Chapter One: The Infernal Beginning

“Mom! Look at that damn Du Yu—he’s stolen more than a dozen duck eggs from our house! All because of that little bitch!”
“What curse has the Du family brought upon themselves to raise such a bone-chilling dragon!”
...

Listening to the shouting outside, Du Yu lay in bed, blinking in confusion.

He remembered originally delivering food in the city. As his order was about to timeout, he had pressed the accelerator a little too hard and then crashed into something.

In a daze, he recalled colliding head-on with a large truck.

Then, a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind.

It turned out that the body he had transmigrated into also belonged to a man named Du Yu, but it was now the year 2002.

Unlike his previous life, this Du Yu had been raised with great expectations, yet he had failed the college entrance exam. Worse still, the village beauty who had always liked him since childhood had abandoned him.

“My dad said I’m so pretty, I’ll surely attract some big boss in the city one day. So just stop coming after me...”

That very day, the original Du Yu had stolen ten sea duck eggs from his sister-in-law’s house, exchanged them at the village shop for three bottles of beer, gotten drunk, and then died suddenly...

And that’s when Du Yu had transmigrated.

Sorting through his memories, Du Yu gave a bitter smile. The original family was supported solely by his widowed mother; his eldest brother had married early, and the two of them urged the original Du Yu to focus on studying.

Now, with his college dreams shattered after twelve years of hard study, the villagers had not stopped mocking him.

It was, to say the least, a catastrophic start.

*Creak...*

At that moment, the door opened. Du Yu turned his head and saw a gaunt face framed by graying hair.

It was the original Du Yu’s mother, Li Chunhong.

“Son, your sister-in-law’s duck egg woman repaid you. Your brother said he’ll find you some work in the next few days. You can’t just stay at home all the time.”

“Mm.”

Du Yu nodded, a wave of bitterness welling up inside him.

“Sigh, Mom knows how hard it is for you. I’ll give you ten yuan later so you can go out for a walk.”

Li Chunhong looked at her son with a mother’s pity—after all, she doted on her youngest.

“I’ve put your meal on the table. Eat it and leave it there; I’ll come back to clean up. The money’s on the table too. I have to go shell the thin-shelled clams now, and I’ll be back tonight.”

After speaking, Li Chunhong gently closed the door.

Inside the room, Du Yu poked at the meager food in his bowl, staring at the dilapidated house with an indescribable sorrow.

From the original’s memories, he learned they now lived in a small fishing village in the southeast.

Since he could remember, the family had never bought new furniture. His mother worked tirelessly shelling clams, collecting oysters, helping sell fish from the boats, struggling to raise him and his elder brother.

Before turning fifty, she had already developed joint disease.

The family was burdened with debts to pay for Du Yu’s education.

...

After finishing his meal and preparing to fetch water from the cistern to clean up, a shiny bald head poked through the door.

“Brother Yu, look what I brought you!”

The bald boy squeezed into the room, proudly presenting what he held.

*Quack, quack, quack...*

It was a duck.

“Brother, this time I didn’t steal from your sister-in-law. I got it from the village chief’s house. Since the little sister-in-law likes you so much, she definitely won’t snitch.”

The bald boy said excitedly.

“The village chief’s house? Go back. Don’t take anything from there again.”

“Brother Yu, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, just stay away from their place from now on.”

The bald boy was puzzled, but having been Du Yu’s shadow since childhood, he treated Du Yu’s words as law.

Watching the bald boy leave, Du Yu lost the urge to tidy the house. After all, money was tight now.

Maybe he should try his luck at gathering seafood?

Du Yu had grown up in a fishing village in his past life and was an avid fisherman before delivering food in the city.

The southeastern coastline was rich in resources, with various seafood available year-round.

In this era, many species weren’t protected yet, and there was no fear of ending up in jail for collecting shellfish.

Yes, he would do it right away.

Du Yu found a blue bucket at home, checked inside to find a shovel, a rake, and some iron tongs—all the tools he needed.

He grabbed a bag of salt from the kitchen, filled a bottle with tap water, and took a thin, breathable shirt to use as sun protection.

It was already noon. Stepping out, a strong briny seafood smell hit him.

The fishing village had lived off the sea for generations. Shellfish piles by the village formed small hills, and the sun made the smell even stronger...

But Du Yu seemed unfazed; after all, he had grown up in such an environment in his past life and was long accustomed to it.

This was just the beginning.

The sun blazed down mercilessly, feeling like needles piercing his skin.

Walking along the village’s stone path, Du Yu attracted many curious glances from villagers.

Everyone knew the second son of the Du family usually studied in the county, was a good student, but had failed the college entrance exam.

The villagers had taken great pleasure in watching his downfall.

This was the first time they had seen Du Yu go out to work.

If it were the original pale and delicate Du Yu, he probably wouldn’t have lasted more than a few hours under the sun without severe sunburn.

But now, Du Yu had already put on clothes over his body. Except for the hot spots, the rest was bearable.

Ignoring the villagers’ stares, Du Yu leisurely made his way to a rocky beach.

In these times, far fewer people went tidepooling than in the future, but there were plenty of fist-sized turban snails everywhere.

However, Du Yu wasn’t interested in collecting snails today. They were easy to gather and could fill a bucket quickly, but the price was low.

Now, eating razor clams and small clams was all the rage in the city.

In the summer of 2002, with the World Cup heating up, barbecue stalls nationwide were booming, and the discarded shells of razor clams and small clams could circle the earth three times.

This was why he had brought a bag of salt with him.

Razor clams usually hide in their little holes. When the tide rises, they come close to the surface; when the tide falls, they retreat deep inside.

The tide was currently gentle, and the clams were still asleep in their holes.

The southeastern coast of China had the largest population of razor clams, and unlike the future when most were farmed bamboo clams, these were mostly wild.

The beach was densely dotted with tiny clam breathing holes.

*Hiss...*

Du Yu carefully poured salt down a finger-sized hole.

From his past life’s experience, the larger the hole, the bigger the clam inside.

Soon, a pale yellow, long and thick bamboo clam, unable to tolerate the salt, struggled to push its way out.

Du Yu was quick, pinching the clam’s thin shells on both sides, weighing it carefully—it was over two taels (approximately 75 grams)!

Just as Du Yu lifted it and tossed it into the bucket, a voice echoed in his mind.

“Ding! Host detected initial capture of Bamboo Clam King *1*.”

“Luck value +5.”

Huh?

Du Yu’s vision blurred, and a screen appeared before his eyes.

Alongside it was an exchange list.

“Luck Value Shop: Luck points can be exchanged here for magical items.”

“Sand shovel (Durability 100/100) 10 luck points: Sharper, harder, speeds up digging.”

“Scooping net (Durability 100/100) 10 luck points: Chance to increase size of captured creatures.”

“Bucket 100 luck points: Extra-large capacity.”

“Fishing rod 1000 luck points: Easier to catch rare sea fish.”

(The rarer the marine life the host catches, the more luck points earned.)

...

After reading, Du Yu’s heart swelled with excitement. Finally, his transmigration wasn’t in vain. Having a system was truly a blessing.