New Calendar Year 163, Frostfall Month.
Faruk Kingdom, Noah Province, Zack Town, Rhine City.
The Patrol Squad's temporary holding room was cramped and narrow. Green and dark gray mold covered half the walls, and a thick layer of dust coated the floor.
The room's door was a black iron grate, secured with a chain. Both were covered in rust.
Klaun Moya curled up in a corner of the room, pondering a philosophical question that had troubled humanity for years.
Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
The roar of a steam engine came from somewhere in the distance. The smell of mold and urine filled his nostrils. Everything around him reminded him once again that he had arrived in a strange world.
He wasn't from this world—or, rather, he hadn't been until the day before!
In his previous life, he'd been an ordinary, mediocre coder. After his busy workdays, all he liked to do was stay home, play games, and read novels and watch videos.
Who could have guessed that while working overtime last night to revise a client's new requirements, he'd suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and passed out?
When he woke up again this morning, he'd already transmigrated here, occupying the body of a young man named Klaun.
"Mealtime." A fat patrol officer with a bushy beard and a face full of flesh placed a wooden tray by the door and gave the chain a hard rattle.
The shrill metallic clatter dragged Klaun's thoughts back to reality, and hunger surged over him like a tide.
He used the wall to pull himself up and staggered to the door.
Black spots covered the tray, making its original grain almost impossible to see.
A piece of dark bread and a cup of water sat on it. The rim of the clay cup was chipped in several places.
Klaun took the bread and water through the gaps in the grate. He drank a small sip of water first, then grabbed the dark bread with both hands and stuffed it into his mouth.
The dark bread was mixed with sawdust and had a coarse texture. He couldn't help frowning and hurriedly gulped down some water to force it down.
"A nearby village had a case of Evil Spirit possession. A widow occupied by an Evil Spirit woke up one morning like a different person. She couldn't even speak and didn't recognize her neighbors. The villagers noticed something was wrong. The squad leader and the Father have already gone to investigate and deal with it."
Evil Spirit? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
He paused mid-bite and looked up. The patrol officer was staring into his eyes, scrutinizing him as if trying to see right through him.
Memories came surging out of unknown corners, one after another. He felt as if he'd quickly lived through someone else's entire life.
Klaun: "..."
I just transmigrated and they've already noticed something's wrong and arrested me? Damn it!
This world was strikingly similar to Europe during the Victorian era in his previous life. Steam engines were widely used, and on the surface, everything was flourishing.
But years ago, after a strange celestial phenomenon in which the Red Moon hung in the sky and rivaled the sun, the world had changed in bizarre ways.
Night became a playground for monsters. Formless Evil Spirits poured out of unknown, shadowy corners, while Monsters hidden among the crowds revealed their true forms and came out to hunt.
After a single night, some people would die mysteriously. Some had no wounds on their bodies, while others were found decapitated, their insides torn out.
Others vanished without a trace, or underwent such a drastic change in personality that even their neighbors no longer recognized them.
All these inexplicable events were classified as supernatural incidents.
Such incidents weren't uncommon in the kingdom. In fact, they seemed to be growing more frequent, so the government had established a special agency to deal with them.
Last night, Skunk Street, where his predecessor had lived, had suffered an Evil Spirit incident. Of his family and the neighbors on either side, he was the only one still alive.
When someone found him, he had just transmigrated and was still completely dazed. He couldn't answer any of their questions, which was why he'd ended up in the Patrol Squad's holding room.
Zack Town was only a sizable town. It had no branch office to handle supernatural incidents; only the local church's Father was responsible for them. Otherwise, he might already have been judged and burned to a crisp.
"No matter how powerful an Evil Spirit is, it's easy to deal with during the first few days after it possesses someone. All it takes is a fire, right?"
The fat patrol officer rubbed his chin whiskers and spoke with an easygoing expression.
Another memory surfaced in Klaun's mind. Dealing with someone possessed by an Evil Spirit really did take just one fire. He'd even watched it happen once.
He absolutely couldn't let anyone discover that this body had a new user! Otherwise, the onlookers would end up being the ones eaten.
Klaun forced a few traces of a smile onto his stiff face. "My head's spinning. I don't know what happened last night, but I can't remember anything."
He'd only just merged with these unfamiliar memories, but he could manage a few halting sentences in the local language.
The fat patrol officer wore a knowing smile. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You only can't remember what happened last night? What's my name?"
Klaun racked his brain for the memories he'd gained. He could feel the patrol officer's name right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it.
"Looks like this Evil Spirit incident didn't leave any real survivors. Enjoy your last meal!"
The patrol officer shook his head regretfully and turned to leave.
You've got to give me a little time to think!
Klaun sprang to his feet and clutched the bars with both hands, but the patrol officer's name grew even harder to remember.
Judging by his tone, they must have known each other.
I need to say something.
Klaun suddenly recalled a hazy image. He'd once given this patrol officer several pink vials!
His predecessor's father had been an herbalist who knew how to make certain medicines. His father had sent him to deliver a batch to the patrol officer.
"The last batch I delivered was something I made myself. Did it work all right?" Klaun shouted.
The patrol officer abruptly turned around. Feeling a little more confident, Klaun continued, "I must've suffered some kind of intense shock, but I'm feeling much better now. My memories are gradually coming back."
There was nothing else he could do but buy himself as much time as possible. At the very least, he couldn't let the other man conclude that someone else had taken over his body.
"You'd better recover your memories soon. When the Father returns tomorrow after dealing with the person possessed by the Evil Spirit, he'll examine you."
The patrol officer gave him a long look, then turned and left again.
What am I supposed to do now? I don't want to be burned alive!
Klaun seemed to lose all his strength. He slumped to the floor, his gaze unfocused.
Suddenly, a translucent Golden Wall appeared before his eyes. Several lines of gray text were displayed on it in familiar simplified Chinese characters.
[Faruk Language: 376/1000; First Tier] (You don't remember much of this language, so you can only say a few common words.) [Herbalism: 392/1000; First Tier] (You can identify some common herbs, and when you're lucky, you can even make mildly toxic potions.) [Marksmanship: 106/1000; First Tier] (You can pull the trigger with ease, but whether you hit your target is none of your business!)
What the hell!
Klaun unconsciously reached forward, but his palm passed straight through the wall.
The wall wasn't real. It was just an image occupying his field of vision.
His transmigration perk had arrived? Haha, this was great!
Klaun quickly accepted the Golden Wall. As someone who'd read a ton of webnovels, wasn't it perfectly normal to get a cheat ability after transmigrating?
As for whether some hidden mastermind was behind it, or whether he was a lab rat, he didn't care at all!
Even if there was a mastermind, they'd wait until he'd grown into a bigger, greener leek before harvesting him.
His immediate priority was surviving. Avoiding being burned to death as someone possessed by an Evil Spirit was what mattered most right now.
The cheat was easy enough to figure out. It was like the skill proficiency system in ancient online games. As long as he silently focused on it, the Golden Wall would appear before him.
He said his name aloud, in a voice only he could hear. "Klaun Moya."
The number beside Faruk Language on the wall didn't change at all.
He thought for a moment, then racked his brain for all he could. When he came up with a completely new word, he recalled its pronunciation and spelling, then softly said it aloud.
A miracle happened. He could sense the most accurate way to pronounce the word, how many meanings it had, and the different situations in which he himself had used it...
He brought up the Golden Wall again, and the number on it had changed.
[Faruk Language: 377/1000; First Tier]
Practicing seriously could raise his proficiency and help him gain new insights, improving his abilities. It could even help restore his memories.
Klaun grinned from ear to ear. With a cheat like this, what did he have to worry about?
Couldn't speak the language, didn't recognize his acquaintances? No problem!
All he had to do was grind!
As a veteran of Tanwan Blue Moon who'd played its grandpa version, a Taoist priest who'd practiced skills like Summon Skeleton and Summon Divine Beast in Bichi City using tens of thousands of Hygiene Talismans, Klaun declared himself full of grit!
PS: "Following along" means scrolling to the end of the latest chapter. For a new book, follows lead to system recommendations. It isn't easy for a new book to get started, so please follow along. Many thanks.