[Welcome to the Plane World of "Plague of Flesh: Origin" — the Trial of the Awakened begins.]
[You have temporarily acquired the local language of this plane: Old Swedish. Your appearance and clothing have been auto-adjusted for local compatibility, and will not arouse suspicion among the native inhabitants. These changes do not affect your hidden attribute: Charisma.]
[You have temporarily obtained a 1-cubic-meter storage space. The shape can be freely adjusted, but the volume remains constant.]
The emotionless voice of the Will of the Spirit Realm echoed out, followed by a series of plane scenario introductions:
[Plague of Flesh: Origin][Time: 17th Century][Region: Europe — Around the Baltic Sea][Difficulty Level: 1.5][Background: A blood-red meteorite from outer space crashed into the Scandinavian Peninsula. The curse of flesh is spreading across the land. Many perished, transforming into instinct-driven Plague Dead, wandering the dark lands, craving fresh flesh and blood…]
The frigid wind cut like knives against the skin.
The scene before Gu Ning's eyes quickly came into focus.
He looked down at his hands and tentatively clenched them.
A surge of strength, unlike anything he had ever felt, coursed through him.
His feet pressed firmly against the solid ground, and the feedback through the soles of his feet was shockingly clear—again, an entirely new sensation.
"Personal Attributes," Gu Ning whispered internally.
A translucent information window appeared within his field of vision.
[Gu Ning (Pre-Awakened)][Class: None][Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5, Endurance 5, Spirit 9][Talents: None][Skill 1: Source Blood Fusion (Pseudo): You have temporarily fused with Evolution Source Blood, resulting in unknown bodily changes. If you fail the trial and return to reality, the Source Blood will be automatically removed. If you die, the Source Blood will also be stripped away.]
Gu Ning couldn't suppress the surge of emotion. He sprinted freely across the vast open land, the whistling wind in his ears bringing tears streaming down his face.
"I've finally… succeeded!"
Only those who have lost their sight truly understand the value of light.
Afflicted with congenital heart disease and burdened by the heavy toll of a powerful intellect, Gu Ning had suffered from muscle atrophy and organ failure since early childhood. Confined to a wheelchair, he lived a half-dead life, never knowing what it meant to have a healthy body.
Now, his body wasn't just healthy—it had reached the threshold of a Pre-Awakened, the upper limit of ordinary human potential: a total attribute score of 20! It was like a beggar suddenly becoming an emperor—the contrast was beyond comprehension.
With his new physical strength, his formidable brain was no longer a burden. The dizzy spells caused by excessive observation and thinking vanished completely.
Even someone as calm and rational as Gu Ning couldn't contain his overwhelming excitement.
More prompts appeared on his retinal display:
[Trial Objective: Collect and successfully fuse two units of Evolution Source Blood.][Time Limit: 10 days][Difficulty: S][Current Progress: 1/2][Reward: Promotion to Awakened][Failure Penalty: Exile. You will be returned to the real world. Your next trial will have its difficulty increased by 30%, but rewards will not be enhanced.][Warning: Countdown to the Sting Squad entering this plane: 48 hours.]
"It's not time to celebrate yet."
Reading the Will of the Spirit Realm's prompt, Gu Ning narrowed his eyes in thought.
These prompts represented his trial task—if completed, he would ascend to become a true Awakened and officially join the ranks of humanity's elite.
He had already fused one unit of Evolution Source Blood, which accounted for the 1/2 progress.
As for the second unit, Gu Ning already had a lead.
The answer lay in the warning message—"Sting Squad."
Clearly, this was the name of another Awakened team.
"If the Will of the Spirit Realm issued an early warning, it means the Sting Squad is very likely hostile toward me—and significantly more powerful."
A lone pre-awakened like Gu Ning wouldn't normally be targeted by an elite team of Awakened. It's obvious—they were sent by the Transcendent Corporation to hunt him down across planes!
This squad most likely carried a unit of Source Blood.
Why? Because Source Blood is needed as an "anchor item" to accurately locate and enter the "Plague of Flesh: Origin" plane and pursue Gu Ning.
Anchor items are typically high-value spirit artifacts or objects with strong relevance to the specific plane. They function as locators during interdimensional travel.
Evolution Source Blood is both—an extremely rare spirit artifact and tightly linked to the current plane. It's the perfect anchor.
Without the Source Blood, the Sting Squad would randomly enter some other spirit realm plane and never find Gu Ning.
Therefore, the second unit he needed was likely to be seized from them.
This trial was extraordinarily difficult! Gu Ning knew that most Awakened trials were rated B to A—no need to fight other Awakened, only to interact with native inhabitants.
His task was rated S—he had to fight a trained squad of Awakened.
Given his lack of training, no combat skills or specialties, and the huge gap in strength, the S-grade rating was absolutely justified.
Worse still, even if he obtained the second Source Blood, he'd still need to figure out how to fuse it—there was no Dr. Zhao here to help.
The reason for such a high difficulty? Gu Ning brought with him an exceptionally rare spirit artifact—the Evolution Source Blood—to participate in the trial!
The Will of the Spirit Realm tailors trials based on each participant's potential, seeking to draw out their latent talents.
If a trial-seeker enters with a rare artifact, there's a high chance of triggering a difficult, artifact-related trial!
Many geniuses seek exactly this—they're not content with ordinary difficulty. They want to challenge themselves with elite trials.
High difficulty brings high rewards. Completing an S-grade trial means automatic promotion to elite class—your starting point is already ahead. If the task is completed excellently, even stronger professions may become available.
Gu Ning also noted that the Sting Squad would arrive 48 hours after him.
He speculated that the Transcendent Corporation likely dispatched them immediately after he escaped the spirit realm. The 48-hour delay was probably the Will of the Spirit Realm's way of balancing the situation.
Had they arrived at the same time, the difficulty could have reached SSS level!
Now, these precious two days were his window to prepare.
Gu Ning fashioned a crude stone axe using a wooden stick, a thin stone chip, and some dry vines. It felt slightly heavier than ordinary tools.
He stepped across the cold Nordic terrain, silently strategizing.
"There's no way I can take on a squad of Awakened by myself. I'll have to fully explore the plot and leverage the native forces if I want to stand a chance."
Even if not for that, interacting with natives was essential for fusing the second Source Blood.
After all, this plane is so closely connected to the Source Blood—it might actually originate from here. It's very likely that the natives possess the knowledge or skills for fusion.
On the horizon, a shambling humanoid figure entered Gu Ning's field of view.
"Doesn't look like a normal person… could this be one of the 'Plague Dead' mentioned in the scenario intro?"
Getting closer, Gu Ning clearly saw the creature's features.
Pale skin. Shriveled cheeks. Wearing tattered linen. Its legs moved mechanically.
Its eyes were the most terrifying—completely red, no pupils or whites visible.
"Looks slow… maybe not too hard to take down. But my weapon is crude, and I have no combat techniques. I'm practically a blank slate! Rushing in would be suicide."
Gu Ning quietly retreated behind a small dirt mound. Crouching, he used the stone chip to dig. Soon he had a primitive pit trap, with sharpened branches planted inside.
Once it was ready, he caught up with the now-distant Plague Dead.
His footsteps alerted the creature, which roared and turned around, arms outstretched to lunge.
Gu Ning gripped his makeshift axe tightly and, bracing himself, swung it with all his might.
The strike lacked form and was poorly angled.
But the Plague Dead didn't dodge. It charged straight into the blow, taking the hit on its shoulder—while simultaneously slashing at Gu Ning's chest!
Rip! Blood splattered. His linen clothes offered no protection—three gashes instantly appeared on his chest.
The pain of torn flesh hit him hard—and worse, his makeshift axe broke on the first strike. The vine snapped, the stone blade flew off—leaving only a bare wooden stick.
[Your attack dealt 6 blunt damage to the Plague Dead.][The Plague Dead's claw dealt 10 piercing damage to you, causing a Bleed effect: 1 HP lost every 5 seconds until the wound heals.]
Not a chance!
Each point of Endurance grants 10 base HP. With 5 Endurance, Gu Ning had only 50 HP—and he lost over a fifth in just one exchange!
Clutching his chest, Gu Ning turned and fled.
But after the blow, something strange happened—his skin writhed slightly, secreting a semi-liquid gel that hardened into a transparent layer of keratin. A new message appeared:
[Due to unknown factors, your body has undergone a stress-induced transformation. Defense against piercing damage has increased. Duration: 120 minutes or until the next transformation.]
Gu Ning blinked in surprise. Seeing he still had 30+ HP left, he gritted his teeth, turned around—and charged back into battle.
It was obvious—the so-called "unknown cause" had to be the fusion with source blood, which had triggered mutations in the body! Gu Ning needed to seize this opportunity of facing an isolated Plague Dead to test how effective his mutation ability really was.
Swish!The Plague Dead slashed with its claws—a second strike landed again!
However, this time, Gu Ning clearly felt that the creature's sharp claws, upon contacting his skin, were partially deflected by the keratinized outer layer of his epidermis, significantly reducing the force of the attack!
This time, the strike only left a surface wound. The damage Gu Ning received dropped from 10 points to just 5.
"A temporary change in my skin actually halved the damage?!"
Gu Ning was both surprised and thrilled.
Still, he had no intention of engaging the Plague Dead in a direct fight. After confirming the effectiveness of his mutation, he immediately turned and resumed his escape.
The Plague Dead let out a furious roar and gave chase. Despite its limp and unsteady gait, it moved at an astonishing frequency—faster even than a healthy human sprinting!
Fortunately, Gu Ning had an Agility stat of 5, making him two to three times faster than an average human. That was the only reason he hadn't been caught. He fled across the landscape, eventually reaching a low hill.
Boom!
With a dull thud, the Plague Dead tumbled into a pitfall.
Several sharpened branches buried in the trap snapped with a series of crack! sounds. They failed to pierce the creature's body, causing only negligible damage—barely a scratch.
Still, Gu Ning's tactical goal had been achieved. With its stiff limbs, the Plague Dead wouldn't be climbing out anytime soon.
Gu Ning knelt beside the pit, gripped his wooden club with both hands, and began striking down blindly.
Duang! Duang, Duang!
After more than ten brutal swings, the club finally snapped—but the Plague Dead was still alive, snarling and clawing its way up. Its sharp black nails tore chunks out of the frozen earth.
The steep pit wall was now partially carved into a slope by the creature's relentless digging. If left for a bit longer, it might really manage to escape.
Gu Ning dared not waste another second. He threw away the broken club, stepped onto the creature's shoulder, and with his Strength stat of 5, pinned it firmly against the pit wall before clenching his fists.
One punch. Two punches. Three punches...
The Plague Dead's entire head was eventually smashed into pulp. Putrid blood and yellowish brain matter oozed out slowly—until the creature finally stopped moving.