looking at the two mangled bodies on the floor, panting heavily.

Then, uncontrollably, he started to laugh.

Though he had gone to the extreme, at least... he finally got rid of them!

Just as Zhou Yuan was about to call the police and turn himself in to minimize his sentence time, he glanced back and saw that the bodies had vanished, and even the signs of the struggle had returned to normal.

Zhou Yuan was dumbfounded.

·

Zhou Yuan reported his parents missing, but the police found no useful clues, and the case quickly went cold.

Aside from the constant streak of bad luck in life, everything seemed to be going in a better direction.

Zhou Yuan found a job as a waiter, serving tea and water every day, frequently dealing with difficult customers. Many people saw his young age as an opportunity to make things hard for him, but none of these bothered him. He always greeted everyone with a smile, as if he never got angry.

Unfortunately, the restaurant closed down two months later, and Zhou Yuan had to find another way.

Soon, he found a customer service job, which involved taking calls and being yelled at all day, without showing any temper. Otherwise, his salary would be docked.

This job tested employees’ psychological endurance immensely. Most people couldn’t last more than two months and would quit, but Zhou Yuan worked for nearly half a year until the company shut down.

Afterward, he worked in a factory, doing ten-hour shifts on a grueling assembly line. Numb like a machine, yet he still felt happy after work because he had finally attained the freedom he always wanted.

At eighteen, Zhou Yuan went into sales. With his good looks and interpersonal skills, he quickly became an outstanding employee.

However, it wasn’t long before coworkers sabotaged him behind the scenes, and he was unjustly fired.

Aside from lamenting the world’s cruelty, Zhou Yuan didn’t do much about it, continuing to send out resumes and search for his next job.

A few days later, he became a salesman once again, spending the next six months traveling around, achieving significant success.

He started dating a girlfriend.

He landed several big deals.

Good things kept happening; Zhou Yuan was all smiles.

Life was finally looking up!

·

"You were taking pictures of me!"

On the subway, a woman raised her phone angrily at Zhou Yuan, "Were you taking pictures of me just now?"

Zhou Yuan was confused: "I wasn’t... Why would I take pictures of you?"

"I clearly saw your phone pointed at me," the woman shouted, "Open your gallery and show me!"

"Are you crazy?" Zhou Yuan snapped, "I’ll call the police and let them handle it."

Half an hour later.

The police sternly told the woman, "Apologize to him right now."

The woman reluctantly said sorry to Zhou Yuan.

And that seemed to be the end of it.

——Zhou Yuan thought.

Two days later, a video started circulating online, shot by the woman, with the caption: "Got secretly photographed on the subway, so disgusting. The way he deleted the photos showed he’s done it before."