Awakening from the dark, chaotic void, the young Ren Xiaosu wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked toward the doorway, where a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy was standing.
"Liuyuan, is something wrong?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
The boy's full name was Yan Liuyuan.He looked harmless—innocent, even—but he gripped a bone knife while keeping watch at the door. It was the dead of night, and although he looked exhausted, his eyes never once closed. He was standing guard.
Yan Liuyuan shook his head. "Nothing. But what's going on with your head? Even the doctors in town can't figure out what kind of illness it is?"
"You don't need to worry about that. It's not an illness," Ren Xiaosu replied firmly. "It'll be dawn soon. I'm heading out to hunt. Get some sleep, and go to class on time."
"Okay…" Yan Liuyuan muttered, lowering his head. "But in this wasteland, what's the point of studying anyway…"
"It's useful because I said it is." Ren Xiaosu's tone left no room for argument.
"I want to hunt too," Yan Liuyuan pouted.
"And who's going to keep watch if something happens to you? The unconscious me?" Ren Xiaosu stood and headed toward the town center to fetch water. Once the sun rose, the town wouldn't be quite as dangerous.
Nighttime here was a lawless realm.
…
The gloomy sky churned with rolling clouds, and at last, a drop of acid rain fell. Buffeted by the wind, it drifted left and right before finally landing with a snap in front of Ren Xiaosu.
Ren Xiaosu lay flat on the ground in the wilderness. He frowned—his luck was bad today. The prey hadn't shown up yet, but the acid rain had arrived first.
Some said you had to watch out for beasts when traveling the wasteland.
But Ren Xiaosu knew the truth: that wasn't the whole story. There were many things out here that could kill you—acid rain was one of them.
Still, he didn't move. If he couldn't catch anything today, he and Yan Liuyuan would starve long before the acid rain made them sick.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of wings cutting through the air. Ren Xiaosu's eyes snapped open, though his breathing remained steady.
Not far ahead was a black iron pot propped up by a tree branch. Beneath it, he had scattered a few crumbs of stale, dark bread.
A large bird landed beside the pot, eyes sharp with caution. It wasn't much smaller than the pot itself.
It preened its feathers for quite a while, and Ren Xiaosu remained perfectly still, waiting.
At last, the bird seemed to lower its guard and inched toward the pot, its tiny steps sneaky like a thief's.
But the moment it stepped within range and lowered its head toward the crumbs, Ren Xiaosu gave the rope in his hand a violent tug. In the same instant he sprang to his feet, charging toward the pot like an unrestrained wild donkey, throwing his entire weight onto the iron pot before the bird could flip it over!
"Whew!"
Ren Xiaosu exhaled in relief. He'd waited the entire night for this sparrow, and thankfully it hadn't been in vain. Opportunities like this didn't come often.
From under the pot came the sounds of frantic struggle—the sparrow's strong wings scraped loudly against the metal. Meanwhile, the melodious chime of the clock from the refugee barrier echoed through the air.
Ren Xiaosu glanced back. He had no idea when he would finally be able to bring Yan Liuyuan into that barrier.
To him, the people inside the barrier lived blessed lives—they didn't have to face the dangers of the wasteland.
But not just anyone could enter.
The noise inside the pot gradually weakened. Ren Xiaosu sighed, made sure the rag on his hand was secure, then carefully lifted the pot just enough to slip his hand inside and grab the sparrow's leg.
But life rarely went smoothly. The moment his hand entered, he yelped in pain.
He withdrew his hand and saw fresh blood at the base of his thumb—the rag wasn't enough to block the sparrow's sharp beak.
Ren Xiaosu was annoyed now. He took off his tattered coat, wrapped it around his hand, and thrust his arm fiercely into the pot again. This time, he grabbed the sparrow by the neck in one swift move.
He lifted it out and tucked it under his arm, twisting hard. Crack. The sparrow went still.
Then Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt heartache—his coat had several new claw marks ripped into it.
Then—BOOM—a massive bell seemed to strike inside his mind. His legs collapsed, and he fell to his knees. It felt as though a huge bronze bell had smashed into his skull, plunging him into pitch-black chaos.
D*mn it. His episodes usually came at midnight—this time it was early.
It wasn't his first attack. People in the town all knew he had "something wrong with his head"—pain that came and went for no reason.
But Ren Xiaosu knew the truth: this wasn't pain. It was pure, overwhelming chaos.
Wait… this time was different.The black fog in his mind parted, revealing a palace within!
Ren Xiaosu's eyes snapped open. He stood up, stunned."I woke up… this fast?"
He wanted to study the palace more, but he knew better—passing out in the wilderness was as good as dying. He had to get back to the settlement outside Refuge Barrier 113 before the acid rain grew heavier!
He tied the sparrow's legs together and slung it over his shoulder. Then he lifted the iron pot onto his head and began to sprint, raindrops drumming against it with a taka-taka-taka.
The pot was now his umbrella.
But he hadn't run far when someone blocked his path, raising a bone knife."Hand over the prey—"
Before the words finished, a massive iron pot came flying at his face, slamming into him as if launched from a catapult.
"Sh*t!" The bandit flipped backward. He'd never expected the boy to move so decisively—or hit that hard!
Ren Xiaosu retrieved the pot, put it back over his head, and continued sprinting in one fluid motion. Before the bandit even hit the ground, Ren Xiaosu was already far away.
The bandit lay on his back as the acid rain stung his skin. Something about this felt wrong.
Normally there'd be some conversation, right? How many times had this boy been through situations like this to react so instinctively?!
Wait—footsteps. They were coming back.
Panicking, he sat up and turned his head—Ren Xiaosu had circled around and was walking back toward him!
Ren Xiaosu hadn't planned to return, but he'd clearly heard a voice echo from the palace in his mind:"Task: Give your prey to another person."
Who was speaking? Suspicious, Ren Xiaosu walked toward the bandit.
The bandit panicked."W-we can talk this out… Wait, no—I'm the victim here!"
Ren Xiaosu looked around. There was no one else nearby.
"You want this sparrow?" he asked.
The bandit's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
"Here." Ren Xiaosu shoved the sparrow into his arms without hesitation.
That strange, neutral voice spoke again:"Task complete. Reward: Basic Skill Learning Codex. Ability to learn others' skills."
Ren Xiaosu froze. He could feel it—there was now a piece of tanned leather parchment inside his mind!
A skill learning codex… meaning he could copy others' abilities? Hunting? Survival? Or even something else?
The bandit clutched the giant sparrow, ready to thank him."You're a good—"
He never finished. Ren Xiaosu just yanked the sparrow back out of his arms and ran off.
The bandit: "???"
He watched Ren Xiaosu's figure sprinting away into the rain.What kind of person is that?! What was he even doing all this for?!