He had earned points in this damn game to exchange for gene repair fluid, bringing it home to secretly feed to their daughter!
So…
His frenzied gaming over the past month hadn’t been an addiction at all.
He must have discovered a way to save their daughter!
Yet he had been unable to explain, bound by the game’s Rule of Silence.
She bit her lower lip until she tasted blood, barely holding back the choked sob in her throat.
She had misunderstood him before.
It turned out that the man who had once valued her and their child more than his own life had never changed.
But how could he have suddenly disappeared?
Could he have failed a quest and been erased?
Song Xu snapped her head up.
No!
The Novice Guide had stated very clearly: a character’s death resulted in a plausible death for the body in the real world.
It could be an accident or a sudden cardiac event, but it would never arouse suspicion in reality.
If he had truly been erased by the game, his body wouldn’t have gone missing.
The confusion in Song Xu’s eyes vanished instantly.
She still had a chance; she still had time!
Go back now?
No.
If she went back now, aside from hugging her sleeping daughter, she couldn’t do anything.
Only by staying here could she earn points faster and exchange them for more gene repair fluid!
Liang Yan had started this path, perhaps even paying an unimaginable price.
Now, she had to walk this road to the very end as well!
Reopening the system shop, she scanned through it quickly.
Tools: Simple Stone Axe (5 Points), Simple Sickle (5 Points), Simple Hoe (5 Points)
Survival Supplies: Dark Bread (5 Points), Clean Water (3 Points/500ml), Bandages (15 Points/roll), Torch (8 Points/each)
There were many more items, but Song Xu didn’t look at them in detail.
Gazing at the dark bread in her hand that cost 5 points, she swallowed her saliva.
So hungry.
Having done just a little bit of work, she didn’t know why, but her stomach was burning with hunger, and even her Health Points had dropped by 7.
Yet for this single piece of bread, she wanted to endure a little longer.
Her gaze shifted over to the quest panel, where three available quests had appeared.
One was to kill 10 Red-Eyed Toads, rewarding 20 points and a Rusty Shortsword.
The other two were to collect 30 small twigs and 30 stones each; she accepted all of them.
Song Xu closed the shop and squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
It would be dark soon. She had to craft a torch first; otherwise, she would be stuck inside the lean-to for the entire night.
Only with a torch could she go out to search for supplies.
As for food…
She opened her ‘Mega Stomach.’
The space pocket provided by this skill was now stamped on her wrist like a tattoo, shaped like a plump little bun.
The space inside seemed boundless; as long as she thought about opening it, she could freely deposit and retrieve items.
Earlier while digging up moss, she had uncovered a large cluster of purple mushrooms.
Calling it a large cluster was because these mushrooms were truly long.
Each stem was as thick as a thumb and half a meter long, twisting and coiling together into a bunched mass.
See It as Food revealed its name to be Earth Dragon Fungus. It was edible, tasted delicious, and could be consumed cooked or raw as sashimi.
That meant it could be eaten raw.
Song Xu plucked one off, wiped it on her pants, and hesitantly brought it to her mouth.
With her stomach rumbling like thunder, she closed her eyes and bit down.
*Crunch, crunch.*
Song Xu snapped her eyes open instantly!
Crisp as lotus root, yet possessing the unique tender smoothness of fungi, rich and cool juice burst across her mouth with a single bite.
As she chewed, there was even a trace of sweetness and a thirst-quenching sensation.
After eating one stem, her Health Points recovered by 3.
Devouring another stem in a few quick bites, the burning sensation in her stomach subsided significantly.
With a thought, she stored the remaining mushrooms back into her Mega Stomach.
Song Xu let out a breath of relief.
With this cluster of mushrooms that could be eaten directly raw, she should be able to hold out for two days.
Checking the sky outside, the three eyeballs were almost fully closed, leaving only a sliver of dim light.
Uncanny rustling noises drifted in from nearby.
She had to hurry and make the torch.
Widening her eyes, she searched near the lean-to and found several dry pine branches rich in resin. She then scraped off some dry bark fibers and twisted a torch head.
Striking a match…
The bark fibers crackled as the pine resin caught fire.
The crude torch emitted an orange-red glow, driving away the surrounding darkness.
Holding the torch and gripping the new stone axe provided by the quest, Song Xu used the lean-to as the center of a circle, rapidly collecting the small twigs and stones required for the quests.
A few spots looked ordinary, but ‘See It as Food’ flagged them as loose and prone to collapse, or harboring venomous snakes underneath.
Without the skill, she didn’t know how much trouble she would have run into.
Just as she picked up the 15th qualifying stone, the outer edge of the torchlight suddenly illuminated a slowly squirming mass.
[Ashrock Snail]
[Edibility: Rich in calcium, edible, excellent texture, requires thorough heating. Outer shell is hard, can be used to craft low-level armor.]
Edible!
Song Xu darted forward and slammed the axe onto its protruding head!
The snail’s body stiffened, then slowly went limp.
A small line of system notifications popped up below her view:
[Killed Ashrock Snail x1, Experience Points +1.]
[Obtained: Ashrock Snail Meat x1]
[Obtained: Intact Ashrock Snail Shell x1]
After killing three snails, the torch began to flicker erratically.
It was running out of durability again.
Thus, every so often, she had to stop to craft new torches and axes.
Not until around one in the morning in game time did she finally complete those two collection quests.
By now, Song Xu’s face and body were covered in dirt, her eyes bloodshot from staying up late.
She used to stay up late often enough, but for some reason, staying up late here felt abnormally exhausting.
Rubbing her eyes, Song Xu tapped to submit the quests.
[Collection of Stones quest completed! Reward: Cooking Pot Blueprint x1, Points +10.]
[Collection of Small Twigs quest completed! Reward: Simple Bow and Arrow x1, Points +10.]
[Current Points: 30]
The torch was about to extinguish again, and the surroundings were turning chilly.
Song Xu quickly retreated into the lean-to, let down the straw curtain, and put out the torch.
In the pitch-darkness, her stomach grumbled again.
While working earlier, she had also checked the chat channel for a bit.
It turned out that not only using skills, but even performing physical labor consumed Stamina Points.
When Stamina fell below 20, one would enter a fatigued state.
Below 10 points, Health Points would begin to drain.
Stamina could slowly recover through resting or sleeping.
Health Points could only be restored by taking medicine or eating food.
Inside the lean-to, it was so dark she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Song Xu blindly plucked two mushroom stems and chewed them slowly.
Suddenly, her movements froze!
Something had darted across the top of the grass shack.
Song Xu shuddered, freezing in place.
*Rustle, rustle, rustle~*
It sounded like someone stepping on dry grass, or claws scratching against tattered cloth.
The sound drew closer and closer, as if creeping back again.
Every hair on Song Xu’s body stood on end. She slowed her breathing, not daring to make the slightest move.