Before the simulation began, Chen Yi adjusted his trait slots.
He currently had no martial arts realm and could only equip a maximum of three traits. "Simulator" was mandatory equipment; otherwise, he couldn't simulate.
Since it was a simulation, there was no need for "Super Beast's Pain Sense."
Getting beaten up or injured in the simulation could just be endured; the real him wouldn't feel the pain anyway.
[The tide comes to the Qiantang River; today I finally know who I am.]
[Your hometown was slaughtered, your family all perished. Under this immense shock, you awakened your past-life wisdom, realizing you were a transmigrator.]
[With Da Chun's sudden inspiration, he pulled you into the river to escape.]
[While unconscious, you drifted into Qinghe County Town's territory, were picked up by the Black Stone Gang, and were forced into hard labor at the dock they controlled.]
[Under the whips of the Black Stone Gang, you and the other laborers were like walking corpses, not knowing what tomorrow held.]
[Year One, Age Eighteen.]
[Starting trait draw...]
[Draw successful!]
[「Little White Stripe in the Waves」(White): Water affinity strengthens, swimming skill increases to national athlete level.]
[Adjust traits? (The simulated you will not actively adjust traits; this option only appears during the annual trait draw, allowing you to decide which traits to equip.)]
[Yes/No]
The simulation paused, waiting for Chen Yi to make a choice.
"Does the first year count as a year too?"
The simulation's time should follow real-world time. In reality, he had already drawn this year, but the simulation allowed another draw.
Probably a perk of the simulator.
Chen Yi felt this trait needed to be equipped.
He was right by the river; being good at swimming definitely wouldn't hurt.
[You replaced 「Hunger Resistance」 with 「Little White Stripe in the Waves」.]
[You realize you have started the simulation.]
[You really want to do whatever you please, but currently your strength is lowly and your situation is precarious. Acting recklessly would easily lead to death.]
[You suppress the restlessness in your heart. You know you must survive longer in the simulation to draw more traits.]
["Hurry up! Three more boatloads of cargo today! If you don't finish, no food for three days!"]
[The foreman's whip cracks made the laborers tremble.]
[On the surface, you pretended to be afraid, but inwardly you were already calculating how many ways you'd kill these bastards once you became strong.]
[Nightfall.]
[You were just about to rest when you heard the voice of the foreman, Wang Qiang.]
["Three men! There's a sweet job!"]
[A good deal? You didn't believe it. You pretended to sleep.]
["Chen Yi! Stop pretending to sleep! I saw you just peeing by the river!"]
[Helpless, you could only get up and walk over. Otherwise, Wang Qiang would definitely beat you up and then make you do the "sweet job."]
[Wang Qiang said to you three laborers.]
["Tomorrow before dawn, someone will take you three ten li downstream to the Qing River Pavilion to deliver a meal to the River God! After the job is done, you can go to the Red-Light House and have fun for three days!"]
Was it delivering a meal to the River God, or delivering these three people to be the River God's meal?
If you're gone, how can you go to the Red-Light House?
Chen Yi had heard some old laborers say there was a river demon in the Qing River that liked to eat people.
Whenever its craving hit, it would stir up waves to capsize boats.
Later, the Black Stone Gang arrived, and incidents of the river demon stirring up trouble decreased a lot.
The old folks believed the Black Stone Gang had reached an agreement with the river demon, actively sending a few people down to it every month so it wouldn't disrupt the water transport.
Judging from the simulation content, it was probably true.
"So, I need to lay low tonight..."
Thankfully, with the simulation, he got the news in advance. Chen Yi noted it down secretly.
But he didn't know if the simulated him could survive this calamity.
["Damn it!"]
[You cursed inwardly, knowing you were doomed.]
[In that case, escape tonight!]
[In the latter half of the night, when everyone was sound asleep, you leaped up and plunged into the water.]
[You wanted to swim to the opposite bank!]
[The Qing River's current was swift. Before, you would never have used this method to escape, as you'd surely be caught or drown from exhaustion.]
[But now, you had the 「Little White Stripe in the Waves」 trait. You could take the gamble!]
[Staying here meant you wouldn't live to see tomorrow night anyway!]
[You thrashed hard in the water. Your swimming technique had indeed improved greatly. Swimming to the opposite bank like this was completely doable!]
[Haha! I'm going free!]
[Hearing the splashing sound, a group of laborers on the dock stood up, shouting loudly.]
["Chen Yi ran! Someone, quick!"]
[Dammit! They were all pretending to sleep?!]
[The laborers were so vigilant because you were all under collective responsibility.]
[If one person ran, everyone in the same team would be implicated, lightly punished with a severe beating, or heavily punished with death by a thousand cuts and having their skin hung.]
[The Black Stone Gang members were alerted.]
[Wang Qiang snorted coldly.]
["Let's see if you swim faster, or our boat is faster!"]
[Wang Qiang took his men onto a boat and was about to weigh anchor when suddenly flames shot into the sky from the shore.]
["Hahaha! It's on fire!!"]
[Da Chun had splashed the dock's lighting braziers onto a pile of cargo that hadn't been shipped yet.]
[The fire instantly blazed up, throwing the entire dock into chaos.]
["Put out the fire! If this batch of cargo burns, the gang leader will have our heads!"]
[Wang Qiang could no longer spare the effort to chase you and hurriedly led his men to fetch water and fight the fire.]
[In the firelight, you vaguely saw a group of Black Stone Gang members, cursing and brandishing cleavers, pouncing on Da Chun.]
[Blood splattered five paces.]
Seeing this, Chen Yi's expression changed with emotion.
Da Chun had already saved him once back in Luoding Village.
He never expected that in the simulation, upon discovering he was trying to escape, Da Chun would still help him without hesitation.
Even at the cost of his own life.
Chen Yi looked at Da Chun beside him.
Right now, because he wasn't getting enough to eat, he was squatting on the ground, drooling while looking at the thin porridge in other people's bowls.
He might not have high intelligence, but he was loyal and righteous.
Chen Yi thought to himself that if he ever had the ability to escape the Black Stone Gang in the future, he would definitely take Da Chun with him.
["Splash splash splash..."]
[The river water churned.]
[There was no time to grieve for Da Chun's death. His sacrifice must not be in vain.]
[You must survive!]
[Survive until the day you obtain a cultivation opportunity!]
[Then inherit the cultivation from the simulation, allowing the real you and Da Chun to escape the oppression of the Black Stone Gang!]
[You mustered all your strength, swimming across the cold, swift river current to the opposite bank.]
[Heaven be praised, that River God, or river demon, in the river did not appear.]
[Perhaps it had already received the Black Stone Gang's message and was waiting at that mysterious delivery point downstream, so it didn't notice the situation upstream.]
[After coming ashore, you faced the choice of where to go next.]
[1. Go seek refuge with Third Sister in Baiyun County Town;]
[2. Wander the wilderness, hide in the deep mountains and old forests;]
[3. Swim back.]
[Please make your choice:]
The simulation paused again, waiting for Chen Yi to decide the subsequent course.
Chen Yi considered.
Option three was a joke, eliminated outright.
Seek refuge with Third Sister, or hide in the wild?
Chen Yi actually had three siblings.
Elder Brother and Second Sister went missing while gathering herbs in the mountains when he was eight, and there had been no news of them since.
Third Sister married into Baiyun County Town when he was fifteen.
"I remember Third Brother-in-law is a martial artist. If I go seek refuge with Third Sister, I should be able to get in touch with the martial path. Maybe I can ask how to obtain a root bone, or if one can cultivate without a root bone?"
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