The only thing he was struggling with now was how to eat it.
Lu Chongwei snapped out of his memories.
He stood up, walked over to the strange fish, and grabbed one of its enormous wings.
"Whatever. I'll roast a wing and see how it tastes."
He muttered to himself, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
He suddenly yanked hard with his right hand.
"Riiip!"
With a tearing sound that made his teeth ache, he ripped off the fish's fin, thick bones and all.
Dark red blood gushed out, but he had been prepared. He nimbly leaped backward, avoiding the splatter.
He dragged the fin to an open space near the cave entrance.
That was where he kept the firewood he had gathered.
Lu Chongwei skillfully stacked the wood into a simple campfire.
When he was done, he took a deep breath.
He didn't reach for a fire striker. In fact, he didn't have one.
He slowly closed his eyes and felt the surge of warmth inside him.
Since arriving in this world, he had discovered a mysterious energy within his body.
It was like an indefatigable heart, growing steadily at every moment.
He didn't know what it was, and he had no manuals to consult.
All he could do was rely on instinct and try to control it.
Lu Chongwei held out his right hand and gently rubbed his thumb and index finger together.
His expression grew intensely focused, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Though energy surged within him, guiding it out of his body was as difficult as dancing on the tip of a needle.
"Come on... ignite!"
Lu Chongwei muttered.
He snapped his fingers.
"Snap!"
The crisp sound echoed through the silent cave.
The next second,
a small but scorching flame appeared out of thin air at his fingertips.
It was no bigger than a candle flame, yet the heat it gave off made the surrounding air shimmer.
Lu Chongwei carefully brought the flame close to the firewood.
Whoosh!
The dry wood caught fire at once, and roaring flames leaped up, illuminating the dim cave.
Afterward, Lu Chongwei swayed as if he were about to collapse.
Even this crude use of his power took a tremendous toll on his energy.
"Still too much for me, huh?"
He shook his head with a wry smile.
Lu Chongwei squatted beside the fire, expertly skewered the enormous fin on a sharpened branch, and held it over the flames to roast.
The firelight played across his face, brightening and dimming.
Watching the flames dance, he made up his mind.
This energy was definitely no ordinary thing.
Once he was strong enough, he would leave these remote mountains and see the world beyond.
He would discover where the energy came from and find out whether other human civilizations existed.
It wasn't that he had never tried to leave.
Half a month ago, he had followed the sun for three whole days.
But this forest was simply too vast.
Vast enough to make a person despair.
No matter how far he walked, there were only endless trees and identical mountain ranges.
Without the markers he had left along the way, he might never have found his way back to the cave he depended on to survive.
In his previous life, he had been an orphan.
He had grown up in an orphanage, accustomed to loneliness and to facing life's storms alone.
He had thought he was strong enough.
But now, in a world of nothing but trees and wild beasts,
the bone-deep loneliness still swept over him like a tide when night fell and all was quiet.
No internet, no phone, no one to talk to.
Only the relentless struggle to survive.
Sizzle, sizzle...
The sound of fat dripping into the fire interrupted his thoughts.
A tempting aroma began to fill the air.
Lu Chongwei sniffed, and his eyes lit up.
"Smells great!"
He couldn't help swallowing.
The rich, distinctive aroma carried a faint hint of the sea, but it wasn't overpowering. Instead, it stirred the most primal hunger in his belly.
After roasting it a little longer, the fin's surface turned golden and crisp.
Lu Chongwei eagerly took it off the fire. Ignoring the heat, he tore off a piece of meat and shoved it into his mouth.
"Phew... ah... ah..."
He hissed from the heat as he chewed rapidly.
The next moment, his eyes went wide.
"This is way too good!"
Lu Chongwei exclaimed around a mouthful of food.
The fish melted in his mouth, tender and juicy.
He hadn't added a single seasoning—not even salt.
Yet the fish itself had a peculiar savory, salty flavor, as if it were a gift containing the very essence of the sea.
The skin was crisp and fragrant, while the meat inside was tender and smooth.
With every bite, piping-hot juices burst across his tongue.
It was the most delicious meal he had eaten in the past month.
Compared to it, the bland wild fruits and gamey meat he had eaten before were nothing but garbage.
Lu Chongwei devoured the huge fin in no time.
The long-awaited delicacy made him forget his loneliness and worries for a while.
Before long, he had picked the fin clean, leaving only a pile of stark white bones.
Lu Chongwei let out a satisfied burp and patted his round belly.
"Now that's good!"
He leaned against the cave wall and contentedly narrowed his eyes.
After resting for a while, he got up and went over to the enormous strange fish that remained.
He was full for now, but in this world, food was always the most precious resource.
He found some broad leaves and wrapped the remaining flying fish up tightly.
Then he brought over several large stones and set them on top to keep Nezumi or other small animals from stealing it.
"I'll save this for tonight and tomorrow."
Lu Chongwei dusted off his hands and nodded with satisfaction.
By then, the sky outside was growing dark.
The sunset stained the forest a bloody red.
Lu Chongwei glanced at the cave entrance and frowned.
"I'm almost out of water. I'd better fetch some more."
Though the forest was more dangerous at dusk than during the day, he relied on his immense strength and wasn't particularly afraid.
He picked up two water bottles made from some kind of hard nutshell and left the cave.
The light in the forest grew dimmer.
All kinds of strange cries rose and fell, lending the primeval forest an even more eerie atmosphere.
Lu Chongwei made his way along the forest path with practiced ease.
His steps were light, making almost no sound.
It was an instinct he had honed through countless life-or-death battles.
Just as he was about to reach the river,
a powerful sense of danger suddenly surged through him.
The hairs all over Lu Chongwei's body stood on end.
Without a moment's hesitation, he instinctively threw himself to the side.
"Boom!"
A basketball-sized ball of energy exploded where he had just been standing.
Dirt flew, and rocks burst into the air.
A charred crater appeared in the ground.
Lu Chongwei rolled across the ground a few times, then scrambled up and warily looked toward the direction the attack had come from.
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