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

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird】’s single sentence undoubtedly felt like it had unlocked some kind of seal.

Speaking of which, the players in the region channel, even those who had just been riding the wave to mock the Temple of the Gods, didn’t really dare to imagine that 【I Love Survival Game】 could actually take the top spot outright.

The name 【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens】 has far too strong a presence in Zone 01.

Whether it was the first-kill announcement upon entering Survival Games or last night’s Survival Trial, or the unique prestige of being the only one to clear Round 6, all of these factors unconsciously set him apart from ordinary players.

Today, as the “Temple” clan brazenly ganged up on Qiyu in the regional chat, those who disapproved only mocked the few who took the lead; no one steered the conversation toward “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens.”

Many felt that the ID 【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens】will dominate the top spot on all three leaderboards for a very, very long time.

But who knew this was only the first day the regional leaderboards were released, and yet there was already an overturn.

【I Love Survival Game】—who exactly is this person?

【Hardcore Gamer: Damn, that’s impressive. The Gamer didn’t even reply, yet he quietly snatched the top spot on the Shelter leaderboard. Isn’t that what they call “talking the talk but walking the walk”?】

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: As a casual viewer of high-intensity stream channels, it seems the Game Master hasn’t appeared in the regional chat at all? That’s really low-key.】

【Roadside Drifter: The Game Master hasn’t shown up at all. Didn’t he say he was really busy before? I suspect he doesn’t even watch the regional chat @I Love Survival Game.】

Qiyu’s status bar was flashing wildly.

Private messages from friends, notifications from the 01 survival squad, and his friend request list—which he’d just cleared—are full again.

Opening his friend list, it wasn’t just Civil Engineering Brother this time; Dare Not Open My Eyes and Tranquility Yields Transcendence had all sent him congratulatory messages.

Number one on the leaderboard?

Qiyu had just picked up the newly dropped Red Maple Wood (Green) x20.

The Bless effect of this Natural Woman Statue: +10% Vitality for all creatures within the territory, +20% harvest bonus for plants.

He opened the Shelter Leaderboard and saw his golden ID sitting at the very top. 

His first reaction was to ignore the system’s earlier explanation:

During the final settlement of the month, first place on the regional leaderboard earns a Diamond Chest.

A Diamond Chest—that sounds like something special. He wants it.

He entered the regional chat and happened to see a familiar ID speaking:

【Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens: By the way, I also sent a friend request to Game Master, and it was rejected too. I don’t think it’s a big deal; it’s normal for some people not to like socializing.】

【Roadside Drifter: So, Game Master didn’t join a guild? Did he have to create one himself?】

【Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens: If you find that too much trouble, you could consider joining our “Timeless Elegance.” Our team isn’t too strict—we formed this group just to communicate better and improve together.】

【I Love Survival Game: I don’t really check the regional channel, so I won’t join a guild.】

【Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens: Alright, if you change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime.】

As soon as the second-ranked player said this, players in the channel immediately praised his attitude, noting it was better than the style of the “Temple of the Gods.” 

Players from that guild hadn’t appeared in the chat channel for a while.

Their previous behavior toward Qiyu could be euphemistically called “settling scores,” but in reality, it was nothing more than “bullying the weak.”

When Qiyu was just an ordinary top-ranked player, they dared to humiliate him, mock him, and suppress him.

But when they discovered that Qiyu actually possessed the strength to challenge the old “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”—whom they had long considered invincible—this group immediately fell silent.

‌‌Apart from responding with a couple of sentences at the beginning, they haven’t shown up again.

It just makes them all look like clowns.

They had already accepted defeat, thinking only of finding a way to get even later, but now that Qiyu has resurfaced with that single remark, it only makes them feel even more humiliated.

So all that shouting and commotion they made—he didn’t even glance their way?

It made them look even more like clowns.

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” felt humiliated too.

The guild members’ antics had embarrassed him.

Losing the top spot was even more humiliating.

Besides the humiliation, he also felt panic.

Who exactly is this “I Love Survival Game” guy?

This person didn’t even exist in his previous life.

Thanks to his rebirth advantages, he’d already surged ahead of everyone else, firmly trampling his previous-life top-ranked rival underfoot.

How could this guy catch up to him so quickly?

He… isn’t he just like me?

No, impossible.

If he were also a reincarnated player, he wouldn’t have been completely invisible during the newbie phase. In the trading market, no one would have been competing with him for those essential supplies.

‌Half of him had incredible luck—he’d opened a chest that yielded an item to boost his shelter rating.

My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens. He tapped on the leaderboard and looked at his rankings on the other two lists, gradually calming down.

No matter what, he still held the top spot on two other lists.

‌Besides, now that the Temple has been established, he has the advantage of being first. Good.

As long as he manages things properly, it’s only a matter of time before he reclaims the top spot on the new shelter leaderboard.

Hmph.

Over here, in Qiyu’s territory.

For the ‌sunflowers, he had decided to let them stay and not pick them.

The sunflowers swayed gently in the breeze, looking as though they were in full bloom.

If picking them would preserve them for fifteen days, wouldn’t letting them grow naturally allow them to last even longer?

Besides the sunflowers, there was a patch of land where he had planted gale grass seeds yesterday. This plant, with a 48-hour growth countdown, had already sprouted tiny green sprouts.

Currently, Qiyu’s backpack contains a Climbing Vine seedling, a packet of baby bok choy seeds, a packet of lily of the valley seeds, 5 Rainbow Pumpkin seeds (green), and the Golden Apple tree sapling he won in a previous lottery.

With ample land resources now available, he decided to plant them all.

There are currently 23 empty Basic Farmland plots and 2 Intermediate Farmland plots.

【Intermediate Farmland: Increases plant mutation probability by 10%, increases plant yield by 10%.】

With only two plots of intermediate farmland available, the Climbing Vine, Chinese Cabbage, and Lily of the Valley—which have no special notes—have no choice but to each occupy a plot of basic farmland.

The Rainbow Pumpkin seeds produce green-quality plants. The Golden Apple sapling, according to the system’s information, is a rare and delicate magical plant.

The latter seemed to have a slightly higher priority. Qiyu carefully cradled the beautiful golden apple and placed it on one of the intermediate pieces of farmland.

【Soil level too low; cannot plant.】

Qiyu froze for a moment, picked up the golden apple, and tried planting a Rainbow Pumpkin seed instead.

The seed planted successfully, and a 72-hour countdown appeared above his head—a bit longer than the growth time for gale grass.

Clearly, the higher the plant’s grade, the longer the wait until harvest.

The Golden Apple sapling couldn’t be planted, but instead of being annoyed, Qiyu was delighted: A green-quality Rainbow Pumpkin is fine, yet the Golden Apple sapling deems the soil grade insufficient—doesn’t this imply that the Golden Apple tree is one tier higher than the Rainbow Pumpkin?

‌Blue quality, or perhaps even higher? 

Qiyu gazed at the Golden Apple as if it were a rare treasure.

Glancing at the freshly planted seeds, Qiyu cast a Waterball spell, watering them all at once.

The surprise came quickly.

The soil around the Creeping Ivy and Lily of the Valley began to emit flecks of golden light almost immediately after being watered.

Taking another look, he saw that mutation markers had indeed appeared above them.

The system classified both of these as ornamental plants. Qiyu wondered eagerly: “I wonder what kind of mutation will appear?”

After checking again to confirm that the other plots had not mutated, Qiyu headed toward the Red Maple Forest.

As a resource point, the forest didn’t require time to grow like crops; once placed, it immediately took the form of mature trees.

Qiyu’s destination on this trip wasn’t the Red Maple Forest, but the newly constructed standard energy tower.

The three-meter-tall spire stood like a silent sentinel.

There was a recessed area on the front of the energy tower; since no magic crystal had been inserted, it displayed a low energy level.

Qiyu took out a first-tier magic crystal.

He had obtained these along with the energy tower blueprint; all 100 were water-element crystals.

Qiyu inserted the magic crystals into the slot. After inserting ten of them, the energy tower finally responded:

【Standard Energy Tower: Current Energy 100/100.】

Qiyu wanted to test the Energy Tower’s power and tentatively issued the command: “Energy Tower, launch an attack.”

【No hostile creatures within attack range; attack conditions not met.】

It seemed to possess some level of intelligence, so Qiyu had to temporarily abandon his plan to test the Energy Tower’s firepower.

Next, he activated the most expensive structure currently in his domain: the Advanced Magic Energy Tower.

The Advanced Magic Energy Tower could not accommodate first-tier magic crystals. Even after inserting all ten of Qiyu’s second-tier magic crystals, its energy level only reached 20/1000.

After the Advanced Magic Energy Tower was activated, a pale blue energy orb appeared at the very tip of its highest spire, teeming with magic. 

Looking up at it from afar, the sense of oppression was overwhelming.

In contrast to that oppressive feeling, a sense of security welled up within Qiyu.

Since matters regarding the shelter had been temporarily resolved, he planned to spend the rest of the day exploring the outside world.

During the newbie period, treasure chests would spawn regularly in the safe zone—he wondered if that was still the case.

Even if it wasn’t for treasure chests, for the sake of his shelter’s safety, he had to get a handle on the situation in the surrounding area.

Fortunately, now that the territory module was active, he could access information about his territory at any time through the survival panel, which undoubtedly allowed him to venture out with greater peace of mind.

Since survival games have backpacks, traveling is actually quite convenient.

Qiyu chose to explore eastward from the shelter.

Once he stepped outside the territory’s boundaries, the scenery that met his eyes had undergone a subtle change compared to the beginner phase.

Everything did not seem quite as “perfect” anymore.

In the beginner phase, the forest was filled with plants in their prime, frozen in their most beautiful state.

Now, the forest floor—which seemed rarely trodden—was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. In some areas, the light couldn’t penetrate the dense canopy of tall trees, leaving the surroundings dim.

Untamed weeds and branches grew wildly, casting eerie shadows in the gloom.

Qiyu, however, took it in stride: no matter how strangely the trees in this forest grew, they were still just ordinary plants.

He had never even seen bizarre, man-eating mutant plants.

With the staff in hand, he could attack at any moment, and on the other hand, clear away branches blocking his path when necessary.

While observing with his physical eyes, Qiyu simultaneously let his spiritual energy spread out.

Spiritual energy could detect the surrounding environment with greater precision than the naked eye.

For Qiyu, it also served as a chance to practice controlling his spiritual energy.

After walking five or six hundred meters, he had already passed the boundaries of the “safe zone.”

“Hm?” Qiyu’s spiritual energy detected a wooden treasure chest in the thicket to his left front.

He walked over, just as he was about to pick it up, a black shadow shot out from behind the chest, flying straight toward him. 

Qiyu’s eyes were sharp and his hands quick; he met it with a swing of his staff.

Thud.

A perfect hit.

The black shadow flew back at an even faster speed.

Two seconds later.

【You have killed the mutated creature “Scavenging Rat”.】

Qiyu:? That’s it? No rewards?

With a disappointed sigh, he looted the chest without any further obstacles.

He continued scouting ahead.

Over the next half hour, he discovered a wooden chest x1 and a fine iron chest x1. He encountered mutated creatures near both chests; after defeating them, one dropped nothing, while the other dropped an emerald crystal coin.

At this point, he was roughly three li away from the shelter. Aside from the mutated creatures that appeared alongside the chests, Qiyu hadn’t encountered any other mutated creatures yet.

【Wild resource point discovered.】

A notification suddenly popped up on the interface.