Tang Yun sat up holding her phone and glanced around—it was an endless wilderness.
The phone kept vibrating. She lowered her head and continued checking the rapidly popping-up messages.
“Holy crap! How did you guys clear it? I almost got backstabbed to death in the Novice Round!”
“Next time I see that bald monk, I’ll slash him once every time I see him.”
“Tell me, where were you transported to after clearing it? I was sent to ‘Paradise’—sounded like a nice place at first, but it turned out to be a wasteland!!”
“No idea how long I’ll have to stay in this wilderness. Gotta go, I’m dying of thirst—off to find water.”
“…”
Tang Yun scrolled through the chat records and realized that her situation was similar to many others’, yet there were also many differences. None of them mentioned the “System”; they only referred to this rogue app called “Paradise” as an apocalyptic survival game.
But everything that happened inside was real. If you didn’t clear it, you’d be eliminated; if you died during the process, it was permanent death.
Tang Yun stood up and walked around. At that moment, apart from her phone and the tracksuit she was wearing, she was essentially empty-handed.
Only one thing occupied her mind: finding food and locating a safe place to stay.
“Beep beep—”
[Welcome, player E01, to Paradise. This will be your base for survival and development. Please strive to survive in this wilderness.]
[System 007: Host, don’t panic. Find a spot in the wilderness to build a Personal Safehouse—it can help you fend off Aberrant Beast attacks. Supplies won’t fall from the sky; you’ll need to search for them. Don’t starve to death~]
A burst of electronic sound echoed in her mind, making Tang Yun pause. She tried calling out, “007?”
No response. She frowned slightly, and just then, a Light Screen appeared before her eyes.
She focused her thoughts to open it and saw a Personal Panel and the Paradise Mall inside.
[Personal Panel]
Name: Tang Yun
ID: E01
Level: Paradise Primary Executor
Points: 20
Items: 0
She mainly checked what was available in the Paradise Mall. With nothing on her, it would be hard to escape unscathed if she encountered danger.
In the weapons section, an ordinary axe or kitchen knife cost 5 Points—way too expensive. She only had 20 Points at the moment.
She shifted her gaze to another Crafting Section. By gathering the necessary materials from the wilderness, she could craft desired items through this section. For example, building a Wooden Safehouse required collecting Lumber.
Tang Yun walked for over ten minutes without seeing a single person. All she could see were tall trees, strangely leafless and branchless, surrounded by withered grass interspersed with stones.
She decided to collect Lumber while searching for water. Gritting her teeth, she exchanged 5 Points in the Paradise Mall for a Tang sword, which could serve as a weapon.
After the purchase, the Tang sword was added to her personal items section.
Swinging the Tang sword at a tree, a prompt immediately appeared: Lumber +1
An hour later, she had collected almost enough Lumber, but she couldn’t find any streams or springs at all.
She wanted to build a safehouse near a water source. The System had warned that Aberrant Beasts roamed this wilderness, and besides them, who knew how many hidden dangers lurked.
Unable to find any rivers or lakes, she had no choice but to dig a well.
Suddenly, she remembered that the rogue software allowed for exchanging tips, so she decided to first check how others were faring.
As soon as she opened it, the screen was immediately flooded with messages.
“Has anyone found water? I spent 5 Points to exchange for a shovel and dug nearly ten meters near a tree—ten meters! There was no water at all!!! I’m exhausted and dying of thirst!!”
“Brothers! A friendly reminder: if you’re brave and capable, you can try hunting Aberrant Beasts. Killing them will drop Randomly Dropped Items. I’ve already managed to drink some Nutri-Express.”
“Absolutely do not provoke Aberrant Beasts. I accidentally saw someone get trampled to death by one, turning into a flash of white light and disappearing, leaving only their clothes on the ground.”
“A kind reminder to everyone: do not casually build a safehouse. Once chosen, it cannot be moved, and you can only expand around the original safehouse.”
“……”
Tang Yun read the messages for a while and gathered several useful pieces of information.
Aberrant Beasts were extremely dangerous, but killing them could yield Randomly Dropped Items. The location of the safehouse was crucial. It was highly likely that there was no water on the surface of Paradise, and deep wells were needed, as shallow ones wouldn’t yield water.
Before nightfall, she needed to decide on the location for her safehouse.
She planned to build the safehouse as close to dusk as possible, ensuring there were no other people nearby to avoid conflicts arising from two safehouses being too close.
Tang Yun selected a highland and walked around it. Within a half-hour walk, she didn’t see any other safehouses.
She opened the Crafting Section and clicked to synthesize a Wooden Safehouse.
[Congratulations, player E01, for owning a personal safehouse in Paradise.]
[System 007: Friendly reminder, if the host doesn’t find food soon, they’ll starve to death. What a disgraceful way to die.]
Tang Yun placed her palm on the door for identification, and the wooden door of the safehouse automatically opened. Inside was a one-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, and one-bathroom layout. She turned on the faucet and, to her surprise, water flowed out.
Her eyes lit up, and she was about to scoop up a handful of water to drink.
“Beep beep—”
[Warning! The water provided by the safehouse is not drinkable!]
[007 laughed with crackling electric sounds. Host, just one sip could poison you!]
Tang Yun washed her hands expressionlessly and dried them with a cloth.
She pulled up the Light Screen. The marketplace had no food for sale, so she looked for other items that could help her find food.
“Primary Aberrant Beast Scanner” cost 10 Points. Its function was to scan the location of Aberrant Beasts and assess their danger level.
Gritting her teeth, Tang Yun spent 10 Points to purchase the scanner. The item inventory now showed Primary Aberrant Beast Scanner +1, leaving her with only 5 Points!
[System 007: With the Aberrant Beast Scanner in hand, the System no longer has to worry about the host dying suddenly. However, this is only a Primary Aberrant Beast Scanner. It can only be used three times a day, and its functions are limited. Quite useless, really.]
Tang Yun took a deep breath, wanting to pull this 007 out and give it a beating.
“Activate!”
As soon as she spoke, a “beep beep” scanning sound echoed in her mind.
[Alert: There is a Mutant Wolf 300 meters northwest of player E01. Based on the player’s current strength assessment, the Danger Coefficient is 90.]
[System 007: Either starve to death or kill the Mutant Wolf. The host doesn’t think there are other options, does she?]
Tang Yun tightened her grip on her Tang sword and calmly said, “007, come out. I have a secret to tell you.”
[007: I already know everything about the host’s past and present lives. What other secrets could you have? Don’t try to trick me.]
Tang Yun raised an eyebrow, a smile curling at the corner of her lips. “Since it’s a secret, of course you wouldn’t know. If you don’t want to know, forget it.”
After saying this, Tang Yun walked out, closed the safehouse, and headed northwest, observing her surroundings as she went.
There were trees. She gathered some Lumber and spent one Point in the marketplace to buy a lighter.