Chapter 3

Zhao Hai slowly opened his eyes. Now he already knew what had happened. Adam's memories had completely merged with his own, making Zhao Hai truly understand that he had indeed transmigrated, and not just any transmigration, but the most common type—soul transmigration, where he had taken over another body.

As a shut-in, if Zhao Hai didn't know what transmigration was, he wouldn't be a complete shut-in. However, he never thought that he would actually experience transmigration, and even more so, transmigrate into such an unlucky person.

From Adam's memories, Zhao Hai already knew what had happened. However, when Adam fell into a coma, he hadn't yet left the capital. Zhao Hai didn't know where he was now, but he knew he was no longer in the capital of the Aksum Empire, because when he last woke up, he had glanced around and realized it wasn't the familiar home of Adam.

The moment Zhao Hai opened his eyes, he felt someone beside him. Turning his head, he saw the old man he had met when he first woke up standing next to him. Although the old man had a stern face, his eyes were full of concern.

Unlike the first time he woke up, this time Zhao Hai already knew the old man. He was the old butler of the Buda family, Green Buda. Green originally didn't have the surname Buda, but was later granted it by Zhao Hai's great-grandfather. He had always been loyal to the Buda family and was the most trusted person in the family.

However, the relationship between the former Adam and Green was not good. Adam was a spoiled young man, while Green was a serious person who always disciplined him, forbidding him from doing this and that. Therefore, Adam hated Green very much. But because Green had been with the family for so long, even Adam's father didn't dare to be disrespectful to him, so Adam had to endure it.

After rebirth, Zhao Hai was certainly not as foolish as the former Adam. Having read countless transmigration novels and with the mindset of an adult who had faced many hardships, Zhao Hai was much more mature than the pampered Adam. He also understood the importance of Green, and with such an old butler, he could entrust everything to him with peace of mind.

Moreover, from Adam's memories, he knew that this old butler had even greater strength than his father. In this world, strength represented the hope of survival.

Long-term shut-in life and long-term fantasies, combined with Adam's memories, made Zhao Hai not particularly resistant to transmigration. Similarly, he didn't have too many expectations. It was just a change of living environment. The only two things that bothered him were: one, there was no computer here, and he couldn't go online, which was more painful for a shut-in than being killed. The second was that he had been made to drink the Void Water, and from then on, he couldn't learn martial arts or magic, which shattered his dream of dominating the world.

Zhao Hai didn't realize that he had already been assimilated by Adam's memories. The reason he wasn't panicked was that he was familiar with everything in the Ark Continent. The two things that bothered him revealed this: the first point was about the Zhao Hai from Earth, while the second was related to the Ark Continent.

However, Zhao Hai had thought it through. Although he was unhappy, since he was here, there was nothing to say. "Since I'm here, I'll just have to make the best of it. From now on, I am Adam Buda."

Thinking this, Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh, feeling a sudden sense of relief. It wasn't surprising that he could so easily accept Adam's identity. In his previous life, he had no close family, and due to his shut-in lifestyle, he had no friends. On Earth, he had no attachments. Now, he was just in a different environment, and it wasn't a big deal. He even had a few people who cared about him, which wasn't bad at all.

At this moment, Green noticed that Zhao Hai had woken up and quickly walked to the bedside, asking, "Young Master, how are you feeling? Is there any discomfort? Does your head still hurt?"

These words of concern were something Zhao Hai hadn't heard in a long time. Hearing them now, he felt a warmth in his heart. He felt that his body was fine and quickly sat up, shaking his head and saying, "I'm fine, Grandpa Green. Where are we?"

Green was clearly taken aback. The former Adam would never have been so polite. This sudden change made him very uncomfortable, but he quickly replied, "Young Master, we have already arrived at the fief."

Zhao Hai was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood and nodded, "The Black Earth Wasteland?"

Green was surprised by Zhao Hai's calmness but still nodded, "Yes, this is the Black Earth Wasteland."

Zhao Hai nodded and asked, "Where are we now? What's the situation here? How many people are there? How much land do we have?"

In Adam's memories, there was only a little bit of information about the Black Earth Wasteland, such as its proximity to the Corpse Swamp and the fact that the land couldn't be cultivated. So Zhao Hai asked, knowing that he was now Adam and would have to live in the Black Earth Wasteland, and he needed to understand the situation here.

Green stared at Adam in shock. If Adam hadn't been under his watch all along, he would have thought Adam had been replaced. The person in front of him was definitely not the Adam he knew.

"Could it be that adversity makes one grow?" Although Green was puzzled, he didn't doubt Adam's identity. He could only see Adam's current behavior as a sign of maturity.

However, Zhao Hai's behavior made Green very happy, and he quickly said, "Young Master, we are in the Lord's Manor of the fief. The manor is located on Iron Mountain in the Black Earth Wasteland. This mountain is abandoned by the dwarves, and there is some land that can be cultivated. Please forgive me, Young Master, but I took the liberty of selling everything we had and bought a large amount of supplies and a hundred slaves. We now have only a little over a hundred gold coins left. The people here are me, my wife, my granddaughter, and Wood and Stone. The rest are the hundred slaves, and the others have left."

Zhao Hai nodded, analyzing the current situation in his mind. They were in a dead end, but they had a manor to live in, a mountain that could produce some crops, a hundred slaves, and five people he could completely trust and who were closest to him.

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Grandpa Green did the right thing. In a place like this, gold coins are useless. Only supplies can help us survive longer. Alright, I'm fine. Grandpa Green, please go and arrange things. Check how much land on Iron Mountain can be cultivated and what we should plant. After all, we still need to eat."

Green nodded and said, "Alright, Young Master, please rest for now. I'll have Meg attend to you later."

Mentioning Meg, Zhao Hai immediately thought of the gentle-looking girl with black hair and a petite figure, who was Green's granddaughter.

However, Zhao Hai then smiled bitterly. The former Adam had once tried to molest Meg, but she was a sixth-level mage, and although she looked gentle, she was strong-willed. She wouldn't dare do anything to Adam, but whenever Adam tried to do something to her, she would threaten to commit suicide, which made Adam dare not really do anything to her.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn't help but curse. The problems the former Adam had caused would now fall on him. In such a situation, meeting Meg would be very awkward, so he quickly said, "No need, Grandpa Green. I want to rest a bit more. Don't let anyone disturb me. Just wake me up for dinner."

Green bowed and said, "Yes, I'll take my leave." He then backed out of Zhao Hai's room.

Zhao Hai sighed and slowly got out of bed. Although he remembered lying in bed for a long time, he felt no discomfort and instead felt as if he had boundless energy. He stretched and walked to the window, gently pushing it open to look outside.

What he saw was a small castle-like building. His room was on the top floor, giving him a clear view of everything outside. It was a Western-style small castle, with a small square and a wall in front. Outside the castle, there was a vast expanse of black land, which looked as if it had been soaked in oil, giving a sense of desolation.

In the castle's square, there was a large pile of things. Zhao Hai looked closely and saw that they were mostly daily necessities. A large group of people were busy there.

These people were men and women, all wearing the same rough cloth clothes. The difference was that the men had a mark on their foreheads, which Zhao Hai knew was the Buda family's mark, indicating that they were the Buda family's slaves.

Looking to the sides, he saw a desolate mountain with some twisted trees. These trees were not in good condition, looking as if they were sick and listless. Apart from these trees, there was only withered grass, which was not very tall and looked malnourished.

Zhao Hai withdrew his gaze and looked at the castle, which now belonged to him. The castle was not small; it could easily accommodate several thousand people. However, it seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time, with moss growing on the walls and grass sprouting from the cracks, giving it a dilapidated appearance. The window paper was clearly new, while the other rooms still had no window paper.

Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile bitterly. In Adam's memories, the Buda family's residence in the empire used glass, but here, they used primitive window paper, a stark contrast.

However, Zhao Hai felt a surge of determination. No matter what others said, the land he could see was his. He didn't believe that the fertile black land couldn't grow crops. He was determined to live a good life and show those who had harmed him that he could make a difference. This could be considered a form of compensation for taking over Adam's body.

At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind...