3 First Kill!

After reaching Level 1, Jiang Cheng noticed that he could only earn one experience point for every two wood logs he collected. However, he continued to gather them and within just three minutes, his experience bar was full once more, and he leveled up again.

[Jiang Cheng (Rank 0): LV.2 (0.00%)]

[HP: 0.6]

[Gathering (Level 0)]

[Fusing (Level 0)]

[Item Box: 1/10]

His HP had increased to 0.6, and his mind was a little more energetic. He was no longer feeling as weak as before.

In his Item Box, there were already three hundred wood logs in the first grid, but he did not know the maximum stacking limit for now.

Jiang Cheng continued to collect logs, planning to level up so that his body would not be so weak. Although the level increase didn't appear to contribute much to his strength, he viewed an enhancement in health as a valuable improvement in itself. He pondered, 'Maybe I need to absorb some form of energy or nourishment to bolster my strength. I'm as skinny as a twig now. Even an Evolver cannot escape the law of conservation of energy, right?'

Five minutes later, Jiang Cheng had reached Level 3, and his HP had risen to 0.7.

Another ten minutes later, he reached Level 4 and his HP reached 0.8.

Jiang Cheng clearly felt his physical condition slowly strengthening, the feeling of weakness rapidly disappearing, and the wound at the back of his head slowly healing.

"Am I evolving?"

Jiang Cheng did not stop and continued to collect logs. But at the same time, he was still vigilant, never letting his guard down. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings constantly, wary of any potential danger that might appear at any moment.

After twenty minutes, he achieved Level 5, and thirty minutes later, he reached Level 6. Upon reaching Level 6, his HP had increased to 1 point.

At this moment, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt that he was no longer weak; in fact, he felt strong. The wound on his head had scabbed over, and he didn't feel any other discomfort apart from extreme hunger. Therefore, he guessed that 1 point in HP should be the standard value of a normal person's health.

As the sun began to set in the west, Jiang Cheng remained unfazed. He knew that becoming a real Awakened would solve all his problems, so his top priority was to level up.

Another forty minutes passed, and Jiang Cheng reached Level 7 with an HP of 1.1. It seemed that the higher he went, the more experience points he needed. Nevertheless, his leveling speed was still incredibly fast. He was getting closer to becoming an actual Awakened.

Tong Xiaorou and Yaya watched Jiang Cheng with perplexed expressions as he rested against the tree with one hand, as if he were about to put his other hand on his waist. They couldn't comprehend why he needed such a lengthy break, but their bewilderment quickly transformed into shock as they noticed fine cracks appearing on the surface of the giant tree. 

The cracks gradually multiplied, and as the sun completely set, there was a thunderous explosion, and the two-meter-wide tree burst into countless wood chips, scattering all over the sky.

"Ah!" Tong Xiaorou and Yaya were shocked by the sudden scene.

The giant tree disappeared along with its roots. A huge pit appeared before them. The area was now completely barren.

Jiang Cheng ignored the two girls 'exclamations. Instead, he frowned and looked at his personal information.

[Jiang Cheng (Rank 0): LV.10 (0.00%)]

[HP: 1.4]

[Gathering (Level 0)]

[Fusing (Level 0)]

[Item Box: 6/10]

With more than 5,000 small logs in his Item Box, Jiang Cheng knew that the maximum number of items in a grid was 1,000.

However, the strange thing was that although he had reached Level 10, his rank remained zero. In other words, he had not become a true Awakened yet. It seemed that he was still lacking something. Another thing was that his experience points would no longer increase after reaching Level 10.

As he was thinking about this, Jiang Cheng suddenly saw a bony and skinny giant wolf. His expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly stretched out his hands to take out a wood log.

Although the wolf was skinny, it was tall, at least 1.2 meters high, with wounds all over its body and a cold and indifferent expression in its eyes. When it saw them, it slowed down its pace but walked steadily toward them, its eyes glistening with a predatory hunger. Obviously, it was also starving. In this arid and parched environment, both humans and animals were struggling to find food to survive.

Tong Xiaorou and Yaya saw Jiang Cheng took out two wood sticks out of thin air. Confused, they followed his gaze, only to be met with an alarming sight. "A wolf!" they exclaimed in unison.

Quickly springing into action, Tong Xiaorou shielded Yaya behind her, her eyes reflecting both fear and determination. Though the wild wolf posed a significant threat, it also a potential food source in this harsh and unforgiving environment.

"Stay put! Don't cause me trouble!"

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and felt his body stronger than ever before, even at his healthiest in his previous life. Despite his extreme hunger, he suppressed it and walked out with a fierce determination in his eyes. He was equally ravenous as the wild wolf who wanted to devour them. At that moment, the ugly wolf was like a fragrant red braised meat to him. After all, He was starving and had never experienced such hunger in his previous life.

"Please… be careful…" Tong Xiaorou whispered, knowing she couldn't help. She protected Yaya behind her and picked up a stone, watching as the wolf salivated.

The wild wolf, despite its wariness, was driven nearly mad by extreme hunger. It took slow and cautious steps toward Jiang Cheng with a determined air.

Jiang Cheng, in turn, advanced towards the wolf with steady strides.

Before long, the man and the wolf stood only five meters apart.

Suddenly, the wild wolf charged forward with its big mouth, aiming for Jiang Cheng's neck.

"Die!" Jiang Cheng roared as he placed the wood stick in his left hand in front of the wolf's mouth while swinging another with his right hand.

With a loud crack, the wolf bit off the wood in his left hand.

Simultaneously, Jiang Cheng used all his might to strike the wolf's head with the other stick, knocking it to the ground.

Without delay, he rushed forward and stabbed the wood stick in his right hand into the wolf's neck, while pressing the broken stick in his left hand against its lower body. He also stomped on the wolf.

The wild wolf growled in agony and struggled frantically, causing Jiang Cheng's already tattered clothes to become even more so. Nevertheless, Jiang Cheng didn't dodge, as he stabbed his two sticks downward and stomped on the wolf's waist with one foot.

Eventually, the wild wolf ceased breathing. Its neck had been pierced by the end of the wood stick, its waist had been broken, and it bled from the mouth and nose while also having feces flow from its tail.

However, Jiang Cheng did not dare to be careless. He continued to press against the wood stick and stomped on it a few more times before stopping. Then, he panted heavily.

This outburst made him, who was already so hungry that he felt dizzy again, as if he had low blood sugar. If not for the fact that his HP had increased greatly, he would probably have fainted by now.

Tong Xiaorou and Yaya, who were behind him, were shocked. 'How did Jiang Cheng become strong?' 

The three of them had encountered several lone wolves before and had to escape for their lives each time. The only time they had to fight, both sides suffered injuries. Even though they managed to chase the wolf away in the end, Jiang Cheng had to rest for days due to his injuries, and Tong Xiaorou was also hurt badly.

But this time, not only did Jiang Cheng kill this giant wolf alone, but he was also almost unharmed. One had to know that it was very difficult for an ordinary person to defeat such a huge wolf.

Tong Xiaorou, who had regained her senses, hurriedly pulled Yaya and ran over. She looked at the dead wild wolf on the ground in surprise.

However, Jiang Cheng did not say anything, so they did not dare to move. They just kept swallowing their saliva.

At this time, Jiang Cheng had already caught his breath. Looking at the gurgling wolf blood, he realized that what he lacked was energy, or rather, vitality. His body required food, and energy had to be conserved; it couldn't just appear out of nowhere.

Therefore, Jiang Cheng directly climbed onto the wild wolf's corpse. After pulling out the wood stick, he hugged the wild wolf's corpse and pressed his mouth against the wound on the wild wolf's neck to suck blood.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."

A pungent and sweet liquid flowed down his throat, quickly digesting and converting into a surge of heat that spread throughout his body. Immediately, all of his cells began to frantically absorb this heat. As expected, at the next moment, he felt that some sort of shackles within his body had been broken, and his physique and strength were rapidly growing stronger.

As for his HP, it quickly rose from 1.4 to 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, and then 1.8.

His extreme hunger began to rapidly subside, and his HP continued to surge, reaching 1.9, then 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, and beyond.