【Congratulations, player. You have acquired the talent skill: Gardening.】

Gardening (Beginner): A rather ordinary talent—it increases the yield of any plant you grow by 20%. However, it seems your talent has undergone some changes.

Qiyu noticed that “Gardening (Basic)” had changed to “Gardening: Mutated (Basic).”

Planting·Variant (Basic): A rare talent. Any plant you grow yields a 20% increase in harvest. During the plant’s growth, there is a chance it will mutate. 

Familiar with the energy surging through his body, Qiyu sensed it and confirmed that this so-called “Planting” talent was the same plant-based ability he possessed in his previous life.

But…he found himself in a state of subtle confusion: So, according to the rules of this survival game, his own ability was actually classified as “Planting”?

Qi·Yu fell silent. 

He would put the matter of his ability aside for now; he needed to gather materials first.

Judging by the descriptions on the two blueprints, both items were extremely practical.

Since the workbench is described as a structure for crafting all tools, does that mean the basic backpack also requires a workbench to craft? Qiyu turned his gaze to the wooden axe.

As he picked up the axe, a string of text appeared on his survival panel.

【Wooden Axe: A very basic tool with no special properties, but it might help you chop down trees a little more efficiently?】

Qiyu grabbed the axe, but instead of chopping down a tree right away, he bent down, picked up the wooden chest filled with food, and turned to head back inside.

The survival game had mentioned that during the beginner phase, the wooden cabin was completely safe. Once the beginner phase ended, there was a chance the cabin could come under attack.

Does that mean there are other creatures here? Other humans? Or monsters?

In any case, no matter what it is, he absolutely wouldn’t feel safe leaving his precious food out in the open. 

The moment he pushed open the door to the wooden cabin, his personal information panel updated:

Shelter: Initial Wooden Cabin (Durability 100/100), upgradeable. 

Next Level: Level One Shelter (Sturdy Cabin). 

Level One Shelter (Sturdy Cabin), Upgrade Materials: Wood x200, Stone x100, Leather x20, Iron Chunks x20. 2 

It seems you can only view the shelter upgrade requirements after obtaining the novice chest.

Qiyu wasted no time. He carefully placed the wooden chest at the far end of the room, grabbed his axe, and headed out. He began exploring along the eastern side of the wooden cabin.

He remembered the voice that echoed in his mind the moment he picked up the survival game badge; judging by the reaction in the chat channel at the time, it was clear that every player had heard it.

A player named “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” claimed the first kill on the server.

“First kill”—the term is easy enough to understand.

So, even during the newbie protection period, there are enemies?

Qiyu moved forward cautiously, his footsteps landing on the slightly damp soil without making a sound.

【Mature tree detected. Can be chopped down.】

【Wild banyan berries detected. Edible.】

【……】

The survival game occasionally popped up with prompts. Whenever he encountered a notification about edible items, Qiyu would take a closer look and memorize the location.

After walking about 500 meters, a warning popped up on the survival panel:

【Unsafe zone ahead. Not recommended for beginners. Continue?】

Without a second thought, Qiyu turned around and headed back.

Over the next hour, he explored in different directions, receiving warning alerts at distances of around 500 meters each time. 1 In other words, the area within 500 meters of the wooden cabin was what the survival game referred to as the “safe zone.” 

This exploration was quite fruitful!

Aside from marking numerous locations, the biggest find was—three treasure chests, neatly arranged right in front of Qiyu. 1 The three chests were identical in size but completely different in appearance.

The two chests on the left look just like the novice chest that Qiyu placed in the wooden cabin—they’re both ordinary wooden chests. 

The chest on the far right, however, is noticeably more refined, with a cold, hard metallic finish and beautiful engravings on the lid.

【Wooden Chest: A chest containing supplies, with a low chance of yielding high-tier items.】  【Fine Iron Chest: A chest containing supplies, with a low chance of yielding high-tier items.】

The descriptions for both are identical.

Qiyu discovered the two wooden chests while exploring.

One was in the grass by the roadside, while the other was a bit trickier to find—perched on a large tree and hidden by tree leaves. If he hadn’t discovered the first chest first and searched more carefully, he might never have found it.

As for the fine iron chest, it appeared as a notification on the survival panel when Qiyu had finished exploring all directions and was returning to the wooden cabin:

【Congratulations! You have completed your first area exploration during the beginner phase and received a reward chest x1】

【Detected a chest that can be opened. Do you wish to open it?】

Qiyu opened the two wooden chests first.

【Congratulations! You have obtained 500ml of water x2, wood x20, cream cake x1, cotton cloth x2, and a standard dagger x1】

If anyone had been standing nearby at that moment, they would have clearly seen Qiyu’s eyes light up as if a switch had been flipped. A cream cake?

It’s a legendary delicacy he’s only heard about but never seen before! 

He looked over eagerly. It was a six-inch cream cake, its surface intricately decorated with vines and flowers sculpted from whipped cream—it was absolutely beautiful. As he leaned in closer, he caught a whiff of a rich, sweet aroma.

Qiyu swallowed hard, placed the cake in a wooden box by itself, and hid it away. He decided to save this precious, beautiful cake for the evening. 

The cotton cloth was a 1m x 1m square of white fabric, very soft. Qiyu put it away; he could use it to make towels or undergarments later. 

All that remained was the fine iron chest.

Although the instructions in the survival game were the same, the noticeably different appearance still gave Qiyu a hint of anticipation. He chose to open the chest.

A familiar faint glow flashed.

【Congratulations! You have obtained 10 iron chunks, 1 wooden bed blueprint, and 1 mattress blueprint】

Qiyu was delighted—blueprints, of all things.

Although he didn’t get any food, a wooden bed and a mattress were both extremely useful items. He picked up the wooden bed blueprint and chose to learn it.

【Wooden Bed: Basic furniture. Sleeping on it slowly restores stamina. Construction Materials: Wood x50】8

【Mattress: Basic furniture. Sleeping on it slowly restores stamina. Construction materials: Hay x40, Cotton x20】

The instructions were still very brief, but Qiyu had already added them to his must-have list. He had spent many years living rough, and no one knew that feeling better than he did. Given the choice, who would choose hardship over a comfortable life?

Judging by the loot from the two chests, it was clear that the rewards from the fine iron chest were a cut above the rest. 

So…

Qiyu recalled the two voices he’d heard when he first entered the survival game.

If he remembered correctly, that player named “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” had obtained two silver chests. Silver Chests—just the name suggested they were of a higher quality than wooden chests or fine iron chests.

He wondered what kind of good stuff they’ll get? 

Qiyu just thought about it for a moment before quickly pushing the thought aside. He’d better focus on his own tasks at hand first.

The wooden cabin definitely needed upgrading, but it required a lot of materials, and he couldn’t gather them all right away.

Besides, according to the survival game’s rules, he only needed to upgrade it during the newbie period. He could put it on hold for now.

As for the rest—whether it’s the basic backpack or the blueprints he just obtained—they all require a workbench to craft. So the most urgent task right now is to gather the materials needed for the workbench.

Crafting a workbench requires 50 pieces of wood and 50 pieces of stone.

Qiyu wasted no more time. Gripping his axe, he headed toward the nearest tree.

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

Chopping down trees was a very easy task for Qiyu.

It wasn’t that he possessed superhuman strength or felt no fatigue; rather, this kind of work—requiring only minimal effort, posing no risk of injury, and carrying no danger—was the sort of job that, in his former world, countless people would have fought tooth and nail to get.

Half an hour later, crash! A tree as thick as a thigh came crashing down. 1 And the moment it hit the ground, it transformed into a neat bundle of wood. 【Wood x10, Pick up?】 

Qiyu：……？

He stared at the pile of wood before him in confusion. Where’s that huge tree he just cut down?

And all those edible leaves, and the branches that could be used for firewood and weapons?

However, this did answer some of his earlier questions—he had been wondering how, after cutting down trees, he would carry them into the wooden cabin and turn them into 【wood】 that could be used to craft tools?

Perhaps after dying once, one becomes more accepting of things; he quickly accepts the survival game’s setting where materials are automatically processed.

Before cutting down the second tree, he walked over to the resource chest, took out a piece of cotton cloth, and used his dagger to cut a section of it into strips, wrapping them.

This survival game seemed to have repaired and reset his body; not only had all his old injuries healed completely, but even the thick calluses on his palms were gone. Without some protective measures, by the time he finished cutting down five trees, half of his hands would likely be ruined.

Another half-hour passed, and the second tree crashed to the ground.

【Critical Hit Triggered, obtained 20 pieces of wood. Do you want to pick them up?】 

The wood yield has doubled.

Getting 10 extra units of wood is like saving one tree.

A pleasant surprise—Qiyu happily chose to pick them up and added them to the wood he had collected earlier. 

Combined with the 20 units of wood from the wooden chest, he now had the full 50 units needed for the workbench. He had originally planned to chop down two more trees in one go, but as he stood up, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

An overwhelming sense of fatigue and weakness swept through his body, and his vision began to darken in waves, making him want nothing more than to return to the wooden cabin for a good night’s sleep. 

This condition was clearly not right.

On a whim, he opened his profile. 

Survival ID: I Love Survival Game

Age: 19

Satiety: 10/100

Stamina: 30/100

Both his Satiety and Stamina bars had turned a vivid red.

There was no verbal prompt, but the physical sensation and the stark red numbers were clearly warning him.

Qiyu had indeed felt hungry while chopping wood, but since he was used to being hungry, he hadn’t paid it much mind: …

He felt a sudden, inexplicable warmth and said, moved, “Thank you, Survival Game. No one has ever cared so much about my well-being.”  

The Survival Game didn’t speak; it only responded with silence. 

Qiyu bent down to carry thirty units of lumber into the wooden cabin and sat down against the wall.

He took out the steamed bun he’d eaten half of earlier from the wooden box and began nibbling at it.

Mealtime is a wonderful and joyful occasion. He casually summoned the survival game interface, opened the chat channel, and saw if he could filter out any useful information.

【Haicheng Number One Handsome Boy: Help me, what kind of crappy game is this? I’ve only chopped down half a tree, and both my hands are covered in blisters. I want to die.】

【Coffee Spirit: Chopping down one tree nearly killed me, and it only dropped 10 pieces of wood! This game clearly isn’t meant for humans to survive.】

【The Bigger The Waves The More I Ride Them: Help! Does anyone have any medicine? I accidentally cut my leg!】

【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: Don’t rush to chop down trees just yet. Remember to explore the map—there’s a chance you’ll find treasure chests, and those can yield resources.】

【A Salted Fish Is Just A Salted Fish: I’ve given up. Upgrading the wooden cabin takes 200 wood—I couldn’t even scrape that together if I died. Whatever Happens Happens. Maybe dying will let me respawn with gear?】

【Cheating Neither The Old Nor The Young: Trade 20 units of wood for any blueprint.】

……

Just as Qiyu was about to check out the trading section, a post caught his attention. 

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: The three-day newbie period is the time the survival game gives everyone to adapt and level up. There’s no danger, and resources are plentiful and easy to find—don’t give up.】