Chapter 2

Wu Pifu... he had never liked this name.

Whether it was the "mayfly" (pifu) of "a mayfly shaking a tree," or the homophonic "common man" (pifu), he didn't like either.

At first, he thought his parents were uncultured, but as he grew up, he learned that his parents were both high-achieving students who had even started their own successful business. Such people couldn't be uncultured.

"Actually, whether it's a mayfly shaking a tree or the rage of a common man, these are the meanings behind the name I gave you. You might not understand now, but when you grow up, you will."

That summer during high school, Wu Pifu asked about his name, and his father answered with the attitude of a riddle-maker.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't grow up...

In his junior year of college, he was diagnosed with ALS, a disease that remained incurable in the 21st century. Moreover, his condition progressed rapidly; in less than a year, he could only breathe with the help of a ventilator.

He felt he was going to die.

His parents tried everything, found every expert they could, and went to every research institution they could reach, but the answer was always "impossible."

In 2026, when he was 23, he was placed into cryoprotective fluid.

"We hope you live, even if it's in the distant future, without family, without acquaintances, without your home, we hope you live, son, because only by living is there hope..."

When he opened his eyes again, it was 2877, after the Fourth World War...

The war between the Human Reform League and the Earth United Government had pushed the Moon toward Earth and Jupiter toward the Sun. The entire solar system was no longer suitable for human habitation and development. With no other choice, humanity used the strength of the entire race to build the human mothership, the Gaia.

The target: Kepler-186f.

About 500 light-years from Earth, humanity planned to reach the star system in 8,000 years. It was then that Wu Pifu was revived by the human government from a pile of discarded debris...

Wu Pifu opened his eyes abruptly. His dream had just recalled the time after he was revived, when he had to sign a contract for a maintenance worker position, akin to selling himself, due to the astronomical medical fees. He needed to work in his assigned Z-117-6123 zone among Gaia's twenty-six major districts for two thousand years to qualify as a citizen of the human government to enter the United Dream World for hibernation, until eight thousand years later, when he would start his new life on Kepler-186f.

What met his eyes was a dim and dilapidated wooden beam. The surrounding walls were gray-black, also made of wood. The room had very poor ventilation, a damp, musty smell, and almost no natural light, save for a half-covered window and the wide-open door.

Wu Pifu slowly moved his body and found himself lying on a tattered straw mat. The mat was covered in water droplets, and his back was cold and wet.

But...

He had survived after all.

Realizing this, Wu Pifu let out a long breath.

At this moment, he was in pain everywhere, especially his broken left arm, which was in excruciating pain. Just moving his body slightly nearly made him faint from the pain.

He lay on the tattered straw mat for over ten seconds, slowly circulating a small amount of blood, before he could barely sit up. As soon as he sat up, he was startled. A dark figure was standing at the door. Because it was backlit, he couldn't see who it was at all. His muscles tightened instantly, and blood immediately began to seep from his body.

The dark figure quickly walked toward him. Only then did Wu Pifu see that the person was a thin, small woman with earth-gray skin. Judging by her movements and expression, she was not a Nightmare, which made him relax.

The woman was wearing a patched gray hemp garment and holding a chipped coarse pottery bowl. She hurried to Wu Pifu's side, crouched down, and began to examine the bloodstains on his body and the wound on his left arm.

Wu Pifu said in a hoarse voice, "Did you save me? Thank you..."

The woman didn't speak. Her face was gray, and Wu Pifu couldn't see it clearly, but he saw her hand the bowl to him.

Wu Pifu was stunned for a moment, then used his right arm to lift it with effort, took the coarse pottery bowl, and looked inside to see half a bowl of thin porridge.

Wu Pifu was silent for a moment, then drank the thin porridge in large gulps. It was slightly sweet. His throat was already parched, and his stomach was aching with hunger. This mouthful of porridge felt like nectar. Although there was some sand and stone in the porridge, he still drank the whole bowl in large gulps.

Only then did Wu Pifu put down the bowl and say solemnly to the woman, "The grace of saving my life cannot be repaid; I will remember it!"

The woman tugged at the corners of her mouth as if to smile, but it was very stiff, and the smile looked somewhat rigid and awkward.

Wu Pifu then saw that there was a bruise at the corner of the woman's mouth. He didn't say anything, just said to the woman, "I may need to stay here for a day or two. I wonder if that's convenient?"

Upon hearing this, the woman first nodded, then shook her head, but she didn't say anything.

Wu Pifu knew that the woman could understand him. Any language he spoke would be converted by the Mainframe into words the other party could understand. Even after the Mainframe's recent permission upgrade, he could even talk to Rank One Nightmares. So, this woman probably had a problem with her voice, like being a mute...

Wu Pifu stood up and slowly walked toward the door. The woman seemed to want to stop him, but she was too timid to reach out. Wu Pifu ignored her, walked to the door, and looked out. Outside was a fairly spacious but somewhat dilapidated square. The ground had mud and broken stone slabs. Judging by the overall architectural structure, this seemed to be a temple. Combined with the woman's attire, this might be a nunnery of some sort.

(Ancient times? Baseline Reality 0.7...)

Wu Pifu was no longer a newcomer; he had long known what Baseline Reality 0.7 meant.

Baseline Reality was the Dream World judgment standard set by the Mainframe.

At Baseline Reality 1, the Dream World was no different from the real world, with no supernatural abilities, no historical deviations, and the geography, planets, and physical laws were exactly the same as the material world. It could even be specific to a certain person's action in a certain era. This was Baseline Reality 1.

From 0.9 onwards, the Dream World would deviate from the real world.

For example, in the early Three Kingdoms period, it wasn't Dong Zhuo entering the capital, but Ding Yuan, or perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang's name was Niu Yuanzhang.

At the same time, special supernatural powers would begin to appear. For example, Wu Pifu's Tiger Demon Art was obtained in a Baseline Reality 0.9 world, where it was known as "National Art."

However, at Baseline Reality 0.9, there were basically no huge deviations, and the power system wasn't very exaggerated.

At 0.8, things like corpse-drivers and Miao poison would appear.

And Baseline Reality 0.7...

According to what he heard from his seniors, when they had the most people, they had indeed entered a Baseline Reality 0.7 world. Inside, there were things like drawing talismans, summoning ghosts, divine possession, or Western-style holy arts, druids, and magic. At the same time, in terms of world history, the general dynasties wouldn't change, but the specific emperors and the lifespan of the dynasties would deviate. For example, Emperor Taizu of Song didn't die suddenly, or Emperor Xuanzong of Tang killed An Lushan first.

Similarly, the Nightmares in a Baseline Reality 0.7 Dream World, even if they were only Rank One Nightmares, were terrifying enough to make one tremble. Their level of terror was estimated to be comparable to a Rank Two Nightmare in Baseline Reality 0.9!!

And this was an ancient Dream World at Baseline Reality 0.7...

(That Rank Two Nightmare must have followed me. I didn't spend more than ten seconds opening the random Dream World penetration at the time. This Rank Two Nightmare won't let me go. And this is Baseline Reality 0.7; it will be greatly suppressed and weakened. It will probably become something like a fox spirit or a wandering ghost, and its bizarre power will be greatly reduced.)

Wu Pifu had some calculations and ideas in his heart. He turned to the woman and said, "Don't worry, I know Buddhism has its precepts. I will absolutely not offend them. I'm just hiding here for a day or two. I... have enemies hunting me. Please, Reverend, save me."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately waved her hands, looking very anxious, but she couldn't say a word.

Wu Pifu could see that she wasn't trying to drive him away, so he just nodded slightly without asking further. He immediately crouched down at the door and took a deep breath.

Standing on a stake!

The Tiger Demon Art naturally had a set of mature training methods.

The Tiger Demon Art Wu Pifu obtained was a complete set of techniques, not the kind where half is passed on and half is kept. It included training, nourishing, and fighting methods, all complete. At this moment, he was using the "Quiet Tiger Crouching Stake" from the nourishing method to mobilize his blood and repair the injuries in his body.

In the National Art system, there is a saying: "Practicing martial arts without practicing the internal arts leads to nothing in old age." This "internal art" is actually the nourishing method.

Wu Pifu's National Art came from the completion reward option of his Rank One Sanctuary. It was a complete set of techniques, so naturally, there were no drawbacks like "sect secrets" or "passing to sons but not daughters."

Let alone the ancients, even modern people in the 21st century, or even the new-era humans of 2877, would not pass on all their learning or insights to outsiders. Public learning is one thing, and family learning is another. Therefore, many people who learn National Arts cannot learn the most critical nourishing methods.

National Art is a technique for killing, and it is fundamentally different from martial arts. It emphasizes being "within reach," "making the whole country an enemy," and "killing upon moving." The saying "killing like mowing grass" describes National Art.

This is a fighting technique that mobilizes the body's explosive power and potential. It emphasizes explosive damage, so it causes great damage to the human body itself. When one is young and vigorous, it might not be noticeable, and one only feels strong, but once the body's functions begin to age, these hidden injuries will erupt. If one is not careful, one might even die suddenly in their prime.

Without nourishing methods, those who practice National Arts often die young.

As Wu Pifu stood in the Quiet Tiger Crouching position, it was difficult at first, and mobilizing his blood was also extremely difficult. But as he gradually got into the stance, his blood began to circulate from his dantian. Moreover, he had just drunk half a bowl of thin porridge; although the food was scarce, it could be converted into energy for his body.

Gradually, his breathing began to steady, and his complexion improved from pale. However, he had only stood for a moment when his stomach began to growl.

National Arts require nourishment most of all. Half a bowl of thin porridge was simply not enough to support his recovery.

The mute nun had been watching him stand in the half-crouch. Hearing his stomach growl, she was stunned for a moment, then showed an expression of difficulty. But after the hesitation, she walked lightly toward the building in the distance of the square.

Wu Pifu was now filled with distracting thoughts. The Tiger Demon Art doesn't require entering a state of meditation; the more distracting thoughts in the mind, the better. So, he didn't notice the mute nun walking away.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally came back to his senses from the Quiet Tiger Crouching position. By now, the sky was dim, and the mute nun was nowhere to be seen. Only a steamed bun sat on the windowsill behind him.

Wu Pifu was silent for a moment, then picked up the steamed bun and ate it in large gulps.

Wu Pifu didn't plan to continue practicing; too much is as bad as too little, especially since he lacked high-calorie and high-nutrient food. He prepared to go to sleep, planning to explore the world early tomorrow morning to confirm which dynasty it was, where he was, whether there had been any turmoil in recent history, and to see if he could get some gold, silver, or money. Whether he needed to buy medicine and food or repay the life-saving grace, money was essential.

Just as Wu Pifu lay down on the tattered straw mat with his clothes on, he suddenly heard a commotion in the square in the distance.

He didn't get up, but mobilized his blood to his ears. The noisy sounds in the distance gradually became clear.

It was actually the sound of men. A nunnery, and the sound of men at night?

Teasing, flattery, scolding, panting...

Wu Pifu suddenly understood what this place was.

A "Masked Nunnery."

(End of chapter)