Chapter 1: Survival Game

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Survival Game

[Player death detected. No survivors in Beta Test Server 1. Approval rating: zero. Game launch failed.]

[Searching for new player...]

[Player binding successful! Player ID: 138138.]

Shi Zhile was jolted awake by a mechanical voice. She irritably covered her head, her hand fumbling for something hard and lumpy, which she threw toward the sound.

"Go away! I told you to leave me alone! Just let me die!"

The mechanical voice faltered for a moment, then adopted a cautious tone.

[Hello, Player 138138. Welcome to the game *Island Survival: Create Your Own Island*.]

[Your server is Beta Test Server 1. Total players: 300,000. Current server population: 150,000.]

[Here, you’ll find endless opportunities and treasures, but they are accompanied by lethal dangers. Do you want to become a multimillionaire? Do you want countless cultural treasures? Do you want...]

"Go away! Get lost! I don’t want any of it!"

[...W-Well... do you want a healthy body?]

In the darkness, her tightly shut eyes snapped open.

"Yes!"

For someone who had been paralyzed, nothing was more important than having a healthy body.

She wanted to stand up so badly.

[Understood, Player 138138. Your body has been restored to its optimal condition. Please inspect it.]

Shi Zhile tentatively tried to move. Her waist, once numb and devoid of sensation, now ached sharply where something was digging into it.

She pushed her upper body up with her hands. She expected it to be a struggle, but she sat up with surprising ease.

[You can stand up and walk around.]

Shi Zhile slowly got to her feet and unsteadily took a couple of steps. Her foot slipped, and she collapsed to the ground, her knee knocking hard against a rock.

Pain flared through her. She rubbed her knee, her eyes shining with a blinding light.

’I can walk. I have feeling again!’

’I’m finally... not useless anymore!’

Her heart pounded and her body trembled slightly. She ran her hands over her legs, feeling the sensation in them, and almost laughed out loud.

She stood up once more, reacquainting herself with and savoring the feeling of walking.

She didn’t walk for long before stopping.

"This is a game, which means I’m actually dead, right?"

[Yes, Player 138138. You have already died in the real world. If you want to keep this healthy body, your only option is to strive to survive.]

[Life on the island is harsh. Player 138138, are you ready?]

"I’m ready!"

’How hard could survival be, really?’

’I’m not afraid!’

[Special notice: All flora and fauna in this game are real. Death within the game will result in the player’s death across all dimensions. Once started, the game can never be paused.]

[Now, please prepare, player. The game begins!]

As the voice faded, the sun rose from the west.

Sunlight spilled across the land, and Shi Zhile could finally see her surroundings clearly.

Before her was a boundless sea. Under her feet was a gravel beach. With the crashing sound of the receding tide, a stretch of sand was soon exposed.

On the sand and in the crevices between the rocks, she could faintly make out a few stranded crabs and small fish.

She took two steps forward, and in the next second, a gift box-like package materialized before her eyes.

[New player detected. Issuing Newbie Gift Pack x1. Do you wish to claim it?]

Shi Zhile’s excitement had yet to calm down, so she wasn’t particularly surprised by the object that had appeared out of thin air.

She reached out and tapped it, and the gift pack opened automatically.

[Congratulations, Player 138138! You have obtained Purified Water (300ml) x3, Compressed Biscuits (35g) x3, Fishing Rod x1, Oar x1, Wood x1.]

[The items have been stored in your backpack. Please check.]

’Is that it?’

’These supplies are way too meager!’

Complaints aside, she wanted to open her backpack immediately.

She looked around for a long time but couldn’t see a backpack anywhere.

Just as she was about to give a bad review, the voice appeared again.

[Open Character Panel?]

"Open!"

[Character Panel opened. The player can mentally will the panel, backpack, etc., to open or close.]

[The Character Panel is now open. Please review!]

Shi Zhile repeated the command in her mind, and a transparent panel instantly materialized before her eyes.

[Player ID: 138138 (Cannot be changed)

Account Name: None (Changeable)

Name: Shi Zhile

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Skills: None (To be unlocked)

Pet: None

Life Value: 98/100 (Warning: If Life Value drops below 50, there is a risk of contracting diseases.)

Body Temperature: 35.6°C (Body temperature is low. Please find warmth as soon as possible to avoid risk of hypothermia.)

Current Location: Island (Note: Island location is randomly assigned. Current location is a gravel beach.)

Island Area: Not yet unlocked

Raft: Dilapidated Level 1 Raft (I’m broken and can’t shelter you from the elements. I’m old and might let you accidentally feed the sharks.)

Island Shelter: Not established (Please establish a shelter as soon as possible.)]

The top-left corner of the panel displayed the account name, mailbox, time, location, and Life Value.

At the very bottom were several tabs: [My Backpack], [My Map], [Trading Hall], [My Friends], and [Chat].

The most eye-catching element was the newbie countdown timer at the top.

’Newbie Protection Period Countdown: Six days, twenty-three hours, fifty-seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds...’

The time was ticking down, but the protection period was longer than she had expected.

Shi Zhile’s gaze shifted downward, and she first tapped on [My Backpack].

The backpack had a total of nine slots. At the very bottom was a note.

(Note 1: The space within the backpack is timeless; items will be in the same state when taken out as when they were put in.

Note 2: Each slot can only store items of the same type, with a stack limit of ninety-nine.

Note 3: No living creatures may be placed in the backpack.)

The items from the Newbie Gift Pack took up five slots. She tried taking out the fishing rod.

The moment she thought of the fishing rod, it materialized in her hand, leaving an empty slot in the backpack.

She put the fishing rod back into the backpack and went to check [My Map].

There were two maps in total: an island map and a sea map.

Both maps were the same size, showing an area of about 100 kilometers in all directions.

The island map showed that this island wasn’t large, taking up less than a third of the map’s area, and was covered in gravel.

The sea map was even simpler. It was a vast expanse of blue for a hundred kilometers around, with only a corner of Rainforest Island marked in the far distance.

’Can I land on Rainforest Island? Will there be other players there?’ These were all unknowns.

Her gaze unfocused, looking through the transparent panel at the gravel beach beyond.

A crab poked its head out over there. Shi Zhile picked up a rock and threw it, killing the crab in a single hit.

Maneuvering on her still-unfamiliar legs, she walked over and poked the crab twice with a long, flat stone. The panel changed.

[Crab: A delicious crab, non-toxic and edible. (I can pinch people, and getting pinched will lower your Life Value. But, uh, I think I might be a little bit dead.)]

Shi Zhile put it in her backpack, her eyes then falling on an octopus in a rock crevice.

"It’s not the same type."

She wanted to see if different species of the same type of creature could be stacked in one slot.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when another crab emerged from a distant rock crevice. This one was clearly different from the first.

It was fast; it took three throws to kill it.

When Shi Zhile placed it in her backpack, she found that the two dead crabs each occupied their own slot.

Apparently, "same type" in the backpack’s description also meant "same species."