The three of them walked in silence towards a house illuminated by flickering firelight.
"Dad! You're back!"
A sallow, thin boy of about twelve or thirteen rushed out of the house in an instant and threw himself into Chen Guodong's arms. This was Chen Fan's younger brother, Chen Chen.
Chen Chen lifted his head, surveyed the scene, and then asked with a touch of disappointment, "Dad, did you manage to bring back any food this time?"
His stomach rumbled as he finished speaking, revealing his hunger.
Chen Guodong blushed, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Something happened this time, but we'll get something next time, I promise."
"But you said the same thing last time," the boy replied, blinking with clear, innocent eyes.
His mother quickly pulled him away, admonishing, "Didn't you see that your dad is injured? Be careful around the wound."
The boy took a step back in fear, exclaiming, "Oh! I'm sorry, Dad."
"What happened isn't your fault," Chen Guodong assured him, patting the boy's head. He then turned to the woman and said, "Could you prepare some rice soup? Do we have any money left? I'll check if we can exchange it for food in Songjiabao tomorrow."
"It's all gone. We even had to exchange the wedding ring you gave me," the woman replied, shaking her head. She then went inside the house, retrieved half a spoonful of rice from the jar's bottom, and started cooking porridge.
Their rice supply was dwindling, and it would last them only another week if they rationed it carefully. The situation was dire.
"Xiao Fan," Chen Guodong called out, concerned. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, Dad," Chen Fan replied, doing his best to mimic the original body's mannerisms and tone.
In his recollection, Yuanzheng had always seemed somewhat distant from his taciturn father, which was something he considered a fortunate trait.
Chen Guodong appeared as though he wanted to say more but ultimately just nodded and said, "Good."
Dinner consisted of a watery porridge with a few remaining grains of rice at the bottom of the pot. The family of four scraped their bowls clean, and Chen Guodong, being the family's pillar, had an extra helping.
Afterwards, they all went to rest. Chen Fan and his younger brother slept in the west room, while their parents' subdued conversation could be faintly heard in the background. It wasn't that Chen Fan intended to eavesdrop.
"Guodong, did you know? I was so worried today that you wouldn't return, just like them," his mother whispered softly, her voice quivering with anxiety.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry," Chen Guodong reassured her with a calm and firm voice.
"But what about next time?" she asked, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.
The room fell silent.
Chen Fan sighed quietly.
It was easy to complain about the hardships of life when you were missing meals, but many people had nowhere to live. In those cities, one had to wonder if they would be accepted, not to mention the perils they would face along the way. Ordinary people struggled to make it through even a single day.
Strength was everything; only the strong could survive.
He closed his eyes and, with a thought, a panel resembling character attributes in a video game appeared in his mind, vivid and lifelike:
- Realm: None
- Level: 1 (0/1)
- Physique: 8 (the average for adult males was 10)
- Strength: 7
- Dexterity: 7
- Spirit: 5
- Skills: None
- Potential points: 1 (1 point per day)
In addition, behind the "Level," there was now a prominent plus sign, which hadn't been there an hour ago. His journey to this world had taken approximately 25 hours, from last night to tonight.
When he first saw the data panel, he thought it was a hallucination. It was only after numerous confirmations that he accepted it as a real system that had rewarded him.
The plus sign seemed to consume potential points, and with a thought, Chen Fan noticed it dimmed as if someone had pressed it. A powerful surge of heat coursed from his heart throughout his entire body, accompanied by faint, crackling sounds.
"Crack, click."
Subtle sounds emanated from various parts of his body, and an indescribable feeling of openness spread within him.
"Could this be strengthening my body?" Chen Fan wondered. He could feel that his physical strength had genuinely increased.
After a few seconds, the heat dissipated. He was drenched in sweat, and if not for his wet clothes, he might have questioned whether it was all just a hallucination.
Clutching his fists, he sensed a newfound strength that hadn't existed before.
"System!" he exclaimed.
He quickly checked the attributes and found they had indeed changed:
- Realm: None
- Level: 2 (0/2)
- Physique: 8.8
- Strength: 7.7
- Dexterity: 7.7
- Spirit: 5.5
- Skills: None
- Potential points: 0 (1 point per day)
His eyes lit up, and all four attributes had increased by roughly 10%, barely reaching the standards of an average adult male.
"No wonder I feel stronger," he thought.
He became increasingly excited, sensing a glimmer of hope for his future. Unfortunately, his potential points had returned to zero, and everything else remained unchanged.
"It seems I'll need another day to accumulate a bit more experience," he mused.
Chen Fan sighed, realizing that time was not on his side.
His eyes moved down to the skill column, which remained empty.
"Is this a reminder to learn martial arts skills?" he wondered. However, he hadn't heard of anyone in this Earth Castle who knew martial arts. He vaguely remembered a few Taijiquan moves from his studies, but he hadn't practiced them diligently.
Moreover, even if Tai Chi were available, this world lacked medical resources. Fighting fierce beasts with injuries meant relying on self-healing. Severe injuries could be fatal.
Learning archery seemed like a better option, considering that Iron weapons were scarce in the Earth Castle. Only a few of them, including his father, possessed longbows, while others used long spears, shields, and melee weapons. Guns were exceedingly rare and exorbitantly priced.
It didn't matter; he could fashion a wooden bow from wood, paired with a makeshift bowstring crafted from a fierce beast's tendons or other resources. Gathering these materials wouldn't pose a significant challenge.
Even if archery wasn't a martial art in the conventional sense, it would provide him with self-defense capabilities. In the future, he would join the hunting team. Relying on others wasn't a viable long-term strategy; he needed to become self-sufficient.
In this cruel world, survival depended on one's strength.
Lost in his thoughts, Chen Fan made a firm
decision to learn archery.
Afterwards, he drifted off to sleep. In the early morning, a scream from outside roused him from his slumber.