Ji Xinghe's face flushed red. Breathing rapidly, she stared wide-eyed at the computer in front of her.
The bottom-right corner read: May 1, 2030, 5:55 p.m.
Unable to believe it, she pulled out her phone and checked again. It still said the same thing.
She sprang to her feet, ignoring the strange looks from her coworkers, and looked outside. The streets were bustling with traffic and people, and the vibrant scene filled her with longing.
A moment later, the confusion in Ji Xinghe's eyes gave way to determination. She sat back down at her desk, pulled out her phone, and frantically ordered food delivery.
She didn't explain her behavior. No one but her knew that three hours later, the world would undergo a tremendous change.
Even if she told them, they might not believe her. Worse, once they entered the Survival Game, it could put her in an even more difficult position.
After all, human nature was the most frightening thing of all.
There were only a few minutes left until the end of the workday, but today she wouldn't be walking out of the company's front doors.
In her previous life, she'd been hit by a heavy truck while taking a taxi after work. She'd hit her head and... become paralyzed in both legs.
So this time, she simply wasn't leaving!
Ji Xinghe took a piece of bread from her drawer, tore it open, and gulped it down.
"Cough, cough, cough..." The food caught in her throat. She clamped her mouth shut, picked up the thermos on her desk, unscrewed it, and took a big gulp of warm water before swallowing again.
Throughout all of this, her eyes never left her phone screen.
Two minutes left!
The mobile version of the Survival Game would forcibly appear on the phones of everyone around the world.
It was called Island at the Start.
Just as the name suggested, the game began with nothing but a small, two-by-two-meter square island, isolated in the middle of a vast ocean.
There was nothing around but the endless sea. After entering the game, the system would automatically give players a Fishing Rod, a Food Pack, a Newbie Set, and ten Space Grid slots.
According to people who had played the game, during the mobile version, the Fishing Rod didn't have just ten casts a day like it did in the actual Survival Game. Instead, players could cast an unlimited number of times...
On top of that, players could spend money in the game, though the maximum top-up was one hundred thousand.
At the thought, Ji Xinghe opened Green Bubble. Seeing the six-digit balance, she breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she'd saved a little during her four years at university. She could afford to spend a hundred thousand.
To be safe, she also downloaded several loan apps and filled in all the required information. If she could spend more, Ji Xinghe definitely would.
Fully prepared, she stared at her phone screen. Her fingers tapped absently as she silently counted down.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1...!
Six o'clock sharp!
A square blue app appeared out of thin air on Ji Xinghe's phone. In the middle of the app was a glossy black Fishing Rod, and underneath it, the name was written in Chinese characters:
Island at the Start
She immediately tapped to enter the game. The opening animation showed a deserted island, with a little figure sitting by the beach and casting a Fishing Rod.
Ten seconds later, the game began in earnest.
[Player 001, welcome to Island at the Start! Tutu has prepared a generous gift for you. Tap to claim it.]
She tapped to claim the gift pack.
[Congratulations, Player! You received Fishing Rod ×1, Small Food Gift Pack ×1, Newbie Set ×1, Space Grid ×10. Items have been placed in your backpack.]
Apart from the Shop, Backpack, and Fishing options, all the other features on the screen were grayed out.
Ji Xinghe opened the Backpack at the bottom of the screen and tapped to take out the Fishing Rod.
[ Fishing Rod (Level 1): Can catch treasure chests, though you might catch a small animal instead~ (Current treasure chest probabilities: Raw Wood Treasure Chest, 99%; Black Iron Treasure Chest, 0.9%; Bronze Treasure Chest, 0.09%...) Uses available: ∞ (Time remaining: 02:59:59) Special item. Cannot be destroyed or traded. Can be upgraded. Upgrade materials: 5 Fishing Line, 5 Wood, 10 Wow Coins. ]
She closed the Fishing Rod's details, guided the little figure to the shore, and cast the line.
This thing wasn't as simple as dropping the rod in and immediately catching something. It depended on luck, too.
According to players who'd tried the game before, even at the worst, you could still catch something every five minutes.
That was much better than the actual Survival Game. In her previous life, even her fastest catch had taken four or five minutes.
The longest time, she'd waited almost an hour and still come up empty-handed...
Next, she opened the top-up page in the Shop and spent one hundred thousand to get one hundred thousand Wow Coins, reaching the top-up limit.
There were only three items in the Shop.
One: Talent Gem (Random)
Discount: 0.1× Price Quantity: 1 Cost: 88,888 Wow Coins
Two: Unknown Sapling
Discount: 0.001× Price Quantity: 1 Cost: 1 Wow Coin
Three: Intermediate Pet Egg
Discount: 50% off Quantity: 1 Cost: 30,000 Wow Coins
Wow Coins remaining: 100,000
Without a second thought, Ji Xinghe exchanged her coins for the first two items.
She'd had a pet egg in her previous life, and they weren't hard to get. Besides, food and water were precious resources in the early stages of the Survival Game, and pets... tended to eat a lot...
In every respect, exchanging for the talent and the Unknown Sapling was the best choice.
Besides, when else would she get a deal like this?
After entering the Survival Game, players could keep the items they'd obtained in the mobile game, including their talents.
In her previous life, one player had constantly bragged in the chat hall about the talent and Wow Coins he'd obtained. Of course, before long, his avatar went dark. She couldn't make the same mistake.
She was just about to open her Backpack when a red notification appeared beside the Fishing option. Ji Xinghe hurriedly tapped to reel in.
The little figure in the game strained to pull on the rod. A moment later, a Wooden Treasure Chest half again as large as the figure appeared on the beach.
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