Gray dust obscured the sky, and the hazy sun only cast a few dappled rays of light.
Beside a desolate roadside, a figure lay quietly, its face obscured by the shadows of scattered rocks, leaving only a slender silhouette serene amidst the decay.
Before long,
the figure awoke with a start, slowly opening his eyes while rubbing his somewhat swollen head. The howling wind and the strange, apocalyptic scene before him brought immense shock to Chen Zhuo's recently awakened mind.
"...Where is this?"
Before Chen Zhuo could fully recover, a voice sounded in his ear.
"Survivors, welcome to the Wasteland World!"
"This is a world full of cataclysms and dangers!"
"Attention! This is not a game!"
"This is a trial initiated for all Survivors! You will face challenges from various disasters such as acid rain, poisonous fog, extreme cold, extreme heat, earthquakes, tsunamis, mutated creatures, and more. As Survivors, all you can do is survive by any means possible!"
"The totem on your wrist is your greatest aid for survival; please use it wisely."
"The first natural disaster: Acid Rain will arrive in three days and last for a week. Good luck, Survivors!"
Wasteland World?
Survival trial?
Countless questions filled his mind, but before he could ask, the mysterious voice had already fallen silent.
He surveyed his surroundings; the area was barren and lifeless.
He had nothing on him except the clothes he wore before being brought to this world from Blue Star; not even a lighter. Chen Zhuo's confidence in survival was already halved.
He immediately looked at his left hand, where a complex and exquisite totem, composed of winding lines and abstract symbols, exuded an ancient and mysterious aura.
At this moment, it lay quietly on his wrist, emitting a faint blue light.
"The voice just now came from this," Chen Zhuo tried poking the totem, and a blue holographic projection instantly appeared before his eyes.
Wasteland Survival Platform:
Backpack,
Crafting,
Chat Channel,
Trading Market,
Four options appeared on the screen. He clicked on the Backpack, which contained only a few simple survival supplies. Chen Zhuo touched each item with his finger.
Wasteland Survival Encyclopedia X1 (White, records knowledge to help Survivors survive in the Wasteland World)
Bread X3 (White, ordinary bread made from low-quality flour, restores a small amount of hunger)
A Bottle of Water X3 (White, ordinary mineral water, restores a small amount of thirst)
Thatch Clothes X1 (White, clothes made from low-quality thatch, provides a small amount of warmth)
Stone Axe X1 (White, an ordinary axe, can chop ordinary quality trees)
Stone Pickaxe X1 (White, an ordinary pickaxe, can mine ordinary quality minerals)
"White should be the lowest grade of items... This beginner's welfare is truly stingy."
"According to the encyclopedia, item grades are divided into White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red, and Rainbow, corresponding to Common, Rare, Exquisite, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, and Unique, respectively."
Before Chen Zhuo could continue to complain about the Survival Platform's stinginess, an item emitting a golden light appeared before his eyes.
His breathing quickened at that moment. Chen Zhuo's eyes widened, reflecting the dazzling light in his pupils, and he slowly reached out his finger to the item.
territory keystone (Gold, upgradeable, can generate a 3x3x3 wooden house and a territory area of the same size when placed on the ground. Within the area, construction, upgrading, and repair of the Shelter can be performed with the help of the Keystone. Buildings and Survivors covered by the Keystone will receive buffs. Upgrade requirement: Wood X50.)
"Note: Each Survivor only has one territory keystone; please keep it safe."
"territory keystone... This should be the most powerful tool for building a Shelter to resist disasters.
But according to the description, does everyone have one, and can the Keystone be stolen?" Chen Zhuo muttered.
Chen Zhuo, who initially thought he had received a golden finger, was immediately somewhat disappointed.
Just as he exited the interface, a mysterious voice, different from the one from the totem and with a mechanical tone, sounded directly in Chen Zhuo's mind.
Immediately after, a screen that looked identical to the Survival System appeared in his line of sight.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the Happy Life System. This system is dedicated to creating a perfect happy life for the host, with sea-view villas, luxury cars, and beautiful women all available. Do you wish to bind it?"
"What the hell??"
"System, do you even know what you're saying? I'm trying to survive in this apocalypse. What are you giving me? Sea-view villas, luxury cars, and beautiful women? Are you telling me to take them to the afterlife?"
"Ding, detecting a change in the host's living environment. System upgrading, please wait..."
After a long while,
"Upgrade successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Wasteland Happy Life System. This upgrade will help the host better survive in the apocalyptic environment and live a wealthy and happy life. Do you wish to bind it?"
"Bind." Chen Zhuo said, half-believing, as the system upgrade seemed to have no difference except for the addition of the words 'Wasteland', making it feel somewhat unreliable.
"Ding, system successfully bound. Obtained Newbie Gift Pack X1. Do you wish to claim it?"
"Claim!"
happiness points X30 (An important currency used for upgrading, modifying, exchanging items and buildings. happiness points are issued based on the host's daily received happiness value)
Winter Pure Cotton Overcoat X1 (Blue, a warm overcoat filled with pure cotton, can resist some cold)
Exquisite iron sword X1 (Blue, an exquisite iron sword, increases monster-slaying efficiency.)
Exquisite Iron Axe X1 (Blue, an exquisite axe, increases tree-chopping efficiency, can chop exquisite-grade trees)
Exquisite Iron Pickaxe X1 (Blue, an exquisite pickaxe, increases mining efficiency, can mine exquisite-grade minerals)
"Yes, the golden finger's gifts are much better than those from that scamming Survival Platform."
Suppressing the joy of obtaining the golden finger, Chen Zhuo slowly fell into contemplation.
'happiness points are most likely the most practical and important thing this system can give me, and the amount of happiness points depends on my happiness value. This means I must survive in this apocalyptic world and live better than anyone else to maximize the system's effectiveness.'
"Now, the most important thing is to find a suitable place to put my territory keystone."
He hadn't forgotten the mysterious voice's words: the disaster would arrive in three days. If he didn't build a decent Shelter before then, he would be finished.
Looking at the desolate scene before him, Chen Zhuo decided to walk into the distance... After an unknown amount of time, sparse vegetation began to appear by the roadside. Chen Zhuo knew he had miraculously chosen the right direction.
Continuing forward, he finally saw the first tree in this Wasteland World about two hundred meters ahead.
Without hesitation, he approached the large tree. First, he took out the stone axe given by the Survival Platform and swung it at the tree twice. The feeling of a blunt object hitting the trunk vibrated back into Chen Zhuo's arm.
"This is too dull. If I really use this stone axe to chop trees, the sky might turn dark before I even finish one."
He immediately took out the iron axe given by the golden finger and swung it. While it didn't cut through the tree like butter, at least with his stamina, it only took him 7-8 minutes to chop down one tree.
"This efficiency is much faster. At least I can collect a lot of wood before dark."
Wood +5
He turned his head to look at the sky; the slowly setting sun in the distance made him quicken his pace...