They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 145: Thank You Young Master!

{Jin’s POV}

Pain dragged me back to consciousness.

Not the white-hot agony of shattered bones and torn flesh, but a deep persistent ache that radiated through my entire body.

Like I’d been beaten with hammers and left to stiffen.

My eyes cracked open, vision swimming, unfocused.

Wooden beams. Thatch roof. Pale light filtering through gaps.

Where am I?

I tried to move and immediately regretted it. Every muscle screamed protest. But I could move.

That... that shouldn’t be possible. Right?

As the memories hit me in fragments.

The Alpha. Its claws tearing through my shoulder, snapping my collarbone like a twig. The impact that shattered my ribs. Teeth grinding against the bones in my forearm, my elbow dislocating with a wet pop. The final strike that caved in my chest.

And the blood. So much blood.

The cold spreading through my body as I lay dying in the dirt.

Then... nothing.

My breath came faster, shallow. I forced myself to slow down.

Then looked at my surroundings clearly. To make sense where I am now...

And. I was in a bed. A real bed, not the forest floor.

The air smelled of herbs, sharp, medicinal, mixed with wood smoke and something floral.

Which mean I was probably somewhere safe.

I pushed myself up on my right elbow, biting back a groan as my body protested.

And then I noticed something as I looked down.

I was wrapped in clean white bandages, my chest bound tight, my left arm in a sling.

Then I stared at my right arm, the one that had been mangled in the Alpha’s jaws, bones shattered, elbow destroyed.

It was bandaged, yes, but...

I flexed my fingers experimentally.

They moved. All of them.

I pulled at the bandages on my forearm with my free hand, unwrapping them with clumsy, shaking fingers.

The skin beneath was bruised, bit purplish. But the arm was whole.

And then... a movement caught at the edge of my vision.

I looked down at my chest, at the bandages covering my ribs.

Something underneath them was... glowing?

Faint. Pulsing in time with my heartbeat.

I unwrapped the bandages around my torso with increasing urgency, my hands shaking, pain forgotten in the sudden need to see what the fuck was happening to my body.

The bandages fell away.

And there, on my chest, directly over my heart, was a mark.

Circular.

It glowed with soft golden light, pulsing gently. Then faded instantly.

I stared at it, my mind racing.

This wasn’t here before.

If it was... I would have known. Would have seen it, felt it, something, I had been in this body for nearly two years.

When did—?

Before I could ponder more... the door opened suddenly.

I yanked the bandages back over my chest on pure instinct, my heart hammering, and looked up to see Agnes stepping through with a tray of food.

But she froze when she saw me sitting up, her eyes going wide.

"Young Master!" The tray nearly slipped from her hands. "You’re awake!"

Before I could respond, before I could even open my mouth to speak, she set the tray down on the table with a clatter and rushed to the bedside.

Then she threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I winced, pain shooting through my ribs, a sharp gasp escaping before I could stop it.

"Agnes?"

She immediately pulled back, her hands flying to her mouth.

"I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—" Her voice cracked, tears already forming in her eyes.

"I’m just so happy. I thought... when they brought you back, you were so pale, and there was so much blood, and I thought you were gone. I thought I’d lost you."

The tears spilled over, running down her cheeks despite her obvious attempts to hold them back. My stomach clenched, guilt mixing with relief in a confusing knot.

"How long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"Three days," Agnes said, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Three days and two nights. The healer said you might not wake up at all, that your injuries were too severe, that even with treatment..."

She trailed off, fresh tears threatening.

I blinked, processing that, then leaned back against the pillows and sighed.

Three days, huh?

I have been knocked out for three whole days.

Then looking at her properly, taking in the exhaustion written across her face, dark circles under her eyes, her skin paler than usual, her hair pulled back in a messy braid that suggested she hadn’t been taking care of herself.

She’d been watching over me the whole time, probably.

"We’re..." I started, then realized I didn’t actually know where "we" were.

"We’re in Oakmere," Agnes said, understanding the unfinished question. A genuine smile broke through the tears, bright and relieved.

"Yes. We survived the beast wave. The village is still standing. Everyone who made it to the shelter is alive." She bowed suddenly, the movement formal and deep.

"Thank you," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you, Young Master. For everything you did. For saving all of us."

I waved my hand dismissively, uncomfortable with the gratitude.

"No need to—"

She moved before I could finish the sentence.

Her lips pressed against my cheek in a brief, soft kiss that lasted maybe a second before she pulled back, her face turning bright red.

I froze completely, my brain short-circuiting.

Then she pulled back immediately, her face turning bright red, her eyes wide like she couldn’t believe what she’d just done.

"I—" Agnes stammered, backing toward the door. "You need to rest! The healer said you need rest, and I should tell her you’re awake, and if you need anything, just call. I have a few things to do now." She was rambling, backing toward the door, her face growing redder with each word.

"I have to leave now!" She turned and bolted from the room like the building was on fire, the door swinging shut behind her with a bang.

I sat there in the sudden silence, staring at the closed door.

My face felt hot.

What the hell?

I touched my cheek where she’d kissed me, my fingers brushing the spot like I could still feel the warmth of her lips.

"Damn it," I muttered to the empty room. "Why am I reacting like this?"

It was just a kiss on the cheek. A gesture of gratitude, probably. Relief that I was alive. Nothing more complicated than that.

I’d had a relationship in my previous life.

Had kissed my girlfriend plenty of times.

This shouldn’t feel like anything special. But my heart was racing.

My face flushed.

Get it together. You’re acting like a teenager.

Although, to be fair, this body was seventeen. Hormones were probably a factor.

That had to be it. Just biology.

I lay back against the pillows, trying to calm my racing heart, and stared up at the ceiling.

Then something occurred to me.

The quest.

I’d completely forgotten about it.

Then I pulled up my status screen, the familiar interface materializing in my vision.

[QUEST: Clear the Beast Wave (Completed)]

[Calculating rewards...]

The text pulsed for a moment, then expanded into a detailed breakdown.

[QUEST REWARDS]

Base Completion Rewards:

EXP: +4,200 | Stat Points: +20 | Item: [Emergency Recovery Talisman] x1 | +100 MC

Bonus Objectives Completed:

✓ Survived until dawn (Boss wave defeated)

✓ Zero civilian deaths in shelter

✓ Defeated Alpha-class threat solo

✓ Kill count exceeded initial beasts

Bonus Rewards:

EXP: +2,800 (Bonus) | Stat Points: +10 (Bonus) | Skill Unlock: [Combat Analysis] (Passive)

I stared at the numbers, my mind struggling to process them.

The quest had given me more in one night than I’d earned in weeks of careful progression.

No wonder it had an ’extreme’ difficulty rating.

I opened the skill description, curious about what I’d unlocked.

[Skill: Combat Analysis (Passive)]

[Effect: Automatically identifies optimal attack patterns and defensive weaknesses during combat. Increases learning speed for martial techniques by 40%. Provides real-time tactical suggestions during extended engagements.] [Note: Synergizes with Debug Vision for enhanced effectiveness]

My eyebrows rose.

A passive skill that would make me better in combat without requiring active mana expenditure.

Then I noticed the item notification and focused on it.

[Item Acquired: Emergency Recovery Talisman]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect: Instantly restores 50% HP, 50% MP, and removes negative status effect when HP drops below 20%. Activates automatically.]

[Note: Cannot be used again for 72 hours after activation. Does not stack with multiple talismans.]

These are pretty useful.

I then pulled up my full status screen, wanting to see how the level-ups had affected my base stats.

[STATUS]

Name: Jin Raith

Age: 17

Class: Debugger

Level: 22

EXP: 2,340/5,400

Rank: C

MC (Mana Capacity): 261/450

HP: 840/840

MP: 250/250

Stats:

STR: 30

VIT: 31

AGI: 34

INT: 77

WIS: 45

LUK: 19

Allocation Points: 40

Skills: Poison Resistance (69%), Social Engineering, Alchemy (Basic), Debug Vision, Iron Will (Passive), Light Orb, Mana Reservoir (Passive), Combat Analysis (Passive)

Combat: Unorthodox Fang (Proficiency: 89%)