【Upgrade materials detected. Do you want to upgrade the shelter?】 “Upgrade.”

No white mist appeared as the wooden cabin was upgraded; it was as if an invisible divine hand was working its magic. The house before Qiyu began to expand and grow, revealing more functional areas… 

A minute later, the wooden cabin was completely transformed.

The initial wooden cabin was a simple, square structure, bare and empty.

Now, however, the space has grown significantly. The single room had expanded into a one-bedroom apartment, doubling in size, and several windows had been added to the walls. The rough wooden table that had come with the wooden cabin had also been upgraded; its surface was now smooth, and two wooden chairs had appeared.

As he approached the bedroom, Qiyu discovered an even bigger surprise.

【Upgrading the shelter includes a bathroom.】

The bathroom is next to the bedroom.

It wasn’t large, but it was fully equipped with a sink and a shower stall.

Qiyu took a deep breath and immediately reached for the faucet on the sink. He hesitated for two seconds before carefully turning it on. Clear water gushed out.

He frantically cupped his hands to catch it, then hurriedly turned off the faucet.

The Survival System provided the following instructions:

【Domestic Water: Unlimited usage. May be used for daily personal hygiene. Not tradable. Not for consumption. Forced consumption will reduce health points and may be life-threatening in severe cases.】

Not for consumption?

Qiyu stared at the water in his palm, baffled: “Such clean water, and yet I can’t drink it?”

In the post-apocalyptic world, any water that wasn’t severely contaminated—and thus deadly if consumed—was considered good water; he’d even drunk water from muddy puddles before.

But survival games don’t follow common sense. Though he found it disappointing, he valued his life even more.

The shower stall had a showerhead, which Qiyu had never seen before. Fortunately, whenever he scanned it with the badge on his palm, instructions would appear. 

A quick look is all it takes to figure it out.

There is a recess in the wall by the bathroom door.

Scan it, and a prompt appears:

【Insert an energy crystal card or a universal electricity card to activate hot water.】1

Energy crystal card? Universal electricity card?

Qiyu remembered the mysterious green card he’d found in his treasure chest and tried inserting it into the slot.

【Invalid. Please insert an energy crystal card or a universal electricity card to use.】

Alright, so it’s not one of those two.

Seeing this card, Qiyu was reminded of that mysterious drifting bottle.

He took out an empty wooden chest, filled it with water, and tentatively placed the drifting bottle inside.

A magical scene unfolded: the bottle dissolved upon contact with the water, vanishing without a trace right before Qiyu’s eyes. 

Recalling the bottle’s description, Qiyu wondered if it had drifted off to some unfamiliar realm by now.  He wondered if anyone would find it?

Just then, a notification popped up on his survival panel:

【Congratulations to player “I Love Survival Game” for becoming the 537th player in the entire server to upgrade to a level one shelter. The system rewards you with 1 silver chest.】

A dazzling light appeared before Qiyu. The surprise came completely out of the blue. a silver chest？

Qiyu remembered that a player in this server named “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” had received one before.

He recalled that the other player had apparently secured the first kill in the entire server, as well as the first registered ID, and received two silver chests.1 Yet he, who was only the 537th player to upgrade his Shelter, was also rewarded with a silver chest.

Clearly, as stated upon entering the game, upgrading the Shelter had the highest priority.

He was the 537th player to upgrade his shelter, but he had no idea how many people were actually in the “entire server.”

Qiyu remained calm about the fact that over five hundred people were ahead of him. The world is so vast; there are bound to be all kinds of talented people.

Besides, he was already quite satisfied with his current life… no, his current life had far exceeded anything he’d ever expected.

The silver chest was the same size as the other chests, but its appearance was exquisite, with a floral pattern engraved on the surface, making it look like a beautiful work of art.

The system displayed a prompt:

【Silver Chest: A chest containing supplies that may yield high-tier items.】 

【Silver Chest detected. Open?】

Qiyu was about to say “Open,” but hesitated for a moment. He walked over to the wooden crate where he had previously thrown the drifting bottle, then washed his hands over and over again, meticulously and thoroughly, to ensure they were spotless.

He didn’t know why he was doing this, but for some reason, a thought crossed his mind: if he washed his hands, would his luck improve a little?  

“Open.”

A dazzling golden light emerged from the treasure chest. Qiyu instinctively closed his eyes, then opened them again. Several glowing orbs appeared inside the chest.

The largest and most dazzling of them all was the golden light in the very center.

As soon as Qiyu raised his hand, as if sensing his intention, the golden light floated over on its own and settled in his palm.

【Congratulations on obtaining the Legendary-quality item *Mental Power Cultivation Manual*. Bonus: *Elementary Magic Introduction*】

【*Mental Power Cultivation Manual*: Written by the legendary elven archmage Aegnor, this is an extremely valuable text. Note: Those with Mental Power below 50 are prohibited from learning it.】

【*Elementary Magic Introduction*: An introductory text for mages, compiled by the mages’ association. Note: Recommended for readers with a Mental Power of 8 or higher.】

Qiyu looked at the two books in the palm of his hand.

The former was quite thick, with a dark green cover adorned with embossed tree leaf patterns—rustic yet grand, radiating a powerful vitality. Even without knowing its contents, one could tell at a glance that it was something special!

The other book, *Elementary Magic Introduction*, perhaps because it was an introductory text, had a lively blue-and-white cover. In the center of the cover was a badge featuring a wand and a white flower branch, with the words “Mages Association” written below it.

Qiyu resisted the urge to flip through them immediately and placed both books in his backpack.

Inside the silver chest were two more glowing orbs, emitting a faint blue light.

Qiyu had seen these blue orbs before; the fine-quality barbarian fang dagger had emitted exactly the same glow.

【Jade Necklace: Fine-grade equipment. Wearing it grants +3 Spirit, +5 HP, and a 10% increase in Spirit regeneration rate.】

【Jade boots: Fine-grade equipment. +3 Agility, +5 HP, grants the “Windchase” effect, increasing movement speed by 10% while moving.】

Qiyu let out a small “Wow” and chose to equip both items. 

The bonuses to Spirit, Agility, and Health made him feel refreshed and invigorated, and his body felt much lighter. “I was wrong, Survival Game,” Qiyu said solemnly, addressing the blue badge in the palm of his hand. The Survival System remained silent, letting him have his moment. 

Qiyu realized he had made a huge mistake.

How could he have ever thought that simply living a stable, peaceful life was enough? How could he have remained indifferent to others receiving two silver chests? 

If he could get a silver chest ranked in the 500s, what kind of rewards would those in the top 100, the top three, or the first to upgrade their shelter receive?

Just thinking about the incredible treasures he couldn’t even begin to imagine made Qiyu’s eyes light up. I’ve been too complacent, he thought. I have to try harder.