Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

Yun Luohe stepped out from behind the tree. The Thunderstorm Bear had quieted down, its head lowered as it gnawed on a chunk of lightning-struck wood, blue arcs of electricity flashing across its fur.
But the moment Yun Luohe tried to approach, the Thunderstorm Bear suddenly snapped its head up, locking onto her instantly.
For intruders trespassing on its territory, it was never polite.
With a roar, the Thunderstorm Bear lunged, its forepaws slamming down as it tried to pounce and crush Yun Luohe. Fortunately, she had prepared beforehand—already eaten a [Lightning Sashimi Platter].
She had also set Yúntūn and Roubao in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
To take on this beast, she needed to push her speed advantage to the limit—and coordinate perfectly with both pets.
Once the [Lightning Sashimi Platter] settled in, a current-like surge of power filled her body.
Her figure darted nimbly in every direction, turning into a blur of afterimages.
Just before the Thunderstorm Bear’s paw came down, she swerved hard to the left.
A deafening boom followed—the paw slammed into the ground where she’d been standing, the solid trunk of a lightning-struck tree exploding into splinters. Sparks rained as jagged fragments sprayed out with enough force to wound anyone nearby.
Seizing the opening, Yun Luohe swept to its rear flank, hunting knife ready.
She drove it with all her strength toward its hind leg—the one spot her [Scanning Eye] had revealed to be sparsely furred.
But the blade hit its hide like striking metal armor.
She barely opened a shallow cut—nowhere near deep enough.
The Thunderstorm Bear bellowed in pain, completely enraged.
Its tail lashed around with terrifying force. Yun Luohe rolled almost flat against the ground, dodging only thanks to her 50% speed boost.
The ten-second effect was nearly gone.
Thankfully, Yúntūn’s webbing was complete, and Roubao was already in position.
A massive web dropped from above, tougher than steel and non-conductive, wrapping the Thunderstorm Bear tight. Roubao leapt in, claws slashing for its eyes, jaws snapping, teeth tearing fur and flesh.
Yúntūn thrust its forelimbs forward, venom ready to pierce into the beast.
The web restrained the bear just enough—though Roubao was much smaller, it still managed to rip across its muzzle, leaving a bloody gash on the nose.
And Yun Luohe, in the last second before her speed buff expired, shoved another [Lightning Sashimi Platter] into her mouth.
The strength surged anew.
But she rushed in at the wrong timing—just as the Thunderstorm Bear entered a berserk state. Wounded, its power spiked dramatically. Though she’d closed in behind it, it whipped its body violently, throwing her off her feet and hurling her against another lightning-struck tree.
A sweet taste filled her throat. She couldn’t stop a mouthful of blood from surging up and spilling out.
Agony wracked her whole body, but she couldn’t stay down. She forced herself up through the pain.
Just a few seconds left before the effect would wear off.
She grit her teeth and prepared to stand.
But Yúntūn and Roubao, seeing her injured, both went berserk. Overwhelmed with the instinct to protect their master, they threw themselves at the Thunderstorm Bear with reckless abandon.
Yúntūn swelled in size, becoming two to three times larger than the bear itself. It let out a piercing screech as it scuttled forward, pressing close even as the bear strained to tear free of the web. Size alone wasn’t enough—its raw strength still fell short.
Roubao threw itself in beside it, both small companions savaging the bear in a frenzy.
In the chaos, while the Thunderstorm Bear was distracted by Roubao’s ferocity, Yúntūn fired out a needle-thin strand of silk.
So fine it was nearly invisible, it slipped into the bear’s ear canal. And then, in an instant, hardened into a spike, piercing through from one ear out the other.
The bear’s anguished roar split the entire forest.
Its scream was so shrill it seemed to tear the very sky, echoing across the Lightning-Struck Wood Forest.
Yun Luohe surged forward like an arrow loosed from the string, driving her hunting knife straight into its eye.
After that, the fight was simple. Within minutes, the Thunderstorm Bear staggered, lost its balance, and crashed to the ground.
Even then, Yun Luohe didn’t dare slack off. She jammed her blade into the wound she had made earlier and twisted furiously until the beast’s breath stopped completely.
【Congratulations, player Yun Luohe has successfully slain the Thunderstorm Bear.】
【Rewards: Lightning-Struck Wood Forest Map ×1, Thunderstorm Crystal ×1, Thunderstorm Stone ×1】
Yun Luohe gasped for air, a smile breaking unbidden across her face.
It had been dangerous, and she was badly hurt—but worth it.
A Thunderstorm Stone!
One of the resources she needed most right now.
With this, she could finally repair the trident.

Without even glancing at the other rewards, she immediately dissected the Thunderstorm Bear’s corpse.
She harvested fifty portions of golden bear meat, its gallbladder, and a complete pelt.
Bear meat, bear gall—medicine-grade ingredients. Even without knowing the exact effects, they were certainly no ordinary goods.
Taking wounds for this haul was no loss.
Just then, movement rustled from nearby.
Yun Luohe tightened her grip on the hunting knife, eyes narrowing toward the sound.
The six players who had retreated earlier now returned, drawn back by the bear’s screams.
The man in glasses led them, bow in hand, arrowhead gleaming coldly.
“The Thunderstorm Bear’s gone!!”
“That sound just now—it was the bear! Don’t tell me… you killed it?”
His voice trembled with disbelief.
Though Yun Luohe had already stowed everything into her backpack, the battlefield was covered in blood and wreckage. The violent fight was obvious—and she stood there alone. Anyone with half a brain could guess what had happened.
But none of them could bring themselves to believe she alone had slain the Thunderstorm Bear.
Their expressions shifted, eyes flickering with calculations.
“No way. She’s just one person!”
“If it wasn’t for us holding it off and exhausting it first, how could she possibly finish it? Told you we shouldn’t have left!”
“Exactly! Now she picked up the loot for free.”
“We spent half the fight bleeding it dry, and she walks away with everything?!”
“Hey, girl, you only got it because of us. At least half of that haul belongs to us.”
Their eyes gleamed with greed.
Yun Luohe’s mouth curled in a cold sneer. What a neat little scheme.
“Half?”
Without showing it, she pulled out a potion from her backpack and downed it. Stamina rushed back into her limbs—she had burned through half her reserves in that battle.
Feeling her strength return, she looked at them mockingly. “Didn’t you run off earlier? Now that you see me kill it, you come back to freeload?”
“Cut the crap!” a burly man snapped, swinging his axe. “There are six of us and one of you. Hand it over, or—”
“Or what?” Yun Luohe cut him off.
She tightened her grip on the hunting knife. Even injured, she wasn’t worried about dealing with this rabble.
But wasting time on them… that was another matter.
She narrowed her eyes at Yúntūn and Roubao.
She didn’t need words. They understood her intent.
“Or we beat you down and take it ourselves.” The glasses man drew his bow fully, the arrow aimed at her brow.
“Girl, be smart. Don’t force our hand. Otherwise, you’ll lose everything you’ve got.”
“She’s stalling! She might have allies nearby!” one of them hissed.
Yun Luohe noted how familiar they seemed with each other. Not a temporary group—they must have come to the island together. She was mildly curious how such a group had assembled.
But she had no intention of asking.
Yúntūn snapped the web it had used on the Thunderstorm Bear, stretching it wide and lowering it from above.
Ready-made, no need to weave again. Easy work.
The web dropped. The tall man at the front swung his axe, but the strands split into finer threads, instantly snaring his wrist.
He screamed as the axe clattered to the ground, his arm already numb from poison.
“Save him!!” the glasses man shouted, loosing his arrow at Yun Luohe.
But she had already ducked behind a lightning-struck tree.
The rest were enveloped by the sticky web, glued in place as soon as it touched them.
The more they struggled, the tighter it bound.
Slashing at it only split the strands further, tangling them up like the tall man—and poisoning them.
Roubao darted in, claws and fangs tearing, slamming into them relentlessly. With Yúntūn’s web pinning them down, the six were helpless—slashed, mauled, pummeled.
Yun Luohe chuckled.
“You can’t even handle my pets, and you thought you could threaten me?”
Their faces turned ugly as the truth hit them.
They finally understood—Yun Luohe had killed the Thunderstorm Bear because of these two terrifying companions.
And their own pets? Nothing comparable.
They had never realized just how crucial pets could be—until now.
Yun Luohe walked forward slowly, pressing her hunting knife against the throat of the man in glasses.
“Now, it’s my turn to set the terms.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you just tell me to hand over my loot?” Her voice was ice-cold, the blade drawing a thin line of blood across his neck. “Now, I’m telling you the same.”
“If you want to walk away alive, each of you hands ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) over half your supplies. Otherwise…”
She didn’t actually plan to kill them—just scare them.
With their cowardice, it would work.
Sure enough, their grips on their weapons trembled.
“Half of everything from six people—you’re being greedy!” a girl protested.
“Am I? Then maybe I should take everything. Or do you think your lives aren’t worth half your gear?”
Her tone could have frozen the forest itself. Blood ran steadily down the man’s neck.
“Fine, fine! Just take the knife away!”
With a blade on his throat, he didn’t dare bargain.
He pulled items from his backpack and dropped them at her feet. Losing half was nothing—their main stashes were back at their reef bases anyway. Life came first.
With the first one caving, the rest quickly followed.
Yun Luohe checked each pile. She knew they weren’t giving honestly—but as long as it was enough to satisfy her, she let it pass.
The man in glasses tried to cheat, tossing out worthless junk. Yun Luohe punished him viciously—Yúntūn spun him into an unbreakable spinning cocoon until he vomited bile.
Only after he surrendered more gear did she let him go.
“Scram. Don’t let me see you again.”
With her word, Yúntūn withdrew its web.
They fled like beaten dogs, disappearing into the forest.
Even then, Yun Luohe activated her [Scanning Eye], confirming none lingered nearby.
Only then did she let out a breath. The injuries from being flung earlier still hadn’t healed. Fighting them would’ve been easy—but if they’d fought to the death, it would have been costly.
She found another spot to rest, then began chopping trees.
The Lightning-Struck Wood Forest was filled with lightning-struck wood—some centuries old, their trunks so dense they yielded Thunder-Grained Steel when felled.
She wasn’t about to miss that.
But chopping was exhausting. Luckily, she had plenty of food prepared, so stamina wasn’t a worry—but she couldn’t just keep stuffing herself forever; her stomach was already bursting.
After half an hour, having eaten three meals’ worth and downed two drinks, she finally stopped.
Still, the haul was solid: over a hundred logs of lightning-struck wood and several pieces of Thunder-Grained Steel.
Resting briefly, she unfolded the Lightning-Struck Wood Forest Map she’d just obtained.
This one was far more detailed than the one she’d gotten from other players.
It even marked the location of the underground river.
She knew the underground river was where Thunder Catfish could be caught.
Guided by the map, she pushed deeper into the forest. Mist thickened as she advanced.
Half an hour later, she reached a mossy depression. Beneath the moss came the faint sound of flowing water, the air thick with damp iron.
“Found it.”
She dug aside the moss with her entrenching tool, revealing a narrow crack in the stone—just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
Below yawned an endless black abyss. When she leaned closer, she could faintly hear rushing water.
She dropped a stone inside. Only after a long delay came the distant plunk of it hitting the bottom.
It was deep. She’d need Yúntūn’s help to get down.
Yúntūn spun silk into a soft ladder. Yun Luohe descended first, Roubao tucked safely in her pet pouch to release later.
About twenty meters down, the space suddenly opened wide.
She raised her flashlight, casting light across the cavern.
At the bottom flowed a subterranean river, five meters across, its waters glowing with an eerie blue hue. The surface was unnervingly calm. The temperature here was even hotter than outside, sweltering enough to drench her in sweat.
She wondered if the water itself was heated.
She found her answer quickly—the current was hotter than a hot spring.
For Thunder Catfish to survive here, no wonder they weren’t ordinary fish.