Chapter 1: The Damned World

The sky is growing darker; it won't be long before night falls, completely shrouding the entire land.

Lu Yu stands in the crowd, like most people, standing on tiptoe, straining to gaze toward the distant horizon.

From deep in the wilderness, the chilling roars of Fierce Beasts can be heard from time to time.

If the Hunting Team cannot return to Shi Bao before dark, they will face the endless darkness and Fierce Beasts that could launch a Fatal attack at any moment.

Suddenly, Lu Yu feels his arm tighten. Looking down, he sees his mother beside him, her face deathly pale as she grips his arm tightly, her eyes filled with helplessness and terror.

"Mom, don't worry, Dad and the others will be back soon; they might even be on their way right now," Lu Yu whispers to comfort her.

The woman nods, then looks up anxiously toward the distance.

Lu Yu scans his surroundings; over a hundred faces are filled with anxiety and panic.

He sighs inwardly; he had only taken a nap on the subway, and upon waking, he had inexplicably transmigrated to this strange world. Today is already his second day since arriving.

This world is somewhat similar to his previous life, but the difference is that ten years ago, the world underwent a mutation; birds, beasts, flowers, and trees all underwent bizarre changes, not only becoming massive in size but also becoming fierce, cruel, bloodthirsty, and highly aggressive.

Among humans, Awakened appeared; they possess Mental Power far beyond that of ordinary people and are able to control wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

Some top-tier Awakened can even ignore thermal weapons, and with a single casual strike, they can raze a town from his previous life to the ground.

Of course, the Awakened are only a tiny minority. The places where they gathered gradually formed cities, attracting survivors to go there.

It is said that some large cities are the same as they were ten years ago, with electricity, the internet, delicious food, and clean water, where people still commute to work by subway just like in the past, living a nine-to-five life.

But resources are limited after all, and the vast majority of ordinary people have no qualifications to enter cities, not even small ones; they can only form settlements to protect themselves and fight against Fierce Beasts.

Here, let alone electricity, even the most basic safety of life is hard to guarantee; food, medicine, energy, and daily necessities are all in short supply, and people struggle on the edge of life and death all day long.

Just like the original owner of this body, who was so hungry he couldn't take it anymore and snuck out to eat some unknown wild fruit, resulting in a three-day high fever that ultimately cost him his life, which is how Lu Yu came to occupy this body.

"Could something have really happened?" Lu Yu cannot help but clench his fists.

Just then, from the seven or eight-meter-high wooden Watchtower nearby, an excited shout comes: "They're here! They're here!"

"Really?!"

"Where? Why can't I see them?"

"They're standing high up, so they can see further, but we'll be able to see them soon too."

"That's great, they're finally back."

The crowd instantly erupts; everyone gazes into the distance, and small black dots gradually appear on the horizon, those black dots getting closer and closer. The hearts of the crowd finally settle, and the smiles on their faces become increasingly bright.

However, as the team draws near, the smiles on people's faces gradually freeze.

A group of a dozen or so people appears, holding bows, arrows, and spears, looking exhausted and disheveled.

Some of them are being supported as they walk, and others are being carried. Even those who can walk normally have injuries of varying degrees on their bodies.

At a glance, no prey can be seen at all.

Even more observant people notice that a few people are missing from the team.

The team slowly approaches and stops in front of the drawbridge.

Leading them is a man with a square face and a cold expression.

There are several bloody wounds on his right arm, and his face is currently full of guilt.

Time seems to stand still at this moment.

The man licks his cracked lips, his voice low: "I'm sorry, this time we ran into two Intermediate-level Fierce Beasts. They launched a surprise attack, and not only did we lose the prey we had already caught, but Xiao Liang, A Feng, and Gou Dan, they all..."

Before he can finish speaking, several people in the crowd feel the world spinning and collapse to the ground in a faint.

The crowd is instantly in an uproar; those nearby scramble to lift the fainted people and carry them back to their respective homes.

The other members of the Hunting Team also lower their heads in shame, not daring to look the old, the weak, the women, and the children in the eyes.

Lu Yu's body trembles slightly.

People died?

Three died all at once.

In the original owner's memory, this seems to be the most tragic casualty count yet.

This square-faced man leading them is the father of the original body, and also the leader who guided everyone to build this Shi Bao.

Sparse sounds come from the crowd; there are those sobbing in low voices, those sighing, and those offering words of comfort to the Hunting Team members.

The Hunting Team slowly walks into the Shi Bao, and the drawbridge in front of the gate is pulled up. The entire camp is surrounded by a wall over three meters high, looking impregnable and giving people a rare sense of security.

The wives and children of the injured team members feel heartbroken seeing their men severely wounded. But thinking of the few who went out together in the morning but would never return at night, they secretly feel fortunate that their own men are still alive.

Those who only suffered minor injuries leave with their families.

Before long, the sky turns completely dark, and the entire camp falls into darkness, with only the faint moonlight to barely make out the surroundings.

"Guohao, your arm." The woman grabs the square-faced man's right arm, and two lines of tears stream down her face.

Lu Yu walks up; having just transmigrated a few days ago, he is still not used to his current identity.

"I'm fine." Lu Guohao shakes his head, his face full of self-reproach, "It's all my fault; if I had discovered those two beasts sooner, A Zhu and the others wouldn't have..."

"Snap!"

A broad, powerful hand pats him on the shoulder, and a bald, burly man speaks to comfort him: "Guohao, this isn't your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame this damn world. Those of us who are still alive will all have a day like this sooner or later."

"Go back and get some rest early." He pats Lu Guohao's shoulder again, then grins at the solemn-faced Lu Yu before leaving with his family.

"Dad, let's go home first," Lu Yu says, "Little brother is still waiting at home."

Lu Guohao is startled, then nods.

The entire Shi Bao falls into a deathly silence; in the room next door, firelight flickers, and from time to time, there are crackling sounds of things Exploding, as well as weak, listless conversations.

"Mom, I'm so hungry, I want to eat a little more."

"Go to sleep, you won't be hungry once you're asleep."

"But I'm really so hungry I can't stand it."

"Be good, if we eat those things, there really won't be anything left to eat."

The voice gradually faded away.

Lu Guohao's face was full of guilt.

Lu Yu caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye and sighed in his heart.

Although this original body's father was not good with words, he was an upright and kind person.

Every time he caught prey, he would divide it equally among the people in the Zhai to support the old, the weak, the women, and the children, to the point that his own family's life was lived in tight straits, which also caused many people to harbor complaints.

Recently, luck had been bad, prey was pitifully scarce, the food in the entire Zhai was almost gone, and everyone was starving.

Winter was about to set in, and if things continued like this, I fear a tragedy of cannibalism would truly occur.