[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens":3,"chapter-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-3":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2270878,4434,"Chapter 3: Awake","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-3",3,"\u003Cp>Boss, we caught another piglet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perfect, let’s start with a shock rod set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aaaah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu jolted awake on the bed, his heart still racing as he glanced around the wooden hut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just had a terrifying nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“****”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a soft female voice sounded beside his ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though still an incomprehensible language, the voice was gentle as a mountain spring, brushing lightly over his heart and calming his emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned toward the sound and saw a golden-haired girl in a fitted tunic, gazing at him with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though her clothing was merely coarse, pale-brown linen, it could not hide her ethereal beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face was as pure as a morning lily, her nose slightly upturned, her brilliant golden hair cascading like a waterfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath long lashes were deep blue eyes of extraordinary charm, clear and profound, like tranquil bays ready to swallow the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tattered linen looked strangely elegant on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, fashion’s final touch always comes down to the face!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu sighed inwardly as he quickly scanned his surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A simple wooden hut made of raw logs, a stunning beauty in linen, an unknown language—he couldn’t make sense of any of it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His last memory was collapsing before the bow-wielding boy who had slain the alpha wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he been dragged into some massive reality show?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“****”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him calm down, the girl brought a bowl of water and carefully offered it to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirsty beyond endurance, Xia Mingyu took the wooden bowl without hesitation and drank it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cool water moistened his parched lips, flowed down his throat, and flooded his weak body with sudden vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Xia Mingyu threw off the blanket, ignored the girl’s protests, and walked barefoot toward the outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to see exactly where he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the hut, the first thing he saw was a winding dirt path flanked by cabins built of logs and thatch, their roofs thick with moss—clearly aged for many years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not far from the path stood a vast open space, dominated by a massive ancient oak tree, its trunk thick enough for three or four people to encircle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the path and beneath the oak’s shade, people dressed in linen chatted in small groups, some carrying picks like farming tools, others hauling baskets full of fruit, or cradling washbasins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above their heads, all of them bore the same line of text.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Th-this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu stared blankly, eyes wide, mouth half-open, shock written all over his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, he was certain: this was no reality show prank. Someone like him wasn’t worth such an elaborate setup or casting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had truly arrived in a new world—with an unknown language, possibly not even on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“*****”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the linen-clad people noticed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment they saw the text above his head, every single one of them froze in terror and disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the first person dropped to one knee, the rest followed like falling dominoes, all kneeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden-haired girl who had followed him out did the same—her knee so close to him that her bright golden hair, fluttering in the breeze, brushed his ankles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you kneeling? Can you see the text above my head? What does it mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu blurted out three questions at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He noticed—even the bow-wielding boy who had saved him—everyone here had knelt only after glancing at the text above his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minutes passed. No one answered. They simply bowed their heads, kneeling motionless in the dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that made sense—he was speaking Chinese, which they clearly didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His next thought: how to get them to stand up?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My loyal subjects, rise?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu ventured the words tentatively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately felt awkward—he’d unconsciously mimicked the tone of some popular romance novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu rubbed his forehead in frustration, wondering if he should just turn and walk back to the hut—perhaps they’d rise once he left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, he felt his pant leg tugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked down: the golden-haired girl who had brought him water was now kneeling, her head slightly raised, those beautiful deep-blue eyes fixed on him, her pink lips forming silent shapes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Urkala.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guessing her intent, Xia Mingyu silently mimicked the lip movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, the kneeling crowd rose—not fully upright, but bowing slightly as they stepped backward several paces before turning and hurrying away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once only the golden-haired girl remained, Xia Mingyu exhaled deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a modern man, being surrounded by kneeling people was unnerving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He started to thank her, then stopped—language barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she seemed to understand his intent, and with a shy expression, she waved her slender hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hand was well-shaped, but her palm bore clear calluses—she’d clearly done her share of light labor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a middle-aged man in a sheepskin robe hurried over, carrying a plump gray rabbit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His robe was worn but clean, its edges stitched with rough hemp rope, just like his weathered, aged face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw Xia Mingyu looking at him, his face instantly twisted into fawning reverence—he dropped to both knees and bowed his head as if to kiss Xia Mingyu’s bare feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sss!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu shuddered and quickly said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Urkala!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",879,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fd6db30abcee33b5ada0bb8948a755eb0034609a55a7eef2159401cb80508a3d","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-4","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-2",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]