On the morning of the third day, the camp woke up to a commotion.

Lin Feng had just finished filling the water vat when he saw Scarface stumbling back from outside the camp with a few others.

The team was clearly missing one person, and everyone was injured.

Scarface's left arm was wrapped in a makeshift cloth bandage, and blood had already seeped through.

“What happened?” The door to the two-story building was pushed open, and the Bald Boss stepped out, his brow furrowed.

“Ran into a Hard-Shelled Beast,” Scarface said hoarsely. “In that Stone Forest to the northwest. The beast can burrow; Old Six didn't dodge in time...”

He spoke briefly, but everyone understood—another person was dead.

Black Wind Camp's population was already small, and combat personnel capable of going out to hunt were even more precious.

Every loss meant the camp's survival capability dropped a notch.

The boss remained silent for a few seconds, his one eye scanning the remaining men. “And the harvest?”

Scarface motioned for the people behind him to bring forward several items: a thick beast hide, several sharp bone spikes, and a few pieces of ore with a metallic luster.

“The Hard-Shelled Beast's hide can be made into armor, the bone spikes can be made into weapons, and the ore was found in the Stone Forest—it has a high iron content,” Scarface reported. “But the price was too high.”

The boss nodded, his expression softening slightly. “Put the items in storage. Those who are injured, go to Old Wu's and get some medicine.”

The team dispersed to tend to their wounds. Scarface didn't rush to leave; he stood there, scanning the camp, his gaze finally landing on Lin Feng, who was chopping wood.

Lin Feng felt the gaze and looked up. Their eyes met in the air.

Scarface beckoned to him.

Lin Feng put down his axe and walked over. “Brother Ba, you're injured.”

“Minor wound.” Scarface waved it off, staring at him for a few seconds. “You, kid, you've seemed a bit different these past two days.”

Lin Feng's heart tightened, but he kept a calm face. “Maybe I've just adapted.”

“It's not just adapting.” Scarface shook his head but didn't press further. “My team is short a person. Do you want in?”

Lin Feng was stunned.

Joining the hunting team meant greater risk, but it also meant better treatment—more food, the right to live in a complete wooden house, and even access to basic equipment.

More importantly, he could gain combat experience and level up quickly.

“The boss's side...” Lin Feng hesitated.

“I'll go talk to him.” Scarface turned and walked toward the two-story building. “Wait here.”

He had no choice. Only one day remained of the three-day deadline. If he couldn't show his 'value,' he would still be kicked out—or carried out.

Ten minutes later, Scarface came out, his expression not looking very good.

“The boss agreed, but there's a condition.” He walked up to Lin Feng. “On the next hunt, you must kill a monster with your own hands.

If you can't do it, then get lost and do the dirtiest work until you drop dead.”

Lin Feng took a deep breath. “I understand. Thank you, Brother Ba.”

“Don't thank me too early.” Scarface looked at him. “We set out tomorrow morning for the swamp to the east. Get some rest tonight and fill your stomach.”

He was about to leave when Lin Feng called out to him, “Brother Ba, your injury...”

“I said it's a minor wound.” Scarface waved his hand, but after a couple of steps he stopped and looked back at Lin Feng with a complex gaze. “Kid, are you eighteen this year?”

“Just turned eighteen.”

Scarface was silent for a few seconds, his voice suddenly becoming very low. “My son is also eighteen this year. Back on Blue Star, he should be in the same batch as you.”

Lin Feng was stunned. This was the first time he had heard Scarface talk about himself.

“A year ago, I was the captain of the guards at a village-level territory to the northwest.” Scarface leaned against the wall and lit a homemade cigarette, the smoke blurring his face.

“It wasn't big, just a few hundred people. My wife was a teacher on Blue Star, and my son was in his second year of high school. Life was decent enough.”

He took a puff and slowly exhaled. “Then the Nightmare Tide came. It was three times stronger than estimated.

The walls broke. I led my men in a desperate defense for an hour, but in the end... we still couldn't hold it.”

The cigarette butt flickered in the darkness.

“The territory was destroyed. Although my avatar in the Nightmare World survived, I lost my foundation and couldn't return to Blue Star—do you know why?”

Lin Feng shook his head. Classes only taught the consequences of a territory's destruction, but never mentioned the whereabouts of those who managed to survive it.

“The avatar and the original body are linked.” Scarface's voice was very calm, so calm it was unsettling.

“When you are in the Nightmare World, your body on Blue Star enters 'Phase Etherealization,' making it immune to physical damage, but your consciousness isn't there; you're like a vegetable.”

“Want to return to Blue Star? Theoretically, as long as you actively cut the connection, your consciousness can switch back—but there's a prerequisite:

You must be standing on a territory recognized by a National Fortune Cauldron. Of course, there's another way—die your way back.”

Lin Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

Lin Feng fell silent. He hadn't expected the cruelty of the Nightmare World to extend beyond the fighting.

“Brother Ba, what level are you now?” He changed the subject.

“Level 7,” Scarface said. “The boss is Level 10, stuck there. Without a Class Change Book, Level 10 is the cap.”

“Are Class Change Books really that hard to get?”

“Harder than climbing to heaven.” Scarface shook his head. “The drop rate is already low, and you have to hunt specific monsters for it to be even slightly better.

Besides, the places where those high-level monsters hang out have long been locked down by major factions.

People like us without a background can't squeeze in at all. Usually, the monsters we can fight are lower level than us, so we don't get experience from killing them.

Taking several years to gain a single level is considered a blessing. Otherwise, why do you think I'm only Level 7?”

He paused and patted Lin Feng's shoulder. “Don't think about those unrealistic things. Focus on surviving first.

If you raise your level and strengthen your attributes, you can bring part of that back to Blue Star even if you return.

If you manage to survive here, you can at least be a martial arts coach back home and won't starve.”

He turned to leave and added one more thing: “By the way, don't call me Brother Ba from now on. My name is Zhao Hu.”

“Alright, Big Brother Zhao.”

Zhao Hu left. Lin Feng stood where he was, digesting the information he had just received.

The avatar mechanism, the level cap, the preciousness of Class Change Books... and Zhao Hu's story.

This man, who looked so fierce on the outside, hid so much in his heart.

That evening, Lin Feng's treatment improved significantly. The old man in the kitchen gave him an extra half-bowl of meat and threw him a relatively clean blanket.

“I heard you're joining the hunting team?”

The old man said as he stirred the soup in the pot, “Good. It's better than rotting away here.”

“Thank you for taking care of me these past few days,” Lin Feng said sincerely.

The old man waved his hand. “Wait until you survive to thank me.”

Late at night, Lin Feng lay on his straw mat but couldn't sleep.

Tomorrow, he would truly step onto the battlefield of the Nightmare World.

Feeling the strength and resilience within his body that far exceeded an ordinary person's, Lin Feng quickly assessed his situation.

He remembered clearly that an ordinary [N O V E L I G H T] Level 5 Awakened's initial attributes were only 5 points each, and they only gained 1 free attribute point per level.

Often, to pursue early killing power, they would extreme-allocate points into Strength or Agility.

For example, Strength 8, Agility 6, but Constitution would be a pitiful 5 points.

While that certainly made their strikes more powerful and their movements more flexible, their bodies were frail, leaving very little room for error.

But what about him? His three main attributes—Constitution, Strength, and Agility—were each as high as 7.5!

Lin Feng quickly calculated in his head: that meant his strength should be at the level of an ordinary Level 5 or 6 Awakened, and his health bar was longer than theirs.

Besides that, the instinctive memories belonging to a 'General' in his mind—those vague insights into exerting force, dodging, and attacking vital points—were the true trump cards that ordinary newcomers could never obtain, no matter how they allocated their points.

My starting point is almost the perfect form of an ordinary person at Level 5... and I also have an extra combat instinct.

But he lacked practical combat experience, which was his biggest shortcoming.

“I must be careful,” Lin Feng told himself. “The first goal is to survive; the second is to kill monsters and level up.”

He closed his eyes and began to recall all the knowledge he had learned in class about the creatures of the marshlands.

Poison Leeches, Swamp Crocodiles, Corrosive Poison Toads... each had a deadly way of attacking.

Then there was the environment itself—the marsh mud would swallow those who couldn't move easily, poisonous miasmas would spread at specific times, and certain areas might have hidden pits.

The bonfire outside gradually died out, and the sound of snoring rose and fell throughout the camp.

Lin Feng turned over on his straw mat, forcing himself to fall asleep.

Tomorrow would be a brand new day.

What he didn't know was that at this moment, Zhao Hu was standing by the window, looking toward the kitchen shed, silent for a long time.

“Son, if you've also Awakened...” Zhao Hu whispered to himself, “just don't be like your dad.”

He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes.

In his dreams, he returned to that fallen territory.

Flames reached the sky, and the sound of crying and screaming was endless.

And he could do nothing.

Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened.