# Chapter 5: First Blood
The makeshift weapon—his transformed coffee mug shard—felt surprisingly balanced in Xìng Huáng's grip. The merger had changed more than just its appearance; the ceramic fragment now possessed weight and sharpness that defied its original material properties. Everything in this new reality seemed to operate by different physical laws, ones that he was only beginning to understand.
A guttural roar echoed through the merged landscape, coming from somewhere beyond the twisted amalgamation of his apartment and the Crimson Valley. Through the window-that-wasn't-a-window, he could see movement—something large and definitely hostile making its way through the chaos of overlapping dimensions.
His Gaming Prodigy talent kicked in automatically, analyzing what little information he could gather. The sound pattern suggested a quadrupedal creature, probably weighing between 200-300 kilograms based on the vibrations he could feel through the merged floor. The interval between roars indicated either territorial marking behavior or active hunting.
Neither option was particularly comforting.
Xìng Huáng checked his new interface again, looking for any abilities or skills that might have survived the reset. The results were disappointingly sparse:
AVAILABLE ACTIONS:
- Basic Strike *(No cultivation requirement)*
- Dodge *(Instinctive movement)*
- Observe *(Analyze targets and environment)*
That was it. Decades of accumulated abilities reduced to the most fundamental combat actions. But as he focused on each option, additional information became available—something that definitely hadn't existed in the original game:
Basic Strike: *Weapon-based attack using current equipment and physical capability. Damage scales with weapon quality, technique, and cultivation level.*
Dodge: *Evasive maneuver. Success rate depends on agility, perception, and understanding of opponent's attack patterns.*
Observe: *Gather information about target entity. Effectiveness increases with intelligence and cultivation advancement. Enhanced by Gaming Prodigy talent.*
The last notation gave him hope. His talent wasn't just preserved—it was integrated into the new system's mechanics. Every small advantage would be crucial in a world where permanent death was the penalty for failure.
The roaring was getting closer.
Xìng Huáng moved carefully through his merged living space, avoiding the areas where reality seemed most unstable. Some sections flickered constantly between apartment and valley, creating disorienting visual effects that made accurate navigation difficult. Others had settled into hybrid forms—his bookshelf now grew from crimson stone, filled with tomes that hurt to look at directly.
He reached what had once been his kitchen and was now some kind of crystalline formation jutting from red earth. Hidden in the geometric angles was something that made his heart race with recognition: his old kitchen knife, transformed like everything else but still fundamentally familiar.
When his fingers closed around the handle, information flowed directly into his consciousness:
IMPROVISED BLADE (BASIC)
*Weapon Type: Short Blade*
*Damage: 3-8 (Modified by technique and cultivation)*
*Durability: 47/50*
*Special Properties: Familiar Weight (5% accuracy bonus due to prior use)*
"Familiar Weight," he murmured, testing the blade's balance. The system had somehow recognized his real-world experience with this particular knife and translated it into a mechanical advantage. If the merger could preserve something as mundane as muscle memory from using kitchen utensils, what other aspects of his pre-merge life might prove valuable?
The roaring stopped abruptly, replaced by a more ominous sound: deliberate movement, like something large trying to move quietly. Whatever was hunting out there had detected potential prey.
Xìng Huáng activated his Observe ability and immediately felt the difference from the old game skill. Instead of simple text readouts, information flowed into his mind as intuitive understanding. The creature was approximately fifty meters away, moving through what had once been his neighbor's apartment. Its gait suggested recent injury—possibly from encountering another survivor who had fought back.
*An injured predator is often more dangerous than a healthy one,* his Gaming Prodigy talent whispered in his thoughts. *Desperate, in pain, and likely to take risks that make its behavior unpredictable.*
The wall separating his space from the adjacent apartment flickered and became translucent. Through the dimensional instability, he caught his first clear glimpse of his stalker.
It had probably been some kind of premium mount in the original game—a massive wolf-like creature with armored plates along its spine and claws that gleamed with metallic sharpness. But the merger had changed it, adding too many eyes that burned with intelligent malice and a maw that revealed teeth arranged in patterns that hurt to contemplate.
OBSERVE RESULT:
CORRUPTED FENRIS *(Merged Entity)*
Level: 3
Threat Assessment: EXTREME *(vs. Level 1 opponent)*
Health: 67/120
Current Status: Injured, Aggressive, Hunting
Weakness Detected: Favors left-side attacks due to right shoulder injury
Level 3 versus his Level 1. In the old game, that would have been a challenging but manageable fight with the right strategy. In this new reality, where death was permanent and he had virtually no abilities, it was borderline suicidal.
But Xìng Huáng had spent years taking on enemies that should have been impossible for his gear level. The secret wasn't raw power—it was understanding patterns, exploiting weaknesses, and turning the environment to his advantage.
The Corrupted Fenris pushed through the unstable wall, its multiple eyes scanning the merged space with predatory intelligence. When its gaze fixed on him, Xìng Huáng felt a chill that went deeper than fear. This wasn't just a monster—it was a creature that had learned to hunt humans in the chaotic hours since the merger.
"Well," he said quietly, adjusting his grip on the improvised blade, "at least you're hurt."
The Fenris's lips pulled back in what might have been a smile, revealing far too many teeth. It had understood him.
The creature moved with startling speed despite its injury, covering the distance between them in three powerful bounds. Xìng Huáng's Dodge ability activated instinctively, his body moving with reflexes honed by thousands of hours of high-level combat. But even as he rolled aside, he could feel the difference. His physical body was slower than his avatar had been, less precise in its movements.
Claws raked across his shoulder, sending fire through his nervous system and displaying a damage notification he'd never wanted to see:
HEALTH: 27/40
STATUS: Bleeding (Minor)
The pain was real. Not the distant, manageable discomfort of game damage, but genuine agony that made his vision blur for a crucial moment. In that moment of weakness, the Fenris spun with surprising agility for its size, its tail lashing out like a spiked club.
Xìng Huáng threw himself backward, the tail missing his head by inches. As he rolled back to his feet, his Gaming Prodigy talent was already analyzing the creature's movement patterns. Injured right shoulder meant it over-relied on its left side for balance. The tail attack had a two-second recovery period. Its multiple eyes created overlapping fields of vision, but the arrangement suggested a small blind spot directly behind and slightly to the right.
Information was power, but only if he could survive long enough to use it.
The Fenris circled him slowly, clearly intelligent enough to know it held the advantage. Its eyes never left his face, watching for signs of panic or desperation. But what it saw instead was the same focused concentration that had carried Xìng Huáng through countless impossible boss fights.
When the creature lunged again, he was ready. Instead of dodging away, he rolled forward and to the right, using the blind spot he'd identified. His improvised blade found the gap between two armor plates on the creature's injured side, sliding deep into muscle and drawing a roar of pain and fury.
CRITICAL HIT!
DAMAGE DEALT: 14
DIVINE GREED TRAIT ACTIVATED
The damage was minimal compared to the creature's total health, but something else happened that made his heart race with possibility. The Divine Greed trait hadn't just increased his rewards—it had enhanced the attack itself. What should have been a lucky hit had become something more, finding weak points his conscious mind hadn't even identified.
The Fenris spun away, ichor dripping from its wound. Its multiple eyes now regarded him with something approaching respect. This human wasn't like the others it had hunted—the panicked, confused refugees from a dead reality. This one fought with purpose and skill.
"That's right," Xìng Huáng said, raising his blade. "I'm not going to be easy prey."
The creature's answering snarl sounded almost like laughter.
The real fight was just beginning.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE GAINED
CULTIVATION PROGRESS: 1/100