Chapter Two: The Heavens Shift

"Xiao Zhang, what are you doing wandering in the mountains at a time like this?" an old woman from the village called out as she saw Zhang Xiao heading into the hills with his bundle.

He grinned at her, replying, "Don't worry, ma'am, I'm just going to do some sketching near the mountainside. I'll be back soon."

Zhang Xiao had long since become familiar with the villagers, so he easily brushed off her question and continued into the hills. He wasn't joking—midnight was fast approaching. If he didn't leave now, when would he? He climbed halfway up the mountain, made sure there was no one around, and retrieved a large bundle hidden in the grass. He'd prepared this bundle in advance, filled with the treasures he'd collected over the past few weeks. He slung it over his shoulder, humming a little tune as he continued deeper into the mountain.

Though the mountain was wild and untended, the scenery was still quite pleasant. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was already 11:59. He tossed his bundle to the ground, took a deep breath, and shouted to the sky, "Come, let the new world descend! It's finally time for me to change my fate!"

As if in answer to his call, a thunderous boom echoed through the sky. The clear heavens were instantly swallowed by thick, rolling clouds. The world’s weather centers, not just in China but everywhere, became frantically busy as darkness abruptly blanketed the globe. Satellites lost their signals, and soon after, even the power grids began to fail.

A deafening clap of thunder followed, so intense that even with ears covered, hearts pounded in terror. It wasn't just the electricity; cars, motorcycles, bicycles, televisions, MP3 players, radios, phones—every device suddenly turned useless, as if all had become scrap in an instant. No one could find the problem, but nothing would work.

Chaos erupted in the cities. Some screamed of the world's end; the streets filled with brawls, robberies, and all manner of disorder. The police were powerless to restore order.

Above the dense clouds, an old man appeared, floating three hundred miles above the earth without any visible support. Had anyone seen him, they would have dropped to their knees, crying out that a true immortal had descended.

The old man stood motionless, his lips unmoving, but a voice full of authority rang out from him:

"I am the Heavenly Way. Today the heavens change, and all races shall be reformed. From this day forth, the Digital Age begins. Whoever can transcend shall attain the supreme Dao. This is the decree."

Though the old man's words were in Chinese, people all over the world—whether American, Chinese, or African—felt the message resonate from deep within their souls, as if it were carved upon their very being. Even those in a vegetative state felt it. Before anyone could recover from their shock, a flash of white light blazed.

Suddenly, a watch appeared on every person’s wrist. It looked like an oversized digital watch, but the display was dense with numbers—so many that even an expert mathematician would grow dizzy trying to make sense of them. Some despaired; others rejoiced.

On the deserted mountain, one figure leapt for joy—Zhang Xiao. Of everyone in the world, only he truly understood the watch on his wrist.

He tapped the display lightly, and a holographic screen sprang up:

Name: Zhang Xiao
Level: 0
Strength: 30
Agility: 20
Endurance: 50

It was an attribute panel—just like in a game. Zhang Xiao was overjoyed, for his stats were more than double what they had been before. Clearly, his four months of intense training had paid off. There were only four attributes for now, but as he leveled up, more would be unlocked.

He knew better than to get carried away, though. His greatest advantage was his knowledge; in less than a week, the authorities would figure things out, and his edge would shrink considerably. With that in mind, he quickly opened his bundle and began pulling out children’s books he had painstakingly collected—basic guides on everyday skills such as cooking.

You might wonder, who doesn’t know how to cook? What good are these books? But Zhang Xiao hurriedly flipped open a book, and as he did, it dissolved into white light and merged into his watch.

He opened his attribute panel again:

Name: Zhang Xiao
Level: 0
Strength: 30
Agility: 20
Endurance: 50
Basic Cooking Skill: Acquired, Level 1

After the heavenly change, no matter what you did, you needed a basic life skill listed in your attributes. Without it, you couldn’t use the knowledge you possessed, no matter how skilled you were. For example, you might know how to drive, but after the change, you’d need Level 5 to drive a car, Level 10 for a truck, Level 5 for a motorcycle, though bicycles required no level. Besides the required level, you had to have basic knowledge of driving. Without it, sitting behind the wheel wouldn’t get you anywhere, no matter what you did.

Cooking didn’t require a level, but you needed the basic cooking skill. Without it, even the best chef’s food would be tasteless and unsatisfying.

Some might ask, “Can’t I just read the book and learn?” Unfortunately, not just any book would work. Only the lowest-level picture books for children could grant you the basic mastery you needed. Any other book would be useless if you lacked the foundation. That’s why Zhang Xiao had desperately hunted down and even purchased these so-called “useless” children’s books.

He had about fifteen such basic guides in his bundle—simple, everyday skills, but all quite practical. The most important were: Basic Cooking, Basic Motorcycle Operation, Basic Bicycle Operation, Basic Car Operation, Basic First Aid, and Basic Wilderness Survival. Among them, the wilderness skill was special; it granted a fifteen percent agility bonus in the wild, though only for movement speed and not for combat.

In the later stages, these life skills would become nearly useless, but in the early days, they were invaluable. Aside from these children’s books, the only way to acquire such skills was to complete tasks and level up. For the coming year, these books would be worth their weight in gold, which was why Zhang Xiao had gone to so much trouble to collect them.

After hiding the bundle with the children’s books, Zhang Xiao opened another bag filled with various odds and ends. He pulled out a whittled short stick. To his surprise, a stat panel appeared:

Crude Short Stick
Required Level: 1
Attack: Basic Damage

Depressingly, he couldn’t use even this simple weapon—he was still Level 0. He had no choice but to find an even cruder stick, barely whittled:

Super Crude Short Stick
Required Level: 0
Attack: Minor Damage

Pathetically weak, but better than nothing. He could always upgrade his gear later. Stick in hand, Zhang Xiao began searching the area for prey. Before long, he spotted a large white rabbit. Don’t underestimate these rabbits—after the heavenly change, they had become monstrous, each the size of a pig with blazing red eyes.

After careful observation, Zhang Xiao decided it was too risky. He was Level 0, while the rabbit was Level 2—two levels higher. In the new world, death meant you would revive at the nearest village or city, but the penalty was steep: all your attributes dropped by five points—a total loss of fifteen points. Each level only granted three free points and two main attribute points, so dying once meant a permanent loss of three levels. If any attribute dropped below zero, you would die for good—unless you were killed in special circumstances by a powerful skill, in which case the loss could be even greater. Only after joining a sect could you slowly recover lost attributes through arduous training.

Thus, Zhang Xiao couldn’t afford to die. Giving up on the big rabbit, he searched for easier prey and finally located a small white rabbit—though “small” meant it was still twice the size of a large dog.

He clenched his hands to steady his nerves and crept closer, but his caution was wasted. Before he could get near, the rabbit leapt straight at him, knocking him flying as if hit by a truck. Despite the pain, he stabbed forward blindly with his stick, jabbing the rabbit, then immediately turned to run. Of course, he couldn’t outrun the rabbit—one leap covered five or six meters, rivaling an Olympic long jumper. Even on a bicycle, a Level 0 like him would have no chance.

Zhang Xiao resorted to zigzagging, dodging each time the rabbit leaped, and smacking it whenever he got the chance. After a grueling half hour, he finally killed the Level 1 white rabbit, earning 30 experience points. It wasn’t much, but for a beginner, it was a solid tenth of the experience needed to level up.

Looking at the rabbit’s corpse, Zhang Xiao couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. Right now, people in the city were probably still studying the mysterious watch on their wrists. By the time someone figured out that killing a pet could grant experience, he would already be past the “Level 0 vacuum” period.

It’s important to note: in the cities, pets raised by humans posed no threat. Dogs and cats were all Level 0, with rare exceptions at Level 1, and they never attacked people. But don’t think they were easy targets. The “Level 0 vacuum” meant no one could use any tools or weapons. Even if you held a machete, it would do nothing to these creatures. Unless you could find a stick as crude as Zhang Xiao’s, you’d be reduced to brawling with bare hands.

Dear readers, please support the author—add this book to your collection and enjoy, for it is now ripe for reading.