Qiyu sent a message to his friend in Zone 88.
【I Love Survival Game: Do you need one of these?】
He attached the information about the bright sunflower.
【God Has No Form: You already have mutated plants over there?】
【God Has No Form: I'll take one. I'm just curious about something. These sunflowers can survive for 15 days in your area, but will they last that long in the desert?】
Qiyu fell into deep thought.
【I Love Survival Game: I don't know.】
Dan Xingyu chuckled.
His new friend really was refreshingly honest and straightforward. He never seemed to deviate from that attitude.
Dan Xingyu rummaged through his backpack and sent over the details of several items.
【God Has No Form: Take a look and see if there's anything you want.】
Qiyu examined the list. It included 【Second-Tier Mutant Fire Lizard Skin】, 【Energy Orb: Fire】, 【Iron Chunk (Green)】, 【Basic Stamina Potion】, 【Tang Sword (Green)】, and several other items.
Dan Xingyu had chosen these items deliberately.
He'd reached the same conclusion as Qiyu. Since players had started in different regions, each area was bound to have resources unavailable elsewhere.
That presented an opportunity.
And how could he demonstrate his value to his new friend?
By showing off an appropriate amount of his strength while keeping a few cards up his sleeve, of course.
Qiyu carefully read through the descriptions of every item.
【I Love Survival Game: What kinds of ore do you have over there? Could you send me a little of each? We haven't found any ore deposits here yet, so I'm curious.】
Seeing that Qiyu hadn't even mentioned the potions or weapons, Dan Xingyu realized that although his friend was straightforward, his abilities were probably nothing to scoff at.
This only pleased him more.
No wonder Qiyu could casually offer a mutated plant like the bright sunflower for trade.
Dan Xingyu gathered several types of ore and sent Qiyu a trade request.
【Iron Chunk (Green) x5】【Red Crystal x10】【Copper Ingot x10】【Sand Crystal x10】
Qiyu recognized the iron chunks and copper ingots.
He used his survival panel to appraise the Red Crystals and Sand Crystals, but the results merely identified them as basic materials.
It seemed Zone 88's main resources consisted of various ores and minerals.
Qiyu was very satisfied with the trade.
Dan Xingyu was equally pleased.
Not only was the magical plant dazzlingly bright, but the faint noises coming from outside vanished the moment he brought it into his shelter.
He couldn't help feeling that he'd gotten the better end of the deal.
Your friend 【God Has No Form】 has offered to trade you 【Lantern of Rest】.
【Lantern of Rest: Light it while resting, and you will enjoy a slumber as deep as eternity.】
【God Has No Form: Don't let the name scare you. It might sound a little ominous, but its sleep-inducing effect is incredible! It also restores stamina.】
Qiyu didn't bother with unnecessary pleasantries. He simply thanked him.
Then he placed the hourglass-shaped night lamp in his backpack.
The second hour was finally drawing to a close.
The number of surviving players in Zone 01 had settled at 85,037.
Everyone who had made it this far stared nervously at their survival panels, afraid that the moment the countdown ended, the system would announce the beginning of the third round of the survival trial.
2:00 a.m.
【Congratulations to all players who successfully passed the second round of the survival trial. Reward: Resource Pack x1. Please claim your reward manually.】
Unlike the first round, Qiyu hadn't encountered a single physical enemy during the second round of the survival trial.
Most of the threats other players had faced were illusions conjured from their own minds. Naturally, there had been no rewards for killing enemies.
Nine dark green cards appeared on Qiyu's personal panel.
【Please randomly select one card to receive the corresponding reward.】
All nine cards looked identical.
After a moment's hesitation, Qiyu selected the one in the center.
The card flipped over.
【Congratulations, player! You have obtained Golden Apple Sapling x1.】
The card displayed an illustration of a magnificent golden tree.
The next moment, a fist-sized golden apple fell out of thin air and landed in Qiyu's palm.
【Golden Apple Sapling: A rare and delicate magical plant that requires careful tending.】
Qiyu turned the golden apple over in his hand, examining it from every angle.
He couldn't understand why it was called a "sapling."
After giving it some thought, he could only conclude that survival games must have different naming conventions from those on Earth.
Perhaps they simply liked calling fruits "saplings."
The golden apple certainly looked delicious.
Unfortunately, since it was apparently a "sapling," it clearly wasn't meant to be eaten.
He carefully tucked it into his backpack.
Since he couldn't see what the other eight cards contained, he had no way of knowing whether he'd been lucky or unlucky with his selection.
He opened the chat channel.
Only moments earlier, it had been filled with panic and despair. Now, however, excitement had taken over as countless players eagerly shared their rewards.
【Farewell Glasses: I drew an Alchemy Cleaning Kit that automatically cleans your shelter. If I were still on Earth, I'd buy a whole bunch of these. But what am I supposed to do with it here?】
【I'm a Lucky Star: Holy crap! This game actually has Epic-tier items! I got an Epic Material Set!】
【Need a Little Money to Save Me: What the hell is a tier two shelter blueprint? Is it something you need to upgrade your shelter? I'm still stuck in my starting wooden cabin!】
A tier two shelter blueprint? Someone actually got one?
Before Qiyu could even click on the player's avatar, another message appeared.
【Need a Little Money to Save Me: Guys, stop DMing me. I'm not selling it. I'm definitely keeping this for myself.】
***
Suddenly, the survival panel displayed another notification, startling quite a few players.
【Congratulations to all players who have successfully completed two rounds of the Survival Trial. The newbie period has officially ended. Welcome to the Survival Game!】
【The third round of the Survival Trial will now begin. Participation in the third round is voluntary. Players who successfully complete it will receive rewards. Those who are eliminated must bear the consequences themselves.】
Many players breathed a sigh of relief.
【A String of Mysterious Numbers: That scared the hell out of me. Voluntary participation? No thanks. I'm sitting this one out.】
【bdhjgfdh: Same here. I've barely managed to survive the trials so far. Staying alive is my top priority right now.】
Voluntary participation?
Qiyu glanced at the golden apple in his backpack.
Then he looked at the basic resource pack he'd obtained from the scavenging rats earlier.
Survival Challenge = Rewards = More Supplies.
And more supplies meant a better chance of surviving.
The members of the 01 survival squad were discussing the matter as well.
【Civil Engineering Brother: Are you guys planning to participate in the upcoming Survival Challenges?】
【Dare Not Open My Eyes: I think I'll give it a shot. The newbie period is over, and survival is obviously going to get much harder starting tomorrow. Building up our resources early should make things a little easier down the road.】
【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Get one step ahead now, and you'll stay ahead at every step. Just look at how badly those who failed to upgrade their shelters suffered tonight. I'm afraid things will only get harder from here.】
Qiyu felt that they'd expressed exactly what he was thinking.
A notification appeared on his survival panel.
【Do you wish to participate in the third round of the Survival Challenge?】
Without hesitation, Qiyu selected "Yes."
Almost the instant he made his choice, a beastly roar echoed from the darkness.
Several pairs of eerie green eyes appeared within the thick fog.
At the same time, a leaderboard appeared on the survival panels of players who had chosen not to participate in the third round of the Survival Trial.
【Survival Trial Completion Rankings】
A number was displayed on the right.
12,201.
Of the 85,037 surviving players in Server 01, only 12,201 had chosen to continue participating in the Survival Trial.