Slumped to the ground, Xia Shang's heart was in turmoil with a mix of emotions.

Pain, doubt, sorrow, bewilderment...

Burying his head between his knees and gripping the soil beneath the wheat stalks tightly with both hands, the sight before him brought a tremendous sense of unreality to this young man who had lived in peace and tranquility for the past twenty-eight years.

What kind of bullshit time travel is this? It's fake, right?!

In novels and TV shows, the moment the main characters wake up, someone immediately calls out "Your Grace, Duke!" or "Your Highness!" and gives them food and drink as they please.

At the very least, a pretty little maid should jump out and shyly call out, "Master, you're awake?"

When it's my turn, all I have left is a frail body and a few hours to live?

Trying to reach his right hand into the empty darkness, Xia Shang said in despair, "Invincible Upgrade System."

Nothing happened.

"The ultimate cheat code".

There's still nothing there.

"Farming Space".

"A portable gadget".

"Peerless martial arts skills".

"An old man with a white beard would be fine too..."

The only response he received was the howling wind and snow outside the window.

After a few seconds of silence, Xia Shang angrily flung the straw beneath him into the air and roared in a low voice, "Since I'm dressed naked, I'll live to show you!"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his right index finger, the first thing he did was to organize the information at hand.

Based on the conversation between the two people outside the door, the owner of this body was named Todd. He was killed because he accidentally witnessed the two thugs' secret.

He glanced at the black, frozen mass on the table.

Perhaps due to the low temperature and unfamiliarity with the preparation, the poison, which should have been a liquid, turned into a semi-solid and became lodged in the mouth. Originally, Todd should have died from mechanical asphyxiation and lack of oxygen. The assailant found that he was not breathing, so he placed the body in this room, and coincidentally, Xia Shang's soul took over this body.

Judging from the house structure, interior decoration, and clothing, this place is somewhat similar to medieval Europe, but the language used is not English, although the grammatical structure is somewhat similar. What's most interesting is that, despite being an unfamiliar language, one can understand it. Perhaps this is because the brain of this body has retained some basic abilities from a previous life?

Finally, there's the issue of time.

The perpetrators mentioned that they would enter the area at dawn to begin disposing of the bodies.

If by then I haven't escaped, there's only one fate awaiting me.

They were first killed, then disfigured, then burned, and finally thrown into a mine.

The thought of such a tragic end sent a chill down Xia Shang's spine.

Taking a deep breath and patting his face, he decided that since he had decided to live, he should abandon distractions and think carefully about what to do next. First, putting himself in the shoes of his original character was a necessary preparation for surviving in this world.

Forget the name Xia Shang, you are now Todd.

Next, we can move on to the second thing: develop an escape plan.

The small window under the roof was only for ventilation and couldn't be used to escape, so the only way out was through the wooden door in front of them.

Using the tools in the room, it would be nearly impossible to break the iron bolt on the door lock. But the wooden planks on the door looked very old, and with a good tool, it might be possible to pry open a large hole.

Todd stood up and, by the dim light of the candle, searched the room, finally finding a fifty-centimeter-long iron rod in the stone stove.

Todd picked up the rather heavy iron crowbar and gestured at the wooden door a couple of times. He felt a little relieved; breaking these wooden planks shouldn't be a problem.

Wait a moment.

It seems I've forgotten a crucial point.

Hitting these planks would inevitably wake the two thugs sleeping outside. Judging from their appearance, movements, and skills, as well as the daggers, nooses, and iron hoops they carried, they didn't seem like easy opponents. With my weak physique, the chances of surviving a direct confrontation were practically zero…

Is there any way to open the wooden door without waking the two people and escape safely?

Looking around at the things at hand, there was only an iron rod, a stack of straw, a stove for starting a fire, a small pile of coal, a candle that was about to burn out, and a wooden table. That was all.

Todd tilted his head, thought carefully for a moment, and suddenly a brilliant idea flashed in his mind.

From the beginning, my thinking has been fixed on the path of opening the door first and then dealing with the threat. What if we reversed the order of action? What if we dealt with the threat outside the door first and then opened the door?

Perhaps it could be like this, or even like this...

Walking over to the coal pile, Todd squatted down, picked up a piece of coal, and examined it carefully.

Then, we went to the stove where the fire was lit, opened the iron door at the stove opening, and looked inside. Similar to some old-fashioned duplex heating systems in rural areas, there was a movable baffle on the chimney facing the roof. Closing the baffle ensured that outside wind and snow would not get in and cause the fire to go out when it was lit.

Looking at the candle, which was burning shorter and shorter and the flame was almost gone, Todd gritted his teeth and thought to himself that there seemed to be no other good way out.

Stuff a handful of wheat straw into the stove, light it with a candle flame, then add coal and spread it evenly with an iron skewer. Next, turn off the stove, grab some dry and wet soil from the ground, and seal all the gaps.

Having done all that, Todd looked at his hands, covered in mud and coal dust, and listened to the crackling sounds from the stove. He sat down at the wooden table and stared blankly at the still fierce wind and snow outside the small window.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!