Chapter 2: The Grand Gift of Death

Gu Yan looked at her brother, who seemed to have made a resolute decision, and a sudden wave of panic surged in her heart, as if she was about to lose Gu Feng in the very next moment. She cried out loudly, "Brother!"

Boom!

The old system master, thrilled, detonated Gu Feng's body. He relished this sensation—the exhilaration of making someone explode and slaughtering countless others. It was an addiction he could not resist, which was why the growth plan he had tailored for his host was a suicide mode.

The three local thugs, their jeering words ready on their lips, never got the chance to speak before they were swept away and obliterated in a bloody mist by Gu Feng's explosion—killed in an instant.

In reality, even if Gu Feng self-destructed, he should have only been able to take down the thug he was holding. However, with the system master's cheat-like intervention, all three were killed instantly, and not even a trace of harm touched Gu Yan.

Gu Yan stood frozen, staring at the spot where her brother had vanished into a crimson haze, leaving not even the slightest trace behind.

"My cowardly brother, he actually blew himself up for me, leaving nothing behind at all."

"Brother..."

A heartbroken wail escaped Gu Yan—her sorrow needed no words.

Her only kin was gone. What reason was there left for her to keep living?

Gu Yan's resolve to die solidified.

"Old man, where is this?"

Gu Feng looked around in astonishment and confusion. The surroundings were ancient, suffused with a grayish glow, and above his head spun a gray vortex. The room was wholly unfamiliar.

"This is the temporary holding space for souls awaiting resurrection. All right, I know you have many questions—here is the detailed information about the Undying Death System."

A beam of light enveloped Gu Feng, and a torrent of information flooded into his mind. His head felt as if it would burst from the pressure. When the sensation faded, Gu Feng understood everything about the Undying Death System as if he had always possessed this knowledge.

"You know everything now, don't you? With me here, you—once a timid and helpless coward—will become an invincible force. Now, here is your grand reward package for your first death. Furthermore, since this is your first time dying, I'll grant you an early resurrection, so your sister doesn't do anything foolish."

"My sister... doing something foolish?"

A vision appeared before Gu Feng, and he saw his sister attempting to hang herself.

"Sister! Let me out! I have to save my sister!"

"Why the rush? You know the rules. This time, I'll make an exception and let you resurrect early. Go on!"

Suddenly, a powerful suction force pulled Gu Feng upward, and he lost consciousness. When he regained his senses, he saw his sister already hanging.

"Sister!" Gu Feng shouted in alarm.

On the brink of death, Gu Yan heard that familiar voice. In her mind, she wondered if it was a hallucination. Brother, I'm coming to join you—you were never a coward.

"Silly sister, what are you doing?"

Gu Feng rushed over, lifted his sister by the legs, and bore her weight to save her life.

The suffocating sensation nearly caused Gu Yan to faint. After a long while, she managed to catch her breath. Staring at her brother before her, she murmured dazedly, "Brother, am I already dead?"

"Silly girl, you're not dead, and neither am I."

"Brother, you're not lying to me, are you? Waaa..."

Gu Yan clung to Gu Feng tightly and began to sob.

A pang of pain stabbed Gu Feng's heart. He swore to Gu Yan, "Sister, I promise—I'll never be a coward again. No one will ever bully you again."

"Really, brother?"

Gu Yan raised her head and gazed into his eyes, sensing that her brother had changed.

"Really. I won't fear death anymore, and I won't be timid. Whoever dares bully you, I'll kill them."

"Brother!"

Seeing his sister sniffle, Gu Feng asked, puzzled, "What's wrong, sister?"

"Brother, don't you smell something awful?"

"Ah!"

Gu Feng let go of his sister and looked down at himself. His face turned red, then black with embarrassment as he remembered—he had wet himself earlier out of fear.

Of course, Gu Feng knew it was the system that had given him his newfound confidence.

The Undying Death System rewarded its host for every valuable death, the more deaths, the more generous the rewards. Even without dying, the system's functions were formidable—martial arts, elixirs, weapons, all manner of resources.

In short, with the Undying Death System, the host became immortal and invincible. What was left to fear?

Noticing Gu Feng's embarrassment, Gu Yan couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Gu Feng, mortified, wondered how he had ever been so timid and scared of death in the past.

"Sister, I'm going to bathe and change. You should head home too."

With that, Gu Feng dashed off.

Gu Yan laughed and chased after him.

"Brother, slow down! Don't trip!"

"Hey, isn't that the coward Gu Feng? Why is he running so fast? And what's that smell?"

"Auntie, you're still awake this late?"

"I just poured out the footbath and was about to sleep. Gu Yan, what are you two up to at this hour?"

"Nothing, Auntie. You go to bed. I'm heading home now."

Gu Feng returned to their dilapidated little courtyard, drew a large basin of water, washed up, changed his clothes, and opened his status screen.

Name: Gu Feng
Level: 0 (needs 10 experience to level up, remaining experience: 30)
Strength: 2
Deaths: 1
Weapon: None
Pet: None
Skill: Slash
Special Attributes: None
...

Looking through it, Gu Feng saw that aside from thirty experience points and one death, everything else was "None." He knew the thirty experience points came from the three local thugs. As for strength, a normal adult's was five—his was only two, obviously abnormally weak.

"System master, help me level up!"

Ding ding!

Host has successfully leveled up to Level One.

After leveling up, Gu Feng clearly felt his strength increase. Upon checking, he saw his strength had risen to four, he now needed thirty more experience points to level up again, and had twenty left. Gu Feng smiled wryly—if he wanted to level up again, he'd have to kill another person.

In fact, Gu Feng had never actually killed anyone before; exploding himself and others hardly counted, since he died as well.

"Right, what came in the grand reward package for my first death?"

Gu Feng pulled the reward package from his inventory and chose to open it. Instantly, a plethora of items appeared in his inventory, dazzling his eyes and filling him with excitement—the package was lavish indeed.

Death Reward Package, Special Reward: Level +1; Skill Slash +1; Novice Equipment Set; Low-grade Warrior Leather Armor Set; Weapon: Refined Iron Shortsword; Recovery Pill x1; Copper Coins x100; Points x10.

Looking at the equipment, Gu Feng eagerly equipped them. Instantly, a set of finely crafted leather armor covered his body, fitting perfectly. The refined iron shortsword gleamed with a cold light, testifying to its sharpness.

Checking his stats again, he saw he had reached Level Two, and his strength was now eight. Clearly, each level increased strength by a different amount.

After the excitement faded, Gu Feng looked out toward the courtyard, a trace of worry in his heart. "Why isn't my sister back yet? It's so late... Could something have happened to her?" With that thought, he rushed out of the courtyard, deeply regretting having left his sister behind.