Carrying the fish he had caught—with Mikasa supporting him—Chen Si returned home.
Of course, it wasn't the charred fish.
Chen Si himself wasn't really injured, but after slipping and falling, Mikasa had grown worried. He realized that this "weak period" was only relative. Compared to earlier—when he could carry Mikasa and run freely—his current physical condition was that of an ordinary child, perhaps even weaker than Mikasa.
On the way home, he gradually felt his strength returning. About fifteen minutes passed before that familiar surge of power filled his body again.
So frying one fish with lightning puts me on a fifteen-minute cooldown? he grumbled inwardly.
When they arrived, Mrs. Ackerman praised Chen Si as usual for being capable, then took the fish into the kitchen.
After these past few days, the Ackerman family had grown used to Chen Si's presence and treated him like one of their own. As for his parents, Chen Si never mentioned them, and the Ackermans were too kind to pry. Given that he had been found alone in the forest, they could only assume his parents had likely met some misfortune. Even within the Walls—though there were no Titans nearby—evil still existed.
This only made the kind-hearted couple care for him even more. Their concern for him was no less than for Mikasa.
Soon, the house filled with the fragrance of fish soup. Mrs. Ackerman emerged with a steaming bowl. The table was laid with vegetables, wild boar meat, and freshly gathered fruit.
In his previous world, Chen Si had been an only child. His father traveled frequently for work, so most meals were just him and his mother. Rarely had he experienced such a lively gathering.
The dishes were simple and plainly seasoned—far from the richly flavored meals his mother cooked—but he still tasted something irreplaceable.
The taste of home.
He missed his family.
He didn't know whether he would ever return to his original world. At his age, he had once been full of imagination and opinions about the world. But now, faced with something that shattered his worldview entirely, he realized he wasn't as prepared as he thought.
A scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had once said that human senses perceive only about 4% of the universe. Even philosophers and scientists have not fully understood it. All he could do now was adapt to the unbelievable.
Fortunately, past experiences had given him some resistance to the "impossible."
Still, he didn't know how to regard the people of this world.
As NPCs?
He couldn't do that.
He wasn't a saint—but he never forgot kindness.
When watching the anime, he had once thought that if he were Eren or Erwin, he could surely lead the Eldians of Paradis down a better path. But now that he was truly here, he understood something fundamental:
First, he had to survive.
The Titan invasion should not be far off. According to the timeline, this generation on Paradis was largely safe for now. It would be a century later that the island would ultimately fall.
Humans are selfish.
Right now, Chen Si prioritized himself.
Then came the main characters.
He also carried many unresolved feelings from the original story—Eren and Mikasa, Historia, Sasha.
Mikasa was a good girl. He liked her.
So he decided he would not deliberately interfere with her relationship with Eren. He would neither push nor sabotage it. But he also wouldn't hide his own feelings.
Let things develop naturally.
He was curious what choice Mikasa would make.
"Brother Chen Si! Why aren't you eating?"
Mikasa waved her small hand in front of him, her clear, innocent eyes free of impurity.
Mrs. Ackerman smiled warmly. "Are you missing home? It's alright. We already consider you one of us. You can stay here without worry."
She placed a fish head into his bowl.
"That's right," Mr. Ackerman added, chewing a piece of pork. "With your strength, you can learn blacksmithing from me. You'll be excellent at it."
Chen Si felt warmth flood his heart.
The characters from the anime were truly beautiful people.
Perhaps that was why such beauty felt so precious—because it was so rare in reality.
He made a decision.
"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie. From now on, you are my closest family in this world."
His voice was firm.
Mikasa beamed, her eyes curving like crescent moons. The Ackermans exchanged glances and laughed.
"We've gained a wonderful child."
The house was filled with warmth.
After lunch, Mr. Ackerman tidied the furniture while Mrs. Ackerman knitted. Mikasa giggled nonstop at the jokes Chen Si told her.
She suddenly ran out of the room.
"Mother! Let me tell you a joke! It's about a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry! And there's another one about Xi Yangyang and his friends!"
Since spending time with Chen Si, Mikasa had become much more cheerful. Mrs. Ackerman felt deeply comforted.
"Mikasa," she said gently, "stories are fun, but I should teach you something too—like knitting. One day you can make sweaters and scarves for your own children."
"How do you get children?" Mikasa asked innocently.
Mrs. Ackerman froze.
"Ah… that… go ask your father."
She promptly passed the problem to her husband.
Mr. Ackerman panicked. "Ah—well—actually! Doctor Yeager and his son Eren will be visiting soon. You can ask Doctor Yeager!"
Mikasa looked thoughtful, then suddenly brightened and ran back toward Chen Si's room.
Chen Si lay on the bed, resting.
After using visible lightning, his stamina had taken fifteen minutes to recover—but afterward he felt sleepy. Normally, he was energetic unless it was truly bedtime.
Was this energy conservation?
Sleepiness wasn't serious. A short rest would fix it.
Once he killed a Pure Titan and fully unlocked his bloodline, perhaps the cooldown would shorten—or even disappear entirely.
Being a perpetual motion machine would be safest in troubled times.
"Brother Chen Si…"
Mikasa's voice was soft. She thought he was asleep.
"I'm awake. What's wrong?"
She crouched by the bed, eyes shining.
"How do you get children?"
"Oh… having children is when the husband and—wait, what?!"
Chen Si shot upright—
"Ahhh!!"
A scream pierced the house.
Chen Si rushed out of the bedroom. Mikasa followed.
What he saw made his pupils shrink violently.
Regret flooded his heart.
He had been careless.
Too relaxed.
He had come from a peaceful era and had not yet adapted to this world where humans devoured one another.
A fat human trafficker pulled a knife from Mr. Ackerman's chest. Blood poured out—he was clearly beyond saving.
The man glanced at Chen Si and Mikasa.
"What a pleasant surprise. Three Orientals in one family. All valuable."
Mikasa trembled as she stared at her father's body.
Mrs. Ackerman suddenly grabbed a stool and smashed it toward the fat man—but the thin trafficker beside him restrained her and drew his knife.
The fat man lunged toward Mikasa.
Chen Si's eyes turned icy.
He stepped forward—the wooden floor exploded beneath his feet.
His palm shot toward the fat man's neck.
The man didn't even regard a child's attack as a threat. He swung a punch toward Chen Si's waist.
In an instant, Chen Si's left hand smashed down on the arm while his right hand reached the back of the man's neck.
A faint blue light flashed in his eyes.
An arc of electricity crackled across the man's neck.
He screamed—but did not immediately lose consciousness.
Chen Si gritted his teeth and increased the output.
The man collapsed, unconscious.
Chen Si picked up the knife.
He hesitated.
He knew he could not afford mercy.
But killing a person… he could not adapt so quickly.
That was why he had chosen to stun the man instead.
But he had miscalculated.
The energy required to knock the man out exceeded his estimate.
Dizziness overtook him.
His vision swam.
His legs weakened.
He was on the verge of collapsing.