Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"One skill is like getting a free 'biological radar'!" Wei Chen exclaimed in amazement. This is simply a hunting marvel! No, not just for hunting; it has immeasurable value in many situations.

Unable to contain himself, he immediately exited the game world, his consciousness returning to reality. It was still that chilly morning, and he was still sitting cross-legged behind the sheltered boulder. He immediately focused his mind, attempting to use this ability in the real world.

His mental energy spread outwards like ripples on water. After advancing to level 20, his mental energy perception range had expanded to a radius of about 210 meters (corresponding to "210 years" in true qi cultivation). Within this range, he could vaguely sense fluctuations in life, but it was far less clear than in the game world.

He quickly "caught" a pheasant shivering in a snowdrift. He focused and tried to "mark" it.

Success! A faint but real connection was established, and the pheasant became exceptionally clear in his mental perception, like a candle flame in the dark.

"Activate tracking!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a simple but functionally identical small map appeared in his mind! The map's coverage area was approximately 210 kilometers, meaning that as long as the marked target was within 210 kilometers of him, the map would appear! The pheasant he had marked was flashing on the map as a conspicuous red dot!

"It can be used in the real world too!" Wei Chen almost exclaimed. This was incredibly significant! It meant his hunting efficiency in the real world would experience a qualitative leap! And this function wasn't just for hunting; he was now in the security department, and this would be a powerful weapon for catching enemy agents and criminals!

"21 markers, covering a radius of 210 kilometers... that's enough!" Wei Chen wasn't discouraged by the limitations at all. This far exceeded his expectations! As his mental strength continued to improve, the power of this skill would only grow stronger. Now, with this skill, his problem of finding prey in the real world would be easily solved!

Reaching level 20, his true energy surged, unlocking the [Fierce Rocket] skill and learning the [Tracking Technique]... The gains from this "secluded cultivation" far exceeded his expectations. Wei Chen felt that both his raw strength and support abilities had reached a completely new level.

It's time to end this "seclusion" and start taking real action.

He stood up, looked towards Beijing, then glanced at the endless, snow-covered mountains to the west. After two days of on-site investigation and comparative analysis in the game world, he realized there were indeed no large groups of prey left around Beijing. A few scattered individuals were hardly enough to satisfy his needs.

So, the goal was clear: to leave this land ravaged by hunger and cold and venture into more distant and unfamiliar territories. The vast land of China always has some remote, untouched corners, not yet completely ravaged by hunger, hiding enough prey. His excuse of "business trip for procurement" could perfectly conceal this long journey.

"Traveling through beautiful landscapes, and incidentally 'purchasing' supplies..." Wei Chen's lips curled into a confident smile. His backpack was already piled high with prey from the game world. Now, all he needed to do was find a suitable "source" and a reasonable "transfer method" to turn this meat into capital for completing missions, improving his life, and even exchanging it for more resources.

Once out of the mountains and onto a relatively flat road, Wei Chen took out the electric scooter from his spatial storage. The wheels rolled over the last rugged, snow-covered ridge, and the view suddenly opened up. No longer were endless, barren mountains ruled by pale, lifeless desolation, but rather a relatively flat plain with neat houses and crisscrossing paths.

Although the fields were also desolate in winter, with most fields exposed gray-yellow soil or left with withered black straw stubble, and were in a state of fallow, there were neat irrigation ditches occasionally seen on both sides of the road, wisps of smoke rising from the distant villages, carrying the breath of life, and two or three pedestrians and vehicles on the road, who, although dressed simply and thickly and with pale faces, still had a sense of calm and purpose in their steps.

"Where is this..." Wei Chen gripped the brakes and parked the bicycle on a sheltered, high slope, gazing into the distance. The crisp morning air filled his lungs, carrying the slightly murky dusty scent characteristic of the plains, but lacking the bone-chilling, soul-freezing cold of the mountains.

Based on the sun's position, the terrain beneath his feet, and a rough sense of direction from his memory, he realized that he had completely left the heart of the western foothills and arrived at the plains in front of the mountains.

Soon, his gaze settled on a cluster of buildings in the distance that was significantly larger than a typical village. There were rows of relatively neat brick or adobe houses, high walls painted with mottled white lime, and inside the walls, some tall warehouse-like buildings. There was also a striking red flag that fluttered slightly in the dry, cold wind—it was the location of a people's commune, the center of grassroots political and economic activities in rural areas during that era.

Wei Chen squinted, carefully examining the commune name sign that might be hanging on the gatehouse. Although it was too far away to see clearly, combining the location with geographical information from his memory, a familiar name jumped into his mind: "Xingshou Commune?"

This place name was by no means unfamiliar to him. In the original owner's memory, Wei Chen's eldest daughter, Wei Changsheng's eldest cousin Wei Zhenzhen, had married into Xingshou Commune.

This place isn't far from Wei Chen's hometown, Shangyuan Commune. Wei Chen vaguely remembers that around the 1980s, during an administrative division adjustment, Xingshou Commune merged with the neighboring Shangyuan Commune to become Xingshou Town, which later became part of Changping District. However, for now, they should still be two independent communes.

The thought of the name "Wei Zhenzhen" stirred a complex and warm current within Wei Chen's heart. This warmth stemmed from the original owner's profound emotional memories, as well as from the sense of identification and gratitude he felt after merging with those memories.

In the year since his rebirth, he has been like a tightly wound spring, fully dealing with the various challenges of establishing himself and surviving in Beijing: providing basic food and clothing for his mother and sister, carefully navigating his special position in the purchasing department of the steel rolling mill, dealing with the neighbors in the courtyard who have different intentions, and also using the game world as his greatest asset to quietly improve his strength and life.

Every single thing took a lot of effort. As for the relatives in my hometown, apart from my grandparents and my uncles who lived nearby, I had visited them a few times. I really didn't have the time or energy to take care of the others. I hadn't even met my eldest cousin, Wei Chen, whom I remembered.

This eldest cousin, Wei Zhenzhen, occupies a rather important and warm corner in the original owner "Wei Chen's" growth trajectory.

She was five or six years older than Wei Chen, and was the kind of girl who was born into a poor family, grew up in hardship, but always maintained her kind and simple nature.

During the most difficult years when Wei Chen's father passed away early and his mother, Wang Xiulan, struggled to raise him and his sister, Wei Ran, Wei Zhenzhen, who was not yet married, was a rare and warm source of light for this broken family, free from any utilitarian motives.

Fragments of memory flashed by: when the small and thin "himself" was so hungry that he was dizzy, Sister Zhenzhen secretly saved half a cornbread mixed with wild vegetables from her already meager lunch, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and stuffed it into his arms when no one was around; when his mother, Wang Xiulan, was working in the fields until she could not straighten her back, Sister Zhenzhen rolled up her sleeves and helped fetch water, do laundry, and take care of the even younger Wei Ran.

On a winter night, when "I" had a fever, it was Sister Zhenzhen who stayed up most of the night, repeatedly applying cool towels to my forehead... In her eyes, there was never any disgust or pity, only the most natural tenderness and care an older sister has for her younger siblings. In the original owner's heart, this cousin was one of the closest and most trustworthy female elders besides her mother and sister.

Later, around 1957, nineteen-year-old Wei Zhenzhen was introduced to Wei Qiang, the son of Wei Changshuan, a warehouse keeper at the Xingshou Commune Grain Station.

After marriage, distance and the ties of their respective families naturally reduced their interactions, but their sincere affection never faded.

Every time Wei Zhenzhen returned to her parents' home, she would always visit Wei Chen's house, even if it was just for half a day, to chat or secretly slip her second aunt, Wang Xiulan, a small bag of dried vegetables she had made or a few eggs she had saved up. In the original owner's limited memories of "relatives," Wei Zhenzhen was one of the very few who only gave and never asked for anything in return, and genuinely hoped that they would be well.

"Sister Zhenzhen..." Wei Chen murmured the name, and the young face in his mind, which always had a gentle smile, clear and bright eyes, but was slightly rough due to years of hard work, became exceptionally clear.

He quickly calculated that it was the end of 1959, and Zhenzhen had been married for three years, so she should be twenty-two years old now. He heard that she had a stable life after marrying into the family and already had a child who was over two years old. In those days, it was already rare to be able to marry into a commune worker's family and have a relatively stable livelihood.

Since his rebirth, Wei Chen had been busy dealing with the current crisis and planning for the future, and had indeed neglected his cousin who had given "himself" and his family a lot of selfless help. He had never even taken the initiative to contact or visit her. This sense of indebtedness made Wei Chen feel uneasy.

Now, by sheer coincidence, I've ended up in a place so close to her home. It would be unreasonable, both morally and logically, to pass by without going in.

With this in mind, Wei Chen no longer hesitated. He turned his bicycle around, not heading straight for the conspicuous cluster of buildings in the center of the commune, but instead turning onto a secluded side road covered in snow that led to a small grove of trees. After confirming that there was no one around and even few birds, he stopped his bicycle, calmed his mind, and communicated with the hunter's emblem in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The next moment, his hand felt slightly heavier, and he had two plump, heavy, glossy gray-brown hares and a brightly colored, robust pheasant.

They all originated from the game world, tied tightly and neatly with flexible hay rope, looking like fresh mountain produce that an experienced hunter had just hunted and was about to take to the market to exchange for money or enjoy at home.

In these days when meat is extremely scarce and many people can hardly even find oil, such a substantial "goods" are far more valuable than any fancy gift. They represent the most direct sentiments and care, and are the best way to solve someone's urgent needs.