“I feel happy because of this joy right within my reach. How about you, Qiyu?” 

Half a month ago?

Qiyu did the math. Counting the tutorial period, it seemed they’d been in the survival game for over ten days. 

Half a month ago, just a few days into the survival game, he didn’t have such a nice place to stay, nor did he have so much delicious food. He studied the instructions on the instant noodle package, nodded, and agreed wholeheartedly: “I feel incredibly happy, too.”

However, he felt compelled to seriously correct her: “It’s clean, delicious food—not junk.” 

How could such well-packaged food be called junk?

Dan Xingyu was taken aback.

“Junk food”—it was just something he’d blurted out; Earth residents should all know he didn’t really mean actual food waste. 

Qiyu’s earnest rebuttal left him completely flustered.

He fell silent for a moment, then asked softly, “What are you doing right now?”

Qiyu said, “I’m reading the instructions. It says you have to pour boiling water over these instant noodles before eating them. So I’m going to the kitchen to boil some water.” 

Dan Xingyu：“……”

In his mind, fragments of memory began flashing by at lightning speed—every interaction and conversation he’d had with Qiyu since they first met.

Never played video games. Didn’t know Catman. Never went to the movies.

More often than not, Qiyu didn’t even know some basic common sense about Earth. He kept hiding his age, which was riddled with errors, and hadn’t noticed a single thing.

He had previously assumed this was because Qiyu was a geek a whole generation older than him, and that a generation gap was only natural.

Later, he found out that Qiyu was actually only a year older than him, but since he’d lied about his own age as well, he hadn’t given many things much thought.

Until just now, he didn’t even know what “junk food” was.

Dan Xingyu was stunned.

He recalled the only time they’d ever met. Perhaps it could be called a “chance encounter” brought about by a series of twists of fate.

All the players, including himself, were dressed in a way that was an eyesore. 

But Qiyu—he was wearing an incredibly cool cloak, holding a staff, and had a badge pinned to his cloak that looked incredibly stylish. 

Dan Xingyu had noticed that many native practitioners in the resource zone wore similar items. 

He felt like he might have accidentally uncovered some incredible truth! 

Qiyu！

He must be a native of the survival game world, right? 

Maybe the game had a glitch—he was brought in as an Earth native and turned into a survival game player! 

However, judging by his interactions with others, Qiyu himself didn’t seem to be aware of this.

Could it be that when he was brought into the survival game, his memories were wiped as well? No wonder he sometimes seems a bit dazed. 

“Dan Xingyu?” Qiyu wondered. Why had he gone silent?

Dan Xingyu snapped back to reality and said, “I can boil some water. Give me a bowl.”

It’s so hot in Zone 88 right now that you could roast an egg on the ground—no one would go through the trouble of boiling water. 

Qiyu: “Sure.”

His kitchen was spacious and bright, fully equipped with kitchenware, though Qiyu rarely spent time there. 

The water boiled quickly. He poured a bowl and handed it to Dan Xingyu.

Dan Xingyu tore open the instant noodle package and held the seasoning packet in his hand, sensing something was off.

He tore open the vegetable packet in three quick motions and was stunned: “Wow, beef noodles from the survival game—they actually gave us real beef!” 

Qiyu had just opened the seasoning packet and the vegetable packet as well. Following the instructions, he placed them in the instant noodle cup along with the noodle block, then poured in the hot water.

Hearing this, he asked curiously, “If beef noodles don’t come with beef, then what kind of meat do they come with?”

Dan Xingyu thought to himself, Just as I expected—once the truth is uncovered, this little alien slips up at every turn. 

But on second thought, I think I might have gotten it wrong.

It seems like we Earth people are the ones who traveled through time?

I’m the alien! 

Oh, never mind then.

He told Qiyu, “Back home, we have something called beef noodle soup, but in reality, there’s no meat in it at all—it just has a bit of a ‘high-tech’ flavor.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but let his guard down: “Come to think of it, the survival game seems to have more of a conscience than capitalists.” 

Qiyu was now sitting upright in his chair at the dining table; he could already smell the aroma of the instant noodles. 

He wasn’t even a bit hungry, but that smell…

“It smells so good,” he said, taking a blissful sniff. “It’s going to taste so, so good.”

Dan Xingyu thought it smelled good, too.

These instant noodles from the survival game came with plenty of toppings, but the aroma was still that classic instant noodle scent. As everyone knows, instant noodles are most tempting before you even start eating them. 

Of course, it had been a long time since he’d had instant noodles, so catching that scent out of the blue did make him crave them a bit.

He wasn’t at all surprised that Qiyu would be so captivated by it.

Little alien—oh, wait, little local—go ahead and experience the charm of Earth technology! 

He picked up the can of Coke in his hand, which was ice-cold: “The first sip of Coke in the Survival Game deserves a little ceremony. Come on, cheers.” He brought the Coke can close to the communication sphere and tapped it lightly against the table.

Cheers.

He’d seen cans before, too,

He pulled the tab open and, mimicking Dan Xingyu’s words, said, “Cheers.”

This drink is ice-cold. It’s a good thing his domain now has a temperature-regulating magic array; otherwise, drinking something this cold in this weather would definitely be a bit of a shock.

Qiyu took a cautious sip.

The sensation was extremely cool, with a slight tingling feeling that seemed to shoot straight to the top of his head. He shuddered, and his whole body froze for a moment.

When he came to his senses, he couldn’t quite say whether the taste was good or bad, so he took another sip.

“It really is that familiar taste—an ice-cold carbonated drink, the eternal classic,” Dan Xingyu’s satisfied sigh rang in his ear. 

He realized the local boy across from him might not have ever tried this before, so he thought about it, but didn’t let on that he already knew the boy wasn’t from Earth. 

He chose his words carefully: “A lot of people aren’t used to carbonated drinks. What about you?” 

Qiyu had already downed half the can, one sip after another. He nodded: “It’s good!”

His tone was light and cheerful, with an upward inflection at the end—it was obvious he’d already been won over by the Coke.

Dan Xingyu reminded him, “Don’t let the instant noodles soak too long. Are they soft yet? Once they’re soft, you can eat them—they won’t taste good if you soak them too long.” 

Qiyu set down his Coke and went to lift the lid off the instant noodles.

A cloud of steamy vapor accompanied by a strong aroma wafted toward him, nearly overwhelming Qiyu with its scent. 

He picked up the instant noodles from the bowl. The golden-yellow noodle blocks had been soaked until soft and tender in the bright red broth, giving them a chewy, springy texture that was absolutely delicious. They were topped with a layer of beef braised until glossy with oil and garnished with bright green chopped scallions. 16

He could hardly wait to pick up a big mouthful with his chopsticks. So fragrant, so delicious.

“Dan Xingyu, these instant noodles are so good!” Qiyu’s habit of remaining silent while eating was instantly broken by the aroma, and he asked eagerly, “Can you make instant noodles?”

He felt a little embarrassed, because the very first thought that popped into his head when he tasted the noodles was a selfish one: Too bad he gave the other box to Dan Xingyu—otherwise, he could have tasted it all himself. 

Dan Xingyu moved his communication orb a little farther away, afraid Qiyu would hear his stifled laughter. 

It was really strange—ever since he found out Qiyu wasn’t from Earth, many of his words and actions had become even more amusing. Are all aliens this cute? 

As expected, he couldn’t resist the allure of Earth technology.

Dan Xingyu cleared his throat: “It’s hard to perfectly replicate the taste of instant noodles with everyday seasonings. But with this stuff, you might be amazed the first time you try it, but after a few times, it gets a bit boring.” 

Qiyu felt a twinge of envy at this Earth remark.

Earth people really do eat well—something this delicious, and they actually manage to get tired of it. 

He said, “But I only opened one box. You get one, I get one—I still want to try other flavors. Tomorrow I’ll open a few more mystery food boxes, hoping to find some new instant noodles.” 

Dan Xingyu had been smiling, but upon hearing this, he suddenly couldn’t smile anymore.

He didn’t know what memories the survival game had implanted in Qiyu, or what kind of experiences Qiyu had gone through in the past. But he was definitely a bit of a sourpuss; as he’d mentioned before, there were many ordinary foods he’d never eaten. 

This was his first time trying instant noodles and Coke.

But he didn’t keep any for himself—he shared a portion with him. 

“It’s just instant noodles—how hard could it be to recreate them?” Qiyu didn’t know why the person across from him had suddenly gotten so fired up. 

Puzzled, he listened as the other person solemnly declared, “Wait until tomorrow—I’ll make you a deluxe seafood instant noodle dish. I guarantee it’ll taste better than this instant stuff!” 

“Oh… sure!” Although he didn’t know why the other person was so fired up, he was looking forward to something new and delicious tomorrow. 

After finishing the instant noodles and the remaining Coke, Qiyu didn’t feel like moving anymore. His eyelids were starting to droop. 

He remembered wanting to tell Dan Xingyu something before dinner, but now he couldn’t quite recall what it was. 

“I’m going to get ready for bed, Dan Xingyu.”

Dan Xingyu guessed he’d had a rough day and urged him, “Go on, go on. When you wake up, you’ll get to eat my deluxe version of seafood instant noodles.”

After hanging up the communication orb, Qiyu sat for a while longer before propping himself up to wash up, then flopped down onto the soft bed with a “thud.” 

He had a good night’s sleep. 

When he woke up, it was already daylight.

He turned his head and, through the beautiful floral window, saw the shadows of ancient black trees.

The rain seemed a little lighter today; it wasn’t coming down as hard outside. He got out of bed and changed his clothes.

Open the Survival Panel.

【Current Location: Star Forest.】

【Today’s Weather: Light rain. -10°C to -7°C, light breeze (Level 3).】

The rain has indeed let up, but the temperature has already dropped this low? 

He opened the zone chat:

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Damn, I woke up freezing in the middle of the night last night—I knew a major cold snap was coming.】

【Little Old Me: This weather is insane. I went out to hunt swifts and froze my ass off in the forest.】

【Liver Emperor: Test it out—you won’t feel cold once you start running. Plus, the rain’s let up today, and there are fewer swifts. Hurry up and farm some points—don’t you guys want those blueprints anymore?】

Qiyu’s heart skipped a beat as he opened the trading board.

Prices for all kinds of warm gear were skyrocketing.

He searched for down jackets and found a custom-made listing: the buyer provided their own materials and covered the transaction fees, while the seller charged a 10 Beast Crystal processing fee. 

He wasn’t the only one trying to get the blueprint.

Qiyu thought of his own down jacket blueprint. He selected “Learn.”

To his surprise, he acquired the crafting methods for several different down jackets at once: 

【Long Down Jacket: Ordinary warm clothing. Crafting Materials: Any Feathers x50.】 

 【Down Jacket: Ordinary warm clothing. Crafting Materials: Any Feathers x30.】

【Down Vest: Standard warm clothing. Materials: Any Feathers x10.】