Taking advantage of the gap while recovering her stamina, He Miaomiao checked her personal assets.
One Lv0 Safehouse.
6 portions of Rabbit Meat.
20 portions of Dry Grass.
2 Stone Sickle Blueprints.
Poor.
Truly dirt poor.
She was still short 10 portions of Dry Grass, 5 logs of Wood, and 3 Stones to craft a campfire.
Judging solely from the realistic situation, gathering dry grass was supposed to be the easiest, yet even that required two pulls just to yield one portion—meaning that without critical hits, after working for so long, she would have only gathered 10 portions of dry grass by now.
One could only imagine how difficult gathering wood and stone would be.
Lamentations aside, He Miaomiao didn’t harbor the slightest intention of backing down.
Mainly because she was used to it.
Nothing she did ever came easily; even for a trivial task like getting a glass of water, she had to go through twists and turns like the water dispenser happening to run out, the machine breaking down, or her cup suddenly vanishing.
Now, at least because she had become a player in a game world, there was a guaranteed minimum return to be earned. Her efforts wouldn’t end up being entirely in vain after working hard for half a day.
Plus, with the trial version of her SSS-Rank Crit Talent speeding things up, she was too busy being secretly delighted to complain.
Since dry grass and raw rabbit meat couldn’t be used for anything right now, He Miaomiao temporarily ignored them and consumed one Stone Sickle Blueprint first.
Blueprint -1
A Stone Sickle option appeared at the workbench.
[Stone Sickle: Wood ×8, Stone ×6]
Lacking the corresponding resources, the Stone Sickle, much like the campfire and stone axe, remained greyed out and unselectable.
“It seems the main task for players with normal luck during the 3-day grace period is to gather wood, stone, and dry grass.”
Not letting a single discovery slip by, He Miaomiao recorded everything.
She had seen the term “data analyst player” in gaming videos before—who knew, maybe the data she logged could be sold later?
However, if possible, He Miaomiao hoped she was the only real person dragged into this place and that there were no other compatriots.
Despair Valley was by no means a good place; it was fine for a jinx like her to suffer, but other people were far better off living normal lives back in modern society.
After using up one blueprint, He Miaomiao attempted to use the second one, only for the system to show that she had already learned the Stone Sickle and didn’t need to learn it again. Thus, the extra Stone Sickle Blueprint occupied the third slot in her portable storage space.
After thinking it over, she transferred the 20 portions of dry grass from her inventory into the safehouse storage chest.
There were 4 storage slots here, and leaving them empty was a waste anyway, so she might as well put some items inside. After all, these resources could only be used at the workbench, and the workbench could only be placed inside the safehouse.
Clearing out her limited portable inventory space might prove useful when going out to gather resources.
As for the blueprint, she wasn’t sure if she would run into other players, but if she did, she could sell it, so she brought it along.
Although raw rabbit meat tasted awful, if she ran into an emergency outside where her stamina was completely drained, it could save her life, so she brought that along too.
Once everything was tidied up and her strength was mostly restored, He Miaomiao stepped outside once again.
She pulled grass 4 times first, then paused briefly to rest and let her stamina recover a bit before pulling for the 5th time.
Ring-a-ding!
After storing the 2 freshly harvested portions of grass, He Miaomiao immediately bolted.
Having prepared herself mentally, even though her HP dropped by 18 twice again, she was no longer in a panic at all, deftly repeating her previous tactic with ease.
[Raw Rabbit Meat ×1!]
[Raw Rabbit Meat ×1! (Critical Hit)]
[EXP +20!]
[EXP +20! (Critical Hit)]
[EXP: 140/100 (Upgradeable)]
He Miaomiao: (＾－＾)V
Tiny Corrupted Rabbit, completely handled.
In addition, the 30 portions of dry grass required to build the campfire were finally fully collected. Next up were wood and stone.
Maintaining her position lying on the ground, He Miaomiao transferred all the dry grass gathered this time into the safehouse’s storage box before turning her head to look outside the hut.
The region extending out from the doorway for a few hundred meters consisted mainly of lawn. The grass wasn’t tall, with the longest not even reaching her knees.
The dry grass He Miaomiao needed was scattered across this lawn in patches here and there.
However, the lawn in Despair Valley wasn’t like a park lawn; it didn’t look lush and green, but rather dusty and greyish. At first glance, it looked as if no one had set foot here for many, many years, causing even the ground to be covered in a thick layer of dust.
If one stepped out of the safehouse, what hit the nose wasn’t the fresh aroma of green grass, but rather an uncomfortable, decaying odor.
Slightly further away were rustling trees, standing crooked here and there. Their branches bore no leaves, standing bare and twisted like bodies melted by extreme heat, reaching up hideously toward the sky.
Scattered stones were randomly distributed near these trees. Though clearly inanimate, they still exuded an ominous vibe that made people hesitant to draw near.
In a moment, He Miaomiao would have to head over there.
“Keep it up, He Miaomiao!”
The person inside the safehouse once again stepped out of the absolute threat-free shelter and walked to the nearest tree.
Without any tools, it was pure bare-handed smashing.
The tree was similar to the dry grass: although it looked like a plant, it had actually already monsterized and possessed invisible HP. However, while He Miaomiao only had to attack dry grass twice to get one portion plus a critical bonus portion, she had to attack the tree a full 3 times.
[Wood ×1!]
[Wood ×1! (Critical Hit)]
Not only that, but after smashing the tree 3 times, He Miaomiao already felt the exhaustion that usually only set in after pulling grass 5 times, leaving her no choice but to head back to the safehouse.
“Thank you, SSS-Rank Crit Talent,” He Miaomiao prayed piously, resting up before setting off again.
[Wood ×1!]
[Wood ×1! (Critical Hit)]
Her stamina rapidly plunged near the safety line. Return, rest, go again.
[Wood ×1!]
[Wood ×1! (Critical Hit)]
Return, rest.
Fortunately, He Miaomiao now possessed 6 logs of wood; the wood required for the campfire had been fully collected.
Next target: Stone.
He Miaomiao didn’t charge in blindly. Instead, after observing for a bit, she chose stones that were naturally smaller and more fragmented before starting work.
Unexpectedly, after just two attempts, a prompt appeared.
[Stone ×1!]
[Stone ×1! (Critical Hit)]
At the same time, feeling that she still had energy left in her, she aimed at the broken stones in front of her and struck twice more with loud thuds.
[Stone ×1!]
[Stone ×1! (Critical Hit)]
Tired.
So tired.
He Miaomiao’s steps on the way back were slower than before, her footsteps heavier, though she hadn’t collapsed yet.
However—
[HP -18!]
A Corrupted Rabbit reappeared!
“Oh, come on!”
He Miaomiao grit her teeth and sprinted.
So it wasn’t just pulling grass 5 consecutive times that drew Corrupted Rabbits; chopping trees and smashing stones a combined 5 times drew them too!
She had been careless!
With danger present and her stamina consumption slightly exceeding her estimate, He Miaomiao couldn’t run fast. She had no choice but to grit her teeth, pull out a piece of raw rabbit meat, and force herself to bite into it.
“Barf—”
Having eaten cooked food her entire life, He Miaomiao predictably felt nauseated.
[HP -18!]
One more hit and she would be dead!
With her life on the line, He Miaomiao ran, gagged, and forced down the entire palm-sized chunk of raw rabbit meat.
Miraculously, once the whole piece of rabbit meat settled in her stomach, a surge of energy rushed through her, instantly widening the gap between her and the pursuing rabbit.
Not only that, but her HP—which had plummeted to 15, unable to withstand another attack from the rabbit—accelerated upward instantly.
It wasn’t a slow recovery either; it jumped directly from 14 to 20, and in the blink of an eye, reached 40, quickly filling back up to max.
Her strength had returned too.
Taking a quick glance, He Miaomiao realized that eating food for the first time had triggered a special bonus.
Carrying a full HP bar of “50/50” and an energized body, He Miaomiao successfully returned to the safehouse after taking another “HP -18” hit.
During the few seconds she waited for the rabbit to give up the chase, she seized the time to adjust her breathing and prepare for a counterattack.
In fact, if she had chosen to level up just now, she theoretically could have escaped death as well, but she hadn’t done so.
The reason was that she was truly unlucky. If she guessed correctly, while leveling up could indeed recover a large amount of stamina—or even instantly fill it to max like in video games, along with restoring HP and increasing her total max HP beyond 50—a monster far more terrifying than a Lv0 Corrupted Rabbit would definitely appear and gang up with the rabbit to attack her.
When that time came, she would still be dead meat, unable to escape at all.
Eating raw rabbit meat was the only correct solution.
Fortunately, He Miaomiao hadn’t hesitated from the start, picking the correct answer directly and saving her own life.
Outside the house, having lost its target, the Corrupted Rabbit stood dazed on the spot for a moment before lowering its head to resume nibbling grass.
“Now’s the time!”
He Miaomiao’s counterattack arrived!
1 time, 2 times, 3 times…
After a dozen back-and-forth rounds, the 5th Corrupted Rabbit—which logically should never have appeared near a player within 72 hours—dispersed into grey mist.
Loot.
[Raw Rabbit Meat ×1!]
[Raw Rabbit Meat ×1! (Critical Hit)]
[EXP +20!]
[EXP +20! (Critical Hit)]
[EXP: 180/100 (Upgradeable)]
He Miaomiao: (＾－＾)V
Now she had 30 Dry Grass, 6 Wood, and 4 Stone. Crafting the campfire required 30 Dry Grass, 5 Wood, and 3 Stone. She could finally operate!
He Miaomiao moved over to lie down beside the workbench—she had studied it; lying down recovered HP and stamina the fastest—and tapped the screen.
[Campfire: Dry Grass 30, Wood 5, Stone 3 (Requirements met, craft now?)]
“Yes!”
The corresponding resources in He Miaomiao’s inventory and safehouse storage chest flew toward the workbench, looking very much like magic.
What a magical world indeed.
After a bout of clattering noises, the workbench lit up green.
Loot.
[Campfire ×1!]
[Campfire ×1! (Critical Hit)]
He Miaomiao was pleasantly surprised. Stashing one away, she placed the other right in the center of the safehouse.
Instantly, she felt the temperature of the entire house change, becoming just right—neither cold nor hot, extremely comfortable. The decaying odor was dispelled, and that weird fishy stench vanished completely. Though the dusty house was still dilapidated, this light source made it bright, giving it a touch of coziness.
He Miaomiao placed all 9 portions of rabbit meat beside the campfire to roast, not wasting a single second.
Only after finishing this did He Miaomiao continue to observe the further changes brought upon herself, the safehouse, and even the rest of this world after the campfire was lit.
The first change was that a time display appeared on her panel.
He Miaomiao: “…”
Was it really necessary to showcase my jinx physique in a place like this too? Did there have to be so many 4s?
She cross-referenced it with the bloody countdown on the wooden wall.
When she first arrived, the countdown read “72:00:00”, and now it was “64:15:16”. In other words, 7 hours, 44 minutes, and 44 seconds had passed since He Miaomiao arrived in this world.
During this period, she had gathered 30 portions of Dry Grass, 6 logs of Wood, and 4 Stones, killed 5 Corrupted Rabbits, obtained 10 pieces of Raw Rabbit Meat, 2 Stone Sickle Blueprints, and 180 EXP.
And the time she arrived in this world was exactly 7:00 AM in Despair Valley.
He Miaomiao recorded all of these before checking the safehouse information again.
Originally, the entry following the safehouse displayed current resource attributes—
[Lv0 Safehouse (Durability 100, Defense 0, Monster Alert Radius 0m, Storage Box 4 slots (Wood 1, Stone 1)]
Now that there was a campfire, new text appeared.
[Lv1 Safehouse Upgrade Requirements: Wood 80, Stone 60, Dry Grass 120, Hemp 30, Iron 15, Copper Coins 1200, Player Level Lv1]
He Miaomiao, who had originally planned to prioritize upgrading the safehouse: ?