Chapter 1: 1, Crazy

From the dark chaos, the boy Ren Xiaosu wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked toward the doorway at the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy.

"Liuyuan, is there something wrong?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

The boy called Liuyuan was actually named Yan Liuyuan.

Yan Liuyuan had an innocent appearance, looking very harmless, yet he held a bone knife in his hand, standing guard at the doorway. In the dead of night, he looked quite tired but had never closed his eyes, for he was keeping watch.

Yan Liuyuan shook his head and said, "Nothing. What's wrong with your head? Has the doctor in the settlement figured out what's wrong with you?"

"You don't need to worry about that. It's not a disease," Ren Xiaosu said decisively, "Dawn is coming. I'm going out hunting. You should sleep a bit and go to class on time."

"Oh," Yan Liuyuan nodded in a low voice, "What use is learning in this wasteland..."

"I said it's useful," Ren Xiaosu said in an unquestionable tone.

"I want to go hunting too," Yan Liuyuan pouted.

"If something happens to you, who will keep watch? Me, unconscious?" Ren Xiaosu stood up to go fetch water from the settlement center, where it would be less dangerous when dawn came.

The nights here were lawless.

...

The overcast sky churned with rolling dark clouds. A drop of acid rain finally fell, swaying in the wind, and with a *pat*, it landed before Ren Xiaosu.

The boy Ren Xiaosu lay on the barren ground, frowning as he thought his luck was a bit poor today—he hadn't even caught any prey before the acid rain came.

Some said one had to be careful of beasts when walking on this wasteland.

But Ren Xiaosu felt that person hadn't told the whole truth, for there were many things on this wasteland that could take lives, one of which was acid rain.

Still, Ren Xiaosu didn't move. If he didn't catch any prey today, before the acid rain brought illness, he and that Yan Liuyuan kid would starve to death.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings stirred the air, and Ren Xiaosu's eyes widened, but his breathing remained steady.

Before him, not far away, was a black iron pot propped up by a branch, with some dark breadcrumbs scattered beneath it.

The large bird landed beside the pot, eyeing it warily, its gaze sharp. This bird, in size, wasn't much smaller than the pot itself.

It stood in place, preening its feathers for a long time, while Ren Xiaosu remained motionless, continuing to wait.

It seemed the bird finally lowered its guard and began to slowly inch toward the pot, its steps as light as a thief's.

But just as it entered the pot's range and lowered its head to peck at the breadcrumbs, Ren Xiaosu suddenly yanked the rope in his hand, and the youth leaped up like an unbridled wild donkey, charging toward the pot. Before the bird could overturn it, he pressed his body firmly against the pot with all his might!

"Huff!"

Ren Xiaosu exhaled a breath of relief. He had waited an entire night for this sparrow, but fortunately, today's efforts hadn't been in vain. Such an opportunity wasn't something that came every day.

The sound of the sparrow struggling beneath the pot echoed, its hard wings scraping against the metal with sharp clinks. At that moment, the clock tower in the refuge barrier chimed melodiously.

Ren Xiaosu glanced back at the settlement beyond the refuge barrier, wondering when he could bring Yan Liuyuan inside.

To Ren Xiaosu, the people inside the refuge barrier were fortunate, for they didn't have to face the dangers of the wasteland.

But that place wasn't one anyone could enter at will.

At that moment, the commotion in the pot had subsided. He sighed, confirming that the ragged cloth strip on his hand was properly tied, then slowly lifted the pot's lid just a crack. Ren Xiaosu's hand slipped through the gap, attempting to grab the sparrow's leg!

But life didn't always go smoothly. As soon as his hand entered, a sharp cry rang out.

Ren Xiaosu withdrew his hand and saw that his palm had been cut, blood seeping out. The ragged cloth hadn't blocked the sparrow's sharp beak.

Ren Xiaosu grew angry. He simply tore off his tattered coat and wrapped it around his hand, thrusting his palm into the pot. This time, he managed to pinch the sparrow's neck in one swift motion.

He cleanly extracted the sparrow, clamping it in his arms and twisting hard. With a *crack*, the sparrow's neck snapped, and it no longer moved.

At that moment, Ren Xiaosu felt a pang of sorrow, for the sparrow's claws had torn several holes in his coat.

Suddenly, a *thud* echoed in his mind, and Ren Xiaosu collapsed to his knees, his mind ringing like a massive bronze bell, plunging him into darkness.

Damn it, the illness usually came at midnight, but this time it had come early.

This wasn't the first time he had "fallen ill." The people in the settlement all knew his mind had issues, that he would occasionally suffer from pain episodes.

But Ren Xiaosu understood clearly—it wasn't pain, but pure chaos.

Wait, this time was different. The black mist in his mind had parted, revealing a palace within!

Ren Xiaosu abruptly opened his eyes, standing in disbelief and surveying himself: "This time, I recovered so quickly?"

He had had the chance to properly examine the palace's appearance, but what he understood more clearly was that falling into a coma in this wilderness was tantamount to death. He had to rush back to the 113th refuge barrier's settlement before the acid rain fully arrived!

Ren Xiaosu bound the sparrow's claws together and slung them over his shoulder, then hoisted the large iron pot upside down on his head and began sprinting. Raindrops pelted the pot with *pat-pat-pat* sounds.

At that moment, the pot had become his umbrella.

But before he had gone far, a figure blocked his path, holding a bone knife: "Give me the prey..."

But before the man could finish speaking, he saw a massive iron pot approaching from afar, crashing into his face with a *clang*!

"Damn!" The robber was flung backward, unprepared for Ren Xiaosu's swift and powerful strike!

Ren Xiaosu seamlessly removed the pot, swung it, and resumed sprinting with the pot as an umbrella, without pause... By the time the robber hit the ground, Ren Xiaosu was already far away!

The robber lay on his back, the acid rain stinging his face with a tingling pain. Some things he couldn't quite understand.

Usually, people would communicate, right? How many times had this youth encountered such situations to have such instinctive reactions?!

No, the youth's footsteps were approaching again!

The robber hastily sat up and turned to look, only to find the youth had turned back!

Ren Xiaosu hadn't intended to return, but he distinctly heard a voice in his mind from the palace: "Task: Present the prey to another."

Who was speaking? Ren Xiaosu approached the robber, half-convinced.

The robber panicked: "We can talk this over... No, wait, I'm the victim here..."

Ren Xiaosu carefully examined the robber, but there was no one else around.

"You want this sparrow?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

The robber's eyes lit up: "Yes!"

"Here," Ren Xiaosu shoved the sparrow into the other's arms without hesitation.

The strange, neutral voice spoke again: "Task complete. Reward: Basic Skill Acquisition Chart. Learn others' abilities."

Ren Xiaosu froze, for he clearly felt a new parchment page had appeared in his mind!

Skill Acquisition Chart—did it mean he could directly copy others' abilities? Hunting? Survival? Or something else?

The robber clutched the large sparrow tightly, about to express gratitude: "You're a good person..."

Before he could finish, he watched in shock as Ren Xiaosu yanked the sparrow back and walked away.

The robber: "???"

He stared at Ren Xiaosu's fleeing figure... What the hell was this guy? What was he after?