The three people walked in silence to a house with a light on.
"Dad! You're back!"
In an instant, a skinny, yellow-faced boy of about twelve or thirteen ran out of the house and jumped into Chen Guodong's arms. He is Chen Fan's younger brother, Chen Chen.
Chen Chen lifted his head, looked around, and then, somewhat disappointed, asked: "Dad, did you not bring any food back this time?"
Just as he finished speaking, his stomach growled audibly.
Chen Guodong's face reddened, and he stammered, "There was an accident this time. Next time, for sure."
"But you said the same thing last time."
The boy blinked his eyes, his gaze extremely clear.
The woman quickly pulled him away, complaining, "Can't you see your Dad is injured? Be careful not to touch his wound."
She didn't dare to say that this time, his Dad almost didn't make it back.
"Ah?"
The boy followed the woman's gaze and was instantly scared, taking a step back, "Dad, I-I'm sorry."
"How is this your fault?"
Chen Guodong patted the boy's head and then looked at the woman saying, "Cook some rice soup, okay? Do we still have any money at home? I'll see if I can go to Song Family Castle to trade for some food tomorrow."
"It's long gone. I even traded the wedding ring you gave me." The woman shook her head, then went inside, scooped a half spoonful of rice from the bottom of the jar, and went to make porridge.
The rice jar had very little left. At most, it would last another week. If they finished this, there would be nothing left to eat.
"Xiaofan."
Chen Guodong waved at Chen Fan, concerned, "How's your health?"
"I'm fine now, Dad."
Chen Fan tried his best to mimic the tone and actions of his original self.
In his memory, the original self seemed somewhat afraid of his silent and reserved father; the relationship was a bit estranged. For him, this was a good thing.
Chen Guodong opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but finally just nodded and said briefly, "It's good that you're fine."
Dinner was thin porridge, mostly water, with only a few grains of rice at the bottom of the pot.
The four of them licked their bowls clean. As the pillar of the family, Chen Guodong had another bowl.
Afterwards, they all went to rest.
Chen Fan and his younger brother slept in the west room. He heard his parents' faint conversation beside their ears. It wasn't that he wanted to eavesdrop; their house was indeed simple, with very poor sound insulation.
"Guodong, do you know? I was so worried today, afraid you wouldn't come back like them." The mother sobbed softly.
"I will be fine, don't worry." The man's voice was steady and powerful.
"But what about next time?"
The whole house fell silent.
Chen Fan sighed softly.
Despite such hardship, where there was no certainty of the next meal, many people didn't even have a place to stay. In those cities, leaving aside whether they would take you in, the dangers in between, an ordinary person wouldn't survive even with ten lives.
Strength, only strong strength, could allow one to survive.
He closed his eyes, and with a thought, an attribute panel similar to those in games appeared in his mind, incredibly real.
Realm: None
Level: 1 (0/1)
Constitution: 8 (Average for an adult male is 10 points, the same below)
Power: 7
Agility: 7
Spirit: 5
Skills: None
Potential Points: 1 (1 point/1 day)
In addition, there was a large plus sign next to the level, especially conspicuous.
And this plus sign wasn't there an hour ago. He had crossed over late last night and until tonight, it had been about 25 hours.
When the data panel first appeared, he thought it was an illusion until he confirmed it again and again. Only then did he finally confirm that it was his system delivered.
This plus sign probably needed to consume potential values.
Chen Fan took a deep breath. His heart moved, and he saw the plus sign as if it had been pressed. Immediately, a powerful heat flow surged from his heart to every corner of his body.
"Crack, crack."
A series of subtle sounds came from all over his body, an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
"Is this enhancing my body?"
This thought emerged in Chen Fan's mind. He clearly felt the strength in his body increase by a bit.
A few seconds later, the heat flow dissipated. If not for the sweat from his body soaking his clothes, he would have doubted whether it was an illusion just now.
Clenching his fist, he indeed felt a sense of abundant power, which he didn't have before.
"That's right, the system!"
He hurriedly checked. Sure enough, the attributes had changed.
Realm: None
Level: 2 (0/2)
Constitution: 8.8
Power: 7.7
Agility: 7.7
Spirit: 5.5
Skills: None
Potential Points: 0 (1 point/1 day)
"!!!"
His eyes lit up. He saw that all four attributes had increased by about ten percent, barely reaching the standard for an adult male.
No wonder he felt his body becoming stronger.
He became more excited, feeling that his future life had a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, the potential points had returned to zero again, and nothing else had changed.
"It seems it takes another day to get another point of experience."
Chen Fan sighed. The plus sign behind the level also disappeared. The previous 0/1 turned into 0/2.
"It seems that to continue to level up, it needs to consume two potential points. I wonder what can be done to increase the growth rate of potential points. One point a day, with no food left, surviving another day is a luxury."
Chen Fan muttered to himself. There was not much time left for him.
His gaze slowly moved to the skills section, which showed nothing.
So, is this hinting at learning martial arts skills?
But, he hadn't heard of anyone knowing martial arts in this Earth Castle. He himself remembered a few moves of Tai Chi Fist, but that was learned during school, practiced carelessly, and abandoned once out of school.
Moreover, even if he had Tai Chi Fist, in a place lacking medicines, he couldn't possibly fight fierce beasts in close combat. If he got hurt, he could only heal himself. If the injury was too severe, it would be a death sentence.
To learn, it would be best to learn archery, at the very least iron spears, and long-handled weapons like sticks. An inch longer is an inch stronger, with knives and swords being the last choice.
"Try it tomorrow."
Chen Fan quickly made a decision to learn archery.
There wasn't much ironware in the Earth Castle, and iron bows were even rarer, as only a few people, including his father, were equipped with longbows. Others used long spears, shields, and other melee weapons.
As for guns? Those were valuable, making slaying low-level fierce beasts look like child's play, so expensive that it was frightening!
But it didn't matter. He could first use wood, combined with broken bowstrings, or fierce beast tendons, to make a wooden bow. Gathering these resources wasn't hard.
Even though archery wasn't exactly a martial art or cultivation technique, he could learn it for self-defense. In the future, he could join the hunting team to hunt. After all, relying on others was not a solution. He had to be self-sufficient.
Otherwise, in this harsh world, it would be impossible to survive.
Chen Fan thought, gradually feeling sleepy, and drifted off to sleep. Early in the morning, he was awakened by a scream from outside.