LSG Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Entry

After a day of hard work, Su Han returned home, casually making some food for dinner before scrolling through the “Survivalist Fanatics” forum. 

There’s a certain type of people who exist in this world: those living in peaceful times, not lacking food, clothing, or shelter. And yet, they maintain constant vigilance, never once letting their guard down.

Why? 

Because no matter what, the world is still a dangerously uncertain place, full of constantly changing elements. And because no one really knows what will come first.

Tomorrow…or the end?

This is the case for the regulars of the “Survivalist Fanatics” forum, their sharp survival senses being provoked by any feeling of danger or distress…

“I’ve already stocked up on a year’s worth of food and drinking water.”

“I already prepared my emergency escape bag. Once anything happens, I’m ready to go. It’s just that the bag contains too many things and is kind of heavy. Thankfully, I bought a car and can store it there. Otherwise, it’s really too heavy to bring it everywhere with me.”

“My medical kit is already set. I’ve also ordered army knives, gas masks, military boots, and bulletproof vests as well. There’s only one problem left. What brand of canned food should I buy? Hey guys, can you recommend a few to me? I need to stock up.”

And of course, there are those who may have overreacted in some cases… 

“Ten years ago, I frantically bought salt during the nuclear leak accident and bought too much. To this day, I haven’t finished using it up…I’m bawling my eyes out in the bathroom right now.”

“Pfft.” Su Han couldn’t help but chuckle out loud, clicking on the post to read more. After viewing the post carefully, she found that every line of the OP’s post was filled with a sense of heartache and regret.

“Back then, I bought this salt for a high price, 10 yuan a packet. Nowadays, no one wants it even if I’m giving it away for free!!!”

“After eating it for 10 years, there’s still a lot left…sigh…I don’t know when I can finish using it…tired.jpg”

After going through the post, Su Han had a thoughtful look on her face, “There is really no need to stock up on too much seasoning.”

From the experiences of others, one can always continuously improve their own risk prevention plan. And once an actual crisis occurs, they’re ready to respond.

After reading through the posts, Su Han decided to take a break and go offline. At this exact moment, a new post, pinned at the top of the forum, caught her attention. The number of replies to the OP seemed to be rapidly increasing. 

Su Han was startled for a moment, thinking she misread it. She quickly looked again for a closer look. 

Of course, the title failed to change, clearly stating “Attention! The World’s First Online VR Survival Game is About To Be Launched…Developers from the Jinjiang Corporation have decided to hold the 1st ‘Infinite Survival Competition’ as in-game promotion, welcoming everyone interested to sign up!”

The world’s 1st online VR survival game! As a major survivalist enthusiast, Su Han immediately clicked on the post for more sign-up information. 

A month later…

Time seemed to have flown by as the registration for the 1st “Infinite Survival Competition” was already over, and the actual game was set to start on October 1st.

Since Interstellar Year 3000, the first 10 days of October have always been declared a public holiday, giving all citizens a reprieve from work or school. Hence, most of the registered game participants had no prior scheduling conflicts. 

During the early morning hours of October 1st, Su Han had already eagerly laid down in her game cabin and was calmly waiting for the competition to start.

Exactly at 8 o’clock in the morning, all the contestants were automatically logged into the game. 

With a flash of piercing light, Su Han’s vision seemed to blur for a second before she found herself standing in an unknown area, surrounded by white fog. 

A second later, a robotic voice announced, “Welcome to the ‘Infinite Survival Game’. Players may choose 1 of the following 3 occupations.”

Taking a closer look, Su Han looked through the 3 occupation options: 

Miner, Skill: (Elementary) During the competition, there is a daily 30% chance of receiving 1 gold and a 5% chance of receiving 1 rare gem.”

Nutritionist, Skill: (Elementary) During the competition, there is a daily 30% chance of receiving a basic food package (1 bottle of milk + 1 piece of rye bread) and a 5% chance of receiving a luxury food package (3 bottles of milk + 1 buttered meat floss bun + 1 slice of chocolate cake.

Physician, Skill: (Elementary) During the competition, there is a daily 30% chance of receiving 1 common medicine and a 5% chance of receiving 1 rare medicine.

“Note: aforementioned events may occur on the same day.”

After a little bit of consideration, Su Han understood. Being a physician meant access to medicine, the miner linked to currency & wealth, and a nutritionist with means to a basic supply of food and water.

All 3 occupations could be considered good, but just with advantages in different fields.

During extremely challenging times, medical supplies are often in short supply and considered much more valuable than gold. In relatively peaceful times, owning gold and money meant having purchasing power and being able to stock up on all necessary goods. However, on a deserted island, gold would be next to useless while food and water are the most vital. 

A difficult choice indeed…

After thinking for another minute, Su Han finally made a decision, “I choose ‘Nutritionist’”. No matter the environment nor situation, food, and water are always necessary to survive. She could always trade to get other resources.  

The robotic voice announced, “Occupation selected, please wait, the system is processing.”

After a few more seconds, a transparent panel appeared in front of Su Han, containing the following information:

Name: Su Han (Identity authenticated)

Level: 1

Occupation: Nutritionist (Skill: Elementary)

Satiety: 100/100

Cleanliness: 100/100

Physical Stamina: 100/100

 

At the bottom was an attribute introduction:

Satiety Status: 

0-25% (Red): starving

25-50% (Yellow): hungry

50-75% (Light Green): not very hungry

75-100% (Bright Green): very full

(Note: consume food to increase satiety)

Cleanliness Status: 

0-25% (Red): extremely unsanitary & filthy

25-50% (Yellow): dirty & grimy

50-75% (Light Green): relatively clean

75-100% (Bright Green): immaculately clean

(Note: use daily necessities to improve cleanliness.)

Physical Stamina: 

Once Satiety, Cleanliness < 50, Physical Stamina decreases (the lower the Satiety and Cleanliness levels are, the faster the rate of decrease). Once Physical Stamina reaches 0, the character dies and the player is eliminated with no chance of resurrection. 

Once a player incurs an injury or a “negative state”, their Physical Stamina will decrease 

(Note: negative effects can be eliminated using appropriate items or medicines)

Achieving Satiety & Cleanliness Levels around 75-100%, entering a state of sleep, or undergoing medical treatment will recover Physical Stamina levels. 

Rewards

For every 30 days survived within a competition round: Level +1, Satiety Upper Limit +100, Cleanliness Upper Limit +100, Physical Upper Limit +100, Skill Level +1 Upgrade.

 

“The game isn’t holding back at all…it’s going to be competitive.” Su Han murmured. As mentioned, the lower the Satiety & Cleanliness, the faster Physical Stamina will decrease. In order to maintain a healthy level of Physical Stamina, it is important to find as much food and daily necessities to stay in the “green” zone. 

Immediately, Su Han made “hoarding supplies” her top priority.

After reading through all the information, Su Han closed the transparent data panel. 

Promptly, the system announced, “The player has obtained 100 points gifted by the system and can now purchase game materials in the virtual mall.”

“Note 1: Players are not allowed to purchase from the mall once each competition round has begun.”

“Note 2: Game materials are available in limited amounts on a first-come, first-served basis. After a certain good is sold out, it will be labeled “Unavailable”. Once re-stocked, the goods will be available to be purchased again (Game materials will be replenished after each round of competition.)

Su Han, “! ! !”

Even the Virtual Mall could sell out of goods? Then, wouldn’t players still choosing their careers and analyzing the attributes be out of luck then?

She quickly opened the Virtual Mall to snatch up some items.

Once the Virtual Mall appeared, the variety of goods available was quite shocking: from food to clothing as well as weapons like knives and daggers. Most kinds of general appliances and utensils were also present.

Considering Su Han only had 100 points at the moment, she felt that it simply wasn’t enough to spend!

However, after seeing the continuous decrease in the mall’s inventory, Su Han sighed and rapidly set upon her targets, swiftly spending away the entire 100 points.

The items she purchased were:

Virtual Portable Warehouse: worth 50 points, containing 10 boxes inside (each box can hold up to 100 pieces of the same item).

Great-Value Gift Bundle: worth 40 points, containing 10 bars of soap, 10 bottles of mineral water, 10 buttered meat floss buns & 5 medical bandages

Soap: worth 2 points, Cleanliness +25 after use

Mineral water: worth 2 points, each bottle contains 250 mL, Satiety +10 after use

Buttered meat floss bun: worth 2 points, Satiety +25 after use

Medical bandage: worth 4 points, Physical stamina +10 after use, negates “Bleeding” condition.

In other words, the overall value of all the items was around 80 points but was sold for 40 points as a value bundle. Very cost-effective indeed! Hence, Su Han had no regret in choosing it.

The remaining 10 points were exchanged for in-game currency, a total of 1,000 shells. (In-game currency is referred to as “shells”).

On the surface, it seemed like it would be quite easy to use the money to buy food, water, and medical supplies. So, using points to exchange for shells might not be worthwhile. But…who can guarantee that the game will occur during times of peace? And who can guarantee that these items will be available to be bought?

On further reflection, even if the goods are available, who knows what kind of currency a “shell” is? What kind of purchasing power would 1,000 shells have? If a regular bottle of water cost 1,000 shells, it would hardly be worth it. 

Hence, Su Han only chose the above 3 three items after thorough consideration. Although she definitely wasn’t 100% prepared and was missing quite a few pieces of specialized equipment, Su Han felt relatively confident considering that she had everything necessary for most general survival situations. 

After spending all 100 points, Su Han observed the remaining inventory of virtual portable warehouses quickly drop from 722/1000 to around 400/1000. Su Han’s chest felt tight, her anxiety rising with the awareness that a large number of players were furiously scrambling for goods in the mall.

Thankfully, she had already finished shopping. 

“Preparation is completed, will you enter the game now?”, the system asked. 

Without hesitating, Su Han firmly chose “Yes.”

With another flash of bright light, Su Han officially entered the game.

The system quickly gave a brief introduction: “This round’s survival game occurs under the conditions of uncontrolled hyper-inflation, please do your best to survive.”

“Note 1: After 10 days of survival, the player will have reached clearance conditions and can request the system to leave the game at any time.”

“Note 2: Once physical stamina reaches 0, the character dies and the player is eliminated from the game.”

“Note 3: The more days that the player survives, the greater the rewards for completing the round.”

“Note 4: If the player completes the extreme challenge: survive 20 days, they will receive additional rewards. After the full 20 days, the surviving players in the game will be automatically logged out.”

“Note 5: Town A5 (player’s current server) has 100,000 players and 400,000 NPCs in total.”

“Note 6: Today at 9:00 A.M., the hyperinflation process will officially begin. (Generally, hyperinflation is defined as more than a 50% rise in good prices per month. Considering the time limit, in-game data will be adjusted accordingly).”

Su Han was startled for a moment. Hyperinflation begins at 9 o’clock?

From entering the game at 8:00 A.M this morning to choosing an occupation, reading over the game rules, and purchasing items, it has taken only about 5 minutes. At this exact moment, the time is now 8:06 A.M.

Immediately, she felt an inexplicable sense of urgency as if in a race against time. Even a single second couldn’t be wasted!