Eight Years

"Lin Lei, what are you thinking about? Come help me cut the wheat."

An elderly figure in the distance called loudly to a young man daydreaming beneath a tree. It was Aguda, and the young man was Ji Shang, who had lived in this world for eight years. He no longer went by "Ji Shang," but had taken his father's surname and become Lin Lei. Thunder Roar—a name with a distinctly Western flavor.

Lin Lei's father, Aguda, was a free commoner under a lord, with a status only slightly higher than that of the lowest serfs.

Lin Lei was excited. He had thought he would spend his whole life as an ordinary farmer and never leave Flower Territory, but now, unexpectedly, his cheat had suddenly come online.

"Ding! King Card System activated."

Lin Lei calmed himself after the shock had left him stunned. He patted the yellow dog lying beside him, Ah Huang, and silently thought, Open the King Card System.

Host: Lin Lei. Thunder Roar

Combat Level: Bronze Tier 1

Cards Owned: None

Tier Experience: 0/100

Draw Chances: 1

The system was simple, but its functions seemed powerful. Staring at the unfamiliar display, Lin Lei suppressed his excitement and silently asked the system:

"How do I use this King Card System?"

"This is the King Card System. The host can obtain hero cards through draws. Each hero card represents a powerful hero. By consuming a card, the host can gain the hero's full abilities. When the card expires, the host will retain abilities based on how closely he resembles the hero."

The system rattled off a lengthy explanation. Lin Lei didn't understand most of it, but he got the main point: he could use cards to gain abilities like those of various heroes.

"Then how do I get draw chances?" Lin Lei asked excitedly.

"The host can gain tier experience by killing enemies of equal strength. Each time the host advances one tier, he will receive one draw chance. In addition, based on the host's tier, killing enemies above that tier will also grant draw chances.

"For example, killing a Silver-tier enemy as a Bronze-tier fighter will grant one Bronze draw chance. Killing a Gold-tier enemy as a Bronze-tier fighter will grant two Silver draw chances. Killing a Diamond-tier enemy as a Bronze-tier fighter will grant three Gold draw chances, and so on."

"Then do I get draw chances for killing enemies below my tier?" Lin Lei continued asking. He had only heard that killing stronger enemies would grant him chances, and didn't know whether weaker ones counted too.

The system's emotionless mechanical voice sounded again.

"Killing enemies below the host's tier can also grant draw chances. The number of kills required is calculated based on the experience needed to advance one tier. At Gold tier, killing a Silver-tier enemy requires a number equal to the host's tier experience multiplied by one hundred. Killing a Bronze-tier enemy requires a number equal to the host's tier multiplied by ten thousand."

After hearing the system's clear explanation, Lin Lei, who hadn't understood the King Card System at first, now grasped how it worked.

From the system's explanation, it was clear that the King Card System strongly encouraged Lin Lei to kill enemies above his tier. The rewards were extremely generous.

"System, my draw count says one. Where did that come from?"

Lin Lei was a little puzzled. Did it give you a free draw at the start?

"It is a starter gift given to every host to prevent them from being killed immediately by a powerful enemy."

"Bullshit." Lin Lei scoffed. He had lived in this world for eight years and faced all kinds of dangers. Five years ago, for example, a wild wolf had attacked him. If a hunter hadn't happened to be heading into the mountains, Lin Lei wouldn't have survived.

Lin Lei muttered under his breath, but the system didn't react. His plan to squeeze a little more out of it had failed.

Lin Lei was in desperate need of strength, so when the system didn't respond, he went ahead and used his draw chance.

As Lin Lei pressed the draw button, his original status panel began to blur, gradually transforming into a huge wheel.

The wheel had four sections: a white miscellaneous-items section, a green pill section, a yellow equipment section, and a purple hero section.

Lin Lei clicked the draw button again. The wheel, which had been still, began turning slowly, then spun faster and faster. Finally, it gradually slowed, the pointer passing repeatedly over the white, green, yellow, and purple sections.

Please be a hero...

As Lin Lei watched the tense draw unfold, his heart was in turmoil. What he needed most was a hero, but he had no confidence in his luck. He'd been unlucky his whole life and had never once caught a break.

"Click."

A soft sound rang out, and the pointer stopped.

Lin Lei leaped up in delight. His luck had finally turned around. He couldn't believe he'd become king of the lucky ones for once.

Lin Lei opened the result to see which hero he'd drawn.

A tall hero appeared in his mind.

"He split open Peach Mountain to save his mother, then shot down a pair of phoenixes with a sling. He slew the Eight Fiends and made a pact of brotherhood with the Seven Sages of Meishan.

"Proud and unwilling to acknowledge his kin in Heaven, his haughty nature led him to dwell at Guanjiang. The Vermilion City's Illustrious Benefactor, the Sacred Spirit, revealed himself without bounds and was hailed as Erlang."

"Congratulations, host. You have drawn Erlang Shen, the Judicial God of Heaven."

Gazing at Yang Jian before him, wearing the Eight-Treasure Golden Scale Fish-Dragon Crown, holding the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, and with a third eye on his forehead, Lin Lei thought to himself:

Sure enough, the moment I heard, "Open your third eye, then see yourself clearly," I knew it was this hero.

Yang Jian was a mighty god. His sweeping attack could deal explosive damage to everyone in front of him, and his Heavenly Eye could fire Good and Evil Rays, damaging enemies' vitality and stealing it to restore his own.

"What's wrong?"

His father, who had been calling out to Lin Lei from afar, hurried over. He thought Lin Lei had run into some kind of danger and was in a great rush.

Aguda's wrinkled face was full of concern and worry, and he roused Lin Lei, who was still busy examining his system.

Lin Lei's father was called Aguda Thunder Roar. He was an ordinary free commoner, introverted and honest, a thoroughly decent man.

When Lin Lei had first arrived in this world, he'd been only ten and terrified of this unfamiliar place. He often stayed alone in the house or sat quietly by himself, unlike the other children, who ran and played.

His quiet old father had taken the family's last few silver coins to the dog market and bought a newborn puppy, Ah Huang. The huge expense had made their already poor household even worse off.

But Aguda had never complained. Lin Lei had seen it all, and slowly stopped resisting this family, trying to become a part of it.

Lin Lei looked up and saw his father's concerned eyes. Many memories came flooding back.

"I'm fine. I was just a little sleepy, and my head was foggy. I didn't hear you calling me."

"That's good." Hearing that Lin Lei was all right, his old father breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you're sleepy, go home and rest. There are lots of snakes and rats around here. You never know when a poisonous snake might crawl up your trouser leg."

"It's fine. I'm feeling much better now. Let me help you cut the wheat. If we don't get it done soon, we'll miss the best time."

Of course, Lin Lei wouldn't accept his father's suggestion after making up an excuse. He thought to himself:

Father's health hasn't been good these past few years. If he forces himself to cut all this wheat alone, he'll end up bedridden for ten days or half a month.

Aguda tried to dissuade Lin Lei a few more times, but Lin Lei firmly refused each time. During harvest, everyone needed to help with the farmwork.

Lin Lei stopped thinking about the hero card he had just drawn. The card would grant him the hero's full strength when used, making it something to save his life—not something for everyday use.

Lin Lei followed Aguda toward the wheat field ahead. They had cut most of it a few days earlier; if they worked again today, they could finish.

Lin Lei and Aguda didn't say much as they stepped into the wheat field together beneath the blazing sun.

The golden wheat shone even brighter in the sunlight. In this day and age, this crop was worth its weight in gold.

Lin Lei's family depended on the wheat from this whole field to get through the year. They would sell most of it and use the money to buy clothes, salt, oil, and other necessities.

They would keep only a little wheat to make the hardest, most unpalatable black bread to fill their stomachs.

The first time Lin Lei ate black bread, he took one bite and felt as if he'd bitten into a rock. It nearly shattered all his teeth.

Later, he saw his family eating black bread and realized it had to be soaked in water until soft before eating. Otherwise, it could be used as a brick.

Lin Lei bent over and cut wheat alongside Aguda for more than two hours. The sun moved from overhead toward the west.

Lin Lei felt sore all over, especially in his lower back. It hurt so much he could barely straighten up.

As they worked, Lin Lei stopped now and then to rest. Without modern machinery, harvesting wheat by hand was exhausting work.

While the two of them cut wheat, Lin Lei's dog lay quietly on the ground, keeping watch for any beasts that might appear.

Clever Ah Huang had warned them more than twice over the past eight years, helping Lin Lei and his father avoid quite a few dangers.

Lin Lei looked up at the wheat that remained. They needed about another quarter of the time to finish.

Lin Lei breathed a sigh of relief, glad they were nearly done. He still had an ordinary person's body, and his frail frame was struggling to take this much.

"Father, Brother, it's time to come home for dinner."

A clear, pleasant voice came from outside the wheat field. A girl of around ten stood there, her hair in twin ponytails and her skin the color of wheat. Even her patched-up clothes couldn't hide how cute she was.

She was Lin Lei's younger sister, Avril Thunder Roar. She had come to call Lin Lei and their father home for dinner.

"Wait a little longer. We'll be done soon~~"

Lin Lei didn't answer Avril. Instead, he looked at Aguda, since he was the one who made the decisions in their family.