Chapter 1

Xu Dong felt a splitting headache, as if a rusty, blunt knife was slicing his poor brain, one cut after another, and then maliciously stirring it into a pulp, making it impossible for him to think clearly.

This intense sensation lasted for an unknown duration before finally subsiding after reaching a peak. Xu Dong felt his mind clear up a bit. He instinctively opened his eyes and saw a bright beam of light piercing through a large hole in the ceiling, directly hitting his head. Xu Dong instinctively squinted his eyes.

A question involuntarily popped into his mind, "What the hell kind of hospital is this, with a big hole in the ceiling and no one to fix it? If it rains heavily or it's winter, wouldn't the patients freeze to death in this room?"

As his eyes adjusted to the bright light, Xu Dong could finally see clearly. He was slightly stunned, and his eyebrows involuntarily knitted together, his eyes going wide. He blurted out a curse, "What the hell is this place?"

This was not a hospital ceiling; it was clearly the roof of a thatched hut, the kind you'd find in the countryside!

Xu Dong was taken aback by the sudden change in environment. He had no idea what had happened and instinctively rubbed his temples to ease the lingering dizziness and pain. Soon, the fragments of his memories began to resurface...

"Right, I was on my way to a meeting. When I passed by a convenience store, a guy wearing a black stocking mask ran past me with a cloth bag, apparently having just carried out a quick and clean robbery... On a whim, I stuck out my foot and tripped him as he ran by."

Thinking about it, Xu Dong couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, "What a moron! He couldn't even avoid a simple trip and fell flat on his face!"

The next second, his smile froze on his face. The events that followed played out in his mind like a movie, each moment, each scene, even the briefest of frames, vividly replaying. Xu Dong felt as if he had returned to the time before the dizziness, reliving everything...

After tripping the guy, Xu Dong was initially stunned, but then his face turned to one of horror—he had tripped a robber! For some reason, when the criminal tried to get up, Xu Dong suddenly pounced and pinned him down again. The impact was so strong that the robber's chin hit the ground hard, and a bloody tooth flew out.

A fierce struggle ensued, with one side trying to escape and the other, for some inexplicable reason, determined to stop him.

Just as Xu Dong was about to call for the nearby security to help subdue the robber, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, and a sound of metal clashing rang in his ears. Before he lost consciousness, he clearly saw another man appear behind him, holding an ordinary iron pipe.

What was unusual was that the front end of the iron pipe was stained with bright red blood, dripping down...

Xu Dong's expression was one of shock. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, muttering in disbelief, "Why didn't I think of it? When one person robs, there's usually another acting as a lookout. That blow to the back of my head would have left me with a serious injury... But I'm still alive, and I'm in this strange place. What's going on?"

Xu Dong could clearly feel that he was still alive, and there wasn't even a trace of swelling on the back of his head. A possibility came to mind, and he shuddered, breaking out in a cold sweat.

At that moment, a strange message surfaced from the depths of his mind:

"Death is not necessarily the end; it can also be a new beginning. Welcome to this plane..."

"You are currently in the village near Blood Helmet City, in the Northern Birch Province of the Great Chen Empire, a resource-rich country ruled by humans on the Zhongzhou Continent..."

"To help you better integrate into this plane, you have been implanted with the common language, the universal language, and the human language, along with related writing knowledge..."

"As a reward for your resurrection, please complete five main quests, or the plane's laws will deprive you of the right to survive..."

"Detection in progress..."

"Detection successful!"

"Activating talent system..."

This series of events made Xu Dong realize that he had actually been transported to another world!

Surprisingly, Xu Dong did not show any signs of despair or madness. Instead, he pressed his lips together, as if being reborn and transported here was not something he couldn't accept.

However, he still felt a strong sense of unease—Who was the "it" that had saved him and "sold" him to this world, and what were its intentions?

These two questions puzzled him, but he believed that the truth would eventually be revealed, so he didn't dwell on them.

Suddenly, his mind buzzed again, like a phone ringing when it was turned off. Soon, another series of messages appeared in his mind.

Main Quest: The Prosperity of North Corner Village

Quest Description: North Corner Village, known for its unique geography and resources, was once one of the most prosperous villages under Blood Helmet City. Unfortunately, that glory is now a thing of the past. Your task is to restore North Corner Village's prosperity.

Quest Hint: Prepare enough money and enough people!

Note: Quest hints are only provided for the first three main quests.

Quest Deadline: 30 days

Quest Completion Reward: Unknown

Quest System Reward Principle: The more effective the effort, the greater the reward.

Quest Failure Punishment: Deprivation of the right to survive!

When Xu Dong's thoughts reached the last sentence, a blinding red color, like fresh blood, appeared before his eyes, and he shivered uncontrollably. He looked at his arm and saw the hairs standing on end due to fear and panic.

Xu Dong pressed his lips together again, forcing down the deep-seated fear and trying to pull himself together. His intuition told him that this was not a malicious joke but a test. Since it was a test, there must be a way to complete it. However, the information available was too limited to make any further deductions.

Moreover, he had plenty of time. Xu Dong believed he should first understand the village. But before that, he needed to understand himself, especially the "talent system" that had been activated.

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