Chapter 2: Breakthrough
After the panel ended, Li Yuan saw numbers again.
The numbers floated beside Yan Yu, showing "0~1".
He reached out to grab it, but his fingers passed through the "0~1".
He thought about it for a moment, looking at himself, and saw a "0~1" floating there as well.
"This is..."
Li Yuan focused his thoughts, and the numbers disappeared, then reappeared when he thought again. He suddenly understood something from the previous panel.
To verify his idea, he cautiously moved his left arm, trying to withdraw it without disturbing the woman.
Yet as he moved, the woman woke up.
Yan Yu, experiencing her first taste of intimacy, had transformed from a girl into a woman, losing some of her innocence but gaining an alluring maturity and charm. Her eyes, like misted apricots, softly looked at the young man, and she panted lightly: "Brother Yuan, let’s lie down a bit more in the morning."
"Sister Yan... about last night..."
Yan Yu widened her eyes at him, paused for a moment, then sighed gently and spoke slowly: "Yesterday evening, I went to Aunt Wang’s house to borrow some grain and saw that Old Lin’s sick son had died.
Ah, being sick and having nothing to eat, isn’t it natural to die?
Our family is not that bad yet. We still have some money saved, but once it’s gone, I really don’t know how we’ll live, or what will happen to us.
If worse comes to worst, out of necessity, I would clean myself up, dress a bit, and you could sell me to the noble families in town.
But... I wanted to give my body to you first.
No matter where I live afterward or if I die, I’ll feel a bit better in my heart."
Yan Yu buried herself into the young man’s chest, her frail, snow-white shoulders trembling slightly, as she choked up: "Brother Yuan, I just want to be with you, not with anyone else..."
Li Yuan held the delicate woman in his arms tightly, saying: "Sister Yan, I’ll go outside for a bit. If we really can’t make it, we’ll use that emergency money of ours. I’ll figure something out for what’s ahead."
He withdrew his arm, donned his undergarments, then put on his old cotton trousers. With a swift motion, he slipped his feet into boots, then grabbed the cotton-padded jacket from the rack,
"Mm..." Yan Yu nodded absentmindedly, then added, "There’s still a bowl of cold porridge left from last night, Brother Yuan, you should eat it."
Li Yuan acknowledged and went to the table, quickly downing half a bowl of cold porridge.
It was cold and rough, but at least his stomach felt something.
"I left half a bowl for you."
"Oh, Brother Yuan, you eat it all! I... I’m not going out anyway, so I can lie down a bit more. I’m not hungry."
"Eat it when I say so."
Li Yuan said as he slung the hunting bow over his back, tucked the firewood blade in place, grabbed the three-pronged oxhead fork, and stepped outside.
Suddenly, he paused, glancing to the side, and saw the floating "0~1" change to "1~2".
Li Yuan’s expression shifted slightly as he quickly left the house, looked around, and deliberately walked along the main path of the village, observing the villagers quietly.
Along the way, whenever he met someone, he could see numbers floating above their heads.
But most of them were "0~1".
Those holding sickles, hoes, shovels, however, displayed "1~2", while some who looked frail and listless still read "0~1".
Li Yuan stopped in his tracks. He understood.
Indeed, this was the operating system of a game he played in his past life.
With a panel and points system, these numbers indicated "Comprehensive Power".
People who hadn’t practiced martial arts usually had a comprehensive power of "0~1";
Once armed, the value could fluctuate, making their comprehensive power "1~2";
Yet there were those so physically weak that even with a weapon, they remained "0~1".
This game, when it first launched, was jokingly called a "numbers game".
Players wandering outside would attack monsters with lower values than theirs; some evil players attacked other players with lower values outside the city too...
But after a while, these players grew confused.
Then, the game got another nickname, "Old Trick Game".
Could you imagine attacking a "1~2" with a "3~4", only for that "1~2" to pull out a treasure and instantly turn into "10~20"?
This sudden change relied on the "Equipment Bar".
Without the "Equipment Bar", you couldn’t pull off these tricks.
Wait...
He had an Equipment Bar.
It wasn’t unlocked, but it was definitely on the panel.
Moreover, he possessed that immortality divine technique.
Li Yuan glanced at this divine technique again.
Immortality: Unlimited lifespan, maintaining current appearance, never dying of old age...
Only now, after confirming multiple times it wasn’t an illusion, did a real sense of ecstatic joy surge in Li Yuan’s heart.
Immortality, truly being able to live forever!
It’s the stuff one only dreams of.
But... Li Yuan calmed himself slightly.
This "Immortality" was only "not dying of old age," not "invulnerability to death."
In other words, if he encountered danger without the power to resist it, then... this Immortality divine technique would be utterly useless.
To maximize the potential of this Immortality divine technique, he needed to avoid danger and accumulate strength.
Li Yuan walked quietly for a distance.
"In that case, I can’t live flamboyantly from now on. I need to accumulate strength and trump cards over time, after all, I have plenty of it... Anything that time can resolve isn’t really a problem."
"But firstly, I must fill my stomach and get past the immediate difficulties..."
He suddenly stopped, heading to the side into Old Lin’s woods, taking a few steps into the depths where no one was around, thinking inwardly: "Add points."
On the panel, a small "+" appeared after both skills.
Li Yuan first tried adding 1 point to "Basic Archery".
He didn’t feel anything.
Li Yuan continued to add 3 more points to "Basic Archery".
As the skill information changed to "Intermediate Archery (0/20)", a keen sense of archery emerged.
It felt as if he had held the bow in his hand, fully focused, and trained day and night for dozens of days.
During these days, he sweated, with no distractions, achieving this small improvement.
However, over time, the exhaustion from this training was drowned out in the past, not affecting him now.
Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thankfully, adding points doesn’t cause exhaustion or blood deficiency or something.
Then there’s nothing to worry about."
He casually placed the last point into "Basic Tracking".
Instantly, his panel changed:
[Name: Li Yuan]
[Add Points: 0 points]
[Realm: Unranked]
[Cultivation Skill: None]
[Skills: Intermediate Archery (0/20); Basic Tracking (5/10)]
[Divine Technique: Immortality]
[Equipment Bar: Not Unlocked]
He glanced again at his side, and his comprehensive power had changed from "1~2" to "2~3".
The change didn’t look significant, but during his walk in the village, he hadn’t seen a "2~3" at all, giving Li Yuan a bit of peace of mind.
With a reference for comprehensive strength, he could lay low better.
But if he encountered someone weaker lacking insight, he wouldn’t need to lie low.
...
...
Familiar in practice makes perfect.
Li Yuan once again arrived at the outskirts of Xiao Mo Mountain. After walking on the mountain path for a while, he pulled out the firewood blade and took a small path into the adjacent woods. Passing through the forest to another clearing, he put away the blade and took out the bow and arrow, remaining vigilant at all times.
In the distance, the clearing had an almost dried-up stream.
From memory, Li Yuan knew that come spring, there would be plenty of game here, but now... spotting any wildlife was truly difficult.
He headed to a few other places in his memory known to have wildlife, still to no avail.
"Seems like if I really want to hunt, I need to go around behind Erchong Mountain..."
"Let’s wait a little longer though."