It seemed only places she had personally visited would light up on the map.
In the upper-right corner, a few lines of text displayed key information.
Desolate Continent, Server: 009
Current Season: Autumn
Current Time: 14:06 (Autumn, daylight is shortening)
(Novice Protection Period active)
Xia Qiu had played similar wilderness survival games in her spare time, so these settings were familiar. But... how had she ended up in this so-called game? Did she die when she fell into the fissure during the earthquake, or had she traveled to another world?
She opened the Backpack on her panel. It contained two rows of ten slots each, for a total of twenty. The sight of the completely empty inventory made her heart sink. How was she supposed to survive a survival game without even the most basic tools? Was she expected to rely on the box of junk she’d grabbed from her desk?
Closing the Backpack, Xia Qiu tried clicking on the Leaderboard. This time, there was no reaction at all. The page was blanker than the grass beside her; it probably hadn’t been activated yet.
After closing the panel, she noticed a faint yellow circle hovering in the lower-right corner of her vision. When she reached out and touched it, the panel reappeared.
"Pretty high-tech..."
She touched the cardboard box on the ground again, and two options popped up.
[Decompose Cardboard Box of Miscellaneous Items *1]
[Pick Up Cardboard Box of Miscellaneous Items *1]
The box contained two notebooks, a ceramic mug with a lid, a 500ml thermos, a stainless steel spoon, half a packet of flower tea, two packs of tissues, half a bottle of rubbing alcohol, an 84-key wireless Bluetooth keyboard, a utility knife, and two quick-dry pens.
Unsure if decomposing the box would scatter all the items and force her to store them separately, Xia Qiu cautiously chose the second option. The cardboard box instantly dematerialized, disappearing along with everything inside it.
When she opened her backpack again, a miniature icon of the box now occupied the first slot. Touching it brought up two new options.
[View Details]
[Take Out]
She clicked "View Details," and a line of text appeared.
[Cardboard Box of Miscellaneous Items: A box from the Otherworld, filled with miscellaneous items.]
Xia Qiu then tried to take things out of the box without first removing the box itself from her inventory, but it didn’t work. However, once she took the items out, she could store them individually in other slots.
Just as she was about to study the panel further, the electronic voice from before sounded again.
[Friendly Reminder: The nights on the Desolate Continent are fraught with danger. All players are advised to make ample preparations before sunset. We wish you a pleasant game.]
Sunset?
Xia Qiu looked up at the sky. The sun hung high and bright, its glare almost blinding. The grassland stretched out in all directions, with patches of taller grass in the distance. From within those patches came a faint rustling, likely from insects or small animals. Farther still was a forest, its size impossible to gauge from her position. All in all, it looked like a clear, crisp, and peaceful autumn day. It was hard to imagine how such a place could be "fraught with danger."
She opened the World Channel, where messages were scrolling by even faster now.
[Xue Zihang]: Did everyone get that system notification? Does anyone know what happens at night?
[Cursing Every Boss With Early Shifts]: Why don’t you use that time to explore for yourself? Aren’t we all just starting out? Always asking questions. You paying for an answer?
[Only Love Money]: Buying hay! Trading wood for it! Anyone have hay? Buying, buying, buying!
[Xue Zihang]: What’s wrong with asking? We’ll all understand the situation faster if we share information. Stop being so selfish!
[Just Want to Be a Mushroom]: Help me, bros! There’s a crazy pig chasing me! I’m hiding in a tree, but it’s just waiting underneath. Does anyone have a weapon?!
Xia Qiu’s eyes lingered on the last message for a few seconds, a sense of absurdity washing over her. A crazy pig?
Were she and the people in the World Channel even playing the same game? She felt like their experiences were on completely different wavelengths. Still, while she was just beginning to figure out her situation, others were already starting to trade resources. It seemed she was falling behind.
Done with the World Channel, Xia Qiu took out the cardboard box and rummaged through it for a moment before pulling out the utility knife. She had no other tools, so if she wanted wood, her only option was to try her luck in the distant forest later. But right now, she was surrounded by a field of grass, with taller patches nearby. Gathering hay shouldn’t be too difficult. It was always good to be prepared; maybe she could trade it for something useful.
As she held the utility knife, a line of text floated above it.
[Small Knife: A sharp knife from the Otherworld, a handy tool. (Durability: 100/100)]
Wait, what? A utility knife has durability?