Chapter 3: The System Awakens

Li Xiaowan was stunned, feeling as if her head had suffered a tremendous blow, leaving her unable to react for a moment. Even after more than ten seconds, her mind was still a tangled mess. Blushing, she lowered her head and stammered, "Lin... Brother Lin, please... please don't joke with me."

"Um... that Polygonum you brought to my house the day before yesterday, my father helped you sell it to the supply and marketing cooperative. They paid ten yuan. Here, it's for you!"

As she spoke, Li Xiaowan shoved two crisp, newly-printed ten-yuan bills into Lin Yang's hand and turned to run away.

Only then did Lin Yang remember that Sun Xiaorong wanted to buy a few yards of synthetic fabric for a new dress. It was also two days ago that he went into the mountains and, by sheer luck, stumbled upon a six- or seven-year-old Polygonum root. Since his family didn't own a bicycle and getting to the county town was inconvenient, he entrusted Li Xiaowan's father, Li Jianhua, to help sell it. To his surprise, it actually sold.

Holding the ten yuan in his hand and watching the beautiful figure disappear, Lin Yang gave a self-mocking smile.

How foolish he had been in his previous life, ignoring such a wonderful girl and instead chasing after Sun Xiaorong, who looked down on him and treated him like a fool.

At that very moment, a crisp mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding—Transaction Value +10!]

Lin Yang's heart pounded wildly, and he seriously wondered if he was hallucinating.

But soon, he accepted it.

After all, he had already been reborn; if a system appeared, he could accept that too.

And with a system...

His surprise quickly turned into excitement.

"System?"

As soon as he thought of it, a light screen appeared before him, visible only to himself.

It seemed the system had already activated when he was reborn. At the time, he thought he was dreaming—his mind was foggy, and upon suddenly seeing Sun Daqiang, the enemy who had brought his family to ruin, he hadn’t paid attention to anything else.

It was only when Li Xiaowan handed him the ten yuan, triggering a transaction value, that the system reminded him.

And the system’s appearance filled him with joy.

He hadn’t even had time to check the system’s instructions when the mechanical voice came again.

[Ding—First successful transaction. Congratulations, host, you have received a novice gift pack.]

[Novice gift pack opened. Rewarded skill: Prey Lock-On (Beginner)!]

[Lock-on range: 10 meters!]

"Prey Lock-On... What kind of skill is this?" Lin Yang was puzzled.

But after reading the system’s explanation, he immediately understood.

Looking around, he saw a dark shape fly overhead and land in the nearby bushes.

He crouched low and crept closer.

The system suddenly prompted him.

[Prey detected—Spotted-neck Dove. Would you like to use the Prey Lock-On (Beginner) skill?]

"Lock on!" Lin Yang answered without hesitation.

In the next instant, a red frame appeared before his eyes, highlighting the dove.

He was suddenly struck by the realization that his vision could penetrate the dense bushes and see the dove directly!

Did this mean the Prey Lock-On skill could work like X-ray vision?

Amazed, Lin Yang looked around again.

[Prey detected—Striped Field Mouse. Would you like to lock on with Prey Lock-On (Beginner)?]

[Prey detected—South China Rabbit. Would you like to lock on with Prey Lock-On (Beginner)? Sorry! Target lost. Please try searching again...]

[Prey detected—Red Squirrel. Would you like to lock on... Sorry! Target has left the lock-on range. Please try searching again...]

...

After several attempts, Lin Yang concluded that the Prey Lock-On skill could only lock onto one animal at a time. If the prey moved beyond a ten-meter radius, it could no longer be tracked.

As he delved deeper into his research, he finally understood how transaction value was generated and used.

As long as he made a profit from a transaction, he would gain transaction value.

The items traded could be farm produce from his own fields, handmade goods, or animals he hunted.

Transaction value could be used to upgrade skills.

For example, his current Prey Lock-On skill was at the beginner level; spending a thousand transaction points would upgrade it to intermediate.

There were also advanced and master levels, requiring astronomical amounts of transaction value.

Transaction value could also be used to purchase various skills from the system’s list—the beginner-level Prey Lock-On from the novice reward was just one of them.

In other words, as long as he accumulated enough transaction value, he could acquire all kinds of extraordinary abilities and, given time, might even become omnipotent.

The system was truly miraculous!

However, even the least expensive skill required ten thousand transaction points, which was far out of reach for now.

Fortunately, for Lin Yang at this moment, the beginner-level Prey Lock-On was already extremely useful.

With this skill, Lin Yang looked forward to today’s plan to catch snow toads.

A fresh snowfall had just fallen, temperatures had plummeted, and the snow toads had retreated into their shelters for hibernation.

Moreover, the forest floor was covered with thick layers of fallen leaves, making the search even harder.

But now, with the Prey Lock-On skill, these problems vanished.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lin Yang finally reached the pine forest beside the creek.

[Prey detected—Snow Toad. Would you like to use Prey Lock-On (Beginner)?]

He had barely stopped before the system prompted him.

Soon, he spotted traces of a snow toad beneath a pine tree, at three o’clock ahead.

He hurried over and used a stick to push aside the decaying leaves.

The ground had not yet frozen solid, and when the snow toad burrowed in, it left a small hole. Using the stick, he dug along the hole.

He dug nearly a foot deep, breaking several sticks in the process, before finally glimpsing the snow toad.

A smile tugged at Lin Yang’s lips as he pulled a net bag from his pocket and began scooping them out.

He collected more than twenty snow toads, both large and small.

His first hunt was a success, and Lin Yang grew even more excited.

He decided to keep searching for more snow toads before heading into town to sell them.

This year’s temperatures were particularly low. With the recent snowfall, the outdoor temperature was just a few degrees, and the cold air was still intensifying.

He believed a second heavy snow would soon arrive, and within a month the mountains would be sealed by deep snow.

Lotus Village was a remote mountain village on an offshoot of the Great Khingan Range; once the snows came, getting out would be a struggle.

While searching for snow toads, Lin Yang also scoured the creek for other opportunities.

He recalled that there were several spots nearby that were especially suitable for softshell turtles.

Now that he had the Prey Lock-On skill, he wasn’t about to let the chance slip by.

The so-called "softshell turtle" was the Northeast terrapin, also known as the Songhua River turtle, a wild species unique to Northeast China.

He remembered that specimens over two catties could fetch at least fifteen yuan per catty at this time. In this season, if he found the right buyer, twenty yuan per catty was possible.

Before hibernation, these turtles needed to accumulate enough fat to survive the winter.

Though the weather was already chilly, some wild turtles were still foraging, preparing for the months ahead.

[Prey detected—Songhua River Turtle! Would you like to use Prey Lock-On (Beginner)?]

On the fifth attempt, the red arrow on the system’s light screen finally responded.

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Yang quickly pinpointed the turtle hiding in the creek mud.

But the water in this pool was nearly two meters deep; even if he went in, the turtle would be too agile underwater.

And with the cold, he had no intention of getting wet.

With the system, why would he subject himself to such hardship?

Catching a severe cold could cost him dearly.

Once he had located the target, it would be much easier to set a trap.

Confirming that there was only one turtle in this section of the creek, Lin Yang didn’t push his luck. He switched his hunting target, searching again for the easier-to-catch snow toads.

Soon, he locked onto another spot—a dry tree hollow...

After two hours of effort, his net bag was heavy with dozens of snow toads. Satisfied, Lin Yang hummed a little tune as he headed home.

There was no more farm work this time of year; the villagers were preparing to hunker down for the winter.

His father, Lin Dahai, was weaving baskets at home. Seeing Lin Yang return with a heavy net bag, he paused, his face darkening immediately.

"At a time like this, you still dare go into the river?!"

Facing his father's scolding, Lin Yang shook his head with a smile. "Dad, you’re not thinking straight. Who says I have to go into the river to catch snow toads?"

Lin Dahai was taken aback, examining the heavy net bag full of snow toads in disbelief. He grumbled, "You little rascal, showing off again? How could you get so many without going in the water? Are you kidding me? Go take a hot bath before you catch a cold!"

Seeing his father's reaction, Lin Yang felt a pang in his heart and hurried to explain, "Dad, I swear to heaven, I dug them all up from the ground—didn’t go into the water at all."

"But I do need your help making a few turtle traps. When I was digging for snow toads, I spotted a shadow under the water in the pine forest—must be a big turtle, maybe two or three catties."

Only then did Lin Dahai catch on. He glanced at Lin Yang, neat and dry, and the net bag brimming with snow toads. Though he grumbled, he slowly nodded his agreement.

Then Lin Yang turned his gaze to the old hen in the yard, licking his lips. "Um… Dad, I want to eat chicken!"