Chapter 2: Can Opening a Treasure Chest Also Trigger a Critical Hit?

What kind of game is this, where even players possess innate talents?

According to Xiao Qichen, in the survival game, everyone’s starting attributes are closely tied to their physical condition in reality. Only by staying alive in the game can one earn free attribute points and increase their strength.

But what exactly are these so-called talents?

Perhaps he didn’t have time to explain. After all, she herself had only learned of the survival game yesterday.

Ning Jun silently called out “system” in her mind, and soon a transparent screen appeared before her eyes.

It resembled the panel of a Blue Star game, with her 3D avatar in the center.

On the far left, there were two sections: [Attributes] and [Inventory].

She opened [Attributes], revealing her stats:

[Player: Ning Jun]
[Race: Blue Star Human]
[Health: 100/100]
[Mental Value: 100/100]
[Intelligence: 8]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 5]

Health was the player’s blood, the so-called red bar.

Mental Value related to the player’s psychological state—if one was overworked, fatigued, or depressed, it would steadily decline.

Intelligence, strength, and agility were straightforward enough.

But this talent only displayed its name, without any description.

Ning Jun poked at the talent icon with her finger, but nothing happened.

Was she supposed to figure it out on her own?

Unfortunately, since this was the beta test, she couldn’t message Xiao Qichen privately; otherwise, she could have asked him directly.

She then opened her inventory, which had twenty slots. At present, only a single beginner’s gift pack lay alone in the first slot.

This gift pack would only appear near the player’s straw hut on the first day. If one was unlucky and didn’t find it, it would vanish forever.

She opened the pack and found three items:

[Stone Axe (1)]
[Toast Bread (3)]
[500ml Bottled Water (1)]

If you want to prosper, start by chopping trees—even in such a dangerous survival game, this rule holds true.

Wood is a crucial material for upgrading the straw hut.

During the beta, upgrading the hut to level one required only forty pieces of wood and twenty stones.

When the game officially launches, the required materials will double!

Ning Jun was fortunate to participate in the beta, so she needed to seize the opportunity and quickly upgrade her hut.

If a player was unlucky and there was no accessible wood near their spawn point, they’d have to trade with others.

Yet during the beta, trading between players was impossible.

The chat channel was their only means of communication.

Luckily, she was blessed with good fortune.

Ning Jun breathed a sigh of relief; at least her spawn point was surrounded by trees, with no shortage of wood.

She took the stone axe from her inventory. It was pitch-black, its material unknown, ground from some kind of stone.

The axe had a slanted, wedge-like shape, broad at the back and sharp at the front—looking sturdy enough to use as a weapon.

It fit perfectly in her hand, suggesting that it matched her strength automatically.

She tried chopping a small tree before her, and a value immediately floated up:

[Pine]
[Health: 80/100]

So handy!

Ning Jun’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t expected that just five chops would fell the small tree.

Seizing the early hours, she hacked away four more times. The tree vanished, leaving wood scattered on the ground.

The chat channel promptly flashed a string of yellow text:

[Ding! Congratulations, you have triggered your talent: 100% Critical Strike!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 2 pieces of wood]

Two pieces of wood?

Ning Jun had played other games before, where critical strike usually meant extra damage or combat effects.

But her talent seemed entirely different.

Could it be that every time she chopped a tree, she earned double drops?

With this in mind, she sought out another tree—a larger one, about as thick as her waist.

Its health was twice that of the previous small tree.

Ning Jun didn’t hold back, swinging the axe without hesitation. The impact left her hand slightly numb.

In real life, chopping like this would take her a while.

But in the game, everything was governed by numbers.

After about ten swings, the tree finally toppled.

Again, she saw a similar notification:

[Ding! Congratulations, you have triggered your talent: 100% Critical Strike!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 4 pieces of wood and 2 apples]

Wonderful! Ning Jun nearly jumped for joy.

Opening chests for double materials—she was on her way to riches!

This meant her plan to upgrade the hut could soon be realized.

Now, her inventory contained six pieces of wood and two apples.

If she worked diligently over the next few days, she’d quickly gather enough wood.

Perhaps she could even upgrade the house to level two!

That would not only expand the space, but make it sturdier.

She hadn’t forgotten the system’s message: players couldn’t cross the fog zone for the first three days.

But what about after those three days? Would the dense fog around the house disappear?

The thought made upgrading her home all the more urgent.

At the very least, she needed to quickly finish the upgrade within three days.

Yet Ning Jun didn’t continue chopping trees. Instead, she held the axe, looked up at the sun to determine her direction, and set off further afield.

In the survival game, treasure chests were crucial; they provided vital supplies for survival.

She didn’t expect to find all the chests, but she needed to survey the area and familiarize herself with the terrain.

This was a dense forest, most of the trees soaring high, their ages unknown. Ning Jun even spotted an especially thick tree—so large that four or five grown men, hand in hand, would barely encircle it.

On impulse, she scratched the trunk with her axe and saw its health: [100000/100000]

She laughed—completely hopeless.

Looking up, she noticed some small creatures on the branches, likely birds that had made their homes there.

Unfortunately, the trunk was too tall; otherwise, she’d try climbing up.

She’d always been lively and energetic since childhood—chasing chickens, herding dogs, climbing trees, catching fish—her childhood was full of such adventures.

Climbing trees was an essential skill.

Suddenly, sunlight slipped through the gaps in the leaves, shining on Ning Jun’s upturned face. She instinctively closed her eyes and sidestepped.

She heard a “thud”—as if she had kicked something.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked down to find a wooden box.

Half-buried in the earth and half-hidden in the bushes, it looked utterly unremarkable.

Had she not kicked it by chance, she might have missed it entirely.

“Such luck,” Ning Jun murmured, reaching swiftly for the treasure chest. Four words appeared above it: [Ordinary Treasure Chest]

There was no lock; she opened it directly.

Just as she glanced inside, the system notification popped up again:

[Ding! Congratulations, you have triggered your talent: 100% Critical Strike!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 2 pairs of sneakers and 2 bottles of 250ml water]

Even this could trigger a critical hit?