Chapter 2: A Bite for a Life

Who am I? Where am I? What should I do?

Duan Wenxuan’s face showed utter bewilderment as his mind rapidly raced with these three questions. Is this place… still on Hanlan Planet within Hanming Country? He had a strong feeling it wasn’t.

Although Hanming Country had impoverished regions, those areas were undoubtedly sparsely populated. If such widespread famine existed here, every local official would likely be swiftly stripped of their positions.

Feeling anxious and fearful, Duan Wenxuan took several steps back, intending to avoid the crowd. At least… at least he needed to understand the situation first. Rushing into a place where starvation is rampant suggests that laws and regulations might have broken down, based on what one could surmise.

However, he was too late. After only a few steps, Duan Wenxuan heard loud shouts from behind him.

The voices sounded hysterical, mixed with gasps for breath.

Duan Wenxuan sprinted away, but unfortunately, having always been physically inactive, his throat burned painfully after running just two or three hundred meters. Even breathing through both mouth and nose, he struggled to catch his breath. It was unbearable; truly unbearable, especially wearing cotton slippers which hindered his speed. Pushing himself further, Duan Wenxuan eventually collapsed onto the ground.

“Stop!”

Within two or three seconds of Duan Wenxuan sitting down, he found himself surrounded by three individuals. Each of them held a rough wooden stick, all now pointing at him.

“Who are you?”

These three people were also heavily panting, having gone several days with little to no food. Duan Wenxuan, accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle and rarely exercising, couldn’t endure such sudden exertion.

As for these three, they were purely famished.

Strangely enough, their speech carried a thick accent that Duan Wenxuan was certain he had neither learned nor heard before, yet he somehow understood what they meant.

Dressed in cotton pajamas and wearing fuzzy slippers, Duan Wenxuan appeared distinctly out of place compared to the trio.

The three figures seemed tall and imposing, clad in worn-out padded clothing, almost ragged. They used straw-twisted ropes around their waists to prevent their tattered trousers from falling off.

Their complexions were poor, deeply sallow, with sunken cheeks resembling mere skin stretched over their jawbones. Their faces looked haggard, lips severely dry and cracked, devoid of any color.

“Who are you?” The one leading stepped forward, directly jabbing his stick against Duan Wenxuan’s neck.

“Wenjie, what he’s holding… seems like food,” another man said, intensely staring at the bag containing three remaining slices of toast in Duan Wenxuan’s hand.

“Don’t kill me or hit me; it’s food, for you.” Without hesitation, Duan Wenxuan swiftly handed over the bread bag. Strangely, his words automatically translated into the local language.

At that moment, Duan Wenxuan had no time to ponder this; survival was paramount.

The man named Wenjie also fixated on the bag intently. He had never seen such food before, but he could sense that whatever was inside must be delicious.

One of the men immediately moved to snatch it away.

“Hands off!” Suppressing his hunger-induced craving, Wenjie struck his companion’s hand with a wooden stick. “Don’t touch it until we get some answers.”

His authority was evident; the would-be thief, though angered, refrained from further protest.

“You’re not one of the refugees from the south, unlike us. Who are you?”

Duan Wenxuan rapidly brainstormed, and after just two seconds, he spoke, “My name is Duan Wenxuan… I’m not a refugee. I was out with friends for leisure when we encountered bandits last night. Somehow, they knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, all my belongings were gone, and I found myself here.”

Wenjie and his companions exchanged glances, reluctantly accepting Duan Wenxuan’s explanation.

Duan Wenxuan appeared with fair skin, delicate hands, and wore clean clothes of high-quality fabric, clearly indicating he was from a wealthy family untouched by calamity. Judging by his demeanor, it seemed likely that some friends had deceived him, intentionally causing trouble and abandoning him in this remote wilderness.

“Master Duan, we’d like to propose a deal.” The leader pointed to himself, “My name is Xia Wenjie, and these are my cousins, Xia Wenxue and Xia Wenwu. Master Duan, give us your food, and for the next few days, we’ll protect you. Once your family finds you, all we ask is for Wenxue and Wenwu to serve as your servants. Is that acceptable?”

Ah?!

Servants? Master?

What era were they living in? And why did Xia Wenjie’s proposal feel somewhat coercive?

Upon hearing Xia Wenjie’s words, pain flickered across the faces of the other two men, but it wasn’t self-inflicted anguish; rather, it stemmed from their inability to involve Xia Wenjie in their plight. Subsequently, their expressions turned slightly menacing yet tinged with desperate pleading.

“Will you agree or not?!” Xia Wenjie’s eyes flashed with menace.

“Yes, yes, I agree to everything.”

Xia Wenjie visibly relaxed.

Wenxue and Wenwu put away their wooden sticks and stepped forward to help Duan Wenxuan up, promptly taking his loaf of bread from him.

Duan Wenxuan planned to find an opportunity to slip away, but for now, he couldn’t leave. Following the three Xia brothers, they quickly returned to the refugee gathering area where the Xia family had set up three makeshift tents on an open patch of land.

As they approached, Duan Wenxuan felt a profound sense of disbelief, struggling to articulate his shock.

The landscape was densely covered in yellow soil, devoid of any hint of greenery. In this bitterly cold weather, many people lay scattered like lifeless corpses on rocks or the ground… only occasional eye movements indicated they were still alive.

Occasionally, Duan Wenxuan heard muffled cries that would abruptly stop after just a few moments. Crying drained energy; if one could avoid it, they did.

It became clear why most hadn’t chased after him earlier; the majority lacked even the strength to stand. Only a handful of children around five or six years old, noses running, faces frostbitten and red, with swollen, dirty hands, strained to dig through the parched earth, seemingly searching for something elusive.

“Where… where exactly is this place?” Duan Wenxuan instinctively looked towards the Xia brothers and noticed Xia Wenjie had slipped into the best-constructed tent nearby, its exterior covered with fur coats to ward off some of the cold wind.

“His sister gave birth just days ago,” Xia Wenxue explained, observing Duan Wenxuan’s shocked expression. “Two days after the baby was born, it starved to death. Now only his sister remains, but without any food, she too will soon perish.”

“You all… you all… isn’t there anyone taking care of you?”

“There’s fighting everywhere. The southern regions have run out of supplies, and everyone is fleeing from famine. We initially planned to walk to Yushui Prefecture; we heard conditions were better there. However, by the time we arrived, over a million people had already flooded into Yushui, overwhelming their resources. As a result, they stopped allowing newcomers. With insufficient clothing and scarce food, we can’t reach anywhere else either. It seems we’re all destined to die on this journey.”

Duan Wenxuan’s heart sank, realizing they were living in a war-torn era.

With this thought, Duan Wenxuan felt increasingly uneasy. The wartime is the most chaotic; he feared he would die here on Xuanlan Star, but since he could come to this place, there must be a way to return.

He had to go back; he couldn’t survive here.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Duan Wenxuan suddenly experienced a sharp pain on the back of his right hand, akin to being scalded by intense steam. Instinctively shaking his hand, he then pulled it close and looked down, only to discover a ‘door’ symbol etched onto his skin-a vertical line with two horizontal lines resembling a door frame. Intricate patterns wound along the main structure, making it quite peculiar.

Following the pain, Duan Wenxuan found three pieces of information inexplicably appearing in his mind:

First, he could return, but he needed to stay for twenty-four hours according to Xuanlan Star’s time measurement, equivalent to one full day and night.

Second, upon returning, he could bring any person or object with him, but they would enter a default state of Deathly Stillness. Only after re-entering their original world would they return to normal.

Third, every fifteen days on Xuanlan Star, which equates to 360 hours, the door would open to a new world, requiring him to remain within that world for at least twenty-four hours.

It’s truly…the world has changed. After encountering that peculiar mutant lady last night, Duan Wenxuan felt his worldview and beliefs were rapidly veering towards an unpredictable direction.

However, thankfully, he could return home.

Twenty-four hours, not too long; he could endure it.

After speaking briefly with Xia Wenjie, Duan Wenxuan observed as Xia Wenjie supported an elderly man, weathered by hardship, who upon seeing him immediately bowed and repeatedly thanked him for saving their lives.

Earlier, they had soaked a piece of toast in warm water, softened it, and fed it to Xia Wenjie’s sister. Now, she already had enough strength to open her eyes.

There were two remaining slices of toast, which Xia Wenjie kept hidden close to his chest.

Even before the famine, he had never encountered such fragrant food. Soft like a large white steamed bun, yet even more enticing. Seeing how nonchalant Duan Wenxuan was earlier, Xia Wenjie realized just how affluent Duan Wenxuan’s family must be.

The reason he chased after Duan Wenxuan without resorting to murder and theft was partly due to his lack of courage, but also because he wanted to seek a chance for survival for his two younger brothers.

If later on, Duan Wenxuan’s family discovered they had killed someone amidst this chaos, seeking revenge wouldn’t be difficult. A mere call would find many willing to risk their lives for a few liters of grain.

After Old Man Xia’s frantic movements, he collapsed unconscious.

Xia Wenjie quickly supported him and eased him to sit on the ground. Half-fainting yet still sobbing, the sight of Old Man Xia stirred mixed emotions within Duan Wenxuan.

“I’ll bring you some food later,” Duan Wenxuan sighed.

Once they endured here for twenty-four hours, this place would be no different from the new world, as Duan Wenxuan had free access between both worlds.

The eyes of Xia Wenxue and Xia Wenwu lit up, filled with surprise and joy. They could tell that Duan Wenxuan genuinely pitied them, speaking those words from his heart.

With the influx of refugees in Yushui Region, rumors suggested food prices had skyrocketed. However, this young master appeared oblivious to the hardships faced by common people, having never experienced such struggles himself, which made him more susceptible to acts of kindness.

There was little they could do; driven by hunger, they were willing to eat almost anything except humans out of desperation.

“Master Duan, if you feed us well, we brothers would dare to commit any act, even murder or arson.” Wenwu’s demeanor looked fierce, possessing somewhat of a heroic air compared to Wenjie’s cautiousness. Additionally, unlike Wenxue’s gentle countenance, Wenwu seemed more unreserved.

He never wanted to experience that soul-crushing hunger again in his lifetime.

Wenxue was startled by Wenwu’s words and hastily pulled at him.

On the other hand, Xia Wenjie approached Duan Wenxuan and said, “Back in our hometown, we three brothers were quite strong. A martial instructor, who used to escort caravans, taught us some staff techniques. Nowadays, it’s the era of guns and cannons, but without firearms at hand, if you ensure we’re well-fed, taking on ten men wouldn’t be a problem for us.”

The message was clear: If we’re well-fed, we’ll protect you, ensuring you never again face such deception and abandonment in the wilderness.

With the assurance that they could return home, Duan Wenxuan felt completely reassured. His demeanor showed no trace of fear as he engaged warmly in conversation with the Xia brothers, choosing to overlook their earlier half-threatening behavior.

As darkness fell, Duan Wenxuan gained a deeper understanding of the situation here.

It became apparent why the Xia brothers dared not speak openly about seeking employment or even resorted to threatening him. The sheer number of refugees made competition fierce. For wealthy households looking for help, finding suitable candidates was incredibly easy.

Previously, benevolent individuals from Yushui Region had sent out scouts to select a few women. When word spread that people were being hired, countless individuals desperately vied for those positions, heads literally bruised from scrambling.

For men, however, there were far fewer opportunities, almost none at all. Men consumed more food yet offered little practical use most of the time. When labor was needed, hiring temporary workers sufficed. With farming season not yet upon them, what sense would it make to support able-bodied men idly? Moreover, Yushui Region already had an abundance of job-seeking refugees, driving the cost of labor to rock-bottom levels.

Women, on the other hand, were different. They could serve as maids, become concubines within households, and bear children.

In this region, there was truly scarce food, and nights were bitterly cold, with a biting chill to the bone.

The Xia brothers had no intention of letting others ‘taint’ Duan Wenxuan. With so many pitiful people around, Duan Wenxuan couldn’t possibly attend to them all; otherwise, he might end up being unable to help anyone effectively.

Although the Xia brothers were simple folk, they possessed a cunningness typical of rural dwellers. Fortunately, they were skilled in stick-fighting techniques and stood united, which deterred nearby starving peasants from provoking them.

At night, Duan Wenxuan slept in the tent of Xia Wenjie’s sister. At this point, concerns about propriety seemed trivial, especially since his sister had grown frail, almost ghost-like, making it unlikely any man would have the appetite for such matters.

Inside the tent, conditions were only slightly better than outside. Huddled in a corner, Duan Wenxuan embraced his legs, occasionally hearing weak coughs from the unfortunate woman nearby.

He fervently wished for the twenty-four hours to pass quickly.

On the following morning, Duan Wenxuan felt a slight burning sensation on the back of his hand.

It was nearly time.

Duan Wenxuan found an excuse to go to the restroom, with Xia Wenxue accompanying him, claiming it was for protection. Unspoken between them was the additional purpose of supervision, fearing that Duan Wenxuan might try to escape.

Duan Wenxuan found a wind-sheltered spot near a rock, and moments later, he felt a sudden dizziness. When his surroundings came into focus, it was as if awakening from a dream—he found himself already in his bedroom.

The white cat stared blankly at the wardrobe door, then upon noticing Duan Wenxuan, took two steps forward and sat down again. Its emerald green eyes, once unsettling to Duan Wenxuan, now seemed devoid of expression, merely dull.

This was because the white cat was in a state of Deathly Stillness.

Last night, the door had opened, allowing this unknown cat with exceptionally low odds to pass through from another world.

During the first opening of a new world’s door, Duan Wenxuan could not control its ‘closure’, leading to unexpected incidents where entities from the new world might escape through. Only after waiting for twenty-four hours could Duan Wenxuan shut the door, such as now. However, escapes did not pose significant issues for him; any living creature passing through would automatically enter a ‘Deathly Stillness’ state and remain obedient to him.

But that mutant… those eyes filled with bloodlust and madness… were decidedly not in a state of Deathly Stillness.

A shiver ran through Duan Wenxuan. Though fearful, he couldn’t help but acknowledge that something seemed different about this world.