When Wu Chen regained consciousness from the darkness, he quickly realized something was wrong.
There was no excruciating pain throughout his body that should have followed being run over by a truck.
Instead, a fierce hunger rose like a raging fire, burning through his internal organs, scorching his viscera.
The burning sensation of stomach acid eating away at him nearly plunged him back into unconsciousness just as he had regained clarity, his body still extremely weak.
"So hungry..." he mumbled weakly, his lips barely moving.
Knowing he would starve to death without food, Wu Chen decided he must do something.
His only thought was that after being hit by a car, some kind-hearted person had likely taken him to a hospital.
Wu Chen prepared to get up and call for a doctor to bring him some glucose solution to wet his throat.
But at that moment, a flood of memories surged from the depths of his mind:
Year 404 of the Azure Dynasty, severe drought in Qing Province, people fleeing south, humans devouring each other...
Fragments of strange, unfamiliar memories formed tragic scenes in Wu Chen's mind, causing his thoughts to freeze momentarily, his mind going blank.
But after recovering and processing these memories, no matter how shocked he was, he had to accept the reality.
He had been transmigrated after being hit by a truck.
The world he had transmigrated to was similar to the feudal dynasties in history books. However, it had a more magnificent and splendid martial arts system.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with him now—a refugee heading south, someone who hadn't eaten properly in days.
If he wasn't careful, he would become someone else's meal.
Along the way, he had heard rumors that northern barbarians were sacrificing to evil gods, causing refugees from Qing Province to transform into demons.
His situation was extremely precarious.
[Infinite Awakening System loading...]
Wu Chen stared in shocked silence as the text hovered in mid-air.
Gradually understanding his circumstances, Wu Chen was somewhat speechless:
"Could you at least start me off with something to eat? I'm hallucinating from hunger!"
[Infinite Awakening System loading complete!]
With the prompt, a semi-transparent light screen appeared before Wu Chen's eyes, with several lines of glowing text quickly jumping on it.
He blinked hard, trying to dispel what he thought might be hallucinations from extreme hunger—visions that kept twisting and jumping before his eyes:
[White Ape Boxing Entry Level Proficiency +1]
[White Ape Boxing Entry Level Proficiency +1]
[White Ape Boxing...]
[White Ape Boxing Entry Level (26/50)]
Wu Chen didn't examine or study these visions closely, nor did he notice that with each jump of the phantom text, his physical strength would recover slightly.
As the hallucinations cleared from his vision, his sight gradually became more distinct, and he finally saw the scene before him clearly.
His previous self had fainted from prolonged starvation.
Which meant Wu Chen was currently lying on the ground.
Just as he was struggling to prop himself up to continue his journey south, the scene that met his eyes made cold sweat break out along his spine.
Around him was a dark mass of people.
These people wore tattered clothes and looked like withered trees, their forms so weak they seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
Like Wu Chen, they were all refugees fleeing disaster.
When Wu Chen had collapsed on the ground between life and death, these people who had been starving for who knows how long naturally caught wind of it and quickly gathered around.
They hung their heads low, their eyes devoid of any emotion, staring blankly at Wu Chen.
As for what they were planning to do, their intentions were clear without words.
Smack! Smack!
The refugees, with their hunger-greened eyes, stared fixedly at Wu Chen lying on the ground, thick, foul-smelling saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths.
Looking at the food on the ground, their internal organs rumbled dully like thunder, as if cheering happily before a meal.
The victim surrounded by them, Wu Chen, turned pale, his hands and feet involuntarily trembling when he heard these sounds.
How could he have ever seen such a situation before!
Moreover, these refugees who looked like fierce ghosts had probably eaten human flesh during their journey!
Surrounded tightly with nowhere to escape, like a dish on a plate with no way out, Wu Chen's heart gradually sank to the bottom.
But before he could make any move, before he had time to think of a way out of this predicament, the refugees crowding together finally could no longer restrain themselves.
Starving, they all bent down, extending their fingers as thin as tree branches, grabbing for Wu Chen who lay on the ground.
Even though some had noticed that the previously unconscious young man had now opened his eyes, regained his vitality, and was struggling to sit up.
But the refugees, their minds clouded by hunger, couldn't care less about that. Only one thought remained in their minds: eat!
"Huff! Huff!"
The refugees reached out to grab Wu Chen's body, making low growls from their throats like beasts feeding, making one's scalp tingle with fear.
Surrounded by these growls, Wu Chen was both shocked and terrified, yet there was nowhere to flee. It seemed he could only become a meal.
At that moment, Wu Chen's vision blurred.
The twisted text he had dispelled earlier bounced back into his sight:
[White Ape Boxing Entry Leve; (50/50)]→[White Ape Boxing Minor Success (0/100)]
[Martial Realm: Body Tempering Realm First Layer]
[White Ape Boxing Minor Success: Proficiency +1]
[...]
"I'm saved!"
Looking at the clearer text, Wu Chen's heart stirred slightly, and he finally understood that the text he had seen earlier was no hallucination.
It was his transmigrator's cheat ability!
With just a quick glance, Wu Chen realized how terrifyingly powerful this ability was!
In the dozen or so breaths since he had awakened, the martial technique that his previous self had studied under a master for years without progress had suddenly entered the proper path.
Not only that, but the martial arts proficiency was also racing ahead, rushing toward Minor Success!
As his martial arts advanced, his martial realm also rose accordingly, following the technique's progress to enter the realm of martial artists, reaching the first layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
He was already far beyond what ordinary people could compare to!
What amazed Wu Chen even more was that as his realm improved, a mysterious warm current was born within his body, flowing continuously.
His limbs quickly regained strength because of this, his blood circulation gradually became active, and his stiff limbs regained sensation.
But his previous self had been fleeing disaster for half a month, depleting his blood energy far too much. When this warm current was exhausted, his strength had only recovered about two-thirds.
But for Wu Chen, this was enough!
Seeing the hands about to grab his body, a gleam flashed in Wu Chen's eyes.
The next second, his fingers clenched tightly, his wrist turned, and his fist instantly transformed into a blur, suddenly punching out.
Smack!
Wu Chen felt as if he had performed this movement thousands of times; it was engraved in his bones. He executed it without any hesitation, his fist accurately striking the refugee's forearm.
With a crisp 'crack', the refugee's arm bent at a bizarre angle, hanging down limply.
"Aoow!"
A cry of extreme pain erupted from the crowd, and the broken arm was quickly withdrawn.
Although the cry was piercing enough, it did not make those around stop their actions.
In fact, during this short moment, some refugees' hands had already grabbed Wu Chen's body.
"Ssss!"
The five fingers, as thin as knives, dug into his flesh, causing Wu Chen's face to contort in pain.
'These people are not right!'
A thought flashed in Wu Chen's mind: these people looked emaciated, as if they could die at any moment, but their grip was frighteningly strong.
And he didn't understand why they wouldn't leave him alone even though he was clearly alive.
Could it be because... brother, you smell so good?
With his life in the balance, he dared not think too much, nor did he dare stop his actions. He used all his strength in his arms, continuously reaching out to strike the arms grabbing at him.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out continuously, and painful howls erupted from the crowd.
But there were simply too many arms around him.
Even though Wu Chen struck continuously, injuring several people, he still couldn't prevent the hands of the remaining starving refugees from grabbing him.
However, as several arms painfully withdrew, the pressure around him dissipated somewhat, giving him a bit of breathing room.
Taking advantage of the gap, he punched the ground with a 'bang', using the recoil to quickly stand up, about to seize the opportunity to break free from the crowd and escape his predicament.
But after Wu Chen stood up, looking around, he realized how naive he had been.
He had thought there were only a dozen or so people surrounding him, but when he stood up, he saw that it was a dark mass.
At least thirty to forty people had surrounded him in layers, leaving no gaps, all wanting a piece of the action.
"Everyone..."
Wu Chen's face immediately soured.
From his brief engagement, he already roughly understood that the strength of the first layer of the Body Tempering Realm was perhaps more than enough to deal with a few ordinary people.
But as the saying goes, many ants can kill an elephant. The situation before him with over forty people was clearly beyond this.
Even though these people were refugees who had starved for a long time with weakened strength, their numbers alone could wear him down to death without any problem!
Wu Chen took a deep breath, planning to reason with everyone.
His actions just now had been witnessed by all.
With such strength, even if he couldn't intimidate everyone and make them retreat, but...
"I can at least stall for a while!"
Thinking this, Wu Chen's gaze fell on the virtual panel above.
There, with the rhythm of his breathing, was an increase in martial arts proficiency with each breath:
[White Ape Boxing Minor Success: Proficiency +1]
[White Ape Boxing Minor Success: Proficiency +1]
[White Ape Boxing...]
[White Ape Boxing Minor Success (35/100)]
The constantly jumping points in his vision had already made Wu Chen understand what kind of invincible power he possessed.
If he could just have one more minute, he would fill the current progress and let the White Ape Boxing martial art reach Minor Success!
At that time, breaking out of the crowd's encirclement should not be a problem.