Logan adjusted his polarized sunglasses, leaning back comfortably into the sun lounger on the luxury cruise ship’s deck.
After surviving a brutal university finals week, this felt like absolute heaven. Especially with a pool full of gorgeous female classmates splashing around nearby, kicking up water and filling the air with laughter.
As a liberal arts major, his class was skewed heavily in one direction. Out of thirty-seven students, he was the only guy. Even their academic advisor was a stunning professor who had graduated just a few years ago. To top it all off, the university’s three recognized campus beauties were all enrolled in this exact program.
Logan’s gaze drifted toward the edge of the pool. Su Qingyao, the quiet heiress of the group, was lounging gracefully by the water, her slender legs dipping beneath the surface. The custom-tailored swimsuit she wore hugged her flawless frame, giving her the cool, ethereal vibe of a snow lotus in full bloom. Her family had completely footed the bill for this graduation trip.
A bit further away, Chuyu Fei was tossing a water polo around with a few other girls. She was laughing brightly, the sunlight catching her and highlighting her youthful energy. Logan felt a slight tug in his chest. Chuyu Fei was his ex-girlfriend. The breakup had been painfully cliché—she claimed he couldn’t give her the future she wanted. That awkward history was the main reason Logan had almost skipped the trip entirely.
Then there was Bai Nian, rocking a sharp, tomboyish pixie cut. She wasn’t swimming; instead, she leaned against the railing, sipping a juice box and raising her cup toward Logan in a silent toast. Bai Nian was his closest confidante, possessing an easygoing personality and endless social energy.
"See? Told you it was worth it," Bai Nian mouthed from across the deck.
Logan shot her a look that clearly communicated, *You got me.*
It was Bai Nian who had convinced him to come with a single pitch: "Every girl in the class is wearing a bikini, and the art majors are definitely going for the string variety. You’re seriously going to pass that up?"
She hadn’t been lying. The art students were currently holding court in the center of the pool, loud, confident, and rocking standard micro-bikinis. It was quite a view.
Logan took a sip of his iced cola, convinced he had reached peak contentment.
Then the world ripped apart.
*BOOM!*
Without a single warning, a massive explosion rocked the ship, sending violent tremors through the deck. A wall of water surged out of the pool, knocking several students off their feet in a chaotic tangle of limbs and startled shrieks.
A sudden violent jolt hurled Logan out of his lounger. He slammed hard into the metal railing, and everything went black.
When Logan finally groaned and cracked his eyes open, his head felt like it was splitting in half.
He realized he was clutching something warm, soft, and faintly fragrant. What on earth? Blinking through the fog in his brain, he took in his surroundings.
He wasn’t on a cruise ship. Towering, prehistoric jungle trees choked out the sky, and the thick, humid air smelled heavily of rich mud and crushed ferns. He was lying flat on a wide stretch of coarse sand.
And right against his chest was an unconscious girl.
It was Su Qingyao!
Logan’s brain short-circuited. Why was he holding Su Qingyao? And why was she completely... well, clothes-free?
He snapped his gaze away and spotted her custom swimsuit tangled in a nearby bush. The fierce ocean waves must have ripped it right off her. If she woke up and found them like this, he would never hear the end of it.
Panic setting in, Logan scrambled up, grabbed the swimsuit, and frantically tried to cover her before she opened her eyes.
Unfortunately, Su Qingyao’s eyelids fluttered. She blinked up at the unfamiliar canopy, registered the cool air against her skin, and realized a guy was looming directly over her.
"Ahhh—!"
A piercing shriek echoed across the beach. Su Qingyao lashed out blindly, scrambling backward in sheer terror.
Logan froze, completely paralyzed by awkwardness. "Wait! Stop, I’m not a creep! Your swimsuit came off in the water, I was just trying to help you cover up!"
She curled into a tight ball, wrapping her arms around her shivering body, pale with shock and embarrassment. Logan wanted to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself. He spun around, tossing the garment behind him.
"Just put it on! You’re going to freeze."
The sound of rustling fabric let him finally exhale. He used the moment to survey the beach.
Scattered across the sand were dozens of bodies. He recognized every single one of them—thirty-six female classmates, down to the last person, along with Teacher Chen Tong. Just like him, they were soaking wet and completely knocked out.
Near the very edge of the tree line lay one more person—a stranger with long black hair. Even unconscious, her face carried a sharp, cold elegance, and her physique was striking. However, she wasn’t wearing a vacation swimsuit; she was decked out in a tactical black wetsuit. Was she a crew member? Another tourist?
Before Logan could puzzle it out, the girls around him began groaning and stirring.
"Where... where are we?"
"I’m scared..."
"Weren’t we just on the ship?"
The initial fog quickly gave way to a wave of cold panic. Tears and gasps filled the air as they realized they were stranded in an alien jungle—and worse, that most of them were still dressed in minimal swimwear. Some had lost their cover-ups to the surf, while others had been lounging in their cabins when the crash hit and were wearing next to nothing.
When the groggy group finally noticed Logan standing alone in the middle of the camp, their embarrassment instantly flared hotter than their fear. Several girls dropped into a crouch, frantically trying to hide behind one another.
Logan stood under dozens of bewildered, mortified glares, feeling like an exhibit at a zoo.
Then, a cold, mechanical voice echoed directly inside everyone’s mind.
[Welcome to the Primeval Era.]
[You are among the first batch of billions of survivalists to descend.]
[From this moment on, your sole objective is to survive, expand your tribe, and conquer the threats of this continent!]
[Every individual will be assigned a class, and your territory will come equipped with basic initial structures to help you adapt.]
[Finally, the system will randomly select a Tribal Chief for each group. The Chief will hold absolute leadership authority, and a special Tribal Aura will be granted based on the settlement’s composition.]
The strange voice stunned the group into absolute silence.
Transmigration? Tribes? A Chief?
Concepts straight out of online fiction suddenly slammed into reality, overwhelming the young women. Logan was just as shocked, but his survival instincts kicked in immediately.
This was a classic wilderness progression setup. But for the only guy in a camp full of stranded students, the stakes felt dangerously complicated.
[Randomly selecting the Tribal Chief for New Settlement 749...]
[Selection in progress...]
[Selection complete.]
Every heart leaped into its throat. Who was going to run the camp? Was it going to be the wealthy Su Qingyao? The universally liked Bai Nian? Or their composed teacher, Chen Tong?
Logan crossed his arms tight, praying it wasn’t him. Managing over thirty panicked college girls in a death-world sounded like a fast track to an early grave.
Right on cue, the system voice delivered the final verdict.
[The Tribal Chief of Settlement 749 has been designated as: Logan.]
[Activating Tribal Aura: SSS-Rank Aura — Blooming Branches and Scattering Leaves.]