Courtyard House: Starting with handing over the keys, the state helps me abuse birds.

It's not just ordinary hunger.

Rather, it's the kind of emptiness that seeps out from between the bones.

It felt like my body had been hollowed out, my blood was cooling down, my muscles were shrinking, and even my thinking was becoming sluggish.

My vision blurred slightly, my throat tightened, and waves of weakness crept up my spine.

He looked down at his hands.

His fingers were long and strong, with clear knuckles, and the muscles under his skin were full and firm. He clearly had a mid-stage first-order physique that had just completed its transformation, but it was hollow inside.

The system interface appeared silently.

Current Status: Severe Energy Deficiency

There were no warning sounds or mandatory prompts.

It's like calmly telling him a fact: if you don't eat, something bad will happen.

Xie Weihong muttered a curse under her breath, her voice hoarse.

He then understood why the [Spirit-Eroding Strengthening Agent] had "no effect".

It's not useless.

They were starving.

The body has evolved to another level, and the reserves of an ordinary person are simply not enough to fill this new body.

He forced himself to stand up straight and began searching the room.

The movements were slow, but very careful.

Under the wooden table, in the corner of the cabinet, under the bed, along the wall.

But reality is even cleaner than memory.

There was nothing there.

There was no rice, no flour, not even a crumb of moldy cornbread.

Xie Weihong stood in the center of the room, the dim light casting a long shadow. His stomach clenched in waves, as if an invisible hand was gripping him tightly.

The original owner's memories gradually resurfaced.

It's not that we're short of food.

It was "borrowed".

Yi Zhonghai's phrase, "mutual assistance among neighbors," is a powerful metaphor.

Yan Bugui said, "Put it in the books first."

Jia Zhangshi said, "The child is starving."

Every time I reach out, it feels like I'm taking something that rightfully belongs to me.

In the end, only this empty house remained, along with a life driven to the brink of suicide by hanging.

Xie Weihong closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, the emotions in them had completely subsided.

"Oh……"

Xie Weihong chuckled softly, but the laughter was chillingly cold.

"Love Fills the Courtyard?"

"This is a concentration camp for beasts."

"Wait."

"Let's settle the accounts one by one."

After uttering that curse, he didn't waste any more energy.

Scolding won't fill your stomach.

Just then, a scene from the original owner's memories was forcibly pulled out by hunger.

Outside the courtyard, following the alley, there is a river on the outskirts of the city.

The river isn't wide, but it's deep, and people often fish and dredge there year-round.

Xie Weihong's eyes lit up instantly.

"There are fish in the river."

Once the thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

He grabbed his coat, pushed open the door, and went out.

Night had just fallen, but the courtyard was unusually quiet.

In the direction of the Central Court, the light in Sha Zhu's room was still on, but it was deathly silent. On the Jia family's side, the windows were tightly closed, and not even a shadow dared to peek out.

Xie Weihong didn't even glance at it.

He has only one thought in mind right now: to eat.

Their pace quickened.

When the river finally came into view, there were already quite a few people standing on its banks.

Workers who come to try their luck after get off work, old men carrying bamboo baskets, and three or four fishermen with standard equipment, including stools, fishing rods, and enamel mugs.

The atmosphere just wasn't very good.

"Sigh, another air force failure."

"This river is acting strangely today."

"I've been sitting here all afternoon, and the float hasn't even moved."

Several people complained in low voices, their tone full of the stubbornness and unwillingness unique to fishermen.

Just then, they noticed someone.

A young man.

His face was pale, his lips were chapped, but his eyes were unusually bright, like a wild beast eyeing its prey.

"What does this young man do?"

"You didn't come here to fish, did you? You didn't even bring a fishing rod."

Before he could finish speaking...

thump!

The water suddenly exploded!

Xie Weihong jumped into the river without even taking off her clothes!

In that instant, the shore erupted in chaos.

"Is he insane?!"

"Don't you know how deep this river is?!"

Some people instinctively ran forward two steps, thinking someone was about to die.

But the next second, when they saw Xie Weihong's condition, they all froze.

The river water was icy cold, immersing her completely, but Xie Weihong felt as if she had returned to the most familiar place. Her body was unusually agile in the water, and her movements were so fluid that they seemed unhuman, more like some kind of creature born to live in the water.

At this moment, he finally understood what first-tier strength truly meant!

Vision becomes clearer, and perception is amplified infinitely.

Underwater, just as a carp flicked its tail, Xie Weihong suddenly reached out!

Fast, ruthless, and accurate!

The moment the five fingers came together, the fish scales rubbed against the palm, and the force of the struggle was crystal clear.

The next second, he lowered his head and took a bite!

"Click—"

The people on the shore saw this scene clearly.

The air fell completely silent, and the fishermen stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape.

"What...what is he doing?"

"Eat it raw?!"

"Is this a human?!"

Before they could even recover from the shock of finding the first fish—

Article Two!

Article 3!

The water was churning, and Xie Weihong moved so fast in the river that he was just a blur, catching fish almost effortlessly.

It's not random catching, but precise capture, as if it predicted the fish's route in advance.

It was as if every movement in the water was within his perception.

The moment the fish entered my stomach, a surge of scalding heat exploded within me!

Xie Weihong felt a heat in his abdomen. He felt the fish meat being digested rapidly. Then, the heat spread wildly through his blood like lava!

My chest felt hot, my limbs were burning, and my muscles were swelling and filling out!

The original sense of emptiness was gradually filled.

Beneath the skin, the muscle lines became more and more defined, as if a new layer of strength had been poured in.

He couldn't help but let out a low growl.

"Cool!"

The fishermen on the shore could no longer stand still.

Some people subconsciously glanced at their fishing floats, which were completely still.

He glanced again at the fierce figure in the river.

An old fisherman, his hands were shaking.

"I've been fishing for twenty years..."

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone grab something like that."

The other one, younger, had a dry voice:

"Brother... does this river recognize him as its ancestor?"

The moment the tenth fish was torn open and swallowed seemed to mark a critical point.

Xie Weihong felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring.

His blood was boiling, his strength was overflowing, and every muscle was full of power that could be unleashed at any moment. His strength had reached a new level!

A sudden realization flashed through his mind: this must be what the peak of the first tier feels like!

He emerged from the water and jumped onto the bank, the river water flowing down his body, with two fish still in his hands.

On the shore, there was complete silence.

The fishermen's gazes at him were no longer filled with shock.

It is reverence.

It's the bewilderment that comes after one's worldview has been shattered.

Xie Weihong got ashore and casually wiped her face.

A fisherman finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice trembling:

"Brother... what kind of amazing skill have you mastered?"

Xie Weihong glanced at him, her tone unusually calm.

"without."

"I'm just hungry."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Behind him, a group of fishermen sat motionless for a long time.

Their fishing rods remained empty.

But they knew that they probably wouldn't catch any fish tonight.