Chen Ming first picked up the piece of stiff paper. It turned out to be a lodging slip. It was shaped like a bookmark, with "Renhe Inn" written at the top, a handwritten room number in the middle, and the address at the bottom: North Street, Renhe County.

  It seemed the deceased was an out-of-towner. Judging by the quality of his clothes, he was either a merchant or a wealthy traveler.

  Chen Ming then opened the leather wallet. Inside were several colorful banknotes and some copper coins.

  He randomly pulled one out and looked closely. On the left side of the front were the words "Ten Yuan." In the center was a profile portrait of a woman dressed in a yellow robe and a crown with tassels. Next to it, a vertical line of small regular script read: "Long live Her Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming!"

  Chen Ming's expression immediately froze. What the hell?

  He quickly turned the banknote over and saw a majestic building on the back. Below it was written: "Issued by the Ministry of Revenue of the Great Ming, the second year of Yuanjia."

  Chen Ming fell into deep thought. Analyzing the situation with his extensive experience reading transmigration novels, he had transmigrated into a world ruled by an Emperor of the Great Ming.

  Calm down, calm down, he had to stay calm. Since this was another world, anything bizarre could happen. An Emperor it was! According to the tropes of male-oriented web novels, start with a bowl and end up marrying the Emperor!

  He rummaged through the wallet again and pulled out a few copper coins. Looking closely, the denominations varied: one wen, ten wen, twenty wen, and fifty wen. The obverse also featured the Emperor's profile, with the Yuanjia reign mark written below it. The reverse bore a sun and moon pattern, surrounded by the four characters "Da Ming Tong Bao" (Great Ming Currency).

  Interestingly, Chen Ming also found another reign mark on one copper coin: Tianyou. From its worn condition, it was presumably issued during the previous emperor's reign.

  Unfortunately, the portrait was blurry, and he couldn't make out that emperor's features.

  Finally, Chen Ming looked at the palm-sized booklet. On the cover, the words "Lu Yin" (Travel Permit) were written in seal script. It was essentially an ancient ID card, a travel pass.

  He wanted to see what background this fellow, who looked exactly like him, had. Since he was going to impersonate him, he naturally needed to memorize his identity.

  Chen Ming opened it and was struck as if by lightning, trembling all over.

  On the left side of the inner page was a photograph. The person in the photo was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a square face and short hair, a high nose bridge and double eyelids, and no facial hair. It was unmistakably Chen Ming's likeness.

  Since the corpse looked exactly like Chen Ming, the matching photo wasn't surprising.

  What truly filled Chen Ming with fear was the content below the photo:

  —Name: Chen Ming

  This corpse was also called Chen Ming?

  "Aww, hell," Chen Ming cursed inwardly. The Great One's arrangements were too meticulous, even the name was identical. It almost moved him to tears...

  Moved my ass! Such perfect arrangements meant they had big plans!

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  He read on.

  —Date of Birth: 41st year of Yifeng, Yuanshi Calendar 1871

  Yifeng was a reign name, but what the hell was the Yuanshi Calendar? The equivalent of the Gregorian calendar?

  Next was his place of origin.

  —Place of Origin: Zhenhai, Zhejiang

  Chen Ming was speechless. How was this also identical to his own?

  Finally, his educational background.

  —Education: Graduated from Mingzhou University.

  At this, Chen Ming could laugh heartily. How could a university from a prefecture-level city compare to his? He was a graduate of a nationally top-tier... music academy.

  Chen Ming sighed. He quickened his pace, stripping off all his clothes except his underwear. Ignoring any superstition about the corpse being unlucky, he swiftly put on the deceased's garments. Then he stuffed the lodging slip, wallet, and travel permit booklet into his bosom.

  Now, he had become Chen Ming, the native of this world.

  As for his own belongings, Chen Ming gritted his teeth. He piled everything together—his clothes, phone, and all—and used his lighter to set them on fire, destroying the evidence.

  Although Chen Ming wasn't a smoker, being in the entertainment industry meant he needed to offer cigarettes during social occasions, so he was used to carrying a lighter. It came in handy now.

  The fire caught, quickly consuming Chen Ming's clothes, phone, ID card, wallet, and all traces of his past life!

  Goodbye, past!

  Finally, Chen Ming tossed the lighter itself into the fire. The heat ignited the fuel, and with a whoosh, a burst of flames erupted, illuminating the entire forest.

  Suddenly, a powerful, instinctual fear surged within Chen Ming.

  He snapped his head forward. A massive shadow stood before him.

  It was a gigantic bird, but it looked less like a bird and more like a feathered dinosaur.

  The giant bird was huge, about two or three meters tall. Chen Ming had to look up to take it in. Its legs were thick and covered in overlapping scales, densely packed enough to trigger trypophobia. Looking further up, the bird had a pair of short, small wings, like the tiny arms of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

  Most terrifying of all was its large head, sporting a massive beak that was surprisingly lined with jagged, serrated teeth.

  Without a doubt, this was a top predator of this other world.

  Chen Ming's mind went blank. He knew he was doomed. This was the instinctive feeling of helplessness a human experiences when facing their natural born predator. He could almost see the giant bird tearing him apart and swallowing him whole.

  The bird slowly lowered its head, its yellowish pupils fixed on Chen Ming. Then it raised its short forelimbs, the feathers on them standing on end, instantly making it look as if it had grown two more heads.

  Then, the giant bird suddenly opened its huge mouth and lunged at Chen Ming. But instead of biting his head off, it let out a deafening roar.

  Accompanying the bird's cry, foul-smelling saliva sprayed from its mouth, almost choking Chen Ming.

  A strange thing happened. Seeing Chen Ming motionless, the bird seemed to pause in a surprisingly human-like way.

  It had expected to scare Chen Ming away, but Chen Ming was so terrified he was frozen stiff, completely unable to move.

  Forced to retreat a few steps, half its body hidden in the darkness, the bird watched Chen Ming and continued its loud cries, flapping its wings open in a threatening display.

  It was then that Chen Ming finally reacted. He realized the bird was afraid of him? Otherwise, it would have attacked and eaten him long ago!

  How could such a massive predator be afraid of a human?

  Chen Ming couldn't figure it out. At this critical moment, since he couldn't understand, he decided not to overthink. Survival was the priority.

  He wanted to retreat, but excessive fear had paralyzed his body. He desperately tried to command his nerves, and his body, like a machine with a poor signal, creaked and stiffly began to move backward.

  As soon as the giant bird saw Chen Ming retreat, it took a sudden step forward, terrifying Chen Ming so much his heart nearly stopped. He thought the bird had finally seen through his bluff and was coming to eat him.

  However, the bird didn't charge at Chen Ming. Instead, it went to the corpse on the ground, lowered its head, opened its beak, and grabbed the corpse by the leg. While keeping a wary eye on Chen Ming, it shook the corpse, adjusted its grip, tilted its head back, and swallowed it whole in one gulp.

  Chen Ming had once seen seagulls preying on voles at the seaside. They acted just like this giant bird, constantly shaking the vole to adjust its position for easier swallowing.

  But watching a seagull eat a vole was absolutely nothing like watching this giant bird eat a human, especially when that human corpse looked exactly like him. Chen Ming felt every hair on his body stand on end. A wave of sour liquid surged from his stomach into his throat. He couldn't hold it in any longer and fell to his hands and knees, vomiting on the ground.

  After finishing its meal, while Chen Ming was still vomiting, the giant bird, still watching him warily, backed slowly into the forest and disappeared without a trace.