Thanks to GreenKiTea for the kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters! I’m glad you guys are enjoying the story as much as I am!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Qiyu saw his name mentioned repeatedly in the regional chat.

Of course, it wasn’t just him; all the top-ranked IDs were being discussed frequently. After all, this was the first time such a “leaderboard” had appeared in a survival game.

Countless red dots appeared on his friend’s page—all from players who had added him after seeing the leaderboard.

Qiyu wasn’t interested in this kind of socializing, so he cleared them all with a single click.

On his friend’s page, 【Civil Engineering Brother】 had sent him several congratulatory messages.

Qiyu replied with a single message.

The other person replied almost instantly:

【Civil Engineering Brother: Boss, are you out yet?】

Qiyu clicked into the “01 Survival Squad” channel, which was also bustling with activity.

Scrolling through the chat log, he saw that Tranquility Yields Transcendence had also logged out and was still typing.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Congrats to my “I Love Survival Game” boss for successfully clearing Round 5! Our little group has another badass boss now!】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Congrats, boss!】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Congrats, boss!】

【I Love Survival Game: Just got lucky. I checked the leaderboard, and everyone is really strong.】

He truly felt he’d gotten lucky. If he hadn’t opened that brass chest earlier and gotten the Heart of the Great Tree Staff, he really wouldn’t have been able to handle that group of Alchemy Puppets. Since magic made up a large part of his current offensive capabilities, the Alchemy Puppets were a natural counter to him.

【I Love Survival Game: Have you entered Round 6 yet? What’s the challenge in Round 6?】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: It seems you’ve just come out. Didn’t you choose to continue?】

Qiyu answered honestly that he was completely exhausted after finishing the fifth round and simply didn’t have the energy to continue.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Those of us who’ve participated in the survival trials can’t share the specifics, so no one knows what the others went through.】Qiyu tried it out and found that it was indeed the case.

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: All I can say is that the difficulty of the sixth round isn’t just double that of the fifth—it’s the kind of despair where you know you’re doomed the moment you step in.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Luckily, the sixth round isn’t life-threatening. I found a spot to hide, and after a while, I was kicked out.】

Hearing this, Qiyu felt a bit curious. He thought that if there was no risk to his life, he’d like to go check it out himself.

The members of the 01 survival squad were all very tactful; they didn’t ask Qiyu at all about what he’d gained from the experience.

Only Civil Engineering Brother enthusiastically offered to act as a middleman to sell any items the group didn’t need, guaranteeing he could get a great price for them.

After a brief exchange in the group chat, Qiyu logged out and checked his friends list—【God Has No Form】 was still online.

Not knowing if the rules in Zone 88 were the same as in Zone 01, he left a message to check in.

Then, he began sorting through his loot.

From the fifth round’s drops, aside from the supplies he’d already stashed away, there were 15 Basic Resource Packs and 1 Intermediate Resource Pack.

Qiyu opened all the Basic Resource Packs first.

Instantly, a pile of items appeared before him:

【Obtained 4 Basic Farmlands, 50 wood x4, Dark Energy Orbs x2, Basic Stamina Potions x2, 1 Basic Healing Potion, 2 Basic Plant Nutrient Solution.】

The contents of the Basic Resource Packs were almost always the same, so there weren’t any major surprises.

But just because there were no surprises didn’t mean they were useless; Qiyu sorted and stored them away.

Next was the Intermediate Resource Pack.

The previous Intermediate Resource Pack had yielded a green-quality Crimson Maple Forest resource point.

Qiyu still had high hopes for this one.

【Congratulations on obtaining the Intermediate Building: Statue of the Goddess of Nature.】

Qiyu:?

A palm-sized statue appeared in his hand.

Carved from wood, the statue was lifelike. The goddess, wearing a wreath of flowers and leaves, gazed into the distance with a gentle smile, appearing both sacred and tender.

【Statue of the Goddess of Nature: Carved by a faithful devotee of the goddess, placing this statue within your territory will cause all creatures within the territory to gain +10% Vitality, and plant harvests receive a 20% bonus.】

His bewildered expression immediately turned devout.

Qiyu cautiously surveyed his territory, deciding to wait until dawn the next day to choose a suitable spot to enshrine the goddess.

Then, his gaze fell upon the final item.

A reward granted by the survival game after passing the fifth round of survival trials.

A silver chest.

Prior to this, he had only ever received one silver chest.

Inside that chest was the *spirit cultivation manual*, which he still hadn’t fully mastered.

Just as Qiyu was about to open it, he recalled his previous experience. Having just regained a bit of strength, he decided to walk into the cabin and wash his hands in the bathroom.

His gaze suddenly froze.

In the corner separating the bathroom from the bedroom, there was a wooden box filled with clear water. This was the same wooden box that had held the mysterious drifting bottle last time. That drifting bottle had vanished as soon as it touched the water. Qiyu wasn’t sure what exactly it was, or if it would return, so he had simply left the box there, changing the water once a day. Now, in the wooden box that had previously contained only water, a familiar bottle was floating. A glass bottle, filled with fine white sand. The drifting bottle swayed gently in the ripples; it seemed there was something extra inside. 

Qiyu washed his hands and took it out. A brown slip of paper, tied with a red string and finished with a perfectly tied bow.

【From the drifting bottle: Perhaps you need a friend from afar to share different scenery. If you no longer need me, please put me back in the water and let me continue my journey~】

Qiyu was silent for a full ten seconds. He thought that a question that had puzzled him for a long time had finally been answered. About how he had become friends with a player from Zone 88. Still, it wasn’t a bad thing. He placed the glass bottle back into the water and watched it disappear beneath the surface.

I wonder what it will bring next time? He thought eagerly. Returning to the silver chest, he selected “Open Silver Chest.”

The chest opened, and a purple light shone. Not golden light. Qiyu felt a hint of disappointment. But when he got a clear look at the contents, that disappointment was immediately replaced by joy.

There were only two items inside the chest.【Obtained Advanced Magic Energy Tower x1, Common Energy Tower Blueprint x1.】【Obtained Tier 1 Magic Crystals x100, Tier 2 Magic Crystals x10.】

【Advanced Magic Energy Tower: An advanced defensive structure that consumes magic crystals to unleash magical energy attacks. 】

【Energy Tower: A standard defensive structure that consumes Magic Crystals to unleash energy attacks. Crafting Materials: Green-quality Wood/Stone Materials/Metal x100.】

The newbie period had ended, and Qiyu still had no idea what he would face starting tomorrow. If the safe zone outside the shelter disappeared, he would have no choice but to go out and explore. His greatest concern, then, was the safety of the wooden cabin. A fence alone isn’t enough protection. 

If he had this kind of defensive weapon, he could rest much more easily. It really is a great item from a silver chest!

The Advanced Magic Energy Tower is a building obtained directly from the chest; all he needs to do is choose a spot to place it. The Standard Energy Tower, on the other hand, comes with a blueprint as a reward. This means that as long as he has enough materials, Qiyu can mass-produce them to fully fortify his entire territory.