【Welcome to the National Survival Game.】
When the voice rang out, Qiyu was lying on the ground with his hands folded over his stomach, his posture perfectly serene.
Just moments earlier, while searching for clean water, he had accidentally stumbled into a nest of Rift Monsters. His last memory was of countless monsters swarming over him.
He thought he must be dead.
In that ruined world, life was nothing but suffering. Death might actually be a relief.
He quietly waited for his consciousness to fade into oblivion.
However, instead of sinking into darkness as he had hoped, his mind grew increasingly clear, and sensation gradually returned to his body. Qiyu drew a breath of crisp, cold air—icy and clean, utterly free of the putrid stench that had clung to him like an ulcer eating away at his bones.
He could feel that his limbs were intact, with warm blood flowing through his veins. The wounds and ailments that had plagued him for years had vanished without a trace!
【Welcome to the National Survival Game.】
The voice sounded again, clearer this time. Qiyu's eyes flew open!
Before he could adopt a defensive stance, the calm, mechanical voice spoke again:
【Earth has been selected to participate in the Survival Game.】
【Attention, all players: The wooden cabin you are in is your only refuge.】
【The tutorial period lasts three days. During this time, your shelter is completely safe. Once the tutorial period ends, your shelter may come under attack. Please make the most of this time and upgrade your wooden cabin as soon as possible.】
With that, the mechanical voice faded away.
Earth?
Was that the name of the planet?
Qiyu quickly surveyed the cabin around him.
The cabin was approximately twenty square meters, with wooden walls forming a square enclosure and not a single window. There was only a wooden door directly in front of him, and it didn't look particularly sturdy.
To the left of the door stood a crude wooden table—the only piece of furniture in the cabin.
Something on its rough, uneven surface was shimmering with a captivating glow. Rather than rushing over, Qiyu lowered his gaze to his left hand.
His arm was intact, a thin layer of muscle covering the bone. There were no fractures or wounds.
Curiously, he examined himself from head to toe, confirming that none of this was an illusion. It was as though some divine power had snatched him from the jaws of death and bestowed upon him a healthy, vigorous body.
Just then, the small object on the wooden table suddenly erupted in a brilliant glow.
Qiyu approached and saw that it was a badge shaped like a pale blue five-pointed star.
This time, he didn't hesitate. Something capable of bringing him back from the dead and even regenerating severed limbs surely had no reason to set a trap for him.
If it really wanted to harm him, he could always die again, he thought calmly.
The moment his fingers touched the badge, the blue star melted like snow, dissolving into countless specks of light that seeped into his palm and formed a tattoo-like pattern.
At the same moment, a voice echoed in his mind:
【Congratulations to player “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” for becoming the first registered player. Reward: Silver Chest x1】
Another announcement followed immediately:
【Congratulations to player “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” for achieving the first kill on the server. Reward: Silver Chest x1】
Qiyu: ?
Although he wasn't entirely sure what a Silver Chest was, he understood what a reward meant.
He studied the blue star pattern on his palm. As though responding to his thoughts, streams of pale blue information gathered in his mind and formed a virtual screen.
Several lines of text appeared, providing additional information about the Survival Game:
【Players are advised to approach the game with caution. You only have one life.】
【A novice gift pack will be distributed during the beginner phase. It contains clean food and water. Please explore carefully.】
Qiyu thought, This game is actually pretty good.
Not only had it brought him back to life for free, healed his injuries, and provided him with a safe refuge, it even offered clean food and water.
Now that the benefits had been explained, what about the drawbacks?
After going to such lengths to save him, surely it wanted something in return?
As though reading his mind—or perhaps purely by coincidence—another line of text gradually appeared on the screen.
【The Survival Game's only requirement for players: Stay alive.】
【Danger is also an opportunity.】
【Please enter your Survival Game ID.】
After a moment of silence, Qiyu solemnly typed six words, his heart brimming with gratitude: 【I Love Survival Game】.
The ID was confirmed. No one else had claimed it, making him feel even more grateful.
Once his ID had been verified, it was as though he had completed some necessary procedure. Several new sections soon appeared on the screen.
The most prominent were the 【Personal Information】, 【Chat】, and 【Trading】 channels.
Personal Information:
Survival ID: I Love Survival Game
Age: 19
Shelter: Initial Wooden Cabin (Durability 100/100), upgradeable.
Next Level: Level One Shelter (Sturdy Cabin) Skills: None
Satiety: 20/100
Stamina: 50/100 (20 Satiety and 50 Stamina—this is quite rare)
Health: 60/100
Above the chat channel was the number 01. The player count was displayed as 99999/100000.
Countless messages were scrolling across the screen like a blizzard of snowflakes, but perhaps thanks to some special ability granted by the Survival Game, Qiyu could still read them as they flashed past.
【May Money Come From All Directions: Where the hell am I? Is this even China?】
【Old Farmer: Holy shit, a survival game? Has the novel I was reading actually come true? I get it, everyone! Let's go all out while we're still in the newbie phase!】
【Male God: I just finished renovating my new house, and I was supposed to move in next month. What the fuck kind of game is this? F*** you, you b****!】
【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: There's a wooden box in the corner of the cabin. It's the “novice chest” the game mentioned. There are steamed buns, water, and a wooden axe inside.】
【Endure For A Moment The More I Think About It The Angrier I Get: Isn't this kidnapping? This is kidnapping! Holy shit, I want to go home! I want to go home!】
【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: Who the hell is “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”? Are you seriously a shill for this game?】
【Bitter Fated High School Senior Dog: Holy shit, my 800-degree myopia is gone! Everything's so clear without glasses!】
【Civil Engineering Brother: Our group chat is called “01.” Does that mean it's a regional designation? Are we in the first major region? How are the regions divided? Are we all from the Huaxia Federation? I'm from City S in the Southeast Region.】
Qiyu quickly skimmed the messages and soon realized something: he and these people weren't from the same place. They must be the “Earth people” the Survival Game had mentioned, right?
The overwhelming majority of messages were filled with panic, complaints, and desperate pleas to go home.
There were also plenty of complaints about the shabby wooden cabins and the terrible food.
A vague picture began to take shape in his mind. Earth was probably a beautiful, peaceful, and prosperous planet—a world without viruses, zombies, or monsters.
He couldn't even imagine what such a place would be like.
For as long as he could remember, he had known only the apocalypse, where humanity struggled to survive in a cruel and dangerous environment. Unlike the other players, who were dissatisfied with their circumstances, he secretly felt delighted.
He had no idea what kind of glitch in the Survival Game had caused it to mistake him for a native of Earth and bring him here. Whatever the reason, he would treasure this opportunity.
The trading section was still empty.
Qiyu got to his feet and carefully searched the wooden cabin, but he couldn't find the novice chest mentioned in the group chat. Apparently, the chest didn't appear in the same location for everyone.
He cautiously pushed the door open a crack.
The sight outside left him staring in astonishment.
It was a jungle.
Countless unfamiliar plants filled his vision. Instinctively, he stumbled backward and slammed the wooden door shut with a bang. After a moment, the pale-faced young man muttered to himself, “I forgot again.”
He had died and come back to life. He was no longer in that hellish place.
Here, plants were simply plants, not monsters.
Besides, he was still within the safe beginner period. Qiyu opened the door again and stepped outside.
He approached a towering tree, his body instinctively tensing.
【Mature tree detected. Can be cut down.】
Qiyu reached out, plucked a handful of leaves, and stuffed them into his mouth. They tasted slightly bitter, but otherwise had little flavor.
They taste pretty good.
He waited quietly for a while, but his body showed no unusual reactions.
His eyes suddenly lit up. He swept his gaze over the vast forest as though he had discovered a boundless treasure trove. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g here was edible!
He was seized by the urge to start picking leaves on the spot. Fortunately, his rational mind held him back.
There's no rush. The trees aren't going anywhere.
The most important thing right now is to find the novice chest. And, just as importantly, upgrade the wooden cabin.
He clearly remembered the Survival Game's warning: the shelter was completely safe during the three-day beginner period, but once those three days were over, that safety would no longer be guaranteed. Fortunately, the novice chest wasn't particularly well hidden. After making his way through a patch of trees that could be harvested, he spotted a wooden chest nestled in the grass.
【Novice chest detected. Open?】
Qiyu mentally selected the option to open it, watching the chest with anticipation.
As the lid lifted, a faint white light spilled out from within.
【Congratulations! You have obtained 6 steamed buns, 3 x 500ml bottles of drinking water, 1 wooden axe, 1 workbench crafting blueprint, 1 basic backpack blueprint, and 1 ordinary talent skill book.】
Alongside the physical supplies were two thin blueprints and a small, blue-covered booklet about the size of his palm.
【Blueprint detected. Do you wish to study it?】
Qiyu chose to study it.
【Workbench: A structure for crafting all tools. Construction Materials: Wood x50, Stone x50】
【Basic Backpack: Grants 10 basic backpack slots. Not stackable. Construction Materials: Sisal Grass X30】
【Detected a disassemblable wooden crate. Do you wish to disassemble it?】
Qiyu looked at the wooden box packed with water and steamed buns, swallowed hard, and selected “No.” He crouched down, habitually wiped his hands on his clothes, and picked up a steamed bun.
It was unexpected, yet somehow not entirely surprising. The plump, snow-white steamed bun was actually piping hot, as though it had just been taken out of a steamer. He took a bite.
At that moment, it felt as though even his soul had let out a long sigh of relief.
Qiyu wolfed down half the steamed bun in the blink of an eye, took two sips of water, then carefully returned the remaining food and water to the wooden box and gently closed the lid.
Half a steamed bun had raised his satiety to 50, his stamina to 90, and restored his health to its maximum value. He picked up the little blue booklet.
A talent skill book?
Could it be what I think it is?
As soon as he had awakened, he had examined his body. Although he had been restored to an astonishingly healthy condition, his supernatural abilities had disappeared. He had consoled himself with the thought that if losing those abilities was the price of being reborn into such a wonderful world, it was a price he could accept.
But now, it seemed there might still be a glimmer of hope.
【Ordinary Talent Skill Book detected. Do you wish to learn it?】
“Learn.”