When He Miaomiao woke up again, the sky outside was as dark as dark could be.
“Hiss—”
He Miaomiao had a splitting headache, as if someone had repeatedly struck her head dozens of times with a hammer.
She couldn’t stand up at all. After waking up, she lay flat in place for a good while before regaining her senses, barely supporting her body to sit up.
“That was close.”
Thankfully, Sparks Slash was a ranged skill she could cast from inside the safehouse. If it had been a melee skill and she had stepped outside to test it, wouldn’t she have collapsed out in the wild?
With her luck, the moment she dared to pass out outside the safehouse, a rabbit would definitely dare to gnaw her until not even bone splinters were left.
Leaning her back against the storage chest, He Miaomiao carefully took stock of her physical condition.
She felt far more exhausted than after any previous gathering effort—a bone-deep depletion that left her completely drained. Her body felt exceptionally weak right now, like recovering from a 40-degree fever or just getting over a severe illness.
“It seems Energy Points and the stamina consumed when chopping trees before are drawn from the same pool.”
Judging from her reaction after using Sparks Slash, the maximum amount of Energy Points she could consume while still retaining basic consciousness was under 50.
“Does this mean that after finally getting such a powerful high-tier skill with huge attack power, I can’t even use it?”
He Miaomiao shook her head.
Her luck really was…
However, Energy Points were tied to level. As the first player in Despair Valley to level up, if she couldn’t use it easily, other players in the valley wouldn’t be able to use it at all—she had at least reached Level 1 and had the Crit Talent boost, giving her a higher Energy Point pool than normal Level 1 players.
Based on her previous experience with the Appraisal and Looting skill books, players could only use one skill book per type, and duplicate books were useless. Yet when He Miaomiao looked at the remaining 3 copies of Sparks Slash, she immediately noticed that purple skill books differed from white ones.
She could keep using them.
He Miaomiao promptly used another copy.
Purple light flashed and merged into the skill she had already learned. The words “Despair Primary 1/2” shifted and transformed.
[Sparks Slash (Intermediate 0/4): Each use consumes 40 Energy Points, dealing Fire element attack damage equal to player’s current Base Attack Power × 400% to a single target.]
“So that’s how it works—purple skill books can be used to upgrade skills.”
Worthy of a purple skill; it really was different from white skills.
Without hesitation, He Miaomiao used the last 2 copies as well.
[Sparks Slash (Intermediate 2/4): Each use consumes 35 Energy Points, dealing Fire element attack damage equal to player’s current Base Attack Power × 400% to a single target.]
Converted into numbers, a single cast of Sparks Slash from He Miaomiao would deal 28 points of single-target damage to a monster.
Compared to her base attack power of 7, Sparks Slash was visibly formidable.
“It’s a great skill; hopefully I can use it.”
He Miaomiao focused on waiting for her Energy Points to fully recover. Once she was sure her energy was restored, she cast Sparks Slash into the darkness once more.
This time, she saw it.
A red blade of energy slashed down at her targeted location, piercing through the dark mist that seemed too thick to dispel.
Though the light vanished in an instant, He Miaomiao managed to see clearly what was hiding out there.
Rabbits. Corrupted Rabbits everywhere.
Densely packed side-by-side, crushed together like items in a vacuum compression bag, stacked layer upon layer, waiting right there for any unlucky player who dared step into the dark.
Their numbers were so overwhelming that even with her terrible luck randomly tossing out a skill into the void, she managed to hit one of them.
He Miaomiao took two steps back, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. The sight made her skin crawl. It wasn’t until the rabbit was hidden by the dark again, and she sat back beside the campfire for a long while, that she felt slightly better.
Her hands were trembling slightly.
Half of the Corrupted Rabbit’s body was rotting flesh. Having just wanted to test her new skill without any mental preparation, the visual shock was quite severe.
However, that didn’t stop He Miaomiao from logging this new discovery, though she felt it was a slight waste that her base attack power was too low for a single Sparks Slash to finish off any rabbit.
At this moment, He Miaomiao remained conscious without passing out. Her body felt fatigued, but it was manageable.
She was delighted.
It seemed her safe Energy Point threshold was higher than 35! She could use Sparks Slash during battle tomorrow.
He Miaomiao began taking inventory of today’s gains.
[Current Resources: Wood 80, Stone 60, Dry Grass 82, Hemp 6, Iron 4, Copper Coins 424, Cooked Rabbit Meat 65, Campfire 1, Stone Axe 2, Stone Sickle 1, Stone Pickaxe 1, Soft Rabbit Fur Carpet (Purple) 4]
[Lv1 Safehouse Upgrade Requirements: Wood 80 (Completed), Stone 60 (Completed), Dry Grass 120, Hemp 30, Iron 15, Copper Coins 1200, Player Level Lv1 (Completed)]
Today was the second day of survival. Even if other players hadn’t understood the situation yesterday and stayed inside their safehouses without moving, they should have stepped out to gather items today.
With this thought in mind, He Miaomiao opened the Despair Village 4 chat channel and listed 35 portions of cooked rabbit meat, accepting only the resources she currently lacked: dry grass, hemp, and iron.
Automated pricing—
1 Hemp for 2 Cooked Rabbit Meat.
1 Iron for 4 Cooked Rabbit Meat.
6 Dry Grass for 1 Cooked Rabbit Meat.
Hemp and iron were scarce; currently, probably only Xia Ning, who had absurdly good luck, had extra. But dry grass was a basic resource with low gathering difficulty, so other players could definitely provide it.
The fact that most of what He Miaomiao had received from her previous listings was dry grass proved this point.
[Wang Shouyi]: “What? 6 portions of dry grass for just 1 piece of cooked rabbit meat? Profiteer! Do you have any idea how long it takes to gather 6 dry grass?!”
[Yu Qiaoyun]: “It requires killing monsters and building a campfire to roast meat. This price is already very fair.”
[You Hua]: “Exactly! If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy it—nobody’s forcing you.”
[Xia Ning]: “That’s right! Eating cooked rabbit meat gives a special stamina bonus. The big boss is practically doing charity!”
He Miaomiao: Huh? There’s a special bonus? How come I didn’t know about this?
Unfortunately, because it involved hidden survival rules, Xia Ning couldn’t explain it directly.
He Miaomiao was merely curious for a moment and didn’t pry further—even if she knew about bonuses triggered by a God of Luck, a jinx like her wouldn’t be able to trigger them anyway. She’d better stick to claiming the guaranteed minimum.
It was obvious the bonus was very effective, though, because—
Xia Ning snatched up 20 pieces of rabbit meat all by herself, paying 5 pieces of iron.
[You Hua]: “Hey girl, leave some for me!”
The remaining rabbit meat was cleaned out in seconds.
[Wan Zifan]: “Do you guys have to be so fast?!”
[Qi Yi]: “Waaaah… rabbit meat smells so good (munch munch munch)… I want to go home and eat spicy rabbit head, waaaah…”
[Duanmu Jing]: “Tomorrow is the last day.”
The bustling group chat fell quiet in an instant, and everyone went silent.
That’s right—tomorrow was the final day of the safety countdown.
Even during the so-called novice protection period, the population of Despair Village 4 had dropped to 71—after He Miaomiao sent out the guide, 3 more people had vanished.
When they departed, they hadn’t even been able to leave a single word in the group, dying silently just like that.
Dying in this unfamiliar place far from home.
The remaining survivors didn’t dare imagine how many more would die once the grace period ended.
And whether those who died would include themselves.
[Du Qiu]: “Perhaps this is the world’s retribution against humanity. I used to work at a waste transfer station; the smell here is very similar to that place. Humans harmed planet Earth and the other creatures on it, and all of this is punishment for humanity.”
He Miaomiao lowered her eyes, recalling environmental pollution videos she had seen in the past.
The next second, she listed her extra Stone Axe in the chat.
“I’m sorry. But even so, I still intend to keep living.”
[Yu Qiaoyun]: “I want to keep living too!”
[Xia Ning]: “Right! Let’s all live through this together!”
[You Hua]: “Live through it!”
[Wang Fang]: “Live through it!”
[Wan Zifan]: “Live through it!”
The gloom in the chat vanished instantly, replaced by a fierce craving for survival.
[Jia Chang]: “I want to live through it too, but I don’t have the big boss’s formidable strength. Could the big boss give me a hand? I’ll be endlessly grateful and work like a horse for you in the next life!”
[You Hua]: “…Get lost, leech!”
[You Hua]: “Also, who snatched the Stone Axe listed by the big boss?! I wanted it too!”
[Wan Zifan]: “Need you even ask? Besides our sister Xia Ning, who else in the group has the wealth to buy the big boss’s Stone Axe?”
[Xia Ning]: “Heehee, the Stone Pickaxe I bought from the big boss earlier works great! I mined a lot of iron today. Anyone who needs it can trade with me—I have hemp and iron, and I accept wood, stone, and dry grass.”
[You Hua]: “Watch me cry out loud! I’m gonna fight you max-luck folks to the end!”
Gathering wood, stone, and dry grass was no walk in the park either, but as long as one kept grinding, they would accumulate it sooner or later, and crafting tools made it even faster.
Hemp and iron were different, though. Normal players didn’t have any near their safehouses; those with slightly better luck were fortunate to pull one or two pieces. Only an insanely lucky person like Xia Ning would literally live right on top of a hemp mountain and iron mine!
[Duanmu Jing]: “Our luck is pretty good too. We have the big boss releasing guides and sharing resources, and later we can trade with Xia Ning for rare materials without having to venture far from our safehouses and risk our lives.”
[You Hua]: “True enough! As expected of me! (Strikes a proud posture)”
[Xia Ning]: “Heehee.”
He Miaomiao smiled and closed the group chat.
She took out the carpet she had received from the purple chest earlier today.
It was an exceptionally soft white carpet that looked very warm at first glance.
He Miaomiao laid it out carefully in front of her cleaned storage chest, then lay down.
The rabbit fur carpet was thick and plush, making sleeping on it far more comfortable than sleeping directly on the bare ground. He Miaomiao even pulled out another carpet to use as a blanket. Bathed in the warmth of the campfire, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
7:00 AM arrived right on schedule.
The bright red countdown on the wooden wall dripped even more heavily, looking increasingly gruesome—as if it might turn into a gaping maw at any moment to swallow and grind the players to pieces, turning them into part of its blood-red liquid.
The moment He Miaomiao got up, she noticed something was wrong.
[Durability -22!]
[Durability -22!]
Looking closer, her Lv0 Safehouse—which originally had 100 Durability points—now had only 78 points remaining. And right as He Miaomiao was checking it, another 22 points dropped!
He Miaomiao’s expression hardened, and she immediately looked outside. A dog with rotting flesh barely hanging off its back was actively attacking her safehouse.
Appraisal.
[Corrupted Dog (Lv1): HP 120, Attack Power 22, Defense 1, Agility 3.2]
[Special Skill: Biting Bleed. After hitting a player, causes continuous bleeding for 3 seconds, dealing 5 HP damage per second.]
He Miaomiao: ???
No, seriously—how come whether it’s a rabbit or a dog, they’re all so much stronger than me?! I’m gonna throw a fit!