In the distance, besides the cool night wind, even the chirping of insects and birds had vanished.
She switched her interface to the World Channel. As expected, most people didn’t dare to fall into a peaceful sleep in this strange new world.
[Parasol: Everyone saw the system notification, right? What is this "Call of the Abyss"? Sounds like some kind of nighttime boss?]
[Good Samaritan: Aren’t we still in the novice period? They wouldn’t spawn a boss during the novice period. Better to just wash up and go to sleep.]
[One Strawberry: I’d love to wash up and go to sleep, but there isn’t even a river near me. I had to trade resources just to get drinking water...]
[Big Wind Blows: Ooh, look at Ms. Moneybags, still has water to drink.]
[Zhou Zhou Must Try: Don’t even ask.]
The conversation on the World Channel soon drifted, and people began discussing the various dangers they had encountered during the day. After all, previous warnings to be wary of the night or the dangers lurking in the dense forest were concrete and understandable.
"Call of the Abyss," however... was far too abstract.
Ten minutes passed in a flash. The moment the clock struck midnight, the World Channel suddenly fell deathly silent.
Xia Qiu shot up from the ground as if she had been zapped by electricity.
The instant the time on her interface changed to 00:00, she felt the flames of her campfire weaken. In stark contrast to the silence on the World Channel, a rustling sound arose from her surroundings. It sounded like snakes slithering through the grass, or perhaps people whispering right in her ear.
Without a second thought, Xia Qiu pulled another piece of wood from her backpack and tossed it into the campfire. The flames slowly licked at the dry wood, and the flickering light stabilized once more, radiating a warm, bright sense of security.
Xia Qiu glanced around for a moment. The rustling whispers continued, and a sense of unease gnawed at her.
Two minutes later, she found the source of her anxiety on her information panel. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
[Status: Unease (You have heard the call from the abyss and cannot help but be drawn to it. Current Spirit Value decreases by 10 points per hour. Spirit Value below 50 will induce a listless state. Spirit Value below 30 will induce a frenzied state. Spirit Value below 0 will result in you answering the abyss’s call, deducting 1 point of health per second.)]
Seeing this status, Xia Qiu was so grateful to her past self she could have dropped to her knees. The grilled fish she’d gritted her teeth to trade for wasn’t just food—it was a lifesaver!
The status description was very detailed. Xia Qiu decided she would only eat the grilled fish when her Spirit Value dropped close to fifty. As for the listless and frenzied states, she had no intention of experiencing them.
After a moment of silence, people on the World Channel started to react.
[One Strawberry: Ahhh! Does anyone have food or medicine that restores Spirit?! I’ll pay a high price!]
[Zhou Zhou Must Try: Looking for food that restores Spirit Value! I can trade a weapon for it!]
[Only Loves Money: Buying Spirit-restoring food in exchange for ingredients. Open to long-term partnerships. Chefs, please message me with your prices.]
[Pioneer: Selling "Delicious Grilled River Fish." Message me with your offer.]
[Xue Zihang: Any chefs out there? Please message me. I’m looking to trade for Spirit-restoring food.]
Reading these messages, Xia Qiu patted her chest and checked the Delicious Grilled River Fish in her backpack again. She really did have great foresight! If she had to trade for food with special effects now, the price would certainly be much higher than it was that evening. And with this new status effect appearing tonight, the price for such food would likely remain sky-high tomorrow.
Based on the game’s class traits, it was likely that only classes like Chef could create food with special effects. Someone like Song Ci’an, who was a Hunter or another class, could probably only make food that restored hunger.
Having figured this out, Xia Qiu opened her private messages. Her recent chat with Pioneer was still there. After less than three seconds of deliberation, she sent Pioneer a friend request. The request allowed for a self-introduction, and after a moment’s thought, Xia Qiu carefully composed a message.
[Xia Qiu: Hello, I’m Xia Qiu, the one who traded red mushrooms for your grilled fish this evening. I’m currently located near the dense forest. If you need mushroom-type ingredients, I can provide a stable supply.]
Whether she could actually gather mushrooms consistently was another question, but the important thing was to secure a spot on his friends list first. If she couldn’t find any mushrooms later, she could always make up some other excuse. Besides, the dense forest surely had more ingredients than just mushrooms. Pioneer had also been trying to trade for a Chef-exclusive blueprint on the World Channel earlier, so he was definitely a Chef. This story is hosted at g.com.
Many people were surely messaging Pioneer at this time, so Xia Qiu wasn’t worried when she didn’t receive an immediate reply. Instead, a red dot suddenly lit up on her friends list.
She had only added Song Ci’an, so she clicked it open. She had already sent three messages.
[Song Ci’an: The price for Spirit-restoring food is inflated on the World Channel right now. I have extra, so I can trade with you if you need it.]
[Song Ci’an: The price will be a little higher than for normal food, but not by much.]
[Song Ci’an: My class is Hunter, so I often need hemostatic grass. If you can, please keep an eye out for it when you’re gathering resources.]
Although it was a trade and she had stated her own needs, reading these three messages made Xia Qiu’s nose tingle with emotion. Anyone who could adapt so well and have a surplus of food less than a day into the game was either a top-tier player or someone with a very strong will. Countless people were surely trying to get on Song Ci’an’s good side.
The fact that she had thought of her so quickly truly moved her.
[Xia Qiu: Oh my god, you’re an absolute angel! But don’t worry about me. I managed to trade for a piece of grilled fish that restores spiritual power this evening.]
[Xia Qiu: By the way, I think fuel burns faster after midnight. If you have a campfire, remember to add more fuel!]
Song Ci’an replied quickly.
[Song Ci’an: Okay, thanks for the reminder. But I haven’t established a campsite yet, so I haven’t lit a campfire. I’m using this. You can trade with me for one if you need it.]
A trade window popped up. In it, Song Ci’an had placed a torch.
[Tallow Torch: A torch made from animal fat and plant fibers. Can burn for an extended period and repel small creatures within a certain range (Durability: 800. Consumes 50 durability per hour while lit).]
A campsite location?
[Xia Qiu: Are there special requirements for choosing a campsite location?]