Chapter 1: Famine at the Start, a System Awakens
Beijing in the third year of the Chongzhen reign tasted of rot. The air was thick with a cloying stench that clung to the skin, a mix of thawing frost and the sweet sickness of decomposing flesh. When Lin Xiao’s consciousness finally snapped back, the first thing he felt wasn’t pain. It was hunger. His stomach wall felt like it was being gnawed apart by a hundred rats, the acid burning his throat until he retched violently. He strained to sit up, his gaze landing on a pair of ragged cloth shoes where his toes poked through the holes. The memory flickered—gone in a heartbeat. A modern logistics manager, dead from a heart attack, waking up in the capital of the Ming Dynasty as a bottom-of-the-barrel vagrant who didn’t even have a name anyone remembered.
The System’s cold, mechanical voice exploded in his mind: [Spatiotemporal Supply Chain System activated successfully. Initial Energy: 1 point. Available for exchanging basic supplies or opening Storage Space.]
Lin Xiao’s pupils contracted. As a senior executive who had weathered massive corporate storms, he was terrifyingly calm. He didn't cheer. He quickly scanned his surroundings. On either side of the street stood crumbling adobe houses. Here and there, dried-up corpses lay tossed carelessly in the gutters, swarmed by buzzing flies. In the distance, a few ragged figures huddled around a skinned dead cat. Their eyes were clouded with hunger and malice, locked onto the single, moldy black biscuit in Lin Xiao’s palm, like wolves watching their prey.
“Stop staring. That biscuit’s been spoiled for days. One bite and you’ll be on the toilet for a week, and your life’ll go out the window with it.” Lin Xiao’s voice was raspy, laced with an undeniable chill.
The group froze for a second, then broke into a low, mocking chuckle. The leader, a skinny, tall man, squinted at him. “Foreigner? Or some proud prick? Pride doesn’t fill your belly, buddy. Hand over that junk, and I’ll give you a quick death.”
Lin Xiao ignored him and turned his attention to the System interface.
[Exchange: High-Energy Ration (MIL-SPEC, 6,000 kcal per block), Cost: 1 Energy Point.]
[Exchange: Purified Water (Bottled, 500ml), Cost: 0.5 Energy Points.]
[Remaining Energy: 0.5 points.]
With a soft *ding*, a grey-black rectangular block and a clear plastic bag popped into his hands. Lin Xiao tore open the packaging. A rich, oily aroma instantly cut through the foul air. It was high-density food processed under extreme pressure. The taste wasn't gourmet, but in this era, it was a miracle.
The skinny guy’s nose twitched wildly, his throat bobbing. “What is that? Smells… smells like meat, but not rot meat. That’s grease? Pure animal fat!”
“Want it?” Lin Xiao took a small bite. The crisp crunch echoed in the dead-silent street. “You can trade your life for it.”
The street fell instantly silent. Every pair of hungry eyes focused on Lin Xiao. It wasn't fear; it was the tense pressure before a robbery. Lin Xiao smirked inwardly. Their reaction matched what he’d read in history books: in a famine, the morality of the bottom tier crumbles. Ethics are a luxury good.
He didn’t give them the chance to fight. He surged forward, dodging the skinny guy’s outstretched, skeletal hand, and slammed the bag of water directly into the man’s face. The icy liquid soaked into his withered skin, sending a weird, electric shock through him.
“You’re crazy! It’s a demon thing!” The skinny guy screamed, shielding his face and retreating, but the fear was gone from his eyes, replaced by deeper, darker lust. “Grab it! Even if it tastes like ash!”
The crowd surged, closing in on Lin Xiao. He took half a step back, his back hitting a mottled red wall. In the shadow of the corner, an old woman with a hunched back peeked out, clutching a smaller child tightly to her chest. The child’s face was a sickly yellow, lips cracked like dry riverbeds, staring blankly at the biscuit in Lin Xiao’s hand.
“Let me have some…” The old woman’s voice was frail, yet heart-wrenching. “My child is dying. In my village, the rule is to swap sons. But here, there’s no other village. We just steal from each other. Please. Just one bite for my kid.”
Lin Xiao looked at the child, brow furrowed. He wasn’t a saint. But the System had given him the smarts to survive. He knew that in this chaotic time, brute force would only invite disaster. He needed a shelter. A node to store System supplies.
“No food for you.” Lin Xiao said coldly. He pulled a High-Energy Ration from his space, but instead of handing it over, he held it up in front of the old woman. “I want this courtyard.”
The old woman blinked, dumbfounded. “Courtyard? That dump, even rats won’t stay there…”
“I need it as my warehouse.” Lin Xiao’s voice sped up. “I know you’re Aunt Liu, right? The guy living next door is a distant relative of Jinyiwei officer Chen Jiu. All I need is for you to hold off the vagrants today. In exchange, I guarantee you and that kid will eat full. But in return, I want the land deed for this place.”
The old woman’s eyes went wide. She clearly didn’t know what a land deed was, but she understood “eat full.” In a time when people starved, a promise of food outweighed gold.
“You… what will you use to fill my mouth?” Aunt Liu asked, probing.
Lin Xiao didn’t answer. He just broke the biscuit in half. He shoved the larger piece into the old woman’s hand and handed the smaller one to the child. The kid grabbed it instinctively, chewing furiously, his face flushing an unnatural red. The old woman’s hands shook so hard she nearly dropped the brick-hard biscuit.
“This is my sincerity.” Lin Xiao looked at the restless vagrants, raising his voice. “This Aunt Liu is willing to trade her last shred of dignity for her child’s life. Anyone who touches her is making an enemy of Lin Xiao. I have three hundred more of this ‘fairy food,’ but I only give it to those who listen.”
It was a lie, and a probe. The System’s inventory only had that one item, but Lin Xiao wore a look of absolute certainty. Sure enough, the vagrants hesitated. Faced with the raw instinct to survive, fear of the unknown power took the win. They watched Aunt Liu’s face light up with pure bliss as she ate, then looked at their empty hands. Finally, with a long sigh from the skinny guy, they slunk away.
Before he left, the skinny guy shot Lin Xiao a glare. “Remember what you said. I’ll let the Jinyiwei know. If they find out that thing is demonic, you’ll be beheaded three times over.”
Lin Xiao didn’t care. He turned to the old woman, his gaze hard. “Aunt Liu, I’m borrowing the courtyard. I’ll pay a bag of water as rent.”
The old woman clutched the small bag of water like a treasure. It was crystal clear. In this dust-choked city, it was worth more than gold. She nodded through her tears, then led Lin Xiao through the muddy alley into the dilapidated courtyard.
The place was tiny. The mud walls leaned, and the roof let the wind in. But to Lin Xiao, it was a ticket to the future. He walked to the corner, murmuring: [Open Storage Space.]
The world warped around him. An invisible boundary appeared in his mind. A ghostly image of a modern, multi-tier warehouse materialized—shelves organized, temperature and humidity constant. It could only hold one ton of supplies, but it was enough to get him through the initial crisis.
He quickly planned his layout, hiding the remaining rations in a secret niche in the wall and hanging the water bottle on the roof beam. After finishing, he took a deep breath, ready to rest before the dark fell completely.
Then, a soft sound came from the shadows.
“Smooth move, boss.”
A cold, magnetic voice drifted over the courtyard wall. Lin Xiao’s hackles raised. He snapped his head up. Moonlight spilled through the roof tiles, illuminating a man in a crimson fly-fish suit leaning on the wall. He was playing with a handkerchief, a half-smile on his lips.
It was Chen Jiu, a Jinyiwei Centurion, and Su Wan’s eye planted in the underbelly of the city.
Chen Jiu’s gaze swept the hidden niche, then landed on Lin Xiao. “One biscuit for a courtyard, and keeping that old woman quiet. Lin Xiao, you’re more interesting than I expected. But one of those vagrants was a plant. He’s already gone to report you. The charge? ‘Hoarder of demonic artifacts, intent on rebellion.’”
Lin Xiao clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. He knew the real danger was just starting. The System gave him supplies, but it also exposed him to the dark side.
“Does Lady Su know?” Lin Xiao forced himself to steady, lowering his voice.
Chen Jiu didn’t answer. He just tossed a token in his hand toward Lin Xiao. It spun in the air, silver glinting.
“Tomorrow at the Mao hour, the Eastern Depot will come for you. Remember, don’t make a mess of our territory.” Chen Jiu flipped over the wall, vanishing into the night instantly. His voice lingered in the broken courtyard: “Also, that biscuit. Tastes good. Save some for me next time.”
Lin Xiao held the cold token, feeling the mix of threat and invitation it carried. Outside, the wind wailed like a sob. In the depths of the capital’s darkness, countless eyes peeked through door cracks, greedily coveting the secret in his hand.
He had to make a choice tonight: keep crawling in this broken yard, or strike first? He could use the System’s Reverse Logistics function to send a regular Ming Dynasty copper coin to a future auction, earning the first pot of Historical Coins that would shock the court.
In his mind, the System’s countdown began.
Time until “Reverse Logistics” function cools down: 3 hours.
A cold, ruthless glint flashed in Lin Xiao’s eyes. In this game, he refused to be just a pawn. He stood up, walking to the copper coin, rubbing it gently with his finger. In this era where lives were as cheap as grass in the Chongzhen reign, he would use money from the future to buy the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
Just then, urgent knocking came from the courtyard gate, accompanied by the rough shouting of a constable: “Open up! Jinyiwei raiding a demon’s house!”
The corner of Lin Xiao’s mouth twitched. The last shred of mercy in his eyes vanished, replaced by the cold, killing intent of a modern hunter.