Volume One, Chapter Nine: Beginner’s Quest Three—Survive the Night!

Li Chuan was not the tall, burly, or physically imposing type. Since he had no desire to become a warrior, his current options were limited to either an assassin or an archer.

He had originally favored the assassin path because he possessed a wolf-tooth dagger, but the appearance of that highly skilled young woman had left him feeling conflicted.

Close-quarters combat professions relied entirely on physical reflexes and practical combat experience. As a mere office worker, how could he possibly compete against someone with actual training? It would be humiliating to finally close the distance only to discover he couldn't actually win the fight.

As for being an archer...

Although Li Chuan had never practiced archery, it was essentially just a matter of accuracy. He could certainly train for that, and even if he couldn't hit his target, at least he wouldn't be putting himself in such immediate danger.

The problem, however, was that he didn't currently possess a bow or any archery-related weapons.

【Game Announcement: The remaining time for Novice Quest 2 has reached zero. All players who failed to complete the quest will be eliminated!】

【Elimination complete!】

【Issuing Novice Quest 3: Survive the Night!】

【The nights in the Land of Disorder are extremely difficult to endure. Do not trust any sounds; wait quietly for the dawn. Players, please exercise extreme caution!】

【Quest Reward: Copper Coins *50, EXP *50, Low-level HP Recovery Potion *5, Low-level MP Recovery Potion *5, Temporary Photosynthesis Cabin (Purple) *1.】

【Quest Penalty: None】

【Time Remaining: 9 hours and 59 minutes】

Li Chuan stared at the light screen before him, his heart filled with growing unease.

Surviving the night was an actual quest!

Judging by the description, it was not going to be easy.

【Ding! The player you are following, "High Places Are Cold," has posted in the regional channel.】

"That saintly do-gooder must be sharing something again. I'd better take a look."

Land of Disorder Regional Chat Channel.
Active Players in Current Region: 579/1000

"This is just brutal. If people keep dying like this, there won't even be half of us left."

Liu Haizhu: "@Along, you son of a b****, go to hell! You piece of trash, remember this: don't let me run into you again. If I do, I will kill you!"

Along: "I'll be waiting for you, grandpa. You can only blame your own stupidity, heh."

Liu Haizhu: "You..."

High Places Are Cold: "@Along, what you did was truly excessive. To break your word like that—who will ever help you again?"

Along: "What’s it to you? This hellhole is so dangerous; if I don't secure more resources, how am I supposed to survive? Does anyone want to die? Do any of you want to die?"

...

It was a debate between morality and survival.

Li Chuan quickly scrolled up, piecing together the full story from the pair's argument. It was simple: Liu Haizhu had helped Along hold off a giant hound so that Along could open a treasure chest, but Along had violated their agreement and claimed all the items for himself.

That was certainly immoral, perhaps even extremely devious.

But immoral or not, in a place where everything seemed out to eat you, perhaps only such ruthlessly selfish and dishonest people could survive longer.

"Sigh."

Li Chuan felt a pang of sadness for having such a thought.

While watching the two players bicker on the screen, Li Chuan used his dagger to whittle a large skewer, then pulled out a piece of wolf meat.

He cut the meat into appropriately sized chunks, threaded them onto the skewer, and held it over the fire like he was fishing.

Bread was fine when you were starving, but when you weren't, it was so dry it made one lose their appetite.

He took a large gulp of water, and then Li Chuan’s eyes suddenly widened.

Supreme Fungus: "Do not enter the gray mist! Everyone, please do not enter the gray mist! The gray mist holds something terrifying!"

High Places Are Cold: "What kind of danger? Where is the gray mist? Please be more specific."

Zhouzhou Bu Zhouzhou: "Yeah, what gray mist? This forest is dead silent; don't scare me like this."

An unnatural, chilly breeze swept past, making the hair on Li Chuan's arms stand up.

He was also waiting for a response from Supreme Fungus.

However, as the seconds ticked by, Supreme Fungus didn't say another word.

Li Chuan couldn't resist sending a message to the channel.

Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass (Cold-Blooded): "If you're going to say half a story, you might as well stay silent! Can't you just say it all at once? This is incredibly frustrating, you know?"

Wait, "Cold-Blooded" became a suffix to my name?

Zhouzhou Bu Zhouzhou: "Whoa, @Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass, why is there a 'Cold-Blooded' suffix after your nickname?"

Moonlight and Clear Breeze: "This person's nickname is different from ours. Could he be an NPC?"

High Places Are Cold: "Heh, what NPC? He's just a butcher who killed his own kind. The Player Manual states that players who kill other players receive the 'Cold-Blooded' title."

Zhouzhou Bu Zhouzhou: "Wow, you're so thorough. Did you actually read the whole tens of thousands of words in the Player Manual?"

Willow Waist: "Sigh, the game wants us dead, the beasts want us dead, and now even our own people, who share our plight, want us dead."

A hypocrite?

Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass (Cold-Blooded): "Hey, hey, hey, do you have to be so sanctimonious? If someone tries to kill me, am I not allowed to fight back? Is self-defense in this place considered mutual assault?"

High Places Are Cold: "You could have subdued him, or broken an arm to teach him a lesson. Did you really have to kill him?"

Willow Waist: "Exactly, you..."

It was just speechless. Every one of them was standing on their moral high ground.

Damn saints!

Li Chuan fumed for a moment, then stopped his pointless rebuttal.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The fatty wolf meat began to drip oil, which hissed as it hit the flames.

Finally, someone in the chat channel stopped judging Li Chuan.

White Bear: "I have prepared seasonings like salt, peppercorns, and chili powder. Is anyone interested in buying?"

Moonlight and Clear Breeze: "Sigh, look at what time it is. Who doesn't save their copper coins to buy bread and water from the system store? Seasonings? That's too extravagant."

Along: "Yeah, yeah, even though I really want to buy some."

White Bear: "Ah? Does that mean I wasted my time making them? Wuwuwu, didn't the manual say that sub-professions could bring in income?"

White Bear: "I worked with others to open a chest, and they gave me this sub-profession transfer scroll. I'm so hungry."

Li Chuan silently looked at the charred, fragrant wolf meat skewer, then back at the pathetic little girl selling seasonings in the channel.

This hero! I've decided to be this hero!

Private Message Interface.

Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass (Cold-Blooded): "How many copper coins for the salt?"

White Bear: "One jar of salt, ten, ten copper coins."

Ten copper coins could buy a loaf of bread or five liters of purified water in the system channel.

Li Chuan checked his current total of copper coins.

One hundred and forty.

Because he had a cheat for opening chests, his reserves of bread and water were far higher than everyone else's.

Ten copper coins per jar of salt was something he could afford.

Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass (Cold-Blooded): "That's too expensive, can you make it cheaper?"

White Bear: "Oh, um, okay then. I can give you two jars for ten copper coins, is that okay?"

The girl was quite easy to talk to; she clearly didn't know how to conduct business.

Only Picking Flowers, Not Touching Grass (Cold-Blooded): "Deal."

【White Bear has initiated a trade: Salt Jar *2 — 10 Copper Coins】

Accepted!

Li Chuan pulled back his golden-brown meat skewer and opened one of the salt jars.

"What the hell! This is a jar of salt?"

"Another damn lying woman!"