"Recently, our city's zoo experienced a disturbance when a small wild boar broke out of its enclosure and charged around, injuring six visitors, though thankfully no children were harmed. However, it's worth mentioning that this same little boar burst into the tiger enclosure and engaged in a rare fight with two adult tigers. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the zoo staff, the two seriously wounded Bengal tigers were rescued..."
Chu Ge, lying sprawled on the sofa, listened to the news on the television with an expression of disbelief.
What kind of ridiculous news is this?
Could it get any more far-fetched?
A small wild boar injuring two adult tigers?
Has your zoo's ticket sales dropped to an all-time low or what?
Chu Ge curled up, sinking deeper into the sofa.
His name is Chu Ge, an eighteen-year-old senior in high school with delicate features. While not as handsome as the legendary Pan An, his clean and delicate face was the kind that made people feel amiable at first glance. He was currently at home resting due to illness.
It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, and his parents hadn't finished work yet.
Feeling too weak to do much else, he lay on the sofa watching TV.
As for his cellphone, he only had access to it on weekends since he was facing what parents and teachers considered the most critical juncture of a person's life.
"Sigh, other people rejuvenate feeling energetic and looking forward to the future, so why did I start my rebirth with a fever? Is this some sort of acclimatization issue?"
Chu Ge murmured to himself, his expression extraordinarily complex.
He had just gone through a rebirth.
Reborn at the age of almost thirty back to his high school senior year, he had been startled awake by his desk mate. Waking up from a nap to find himself surrounded by the classroom and the teacher was a shocking experience.
The classroom, the teacher.
The young faces of the students around him.
Everything was unfamiliar yet familiar.
Before he even had time to feel elated, he was overwhelmed by a sense of weakness, and his body temperature skyrocketed.
In the end, he fainted. His father was called by the teacher and personally carried him back home.
A day passed, and his high fever had not completely subsided, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"On the first day of my rebirth, instead of youthful vigor or business opportunities, I'm greeted with the heavy punch of a fever..."
As Chu Ge was reflecting, there was a sudden knock on the door.
He propped himself up and staggered toward the door.
It was probably a package for his mom or his sister, Chu Yingying.
When he opened the door, there was no one outside.
"Meow—"
The call of a cat caught his attention, and he instinctively looked down to find a small black kitten sitting on the ground, looking up at him with eyes like sapphires, which seemed very eerie.
"Where did this kitten come from?"
Chu Ge frowned in confusion. Just as he was about to bend down to pick up the black kitten, it suddenly pounced on him, clung to his right hand, and bit down on the base of his thumb.
The piercing pain made Chu Ge shake his hand vigorously, and the black kitten was flung away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Chu Ge stood there stunned.
He blinked, making sure the black kitten had indeed disappeared, and the pain in his right hand also vanished.
Looking at his hand, he noticed two tiny black crescent marks at the base of his thumb. There was no bleeding, just two tiny scars, as small as cat teeth.
At the same time, his mind suddenly cleared, no longer feeling groggy.
"What's going on? Did I encounter a ghost?"
Chu Ge was astonished and felt a chill down his spine.
If he could encounter rebirth, it wasn't too far-fetched to believe in ghosts and deities.
People often say that black cats are supernatural; turns out they might be right...
He quickly shut the door and returned to the living room.
His family's house was only about a hundred square meters, with three bedrooms. Besides the master bedroom where his parents slept, his and his sister Chu Yingying's bedrooms were quite small, just big enough for a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe, leaving little room for anything else.
Back on the sofa, Chu Ge inspected his right hand carefully, assuring himself that he wasn't seeing things.
It couldn't really be a ghost...
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Even in broad daylight, he felt hair-raising terror.
He quickly turned up the volume on the television and fully drew back the curtains to let the sunlight pour in.
After watching TV for a while, he began to calm down.
"I'm probably overthinking it."
Chu Ge stared at the television screen, muttering to himself.
Before his rebirth, he had at least never done anything bad and had often taken in stray animals. If there was a god, they should know he was a good person.
Good people have good fates...
Ghosts and goblins, quickly leave...
Wait a minute!
Chu Ge suddenly realized that his high fever had subsided; he felt clear-headed, refreshed, and full of energy, making lying on the couch somewhat uncomfortable.
He was overjoyed, quickly got up, and went back into the house to change his clothes.
If he went out on the streets, he probably wouldn't encounter any ghosts.
...
After jogging timidly out of the apartment corridor, Chu Ge let out a sigh of relief; the sunlight felt so warm on his skin.
In the southern city on the brink of autumn, the big sun was still hanging in the sky; it wasn't too hot, nor was it cold, and the gentle breeze was very cool.
It was a weekday afternoon, so there weren't many people around the community. However, under a nearby tree, a few elderly people were playing chess.
With the influence of the fever gone, Chu Ge only then felt the beauty of youth.
What should he do now?
Chu Ge looked at his right hand, hesitating about whether he should go get a rabies vaccine or not.
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
Just then, a cold female voice sounded in Chu Ge's ear, startling him and making him look around, but there were no other people nearby.
But the woman's voice continued to countdown, causing his heart to panic and sweat to flow.
He tried to remain calm and turned to run towards the corridor.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"The Survival Trial begins! Now entering the Survival Arena!"
Chu Ge only felt the world spinning around him as he quickly fainted.
...
He didn't know how much time had passed.
When he woke up again, he was shocked to find himself lying on a couch in a tiny room that, apart from a couch and a coffee table, had nothing else; the walls seemed to be made of white jade, the room was very bright, causing him to squint.
"What's happening? Where is this place?"
Chu Ge frowned and thought, subconsciously looking for anything he could use to defend himself, sadly realizing there was nothing.
At that moment, a projection suddenly appeared in front of him with two lines written:
You have been selected as a Survivor of the Survival Arena. You have accumulated 877 Virtue Points from your past and present lives, which can be exchanged for Survival Skills.
There are 14 minutes and 39 seconds until the start of the Survival Trial.
...
Survival Arena?
Survivor?
Virtue Points?
Chu Ge's heart pounded faster as he had read various novels, comics, and movies in his past life and knew quite a few wild ideas.
From these keywords, he caught many pieces of information.
The other side knew he had been reborn.
Survival Arena, could it be something like a battle royale? A hundred people dropped on a deserted island, with only one survivor?
He took a deep breath, curiously muttering, "Where do I exchange Survival Skills?"
No sooner had he spoken, the image in the projection changed, displaying several lines of text:
Forelimb Strength Enhancement [Lv1]: Can strengthen one's forelimb strength by 10 points, requires 500 Virtue Points.
Hind Limb Strength Enhancement [Lv1]: Can enhance one's hind limb strength by 10 points, requires 500 Virtue Points.
Bite Force Enhancement [Lv1]: Can increase one's biting force by 30 points, requires 550 Virtue Points.
Paralyzing Venom [Lv1]: Can paralyze an enemy, the effect depends on the enemy's size, requires 600 Virtue Points.
Skunk Venom Gas [Lv1]: Can repel enemies with a stench, requires 550 Virtue Points.