Starting on a Desolate Island [Doomsday/Survival]

Yun Mianmian, holding an ice pop and standing at a cross street, suddenly fainted, and when she woke, she found herself on a deserted island, surrounded by nothing but smooth sand and rocks.

Before she had time to ponder, a voice spoke, simultaneously accompanied by a screen of light before her, upon which glowing characters appeared.

【 Greetings, player. Welcome to the post-apocalyptic survival game "Maritime Survival." Currently, the game is only open for the beta test, divided into ten districts. District 3, where you are located, has ten thousand players. 】

【 As one of the first chosen, you will receive a special beginner's reward package from the system. 】

A sparkling gift box appeared before Yun Mianmian. After a moment of hesitation, she clicked to open it.

The box instantly vanished with a flash of white light.

【 The first batch of players were carefully selected within the age range of twenty to thirty-five. In one month, the official servers will open, and the remaining humans on Earth will also arrive in this game world. Although this is a survival game, it is also a real world; dying in the game means dying in reality. Please treasure your life. 】

【 Please note that the new player protection period lasts only three days. During these three days, players will be relatively safe; however, after three days, you will face cruel survival trials. 】

【 The contents of the special beginner's reward package are randomly selected; however, every player will receive the most basic fishing rod. 】

【 Fishing rods can be used to catch treasure chests, which contain random resources. 】

【 Players are encouraged to build their own ships as quickly as possible and begin their adventures at sea. 】

After the voice faded away, Yun Mianmian saw the screen in front of her shrink into a small monitor, akin to a high-tech screen one might see in a sci-fi movie. It had several icons, displayed the time, and showed the weather.

It was the first day of the Gregorian calendar. The weather was clear.

This really did seem like a game.

Yun Mianmian clicked on the icons one by one.

【 Player: Yun Mianmian 】

【 Age: 22 】

【 Health: 52 (can be upgraded) 】

【 Strength: 45 (can be upgraded) 】

【 Mental fortitude: 65 (can be upgraded) 】

【 Luck: 88 (can be upgraded) 】

Looking at this, Yun Mianmian realized her strength was rather low, and it seemed she'd have to work out more in the future. She wasn't sure what mental fortitude could be used for, but her luck seemed decent.

Yun Mianmian clicked on the other icons. Aside from her personal information, there were also several options: backpack, chat, world map, trading post, and quests.

She first opened her backpack.

She quickly saw that her backpack had ten squares of storage.

One of the squares contained a beginner's welcome gift.

The second square contained an ice lolly, bitten down exactly as she had done moments ago.

Yun Mianmian's heart stirred, and the ice lolly appeared in her hand.

"Wow, I can even do this."

Inside the third grid was a backpack.

She had come on this trip with a lot of luggage, most of which she had left in the hotel room, only carrying a backpack with her.

The backpack contained a few personal items she absolutely needed while traveling.

A ray of light landed on her head, and another strange voice echoed in her mind.

【 Luck System activated! Obtained Luck Dice. 】

Yun Mianmian looked down to see that, besides the ice stick, she was also holding a giant dice in her other hand, one as big as her whole palm.

【 Please roll the dice to obtain your daily luck forecast! 】

Her hand twitched, and the dice flew up into the air, spinning rapidly.

After a few seconds, the number six appeared on the dice.

【 Six: Blessed by luck, extremely super fortunate! 】

【 Congratulations, host! You've rolled an amazing dice today, bursting with luck! 】

Bursting with luck!

Then she'd try opening her beginner's gift pack first.

Yun Mianmian took out the pack, which didn't seem very large but was surprisingly heavy when she held it. She ripped open the packaging, and a whole bunch of things exploded out.

【 Opened beginner's gift pack, luck from the heavens activated! 】

【 Obtained one complete fishing rod, wood x 10, a bowl of clear soup noodles with scallions, thermal underwear set, a packet of cabbage seeds, mineral water x 3, and purple rice bread x 2. 】

Not bad! Quite a lot of things.

The backpack with the starter kit disappeared, and these items filled seven spaces in her inventory.

Yun Mianmian took a bite of the half-melted ice pop and scratched her head. "Am I about to start farming?"

She opened the chat window, discovering that it was quite lively.

The messages were constantly scrolling, dozens of them flickering on the screen.

"What kind of hell is this? I want to go home. I don't want to play this stupid game!"

"I'm so scared, I'm not playing anymore. Can I go home if I jump into the sea?"

"Absolutely not, there are piranhas in the sea."

"I'm thirsty to death. There's no water, how am I supposed to survive?"

"I got a bottle of water from the starter kit, did you guys get it too?"

"I didn't. I only got a fishing rod and some wood, what a rip-off!"

"I got two bottles of mineral water and a loaf of bread!"

"Damn, you're so lucky, I'm starving."

Each message was followed by a name, as if they were chatting using their real names.

Compared to these people, Yun Mianmian had received much more from her lucky dice.

Although she had always been very lucky, the dice must have boosted her fortune.

Yun Mianmian held up the lucky dice. Carefully studying it, she noticed that there were six sides, each with a different character written on it.

The sides of the dice read:

1: Good Fortune Multiplied: Receive double the amount of whatever you acquire.

2: From Misfortune to Fortune: After all your bad luck, good fortune is coming your way.

3: All Goes Well: Everything will work out just as you wish, just like a dream come true.

4: Thank You for Your Patronage: The Goddess of Luck is taking a break today!

5: An Ordinary Day: Neither good nor bad luck, just an average day.

6: Fortunes Shine Upon You: Super lucky!

So, it wasn't all about luck; there was also an ordinary outcome. Thankfully, there were no negative outcomes. But as long as she rolled a 1, 3, or 6, she would have super fortunate outcomes.

The probability was fifty-fifty.

Yun Mianmian contentedly finished her ice cream.

【 The tide is rising at sea; this is the time when the most treasure chests appear. Players may fish for treasure chests at their own discretion. 】

The game's system notification rang in Yun Mianmian's ears.

She quickly took out her fishing rod, ran to the beach, and discovered that the waves were rolling onto the shore, bringing with them a few floating treasure chests.

As she looked into the water, she noticed strange shadows, remembering that some players had mentioned man-eating piranhas in the sea. However, she never saw them emerge from the water.

Yun Mianmian flicked her fishing rod, sending her line into the water. After approximately a minute, her fishing rod dipped down, as if some force was pulling it down. Yun Mianmian knew it was time to reel it in.

As expected, she pulled up a wooden box.

【 Obtained Wooden Treasure Chest. 】

The wooden box appeared dusty and old, with a copper-colored clasp that was not locked; it opened with a simple tug.

Just as Yun Mianmian opened the box, she heard a voice.

【 Fortune shines upon you—good luck activated! 】

【 Obtained: Mineral Water x 2, Steamed Bun x 2, Wood x 5, Iron Nail x 5, Fishing Line x 5. 】

Not bad of a haul!

Yun Mianmian happily took out the items, not even bothering whether she could make use of them—she'd figure that out later when she had time to organize her inventory.

She planned to continue fishing, but the fishing rod's description revealed:

【 Beginner Fishing Rod (Upgradeable). Black from head to toe, it looks completely ordinary. 】

【 Can only be used once a day to fish up a treasure chest, and only wooden chests can be caught. 】

【 Upgrade Requirements: Intermediate Fishing Rod Blueprint, Fishing Line x 5. 】

It seemed that if she wanted to open more blind boxes, she would need to upgrade her fishing rod first.

Unfortunately, she only had fishing line and no blueprint, so it would have to wait for another time.

Yun Mianmian put away her fishing rod and took out a bottle of water from her backpack, chugging half of it down.

She checked the time: It was six o'clock. She found a rock to sit on, drinking water while keeping an eye on the chat window.

"Only two pieces of crappy wooden planks in my treasure chest. Is this even a treasure chest? What a rip-off."

"Ha ha, I got a loaf of bread in my treasure chest. No need to go hungry tonight."

"I've been fishing for hours and can't catch a single treasure chest. I can't believe it—I don't even have a bottle of water. Does anyone have a bottle of water to spare? My throat is parched."

"Wooden chests for water. Who's willing to trade? Dying of thirst, please help this child."

"Don't throw away the wooden chests—they can be broken down into wood."

It seemed that food and water were both highly sought-after items; many people still didn't have any. The game was truly quite harsh; how could players endure without water and sustenance?

Though perhaps there were other ways to obtain these necessities.

It was only the first day, after all—there had to be a way to survive.

Yun Mianmian was relieved to hear that wooden chests could be broken down into wood. She planned to make a small table first, then set the bowl of clear noodle soup on top, so she wouldn't have to hold the bowl herself.

She took out the clear noodle soup and drank a mouthful of the broth.

The broth was piping hot; after swallowing it, she felt warmth spread throughout her body. The noodles looked white and chewy, and the broth was clear, with a hint of freshness from the chopped green onion sprinkled on top, as well as a dash of pepper, making it quite comforting to drink.

The evening breeze by the sea was chilly; despite wearing a long-sleeved shirt, Yun Mianmian felt a bit cold. But after a mouthful of soup, she no longer felt chilled, and realized that although this dish looked simple, it was quite delicious.

After she finished eating, the bowl disappeared on its own.

She even got to skip washing the dishes!

At home, her younger brother usually took care of the dishes. After their parents' divorce, their mother had been too busy with work, so it had usually been just her and her brother, Yun Xiao, at home.

She cooked, Yun Xiao washed the dishes, and the two split the chores.

Her sudden disappearance must have worried her mother and brother to no end.

She also wondered how this game had spirited her away. If she had just suddenly vanished, her family would have likely called the cops.

Or would everyone who knew her lose their memories of her? That was how it went in books and TV shows.

However, the System said that a month later, the remaining humans on Earth would also come here, which meant her mother and brother should be here as well.

She needed to stay alive and gather as much material as possible to help them out when they arrived.

Yun Mianmian sat on a stone, watching everyone chat with her cheeks in her hands, trying to see if she could gather any useful information. Suddenly, she heard a beeping noise.

It turned out that there was an exclamation point in the "Quests" section. She had never clicked on it before, but now it was alerting her.

Incomplete Quests:

【 Construct your own ship (Time Remaining: 3 hours, 10 minutes) 】

【 Players who have not constructed their own ship by 10 P.M. will be eliminated. Elimination equals death; please take care, players. 】