Represents Infinity

∞ Represents Infinity

Whoosh!

A soft sound rang out, followed by an arrow tearing through the air. After tracing a graceful arc through the sky, it snapped off a thumb-thick branch from the base of a locust tree in the distance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as the branch fell, three more soft sounds followed. Three arrows arrived almost simultaneously, intercepting the falling branch midair and precisely splitting it into four pieces.

"Over seventy meters—back in my previous life, that would have been on par with an Olympics athlete. What a pity..."

The speaker was a youth dressed as a hunter, around fifteen or sixteen years old. Dark-skinned and lean, with thick brows and large eyes, he gave off an honest, guileless impression. Yet if one looked carefully into his eyes, there was an intense sense of incongruity.

The youth held an old ox-horn bow. It had clearly been well maintained, its body gleaming with oil. His right arm was still trembling incessantly; evidently, those four arrows had placed no small burden on him.

System.

The youth silently called out in his heart. The next moment, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

Host: Zhong Lin

Skill: Archery (Max Level)

Skill Points: ∞

It was an extremely crude panel, with only three lines from top to bottom. There were no classifications like "Strength, Speed, Intelligence," nor any division of "Realms." It could only be called the Syria renovation style of system panels.

The youth was named Zhong Lin, and he was a transmigrator. Because he had ignored traffic rules and run a red light on an electric scooter, he had been struck and crushed by a dump truck, dying on the spot. When he woke up, he had possessed the body of a young hunter who was also named Zhong Lin.

From the memories left behind by the original owner, he learned that this world resembled ancient Huaxia from his previous life. The village he lived in was called Summer River Village, under the jurisdiction of Black Mountain County. Beyond that, he knew nothing. After all, one could not expect a youth who had never left Summer River Village to know much else.

In his memories, the village had suffered a drought. It had not rained for three full months. The fields had withered, and there was little food at home. Even the wild beasts in the nearby mountains had gone deeper into the range because of the drought. With no other choice, the original owner had ventured deeper into the mountains to hunt. There, he encountered a Blind Bear, fell down a hillside in a panic, and then had his nest usurped by Zhong Lin from Earth.

Fortunately, Zhong Lin had also awakened the cheat that every transmigrator needed. Especially when he first saw the "∞" symbol on the System Panel, he had been so excited he could barely contain himself.

"∞" was a mathematical symbol, knowledge one would only learn in high school, representing "infinity."

The symbol "infinity" was nothing unusual, and neither were "Skill Points." What was unusual was the two of them together. That meant he possessed infinite Skill Points.

What were Skill Points?

Anyone who had played games or read system novels knew that as long as one had enough Skill Points, a light tap was all it took to soar into the sky.

Zhong Lin had been so excited that he directly raised the original owner's innate "Archery" skill to max level, leading to the earlier scene of shooting branches with arrows.

From nearly a hundred meters away, he had snapped a thumb-thick branch clean off, then fired three arrows in succession while it fell, splitting it into four.

Such archery was simply divine, as though Yang Youji had returned to the world.

But Zhong Lin soon discovered the System Panel's flaw. Skill training had never been merely an improvement in technique; it also included training the body.

An archer capable of that divine archery could never have his entire right arm nearly give out after firing only four arrows.

Reality was not a game. It would not turn archers into high-attack, low-defense fighters for the sake of balance.

In reality, every archer who put down his bow was also an expert at chopping people down. Just consider how Lord Guan had once served as a mounted archer.

"I thought it was Deep Blue allocating points, but it turns out it only adds experience."

Zhong Lin sighed, somewhat regretful.

"I wonder what kind of world this is. The original owner was only a mountain boy, his horizons limited to Summer River Village. He did not even know what dynasty this was, much less anything else."

Zhong Lin sat where he was to rest, continuously pounding his right arm with his hand to ease the fatigue. Even so, it took more than half an hour before his arm could barely exert strength again.

He got up and retrieved the four arrows. There were only five arrows in his quiver in total, and this was the original owner's entire fortune. Losing even one would hurt terribly.

After resting for another half day, once his arm had nearly fully recovered, Zhong Lin slung his prey over his back and began returning.

One pheasant, two wild rabbits, and one muntjac.

Such a haul could be called abundant. The original owner could never have caught so much prey, but with max-level archery, it had come effortlessly.

He hurried without stopping, finally leaving Black Mountain just as the sun was about to set.

Summer River Village was named for its proximity to the river. Upstream lay Upper River Village, but because of the drought, the entire river had already dried up. Those who lived by mountains lived off mountains; those who lived by water lived off water. They farmed during the busy season and entered the mountains to hunt during idle times. Yet due to the drought, even the prey had gone deeper into Black Mountain, making it harder and more dangerous to hunt. If there had been any food left at home, the original owner would never have risked entering it, only to have his nest usurped by Zhong Lin in the end.

Bathed in the setting sun, Zhong Lin stepped into the village.

"D-Da Linzi, y-you're... you're not dead?"

"Uncle Zhang! The Mountain God blessed me. I got lost chasing this beast, and only after great difficulty did I manage to bring it down."

As he spoke, Zhong Lin deliberately shook the muntjac on his shoulder, an intentionally proud smile appearing on his face.

"Whoa! What a big muntjac. That's enough to eat for half a month. It's good you're all right, good you're all right. You disappeared for three days after entering the mountains. Everyone thought you were dead. You... you should hurry home and take a look!"

Zhang Ershu's gaze shifted uneasily as he spoke. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he did not.

Zhong Lin's expression changed. He did not linger, striding toward his family's courtyard.

Before he even approached, he saw villagers constantly entering and leaving his yard. A bamboo pole stood at the entrance, with a streamer made of white cloth hanging from it. That was something only displayed when someone had died in the household.

Zhong Lin's sudden appearance instantly froze the smiling villagers.

"D-Da Linzi, you're not dead?"

"Da Linzi is back? How is that possible? Didn't they say he rolled off a cliff and died?"

"He spent three days in Black Mountain and still came back alive?"

First came surprise, then embarrassment. The villagers in his home all avoided his gaze, not daring to look Zhong Lin in the eye.

Expressionless, Zhong Lin pushed through the villagers and walked inside. The usually desolate courtyard was now packed with more than half the village. In the middle of the yard, a large stove had been built from clay. Blazing flames still burned beneath it, while a rich fragrance wafted from the huge iron pot above.

Zhong Lin then looked beneath the eaves at the beam. The wooden hooks that should have held cured meat and grain were completely empty.