Volume One Chapter One What Are You Doing Here?

Damp, fresh, with a breeze passing by.

This was Li Chuan’s first sensation upon regaining consciousness, before he even opened his eyes.

“Where am I?”

Li Chuan slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself surrounded by trees and grassy fields.

“What the—no way! Where the hell have I been sent?”

He instinctively reached for his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

It all came rushing back to him!

In his memory, he had just clocked out at the office when he received a package from his ex-girlfriend, Zhou Anna. Inside was a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

He’d put them on, just to try, and instantly lost consciousness.

Now, he had awoken in this unfamiliar forest.

[The God of Insight’s Probability Glasses cannot be removed, discarded, or sold.]

A mechanical voice, utterly devoid of emotion, resounded in his ears.

“Who’s talking!”

No matter how he tried, Li Chuan couldn’t take off the glasses. He shouted in panic.

His heart raced, and he even began to suspect he’d been trafficked to some lawless region.

[Ding. Apocalypse Survival Game successfully initialized. Current player location: ‘Plant Spirit Realm—Aman Forest—The Land of Chaos’.]

[Player Notice: This world is extremely dangerous. The only thing you can do is survive—by any means necessary.]

[Ding. You have received a starter pack*1. Note: The ‘Companion Seed’ in your starter pack is crucial for your survival here. Do not discard it! Do not discard it!!]

[Apocalypse Survival Game running normally. Attribute panel unlocked. Inventory function unlocked. Map function unlocked…]

[Newbie Quest #1: Plant the Companion Seed!]

[Find a suitable place for the Companion Seed to grow and plant it. It will be your lifeline in this world!]

[Quest Reward: Copper Coins*10, Experience*10, Player’s Manual*1, Area Chat Channel Unlocked.]

[Quest Penalty: Erasure!]

[Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes]

Good news! This wasn’t some lawless human trafficking zone.

Bad news—it was even worse! At least in those places, you stood a chance at survival. Here, one wrong move and you’re erased!

Li Chuan looked up at the sky, where two orange-red suns hung ominously, and despair washed over him.

“This definitely isn’t Blue Star anymore!”

“That wretched woman! That venomous shrew!”

From the moment he realized the glasses couldn’t be removed, Li Chuan knew that whatever game world he’d landed in, Zhou Anna was probably behind it.

All this just over a breakup? Did she hate him enough to want him dead?

A beast’s distant roar echoed from the depths of the forest.

Li Chuan’s face went pale with fright. He hurried under the shadow of a large tree.

“Not good, there are wild beasts in this forest!”

“Wait—the starter pack, the starter pack…”

“Uh, system, open inventory.”

A semi-transparent screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Grey Backpack]

[Available space remaining: 9/10]

Li Chuan tried swiping across the screen.

The next instant, a brown treasure chest dropped onto the ground with a thud before him.

[Open Newbie Chest?]

Li Chuan had no choice but to select yes.

In this strange and dangerous forest, survival would be nearly impossible for him without any skills.

He was no survival expert, after all.

“Give me something strong, something that defies science—turn me into a superhero, I’d be more than okay with that.”

[Newbie Chest opened.]

[Acquired: Newbie Cloth Outfit (Set) *1, Newbie Wooden Sword *1, Companion Seed *1]

…And this is supposed to be a starter pack?

The chest vanished, leaving a few items on the ground in its place.

Li Chuan picked up the plain-looking grey cloth outfit.

[Newbie Cloth Outfit (Set): Grey]

[Hand-sewn by Aunt Wang next door—stain-resistant and durable.]

[Set Attribute: Armor +100]

[Review: If you’re not wearing armor, I suggest you put this on.]

“Oh? So just a touch reveals the item’s attributes.”

[Newbie Wooden Sword: Grey]

[Strength +1]

[Review: Better than a random tree branch, right?]

[Companion Seed: ???]

[Bound item. Cannot be discarded, dropped, or sold. (Note: Losing this means you cannot survive in this world.)]

[Plant it somewhere; it will grow into your crucial aid for survival!]

[The Companion Seed has a chance to evolve into a Divine-level Spirit Plant. Luck decides all.]

[Review: True fairness is the strictest unfairness.]

So, aside from this wooden sword, the spirit plant grown from this seed would be his only support?

What was this—Digimon? Pokémon?

One thing was odd: the seed’s description said it couldn’t be discarded, dropped, or sold, so how could it ever be lost? Yet the system specifically warned that losing it meant certain death in this world.

Isn’t that a contradiction?

“Forget it, now’s not the time to nitpick. I’d better plant the seed as soon as possible.”

Li Chuan took off his suit jacket, slung it over his shoulder, changed into the cloth outfit, grabbed the wooden sword, clutched the seed, and started making his way deeper into the forest.

He kept the suit jacket, figuring in a place this barren it could double as a makeshift bag.

“What the—!”

He had barely walked a hundred meters when a massive lizard beast appeared in his line of sight.

The creature was at least five meters long, its head half the size of a human, monstrously fierce. It lay sleeping beneath a large tree, and beside its hulking body, a gleaming silver treasure chest sparkled in the sunlight.

Li Chuan clamped a hand over his mouth, legs trembling, and backed away to a spot outside the lizard’s line of sight.

A treasure chest? A lizard beast?

“Are you kidding me? That thing is huge! I’d better pick a different direction. I can’t count on it being a vegetarian.”

Most likely, the monsters in this forest were guarding the treasure chests.

…

Ten minutes later, Li Chuan stopped next to a large pile of fresh dung.

In theory, flowers belong in cow manure, don’t they?

It stank, but his survival depended on it.

Steeling himself, he set down the wooden sword, found a sturdy branch, and began furiously mixing the dung with the soil.

No need to dirty the sword—he’d still need it later.

“God, that stinks!”

Li Chuan poked a hole in the fragrant soil and gently tossed the seed in.

[47%]

A white number suddenly popped up above the seed in his vision as it landed in the nutrient-rich earth.

“Huh? Forty-seven percent?”

“What’s that about? Is that…the probability of growing a powerful spirit plant?”

But the system description said the probability was random. Why could he see an exact percentage?

Li Chuan froze, then slowly reached up to touch his black-rimmed glasses.

Could it be…this non-removable, non-discardable pair’s special ability?

Swish!

His finger triggered the glasses’ attribute panel.

[God of Insight’s Probability Glasses: ???]

[All things in the world follow patterns; every cause has its trace. From now on, you have eyes that see the truth.]

[Other functions sealed…]

[Review: Review? Who, it?]