Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Although Xu Damao was reluctant to play the subservient role, he thought of Lou Xiao'e and the future wealth, so he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Okay! Dad, I'll listen to you!"

"And another thing," Yang Sufeng continued, "we should move back and cultivate good neighborly relations. We need to rekindle old friendships, and especially get along well with new neighbors like Wei Chen, whom you mentioned. We should visit each other, help each other out, be polite, and be helpful. We need to make sure everyone in the courtyard speaks highly of our family and Da Mao! That way, if the Lou family really sends someone to inquire, they'll only hear good things about us!"

"Your mother is right," Xu Wude's eyes gleamed. "Da Mao, you'd better do a good job as the projectionist these days! Don't make any mistakes! Also, find some time to enroll in night school! Even if you're just pretending, act like you're ambitious! The Lou family wants honest, hardworking people with jobs, so we'll show them honest, hardworking, and ambitious people!"

So, under the pretext of "nostalgia" and "getting to know their neighbors," the Xu couple moved back to the backyard of their long-abandoned courtyard house. In the past few days, they have been "visiting" each household, bringing some inexpensive but thoughtful local produce and exchanging polite words.

Tonight, he paid a final visit to Wei Chen's house. In Xu Wude's view, Wei Chen, this new neighbor, was capable, low-key, and didn't seem to have a very close relationship with the others in the courtyard. He was someone who needed to be closely observed and "kept in check." That's why he came in person, wanting to get a feel for him and also to show some goodwill.

When the father and son returned to their two slightly old and cramped rooms in the backyard, Yang Sufeng was still awake, mending something under the dim light.

"You're back? How's the Wei family's child?" Yang Sufeng put down her needlework and asked anxiously. She knew her husband had a knack for judging people.

Xu Wude took off his coat, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), took the hot water handed to him by Yang Sufeng, and said slowly, "Wei Chen is no simple child. He's better than Da Mao."

He glanced at Xu Damao, who was standing awkwardly to the side. "He doesn't talk much, but his eyes are clear and he has his own opinions. His house is very well-organized, he's shrewd, and knows when to advance and retreat. His mother is also an honest person. If you can befriend someone like that, don't offend him. Be polite when you see him in the future."

Yang Sufeng nodded thoughtfully: "Okay, I understand. As long as he doesn't ruin our plans, it's fine."

Xu Damao pouted, feeling a little unconvinced, but dared not refute.

Xu Wude took a sip of water, his tone becoming serious: "Alright, we've seen everyone we needed to. Starting tomorrow, Da Mao, you better remember this! Keep your head down! Put away all your scheming tricks! If I find out you're messing with Widow Qin or any other woman, or getting into a fight with Sha Zhu and ruining your reputation..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his gaze sent a chill down Xu Da Mao's spine.

"Dad, Mom, don't worry! I know what's important! For Xiao'e... no, for our family, I will definitely do my best!" Xu Damao patted his chest and promised, his eyes gleaming with a fervent desire to "rise to the top in one step".

After seeing off the Xu family father and son, Wei Chen's doubts had not completely dissipated, but something more intriguing was at hand. He bolted the bedroom door, walked to the bedside, and a thought struck him.

The scene before him changed in an instant. The cold brick walls and the lingering warmth of the fireplace vanished, replaced by the familiar sights of the hunter's cabin. Big Yellow, who had been lying in the yard, immediately stood up excitedly, wagging its tail.

"Woof!" Big Yellow rubbed against his leg affectionately.

"Big Yellow, let's go, let's get to work!" Wei Chen ruffled Big Yellow's hair, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. His goal for today was clear: level up, and then learn that skill he had been longing for—Gathering!

For months, he had been logging into the game almost every day to grind for levels, but unfortunately, the number of monsters in the game was limited, only respawning once a day. Furthermore, the higher the level, the more experience points were required to level up. Going from level 14 to level 15 required a whopping 40,000 experience points! This took him so long.

He skillfully equipped himself with a bow and arrow, took Big Yellow with him, and pushed open the door of the hunter's hut.

A cool, grassy scent filled his nostrils. The "morning" in the game world was just beginning, a thin mist swirling through the forest. Wei Chen, like the most experienced hunter, blended seamlessly into the woods.

His hunt began, with a clear objective: experience points!

The chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs in the city—these passive animals—offer very little experience; killing a chicken only yields a paltry few points. But adhering to the principle that "even a mosquito is meat," Wei Chen didn't let them go. Arrows pierced the air, accurately piercing the necks of the poultry. Big Yellow was responsible for carrying back the "spoils of war." This "meat" wasn't of much value to Wei Chen at the moment, but the process of accumulating experience couldn't be ignored.

Outside the city, in the Wild Boar Forest, herds of wild boars are a major source of experience. Wei Chen utilizes the terrain, either sniping from high ground or luring monsters to divide them up. His Armor-Piercing Arrow skill activates, the faintly glowing arrows easily tearing through the thick hides of the wild boars. With each strong adult wild boar killed, the experience bar visibly increases.

Then came the lynx and wolf territory. The lynx were agile and cunning, adept at ambushes; the wolves, on the other hand, traveled in packs and were fearless. Wei Chen was on high alert, his arrows flying like lightning, darting through the trees for precise kills. Big Yellow also played a crucial role, using its speed and biting to draw fire and create opportunities for Wei Chen. The battles here were even more dangerous, but the experience points were far greater.

Hyenas are the most detestable adversaries. They are not large in size, but numerous, their calls are chilling, and their attack methods are cowardly. Wei Chen tried to avoid being surrounded, using his speed advantage to fight and retreat, whittling them down with arrows from a distance. He had less experience killing a single hyena than a wolf, but their sheer numbers made up for it.

Time flew by in the game. Wei Chen tirelessly drew his bow, aimed, and fired. His movements became increasingly fluid, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. Da Huang also cooperated perfectly, its body covered in the blood of various wild beasts, its level increasing in tandem.

Sweat soaked through his virtual robes, his arms ached from holding the bow for so long, and his mind was exhausted from intense concentration. But Wei Chen had only one thought in his mind: Level up! Gathering Technique!

Finally, at the edge of the wasteland, Wei Chen spotted a lone, exceptionally robust alpha wolf. Its eerie green eyes were fixed on Wei Chen, and it growled threateningly. This was an elite monster!

Wei Chen took a deep breath and focused his mind. Arrow through the air! The arrow transformed into a streak of light, aiming straight for the alpha wolf's throat! The alpha wolf nimbly dodged to the side, the arrow grazing its neck and leaving a trail of blood.

"Awooo!" The alpha wolf was enraged and pounced!

Instead of retreating, Wei Chen advanced, his footwork nimbly shifting to create distance in an instant. At the same time, a second arrow was already nocked! An armor-piercing arrow! This time, the faint light clinging to the arrow was even brighter, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air!

*Thud!* The arrow pierced precisely into the relatively soft chest and abdomen exposed by the alpha wolf's lunge! "Woo..." The alpha wolf let out a mournful howl, its massive body crashing to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.

Just as the alpha wolf fell, a vast and warm torrent of experience surged into Wei Chen's body!

[Ding! Congratulations on your level increase! Current level: 15!] A pleasant system notification sounded in my mind.

An indescribable feeling of comfort instantly spread throughout my body! It was like rain after a long drought, or like breaking through an invisible shackle.

The warm current split into two. One, like the purest energy, washed over and strengthened his limbs and bones. His muscle fibers seemed to be stretched and reshaped, becoming more resilient and powerful. His five senses also became more acute, and he could even hear the sound of leaves falling in the distance.

The other was even more profound and powerful, like a river flowing into the sea, merging into the ever-swirling vortex of true essence within his dantian. The true essence vortex visibly expanded, becoming more solid and dynamic, its power surging like a tidal wave!

Wei Chen immediately brought up the attribute panel.

Name: Wei Chen (Hunter)

Level: 15 (0/40000)

Technique: Nine Heavens Sun-Shooting Technique

True Essence: 120 years

Skills: Piercing Arrow, Armor-Piercing Arrow

Pet: Dog (Big Yellow) lv15

Life skills: Fishing, Planting

看着那「0/40000」的经验槽，卫辰也感到一阵压力。15级到16级，需要的经验值比14到15级又翻了一倍不止！

Judging from the respawn rate of monsters in the game world and the experience points they provide, it will take him at least half a year of continuous effort! The road to leveling up is indeed getting more and more difficult as you go on.

However, this pressure was instantly dispelled by immense joy! He reached level 15! He could finally learn the life skill he had always dreamed of!

"Big Yellow! Let's go home!" Wei Chen called out, not even bothering to clean up the wolf's corpse on the ground, and took Big Yellow, running towards the hunter's cabin as fast as he could.

His goal was clear—the Skill Pavilion!

After returning to the city, in the corner of a small house in the village, Wei Chen took a deep breath and pushed open the wooden door of the skill pavilion, which was engraved with mysterious runes.

There are no NPCs to guide you here; Wei Chen has to explore and make choices on his own. He discovered this skill, which is currently very useful to him, among a vast array of life skills.

Wei Chen had already locked onto his target using the "preview" function. He focused his mind and redeemed the opportunity to acquire this life skill.

[Gathering]: Can be used on any creature or mature plant resource that you have defeated in the game world.

For biological use: It can break down organisms into the desired "materials" according to the user's wishes. The decomposition process is completed instantly, without manual operation. Unnecessary parts (such as unusable bones, internal organs, fur, etc.) will be directly processed by the system.

For use on plants: It can instantly harvest mature "fruits" or "harvestable parts" (e.g., wheat can only be harvested as grains, and rice can only be harvested as grains; it will not be automatically processed into flour or rice).