Absolute darkness, thick and tangible. It devoured not just light, but also sound, temperature, and even the sense of direction. Time seemed to lose its flow here.
Thus, everything existed, yet nothing did.
Su Luo had been standing in place for three minutes, his expression grim as he scanned the cold system interface, trying to find a "complaint" or "customer service" button.
However, the only response was a line of cold text on his personal panel:
[Description: Unknown error has been fixed. Survivors are requested to fend for themselves and strive to live on.]
"Fixed? I'll fix you..." He swallowed the curse that almost escaped his lips, as if raising his voice might disturb some unknown presence in the darkness.
Su Luo didn't know what dangers lurked, but existing in the darkness itself was a huge threat.
After some fumbling, Su Luo squatted silently on the ground.
Good news: the shelter still existed.
Bad news: it was back home.
"Fuck!"
Su Luo ruffled his hair in frustration and sent a message in the chat channel.
[Su Luo: I have a friend... wants to ask, what to do if the shelter is lost? Waiting online, quite urgent.]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[Pick it up.]
[No hope.]
[Without the shelter, you can't even use the trade function. You must find the shelter before the light source goes out!]
"Light source?"
Without much hope, Su Luo patted himself down and finally pulled out a multi-functional folding knife he had swiped from a hardware store, a bottle of AD Calcium Milk with a sip taken out, and a sausage.
A huge sense of absurdity and helplessness hit him. He slowly slid to the ground, feeling hopeless.
"Damn it... I thought I was stuck in a bug..."
[Time's up. Survivors who haven't used a Shelter Voucher have lost their survivor status.]
That grand voice echoed again, and the number of people in the chat channel's upper left corner instantly decreased by 12.
"Well, at least I still have survivor status..." Su Luo hugged his legs.
[Basic Skills are now being distributed.]
As soon as the words fell, two books appeared in Su Luo's arms.
He touched the book covers, and the panel in front of him flickered.
[Learn "Gathering"?]
[Learn "Appraisal"?]
Do these things have any use now?
Su Luo continued to fumble around, even instinctively flipping open the pages, the rustling of paper sounding particularly harsh in the dead silence. He stopped instantly, holding his breath, his heart pounding, afraid that the noise might attract something unknown.
"Maybe I can use Appraisal to identify the surroundings?"
Just as he thought of this, the chat area started scrolling.
[What's the use of Appraisal? I stared at a broken bowl for 10 seconds, and Appraisal only gave me one piece of information: a broken bowl.]
[Can't appraise in the dark, and in the light, my eyes give me more information than it does!]
[Gathering is crap too!]
[Maybe it's because it's Level 1... maybe it'll get better with upgrades.]
The chat channel was filled with complaints, emotions running high, but none as foul as the curses in Su Luo's heart.
Expressionless, he half-stripped, wedging one book against his chest and the other against his back. Such thick books should offer a bit of protection.
As he continued to squat in place, Su Luo inadvertently noticed a barely noticeable red dot on the edge of the system mailbox.
He clicked it open to find an unsigned email.
[Compensation]
[Story Dungeon Scroll]
[Use to enter a Random Story Dungeon. Complete tasks to receive rewards. Cost: 24 hours.]
[Note: (blank)]
After reading the email, Su Luo felt a weight in his hand, a roll of paper appearing out of nowhere.
"What is this? Hush money?"
This Survival System doesn't even have a system space...
But at least if something dangerous happens, he can use the Story Dungeon Scroll immediately... maybe delay death a bit.
Su Luo turned his pants inside out, reducing the chance of things falling out of his pockets.
Even though it's just a sausage and a drink...
He gripped the knife in his hand, unable to see anything, but it offered some peace of mind.
Time passed in absolute silence and cold, fear creeping up his spine like icy vines, reaching the back of his head.
After a moment of silence, Su Luo began to hear his own heartbeat, pounding away.
Though he didn't want to admit it, fear had begun to set in. Darkness was humanity's most primal fear.
A catastrophic start, no light source, no safe period provided by the shelter, no trading function...
He sat helplessly in an unknown place, hoping for a miracle or waiting for some monster to carry him away.
After half an hour, Su Luo, who had stopped scrolling through the channel, noticed an extremely faint, almost indistinguishable white dot at the far edge of his vision. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again, even turning his head—yet the white dot stubbornly remained in that direction. It wasn't an illusion!
"There's something there!"
According to the channel, most survivors' light sources were oil lamps, with a few having talents that provided illumination, but the light only extended a few meters before being swallowed by the darkness.
So what was this light point?
Su Luo pondered for a moment, then slowly got on all fours, preparing to investigate.
After all, it couldn't be worse than his current situation. He might as well see if there's an opportunity, and if not, he could use the Story Dungeon Scroll immediately.
Unable to see anything, walking upright risked tripping.
So Su Luo decided to return to his childhood—crawling!
With the small knife tucked in his sleeve and the scroll in his mouth, Su Luo began crawling sideways towards the light point. Crawling directly risked bumping his head, so he crawled sideways.
Time passed slowly in the dark silence, Su Luo unable to sense it, only judging from the chat channel that half an hour had passed.
But it seemed he hadn't even covered a fifth of the distance.
Su Luo sat down, breathing lightly, when suddenly someone in the regional channel mentioned him.
[Wang Ming: @Su Luo, bro, did you find your shelter?]
[Su Luo: No.]
[Wang Ming: I can't find mine either! I went out to pick up a treasure chest, and after squatting to open it, I couldn't find my way back!]
[Wang Ming: My oil lamp accidentally fell and spilled all the oil! It looks like it can only burn for a few more minutes!]
[Su Luo: Welcome.]
A group of see fun men responded below, but neither of them paid attention.
[Wang Ming: At least you have light! I'm about to lose mine...]
[Su Luo: I didn't bring a lamp when I went out.]
[Wang Ming:? Then what are you doing?]
[Su Luo: Can't see anything, I'm crawling on the ground.]
[?]
[?]
...
The channel scrolled again.
Su Luo stopped talking, setting off while dividing his attention between the channel and the forum.
The forum was no longer empty, with some posts starting to appear.
[Shelter Surroundings 50-Meter Quick Exploration Guide]
[Status Panel Speculation and Talents]
[Survival Early Stage Resource Exchange Reference and Information Sharing]
These things were all useful. It had only been two hours since arriving in this world, yet some people had already figured out patterns and were actively adapting.
Su Luo carefully read through each one, his attention finally caught by the top post.
[Darklands Monster Bestiary (Continuously Updated)]