I am a Tycoon!

Pant... Pant...

Lee-Oh sprinted through the shadowy streets, heart pounding, lungs burning. Gan Nye's furious shouts echoed behind him like a curse refusing to let go.

"There he is! Stop him!""Don't let that runt get away!"

The alleyways twisted like a maze, swallowing him deeper into the slums. As fear tightened his chest, an idea sparked.

System Notification: Crafting Unlocked.You can now craft a decoy from available materials (x2).

His eyes lit up. "This... this could work."

Without slowing down, he reached into his inventory and quickly assembled two makeshift decoys—wooden limbs, torn cloth, and his old ragged shirt. He set one down at a narrow fork, the other deeper into a dead-end alley, and then bolted into the maze again.

The plan: confuse and stall them.

But in the chaos, he got lost. The alleys wrapped tighter around him like a trap.

Just as panic set in—

A hand grabbed his wrist.

"This way! Hurry!" whispered a low voice.

Lee-Oh's instinct screamed danger, but the man's grip was firm and familiar with the path.

"I've seen Gan Nye's thugs chasing you. I used to be a slave, too. I know these streets. I'll get you out."

Lee-Oh hesitated. "Can I even trust you?"

He had no answer—only a choice. And any risk was better than going back to chains.

They dashed through the city's underbelly, slipping into a hidden grate that led to the sewers. The air was foul, but freedom was near.

Meanwhile...

Gan Nye's foot slammed down as he spotted Lee-Oh ahead—he lunged.

CRACK.

A wooden mannequin clattered to the ground.

"Another decoy?!"

Thugs chased another figure in the fog. Another fake.

Gan Nye's rage boiled over.

Back in the forest beyond the city...

Lee-Oh and the stranger emerged into the humid wilds. But Lee-Oh's legs gave out—he collapsed.

"Hngg—!"

Blood oozed from a gash on his foot. He'd stepped on a jagged stone earlier—but the adrenaline masked the pain. Worse, his arm brushed against poison ivy, the rash already spreading.

System Alert: You are poisoned and critically wounded.Warning: If condition worsens, death will be permanent. No revival possible.

Lee-Oh's vision blurred.

The forest spun around him.