Chapter 1: The Activation of an Ability

On an evening after the rain, the moist air carried a faint scent of earth, and the croaking of frogs drifted over from a distance every now and then.

A rustling suddenly rose from a patch of grass not far away, and shortly after, a large rat crept out of its burrow, poking a small head out.

It first carefully surveyed its surroundings for a while, and only after confirming there was no danger did it cautiously crawl out of the burrow, slowly moving forward in search of food.

It walked one step and then paused, its shifty little eyes darting about, its tiny nose twitching nonstop, as if ready to bolt back into the grass at the slightest disturbance.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp sound tore through the air.

Then a massive snake head was seen clamping down hard on its body.

The whole rat was then lifted into the air, and a thick, long body like a cage began coiling around it, crushing what little room it had left to move.

Only then did the rat belatedly realize it had been bitten, and it began to shriek in panic, its little legs kicking wildly.

But was any of it useful? No!

The next instant, a tremendous force swept in from all sides, and the little rat, which had just been shrieking and kicking, gave its limbs one last twitch and fell silent.

Then a wisp of crimson foam began to seep from the corner of its mouth.

Only now did the culprit behind it all reveal its true form—a giant snake over three meters long.

Beneath its small, neat head sat a broad, flattened neck, majestic and beautiful like a cloak draped over its shoulders; its thick, long, powerful body was lined with fine, dense scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen even at dusk.

Seen from afar, it looked like a solemn, domineering monarch.

Without a doubt, judging by its sheer size and bearing alone, it truly lived up to the title of king among venomous snakes—the Yanjingwangshe.

Normally speaking, the Yanjingwangshe, king among venomous snakes, feeds mostly on other snakes.

Unless it was starving, it rarely bothered to hunt something like a rat, because such a tiny scrap of meat was simply not worth the effort.

Unfortunately, this particular Yanjingwangshe was a little special.

Because it was not a snake—or rather, it had not been a snake before.

Its name was Baichuan. Ten days ago, he had still been just a corporate slave living on the Shuilanse Xingqiu, busy every day working overtime.

That night, he was working overtime as usual, when suddenly his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

When he woke again, he found that he had become a snake—a Yanjingwangshe that had only just reached adulthood not long before.

Of course, the dead are like snuffed-out lamps; Baichuan had no wish to dwell on his past life now. He was an orphan anyway, with nothing much to miss.

Being able to live once more was already more than enough to make him happy.

……

Half an hour later, having swallowed the little rat, Baichuan crawled back into his tree-hole nest.

Sensing the familiar feeling of safety, Baichuan the snake finally relaxed completely and took a good look at today's haul.

As his snake pupils stared at his own body, a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer flashed through them.

Instantly, a dim panel unfolded before him.

"Name: Baichuan"

"Race: Yanjingwangshe"

"Lifespan: 8 years"

"Points: 0 (99.8%)"

This was an ability he had discovered right after arriving in this world. As long as he stared at his own body and focused, a crude panel would appear in his vision.

The pity was that ten days had already passed since he came to this world, and he still had not figured out what this panel was for.

The only thing that gave him a little comfort was the number in the parentheses next to Points, which kept slowly climbing as Time went by.

At the same time, after days of observation, thought, and summary, he had figured out that the rate at which his Points increased was tied to what he ate.

Because normal snakes, once they had a full meal, could go a week or even several weeks without eating again.

But he was a little different.

He could feel that every time he ate his fill, if he did not forcibly take control of his body, mysterious waves of warmth would inexplicably surge through his stomach and then fade away.

As if flowing toward some place.

At those times, the rate at which the Points on his panel increased would speed up. But if he forcibly took control and, like a normal snake, went several weeks without eating and slowly digested instead,

then the numbers on the panel would crawl forward like a tortoise.

It was all as if, compared to an ordinary snake, he had an extra switch inside him—a switch for rapid digestion.

Although right now this switch seemed to do more harm than good, at least it gave him something to hope for. After all, this ability was closely tied to his panel.

And even though the panel had no use for now, it was still a Gold Finger of sorts. As long as he wanted to use it, he had to fill up the Points.

Of course, he could give up—but would he be willing to?

Give up every variable and quietly live out an ordinary snake's life? And then wait to die of old age eight years from now?

Or perhaps not even live eight years, dying along the way from some accident?

After all, even a Yanjingwangshe had natural enemies—crocodiles, Komodo dragons, tigers, or giant raptors could all potentially take him out.

Even if his death meant the other one might not survive either, what was the point if he died?

Don't joke—he had barely managed to live a second time. How could he possibly be willing to give up!

Precisely because of this, over the past ten days he had almost gone out hunting every single day to fill his belly.

Luckily, heaven rewards the diligent. Today, the number had finally almost filled up.

As Time went by, the numbers on the panel also began to slowly climb…

99.8%……99.9%……100%……

As the digits changed, the Points column on the panel in Baichuan's eyes flickered along with them.

"0—1!"

The next instant, a glimmer of light flashed. On the panel, which had previously been dim and lifeless, a mysterious glowing pattern appeared, and then the entire panel lit up completely.

Just like an old machine being fully activated, the phone's screen lit up from black.

"Hm? That's it?"

Baichuan stared blankly at the panel for a while, and seeing no major change after a long time, thought in some confusion.

Shouldn't this thing, like in those system novels, suddenly pop up some kind of system spirit to explain its use to him?

Or have a flood of information pour into his mind?

And that's it? Just a panel?

That shouldn't be right. Somewhat unwilling, Baichuan swept his gaze around, then turned his eyes back to his snake body.

But then, a change appeared…

【Scanning… Scanning… 10%… 15%…】

Seeing this, Baichuan's spirit gave a jolt.

It changed, it changed!

Sure enough, there couldn't be no change at all!

I knew it!!

Before long, the data progress in Baichuan's eyes was completely full, and a brand-new panel resurfaced.

【Name: Baichuan.】

【Species: Yanjingwangshe.】

【Lifespan: 8 years.】

【Points: 1.】

【Abilities: Zhongchang LV2 (details), Sedu LV2, Energy-Saving Storage LV1, Qiangzhuang LV1, Flexibility LV1, Scales LV1, Swimming LV1…】

【Ability Structure Library: Wild Rabbit (details), Laoshu (details).】

【Kedianji…】

"So these are the abilities I currently possess?"

Baichuan stared at the information on the panel, muttering to himself. His snake's forked tongue kept flicking with a "hiss hiss," enough to show that his heart was far from calm.

Somewhat curious, he checked the ability details.

……

(End of chapter)