Hunger, like a living creature dwelling in my stomach, was gnawing away at my last bit of strength.

The food I ate last night has been mostly digested.

The scorching sun beat down on them, carrying with it the pungent smell of sweat from the crowd and something deeper—despair.

The fleeing caravan moved forward in silence.

Their faces were sallow, thin, and numb, their eyes clouded with gray.

Jiang Chan walked at the back of the crowd, with a thinner girl named Xiao Tao beside her.

The fatigue in her body was clearly perceptible, and the deep soreness in her muscles reminded her that her strength was far from the level she should have had in her previous life.

She needs time, but time is a luxury here.

She needed food, but food was a luxury during this famine...

She traveled through time.

Instead of traveling to a certain dynasty, I traveled into a melodramatic novel circulating in a post-apocalyptic base called "Survival in a Famine".

That book was made up by a few bored survivors based on ancient famine relief history, incorporating all imaginable natural and man-made disasters: drought, floods, locusts, earthquakes, plagues... The most outrageous thing is that in the later stages, "living corpses" that resemble zombies actually appeared!

It even incorporates various elements of the bizarre, games, cultivation, fantasy, and magic...

A huge, chaotic stew!

“Survival in a Famine…” she read the title of the book silently.

In the ruins of the doomsday base, this paper novel was passed around until the edges were worn and tattered.

Everyone treated it as a joke to pass the time... Who would have thought that she would actually be transported into this crazy world!

The real pain in her palm ruthlessly reminded her: This is not a dream! The absurd disasters in the book are becoming, or will soon become, the reality she experiences.

"The main character in the book is called... Chen something?" She tried hard to recall the words on those yellowed pages, her memory like a torn jigsaw puzzle, needing to be pieced back together—Chen Yan! Yes, that's the name!

A scholar born into poverty becomes a savior hero on the road to escape famine, thanks to his extraordinary wisdom and noble character.

"Noble character? Savior of the world?" Jiang Chan sneered, she clearly remembered the descriptions in the book.

Anyone who was close to Chen Yan either died a terrible death or a very terrible death... while Chen Yan himself always managed to turn misfortune into good fortune!

“A curse on family!” Jiang Chan uttered the word she learned in the apocalypse. Some people are born like jinxes; those who get close to them will suffer bad luck, while they themselves can miraculously survive.

Of course, this is also a plot point that the author of this book forced in for the sake of narrative structure and the needs of the story...

Actually, as long as you stay away from this "chosen male lead," it's not a big deal.

Moreover, compared to this "jinxed" male protagonist, this escape route is probably even more dangerous...

"Oh God..." A soft sob came from a woman with a headscarf next to Jiang Chan.

She covered her mouth tightly with her sleeve, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her dusty face, leaving two deep ravines.

"When... will this end...? Honey... we've only just started fleeing the famine, and I can barely hold on..." Her words were incoherent, only broken cries remained.

The man beside her kept his head down, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, but he didn't utter a sound.

Jiang Chan looked away.

She could understand the pain, but her experience of the apocalypse had long since dried her tears.

To live on, to live calmly, that was her only instinct.

She adjusted the position of the bundle on her back; although it only contained some clothes to make a show of it, it still made her feel uncomfortable.

Just then, an unusual vibration came from beneath my feet.

It was so faint, mixed in with the chaotic footsteps of the group, that it was almost imperceptible.

But Jiang Chan suddenly raised her head, her body tensing instantly, like a wild beast that had sensed danger.

Those aren't human footsteps!

It's a horse's hoof!

They were approaching rapidly from the dense forest to the side, in a hurried, chaotic, and numerous manner!

"Watch out!" she blurted out, her voice high-pitched, unusually clear, and cold.

The crowd paused in confusion, many not even realizing what she was saying.

Several quick-thinking young men instinctively followed her gaze.

Too late!

A sharp whistle ripped through the deathly silence of the valley!

Accompanied by chilling screams and the clatter of horses' hooves pounding on the rocks, dozens of dark figures burst forth from the dense forest on both steep slopes like vultures that had smelled carrion!

"Bandits! It's bandits—!"

A piercing scream finally rang out.

The crowd erupted in chaos!

The numbness of despair was torn apart by immense fear, replaced by utter chaos.

The woman screamed and hugged her child tightly, the man frantically tried to find a weapon or a way to escape, and the old man was knocked to the ground.

The once lifeless group scattered and fled like ants thrown into boiling water.

Run! Run!

The old village chief roared hoarsely.

However, how can two legs outrun four legs?

The bandits' horses swept in like a whirlwind, easily cutting off the path in front of the crowd. Their sharp machetes gleamed coldly in the sunlight, forcing back the few villagers who were fleeing at the front.

Another group of bandits flanked them from the side, completely blocking their retreat.

"Kneel down, all of you! If you don't want to die, kneel down!" A burly man with a face full of scars and a bare, hairy chest rode on the tallest black horse, blood still dripping from the ghost-head knife in his hand.

He slashed down a young man who tried to resist.

The young man's body went limp and fell, his blood quickly staining the soil red.

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