“Eat.” Seeing him staring blankly at the piece of meat in his hand, Mang Jiu pushed it forward again. “Here, eat.”

Zhang Shuguang nearly gagged at the overwhelming stench of blood.

His stomach churned violently. He clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle the retching while waving the other at Mang Jiu.

Thanks, thanks. I can’t handle it.

The long-haired pelt covering him slipped down, revealing most of his thin frame.

Zhang Shuguang lowered his hand from his mouth, tugged at the pelt, and gave an awkward chuckle. “I won’t eat it. I’m not hungry.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than his stomach growled loudly.

The slap in the face came so fast it caught Zhang Shuguang off guard.

His cheeks flushed crimson, his entire body bristling with embarrassment.

Mang Jiu glanced at the fresh leg meat clutched in his hand, tilted his head, and asked with puzzled eyes, “You’re hungry, why won’t you eat?”

Zhang Shuguang took a deep breath, his face burning. “Well, I prefer it cooked,” he stammered. The words barely left his mouth before he realized how awkward his request sounded—not a single stick of firewood was in sight in this cave, suggesting his companion likely didn’t eat cooked food. Quickly backtracking, he added, “You go ahead and eat. I’ll have mine later.”

Mang Jiu hummed in acknowledgment. “You like your meat roasted?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Zhang Shuguang nodded vigorously. This guy was really on the ball.

Mang Jiu gave a slight nod, said nothing more, and turned to walk away with the meat in hand.

Zhang Shuguang watched him leave the cave with the meat, unsure where he was headed. He decided to retrieve the phone pressed beneath his buttocks, powered it on, and to his surprise, it actually turned on!

Thank goodness—this wasn’t a dream!

The screen lit up, and after about ten seconds, the phone booted successfully.

Everything displayed normally except for the lack of network signal.

He first opened the free novel app, only to find he couldn’t read anything without internet. Sighing, he exited.

He’d hoped to check the free chapters of that beast world novel, but nothing loaded.

He opened the photo album instead, flipping through pictures of his family.

He had no idea how his own body was holding up. Getting hit by that car must have sent him flying pretty far.

Zhang Shuguang stared at the photos and videos in the album, his lips curling slightly as his nose stung and his eyes grew dry.

He raised a hand to wipe his face. The blurred reflection on the screen startled him momentarily. He swiftly switched to the front-facing camera and examined his face meticulously.

It was his face—not a single detail different. Even the tiny crimson mole at the center of his collarbone was identical.

Zhang Shuguang lowered his head and ran his hands over his body once more. At the small of his back, he felt the scar left from a childhood fall during one of his mischievous escapades.

His entire body trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief.

What was going on? How could this body be identical to his real-world one?

Though this body resembled his own, he wasn’t this thin. He was the type who looked slim in clothes but had muscle underneath. This body, however, seemed like skin stretched over bones—clearly malnourished!

Panicking, he snapped a photo of himself, then pulled up his original selfie. Like a spot-the-difference game, he compared them inch by inch.

One face was sallow and gaunt, the other sun-kissed and handsome.

Apart from the different hairstyles, they were almost indistinguishable.

Zhang Shuguang pressed his lips tightly together, his mind a tangled mess. He had no clue why he was here, let alone why he’d become a disposable pawn.

Ding!

The download completion notification sounded.

Zhang Shuguang froze, wondering if he’d heard it wrong.

He instinctively tapped to exit the gallery, then swiped left twice across the screen. On the last page, an app named “Seed” appeared, its icon a simple sketch of a pale green grass sprout.

Ignoring the bluntly named app, the icon itself was rather cute.

But no matter how adorable, its bizarre appearance couldn’t be overlooked!

This was another world! How could an app download without any signal?

Zhang Shuguang stared at the small icon for a long while, unable to bring himself to tap it.

Ding~

Right before his eyes, a speech bubble suddenly appeared above the icon, containing two words and a punctuation mark.

Tap me!

A blunt demand.

Zhang Shuguang snorted, his finger steadfastly refusing to move.

Another soft ding sounded, and the text inside the bubble changed.

Remaining battery: 39%.

Zhang Shuguang thought about his phone’s battery status, took a deep breath, and then, with a slight tremor in his fingertip, tapped the app icon.

Seed App at your service. Please ensure sufficient battery to keep the device powered on. Below is an overview of basic functions.

Following the prompt, a facial recognition login appeared. Zhang Shuguang held his phone steady, scanning his entire face. The screen then displayed “Login Successful.”

Three simple tabs appeared: Seeds, Tasks, and Points Redemption.

Zhang Shuguang tapped each one in turn. He found three active tasks in the Tasks section, but the Points Redemption tab showed no response—likely requiring points to unlock.

As for the Seeds tab…

Zhang Shuguang swiped up to reveal an exceptionally comprehensive selection of vegetable seeds, melon seedlings, and fruit saplings. So comprehensive it felt oddly familiar.

Ding~

A dialog box appeared at the bottom of the phone: Dear Master, I am your adorable mobile app software, Vegetable Seeds. You may call me Xiao Cai.

I currently have 39% battery power to serve you. I will automatically shut down when power drops below 10%. Please ensure Xiao Cai’s safety.

Zhang Shuguang’s mouth twitched several times as his fingers typed in the app’s chat box.

Why am I here? And what exactly is this vegetable seed app for?

Xiao Cai: You can complete tasks to restore battery and earn power points. Upgrading grants vegetable seed rewards, with a chance to drop extra seeds and points. Points can be exchanged for various practical items. When your points reach 100, the points section will automatically unlock.

Xiao Cai: Due to a temporal disruption, your soul separated from your body after the car accident. As items you were using, your phone and seed box followed you into the temporal portal.

Xiao Cai: As for this alternate world evolving from a novel, even I don’t know the reason.

Xiao Cai: In the seed inventory, vegetable seedlings will unlock based on the level you’ve upgraded the app to. Please charge your phone diligently to level up the app.

Xiao Cai: Reminder: Remaining battery 35%.

Zhang Shuguang’s fingers flew across the keyboard: Can I hide the phone?

After all, him standing there naked, clutching a phone looked pretty weird. If he dropped it and it hit him, the phone would probably die instantly.

He opened the taskbar, revealing three missions.

1. Complete the Fire-Starting Task: Reward 5% battery, 5 points, 100 EXP.

2. Catch Fish (0/10): Reward 5% battery, 5 points, 100 EXP.

3. Harvest Potatoes (0/10): Reward 5% battery, 5 points, 100 EXP.

Xiao Cai: You can hide the phone in system panel mode. Simply call upon Xiao Cai mentally to open the attribute panel anytime. All tasks can be completed with others’ help.

Xiao Cai: For items needed in tasks, Master must touch them with your hand and silently recite their names to add them to the app.

Xiao Cai: Please complete tasks promptly, Master. Remaining battery: 34%.

Zhang Shuguang: First, hide the phone. How do I talk to you after it’s hidden?

Xiao Cai: Use your thoughts.

Zhang Shuguang pressed his forehead, watching the phone gradually vanish before his eyes. His hand felt lighter.

“Accept all three tasks.”

Ding! Ding! Ding! Three soft chimes echoed in his mind. The three tasks on the attribute panel turned green.

Xiao Cai: Master, please complete tasks quickly to level up. Higher app levels unlock more vegetable varieties.

Zhang Shuguang: Can I retrieve seeds anytime?

Xiao Cai: Yes, whenever you wish. Seeds include planting instructions. Friendly reminder: If you want to keep chatting, charge your phone first—I’m nearly drained!

Zhang Shuguang chuckled softly, silently muttering “close,” and the attribute panel vanished.

Having sat cross-legged for too long, his legs were now numb. He briefly massaged them before lifting his head toward the cave entrance.

His conversation with Xiao Cai had lasted over half an hour, yet Mang Jiu still hadn’t returned.

After easing the pain and numbness in his legs, Zhang Shuguang rose from the stone slab.

He’d initially thought he’d been sleeping on a stone bed, but it turned out to be just a slightly flatter slab of rock—no wonder it felt so hard and cold.

Asking him to drill wood for fire under these conditions was downright unreasonable. To start a fire now, he’d likely have to borrow embers from someone who had them.

As for finding a stranger in this unfamiliar place to borrow fire… Zhang Shuguang sighed. From a pile of haphazardly scattered hides nearby, he selected one that looked reasonably soft and wrapped it around his bare lower body.

Merely wrapping it wasn’t enough. Glancing around, he spotted a vine-like plant deeper within the cave. He tore it off and tied it around his waist.

He intended to first check the surroundings near the cave entrance before deciding his next move. If this tribe had many members, borrowing a fire source shouldn’t be too difficult.

The cave entrance was about ten meters away. Zhang Shuguang moved slowly, not because he didn’t want to hurry, but mainly because his body felt weak and ached everywhere, making swift movement impossible.

Zhang Shuguang deliberately ignored the blood-soaked prey near the wall. Shuffling to the entrance, the sunlight stung his eyes, causing a momentary blur of colors.

He closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside before opening them again. The sight outside immediately stunned him.

In the distance lay an ocean, black reefs, golden sands, lush green forests, and then mountains—rolling, undulating mountains. Some were covered in verdant forests, others were barren yet dotted with caves.

Zhang Shuguang couldn’t gauge the distance at a glance, but he knew this place was vast—truly immense, offering that sense of boundless expanse stretching for miles.

“You’re awake.”

Zhang Shuguang turned to see Mang Jiu climbing up the hillside behind him, clutching a piece of charred meat. “…”

Mang Jiu lifted the charred meat in his hand, gesturing for Zhang Shuguang to take it. “The meat’s done. Here, eat.”

Zhang Shuguang stared stiffly at the smoking, blackened piece of meat. Having been tried to be fed twice in less than an hour, was it really appropriate to refuse again?