Qiyu continued searching the trading page, but perhaps seeds weren't that easy to obtain, or perhaps those who had found them simply didn't want to part with them. Either way, he couldn't find a second packet.
There were also a few inquiries about the wooden bed.
The first person to contact him looked familiar.
【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: Did you get a furniture blueprint? That's lucky. What do you want in exchange for the wooden bed?】
【ID2334788: 60 units of wood.】
The other party didn't waste time bargaining and promptly agreed to the trade. A minute later, Qiyu handed over the wooden bed.
The second person to inquire also looked familiar.
【Good Night Want To Sleep: Hello, what would you like in exchange for the wooden bed?】
【ID2334788: 60 units of wood.】
Since Qiyu was trading anonymously, Good Night Want To Sleep had no idea that the seller was the same "acquaintance" he had traded with earlier.
【Good Night Want To Sleep: Could I trade something else for it?】
【ID2334788: Wooden beds require wood to craft, and I don't have much wood to spare.】
【Good Night Want To Sleep: ...Sorry to bother you.】
A few more people contacted him afterward, but they all backed out once they heard his asking price.
For players at this stage of the survival game, 60 units of wood was an enormous amount.
Even if they managed to gather that much, they still had to save resources to upgrade their wooden cabins. Sleeping on the floor wasn't the end of the world. They could put up with it for a while longer.
"My fate is determined by me, not the heavens," Qiyu murmured thoughtfully.
As expected of someone who had opened a silver chest, that guy really was wealthy.
Qiyu sold another basic backpack, this time receiving a 【sunflower straw hat】 in exchange.
The sunflower straw hat had no special attributes. It was simply an ordinary sun hat with a ring of plump sunflowers embroidered around the brim.
But it was beautiful.
Qiyu ran his fingertips over the hat's delicate fabric, reluctant to put it down.
After waiting a while longer without receiving any new offers, he carefully placed the little hat against the wall beside his head, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
People who had spent years surviving in a post-apocalyptic world developed the ability to fall asleep quickly, regardless of their surroundings.
On his first night in the survival game, Qiyu enjoyed a rare night of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.
Night passed, and morning arrived.
The instant the light inside the wooden cabin changed ever so slightly, the figure lying sound asleep on the bed opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear and alert, without the slightest trace of drowsiness.
Qiyu glanced at the interface. It was now 8:00 AM.
He had woken up feeling refreshed and full of energy. Sure enough, his stamina had completely recovered.
He picked up his wooden axe and opened the door.
The few stalks of sisal grass that had been lying beside the door last night had disappeared without a trace.
Even the tree he had chopped down in front of the wooden cabin yesterday had returned to its original state.
Qiyu had mixed feelings about this.
He selected a tree, raised his axe, and began chopping.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Perhaps because he had grown more proficient, it took him only twenty minutes to fell the tree this time.
【Critical Hit Triggered, Obtained Wood x20】
An excellent start.
In high spirits, he stored the wood in his backpack, bringing his morning warm-up to an end.
He took some water and steamed buns from his backpack and finished breakfast. Then, with his wooden axe in hand and his dagger tucked away in his backpack, he set out to explore.
During yesterday's exploration of the surrounding area, he had discovered three treasure chests, an exceptionally rewarding haul.
He hoped his luck would be just as good today.
After walking about a hundred meters east of the wooden cabin, Qiyu spotted a wooden treasure chest beneath a tree.
He was just about to approach it when he abruptly stopped and turned his head to the left.
A gray shadow darted rapidly through the grass.
A living creature!
Qiyu quickly stored the treasure chest in his backpack and chased after the shadow.
He hadn't seen a single living creature yesterday, so he had assumed that there was no other life in the safe zone besides himself.
Could there actually be animals here?
The gray shadow was incredibly fast, but Qiyu was even faster.
After chasing it for several minutes, he finally got a clear look at the creature.
It was a furry little animal about thirty centimeters long, with two long ears and four legs.
Qiyu had seen pictures of this creature in books before.
It was called a rabbit.
The blue badge in his palm emitted a faint glow.
Acting on a sudden intuition, Qiyu pointed it toward the gray rabbit in front of him.
【Gale Rabbit, Level 1 Mutant Creature, delicious meat.】
The moment Qiyu saw the word "mutant," an instinctive chill ran down his spine.
But in the very next second, his attention was drawn to the words "delicious meat."
He reminded himself that this was a survival game. The mutated creatures here were different from the ones back home.
Just look at how delicate and adorable this creature was! The game system had even confirmed that its meat was delicious.
It was nothing like the grotesque mutated creatures back home, most of which were poisonous and inedible.
Without another moment's hesitation, Qiyu accelerated, raised his axe, and charged forward.
The gray rabbit kicked off with all four legs. Just as Qiyu was about to catch up, it suddenly twisted around.
It raised a front paw, and a pale gray, blade-like projectile shot from its claw, hurtling toward Qiyu at astonishing speed.
Qiyu didn't slow down.
He shifted his body slightly, effortlessly avoiding the attack, then raised his right hand.
At some point, a dagger had appeared in his palm.
Whoosh!
The dagger shot forward like lightning.
Thud!
It plunged into the rabbit's hind leg, pinning the creature firmly to the ground.
Qiyu approached with his axe in hand.
As he drew closer, the injured rabbit lying on the ground widened its round, watery eyes and gazed up at him pleadingly.
"Squeak, squeak."
It let out a couple of pitiful cries, as though begging for mercy.
Now that he was close enough to examine it properly, Qiyu could clearly see how soft and fluffy its fur was.
"How cute," he exclaimed in admiration.
As though sensing his reaction, the rabbit squeaked twice more.
"A gale rabbit this cute must be absolutely delicious," Qiyu said eagerly.
Two breaths later, the adorable rabbit vanished in a flash of white light.
Two glowing orbs appeared on the ground.
【Received 500g of gale rabbit meat x3, leather x2, rabbit fur x10】
Another flash of light revealed a fine iron chest.
Qiyu: !
So killing mutated creatures didn't just provide delicious food. They could drop treasure chests, too!
【Congratulations on your first mutant kill. Your combat stats panel has been unlocked.】
Qiyu: ?
He opened his personal stats panel.
Survival ID: I Love Survival Game Age: 19
Shelter: Initial Wooden Cabin (Durability 100/100), upgradeable.
Next Level: level one shelter (Sturdy Log Cabin)
Talent: Farming·Mutated (Beginner)
Satiety: 90/100
Stamina: 88/100
Health: 100/100
Several new stats had been added:
Attack: 13
Defense: 11
Agility: 17
Mental Power: 734
Without anything to compare them against, Qiyu had no idea whether these numbers were considered high or low.
However, judging from the information he had gathered in the chat channel, his combat stats should be... pretty decent compared to those of the humans from Earth?
Besides, compared to his other attributes, that Mental Power value seemed a little excessively high.
He casually opened the chat channel and browsed through it for a moment. When he saw that no one was discussing combat stats, he closed it again.
Time was precious.
Now that he knew killing mutated creatures could yield treasure chests and other rewards, he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.
After all, the newbie protection period would only last a few days.
Over the next two hours, Qiyu carefully explored the entire perimeter of the safe zone surrounding his wooden cabin.
He discovered two wooden treasure chests.
He also encountered another mutated beast.
The creature stood roughly as tall as Qiyu. Its body was covered in sharp spikes, and two vicious-looking fangs protruded from its mouth.
Compared to the gale rabbit, it wasn't particularly fast, but its destructive power was astonishing.
It was through this mutated beast that Qiyu made an interesting discovery.
The moment he spotted the enormous creature, it noticed him as well.
Perhaps deciding that the frail-looking biped posed no threat, the beast merely glanced at him before turning its attention elsewhere.
But given its massive size, Qiyu doubted an ordinary person could handle a creature like this alone.
Leaving everything else aside, if such a huge, brutish beast charged straight at him, there was no way the flimsy door of his wooden cabin would withstand the impact.
Hadn't the survival game promised that the first three days would be a safe period for new players?
To test his theory, Qiyu took out a piece of gale rabbit meat he had obtained earlier, wrapped it in a leaf, and held it up in front of the beast, waving it enticingly.
The mutated beast clearly caught the scent of fresh meat.
When it turned toward him, its eyes were filled with intense hunger.
Yet despite its obvious desire for the meat, it merely pawed restlessly at the ground without making any move to attack Qiyu.
It seemed the survival game had imposed some kind of restriction on these creatures.
During the newbie protection period, mutated creatures wouldn't—or rather, couldn't—actively attack players.
However, if a player deliberately provoked them, that restriction would no longer apply.
For example, Qiyu was currently being chased by a mutant barbarian fang boar.
Yes, according to the Survival System's scan, this creature was a 【Level 2 Mutant Barbarian Fang Boar】.
Without a suitable weapon, fighting a mutant barbarian fang boar weighing several hundred kilograms head-on would be quite a challenge.
Qiyu only had an axe, and he certainly didn't have a spare.
The creature's hide looked incredibly tough, and he didn't want to risk breaking his weapon against it.
After chasing Qiyu for about five minutes, the mutant barbarian fang boar gradually began to slow down, no longer charging forward as recklessly as before.
Now!
A faint silver light appeared in Qiyu's eyes, which had been pitch-black only moments earlier.
The mutant barbarian fang boar failed to notice that the plants lining both sides of the path were silently growing at an astonishing rate.
Thick vines extended outward, spreading into a sinister net that closed around its prey.
The coarse vines coiled around the mutant beast's body, wrapping it in an enormous cocoon as sharp thorns pierced its flesh.
"That was far too dangerous. I can't take risks like that again," Qiyu muttered.
Leaning against a tree trunk, he fixed his silver-gleaming eyes on the trapped beast.
His prey was still struggling.
An invisible will descended.
【Strangle.】
Moments later, the vines crumbled into ash.
A white light flickered on the ground.
【Killed a Level 2 mutant barbarian fang boar. Obtained 100 kg of mutant barbarian fang boar meat, 30 fine leather, 1 barbarian fang dagger, 1 barbarian fang bracers】
【Obtained a brass chest. Open it?】
Another type of treasure chest he had never seen before.
The brass chest was the same size as the others, but compared to the wooden and fine iron chests, its appearance was far more extravagant.
The golden chest shimmered brilliantly beneath the sunlight, radiating a dazzling glow.
One look was enough to tell that it was expensive!