【Final Destination: The 56th one. Already 56 people have cleared the third round of the Survival Trial! I wonder what the third round involves.】
On the leaderboard, the ID "I Love Survival Game" slowly appeared. It was indeed the 56th entry.
【I’m Terrified: "I Love Survival Game"? What a shamelessly flattering ID. Does sucking up really make you stronger?】
【Wing Chun: Everyone, look at the top of the leaderboard!】
Behind the ID "My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens," the original text "Round 3, Cleared" had changed to "Round 4, Cleared."
A rare moment of silence fell over the regional chat.
【I’m Terrified: So, Big Shot "My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens," you've already cleared Round 4?】
【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Oh my god, most people haven't even cleared Round 3 yet…】
Players who chose to continue the Survival Trial could no longer see messages in the regional channel.
After Qiyu completed the third round, a new option quickly appeared on his survival panel. Unlike the first two rounds, which had started on the hour, this one didn't require him to wait.
【Do you wish to proceed to the fourth round of the Survival Trial?】
He had ten minutes to make his decision.
He could either quit or continue.
If he was feeling tired, he could use those ten minutes to rest and recover.
Qiyu noticed that his survival panel seemed to have been locked. Apart from the "Confirm" and "Quit" options, nothing else was clickable.
He couldn't access the zone chat or send private messages to his friends.
Qiyu didn't hesitate for long before choosing to continue the trial.
Qiyu stood inside the wooden cabin.
He remembered entering the survival game and working hard to complete various tasks just to stay alive.
And then?
What exactly had happened?
A message appeared on the survival panel before him:
【Congratulations, player. You have successfully completed three rounds of trials and earned the right to return to the real world. Do you wish to claim it?】
A one-hour countdown began.
Return to the real world?
Confused, Qiyu opened the general chat channel, which was already in an uproar.
【Holy shit, guys, have you heard? The reward for the third trial is a chance to return to the real world!】
【Waaah, I regret it so much! Why did I chicken out earlier? Even if I had to die in there, I should've participated! I want to go home so badly!】
【So many players have disappeared from the leaderboard. Have they all gone back?】
【@I Love Survival Game, can you give us another chance? I want to participate too! Let me join!】
Go… home?
Qiyu stared blankly for a moment before noticing a message from Civil Engineering Brother.
【Big shot, I cleared Round 3. Hehe, I'm planning to go home! What about you?】
【Let's exchange contact info. My phone number is 139XXXX0222, and it's the same for WeChat. I'm from City H. When we get back, let's grab a meal together if we have time!】
Qiyu didn't reply.
Before long, Civil Engineering Brother's ID vanished.
It hadn't merely turned gray. It had disappeared completely from the survival game.
Qiyu returned to the selection screen.
40 minutes remaining.
He stared blankly at the countdown.
His thoughts began to drift, and suddenly, he seemed to find himself somewhere else.
He was standing on a bustling street filled with traffic. Elderly people wearing hats strolled leisurely along the sidewalks, while groups of children ran past him, snacking and giggling.
Everyone was neatly and smartly dressed.
The next moment, he found himself on a street lined with food stalls. It seemed to be a tourist district, bustling mostly with young people. They were vibrant and beautiful, their fair faces glowing with carefree, contented smiles.
Grilled meats, desserts, ice cream… His nose was filled with the aromas of all kinds of delicacies he had never smelled before.
A voice echoed in his mind:
【Do you long to return to the world of your hometown?】
My hometown…?
Qiyu's previously dazed eyes instantly regained their clarity.
He said calmly, "This isn't my hometown."
The moment those words left his mouth, everything changed.
All the scenery vanished. The zone chat disappeared, and so did the wooden cabin.
He was standing in an open space surrounded by a fence, with brilliant sunflowers illuminating the entire area.
【Congratulations, player! You have successfully completed the fourth round of the Survival Trial.】
【Reward: Intermediate Resource Pack x1.】
【Reward: Brass Chest x2.】
Channel:
【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Look, look! 198 people have already cleared the third round! Holy crap, someone else just cleared the fourth round! I Love Survival Game? It's that shameless suck-up!】
On the leaderboard, the ID 【I Love Survival Game】 had jumped from around 50th place to 7th.
Without a doubt, all seven players at the top had cleared Round 4.
Just as the regional chat was buzzing with excitement, the text behind 【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens】 changed once again.
He had already cleared Round 5!
Those who had only just begun paying attention to 【I Love Survival Game】 immediately shifted their focus back to the player at the top of the leaderboard.
Qiyu opened all the reward packs he had received.
The Intermediate Resource Pack granted him a resource point: a Green-quality Red Maple Forest.
【Red Maple Forest: Chopping down trees yields Green-quality Red Maple Wood, with a low chance of obtaining Blue-quality Premium Red Maple Wood.】
Great. Now he wouldn't have to worry about having enough wood to upgrade his shelter.
Resource points could still be placed wherever he wanted, so Qiyu set this one aside for the time being.
He opened the two Brass Chests.
【Congratulations! You have obtained Mysterious Card x1 and Alchemy Doll x1.】
【Congratulations! You have obtained Intermediate Plant Nutrient Solution Formula x1 and Basic Farmland x4.】
A Mysterious Card—Qiyu had obtained one before.
However, the previous card had been green, while this one was black. As usual, he couldn't make heads or tails of it, so he could only put it away for now.
The Alchemy Doll was a humanoid puppet, roughly the size of an adult, with no facial features and an entirely black body. It looked just like a shadow.
【Alchemy Doll: A basic alchemical creation. Insert an Energy Crystal Card to execute simple commands.】
Qiyu gazed thoughtfully at the motionless puppet.
He wondered just how much these "simple commands" could accomplish. He would have to test it when he got the chance.
Moreover, it required an Energy Crystal Card to operate.
It seemed energy orbs really were a valuable resource.
He immediately learned the Intermediate Plant Nutrient Solution formula.
【Intermediate Plant Nutrient Solution: Increases plant yield by 20% and reduces harvest time by 50%. Ingredients: Water (Green), Spring Radiance Grass Leaves, Rotten Fruit.】
He had never encountered any of these ingredients before, but that was fine. He could gradually collect them whenever the opportunity arose.
After sorting through the rewards from the fourth round, Qiyu had only one thought: participating in this Survival Trial had been absolutely worth it.
The rewards he had earned from just these few rounds tonight almost surpassed everything he had collected throughout the entire three-day newbie period.
Of course, the reason he said "almost" was that, in Qiyu's mind, nothing could currently compare to the spirit cultivation manual.
Channel Chat:
【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Look… we've already lost over two thousand players.】
Of the original 12,201 players, only a little over ten thousand remained.
At that moment, someone spoke up.
【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: Sigh, I failed. But at least I made it back alive.】
Some people recognized the ID. It belonged to one of the top players who had successfully cleared the third round of the Survival Trial.
No one had expected him to reappear, and a flood of questions immediately came pouring in.
【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: I can't seem to share the details of the trial, but just know that it was incredibly difficult. I can't even imagine how much willpower you'd need to clear the fourth round. Still, as brutal as the trials are, the rewards are seriously good.】
【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: All I can say is that, with this mode, the top players are only going to get stronger.】