"Welcome to Mistland."
"Whether you're wealthy or bedridden, everything starts anew here."
"You all have a relatively fair starting point. Regardless of age or gender, your weaknesses will be forcibly compensated to an average level. Cherish this new opportunity."
"The Shelter Journal is important; it will help you understand this world faster."
"Lastly, survive."
...
The voice slowly faded, its gender indistinguishable. No, it wasn't even clear if it was a voice at all. It felt like an inexplicable insight welling up from the depths of one's heart.
Bai Yi lay motionless on a small wooden bed.
After a while, he slowly opened his eyes, almost in prayer, with a hint of hesitation.
What met his eyes were unfamiliar colors. Without windows, the sunlight wasn't glaring, and it was impossible to tell the time.
Lying on the bed, his eyes darted around, greedily taking in everything he could see.
The ceiling, walls, and door were framed with wood, but the rest was precarious thatch.
He began to exert strength in his upper body, slowly sitting up from the bed. Now, Bai Yi could see the entire room.
The room wasn't large, about twenty square meters, with a tattered single bed padded with thatch, a table with a book and a candle on it, an iron box and a worn-out stone axe beside the table leg, and a tightly closed door also made of thatch.
There were no windows in the room, but faint light seeped in from outside, barely visible.
At this moment, Bai Yi attempted to stand up and walked toward the small table.
One step, two steps, and joy filled Bai Yi's mind, his body trembling slightly from excitement.
With a thud, Bai Yi's legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. Fortunately, he had reached the table, and remembering the voice in his mind, he picked up the Shelter Journal.
Reaching for the Shelter Journal, he opened it.
The first page contained important notes:
[1. The Shelter is unique and non-renewable]
[2. You need to strengthen your Shelter to withstand dangers]
[3. Daytime is not necessarily safe, but please explore as much as possible]
[4. Nighttime is very dangerous, please do not go out to explore]
[5. The Novice Protection Period lasts for seven days, during which players in the Shelter will not suffer any physical harm. After seven days, the protection period ends]
The journal was made of some kind of leather. Bai Yi turned the page; the second page was the weather, and the third page contained Shelter information.
[Thatched Hut]
[Level: 1]
[Durability: 10/10]
[Capacity: 50 units]
[Traits: None]
[Upgrade: 0/30 wood]
[Description: A thatched hut with no protective capabilities, it can't even withstand a push from you, please don't try!]
The fourth page was personal information.
(Players can view personal information at any time, other information requires holding the journal to view.)
[Bai Yi: Healthy]
[Age: 30]
(The average value for adult attributes is 3, the limit is 10)
[Strength: 3] (The strength that can be mobilized throughout the body, the greater the leg strength, the faster and more agile you run) (Originally 0.2, only able to maintain minimal physiological activity, forcibly compensated)
[Spirit: 9] (The higher the spirit, the faster the sanity resistance and recovery speed)
[Constitution: 3] (Originally 0.5, only able to maintain minimal physiological activity, forcibly compensated)
[Sanity: 100/100] (Sanity below 70 causes mild hallucinations; below 50 causes severe hallucinations with mild aftereffects; below 30 leads to madness, cognitive distortion with severe aftereffects; below 10, permanent madness, all cognition completely distorted, irrecoverable; zero leads to aberration)
[Talent:
Steel-Spine Will:
Effect One (Active): When activated, as sanity decreases, the hardness index of your spine increases, reaching a maximum comparable to steel. Strength and constitution will be greatly enhanced, up to three times, lasting ten minutes, after which 100% of lost sanity is returned, entering cooldown, cooldown time 12 hours.
Effect Two (Passive): 1. When your sanity is as low as 1, sanity is forcibly locked. 2. You are immune to all negative sanity states, while your consciousness will endure immense pain, which decreases as sanity recovers, disappearing when sanity is above 30.]
[Description: In the ten years when all five senses were deprived, you were not defeated. Countless times in your imagination, you wondered what would happen if that steel bar hadn't pierced your spine and compressed your brainstem. In countless hopes, your soul responded to you!]
Rubbing these words, Bai Yi's eyes gradually blurred, tears falling onto the journal.
That decade of darkness, he would never forget, unable to see, hear, touch, do anything but think and fantasize.
Now, a new beginning!
Bai Yi's lips slowly curled into a smile, sincerely grateful to whatever existence allowed him to start again, no matter where this was.
Continuing to turn the pages, he found the Player Forum and Plaza, both empty, with no one speaking.
Further on, there was the Chat Channel, divided into three sections: World Channel, Regional Channel, and Personal Channel.
In the World Channel and Regional Channel, messages were frantically refreshing.
"Is this a reality show?"
"Where is this? I want to go home."
"Dad, Mom, where are you? I'm so scared!"
"Child, I'm here."
"Get lost!"
...
The exact number of people wasn't displayed, and Bai Yi didn't know either. He didn't speak but looked at the small print below.
World Channel: Each person can send up to ten messages per day, Regional and Personal Channels are unlimited, refreshing daily at midnight.
Bai Yi found another page and was about to turn it when a gust of wind blew through.
The wind carried a thick scent of blood, even tinged with a hint of red.
Bai Yi looked up and noticed that, at some point, the door had quietly opened a crack.
"I remember the door was tightly closed just now, right?"
Bai Yi felt a bit uneasy. Although he didn't know where this was, according to the journal, even during the day, it wasn't necessarily safe outside.
But he still slowly got up and walked toward the door.
"The journal says the Shelter is absolutely safe, immune to physical attacks? Wait, physical, could there be mental attacks?
But I don't know the Shelter's protection criteria. If opening the door nullifies the protection, that would be bad, so to be safe, I should close the door."
Bai Yi muttered, analyzing the situation and encouraging himself.
He moved slowly, treading lightly, trying not to make any sound. Because he sensed the deep malice behind the door.
The closer he got to the door, the more uncomfortable Bai Yi felt, as if the air around him was rejecting him.
Weak wind seeped through the door crack, and Bai Yi felt the air he inhaled becoming thicker, even solidifying, taking root and sprouting inside him.
Finally reaching the door, to avoid unknown attacks, Bai Yi chose not to look outside but to close the door quickly.
He didn't close the door fast, as it was made of thatch and not of good quality. If closed too forcefully, the door might fall off, which would be a big problem.
The door slowly closed, and nothing happened.
Bai Yi didn't relax but carefully inspected the room, confirming there were no gaps. When his gaze swept over the table, his pupils shrank sharply.
The journal had somehow turned a page, filled with warnings. As Bai Yi focused, words appeared in the journal:
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[There is an "Unseeable" presence outside, ensure doors and windows are closed, do not look outside!]
[During the Novice Protection Period, the system is expelling it, remaining expulsion time: 10]
Seeing the first part, Bai Yi's heart sank, thinking he might have to lie down again just after standing up today.
Seeing the latter part, he finally relaxed. An "Unseeable" presence, though he didn't know what it was, the warning not to look indicated that looking would likely lead to a bad outcome.
Bai Yi was secretly relieved, thankful for his caution, but what about the time, was it 10 minutes?
The next second, as he thought of this, words appeared again.
[9], [8], [7]
"So it's seconds!"
Finally, Bai Yi relaxed, taking a step back from the door and exhaling deeply.
[5], [4]
This breath seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
As he took a long breath, a large amount of air entered his body, and the previously dissipating air rapidly solidified and proliferated due to the influx of gas.
[You have received minor contamination from the "Unseeable" presence, Sanity -21]
Realizing the anomaly in his body, Bai Yi immediately recognized his mistake of being careless at the last moment. He held his breath and stepped back.
[3]
But it was too late, as if realizing there was someone inside, or perhaps just moving randomly.
[2]
The next second, a fingernail-sized piece of flesh with bone fragments flew in an arc, lightly tapping the door.
A tuft of thatch slowly fell, and the door was left with a small hole from the impact of the flesh.
[1]
At this moment, Bai Yi could no longer control his body, manipulated into despair, through the small hole, he saw outside!