Survival Game

When the sky turned into chaos, everyone was stunned by the apocalyptic scene.

A white light flashed, piercing the firmament, and everyone on Earth mysteriously vanished. Only empty buildings and traces of their former existence remained, appearing desolate and eerie...

When Li Xunsheng finally came to his senses, the eighteen-year-old youth found himself and many of his compatriots from Earth transported to this strange and wondrous land.

"Cough, cough, there are quite a lot of outsiders arriving today..."

A hoarse, ancient voice sounded, drawing Li Xunsheng's attention.

On the plaza where hundreds, even thousands, lay sprawled on the ground, an old man with a white beard sat on a rock, shaking his head. He took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a stream of white mist.

"Elder, where is this..."

Seemingly among the first to wake up, Li Xunsheng's question was cut short as a powerful voice boomed across the plaza.

[All individuals have been successfully teleported. Welcome to the game 'Sky Silence'.]

"A game?"

A large number of Earthlings slowly got to their feet. Some youths murmured, still bewildered by their current predicament.

"What kind of game is this? It's so realistic?"

"Is VR technology this advanced now? But what forced us into the game?"

"Hiss... It hurts. This isn't a dream. Sob sob, if it's a VR game, can't we turn off the pain?"

"I want to customize my character! Where's the character creation system?!"

As the people in the plaza awoke, a cacophony of noisy chatter erupted.

[Silence!]

A majestic wave of sound washed over them, and everyone who had been speaking found themselves silenced, like roosters whose necks had been gripped.

[The 'Sky Silence' game has undergone extensive testing, with all functions complete. For you, it is no different from the real world.]

[However, in this world, everything is real. Hunger, infection, cold, and heat can all take your lives.]

[And for those chosen, there is no chance of returning.]

[The first expansion pack: Famine, has begun.]

[Your goal is to survive and find a place to shelter.]

The grand voice finally faded. Apart from the old man calmly smoking his pipe, everyone was shocked by the terrifying news.

"Wait, I can't go back?!"

"Isn't this a game? Can't we log out?"

"We can starve and die? Shouldn't games have respawns?!"

Those with lower tolerance began to scream in terror, but among the nearly thousand people, there were also those who acted calmly.

The old man on the rock was immediately surrounded, as if people were seeking a so-called 'hidden quest'. Li Xunsheng, who had also considered joining the throng, saw the crowd was too dense and shook his head in resignation before turning to leave.

Shaking off the strange, solitary memories... Xunsheng felt as if his memory was malfunctioning...

After a few steps, the youth spotted a carriage on the main road.

"Hello, excuse me, where is this carriage going?"

As the first person to leave the plaza, Li Xunsheng quickly asked the carriage driver before anyone else arrived.

"Hmm? Heh, the carriage is heading to Lone Star City. One silver coin for the fare. It departs in twenty-four hours."

The cloth-clad driver, chewing on a stalk of wheat, raised an eyebrow and looked at the swarm of outsiders with a playful tone.

"Adventurers, you all want to go to the main city, right? This small village probably can't accommodate all of you..."

"So, go and strive! Whoever gets one silver coin first will be able to leave this 'village' first."

"The carriage is the only means of departure, and there's only one each week. If you miss it, you'll have to wait seven days."

"Well then, good luck everyone."

Having said what he needed to, the driver pulled down his straw hat and seemed to fall into a deep sleep, no longer uttering a word regardless of the people's chatter.

"One silver coin?"

Frowning, Li Xunsheng quickly moved away from the crowd and arrived at the center of the village.

[Does the adventurer require a quest manual?]

'Yes!'

[The current continent is -- Chenxing Continent. Currency exchange rate is -- Gold:Silver:Copper is 1:100:10000]

'One hundred to one?'

[Yes, the player is currently in Novice Village No. 1111. Please explore the game content on your own.]

'Mm...'

Closing the game assistant's prompt, Xunsheng opened the game panel's built-in chat system and looked at the chat window.

"What the heck... aren't there rabbits in the wild? They respawn pretty fast, what are they calling this 'famine' for... Isn't it easy to get food?"

"Holy crap, where did you find a rabbit, big shot? Are they easy to catch?"

"Newbie needs help, whimper."

"The rabbits are just outside the village square, they're dumb as hell, even come up to attack you. You get EXP for killing them too, just not enough to go around if too many people are there."

"Got it, I'll be right at the rabbit's doorstep!"

"Coming right up..."

"..."

A flood of replies instantly spammed the screen, causing Li Xunsheng's brow to furrow even deeper.

One message quickly scrolled by, but it caught the young man's eye.

"Holy crap, guys, don't wander too far outside, the wild boars out there are freaking strong!"

"It's fine, as long as we don't go too far, we can level up safely. It's just a regular realistic online game."

The constant stream of messages in the chat channel caused the large group that had been following Li Xunsheng to shrink considerably. It seemed players were all eager to bully some rabbits and didn't care what else was in the village for the moment.

However, quite a few players still rushed into the village, clearly intending to pick up some quests first.

As Li Xunsheng and the other players surged into the village, the first thing that caught his eye was a small tavern.

The crowd behind him swarmed forward, quickly surrounding the boss who was cooking, leaving no room to move.

As everyone knows, taverns are the best place for information. Asking the boss for quests is always the right move!

Driven by this logic, a large number of players flooded into the tavern. The remaining players, split into smaller groups, headed towards the blacksmith's shop or the residences of other villagers, displaying the typical 'adventurer' demeanor.

"Two portions of roasted potatoes... Hey, are you even going to serve customers?!"

The tavern owner was completely surrounded, which annoyed the customers who had come to eat and drink. He banged on the counter and shouted.

A spark of inspiration flashed through Li Xunsheng. He immediately squeezed through the crowd and arrived at the stove.

"Two portions of roasted potatoes, right? Please wait a moment!"

Waiting for quests, quests, what a joke!

Just get to work!

"That's right, and a pot of wine. Hmm, excellent."

Taking the items Li Xunsheng handed over, the customer nodded with satisfaction and returned to his table to drink.

"I'll have a plate of stir-fried peanuts and a pot of wine."

"A small plate of appetizers and a pot of wine."

"A portion of braised food and a pot of wine."

"Alright, coming right up!"

Suddenly, the number of customers in the shop increased, keeping Li Xunsheng incredibly busy.

The tavern owner, who had seen everything, let out a sly smile, leaned back in his chair, and waved his hand as if shooing away flies, signaling the surrounding players to disperse.

"Alright, alright, my quests are already being handled by someone. I have nothing else for you outsiders. Hurry up and leave, don't disturb my business."

The grizzled uncle raised his wine pot, happily swinging his legs, and ignored the players demanding quests in his shop.

"Ah... Damn it, they beat us to it."

"Tch, it's just manual labor? That's only worth a few copper coins. I don't even want a quest like that."

"Let's go, let's go find better quests."

With no follow-up, the players could only leave dejectedly.

Only after the last player, except for Li Xunsheng, had left, did the weathered uncle lying in the grand chair murmur softly.

"There are... too many outsiders this time..."

"Whatever, it's none of my business."

Glancing at the young man busy cooking and pouring wine, the man curled his lips.

"The reckless kid's cooking skills are pretty good, at least he won't ruin the reputation... Let him be busy."

"But it's rare to be this idle... hehe."