The towering pine tree was hardly noticeable in the dense forest. It stood quietly near the ant nest, its trunk blending with countless others that loomed in the dark woods.
Its bark was rough and mottled, sticky resin oozing down in thick rivulets. Even in the darkness, the sharp, resinous scent carried on the cold air.
He Huan stepped directly up to the pine. She picked a dried branch off the ground, smeared one end with resin, then pulled a windproof lighter from her bag. With a snap, flame bloomed.
The resin caught instantly. Fire roared to life, blazing bright against the night. For an instant, He Huan felt as if the oppressive danger lurking in the darkness recoiled from the light, retreating like a receding tide.
Unfortunately, what she held was only a burning branch—not a proper torch. It would last no more than ten minutes before burning out. Pity. If only she could carry such a torch through the night, survival would be far safer.
She measured the distance to the pile of dead leaves not far away, then hurled the flaming branch toward it.
The damp leaves smoked at first, but soon caught fire, flames rising along with thick, choking plumes of smoke.
The moment the pile ignited, red fire ants boiled out from beneath, swarming furiously toward the intruder.
But this time, their opponent wasn’t an ordinary resident—it was their natural nemesis: fire.
The ants that had just been so aggressive instantly scattered in chaos, shrieking mandibles drowned by the crackle of flames. Some fled, others too slow were consumed in the blaze, bursting with tiny, popping sounds.
As the fire ants died, He Huan felt something strange flood through her body, a mysterious energy seeping into her veins. Then, clear as a bell, the system prompt rang in her ear:
[Congratulations, resident He Huan, you have reached Level 3!]
[You now possess greater power to survive in the Dark World. Strive to live on!]
At the very moment the voice faded, He Huan realized every trace of fatigue and weakness in her body had vanished. Instead, vitality surged through her, her limbs thrumming with strength.
“So this is… leveling up?”
It was utterly foreign to her. Yet the feeling—intoxicating. Addictive. She couldn’t help wanting to experience it again.
Before long, the pile of leaves burned to ash. Not a single fire ant remained.
Only then did He Huan step forward, raking aside the ashes until she uncovered a charred, soot-stained chest.
Her first treasure chest in this world.
She brushed away the grime with her hand, revealing a bronze chest that gleamed faintly with metallic luster.
Without hesitation, she opened it.
[Obtained: Metal x3]
[Obtained: Recipe – Thick Hide Cap x1. Note: Backpack is full. Please clear space to continue collecting.]
[Obtained: Refined Iron Crossbow x1. Note: Backpack is full. Please clear space to continue collecting.]
The notifications rang in her ears one after another. At the last line—“Refined Iron Crossbow”—her pulse spiked.
A weapon!
Not a dagger or sword—nothing so universal—but still, a real weapon. Her first.
More than that, during her mercenary days, she had been highly proficient with crossbows. The moment she picked it up, her hands knew it instinctively. She flipped it once, smoothly, before tucking it at her waist with practiced ease.
Weapons were confidence. With the crossbow in her grip, even the night itself seemed less hostile.
The bronze chest also doubled as a ten-slot storage box. If one didn’t want it for storage, it could be dismantled.
But right now? He Huan had no doubt—keeping it as storage was far more useful.
She unloaded her backpack into the chest, then stowed the chest itself back into her bag.
Her backpack space, once crammed full, was suddenly clear again.
At first, she thought she’d discovered a loophole: just collect chests and use them as nested storage, like infinite backpack extensions.
But the moment she slung the bronze chest into her pack, she realized why that wouldn’t work.
Weight.
Items inside her backpack didn’t count toward weight. But a chest itself did. Carrying one was like lugging ten extra kilos on her back. Manageable for a while, but exhausting in the long run.
Not everyone here was a mercenary like her. Even she couldn’t carry such burdens forever.
She sighed, then found her thoughts drifting back—again and again—to the exhilarating rush of leveling up.
Still replaying that joy, He Huan arrived at Zhao Yan’s shelter. Pulling out his inheritance pass, she raised it to the door.
[Inheritance pass detected. Do you wish to claim the full legacy of “Zhao Yan”?]
“Yes.”
At her confirmation, smoke billowed over the two-story wooden hut. Its frame dissolved into scattered planks and components, collapsing into neat piles of materials on the ground.
The process resembled a skill casting with a progress bar—lasting about a minute and, crucially, unable to be interrupted. If broken midway, all remaining inheritance would vanish.
Collecting Yang Jianhua’s inheritance yesterday had gone smoothly. Which was why, when He Huan suddenly felt a sharp wind tearing toward her back, she was genuinely surprised.
Logic said she shouldn’t move. But instinct, honed in countless life-and-death fights, reacted faster than thought.
She dropped low, spun across the ground, and like a phantom, appeared behind her attacker.
It was a man.
A tall, broad-shouldered man.
He Huan prided herself on many things, but most of all her memory. Especially with people. Faces, silhouettes—if she had seen them once, she could recall them years later.
And this man, though she hadn’t yet seen his face, she recognized instantly from his back.
He was the one she had glimpsed at dawn, chopping wood at the forest’s edge. The one who had turned away the moment he saw her.
She had assumed it was some unspoken rule of this world—keep your distance, avoid contact. She had never expected to meet him again here.
Nor for him to strike without hesitation.
Did she look that easy to bully?
He Huan’s lips curled coldly. She snapped a kick into his lower back, sending him stumbling forward like a clumsy beast.
But unlike the fools she’d faced the night before, this man was stronger. He caught his balance swiftly, refusing to fall.
Steadying himself, he spun, attacking fast and fierce.
His movements carried practiced skill—each strike sharp, efficient. And more telling—
In the moonlight, a silver gleam flashed in his hand with every motion.
A weapon.
Her eyes lit up, wide with excitement. Finally, an opponent worth something.
“No need to dodge. Be smart—hand over everything you’ve gathered, and I’ll spare your life.” The man’s voice was laced with mockery as he pressed his assault.
“You were following me?” He Huan’s brows rose.
She had assumed his attack was opportunistic greed after stumbling on her inheritance collection. But no—he had been tailing her from the start.
And she hadn’t sensed a thing.
That meant he had some trick up his sleeve—a skill, perhaps, or an item.
“Heh. You didn’t even notice.” His tone was mocking, but his strikes were sharper, faster.
“Why?”
That was the real question.
Why follow her? Why single her out?
It was curiosity that kept her from simply killing him.
She was still probing this world’s rules, and every anomaly was worth dissecting. Understanding reasons meant understanding survival.
And this man—clearly stronger than her, better equipped, armed with a weapon—had wasted time and effort tailing someone who, by all appearances, had nothing.
There had to be a reason.
And He Huan was determined to know it.
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1