1: Death squad

His head throbbed, and his stomach hurt even more.

“Hungry...”

Lin Mo woke up on a pile of hay in a ruined temple, taking a long time to accept reality.

It wasn't a dream or a hallucination; he had truly transmigrated.

The air was thick with the scent of dust, and the distant sounds of carriages and shouting drifted over, spoken in a dialect he could barely understand.

His coarse clothes were tattered, his limbs were thin and weak, and the gnawing hunger in his belly felt as if it would consume him.

Just as his vision began to fade and he was about to pass out again, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in his mind without warning:

【Death Squad System activated.】

【Core rules are as follows:】

【1. Basic Stacking: Automatically summon one Basic Death Warrior daily. Death Warriors are absolutely loyal, with initial physical attributes 1.5 times that of a healthy adult male, and possess one random basic skill.】

【For every Death Warrior summoned, 100% of their total basic physical attributes will be permanently stacked onto the host.】

【2. Cultivation Feedback: All growth achieved by Death Warriors through cultivation, including Internal Energy, insights, and combat experience, will be synchronously stacked onto the host at an 80% conversion rate.】

【Warning: The existence of the System is the host's highest secret; any disclosure will trigger unknown punishment.】

【Today's Death Warrior has been delivered.】

The moment the voice faded, the air in front of Lin Mo distorted slightly, and a figure materialized from the void.

It was a man in his early twenties with a sallow complexion and a large frame, wearing patched hemp clothes and possessing a somewhat dull gaze.

Upon appearing, his eyes were initially dazed, but they quickly focused on Lin Mo. Without the slightest hesitation, he knelt on one knee and spoke in a raspy but clear voice: “Master.”

At the same time—

A warm current surged out of nowhere, instantly rushing into his limbs, bones, and internal organs!

“Ugh—” Lin Mo couldn't help but let out a low growl as his body trembled violently.

His originally weak and limp muscles bulged and tightened slightly, and his bones emitted faint but dense 'crackling' sounds, as if undergoing a second stage of development.

The world before him suddenly became several times clearer; the spiderwebs in the corner and the fine dust floating in the air were now vividly visible.

He could now clearly distinguish the various sounds of the distant market—the haggling, the crying of children, and the rolling of wheels.

The most obvious change was his strength.

Lin Mo instinctively clenched his fist, his knuckles popping as an unprecedented sense of power surged in his hand.

He felt as if he could kill a bull with a single punch right now!

“One hundred percent stacking... the entirety of a Death Warrior whose physical attributes are 1.5 times that of an ordinary person is added directly to me?”

Lin Mo forced himself to calm down and quickly analyzed the situation. “My current basic Physique is at least equivalent to the sum of three healthy adult males, and it's not a simple addition, but the result of perfect Fusion and optimization.”

He looked at the Death Warrior kneeling respectfully before him. The System automatically granted him recognition: Code Name 【One】, Random Skill: 【Weight-Bearing Endurance】.

“One, stand up,” Lin Mo said, his voice much steadier and more powerful than before.

“Yes, Master.” One stood up and stood at attention with his hands down, his eyes empty but loyal, awaiting orders.

Lin Mo walked over to a temple pillar, which was a slightly decayed wooden beam about the thickness of a bowl's mouth.

He took a breath and, without using his full strength—using only about fifty percent—threw a punch.

Bang!

Wood chips flew! A clear fist print appeared on the pillar, half an inch deep, with the surrounding wood splintered.

Lin Mo withdrew his fist; the skin was slightly red but not broken.

He estimated in his mind, “That punch had about four hundred pounds of impact force. My body now... is practically a human Vicious Beast.”

After the initial wild joy came a deeper sense of vigilance.

This world was by no means as peaceful as his previous life. The existence of such a miraculous System itself indicated that the level of this world was not simple.

The most important thing right now was to survive and make full use of the System.

“One, do you have any money or food on you?” Lin Mo asked.

One shook his head silently.

Lin Mo wasn't surprised. “Follow me. Let's get something to eat first.”

He led One out of the ruined temple.

The sunlight was somewhat blinding. The street was a packed dirt road lined with low brick-and-wood houses. Passersby wore ancient-style clothing, and an occasional horse carriage passed by.

The architectural style and the appearance of the people were similar to ancient China, but the details were different—for example, the characters on some signs were somewhat familiar yet different, requiring him to guess based on the graphics.

Qingyuan Town—Lin Mo confirmed the name of the place from passersby and various signs.

The original owner of this body seemed to have been a refugee. His memories were blurred and fragmented, only remembering that his name was Lin Mo, he came from the north, his hometown had suffered a disaster, and he had fled all the way here, finally breathing his last in the ruined temple.

His stomach growled again. His metabolism seemed faster after the stacking, making the hunger feel even more intense.

Lin Mo saw a stall by the road selling Multigrain Cakes. The golden-brown cakes emitted steam that made his throat move, but he was penniless.

“One, go to the docks and see if there's any labor work like hauling. Earn some copper coins and come back,” Lin Mo instructed in a low voice.

This was the fastest way he could think of to obtain starting capital. One had the 【Weight-Bearing Endurance】 skill, which was perfect for this.

“Yes.” Without any questions, One turned and walked toward the east side of town with steady, powerful steps.

Lin Mo found a quiet corner nearby to sit down. While waiting, he observed this strange world and organized his thoughts.

“One Death Warrior every day, and one 100% physical attribute stack every day. This means my Physical Body's growth has almost no upper limit, as long as I have enough time.”

“Death Warriors can also Cultivate, and 80% of their cultivation results are fed back to me. Me Cultivating alone is equivalent to a group of people Cultivating simultaneously, and they are absolutely loyal and won't betray me.”

A vague plan began to take shape in Lin Mo's mind... After about an hour, One returned.

He brought back five Multigrain Cakes and fifteen copper coins. His face had several fresh bloody scratches, and his clothes were torn in a few places.

“What happened?” Lin Mo took the cakes and asked while swallowing a large mouthful.

“A Gang controls the hauling work at the docks,” One's voice remained flat.

“I went to find work, and they said I was a new face. I had to either pay twenty wen as an entry fee or get lost. I chose the third path and took the job of a lone porter.”

One briefly described the process.

He ignored the threats from the Gang thugs and directly shouldered two sacks—a weight usually carried by two people—and steadily made ten trips.

The foreman, seeing how strong and hardworking he was, quietly gave him this payment for the short-term labor.

Those thugs tried to stop him, but One knocked one aside. Seeing One's terrifying strength, the others didn't dare to stop him by force, only leaving behind harsh words.

“They said I was causing trouble on the Black Fish Gang's territory and that they'd break my legs the next time they saw me.”

When One said this, his eyes remained dull, as if he were speaking about something unrelated to himself.

Lin Mo chewed on the coarse but filling Multigrain Cake, his brain working rapidly.

Black Fish Gang—it sounded like a small local Gang.

Controlling low-level labor like dock hauling meant their influence wasn't huge, but they couldn't be ignored either. As for blaming One for causing trouble, he wouldn't.

Aside from the fact that One was following his orders and filling their stomachs was the priority, One's current mind didn't seem capable of thinking about overly complex matters.

He now had One, a loyal Death Warrior with extraordinary strength, plus his own physical attributes equivalent to three strong men. Dealing with a few ordinary thugs shouldn't be a problem.

However, a Gang usually had dozens or even hundreds of people; a head-on confrontation would be unwise.

“How many people are in the Black Fish Gang? Who is the boss? Where do they usually operate?” Lin Mo asked.

One shook his head. “I only worked at the docks and don't know the details. But I heard the workers whispering that the Black Fish Gang has thirty or forty people. The boss is nicknamed Black Fish Head, a ruthless man who controls the docks, two gambling dens, and several brothels.”

Lin Mo finished his third cake, and his hunger subsided slightly. He weighed the remaining twelve copper coins in his hand; three wen had been spent on the cakes.

Twelve wen was enough for about two or three days of the simplest food in this world.

But most importantly, there were still about two hours until tomorrow.

“Find a place to rest and wait,” Lin Mo decided.

The two returned to the ruined temple. Lin Mo sent One to fetch some water from a nearby well while he lay down on the hay, closing his eyes to rest.

The sense of power surging in his body made him feel more secure, but his stomach was still empty.

He needed more food, and even more, he needed safety and development.

Time passed bit by bit.