Thanks to GreenKiTea on Kofi for the kofis. Enjoy this bonus chapter!

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In the time that followed, Qiyu found 3 wooden treasure chests and 2 fine iron chests. 

What’s more, there were no mutated creatures anywhere near the treasure chests.

This seemed a bit out of the ordinary, and Qiyu grew increasingly suspicious: Could today really be a “bonus day” for Survival Game players? 

That was until he encountered another flock of swifts.

This time, no Leader emerged from the swarm, nor were they targeting Qiyu.

This flock of swifts was attacking two Level 2 mutated creatures. They were two reptilian mutated creatures; according to the system’s information, they were called Mutant Lizard Dragons.

A single Mutant Lizard Dragon was certainly stronger than a swift, but the swifts outnumbered them by a wide margin and were incredibly fast. Plus, they could fly.

Qiyu watched as the two Level 2 Mutant Creatures were slowly worn down and killed by the swarm of Swifts. After defeating their enemies, the Swifts flew away from the area.

Qiyu quietly followed behind them, casually picking up the light that had dropped from the two Mutant Lizard Dragons. 5 【Obtained Level 2 Beast Crystals x2.】

He continued to follow the swarm of swifts, clearing away dead branches and decaying leaves along the way.

It wasn’t until he saw the swifts kill yet another Level 2 python that Qiyu realized why he hadn’t encountered any other mutated creatures. 

In this area, any mutated creatures daring to venture out were likely all hunted down by the swifts.

Since these things were born out of the rainy season, with all this rain over such a long period, who knows how many have appeared. 

Moreover, spring lasts three months, and it has only just begun.

Having figured out the cause, Qiyu didn’t hold back, unleashing several meteor showers of fire. 【Obtained 800g of swift meat and 70 swift feathers.】

Calculating the distance, it was too far to turn back.

On the way back, he passed the Black-striped Moss resource spot again. After a moment’s thought, Qiyu gathered it and brought it back. 

Although the information said they had already withered, they were still a resource point after all—who knows, maybe the dead moss could bring some vitality back to the soil? 

It was exactly 3:00 p.m. when he returned to the shelter.

This expedition yielded a total of 1 brass chest, 3 fine iron chests, and 4 wooden chests. It was a huge haul.

He sent a message to the “01 survival squad” group chat.

Sure enough, Civil Engineering Brother, the group’s information guru, had already mentioned this in the chat:

【Civil Engineering Brother: According to feedback from players in the regional channel, the loot has been better than usual since the rain stopped today.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Everyone’s joking that the survival game is handing out disaster relief rations.】

【I Love Survival Game: When you guys went out looking for treasure chests, did you not run into any other mutated creatures either?】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Game Pro, you finally have time to pop in?】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Yeah, it’s been nothing but swifts lately.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: These things may not have much attack power, but they’re fast and can fly. If they can’t beat you, they just fly off into the sky and disappear—they’re really annoying.】

【I Love Survival Game: I ran into them today too, and I even encountered a Level 3 Swift Commander. I suspect that when the swarm reaches a certain size, they might evolve.】

【I Love Survival Game: Also, I followed a flock of swifts for a while, and whenever they encounter other creatures, they swarm and attack as a group.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: A Level 3 Swift Commander? That’s a bit of a problem.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: The biggest problem is that the Swifts seem to have appeared because of the frequent rain. If it keeps raining, there’s a very good chance they’ll keep appearing in droves.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Gaming expert, regarding the Swift Leader, would you mind bringing it up in the zone chat? I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it yet—let’s give everyone a heads-up.】

【I Love Survival Game: Sure.】

Just as he was about to switch to the Server 01 regional channel, a friend message suddenly popped up:

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Gaming Pro, do you need this?】

He sent a message with an item.

【Guild Contract Scroll: Can be used to form a guild and protect the interests of its members.】

【I Love Survival Game：？】

【I Love Survival Game: I don’t need it, thanks.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Okay!】

Scanning the regional chat channel, Qiyu noticed that players ahead were just mentioning Rain Swallow. He briefly described his own encounter with the Swift Leader and sent the message out.

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Holy crap! The Gaming Expert!】

【Liver Emperor: The region’s number one mysterious big shot has shown up, and I actually caught him live on stream. Let’s take a picture!】

【Irritable Brother: Swift Leader? That jinxed thing can actually evolve? Is this even a game anymore?】

【A Stray By The Road: A Gaming Expert has actually shown up. Things have been so lively in this region lately—hey, legend, why don’t you just start a guild?】

As soon as “A Stray By The Road” said this, players in the comments chimed in one after another, saying they’d definitely follow Qiyu if he started a guild.

【I Love Survival Game: I’m busy; I don’t have time.】

He lived a very fulfilling life every day; even when he had free time, he’d rather go out to explore or train to improve his skills.

【Bluetooth Headphones: Look at this true gaming big shot—he’s already number one on all three leaderboards and is still working hard to improve. Could certain “gods” just be nice enough to give our stuff back?】

【Little Red Riding Hood: I’ll just say it straight: Temple of the Gods, be a good sport.】

【I Am Domineering: It’s not like I’m not. The deadline in the previous agreement was also the end of the month.】

【Little Red Riding Hood: “I never would’ve thought someone else would top all three charts. Now, we won’t even get a taste of that pie you guys were promising.”】 

His Friends page flashed.

【Civil Engineering Brother: I’m guessing you, as a top player, aren’t too concerned about what’s going on in the regional channel. I’ve summarized it—here’s the gist of it.】 

He sent over a long message, briefly explaining what exactly had happened in the channel.

It all started a couple of days ago when Qiyu was in Gold Hole City and claimed the top spot on the Wealth Leaderboard for Server 01. At the time, when Qiyu became number one on all three leaderboards, his friends rushed to congratulate him, and the channel was buzzing with excitement.

Most players were just watching the spectacle, speculating whether Qiyu had had some kind of serendipitous encounter, but a small group of people was completely taken aback.

This small group consisted of players who had joined the Temple of the Gods.

By the time they came to the regional channel to argue, it was likely that a heated debate had already taken place within the Temple of the Gods’ private group.

It was only then that many players realized why the Temple of the Gods had been able to establish a guild so quickly—and why the players who had joined it dared to hand over resources—essentially their “lives and fortunes”—to strangers they’d just met, right after entering the survival game.

The reason is an item called the “Fellowship Contract Scroll.” 

At this point, Qiyu couldn’t help but step back, open the chat window—which needs a little money to save me—and check it out.

It really was that.

“Need A Little Money To Save Me”—it really does pop up anything. 

This team contract scroll—once a player’s ID is signed on it, a team can be formed. The established rules are written on it, effectively serving as a safeguard for the “survival game.”

A player who joined the Temple of the Gods revealed: At first, the Temple of the Gods recruited members under the banner of “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”—the top-ranked slogan on all three leaderboards.

There’s nothing wrong with that, after all—players were indeed drawn by the reputation of the region’s top players.

Later, the Temple of the Gods required ordinary members to keep only the resources necessary for survival and hand over everything else to the guild warehouse, thereby “cultivating” a few “top-ranked players.”

After all, regional rankings come with high-tier treasure chest rewards.

Although everyone knew there were some underhanded dealings in the selection of the “big shots,” “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” personally stepped in to calm everyone down and promised that once the first round of leaderboard rewards was distributed, all surrendered resources would be returned to guild members at 1.5 times their original value.

At the same time, all top-ranking members who accepted resources from guild members would convert one-fifth of their own rewards into resources of equivalent value to the players who contributed them.

Only then did the members of the Temple of the Gods reluctantly settle down.

But this tranquility was soon shattered by one event after another.

It began with that catastrophe—which came without the slightest warning and unleashed a disaster rain.

Server 01 suffered heavy losses, and players from the Temple of the Gods were no exception. At the time, some players hoped that high-level guild members would contribute resources to assist the rank-and-file players.

Although the matter was eventually swept under the rug, a rift had already formed among the players. It was all about the most crucial regional ranking.

The top spot held by “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” was repeatedly overtaken by Qiyu.

Composed of strangers brought together with no prior foundation, the Temple of the Gods’ usual approach simply couldn’t generate enough points. If “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” wasn’t number one, its greatest value would be lost.

Coupled with days of continuous rain, which made acquiring resources more difficult than before, discontent within the Temple of the Gods grew louder and louder.

A couple of days ago, when “I Love Survival Game” claimed the final top spot on the Wealth Rankings, the Temple of the Gods members who had contributed resources could no longer sit idly by.

Now, even ordinary members of the Temple of the Gods are demanding that the guild’s “top-ranked bigwigs” return the resources they’ve received. 

With nearly half of the first month already gone, the guild’s higher-ups—who’ve reaped the benefits—are naturally unwilling to agree.

【Civil Engineering Brother: That’s pretty much the situation. All I can say is it’s a mess.】

【I Love Survival Game: Yeah.】

At the end of the day, it all boils down to two words: profit.

In his previous life, even in an environment that wasn’t nearly as brutal, people would exploit and stab each other in the back for personal gain—let alone in a survival game where the conditions are far harsher.

It’s pointless.

【Civil Engineering Brother: With all the back-and-forth going on, the “Fellowship Contract Scroll” item has actually become a hit. It seems like almost every small team wants to buy one—after all, people can’t be trusted as much as a contract in black and white.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Holy crap!】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Gaming Pro, check out the group chat!】

Qiyu：？

He knew that even though Civil Engineering Brother was a chatterbox, he never spoke without reason.

In the zone chat, the dense stream of messages was almost entirely flooded with posts about a single item.

【Teleportation Scroll: Enter any player’s ID in this region to request access to their sanctuary.

It was posted by a player named “It’s Wu, Not Woo,” who had obtained this item from a fine iron chest he’d discovered earlier that day. When “It’s Wu, Not Woo” himself read the item’s description, he was taken aback.

With an item like this, if one can drop, there’s a chance a second or even a third might follow. He posted it in the zone channel simply out of shock and concern.

However, someone @’d him.

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: @It’s Wu, Not Woo name your price—I’ll take it.】