The [Friends] list was still at 0, and the area displayed on the [Map] wasn't small, thanks to his entire afternoon spent exploring.
Just as Chen Shu was about to check if there was anything good at the Exchange, a voice reached his ears, followed by a notification on the [Announcements].
[Announcement: Survivor "Zhang Kuang" has successfully hunted the first Fierce Beast and received a generous reward!]
[Rankings feature is now open, with rewards settled at the end of each month based on rankings!]
[Check your ranking now!]
"What? Isn't today the first day? How has someone already hunted a Fierce Beast? Is this Zhang Kuang really that formidable?"
Chen Shu was astonished. Although he wasn't sure how formidable a Fierce Beast was, the existence of a Novice Protection Period suggested that ordinary people couldn't handle it for now.
Yet, it was just half an hour into the night, and someone had already managed to hunt a Fierce Beast. Honestly, it seemed a bit unbelievable.
What intrigued him more was the monthly rewards, which presumably wouldn't be too shabby.
Still, the system announcement was quite cheeky, with its "Check your ranking now" — who were they mocking?
Despite this, Chen Shu opened the Rankings.
Next to the [Map], there was now a [Rankings] option. Upon clicking it, he found there wasn't just one ranking.
[Fierce Beast Hunting Rankings], [Treehouse Construction Leaderboard], [Resource Gathering Leaderboard], [Exploration Progress Rankings], and [Codex Collection Rankings].
In the Fierce Beast Hunting Rankings, Zhang Kuang, previously announced, was at the top with 200 points, with no one else listed below.
While everyone else was still in fear, this guy had already killed a Fierce Beast, which was an extraordinary gap.
Chen Shu then opened the [Treehouse Construction Leaderboard], thinking everyone would be the same, but reality hit him hard.
The Treehouse Construction Leaderboard, as the name suggests, calculates points based on the progress and completeness of treehouse facilities.
The first place was someone named Luo Yuan, with a whopping 254 points.
The second place had 247 points, and others had varying points. Chen Shu himself had points, but only 100, ranking 8,456,466.
It wasn't that his points were high; it's just that everyone with 100 points shared this rank.
Most people, like him, only had 100 points.
When he opened his score, there was a detailed explanation, but it seemed only he could see it.
[Bound Treehouse: 80 points]
[Built Ladder: 20 points]
"It seems most people are like me, haven't done much," Chen Shu felt a bit more balanced.
Next, he opened the [Resource Gathering Leaderboard], and his name was prominently displayed.
First Place: Chen Shu (12,544)
Third Place: Jiang Qie (9,752)
...
Wow, I'm actually first!
Chen Shu was startled; he didn't expect to be first.
On second thought, given how much he collected today, being first was well-deserved.
With the "Resource Perceiver" advantage, not getting first would be a waste of this talent.
Opening the score, there was a detailed breakdown: each Purple Scale Fruit was 1 point, each Honey Fruit was 100 points, Starbeam Pomelo was also 100, and others had their respective scores.
Notably, a Level 2 Treasure Chest counted as a whole, worth 3,000 points, while exchanged resources weren't counted.
In short, only resources obtained in the wild counted for points.
He was now looking forward to the end-of-month ranking settlement, wishing it could be daily, ensuring he'd stay first on the Resource Gathering Leaderboard.
Surely, no one would be out collecting resources at night.
After checking the [Resource Gathering Leaderboard], Chen Shu turned his attention to the fourth leaderboard: [Exploration Progress Rankings].
This leaderboard ranked individuals based on their exploration range, and Chen Shu was in the top 100, ranking 98th.
He had walked quite a bit today, yet only managed to rank 98th.
Lastly, there was the [Codex Collection Rankings], which Chen Shu didn't quite understand.
But there were already people on the list, and unsurprisingly, he had 0.
He opened the chat channel to ask about the codex, only to find others were far more excited.
"How has someone already started hunting Fierce Beasts?"
"So, what exactly is a Fierce Beast? Does anyone know?"
"Seriously, who are these monsters on the leaderboard?"
"The joys and sorrows of people are not shared; I just find them noisy."
"Wait, look at the first on the Resource Gathering Leaderboard. Isn't it the same person who posted the roast chicken earlier?"
"Probably just a namesake. How could it be such a coincidence?"
"Does anyone know what the codex is?"
"I know! When I was chopping wood, I got a card, and it unlocked the codex feature. It seems collecting a certain number of cards grants rewards."
"Cards? There's such a thing?"
"I have one too, but I got it while picking Purple Scale Fruits."
"So, those of us with bad luck don't even get a chance to unlock the codex."
"These people on the leaderboard have such luck, already getting two cards."
"..."
Chen Shu looked at the chat records, rubbing his chin.
He was first on the Resource Gathering Leaderboard, yet hadn't gotten a single card, which was a bit embarrassing.
From their descriptions, it seemed similar to some card collection games.
He wasn't in a rush; it was only early June, with over twenty days until the end-of-month rewards. There was plenty of time.
Just as he was about to continue enjoying his roast chicken, an unexpected message came through.
"Is the first on the Resource Gathering Leaderboard you?"
Seeing it was from Han Shuang, Chen Shu was a bit surprised.
They had only interacted once, just to exchange resources, so he wasn't sure what she wanted. He gave a vague reply.
"What do you think?"
"Boring."
Seeing Han Shuang's words, Chen Shu chuckled.
He increasingly felt that the person on the other side was a girl; guys rarely spoke like that.
Since she didn't pursue the matter further, he didn't bother replying.
Whether it was him or not didn't matter. It was only the first day, and he was in the lead due to his "Resource Perceiver" status.
After today, it was hard to say.
The longer time went on, the greater the chance of changes, and whether he could maintain his lead was uncertain.
Thinking of this, he began to look forward to what identity he might randomly get tomorrow, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.
If he continued to be a "Resource Perceiver," that would be great, allowing him to explore a vast area again.
He hadn't ventured too far east and south of the treehouse yet, and who knew what resources might be there.