The year is 230 BC, on the border between the states of Yan and Wu.
The entire frontier was a field of slaughter. Among the thousands of bodies strewn across the churned earth lay broken swords, shattered chariots, and arrows bristling from the ground like a strange, metallic crop. Blood had soaked the soil, dyeing it a deep and terrible red. It was a scene of exceptionally gory devastation.
"Lad, why are you hauling that corpse with such a grin?" a soldier in a Yan Army uniform called out to another. "You'd think you'd found a chest of gold. If you love it so much, you can have this whole field to yourself."
As his words faded, the soldiers around him erupted in laughter.
"Don't tease him, Baifuzhang," one of them said, a smirk on his face. "The kid's a natural at this. He moves bodies as fast as ten men put together."
On a battlefield, while the elite Yan Iron Guard were responsible for conquest and slaughter, another group was tasked with cleaning up the aftermath. Known as Battlefield Sweepers, these men of the logistics unit moved among the dead, each with a black cloth tied over his face to ward off the stench. Their only duty was to clear the corpses and bury them before disease could fester.
Following their gazes, one could see a young man, his own face obscured by black cloth, moving with an unsettling energy. He would hoist a body onto his shoulders, carry it to a cart with a quick, practiced motion, and immediately run back for another, paying no mind to the others’ teasing.
You all know nothing, Li Chen thought, a secret joy burning within him. I’m picking up a fortune and getting stronger with every step.
Every time he touched a corpse, he would randomly obtain its residual attributes.
As Li Chen’s hands closed on the body of another Wu soldier, a line of text materialized before his eyes.
"Touched the corpse of a common Wu soldier. Successfully picked up 1 point of Strength."
He then lifted the body with ease and placed it on the ox-drawn cart. Once a cart was full, it would be hauled away for burial.
Keep going! he urged himself. I've already picked up more than forty points of Strength today. If each point is a pound of force, I've gained over forty pounds of strength in half a day! This feeling was incredible.
With every point of Strength he absorbed, Li Chen could feel the power settling into his muscles, a tangible and deeply satisfying sensation.
"Successfully picked up 1 point of Speed."
"Successfully picked up 1 point of Lifespan."
"Successfully picked up 1 point of Constitution."
Li Chen worked tirelessly, and soon an ox cart was piled high with the bodies of fallen Wu soldiers. The corpses of their own Yan Iron Guard, however, could not be treated so dismissively. They had to be arranged with care and buried in individual graves. Such was the difference between the enemy and one's own.
After two days of this work, Li Chen was well-acquainted with the grim routine. Having filled another cart, he called out to his superior. "Baifuzhang, I’m taking this load to the pits."
"Go on, go on," the man, Guo Shan, said, waving a hand with a hint of concern. "You really are a fast worker, lad. But don't push yourself so hard. We’re safe enough back here. Rest if you get tired. There’s no rush."
"Understood," Li Chen replied with a smile.
He led the ox cart away from the battlefield and toward the burial site. Along the way, he called up his Attribute Scroll.
Strength: 256 (The higher the value, the greater the explosive power.)
Speed: 188 (The higher the value, the faster the movement.)
Constitution: 167 (The stronger the constitution, the faster injury recovery and the greater the stamina.)
Spirit: 166 (The stronger the spirit, the clearer the mind and thoughts. At a certain level, it allows one to sense nature’s spiritual energy.)
Lifespan: 86 years and 32 days
Portable Space: 1 cubic meter
The extra thirty-two days of life were, of course, what he had picked up over the last few days. When he started, all his attributes had hovered around one hundred, the average for a normal man. In just three short days, they had skyrocketed.
I’ve only been a Battlefield Soldier for three days, and my lifespan has already increased by thirty-two days. That alone is exhilarating! This was a perfect post. No need to charge into battle; just clean up afterward. I’ve really come to the right place. If I keep carrying corpses and picking up attributes, could I achieve immortality? What would happen if all my attributes broke 1,000?
A powerful sense of anticipation for the future filled Li Chen.
The Battlefield Sweepers were the most despised unit among warriors who dreamed of glory and meritorious service. As a citizen of the Yan Territory who had just turned fourteen, Li Chen could not defy the government’s conscription order. Defiance meant prison, or worse, being demoted to a hard laborer and sent to the Beijiang Frontier to build The Great Wall—a fate that would also bring shame and ruin upon his family.
To spare his mother and sister that fate, he had no choice. Four months ago, Li Chen had reported to Feiyun Camp. After a month of brutal recruit training, he was assigned to the Rearguard Supply Camp, where his duty was to clear battlefields as a Battlefield Soldier.
Carrying corpses? His first thought was that it was an unlucky, grim job. He had initially despised the assignment. But when he realized it meant he wouldn't have to face the front lines, he came to love the idea. As someone reborn from a future era, Li Chen understood the sheer brutality of this age. This was the beginning of Yan’s campaign to annihilate the Six Kingdoms. In the war to conquer all of Canglong Continent, countless people would die on the battlefield, and even more would perish in the chaos that followed.
Li Chen had no ambition for promotion or nobility; his only plan was to serve his two years and return home to care for his mother and sister. He could never forget the worry etched on their faces when he was conscripted. If he died on the battlefield, how could they possibly bear it?
To survive, Li Chen had deliberately held back during training, avoiding any display of combat prowess that might get him sent to the front. His mediocrity earned him this assignment to the logistics camp. But the moment he touched his first corpse and his Attribute Scroll unlocked, he knew he had stumbled upon a golden opportunity. Being a Battlefield Soldier not only kept him alive but also allowed him to grow stronger with every body he touched. It was the perfect role for him.
Feeling his strength grow, feeling the profound transformation of his body from the rising attributes, Li Chen knew that this power was his and his alone.
He pulled the ox cart for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, finally arriving at a massive burial site. At least a thousand other logistics soldiers were already there, digging enormous pits in the earth. The Yan army of 100,000 had clashed fiercely with the State of Wu at the border, and the casualties inflicted on Wu's frontier army were immense. Even after three days of work, Li Chen guessed it would take until nightfall to bury all the bodies.
"Hey, Li Chen! You again!"
"That's your fourth cart today!"
The soldiers digging the pits laughed as they saw him arrive, his cart piled high with Wu corpses.
"Keep up the great work, brothers! This load's all yours," Li Chen called back with a grin. "I can't afford to waste any time."
With that, he abandoned the full cart, grabbed an empty one from the side, and headed back toward the battlefield.