1 Chapter 1

In the forest to the south of Sector 26, a boy appearing to be in his teens was cutting firewood. He stood perfectly balanced on the lowermost branch of a sturdy tree and hit repeatedly with an axe on a dry and withered branch just above him. The sound of the axe hitting the tree was the only sound worth his notice. The sounds of the forest did not bother him at all. Neither was he bothered by the knowledge that a wolf hid in the bushes some thirty meters to his right.

Pieces of wood kept flying as each hit landed with precision, widening the cut on the branch. Finally with a heavy stroke, the cut was deep enough. The branch fell under its own weight, raising a cloud of dust beside another bundle of firewood.

Lin Feng jumped to the ground, his axe held in his right hand. His landing barely made a noise. He hummed a slow tune to himself as he kicked the fallen branch into position. He lifted one end of the branch and placed another piece of wood underneath. He began cutting the wood with long downward swings.

His body appeared completely relaxed and engrossed in his work to the gray wolf hidden in the bushes. The hunting instinct of the wolf rose as it saw the back of the prey turned towards him. Rising cautiously to a crouch it took slow deliberate steps towards the prey. Its eyes were fixed upon its prey, upon its every movement. It did not even need to look below to avoid stepping on any dry leaves which would alert its prey. Having reached within striking distance it waited for the perfect moment. Just when Lin Feng's axe struck the branch below it leaped with a short run to tear apart the neck of the prey with one ferocious bite.

But what happened was far from its anticipation. Contrary to what the lone wolf thought, it was the one that had fallen into a trap. Lin Feng let go of the axe with his left hand and turned his body behind from his left. His left hand caught the midair wolf with an uppercut to his vulnerable middle. This attack launched the wolf into the air on the same spot and as he fell helplessly to the ground moments later, Lin Feng swung his wood chopping axe in a heavy downward swing. The wolf gave a miserable shriek as the swing caught the wolf square in the middle. It broke several of his ribs and nearly split him in two.

The wolf lay groaning and twitching in pain as it waited for its death. The blow had broken his spine making him unable to move or escape. Lin Feng went back to cutting the firewood smiling to himself - "Guess we will have meat today."