Awakening

Chen Yuan suddenly jolted awake and sat up sharply in bed.

Before he could make out his surroundings, a violent pain tore through his chest. He could not help coughing twice and curling over his abdomen to ease the pain.

"You're finally awake." After Chen Yuan finished coughing, a man's voice came from beside him. Perhaps from going too long without water, it was slightly hoarse, yet extremely familiar.

Chen Yuan turned toward the voice and saw a man sitting on a stool beside him. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a square face and vaguely familiar features. Chen Yuan blurted out, "Captain Qin!"

Only then did Chen Yuan clearly see his surroundings. This was a hospital room, and he was lying in a hospital bed.

"It looks like you're recovering well." Qin Zhan studied the slight improvement in Chen Yuan's complexion and finally revealed a faint smile. "That Iron-Haired Wild Boar struck your chest and ruptured your internal organs. You actually pulled through, kid. You've got a tough life."

"Enough. There's no one else here, so why are you still calling me Captain Qin? Call me Uncle!"

"Uncle Qin... thank you for looking after me these past few days." Chen Yuan naturally changed how he addressed him, then recalled what had happened before he fell unconscious. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Qin Zhan said. "Luckily, you got to the hospital in time and were saved. The doctor said that as long as you woke up, your life would no longer be in danger."

"Now that we're on the subject, I need to have a proper word with you." Qin Zhan's expression suddenly turned stern. "Your swordsmanship is usually quite good. Why did you panic the moment you entered real combat? You just stood there like an idiot and let that wild boar ram you."

"Good thing nothing worse happened. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how to explain it to your father."

As Qin Zhan spoke, he stood up. "I'll go get the doctor to examine you. Rest for now, and think about whether the path of a Martial Artist really suits you."

After a pause, Qin Zhan continued, "Sometimes, living an ordinary life safely and peacefully isn't so bad."

"Think it over carefully."

Chen Yuan did not respond to Qin Zhan's advice. He merely watched Qin Zhan leave the hospital room before withdrawing his gaze and letting out a long breath.

Then Chen Yuan slowly lay back down and recalled his memories after crossing over.

That was right. He had crossed over.

Chen Yuan did not originally belong to this world, yet he shared the same name and surname as the Chen Yuan of this world. He had also been born on "Earth."

The Chen Yuan of this world was nineteen years old and had become a Martial Artist three months ago. His strength now stood at 2,000 kilograms, placing him just within the ranks of an Intermediate Warrior.

"Swallowed Star..." The memories that surfaced in his mind quickly allowed Chen Yuan to identify the world he was in.

The RR Virus, monsters, Martial Artists, the Swallowing Beast, Hong, Thor, Luo Feng...

Chen Yuan sighed faintly. Unfortunately, the timing was wrong.

He had crossed over too late.

The electronic clock hanging on the wall showed that it was now September 13, Earth Calendar 2077.

As an old fan of Swallowed Star, Chen Yuan knew this point in time. The Genius Tournament had already passed several years ago, and Luo Feng had long since risen to prominence.

No way to latch onto his thigh now... Luo Feng might already be in Chaos City by this point. Chen Yuan muttered inwardly. And the timing of my crossing over was just too miserable.

In truth, Chen Yuan had not arrived in this world just now. He had come here several days earlier.

More precisely, he had crossed over while "Chen Yuan" was fighting an Iron-Haired Wild Boar in the wilderness.

That was why Chen Yuan, an Intermediate Warrior, had been struck so easily by a Primary Beast Soldier Iron-Haired Wild Boar. Just as the original Chen Yuan had been about to finish the battle with a single sword strike, his consciousness had been replaced by Chen Yuan from another world.

The original owner was unlucky too. An Intermediate Warrior fighting a Primary Beast Soldier should have been a complete stomp, even if it was his first real battle. And there was even a War General watching over the fight, so there should not have been the slightest accident. Who would have thought I'd cross over at such a critical moment... Chen Yuan sighed. Not only had the original owner been unlucky, but he was unlucky as well.

He had clearly been staying up late at home reading a novel. Then, after closing and opening his eyes, he had suddenly arrived in this world. The moment he opened them, he saw a wild boar right in front of him charging toward him.

I'm probably the most miserable transmigrator ever. The moment I opened my eyes, I was knocked unconscious by a wild boar. I only remember instinctively stabbing out with my sword before passing out. I wonder whether I killed it...

Shaking his head, Chen Yuan stopped thinking about the wild boar's fate. It had either been stabbed to death by him or killed by his teammates anyway.

By now, Chen Yuan had completely fused with the original owner's memories, even his bodily instincts. As for combat techniques the original owner had mastered, Chen Yuan only needed some practice to fully grasp them.

The fusion had gone so smoothly that Chen Yuan almost believed this was not crossing over at all, but the awakening of memories from a past life.

Yet the consciousness controlling this body now was Chen Yuan's. The original owner's consciousness seemed to have vanished, exerting not the slightest influence over him.

For instance, the original owner felt respect and closeness toward Qin Zhan, along with even a hint of inferiority. But to Chen Yuan, Qin Zhan was a complete stranger. At most, he knew from his memories that this person was very familiar with him. That was all.

I need to think carefully about Chen Yuan's relationships and how to handle them. I don't want anyone discovering I'm not the original owner because of personality differences. Chen Yuan considered the original owner's circumstances for a moment, then relaxed.

The original owner's relationships were extremely simple. His mother had died early, and he had been raised by his father, Chen Ji. Since childhood, he had been very withdrawn and had few friends.

When he was thirteen, Chen Ji encountered a small monster tide in the Wilderness Zone. He died while covering his teammates' retreat, entrusting Chen Yuan to Qin Zhan before his death.

Qin Zhan had been a member of Chen Ji's squad at the time, so Chen Ji had saved his life. Qin Zhan was also a man who kept his promises. After returning to the Base City, he took care of Chen Yuan according to his captain's final wishes.

However, the solitary Chen Yuan had not wanted to join "Uncle Qin's" family and chose to live alone. Once Qin Zhan learned of this, he moved his entire family next door to Chen Yuan and looked after him that way for six years.

After six years, the two sides had become extremely close.

"So, as long as I put up a little act in front of Qin Zhan's family, I won't have to worry about anyone noticing anything strange." Chen Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. This way, he would not have to work so hard at pretending.

Besides, being withdrawn was easy enough. He only needed to speak less. If he gradually changed in the future, no one would notice.

"So then, the main question now is what I should do with my future. Should I lie low and live peacefully, or leave Earth and roam the universe?"

Chen Yuan was deeply troubled by this question.

If he had a choice, Chen Yuan would certainly choose the latter. He had lain flat before crossing over; if he continued to lie flat afterward, then would he not have crossed over for nothing?

But reality was not something he could accomplish simply because he wanted to.

After absorbing this world's memories, Chen Yuan discovered that his aptitude was not particularly good. It could even be called quite ordinary.

Chen Yuan had become an official Martial Artist around three months ago. At nineteen years old, that seemed rather impressive.

But one must not forget that, with Luo Feng's support, Earthlings now found cultivation much easier than they had twenty years ago.

Once every dojo student advanced to Advanced Trainee, they could receive a free portion of Purple Light Dew to improve themselves.

Purple Light Dew was a treasure Luo Feng had bought from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Just 10 grams could raise an Advanced Trainee's physical fitness to the level of a Martial Artist!

In this era, advancing as a Martial Artist had become extremely easy. It was no longer the privilege of the upper class. Even the dojo's prospective Martial Artist examination had been abolished.

Thus, after the original owner became a Martial Artist, he could only choose to join Qin Zhan's wilderness squad. Under his teammates' care, he participated in his first real battle, which led to Chen Yuan's crossing over.

Chen Yuan had learned from his memories that the original owner, as a Limit Dojo student, had likewise become a Martial Artist by absorbing Purple Light Dew.

Therefore, Chen Yuan's actual aptitude was only at the level of a nineteen-year-old "advanced dojo trainee." It was outstanding in the eyes of ordinary people, but quite average on Earth.

That was why it had taken him a month of practicing Five Hearts Toward Heaven before he sensed cosmic energy. Even his first absorption of cosmic energy had only increased his strength by 400 kilograms.

After cultivating for another two months, his strength had only just exceeded 2,000 kilograms. By the universe's standards, he had merely entered Apprentice Second Rank.

Chen Yuan sighed softly. With this aptitude, he could forget about reaching Apprentice Ninth Rank in anything less than several decades, let alone Planetary Level. Once his prime years passed, his chances of breaking through would plummet. He might not even cross the Planetary Level threshold before his lifespan ran out.

Before Planetary Level, one's lifespan was limited, at most one or two hundred years. But once one broke through to Planetary Level, one could live for a thousand years!

"So my most important goal right now is to break through to Planetary Level. Even if I want to lie low, lying low for a thousand years is much better than doing so for a hundred."

"Besides, I don't want to lie low. Forget roaming the universe—if I want to leave Earth at all, I need to at least become Planetary Level."

In other cosmic nations, only those at Planetary Level were considered to possess basic "human rights" and could at least keep themselves fed and clothed. Those below Planetary Level had virtually no rights at all and could be captured as slaves at any time.

Therefore, Earth's upper echelons had established that anyone wishing to leave for another planet had to become Planetary Level and be granted the identity of an Earth Elite before qualifying.

"So how am I supposed to improve myself? Hard training alone definitely won't work, and nearly all of Earth's famous resources and lucky encounters have been taken by Luo Feng and the others..." Chen Yuan pondered for a while, growing more bitter the more he thought about it. This is practically unsolvable. Unless I get some kind of cheat...

Just then, a beep sounded beside Chen Yuan's ear, making his heart tremble.

No way, there really is one? Chen Yuan's eyes widened. He turned to look around, but there was nothing nearby that could have made the sound. He then tried calling out in his heart, System?

Beep.

The sound was so pleasant that Chen Yuan confirmed it had come from within his heart rather than the outside world.

This discovery filled him with delight. He hurriedly called out all kinds of words in his mind, saying whatever came to him. System, activate, panel, open, quest, level up...

Very soon, a screen of light appeared before Chen Yuan's eyes.