Great Li Dynasty, Qingzhou Prefecture, Black Water City.
The night was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. A foul-smelling cold wind crept through the cracks in the broken window, wailing like a ghost.
The Black Tiger Gang, Outer Court dormitory.
The room was cramped and dark, reeking of sweat, stinky feet, and moldy straw. Dozens of men lay sprawled across the communal sleeping platform, snoring like thunder—a herd of pigs waiting for slaughter.
"Cough... cough, cough, cough!"
A ragged, heart-wrenching fit of coughing shattered the deathly silence. It sounded as if the poor fellow was about to cough up his innards.
In the corner, a bony young man abruptly sat up, both hands clamped over his mouth as his whole body shuddered with each cough.
After quite a while, the coughing finally stopped.
The young man opened his palm. In the ghastly white moonlight leaking through the window, he saw a vivid splash of red in his hand.
A large clot of dark-red blood, mixed with bits of flesh.
"I'm coughing up a lung..."
Yan Kui stared blankly at the blood in his hand, yet a fierce glint flashed in his eyes—one that had no place in his sickly body.
He had transmigrated.
From a modern mixed martial arts champion, he'd ended up in this godforsaken place called the Great Li Dynasty.
The original owner had also been named Yan Kui. He'd been a low-level nobody in Black Water City's top gang, the Black Tiger Gang.
To put it plainly, he was cannon fodder.
Demons and monsters roamed this world, and human lives were as worthless as grass. For ordinary people, staying alive was a struggle. The original owner had sold himself to the Black Tiger Gang just to get enough to eat. But he had poor aptitude and never got enough food; he'd gone berserk while practicing martial arts, damaged his lungs, and contracted a deadly case of consumption.
In an age short on doctors and medicine, consumption was all but a death sentence.
To make matters worse, that very evening, the gang's steward, nicknamed "Li Bapi," had announced some news:
In three days, the Outer Court would select ten men to investigate the Old Lin Family Manor in the west of the city.
Yan Kui's name was right there on the list.
"The Old Lin Family Manor..."
Yan Kui murmured the name, a self-mocking smile tugging at his pale face.
It was a notorious haunted place in Black Water City.
Half a month ago, everyone in the Lin Family had been slaughtered overnight. Their deaths had been horrific: every drop of blood had been drained from their bodies, leaving only shriveled corpses.
The authorities sent a squad of constables to investigate. The next morning, every last one of them was kneeling in a neat row outside the yamen, their heads gone.
Since then, no one had dared go near the Old Lin Family Manor. It had become a Forbidden Area.
Every night around midnight, eerie opera singing drifted out of the manor. A night watchman had even seen a woman in red hang herself from the wall.
The Black Tiger Gang claimed they were sending the men to "investigate," dressing it up as "training." In truth, they were sending them to their deaths to scout the way for the big shots and find out how dangerous the filth inside really was.
Every man chosen was a useless wreck like the original owner: no backing, no ability, and half-dead from illness. No one would care if they died.
"Three days."
Yan Kui clenched his fist, his nails digging into his flesh.
"Consumption in its final stage, plus a suicide mission. What a hell of a start."
He didn't want to die.
In his last life, he'd been a hardcase in the ring. He believed that his fate was his to command, not Heaven's, and that as long as he hadn't been beaten to death, he had to get back up and hit back.
That fierce will to live, that refusal to give in, made his nearly extinguished heart thump back to life.
"Cough, cough..."
His emotions flared, aggravating his injury. Yan Kui's throat turned sweet, and more blood surged into his mouth.
He forced himself to swallow it. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
"I need to find a way to survive."
Yan Kui took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing.
Don't even think about it. The Black Tiger Gang might only be a second-rate gang, but it was a local power in Black Water City. The Outer Court disciples all had contracts of indenture held by the gang. If they dared run, the gang rules called for their tendons to be severed before they were thrown into the "Ten-Thousand Snake Pit" to feed the snakes.
Besides, with his body in this state, he was out of breath after walking a few steps. He'd probably be caught by a patrol—or snatched up by a wild dog for a snack—before he even reached the city gate.
Beg for mercy?
Li Bapi's greedy face appeared in Yan Kui's mind. That man cared about nothing but money. He'd already squeezed the original owner's few coppers dry under one pretext or another.
"Am I really just supposed to wait for death?"
A murderous glint flashed in Yan Kui's eyes.
If he was going to die either way, he might as well drag a few others down with him! Li Bapi, and the broker who'd tricked the original owner into joining the gang...
Just then, a sudden BZZT rang out in his mind.
[ Ding—]
[Strong emotional fluctuations detected in host. Soul fusion complete.]
[Crimson Modifier initializing...]
That cold, mechanical voice sounded sweeter than any heavenly music to Yan Kui.
Before he could react, a translucent, pale-red screen floated into view.
Only he could see it.
Yan Kui's pupils constricted, and his heart began to race.
A system!
The standard issue for transmigrators—a cheat had finally arrived!
He suppressed his excitement and stared fixedly at the screen in front of him.
[Crimson Modifier] Host: Yan Kui Status: Dying (consumption in its final stage, organ failure) Martial Arts: Raging Bull Fist: Beginner Origin Power: 0
The interface was pitifully simple, just a few lines of text.
That "Dying" status in particular was glaring, like a countdown to his death.
"Origin Power..."
Yan Kui keenly picked up on the key term.
But his Origin Power was currently at zero.
"How do I get Origin Power?"
Yan Kui wondered to himself.
No one answered. The Modifier seemed to be nothing more than a rigid tool.
He tried to focus his mind on the "Origin Power" line.
A line of small text appeared:
[Origin Power acquisition: take lives by killing; consume high-energy objects.]
"Killing... consuming energy..."
A red gleam flashed in Yan Kui's eyes.
In this chaotic age, human lives were worthless, and there was no shortage of fighting and killing.
Wasn't this made for him?
"So the more I kill, the stronger I get, and then I can survive!"
A wild, brutal urge rose from deep in Yan Kui's bones.
He glanced at the gang members sleeping like dead pigs on the communal platform.
No. Killing someone now would make too much noise. In his sickly state, even with a sneak attack, he might not be able to take down these burly laborers.
He needed to find a weaker target.
A chicken? A duck? Or...
Just then, a rustling sound came from under the bed.
Yan Kui's eyes narrowed as he slowly looked down.
In the moonlight, he saw a fat rat squeeze through a hole in the wall. It was nearly as big as a house cat.
Its gray fur had fallen out in patches, exposing skin covered in disgusting pustules. Its pea-sized eyes glowed red, and long, yellowed fangs protruded from its mouth.
A Corpse Rat!
These rats gnawed on corpses in the Graveyard. They were vicious and carried corpse poison. If an ordinary person was bitten and didn't treat it in time, the wound would rot through. They might even have to amputate the limb.
Now the Corpse Rat was twitching its nose, drawn by the smell of blood from Yan Kui's coughing fit. It crawled greedily toward his bed.
It had taken Yan Kui for a meal that was nearly dead.
"Want to eat me?"
A savage grin spread across Yan Kui's lips.
"Perfect. You'll be my first kill!"
Before you continue