Chapter 7

North Bear couldn't help but steal another glance at Xu Dong. In his understanding, the physical strength, speed, and reaction abilities of ordinary people all have limits, which are constraints set by the gods. Only those with great courage and determination can break these constraints. However, the young man in front of him seemed to deviate from this norm.

Even with his physique, even if he could burst out with muscle strength approaching the limit, for North Bear, who had already entered another realm, unless the blow hit a particularly critical and fatal spot, it generally wouldn't harm him. In the context of an online game, it would be like not being able to break through his defense, at most passively losing 1 point of health, of course, except for hitting the eye socket, throat, or other sensitive areas.

But the power of that punch, especially hitting his well-trained abdomen, actually made him feel a strong pain, truly breaking through his muscle defense and causing damage. If North Bear's perception was correct, the strength of that punch had clearly broken the constraints set by the gods, surpassing his current limit.

In his understanding, unless one had consumed the Divine Power Fruit, it was impossible to achieve this...

And the Divine Power Fruit... Do you think it's as common as white cabbage on the street, easily found?

Regardless of North Bear's myriad thoughts and speculations, Xu Dong was enjoying the breakfast made by Shengnan, which resembled corn porridge. This food was golden yellow, emitting a strange milky aroma. Scooping a spoonful into his mouth, he first felt it was soft, then the sweetness on his tongue blossomed.

The villagers only ate two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Therefore, Shengnan also prepared a dish of vegetables, a plate of noodles, and the leftover dog meat from last night.

While eating breakfast, Xu Dong checked the rewards he had earned from the task.

You have completed the special task: North Bear's Punch!

You withstood eleven rounds of North Bear's attacks! Among them, you blocked 2 times, dodged 4 times, and took the hit 5 times!

Task Evaluation: C

You will receive an agility talent skill. The talent skill will determine your future development direction, so choose carefully.

Please select an agility talent skill from the following two options:

A. Quick Steps

Level: 1

Content: After activating this skill, your movement speed increases by 50%, lasting for 10 seconds.

Consumption: None

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Proficiency: 0/100

Description: As long as you run faster than a "rabbit," anything is possible. Do you know who the "rabbit" is?

B. Counter Jump

Level: 1

Content: After activating this skill, once you are attacked, there is a 30% chance to gain a thrust, allowing you to jump up to 2 meters in a specified direction (the specified direction cannot be the source of the attack).

Consumption: None

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Proficiency: 0/100

Description: If someone punches you in the eye from the front, after activating this skill, you can jump up to 2 meters in any direction except the front. You can also choose not to activate it, but the skill will still enter cooldown.

These two skills are based on the 4 dodges and 5 hits you took, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Quick Steps, as the name suggests, increases your movement speed by 50% upon activation.

Don't underestimate this 50% increase. Taking the world record for the 100-meter dash as an example, Bolt ran it in 9.72 seconds. Xu Dong, who could run 100 meters in 13 seconds, would only take 8.6 to 8.7 seconds with a 50% increase in speed, easily breaking the world record by at least 1 second!

In situations like being chased by a dog or other aggressive animals, Xu Dong felt his speed would be even faster, making it the perfect way to escape.

As for Counter Jump, this skill is almost a god-like ability in close combat for creating distance, and it has a short cooldown. However, the obvious drawback is that you need to take a hit first to trigger it, which greatly limits its application.

In the end, Xu Dong chose Quick Steps as his talent skill.

After making his choice, just like the first time he chose an offensive talent skill, the dark talent skill space glowed, and a white light orb appeared, showing a symbol that quickly rotated and transformed into a running foot icon.

So far, the only unactivated talent skill in Xu Dong's collection was the green light orb. From the green color, it was not hard to deduce that this talent skill was related to physical attributes.

Xu Dong had a vague feeling that the opportunity to activate this green light orb would soon appear, and it was up to him to seize it. This led him to a broader speculation: the task system was almost force-feeding him talent skills, and it was likely that he would have to pay a great price to complete the main quest!

After breakfast, Uncle Bear and Shengnan tidied up their farming tools and went out. Xu Dong didn't want to freeload, so he followed to help. More importantly, staying close to North Bear, the village constable, could provide more information.

For North Bear and Shengnan, this was a welcome development. When they went out, the villagers who could still wield farming tools were already gathered and waiting.

This meant that without sufficient self-defense capabilities, they didn't even dare to engage in normal farming activities. Where did the risk come from? Xu Dong naturally thought of the pack of guard dogs on the mountain.

Actually, the farmland to the east of North Bear Village was quite large, capable of providing enough food for two to three hundred people. Unfortunately, the guard dogs would come down from the mountain every few days to harass the farmers, causing most of the farming to be delayed. Farming is all about timing.

For example, there was a proverb from Xu Dong's previous life: "On the Winter Solstice, it is best to graft peach and plum trees." This means that the Winter Solstice is the best day for grafting peach and plum trees. It's not that you can't do it after the Winter Solstice, but it's not as good.

Arriving at the farmland, the vast fields were filled with ripe yellow grain, standing at least 30 centimeters tall, presenting a golden landscape. In the distance, a stream flowed down from Gray Cloud Mountain, adding to the picturesque scenery.

Unfortunately, the fields were marred by large areas of green and empty patches, caused by the guard dogs' raids. Xu Dong asked Shengnan, who told him that if the harvest went smoothly, the grain could only last for two months. Ironically, the bodies left by the monthly guard dog attacks on the village extended the grain's usability.

Without further ado, the villagers quickly spread out and began harvesting. Most were women and children, with few over fifty, yet they were surprisingly efficient. The sickles in their hands cut through the grain, clearing a space, and the people following behind quickly stripped the grain into baskets.

The most noticeable was Uncle Bear, who did the work of three people.

Farming is one of those things that looks easy but is hard to do. Xu Dong tried, but using too little force didn't cut the grain, and using too much almost cut his hand. Shengnan, who was following behind, couldn't help but cover her mouth and tease, "Are you a young master from a wealthy family? How come you can't even cut grain?"

Xu Dong pursed his lips, feeling embarrassed.

Shengnan smiled and took the sickle from his hand, "You go and strip the grain."

Xu Dong noticed that her hands were very rough. He couldn't help but think: If this girl had grown up in his previous world, at her age, she would probably only do household chores.

Xu Dong stood up and looked around, seeing that everyone was working hard, even the four- or five-year-old children, who were barefoot in the soft black mud, bending over to pick up the fallen grain. This field of yellow grain was not just food for them, but life itself!

Suddenly, a thought rose from the depths of his mind—If I can, I want to help them harvest a beautiful tomorrow!

Even at the end of his previous life, Xu Dong had never felt such a strong desire to do something well. This impulse was so strong that it even made him forget the fear of his remaining 29 days of life.

Last night, Xu Dong had also thought about the main quest, how to restore North Bear Village to its former prosperity. He summarized two points: no external threats and sufficient resources for development. As long as these two conditions were met, even if it didn't immediately return to its peak, at least a seed of hope could be planted.

Through today's interaction, Xu Dong and Shengnan quickly became familiar. While stripping the grain, Xu Dong casually asked, "Shengnan, do you know who the forest guards on Gray Cloud Mountain are? Are their families still in the village?"

Shengnan was bent over cutting grain, and from Xu Dong's angle, he could see the outline of her waist and a glimpse of white skin from the lifted hem of her shirt. Perhaps due to long-term labor, her waist had a soft, willow-like feel.

Shengnan, hearing Xu Dong's voice, didn't stop her work and said without turning, "I know, Uncle Big Dog, Uncle Iron Pillar, Uncle Stone..." She listed over a dozen names, and apart from the families of Big Dog, Iron Pillar, and Stone, the families of the other forest guards had already been killed by the guard dogs.

Hearing this, Xu Dong fell into thought, stopping his work.

Shengnan, after a while, noticed the pile of grain stalks behind her and turned to see Xu Dong staring blankly. She stood up, hands on her hips, and said, "Xiao Dong, what are you daydreaming about? If you don't speed up, we won't finish the work today..."

Just as she finished speaking, a woman at least forty years old let out a piercing scream, and the content of her scream made even North Bear's face change!

"Those beasts are back!"

Xu Dong looked up and saw a group of gray-furred dogs suddenly appear at the foot of the mountain. These guard dogs were much smaller than those that had attacked the village yesterday, estimated to weigh no more than 30 kilograms, but their speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they had already covered a quarter of the distance from the foot of the mountain to the field!