Starting in Hell Mode, Being Hunted!

Brain Storage!

Cerebellum Storage!

Sea Round Calendar year 1520!

New World, the latter half of the Grand Line!

On an unknown island!

A tearing pain shot from the back of his head.

Chen Ye's eyes snapped open.

The scent of damp, rotten leaves mixed with a salty sea breeze rushed into his nostrils.

He was lying on the ground, soft, sticky mud beneath him.

Giant trees that blotted out the sky surrounded him, thick vines coiled around their trunks like pythons. Sunlight only managed to pierce through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled spots of light.

Where is this?

Chen Ye's mind was a blank slate, like a formatted hard drive.

He struggled to sit up, the pain in the back of his head making him gasp.

He reached up to touch it; it was sticky and warm.

Blood.

He looked down at himself.

A white casual T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and Nike sneakers on his feet.

These clothes were completely out of place in the primitive, savage environment around him.

"Wasn't I pulling an all-nighter working on a proposal... How did I end up here?"

His mind felt like a mushy mess. His last memory was of being in his dorm, having downed three cups of extra-strong coffee to finish a damn project proposal.

He'd worked overtime for seventy-two hours straight for a damn project.

The last thing he remembered was his heart giving a sudden lurch as he slumped onto his desk, and then... nothing.

Died from overwork?

A terrifying thought surfaced.

So now... he'd transmigrated?

Chen Ye's heart pounded wildly. He stumbled towards a puddle of water not far away.

The water was murky, but it still reflected an image.

A strange face appeared in the water.

Around twenty years old, with a delicate face, but pale as paper.

Short black hair, and a pair of pitch-black eyes filled with terror and confusion.

It wasn't him!

This definitely wasn't his thirty-year-old salaryman face, beaten down by society for decades!

Chen Ye reached out, his hand trembling as he touched the reflection in the water.

The water rippled, and the young face shattered.

He'd really... transmigrated.

The realization hit him like a sledgehammer to the forehead.

No System.

No cheat skills.

No wise old mentor.

Just one life, and a set of modern clothes utterly useless in this godforsaken place.

"Hahaha..."

A rough, hoarse laugh suddenly echoed from the nearby woods.

The laughter was filled with undisguised malice.

Chen Ye froze.

He whipped his head around, following the sound.

Three men emerged from the dense undergrowth.

The leader was a One-Eyed Dragon, with a hideous scar running from his forehead to his chin. His remaining eye glinted with a wolf-like ferocity.

The two followers beside him were equally ugly. One was fleshy and brutish, the other skinny as a rake. Both carried rusty scimitars.

Their clothes were ragged, and they reeked of a foul stench mixed from sweat and blood.

Pirates?

Or bandits?

Whatever they were, these guys clearly weren't good people!

One-Eyed Dragon's gaze fell on Chen Ye, and he froze for a moment. Then, his single eye blazed with greed.

He stared intently at Chen Ye's clean, neat clothes and the sneakers on his feet.

On this wild island, someone dressed so cleanly was either a noble fat sheep or a passenger from a recently shipwrecked merchant vessel.

Either way, it meant wealth!

"Boss, look! It's a fat sheep!" the lanky man chuckled, revealing his yellowish teeth.

"Those clothes are nice. We can sell them for a good price after we strip them off!" the fleshy, fat man licked his chapped lips.

One-Eyed Dragon let out a greedy, sinister laugh.

"Kill him!"

"The goods are mine, and the person... you can do whatever you want with!"

With his command, the two pirates immediately charged at Chen Ye like hyenas smelling blood, brandishing their curved blades!

"Damn it!"

Chen Ye's head buzzed.

The fear of death, like an icy hand, instantly gripped his heart!

He was just an ordinary modern person who had never even killed a chicken. How could he have ever seen a situation where people would try to kill you for no reason?

Adrenaline exploded within him!

The instinct for survival overwhelmed all fear and confusion.

Run!

That was the only thought in his mind!

Chen Ye scrambled to his feet, using his hands and feet, not even bothering to brush off the dirt. He turned and bolted into the depths of the jungle!

His heart pounded like a drum in his chest.

The wind howled past his ears.

The shouts and mocking laughter from behind pursued him like shadows.

"Haha, run! The faster you run, the more excited I get!"

"Don't run yourself to death, the boss said to keep him alive!"

These voices burrowed into Chen Ye's ears like venomous snakes, making his scalp tingle.

He didn't dare to look back.

He could only run forward with all his might.

He stumbled several times on the roots and rocks underfoot, nearly falling.

Sharp branches tore at his cheeks and arms, leaving fiery, stinging bloodstains.

His lungs burned as if on fire, and every breath tasted of blood.

His legs felt heavy as lead.

"Am I going to die here?"

"Die right after transmigrating?"

"No! I don't want to die!"

Despair and unwillingness roared madly in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, squeezing out the last ounce of strength from his body, his legs moving mechanically.

He didn't know how long he ran.

Maybe a few minutes, maybe more than ten.

The sounds of pursuit behind him seemed to have fallen back a bit.

A sliver of hope rose in Chen Ye's heart.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet gave way!

He had been running too fast to stop.

The scene before him opened up abruptly!

The dense jungle ended here.

Ahead lay a sheer cliff!

Loose stones tumbled down from his feet, falling into the mist-shrouded abyss below.

Beneath the cliff was the surging sea, its massive waves crashing against the rocks, creating a deafening roar.

Chen Ye's body traced a dangerous arc by the cliff's edge, finally stopping less than half a meter from the brink.

He broke out in a cold sweat, his legs trembling, nearly buckling to his knees.

"Swish—"

The jungle behind him rustled.

The three pirates walked out unhurriedly, forming a fan shape to surround him.

His only escape route was completely blocked.

"Run."

One-Eyed Dragon wore a playful, cat-and-mouse grin.

"Why aren't you running anymore?"

"Jump! Jump down, and maybe you'll at least die with your body intact!"

The lanky man and the fatty also burst into laughter, their curved sabers glinting blindingly in the sunlight.

Chen Ye gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.

His back pressed against the cold, empty void, a biting wind surged up from the bottom of the cliff, making his clothes flap wildly.

He looked at the three thugs pressing in on him, his eyes bloodshot.

One step forward meant a sharp blade.

One step back meant being shattered into pieces in the abyss.

A dead end.

A true dead end.

One-Eyed Dragon had clearly lost his patience, spitting a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground.

"Kid, next time you reincarnate, keep your eyes open."

He slowly raised his curved saber, the blade aimed at Chen Ye's neck.

Sunlight glinted off the rusty blade, reflecting a speck of crimson light.

Chen Ye's pupils contracted sharply.

Time seemed to slow infinitely at this moment.

He could clearly see the cruel smile on One-Eyed Dragon's face.

He could see the dried, dark red bloodstains on the curved saber.

He could also smell the nauseating mix of rust and blood emanating from the blade.

The shadow of death completely enveloped him.

One-Eyed Dragon's arm muscles bulged.

The next second.

The blood-soaked curved saber, carrying a wind that tore through the air, chopped down towards him!