SOLAK Chapter 6

The original body had bartered away a good deal of items—stone, wood, straw, and so on. Nothing special, really, just the basic resources that every resident could collect.

And she hadn’t traded for money, but for vital survival supplies.

Drinking water. White bread.

Proof enough that the girl had been doing her best to stay alive.

Now He Huan sat by the campfire, clutching the newly received bread and water. An unbearable hunger surged over her. Only then did she notice that in her character status both stamina and hunger bars were flashing red.

Her body trembled, her head spun, muscles twitched, and her vision blurred with black spots—classic signs of severe starvation.

Without a second thought she shoved the bread and water into her mouth.

As the food and drink slid down into her stomach, the negative symptoms of hunger began to ease.

She let out a long sigh and, inwardly addressing the body’s former owner, made a silent promise: All right then. Since I’ve inherited your body, I’ll live well on your behalf. Don’t worry.

Perhaps it was only psychological, but the moment she made that vow, the heaviness weighing down the body seemed to lift.

No longer did it feel like a rusted old machine—clunky, sluggish, unable to unleash even a fraction of her true strength.

For the first time, she felt her body and spirit move as one.

After wolfing down three loaves of bread and a 300ml bottle of water, her stamina and hunger levels recovered considerably.

He Huan was a self-confessed carnivore. Once her hunger value had crawled above the danger line, she unceremoniously brought out the leopard meat she’d hunted.

One piece weighed a full pound, far too big, and she had no dagger for slicing. A stone axe would have to do.

Her hand measured true. Even without a knife, she neatly split the pound of meat into five even chunks.

She set them all to roast over the flames. As the protein seared, a rich aroma filled the little cabin, instantly lifting her spirits.

But the meat would take time to cook.

So she turned to the storage chest. What exactly had the original girl—the one who had struggled so hard to survive—left behind?

The answer shocked her.

The twenty-slot chest was empty.

Frowning, she checked her backpack.

And then she laughed bitterly.

Of course.

The pack was full—four pouches, three access cards, piles of materials. But these weren’t the original owner’s. They were just the belongings of the four players she had looted, plus Yang Jianhua’s inheritance.

The only things truly hers were the leopard skin and eight pounds of meat, freshly hunted by her own hands.

Even the bread and water traded for with the original owner’s resources were already in her belly.

In short, what the girl had left her was a whole lot of nothing. A mess.

Fine. Start from scratch then.

She opened the four pouches. The cramped little cabin instantly filled with assorted goods.

Most of it was wood and stone—the two most common resources at this stage. Then came straw and moss for insulation. A bit of food and drinking water.

Among them she also found some rare treasures: a windproof lighter and a canister of fuel, an old blanket, three stone axes, three stone picks, an iron axe, an iron pick, five low-grade healing potions, and five antidotes.

No weaponry, though—that had been what she hoped for most.

After sorting the four pouches, she pulled out Yang Jianhua’s inheritance.

Again, mostly wood, stone, and straw. Boring, basic materials. The only unusual items were two pieces of “dark soil.”

[Dark Soil: Excellent quality (Blue). Rich and fertile land. Reduces seed growth time by 10%–25% and increases yield by 20%. Can only be placed in shelters upgraded to Level 3 or above.]

He Huan raised her eyebrows. Now this was interesting.

Trust a Huaxia soul—no matter the world, the instinct to farm never fades.

And clearly these weren’t ordinary items.

She hadn’t yet figured out the item ranking system here, but she could already tell: the stone axe was coarse (gray), the iron axe ordinary (white). And this soil was blue—several grades higher.

The problem was, to use it required a Level 3 wooden house. Not to mention seeds, water, fertilizer, sunlight.

With her current situation, such ambitions were unrealistic.

After one second’s consideration, she dropped the idea of rushing an upgrade.

Not that she wouldn’t upgrade at all—but until she knew more about this world, spending resources blindly would be foolish.

Her stash looked impressive, but it was finite. Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

Besides, maybe wood, stone, and straw were useful for more than just shelter upgrades.

The best way to find out was through her wristband.

A blue screen projected into the air, casting an eerie glow over the rustic little hut.

The interface had three sections: regional chat, trading platform, and something like a forum.

Regional chat was simple—anyone in the area could speak, though each resident was limited to ten messages per day, a safeguard against spam.

She had four left. The original owner had already used five earlier, though He Huan had no idea what she’d said.

The trading platform allowed residents to list items for barter. Money wasn’t in circulation, so all trades were barter-only.

The listings were varied but fell into two groups: basic resources like wood, stone, food, and water; and special goods like clothes, pillows, pots.

He Huan skipped through quickly and opened the forum. That was where the real knowledge lay.

From posts there, she pieced together much about this world:

– Basic resources were gathered directly. Wood from felling trees. Stone from mining rock. Ore from caves. Animal skins from hunts. Moss as a random drop when cutting trees.
– Special items came only from treasure chests. These included living supplies, weapons, seeds, land, and blueprints. Food and drinking water also originated from chests.
– Chest rarity ranked: wooden, bronze, black iron, silver, gold, diamond.
– Item quality ranked: coarse (gray), ordinary (white), fine (green), excellent (blue), rare (purple), epic (orange).

In theory, anything might come out of a chest. In practice—no one knew. More exploration was needed.

Beyond resources, she also gleaned vital survival facts.

First: survival points. Each dawn, the system granted every living person 10 points. Nobody knew their use yet, but everyone treasured them instinctively.

Second: regions. All of Blue Star’s people had been transported here, split into countless large zones, each subdivided into smaller areas of 10,000 adults. Children under 14 and elders over 60 were automatically assigned to guardians.

After a seven-day novice period would come a “great freezing challenge.” What followed that, no one knew.

Third: shelters. Upgrading them increased space and could even grant courtyards. But resources were precious. Upgrade unwisely, and you’d be doomed.

Because in this world, fire and light were everything.

When night fell, a shelter without light would be swallowed instantly by the darkness.

And lastly: survival itself.

Everyone agreed—the key during the seven-day novice period was to hoard as much as possible: food, resources, warmth.

But ideals were fat, reality was bone-thin.

From chats and trades, it was clear: food barely sufficed, water wasn’t scarce, but warmth was woefully lacking. Moss was common, but animal pelts were rare.

The road ahead stretched long and cold.

He Huan scrolled through the forum from top to bottom. Three days in, there wasn’t that much yet. Most posts were just survival basics, hardly different from a survival game—except here, death was permanent.

Not useless knowledge, but nothing that screamed breakthrough either.

Still, she was certain: by now, some people had already gotten good items. They were simply keeping quiet.

Everyone knew: fortune favored the silent.

Closing the forum, then glancing over the trading platform and chat again, she felt the weight of reality. This world wasn’t like the novels or movies—it was harsher.

At that moment, a new system alert appeared before her eyes:

[Your campfire has 44 minutes of fuel left. Please add more wood promptly to avoid falling into lightless darkness.]