Chapter One: The Battlefield of Evolution

One-Star Evolution Battlefield, Wild Goose Plain, a small mountain valley.

The sky was blue as silk, clouds scattered gently, and the sunlight was bright but not scorching.

On a low hill, Fang Mu lay in wait.

The waist-high weeds around him offered excellent cover, but the long hours of lying still had left half his body numb. He shifted slightly, baring his teeth as he tried to work out the stiffness.

"After this job, I’ll finally be able to buy a basic Gene Primal Energy Cultivation Manual… It’s just the most common, standard one, but at least it’ll keep my blood flowing—no more going numb just from lying here for a while…"

He muttered to himself, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

He adjusted his position; before him lay a G-301 manual sniper rifle. The gun was clearly old, its body mottled and covered in dents and scrapes.

It was secondhand, bought only after he’d sold everything he could before entering the One-Star Battlefield. Though it was the lowest-grade G-class firearm, and a used one at that, he cherished it. This gun was his only real asset in the battlefield.

He did not come from a wealthy family. The rich bought all manner of cultivation manuals and gene combat techniques, then entered evolution battlefields to slaughter, seize resources, and refine themselves.

But Fang Mu had no such resources.

He couldn’t even afford the most basic mass-market Gene Primal Energy Cultivation Manual.

He could only rely on this most "primitive" method.

Fortunately, he had a clear plan for his future. Over the past nine years of integrated education, he’d specialized in marksmanship… In the graduation exam three months ago, his score was the highest in the entire school.

That was why, though still unevolved, he dared to enter the One-Star Battlefield alone.

Unfortunately, ordinary firearms had very limited uses. They were only truly lethal to the lowest-tier "Iron-Black" creatures in the battlefield. Once a creature reached "Bronze," conventional weapons had little effect.

If he were to face a "Silver" creature, his weapons would be almost useless. Even the sniper rifle, the most powerful single-target weapon, could hardly inflict fatal damage…

At best, it could wound.

But if he couldn’t kill with a single shot, it was best not to provoke such creatures. Otherwise, regret would come too late. They could tear through metal with ease—facing them as an unevolved ordinary person was no better than being made of paper.

"Unless I cultivate Gene Primal Energy, and then master Gun Combat Techniques…"

At that thought, yearning flickered in his eyes.

Gene Primal Energy was the foundation of evolution.

By hunting creatures in the Evolution Battlefield and consuming their flesh and blood, one could obtain Gene Primal Energy of the corresponding level. The cultivation manual was the method to fuse this energy into one’s cells.

When the cells absorbed Gene Primal Energy, a person began the path of evolution. Once super-evolution was triggered, one gained terrifying, inhuman powers.

An evolver’s bones could become hundreds or thousands of times harder than diamond, their organs powerful, their genetic activity astonishing, even capable of surviving in the vacuum of space…

Myths of "soaring the skies and burrowing into the earth," or "shattering stars with a palm"—in the world of evolvers, such feats were no longer mere legend.

As for Gun Combat Techniques, they were new gene combat arts developed in recent years during battles with battlefield creatures.

Simply put, they were methods that fused Gene Primal Energy with firearms.

By integrating the energy into guns and bullets in unknown ways, they dramatically increased firing speed, accuracy, range, and power, producing all manner of miraculous effects.

Flame, frost, lightning, hallucinations, transformation, armor-piercing…

Strange bullets with myriad effects, each more wondrous than the last.

Those who mastered these techniques were called "Gunfighters."

Fang Mu’s dream was to become a powerful Gunfighter.

As a child, he had once seen a video of a Gunfighter on the starry battlefield. That formidable fighter, armed with a sniper rifle, destroyed a Machine Clan starship from a hundred thousand miles away…

A Machine Clan starship!

Something even nuclear weapons were helpless against!

Obliterated from a hundred thousand miles with a single shot…

The thought alone was terrifying.

From that moment, becoming a powerful Gunfighter became Fang Mu’s unwavering dream.

And today, he might just take his first step on that path.

He licked his lips, gaze locked on the valley below.

The small valley was about three hundred meters from his hiding spot. A stream wound through it, the setting tranquil and beautiful.

His target for this hunt was within this valley.

He was hunting the most common Iron-Black creature in the One-Star Battlefield: the Obsidian Beetle.

Creatures in the One-Star Evolution Battlefield were divided by life level into four ranks: Iron-Black, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Creatures of Bronze and above were beyond Fang Mu’s current ability to handle. Without having learned Gun Combat Techniques, his G-301 semi-automatic sniper rifle had very limited lethality against Bronze and higher, so he could only hunt Iron-Black creatures.

In the past three months, he’d killed over twenty such creatures, consuming a fair amount of Iron-Black Gene Primal Energy. But without a cultivation manual, absorption relied solely on his genetic instinct—inefficient and slow.

This time, he’d taken on a commission; someone needed a large number of Obsidian Beetle corpses, though for what purpose he didn’t know. The reward was generous. If he could kill enough, the payment, combined with his previous savings, should be enough to purchase a Gene Primal Energy Cultivation Manual "gene seed."

With the "gene seed," he would have the means to train.

Of course, he could only afford the most basic manual; its absorption speed and efficiency were only slightly better than instinctual absorption… Wealthy people didn’t bother with such things. Moreover, its upper limit was low—the highest one could reach with it was Silver.

But he had no choice. For most ordinary people, this was the only cultivation manual available.

By this stage of the Evolution Era, class divisions had long since solidified, and all means for ordinary people to transcend their class had been tightly locked away. Breaking through was nearly impossible.

Thinking of this, Fang Mu exhaled, feeling neither resentment nor indignation… He understood this was the natural course of history.

Anyone who rose to power would ensure enough benefits for themselves and their kin… Even if they didn’t, those around them would do it for them.

This was the way of the world.

Lamenting one’s fate or debating fairness was pointless; it was better to focus on seizing what opportunities one could grasp. All else was empty talk.

"It’s been over three hours already—why haven’t they appeared yet? Is the intel wrong?"

Fang Mu muttered.

According to the information, Obsidian Beetles were active in this valley, but he’d been lying in wait for over three hours with no sign of them.

He dared not move.

Obsidian Beetles were timid and alert, living in crevices or underground, venturing out only occasionally to bask in the sun.

If they sensed danger, finding them would become nearly impossible.

But for a sniper, patience was essential. Though his body had gone numb, Fang Mu remained calm, breathing steadily, waiting.

Patience paid off. After about another half hour, there was finally movement in the stream at the bottom of the valley…