Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

“Looks like he was struck by lightning, his condition’s pretty bad.”
“I’ll give him a Lightning Serum injection first.” Yun Luohe pulled a syringe from her pack and without hesitation drove the needle into the man’s neck.
The moment the serum went in, his body reacted—his limbs twitched slightly.
Still salvageable.
Right after, Yun Luohe took out Coolant, carefully spreading it across his burned skin. The instant it touched him, a faint white mist rose up.
Mu Zitang helped fan and cool him down, pulling several ice packs from his backpack and tucking them under the man’s armpits and against his neck.
Finally, the man’s state looked much better—at least the color of his skin was returning to normal.
Since she had already stepped in to save him, Yun Luohe decided to see it through. She took out a bottle of chilled drinking water and fed it to him bit by bit.
She planned to leave once he had taken some water and stabilized—she still had tasks to do and couldn’t waste too much time caring for a stranger.
“Let’s resupply here for a bit. We’ll move out in a few minutes.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the lashes of the man lying on the ground trembled. Slowly, his eyes opened.
His gaze was unfocused at first, only after a while did it settle on Yun Luohe’s face.
“Tha… thank you…”
His voice was so hoarse it was barely audible. His lips were cracked and bleeding.
Yun Luohe said, “Good, you’re awake. Which District are you from? Head back once you’re able.”
It was better to be at a reef than to be out here.
But the man looked at her blankly, lips moving in confusion. “What District? Go back where?”
Yun Luohe froze.
Didn’t understand?
Was he not a player?
Or did the lightning fry his brain—leave him with amnesia?
“Do you remember where you came from? Why are you here?”
“My name is Liu Xiaoluo. I’m headed for the Eye of the Desert to find the secret realm.”
Yun Luohe: “!!”
Well now—search high and low, and he appears right in front of her.
The quest target.
Her pulse quickened. She asked quickly, “You’re Liu Xiaoluo? Then Liu Mazi is your older brother, right?”
“You… you know my brother?”
“Yes. I’m friends with him.”
Sure enough, her relationship with Liu Mazi was counted as “friends.”
Yun Luohe smiled and pulled the token from her pack.
“This is what your brother asked me to give you.”
The bronze pendant Liu Mazi entrusted to her had been tucked away in her backpack all this time.
At the sight of the token, Liu Xiaoluo’s eyes changed. “If my brother gave you this, he must trust you completely.”
Yun Luohe nodded. “Yes.”
She quickly pressed the pendant into his hand.
“Since I’ve found you, it should be returned to its rightful owner.”
[Quest Completed: Token of the Desert Traveler]
Quest Reward: Desert Teleportation Array Blueprint ×1
Unbelievable!
So that was the reward?!
The corners of Yun Luohe’s lips lifted in delight.
But now wasn’t the time to study the blueprint.
She watched the pendant glow faintly in Liu Xiaoluo’s hand and asked, curious, “This must be important, right? Does it have some special function?”
Liu Xiaoluo already saw Yun Luohe as one of his own—his lifesaver, his brother’s friend. Naturally, he spoke freely.
“This is the key to opening the Desert Secret Realm. With this, I can enter.”
“The Desert Secret Realm—what exactly is that?”
Yun Luohe only knew of the Desert Ruins. Could the two be connected?
The desert had been closed off for days earlier, supposedly due to an explosion at the Desert Ruins.
“A secret realm is a secret realm. You only know once you’re inside.” Liu Xiaoluo’s tone was deliberately mysterious.
Since that was the case, Yun Luohe definitely had to go with him.
There might be some great opportunity there. She had a hunch it could be worth points too.
“Do you know how to get there? Can you take me with you?”
“There’s no map. Once I’m near, I can sense it. Then, using the pendant, I can open the entrance.”
After saying this, Liu Xiaoluo glanced at Mu Zitang. “But the secret realm can’t be widely known. I can only bring you. You saved me, and you’re my brother’s friend.”
Got it.

Without Yun Luohe having to speak, Mu Zitang understood at once.
“Yun, I still need to head to the oasis. You go. I’ll move on first—it’s getting late.”
Though the so-called secret realm interested him too, he wasn’t stupid. If the guy said he wouldn’t bring him, there was no point pestering. Better to do something productive—score points and push their team higher in the rankings.
——
After Mu Zitang left, Yun Luohe handed Liu Xiaoluo a cooling drink and a bottle of Coolant.
Liu Xiaoluo shook his head. “I can’t accept this. You saved me, I haven’t repaid you yet—how could I take your things for nothing?”
Yun Luohe said, “It’s fine. We’re friends. It’s hot—just take it, otherwise—”
Liu Xiaoluo hesitated, then pulled a few items from his backpack. “Then let me trade you for them.”
Yun Luohe’s eyes lit up.
[Star Sand ×1 bag, Bronze Gear ×5]
Ha!
She was secretly thrilled. She knew NPCs never let her suffer a loss.
Today was full of surprises.
——
The two walked on in the desert, with no clear direction. Liu Xiaoluo himself didn’t know exactly where to go, just searching aimlessly, relying on instinct and faint sensation.
Still, Yun Luohe had confidence. Following Liu Xiaoluo would lead somewhere.
So even though the blazing heat had her near dehydration, she never suggested stopping. Instead, she quietly used Coolant to lower her own temperature.
Normally, long hours like this in the desert would be unbearable. Yun Luohe was only holding on thanks to the coolant.
Her available time in the desert was dwindling. She thought grimly—if they didn’t find it today, would Liu Xiaoluo still be here tomorrow when she returned? If not, how would she track him down again?
Just then, Liu Xiaoluo suddenly crouched down.
He brushed his fingers across the sand, then abruptly pulled out tools and started digging. “It’s here!” he said, excitement thick in his voice.
Yun Luohe immediately crouched to dig with him.
Even through gloves, the burning sand scorched her hands, but it was still bearable.
Soon, their digging revealed a metallic surface gleaming faintly.
“Found it.”
Liu Xiaoluo’s throat bobbed, holding his breath.
“This is the entrance door to the secret realm!”
“Here?”
Yun Luohe stared at the metal plate, incredulous.
Then Liu Xiaoluo poured a bag of Star Sand across the plate.
The sand resonated, the grains boiling up with a sizzling sound as the ground trembled.
The desert floor seemed ready to collapse.
Yun Luohe felt the entire stretch vibrating beneath her.
“This is the summoning of the secret realm!”
Liu Xiaoluo drew ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) out the bronze pendant, raising it to the sunlight.
The pendant shimmered under the sun, glowing with eerie blue flames. The amber within it melted away—revealing a tiny key, etched with intricate patterns.
When he placed the key on the metal plate, everything changed at once.
Golden runes appeared in midair. They writhed and expanded, growing larger and larger.
The ground twisted into a massive whirlpool.
Sand poured downward as if into a bottomless pit.
The desert wind howled violently.
“Back!” Liu Xiaoluo shouted, flinging the key into the whirlpool’s center before seizing Yun Luohe’s hand and dragging her away.
In an instant, the world inverted.
Yun Luohe felt a crushing suction, her body spinning as though caught inside a blender.
Sand wrapped her completely, cutting her skin like knives. She clenched her brows, endured the agony, her consciousness starting to fade.
She didn’t know how long it lasted before finally opening her eyes again.
[Welcome to the Desert Secret Realm.]
[Reward: Crystal ×100, Star Sand ×100, Bronze Gear ×100]
So much?!
Yun Luohe hadn’t expected entry alone would grant such bounty.
Looking around, she realized Liu Xiaoluo was gone—either lost in the vortex or transported elsewhere.
But she couldn’t worry about him now. The secret realm was strewn with resources.
And she had only half an hour left before being forced out of the desert.
She had to hurry and gather supplies.
[Bronze Gear ×1]
[Blue Crystal Ore ×1]
[Mutant Sandworm Shell ×1]
[Crystal ×1]
……
Besides what lay on the surface, there were valuables underground too.
Yun Luohe activated [Scanning Eye], marked resource spots, and dug furiously.
Soon she realized—the sands here were rich with Star Sand. Practically inexhaustible.
And not just that—she dug up Crystals and Blue Crystal Ore as well.
It was a treasure trove of high-grade resources.
Already ecstatic, she was even more stunned when an hour passed and she wasn’t ejected.
What?
Checking her interface, she saw time here wasn’t frozen—it flowed slower.
The realm’s time was distorted!
She had checked the clock on entry. Outside, only two minutes had passed while she had spent an hour inside.
That meant she could stay for many more hours.
But she couldn’t communicate with the outside. Messages wouldn’t send, and the chat channel was invisible.
Meanwhile, outside, her squad chat was exploding. The whole District was in uproar, watching their points skyrocket.
“District 2’s team—what the hell did they do? They just gained five hundred points in minutes, jumped past second, nearly first, and it’s still climbing!”
“No way, did they uncover some treasure in the Desert Ruins?”
“Maybe they bombed an entire sandworm nest with advanced explosives?”
“Whatever it is, if this keeps up, first place is definitely theirs.”
“Damn it, I thought District 1 had this in the bag! Who knew—”
“What exactly did Yun Luohe’s team do? Someone from their squad, speak up!”
But her teammates couldn’t reach her either. They were just as desperate to know.
Inside, Yun Luohe never stopped. She ate acceleration and stamina foods, digging and looting nonstop.
Her personal backpack was full, so she opened her Crocodile Hide Pack and Sharkskin Pack, stuffing both.
A few hours would be enough to load them all.
This haul was beyond fortune.
She would need to plan carefully how to use it all.
Hundreds of pounds of Star Sand—if listed at the Trade Hub, the entire District 2 would go mad.
Hundreds of Crystals too.
She nearly felt insane with glee.
Most outrageous of all, she unearthed the Desert Teleportation Array Node Map.
If she could locate the node before the Desert Event ended tomorrow and gather the materials, she could build the teleportation array itself!
Opening the blueprint, she checked the requirements:
Star Sand ×50, Crystal ×50, Bronze Gear ×100, Blue Crystal Ore ×100, Ancient Civilization Stone Tablet ×1, Desert Shards ×500.
Close. Only the Desert Shards were lacking.
Earlier she had squandered them redeeming oasis coordinates, thinking they were useless. Now she needed to stockpile them again. But for now she had no way to reach outside—no Trade Hub, no contact.
Tomorrow, then.
She stowed the blueprint and continued digging deeper into the secret realm.
The landscape grew stranger. The sands no longer yellow, but glowing blue or red.
Each color yielded different resources when mined.
The blue and red zones offered especially rare finds.
——
Her teammates outside were frantic.
Mu Zitang spammed the squad chat, still unanswered.
“What’s going on with Yun? Nothing bad happened, right?”
“You’re scaring yourself. Luohe will be fine.”
“But these points are way too weird. If she’s fine, why isn’t she answering?”
“When I split from her, she was with an NPC. Did something happen to them?”
“If the points are still climbing, she’s fine.”
“But where the hell did she go? What’s your situation?”
“We killed a ton of sandworms, only got shells and Desert Shards.”
“Desert Shards probably aren’t worth much, but keep them just in case.”
Inside the realm, Yun Luohe had been digging eight hours straight.
Her packs were bulging, nearly bursting, yet she never paused to rest. Rest could wait later—every minute here was priceless loot she refused to waste.
She would grind until the end.
Suddenly, [Scanning Eye] revealed a massive golden object.
No doubt—that was treasure.
Her heart leapt as she dug faster.
At last, she unearthed it.
A golden chest.
[Golden Treasure Chest: Requires High-Grade Key to open.]