I Won, But I'm Not Happy

Scrolling down, several pages in the middle had been torn out by the owner. Ji Xinghe looked to the next page.

"Why? Why did you betray the continent, betray your own kind?"

"Do you know the Green Tribe is cursing you? Come back, and I'll curse them back for you."

"Come back, okay? I won't bother you anymore..."

She turned further.

"An old friend turned into a mortal enemy. Ling, are you happy? I won't hold back. There are still millions of my kind behind me."

"If you apologize, I can choose to forgive you."

"Why? Why do you have to let me win? I hate you."

"The war is over. I won, but I'm not happy. Ling, I can't see you again."

"It's been so long since I last wrote in this diary. I can barely remember how long it's been in Survival World years. Today I discovered that the monthly reduction in island area isn't a natural phenomenon—it's the Dark Creatures dragging and eroding the islands!"

Below that was a line of scrawled handwriting, blurred by tears.

"I think I'm dying. Ling, is it you?"

"No, it's the Black Mist... I saw its eyes, glowing red in the darkness."

"If anyone finds this diary, remember: don't trust anyone, not even your family or friends. They might be influenced."

"At the same time, stay united! Only through unity can there be a sliver of hope for survival in this Survival Game... This world is more terrifying than you can imagine."

At the end of the diary, a photo was pasted in—two green-skinned, pointy-eared women. The taller one looked at the woman clinging to her with doting eyes.

A line was written beneath it: "If I die, please, any survivor who sees this, deliver my belongings to her."

After finishing the diary, Ji Xinghe felt a pang of emotion.

Between the lines, it was clear the two had a very close bond.

One was betrayed yet still chose to forgive, even leaving her final possessions to her.

The other betrayed her own kind but still let her win, even on the battlefield.

If not for the Survival Game, they'd probably still be like in the photo—one teasing, one laughing.

From those few short entries, Ji Xinghe also pieced together several pieces of information she hadn't known before.

1: Upgrading the island to level ten unlocks an Island Core selection.

2: The reduction in island area and the movement of Dark Creatures are not natural phenomena.

3: Dark Creatures are very strong. The one she encountered on the island earlier must have been killed by luck.

4: The diary mentioned staying united, but also not trusting anyone easily—likely referring to the Black Mist's influence, which could affect or even replace souls.

Jotting these points down in the diary, Ji Xinghe put it back into the Storage Box.

Then she opened her own panel. After a day of fighting monsters, both her Experience Points and attributes had increased significantly.

Level: 1 (469/200) (Upgrade Available) Health: 189/190 Wealth: 1058 Wow Coins Reputation: 19 Aberration Value: 8% Base Attributes: Physique: 19 | Spirit: 52/60.8 | Strength: 25.1 | Agility: 13.6 Free Attribute Points: 10

She clicked to upgrade.

[Level Up. Obtained Free Attribute Points ×3]

Ji Xinghe added 10 points to Agility, and 1 point each to Physique, Spirit, and Strength.

She'd realized that being fast had plenty of advantages—at least when it came to staying alive.

As for the Aberration Value bar, now that she was back in a normal environment, it was slowly decreasing.

Level: 2 (269/300) (Cannot Upgrade)

She closed her personal panel.

Ji Xinghe pulled the trash can over beside her.

It had been ready to upgrade ever since she explored the island, but with limited backpack space, she hadn't claimed the materials yet.

"Recyclable Trash Can (Level 1)" "Trait: Devours trash. Prosperity +5. Devour 1kg of trash to randomly obtain one resource." "Upgrade Method: Devour 100kg of trash, 100 Wow Coins."

"Current trash devoured: 9999kg"

Ji Xinghe tried exchanging 1kg for resources and got Wood ×1.

She didn't try again and clicked to upgrade the trash can.

[Deducted 100 Wow Coins. Upgrading Recyclable Trash Can.]

[Upgrade complete.]

"Recyclable Trash Can (Level 2)"

"Traits: Devours trash. Prosperity +10. Upon devouring 1kg of trash, randomly obtain one resource (rare resource probability increased by 5%)."

"Upgrade condition: Devour 1000kg of trash, 1000 Wow Coins."

"Current trash devoured: 9998kg"

This time, the limit wasn't weight—it was Wow Coins. She only had just over a thousand.

Ji Xinghe directly exchanged 9998kg of trash and obtained: Wood ×5000, Stone ×3000, Thatch ×1000, Plastic ×500, Rice (1 jin) ×498.

Ha, there was even rice. What a godly trash can—she loved it.

Aside from wood, she put one stack of 999 each of the remaining stone, thatch, and plastic on the trading market for Wow Coins.

Same as before—a pleasant surprise if sold, no loss if not.

The leftover basic materials and rice went into the Storage Box. Ji Xinghe also placed the Wood Arrow Blueprint into the crafting station.

Consumed two thousand wood, set to craft ten thousand wood arrows.

For now, Ji Xinghe's main attack method was still the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow.

After all, using it for two hours only cost two steamed buns.

She lifted her gaze to the treadmill in the living room, then looked out the window at the evening sun casting shadows across the sand.

Xiao Sha had casually rooted itself in one spot, while Xiao Xi climbed onto Xiao Sha, vines fluttering—no telling what the two pets were chatting about.

It looked peaceful enough, but Ji Xinghe knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Whether from the diary she'd just read or from past experience, everything told her this Survival World was no easy ride.