Late at night, everything was still.
Rukongai, West 3rd District, Hokutan Mountain.
The night sky shed a soft, silvery glow. Dim light outlined the surrounding low-slung wooden houses. The air was filled with a familiar smell, a mixture of earth, wood, and a faint, subtle scent of mildew accumulated over time.
Illuminated by the moonlight, a youth of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in coarse cloth, lay quietly on a bed of hay. The surroundings were so silent that the only sounds were the boy's breathing, the rustle of leaves stirred by the wind, and the gentle murmur of a nearby stream.
The youth had long black hair casually tied back. Even in the darkness, his handsome features and slender physique were undeniable.
In the blackness, his chest rose and fell with his breathing, and extremely faint, barely visible specks of light seemed to slowly merge into his body, vanishing instantly.
The wind continued to blow, the leaves continued to rustle, and who knew how much time had passed.
"I..."
"You..."
Fragmented whispers came from the hazy dream. Yuan, in his deep sleep, vaguely heard someone calling him. The calls were indistinct, as if separated by a layer of mist, coming from a distant place. His eyelids fluttered, but he did not wake up, merely turning over on the hay.
"Grumble..."
A long rumble from his stomach immediately broke the night's silence. Driven by an intense feeling of hunger, Yuan felt a fire burning in his stomach. Worse, it felt as if a large hand was reaching into his belly and violently churning it!
A wave of physiological pain instantly jolted Yuan awake from his sleep. Just then, the first ray of sunlight from outside the window shot into the room, bringing a sliver of light to the dark dwelling.
His vision, initially blurry, gradually sharpened. The awakened Yuan propped himself up and slowly rose from the hay. He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping around, taking in his surroundings, which were completely unfamiliar.
The house before him was derelict and dilapidated—a shaky wooden shack without even a proper door. The roof tiles were sparse, with streaks of light leaking through the gaps. The walls, plastered with mud, were mottled. Cobwebs hung in the corners. Aside from the pile of dry hay he lay on, which barely qualified as a bed, the place was truly bare.
Turning his gaze back to himself, Yuan saw that he was wearing coarse cloth attire, like something from an ancient drama, though he didn't know which era.
"Where on earth have I been taken..."
Yuan thought to himself, a guess immediately forming in his mind.
"Did I just transmigrate!"
As a generation raised on web novels, he had some fantasies about transmigration, yet he never expected it to actually happen to him.
He tried to recall if anything had happened to him yesterday, such as being struck by great luck, but the memories of the past few days were somewhat vague. His memories from slightly further back, however, were crystal clear.
Yet, his body gave Yuan no time for detailed reflection.
Hungry!
So hungry!
My stomach is freaking hungry!
If not for the incredibly strong hunger pangs, he would surely doubt if he was still dreaming. The rumbling from his empty stomach and the cramping pain reminded him that this moment was absolutely not a dream.
Yuan struggled to his feet. He had already looked around: the entire room was empty besides the hay beneath him—not even a broken pot—so there was absolutely no food.
"I have to find something to eat, or I'll starve to death in this godforsaken place before I even figure out what's going on."
The instinct for survival overpowered Yuan's need to analyze the unfamiliar environment. He took a deep breath, stood up, and slowly shuffled to the doorway, leaning against the wall for support.
Stepping outside, his feet landed on soft dirt, the roadside weeds reaching over his ankles. The morning dew moistened Yuan's bare feet, and the slight chill made him instinctively pull his coarse cloth closer.
Looking around, there were a few equally dilapidated houses not too far away. There were visible footprints between the houses, suggesting human traffic, but since the morning was just breaking, no one seemed to be out yet.
The signs of human life around him offered Yuan a small measure of comfort—at least he wasn't dumped in a barren wilderness.
However, the transmigrator's instinct also reminded him that the saying "poverty breeds vicious people" wasn't false. He wasn't foolish enough to stumble out and ask others for food while in such a poor state.
Taking a breath, Yuan walked towards the stream not far away. Although his steps were unsteady due to hunger, his eyes were firm.
Splash, splash—
Reaching the stream, the sound of water reached his ears. The water was clear and shallow, shimmering under the morning sun. Yuan squatted down, cupped the cold stream water in his hands, and drank a few mouthfuls, temporarily suppressing the burning sensation in his stomach. Yet, the empty ache of hunger remained.
He washed his face. The cold water jolted his spirits. Seeing the familiar yet strange black-haired youth reflected in the water, the reality of his transmigration became even stronger.
"The priority right now is to find something to eat."
Standing up and shaking the water from his hands, Yuan began scanning his surroundings.
Vegetation near streams is usually dense, and fortunately, the ambient temperature suggested it was early summer, with vigorous plant growth. He quickly spotted several strings of bright red mock strawberries in a patch of shrubs.
He quickly stripped all the berries from the branches, picked out the remaining leaves, and, without washing, shoved them all into his mouth at once.
With rapid chewing, the abundant juice instantly filled his mouth. The tartness, mixed with a hint of sweetness, immediately nourished Yuan's weakened body.
"Refreshing!"
After eating several handfuls of the berries, although he wasn't full, the intense, maddening hunger he'd felt upon waking was finally significantly suppressed. His body recovered a little strength, and his mind cleared.
After finishing the berries, Yuan walked upstream along the stream. This time, he wasn't just looking for food; he also wanted to find something for self-defense.
The stream babbled, the air was fresh, birds chirped clearly in the woods, and the sun gradually grew warmer. Everything seemed peaceful in the tranquility.
Reaching a tree by the stream, sunlight filtered through the leaves. Yuan quickly identified the tree species before him as a willow.
Recognizing the willow tree, his eyes brightened. The appearance of a familiar tree species suggested he was likely still on Earth, and willows were mostly distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, instantly lowering the difficulty of future survival.
Plucking a few green willow branches, Yuan bit off the willow buds and catkins from the branches, chewing them slowly. Although the things in his mouth were not suitable for raw consumption, without other food sources, there was no better alternative.
A bitterness spread in his mouth. As Yuan ate, his gaze selected among the willow branches.
His goal was clear: to make a weapon for self-defense and hunting. A person couldn't survive just by eating grass—only cattle and horses could.