Mission Underway

Gourd Valley, Outer Valley.

The three newbie players each carried a stone axe as they searched for suitable trees.

"Say, can this axe really chop down a tree?"

Wanhuatong still had doubts about the stone axe in his hand.

"Why are you overthinking it? Don't forget, it's just a game!" I Shoot You Innocent waved his stone axe. "Maybe if we chop the axe into the tree, it'll snap on its own, just like in other sandbox games."

"I refuse to believe they made the game so realistic that we actually have to chop down a tree one axe swing at a time!"

As they spoke, the three arrived at a patch of woods in the Outer Valley.

The trees in the woods were not particularly thick. Once chopped down and processed, they would be perfect for making fences.

"Watch me!"

I Shoot You Innocent swung his stone axe and chopped it into the trunk.

The tree did not fall over as he had imagined. The rebound force left the web of his hand slightly numb.

Looking at the trunk again, there was only a chop mark about three centimeters long and less than half a centimeter deep.

I Shoot You Innocent widened his eyes and swung twice more.

"Damn, don't tell me we really have to chop through the trunk one swing at a time? It's just a game. Does it have to be this realistic?"

I Shoot You Innocent stared at the marks on the trunk and spoke in disbelief.

"The official website already said it's a virtual game with one hundred percent realism. Of course it won't be like a sandbox game, where you wave an axe around a couple of times and the trunk breaks."

Wind Flower Snow Moon wore a smile, as if this was exactly what he had expected, and stepped forward to inspect the marks on the tree trunk.

"Seriously, look at this bark, and the sap seeping out after the axe cut into it. The details in this game are insanely good, aren't they? I chopped trees with my family's axe when I was little, and it looked exactly like this!"

Wind Flower Snow Moon exclaimed in amazement.

"It really is realistic. Every leaf and every blade of grass looks real." Wanhuatong sighed as well. "This technology is incredible. How come I've never heard of such an amazing game company before?"

"Why worry about that? The more realistic the game is, the more fun we'll have!"

"Let's keep chopping!"

The three swung their axes and began their great logging endeavor.

If this had been the real world, there was no way they would be willing to chop trees. Forget these crude, low-quality stone axes—even if they had been given refined steel axes, they would still have refused.

Wouldn't it be better to spend that time scrolling through short videos?

But in the game world, they worked with exceptional enthusiasm.

This was a quest, and it came with experience rewards!

Lin Feng led two newbie players out of the valley.

The three each held a stone spear, carried a crude wooden bow on their backs, and had several poor-quality wooden arrows tucked into their waists.

"Stay close to me!"

Lin Feng gripped his spear tightly, crouched low, and moved forward carefully.

His eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

Most of the beasts on the grassland outside the valley were small or medium-sized, making it relatively safe.

Of course, there was still the possibility that large carnivorous beasts might come here to hunt for food.

If they encountered a large beast, with the combat strength of the three of them, they could only flee immediately.

If they spotted it early enough, they would still have some chance of escaping.

The two players followed behind him, curiously looking around and chatting in low voices.

"This game is way too player-friendly. It's our first time coming out to fight monsters, and there's even an NPC leading us. Does this count as beginner guidance?"

"Probably. I wonder what the monster AI in this game is like, and whether there are settings like health bars."

"Probably not. We players only have four basic attributes, with no health points or mana points. I'm guessing the developers won't add things like health bars if they want the game to feel more realistic. Whether it's players or monsters, hit a vital point and they die on the spot!"

"That really does make it more realistic. When I saw the pop-up ad, I thought the game company was making false claims. Who knew it would really be this realistic?"

"Once I log off, I'm definitely going to rave about this game in the group chat and get all my buddies to play!"

"Exactly. I need to recommend it to my friends too! The game has only just started closed beta, so the slots should be limited. If we're too late, we might not get one."

Walking ahead of them, Lin Feng felt deeply gratified as he listened to their conversation.

As expected of the players I personally selected. They were already thinking about helping promote the game. Not bad!

"Shh!"

Lin Feng suddenly turned around and gestured for the two to be quiet.

Da Qing and After Three Rounds of Drinks stopped talking.

Something was happening?

"Over there. Follow me!"

Lin Feng led the two forward in a crouch, using the weeds for cover as they reached the back of a huge boulder.

On the other side of the boulder, a Wild Deer was leisurely grazing on the grass.

"Looks like we're in luck today."

A faint smile appeared on Lin Feng's face.

Wild Deer were among a hunter's favorite prey.

Among the many kinds of prey in the wilderness, Wild Deer were considered medium-to-large animals. Among prey of that size, they were among the least threatening and easiest to hunt.

An adult Wild Deer weighed around two hundred jin. Excluding the hide and bones, it could provide about one hundred jin of venison.

Once made into jerky and eaten with some gathered wild fruit, it would be enough to feed them for at least ten days!

"Chief, what's the plan? Shoot it with arrows?"

Da Qing took the bow from his back, eager to give it a try.

"Arrows can't seriously injure it. If it starts running, we won't be able to catch up."

Lin Feng shook his head.

The bows and arrows in the tribe's stockpile were of poor quality.

They could barely handle small prey. Against a Wild Deer, it would be impressive if they could even pierce its hide.

"I'll try throwing a spear first. It should seriously injure it. If it can still run after getting hurt, chase after it immediately."

After saying that, Lin Feng stood up and exposed half his body from behind the boulder.

After reaching level 4, his Agility had already reached 13 points. He was no slower than a Wild Deer.

If he had to give chase, he could catch up.

But chasing a frantically fleeing Wild Deer through the wilderness was obviously not a wise move. One careless mistake could attract even stronger beasts.

The best choice was to cripple it in one strike and rob it of its ability to flee.

He gripped the stone spear in his right hand, raised it above his head, and shifted his center of gravity backward to gather strength.

Every muscle in his body tensed. His entire body became a fully drawn powerful bow.

The stone spear was like a massive arrow as he hurled it forward.

The sound of it tearing through the air rang out. The Wild Deer, which had been grazing, alertly raised its head, only to be pierced through the body by the stone spear the next second!

The Wild Deer let out a mournful cry and collapsed into a pool of blood.

Nice!

Lin Feng could not help clenching his fist in celebration of the beautiful strike.

Five points of Strength was the physical standard for an ordinary adult male of the Human Race.

After reaching level 4, his Strength had already reached an astonishing 13 points—more than twice that of an ordinary person!

On top of that, during the years he had survived in Savage World, he had often gone hunting with the tribe's hunters and developed superb spear-throwing skills.

The perfect combination of skill and strength was what had allowed him to seriously wound the Wild Deer in a single blow!

"Chief, nice!"

"Beautifully done!"

The two players applauded Lin Feng.

Hunting did not seem all that difficult after all.

"Carry this deer back. We're returning to the tribe."

Lin Feng said.

"Back to the tribe? We're not continuing the hunt?"

The two players were somewhat surprised.

They had only watched from the sidelines as the NPC chief killed the Wild Deer in one blow. They had been looking forward to personally experiencing the thrill of hunting.

They were leaving already?

That was nowhere near satisfying enough!

"One Wild Deer is already enough of a haul for today. If we keep hunting and run into a powerful beast, we might even lose this deer."

Lin Feng said.

One must never be greedy.

Especially in Savage World.

"Fine."

Although the two players were somewhat unwilling, they still decided to follow the chief's arrangements.

The chief had the authority to grant titles. Defying his orders was clearly not a wise decision.

Besides, as long as they could log into the game, freely hunting was only a matter of time, wasn't it?

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