A huge thanks to all our Kofi supporters: Jazi, GreenKiTea, Angee, and an anonymous ko-fi supporter for their support! Enjoy these bonus chapters!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Just as Qiyu had prepared his gift and was heading to the Golden Desert to visit his good friend, in Server 01, another confident man opened his survival panel. 

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” had stuffed his backpack to the brim. In his mind, he was already imagining the moment he arrived at the natives’ settlement: with a casual gesture, he’d pull out an item that would leave those unsophisticated locals in awe, allowing him to sell it for a hefty price. 

He subconsciously ignored the fact that when he went into the resource zone, he had been so terrified by the native warriors there that he’d lost his composure. The outside world is so vast—it’s impossible for warriors to be everywhere. 

The resource zone was definitely an exception: since it was called the resource zone, it was naturally a gathering place for professionals. He genuinely believed that this was how “I Love Survival Game” made money through exploration. 

Sell the various items you earn as rewards in survival games for high prices, then use the gold coins you earn to buy large quantities of supplies, resell them, and sell them to players in the area. 

A huge profit!

He remained firmly convinced that, since he had been reborn, he couldn’t possibly be just an ordinary player. 

“I Love Survival Game” may be all the rage right now, but it’s just a passing fad—come to think of it, his confidence was largely thanks to that small group of players who’d been blocked by Qiyu.

Since everyone had been blocked equally, the blocked players created a group chat. That’s right, *My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens* was added to it. 

As the highest-ranked and strongest player among those who’d been “targeted,” “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” was naturally held up as a benchmark by the other players in the group.

That group praised him to the skies every day, claiming he was the one who truly deserved to be number one in Server 01, hyping his skills to the point of being unparalleled in the world—as if doing so could mask the embarrassment of having been blocked by the actual number one. 

The problem was that the guy being praised actually believed it. 

With a resolute expression, “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” tore the Random Region Exploration Scroll to shreds.

A door shimmering with white light appeared before him. At the same time, a reminder popped up on the Survival panel:

【You have a total of 24 hours for the day. Please manage your exploration eyes wisely.】 

“There’s actually a limit on hours,” My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens said with a look of disdain.

He stepped through the light gate and opened the

Survival Panel.

【Current Location: Hutu Town.】

【Today’s Weather: Sunny, 23°C–26°C.】

He felt a surge of joy—he had actually come out.

Hutu Town—he felt a bit disappointed. Although he didn’t know exactly what kind of place it was, since it was named a “town,” it clearly wasn’t the big city he’d been hoping for. 

He’d read everything that was said in the regional chat channel for I Love Survival Game; the reputation rankings were based on how well one promoted Star Forest to the outside world. What could a small town possibly promote?

However, despite his dissatisfaction, a sense of relief welled up deep within him.

Small towns have their own advantages: as a monster hunter, wouldn’t he be able to walk all over the place in a place like this? His gaze swept over the large stone bearing the “Hutu Town” sign, and he walked in.

Hutu Town wasn’t what he’d imagined.

It was vast and empty.

The houses were all built individually, spaced far apart, and came in all sorts of bizarre styles. There was no marketplace, and it didn’t seem lively at all.

What kind of place is this?

How was he supposed to promote the Star Forest?

After walking for a while, he spotted someone lying on the road, seemingly asleep.

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens.” He walked over and saw that the person was wearing plain clothes and carried no weapons.

“Hey!” 

The man rolled over—a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced at “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens,” seeming somewhat surprised: “Out-of-towner?”

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”: “I’m a traveler from the Star Forest who ended up here by accident. May I ask what place this is? Also, where are there more people?”

The man looked dazed: “The Star Forest… a place where there are a lot of people?” He stood there staring into space.

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens,” ignored his muttered words.

Is he a drunkard? My Fate thought to himself; he shouted several more times.

Apparently annoyed by the commotion, the man raised a filthy sleeve and pointed in a certain direction: “Keep going straight—that’s where the action is.”

He grinned widely: “A stranger from the Star Forest… the Star Forest?”

His clouded gaze suddenly cleared, as if he’d finally remembered what this place was. My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens’ eyes lit up: This man actually knows the Star Forest?

He immediately straightened his back: “That’s right, I’m from the Star Forest!” 

The man scrambled to his feet, scanned me up and down, and said with a cheerful smile, “Alright, it’s rare to run into a stranger from out of town. I’ll take you there.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“A semi-divine artifact?”

Dan Xingyu stared at the beautiful bow.

Just a second ago, he’d thought it was just an ordinary, beautiful bow. Now, however, it was bathed in a divine glow.

He wanted to reach out, but held back, asking Qiyu, “Can I touch it?” 

Qiyu graciously handed it over: “You can even try shooting it.”

His friend pulled a quiver from his backpack: “These are the matching Star Arrows.”

Dan Xingyu glanced at the quality of the Star Arrows: “……”

He confirmed again, “If I’m not mistaken, you told me yesterday that you’d just started learning archery and had memorized *Basic Archery*?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Qiyu nodded. “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today.”

Survival game—are you saying you stuck a semi-artifact in there, and even thoughtfully included some arrows, just so a beginner could practice? 

A hundred thoughts flashed through Dan Xingyu’s mind, eventually coalescing into a single inner thought: Damn it, I should’ve added “Survival Game” to my ID. 

He picked up the expensive bow.

A semi-artifact, huh.

It looks totally awesome at first glance!

He’d never even heard of it. 

The longbow felt surprisingly light in his hands. Dan Xingyu didn’t even try it—he just carefully examined it briefly before handing it back to Qiyu. Qiyu looked puzzled: “Aren’t you going to try it?”

Dan Xingyu shook his head: “I don’t know how to shoot a bow—I’d just be shooting blindly.”

Qiyu said earnestly, “What if you’re a natural at archery?”

“I’ve never learned archery before either, but the moment I picked it up, I felt like I was a natural.” 

With fluid movements, he drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and channeled magic to conjure a target a hundred meters away.

As Dan Xingyu watched him, his gaze suddenly grew sharp. 

The arrow flew like a shooting star, striking the bullseye with force. 

Dan Xingyu:?

The fierce expression from just a moment ago seemed like nothing more than an illusion; the local boy looked at him with bright eyes: “Dan Xingyu, look—am I really good at this?”

“Wait a minute!” Dan Xingyu gathered his thoughts. “Are you saying you’ve never learned archery before, but after just one day—no, just one night—you’re already this good?”

Qiyu shook his head honestly: “To reach this level, it actually doesn’t take even one night.” 

“The first time I picked up a bow and arrow, I was able to hit the bullseye.” 

“Dan Xingyu, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Dan Xingyu: “Don’t talk—I’m cooking barbecue.” 

Qiyu:??

“What do you mean, barbecue? Where is it?” He sounded a little excited. 

Dan Xingyu pressed a clenched fist to his mouth and chuckled softly: “I mean, let’s have a barbecue tonight.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped smiling and held out his hands to Qiyu with a serious expression: “Come on, I’ve changed my mind. I want to try your semi-divine artifact, too.”

What if—and he meant just what if—the semi-artifact came with built-in cheats, like “auto-aim” or “hit the bullseye” features? 

Qiyu handed him the bow and arrows.

Dan Xingyu mimicked the pose he’d just used and aimed at the new target Qiyu had just set up. Whoosh!

The arrow flew from his hand.

He was strong, and the arrow flew out fast, but… it missed the target by a mile. He stared at the arrow as it flew away, then turned his head and fixed his gaze intently on Qiyu.

“I’m thinking,” he said. 

Qiyu’s expression grew serious in response to his stern demeanor: “What are you thinking about?” 

Dan Xingyu: “Even a genius needs some time to adjust—what you’re doing here can’t possibly be explained by genius alone.” If it were anyone else, he might have suspected they were just bragging.

But since he was a local kid, if he really were capable of lying, Dan Xingyu would probably even feel a little relieved deep down. 

Dan Xingyu leaned in a little closer, his gaze fixed on Qiyu’s eyes: “Are you really human, Brother Qiyu?” 

Only after asking did he realize this posture was a bit awkward. 

He was standing a bit too close—close enough to see his own inexplicably intimidating reflection in those eyes, with their stark contrast of black and white. And every single detail on the local boy’s face was crystal clear.

The local guy had such great skin—not a single blemish.

Realizing what he was thinking, he felt a jolt of embarrassment. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he took a step back.

The other person didn’t notice anything amiss at all.

When he first met God Has No Form, he’d felt a bit uncomfortable because they’d gotten too close.

But after spending more time together—and having hugged more than once—he had grown quite accustomed to Dan Xingyu’s scent and closeness. It was Dan Xingyu’s words, on the other hand, that made his heart skip a beat. 

Because he really wasn’t from Earth.

Had Dan Xingyu figured it out? 

He remained silent. 

Dan Xingyu, who had originally just asked offhand: ???

That remark was just meant to express surprise! What’s with this local’s reaction?

But he quickly realized that his offhand question seemed to have actually touched on the local kid’s secret.

He isn’t from Earth. 

Plus, the kid was way too honest—he didn’t even know how to lie.

Oh no, I’ve got to find a way to steer the conversation away from this. 

“Actually, you really are an elf, aren’t you!” 

So that’s what “God Has No Form” meant.

Qiyu breathed a small sigh of relief and shook his head: “I’m not an elf. Look, I don’t have pointy ears.” 

This conversation sounded so familiar—Duo Ju had said something like this before, too.

“But that’s really weird,” Dan Xingyu said, stunned. “Who’s born a natural marksman? That’s not some simple skill that doesn’t require technique or practice.” 

Qiyu replied earnestly, “Maybe it’s because I’m a natural talent.” 

He truly believed this: “It’s the same with magic—I’ve mastered every spell on the first try.”

Whether it was drawing magic scrolls, engraving magical arrays, or constructing a mental barrier, he succeeded on the very first attempt.

So, he took it in stride that he’d mastered archery right away.

Having been a prodigy since childhood—someone who’d always been the one showing off to others—he experienced for the first time in his life what it felt like to be the target of someone else’s “Versailles-style” bragging. Given his personality, he should have been beaming with pride right then and there, exclaiming, “Just as I expected from my good friend—you’re truly amazing!”

But Dan Xingyu didn’t. He just mumbled a vague reply, his thoughts a mystery. 

Qiyu felt a little puzzled, but Dan Xingyu’s odd behavior lasted only a moment before he quickly shifted to a new topic.

“What tier is a semi-artifact? Did you get it from a treasure chest? What color and quality is it? I’ve never seen one before.”