Chapter 2 Unboxing and Exploration
Qin Zhen tossed the bait back into the sea. This time the wait was much longer — nearly an hour passed before a Wooden Chest appeared.
After putting the Wooden Chest into her backpack, Qin Zhen noticed it still only occupied one slot, but the number in the bottom-left corner of the Wooden Chest had changed to 2.
It was a relief that items of the same type could stack; otherwise, ten slots wouldn't last very long at all.
Time crept by slowly. Qin Zhen frowned and glanced at the time displayed in the upper-left corner of her watch screen — 11:55. Five more minutes and she wouldn't be able to fish up any more Treasure Chests.
Four hours of fishing and she'd only pulled up three Wooden Chests. She wasn't sure if the supplies would be enough.
It was almost noon. Qin Zhen was about to reel in her line when the Fishing Rod suddenly gave a tremendous jolt. She quickly yanked it upward.
The weight felt different from the previous Wooden Chests. Qin Zhen strained with great effort to haul it up, the fishing rod trembling slightly — she was genuinely afraid it might snap.
Splash!
The chest tumbled onto the beach. It was still a Wooden Chest, but noticeably heavier than the others. She tucked it into her backpack.
Hopefully there'll be more supplies in this one, Qin Zhen thought to herself.
Noon had arrived. Qin Zhen put away her Fishing Rod and headed toward the thatched hut.
The thatched hut was built on higher ground — probably to avoid the rising tide.
As she drew closer, the corner of Qin Zhen's mouth twitched. Calling this a thatched hut was generous — it was clearly just a small shack cobbled together from weeds.
Inside, there was nothing but a pile of weeds spread across the floor and a few gaping holes in the roof. Truly a place with nothing to hide.
Qin Zhen took out all four Wooden Chests and prepared to open them.
The first Wooden Chest yielded: Windproof Lighter ×1, Fruit Knife ×1, Wood ×5. The second contained: Refined Iron ×3, Plastic ×5. Qin Zhen's expression darkened — two chests and not a single scrap of food or water.
The third Wooden Chest: Mineral Water 500ml ×2, Bread 200g ×2. Thank goodness — at last, some food. Qin Zhen opened the final, heavier Wooden Chest with eager anticipation.
Stone Axe ×1, Apple ×2, Cup Noodles ×2.
[Stone Axe: Attack Power: 10; Durability: 100/100; Can be used to chop down trees.]
A weapon — no wonder it was so heavy. The supplies weren't much, but at least today's food and water situation was sorted.
[Detected that you have four Wooden Chests. Would you like to dismantle them?]
[Yes or No]
They could be dismantled? Qin Zhen tapped "Yes." The four Wooden Chests broke down into Wood ×24 — so each chest yielded six units of material.
Qin Zhen now had: Windproof Lighter ×1, Fruit Knife ×1, Stone Axe ×1, Refined Iron ×3, Wood ×29, Plastic ×5, Mineral Water 500ml ×2, Bread 200g ×2, Apple ×2, Cup Noodles ×2.
Qin Zhen stared at the ramshackle thatched hut, sighing as she gave it a pat. How was anyone supposed to live in this? Then, to her surprise, a message suddenly popped up from the hut.
[Qiyezhenzhen's Shelter: Dilapidated Thatched Hut: Level 1 (Blocks neither wind nor rain).
Next Level: Sturdy Thatched Hut: Level 2 (Can block wind and rain).
Required Materials: Thatch ×30, Wood ×10]
So the Shelter could be upgraded — but where was she supposed to find Thatch?
Qin Zhen pulled out a pack of Bread and an Apple to eat, took a sip of water, and managed to fill her stomach well enough.
She decided to scout the surrounding area for resources. She couldn't survive by relying solely on the Treasure Chests the System dropped each day.
Besides, it was still the Beginner Protection Period — a good time to explore.
Stone Axe in hand, Qin Zhen headed toward the forest behind the beach. Gazing into the deep, silent woods, she felt an inexplicable sense of danger.
She dared only explore the forest's edge. In a thicket of shrubs, she spotted something that looked very much like Thatch. She pulled it up — and sure enough, she received Thatch ×1. After harvesting all the Thatch in the area, she ended up with Thatch ×36 and EXP +36.
It even gave EXP? Honestly, Qin Zhen still hadn't figured out what EXP and Levels were actually good for.
Then there was the whole MP, Ice Affinity, and Light Affinity business. Based on her past gaming experience, she figured it meant she could learn Ice and Light magic — but she still had no idea how to actually do that.
Nearby stood seven Banyan Trees. Qin Zhen took out her Stone Axe and got to chopping. She struck each tree more than a dozen times, obtaining Wood ×35 and EXP +35.
[Congratulations, player Qiyezhenzhen has reached Level 2! All Attributes except Luck and Magic Attribute each gain one Attribute Point. Additionally, you receive five freely distributable Attribute Points (excluding Luck and Magic Attribute).]
Qin Zhen checked her status panel, which now read:
[Player: Qiyezhenzhen
Gender: Female
Level: 2 (EXP: 21/80)
Constitution: 8 (Not bad.)
Attack: 6 (Still on the weak side.)
Defense: 6 (Still a bit fragile.)
Intelligence: 10 (Excellent!)
Speed: 7 (Decent.)
Luck: 8 (Fairly lucky.)
Magic Attribute — Ice Affinity: 8; Light Affinity: 9
HP: 80
MP: 100]
Qin Zhen noticed that when her Constitution had been 7, her HP was 70. Now that she'd leveled up and her Constitution had risen to 8, her HP had become 80 as well. Intelligence and MP seemed to be linked in the same way.
MP was certainly important, but right now Qin Zhen had absolutely no clue how to learn magic.
So she distributed her five free Attribute Points as follows: Constitution +3, Attack +2. Her Constitution rose to 11 and her HP climbed to 110, while her Attack became 8. At least she wasn't completely helpless anymore.
The Stone Axe's Durability had dropped to 90/100. That's dropping awfully fast, Qin Zhen sighed.
She ventured a little deeper and spotted some slender Vines. Her eyes lit up. She cut one and gave it a tug — nodding approvingly at its flexibility. These would be perfect for weaving Fish Traps to set in the sea and catch some fish to eat.
Back in the countryside where she'd grown up, Qin Zhen had often gone hungry. She'd learned from Old Man Wang next door how to weave Fish Traps and set them in the river to catch fish. She never imagined that skill would come in handy in a survival game like this.
Qin Zhen's fingers moved swiftly, and before long she had woven several neat Fish Traps. She checked the time — already 3:30 in the afternoon. Chopping trees and gathering plants had somehow eaten up three whole hours.
Time to head out. Qin Zhen cast one last glance into the depths of the forest, then turned and walked toward the beach. After half an hour of walking along the shoreline, she finally found a stretch of Rocky Reef.
She placed the Fish Traps at various spots among the Rocky Reef. Then, along the beach, she discovered three Coconut Palms — a find that genuinely delighted her.
She absolutely loved coconut water, but the bottled coconut water drinks sold in stores always tasted different from the real thing cracked straight from a fresh Coconut.
Qin Zhen swung her Stone Axe and got to work, grunting with effort. She obtained Coconut ×9, Wood ×9, and EXP +15. It seemed Coconut Palms yielded less Wood than ordinary trees — but having Coconuts more than made up for it.
Qin Zhen checked the time: 4:30. The sky was already growing dim. Time to head back. She had a feeling the nights out here would be very dangerous.