Chapter One: Awakening

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The sky was a brooding gray, the typhoon howled, and a torrential downpour seemed imminent. In such weather, not even cars ventured onto the roads; every household kept its doors and windows tightly shut, some even drawing old iron shutters that hadn’t seen use in years.

Baihai City, this coastal metropolis, had not faced such a violent storm in a long time.

Yet, in these conditions, within a lush, overgrown park, a young man—broad-shouldered, dressed in a prestigious high school uniform—stood clutching his face. Between his hands, crimson drops of blood trickled down, while a brass bullet slowly forced its way out from his forehead. Blood ran over his hands, staining the expensive uniform of Rose Academy. At his feet lay two corpses, their faces unrecognizable, beside which a handgun, its safety off, rested ominously.

Boom!

No one knew how much time had passed before a flash of lightning tore through the sky, jolting the youth from his stupor. Memories surged within him; they were sorted, archived, and absorbed. His previously clouded eyes cleared, sharp with new awareness.

Was there truly someone in this world who, upon stumbling into a criminal transaction, wouldn’t immediately flee but instead linger to watch? Was this Liu Tian—so the youth’s name—truly so incurably curious? Hadn’t television and film taught that curiosity kills the cat?

What? In this world, the film industry was only just beginning to sprout? To see a movie, one had to travel across continents; strict family discipline and an obsession with martial arts had left him almost wholly unexposed to cinema?

Ah, well, that explained it.

The new Liu Tian sighed, rubbing his aching head. The bullet wound on his forehead had vanished without a trace, as if he had never been injured. He nudged the two bodies at his feet, pondering what to do next.

He didn’t know these men; their mangled faces revealed nothing of their identities. Yet, considering they had braved this sinister weather to make a trade here, had drawn their guns without hesitation, and had died with such cold composure, they were clearly not innocents. He needed a solution that wouldn’t implicate himself.

The wind howled violently. Liu Tian looked skyward, then glanced toward a nearby manhole cover. An idea struck him almost immediately.

But first, he had to examine the object that had caused this calamity.

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Acting on impulse, Liu Tian crouched and first engaged the safety on the revolver—no need to risk accidental discharge. He then meticulously searched the two corpses. Soon, in the inner pocket of one man’s underclothes, Liu Tian found a suspicious item.

It was a small object, tightly wrapped in layers of black cloth and bound with fine string, hidden deep along the inside of the man’s thigh—something he would never have found without such careful searching.

If it was hidden so well, it must be valuable. Time to see what it was.

The sky grew even gloomier; thunder rolled without end. Knowing he could not linger, Liu Tian quickly unwrapped the cloth, revealing an object that, at first glance, was clearly no ordinary trinket.

It was a rod, seemingly crafted from gold, its surface composed of countless diamond-shaped facets. About as thick as an adult’s finger and no more than fifteen centimeters long, it was hard to imagine its purpose.

Such a strange item—was this what had cost two men their lives? Could it be made of solid gold? Yet it felt too light for that.

Liu Tian frowned as he picked up the rod. It was featherlight and warm to the touch. The moment both his hands gripped it, a gentle warmth surged from the rod and flowed into his body.

Before Liu Tian could even react, a familiar voice sounded in his mind: “Welcome to the Attribute Panel.”

A simple panel appeared before his eyes—a rectangle surrounded by a grid of small squares.

At the top, the rectangle displayed, in black script: “Source Point: 1.”

Below, only one square was filled, the writing inside minuscule but instantly clear to Liu Tian’s intent.

Tianwu Fist: Level 3. Special Effects: Robust Body (Level 2), Lightness (Level 1), Killing Intent (Level 1). Upgradable.

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Liu Tian blinked, and the rudimentary panel appeared and vanished with his will. The regret lingering in his heart was instantly replaced by amazement. He gripped the golden rod tightly, feeling a constant, subtle warmth flow into him—small, but unending.

Knowing this was not the time to experiment with the panel, Liu Tian closed it with a thought. He quickly rewrapped the rod as it had been, placed it in his pants pocket, then reconsidered and moved it to his inner shirt pocket, zipping it securely.

Perhaps because of the many layers now separating him from it, the endless warmth ceased the moment contact was broken. But this was not the time to investigate further. With the rain still light, Liu Tian stripped the corpses of all distinguishing items, destroyed anything that might identify them, then heaved the heavy stone manhole cover aside. He dropped both bodies into the sewer, watching them carried away by the surging, muddy waters.

If all went as expected, by the time the typhoon passed, the bodies would have been swept into the sea through the city’s drainage system. And if not—it hardly mattered. This world was not as safe or advanced as his original one: no computers, no cell phones, no surveillance cameras, and the sewers already held many unidentified corpses.

On a day like this, when killing was all too easy, the sewer’s capacity would surely be tested. With so many bodies washing through, Liu Tian had little fear that these two, even if found naked, would lead back to him.

Though it seems a lengthy process, the whole affair took no more than ten minutes. As the drizzle thickened into rain, Liu Tian, not daring to tempt nature’s wrath, tucked the revolver into his waistband and hurried home.

…

Liu Tian’s home was in a nearby upscale neighborhood. His father, a skilled whaler for an overseas company, was away at sea for months at a time, and his mother, pregnant, had returned to her hometown a month earlier to rest. At present, Liu Tian was alone.

Thus, after brushing off a gatekeeper whose curiosity didn’t extend too far, Liu Tian made it home without incident. Once he’d changed, hidden the handgun, and washed away the grime and blood, it was time to focus on more pressing matters.

Attribute Panel! Show yourself!