First Arrival

Afternoon.

Deep within a towering, dense forest.

Soft sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of leaves, sometimes converging into golden shafts of light, sometimes breaking into mottled patches that fell gently across the moss-covered earth.

It truly was a beautiful sight. If it were posted on one of those recently popular social media apps, it would surely draw a swarm of trend-chasers.

Unfortunately, the person witnessing this scene firsthand found it only blinding.

So tired, so thirsty, so hungry... Xian muttered silently to himself. Looking ahead at the endless sea of densely packed trees with no path in sight, a trace of despair rose in his heart.

"Damn it, where the hell is this? Southeast Asia? The Amazon?"

Xian slammed his fist into the tree beside him. The burning pain across the back of his hand cleared his mind a little.

He had merely been an ordinary College Student on Blue Star. During winter break, he had decided to take a trip to Thailand with his friends before the New Year. Yet the moment he got off the plane, someone knocked him unconscious. By the time he woke up, he was already in this seemingly endless forest.

He had called for help. He had shouted himself hoarse. But after realizing no one would answer, he decided it was better to keep his mouth shut and conserve his strength.

"There's still no signal on my phone. Worse, it's about to die."

Xian pulled his phone from his pocket. Looking at the calls that still would not go through and the blood-red low-battery warning, he could only let out a heavy sigh.

He glanced at the sky, mostly obscured by the thick canopy overhead. Though slowly, the sunlight was clearly beginning to fade.

He had never learned anything about wilderness survival, but a few survival clips he had casually watched on video apps had taught him one thing—the forest at night was more than ten times as dangerous as it was during the day! Especially in such a perfectly preserved forest, where carnivores had to exist.

"I'll search a little farther. If I still can't find a path, I'll find somewhere safe, like a tree hollow, and make it through the night first."

Xian made his decision. Holding his breath, he pushed through the tangled grass while listening as carefully as he could to the sounds around him.

At the same time, he used fallen branches and stones from the soil to leave markers so he would not lose his way.

About half an hour later, he stopped.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

A sound drifted into his ears from the distance.

Though faint, he recognized it at once. It was the sound of flowing water.

"Found it!"

After carefully listening to confirm the direction of the water, Xian immediately quickened his pace and rushed toward it.

Before long, after parting a dense stretch of shrubs, the view before him suddenly opened up.

On a broad, grassy riverbank, a small stream roughly four or five meters wide wound past. Its water was so clear he could see the delicate patterns of fine sand and pebbles on the bottom, as well as the occasional small fish swimming through it, their bodies flashing silver.

Xian slowly approached the water's edge, crouched down, and lightly touched the cool stream with his hand. An indescribable joy spread from his fingertips throughout his body, and he could not hide his excitement.

Because he knew very well that where there was water, there was life.

As long as he followed this stream, he would surely find signs of human habitation and escape this forest.

Splash, splash.

Xian cupped up some stream water and gently washed his face. The icy water made his mind even clearer.

However, although he was somewhat thirsty, he had no intention of drinking from the stream yet. The water looked clear, but it still contained impurities such as bacteria and fish eggs.

Unless his thirst became severe enough to affect his movements, he did not plan to drink untreated water directly.

"I'll follow the stream a little farther. If I still don't see anyone or find a way out, I'll figure out how to start a fire and solve the drinking water problem first."

Xian pondered for a moment and was about to stand when he suddenly froze.

In the reflection in the stream, a line of strange writing hovered quietly above his head.

It was not any language he knew, yet the shared sense of pattern within the symbols told Xian that it was indeed writing.

At first, he thought he was hallucinating. But after rubbing his eyes several times and seeing that the writing still had not vanished, he had no choice but to accept reality.

"What does this text mean? And why is it above my head?"

Xian tried moving his body, but the writing in the stream moved along with his reflection. That meant the text was definitely connected to him.

Oddly enough, he could not see the writing above his head when he looked up, yet he could see it in his reflection.

What was more, when he focused his attention on the writing above his head, another line of similar text appeared beneath it!

At that sight, a trembling wave of fear spread through his mind.

Many people on Blue Star hoped to encounter supernatural events, but when something like that truly happened to them, most people's first reaction would undoubtedly be panic.

"Calm down. Calm down. The priority is still to follow the stream, find people, and start a fire to deal with the drinking water."

Xian took several deep breaths, and his emotions gradually settled.

It was a small technique an upperclassman had taught him when he competed in a university speech contest. Whenever his emotions became too intense, he only needed to take several deep breaths repeatedly, and he could quickly regain control.

After calming himself, Xian was about to get up and continue onward when an inexplicable feeling of being watched suddenly rose behind him.

Considering that anything could happen in this land that resembled a primeval forest, he immediately stood and turned around, staring fixedly at the dense shrubs behind him.

Perhaps realizing that its prey had noticed it, a massive wild wolf slowly emerged from the bushes amid a faint rustling.

Xian sucked in a sharp breath, his pupils contracting.

It was not as though he had never seen wolves in a zoo, but this wild wolf was far too large!

Its shoulder height was already over half a meter. Muscles faintly bulged beneath its deep gray-brown fur, displaying the unique, powerful beauty of a beast.

The wolf fixed him with its dark green eyes, baring a mouthful of fangs as it advanced toward Xian step by step, radiating menace.

"That size... it's almost as big as a North American Wolf." Xian's mouth twitched.

Though terror gripped his heart, he did not choose to run. Instead, he spread his arms wide, put on an equally ferocious expression, and glared viciously at the wolf.

He had watched a few episodes of animal documentaries. Two legs could never outrun four, and carnivores had an instinct to hunt creatures that showed them their backs.

In summary, running meant certain death. Spreading his arms and holding its gaze gave him at least a sliver of hope.

Sure enough, after Xian acted this way, the wolf stopped moving. It merely stared at him, seemingly assessing whether this prey was worth hunting and whether it had the strength to do so.

You'll definitely get hurt if you hunt me. Get lost already! Xian screamed inwardly. He had never been this tense before.

However, just when his eyes were about to dry out from glaring, the wolf suddenly let out a shrill howl!

Awooo—! Xian's expression changed drastically. He knew full well that the howl was not meant to intimidate him, but to call its companions!

Just as he had expected, only a few dozen seconds later, accompanied by the sound of shrubs being pushed aside, two more wild wolves of similarly imposing size emerged from the bushes.