Chapter 1
Words:2131Update:22/06/29 12:33:50
After waking up from the darkness, Ren Xiaosu wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the 13 or 14-year-old boy standing at the door.
"Liuyuan, is anything the matter?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
The child who was addressed as Liuyuan was actually named Yan Liuyuan.
Yan Liuyuan looked harmless and innocent, but he was holding a bone knife in his hand as he stood guard at the door. It was late at night, and he looked very sleepy. However, he did not close his eyes because he had to keep watch at night.
Yan Liuyuan shook his head and said, "I'm fine. What's going on in your head? Can't the doctors in town tell what it is?"
"You don't have to worry about that. I'm not sick." Ren Xiaosu said firmly, "It's almost dawn, so I'm going out to hunt. You should get some sleep and go to school on time."
"OK." Yan Liuyuan nodded in a low voice. "What's the use of studying well in these wastelands …."
"If I say it's useful, then it's useful," Ren Xiaosu said in an unquestionable tone.
"I'm going out to hunt too." Yan Liuyuan pursed his lips.
"If something happens to you, who's going to keep watch at night? Me while I'm unconscious? " Ren Xiaosu stood up and prepared to go to the center of town to fetch some water. It would not be as dangerous in town at dawn.
At night here, it was a lawless place.
…
Dark clouds kept churning in the gloomy sky. A drop of acid rain finally fell from the clouds. It kept swaying in the strong wind and finally landed in front of Ren Xiaosu with a thud.
The young Ren Xiaosu was lying on the ground in the wilderness. He frowned and thought to himself that he was a little unlucky today. The acid rain had arrived before his prey.
Some people said that one had to be careful of wild animals while traveling in the wastelands.
However, Ren Xiaosu felt that the man was not telling the whole story because there were many things on the wasteland that could kill people. One of them was acid rain.
However, Ren Xiaosu still did not move. If there was no prey today, he and Yan Liuyuan would starve to death before the acid rain brought diseases.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a bird's wings flapping in the air. Ren Xiaosu's eyes suddenly widened, but his breathing was not disordered.
Not far in front of Ren Xiaosu, there was a black iron pot propped up by a tree branch. There were some black bread crumbs scattered under the pot.
The big bird landed beside the iron pot and looked at it vigilantly. Its eyes were sharp. This bird was not much smaller than the iron pot.
It stood at the same spot and combed its feathers for a long time, while Ren Xiaosu continued to wait motionlessly.
It seemed that the big bird had finally let down its guard and started to slowly move towards the iron pot. Its footsteps were as light as a thief's.
But when it entered the range of the iron pot and lowered its head to peck at the bread crumbs, Ren Xiaosu suddenly tugged on the rope in his hand. Following that, the young man jumped up and rushed towards the iron pot like a wild donkey that had broken free from its reins. Before the big bird could flip the iron pot over, he used all his strength to pin it down with his body!
"Phew!"
Ren Xiaosu heaved a sigh of relief. In order to wait for this sparrow, he had waited the entire night. But to his delight, his efforts today were not in vain. After all, such a good opportunity did not come by every day.
The sparrow's struggling sound came from under the iron pot. Its hard wings scraped against the iron pot, producing a sharp sound. At this moment, the clock in the stronghold rang melodiously.
Ren Xiaosu turned around and looked behind him. He did not know when he would be able to bring Yan Liuyuan into the stronghold.
For Ren Xiaosu, the people in the stronghold were blessed because they did not have to face the dangers of the wastelands.
However, it was not a place that anyone could enter just because they wanted to.
At this moment, the movements in the iron pot finally quieted down a lot. He sighed and made sure that he had wrapped the rag around his hand properly. Then he slowly lifted the lid of the iron pot. Ren Xiaosu reached his hand into the gap and tried to grab the big sparrow's leg!
But life would not always be smooth sailing. As soon as Ren Xiaosu reached his hand into the pot, he let out a howl.
When Ren Xiaosu retracted his hand, the web between his thumb and forefinger was bleeding. Even the rag had not been able to block the big sparrow's sharp beak.
Ren Xiaosu got angry. He simply took off his tattered jacket and wrapped it around his hand. Then he reached his hand into the iron pot and grabbed the sparrow by its neck.
He decisively pulled the sparrow out and held it between his arms. With a forceful twist, the sparrow's neck snapped and stopped moving.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt his heart ache because the big sparrow's claws had dug several holes in his jacket.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud in his head. Ren Xiaosu knelt down on the ground. It was as though a huge copper bell had rung in his head, and he was plunged into complete darkness and chaos.
This was bad. In the past, his illness would only strike at midnight. But this time, it was happening earlier than usual.
This was not the first time his illness had "acted up." Almost everyone in town knew that there was something wrong with his head and that he would experience pain from time to time.
But Ren Xiaosu knew very well that it was not pain. It was pure chaos.
Wait a minute, this time was different from the past. The black fog in his mind had actually opened up, revealing a palace inside!
Ren Xiaosu's eyes snapped open. He stood up in disbelief and looked at himself. "I've woken up so quickly this time?"
He had a chance to take a good look at the palace, but he knew better than anyone that falling unconscious in the wilderness was no different from suicide. He had to rush back to the town outside Stronghold 113 before the acid rain arrived!
Ren Xiaosu tied the sparrow's two claws and hung them over his shoulder. Then he picked up his large iron pot and put it upside down over his head as he started running. The raindrops made pitter-patter sounds as they hit the iron pot.
The iron pot had become his umbrella.
But before he could get far, a figure stopped in front of him with a bone knife in his hand. "Give me your prey —"
However, before this person could finish his sentence, he saw a huge iron wok approaching him from afar and smacking him in the face!
"Fuck!" The robber fell backward. He had not expected Ren Xiaosu to act so decisively! And he was so strong!
Ren Xiaosu unloaded the wok, threw it away, and then raised it again to use as an umbrella as he ran. All of this was done in one go without any pause. Before the robber could even fall to the ground, Ren Xiaosu was already running far away!
The robber lay on the ground with his face up. The acid rain that hit his face was tingling and painful. There were some things he could not understand.
Wouldn't everyone usually communicate with each other? How many situations like this had this young man dealt with for him to have such an instinctive reaction?!
No, the young man's footsteps were getting closer!
The robber sat up in a panic and turned around to look. He realized the young man had turned back!
Ren Xiaosu had not planned on coming back, but he clearly heard the voice from the palace in his mind say, "Quest: Give your prey to someone else."
Who was talking? Ren Xiaosu turned around and walked towards the robber skeptically.
The robber panicked. "Let's talk … That's not right. I'm the victim here …"
Ren Xiaosu sized up the robber carefully. There was no one else around.
"You want this sparrow?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
The robber's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
"Here you go." Ren Xiaosu stuffed the sparrow into the robber's arms without any explanation.
The unfamiliar and neutral voice sounded again. "Quest complete. Awarded Basic Skill Duplication Scroll. You can learn other people's abilities."
Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a moment. He could clearly feel a piece of kraft paper appearing in his mind!
Did the Skill Duplication Scroll mean that he could use it to directly copy other people's abilities? Hunting? Survival? Or something else?
The robber hugged the large sparrow tightly in his arms and was about to say some words of gratitude. "You're a good person …"
Before he could finish speaking, he watched helplessly as Ren Xiaosu dragged the sparrow away again and swaggered off.
The robber: "???"
He looked at Ren Xiaosu's back as he ran away … What kind of person is this?! What are they after?
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