There was a light.
Wang Yu was startled. He immediately realized there was another player up ahead.
He'd encountered another player.
After Wang Yu stopped, the other player seemed to notice him too and stopped.
What should he do now?
Wang Yu thought of the Dark Forest Law. They'd met in the darkness, and neither of them could predict what the other was thinking...
Finally, Wang Yu gritted his teeth and decided to go meet the other player.
They were on the same creek, only a little over an hour apart. They were bound to run into each other sooner or later, so he might as well make contact early and find out what the other player was like.
Wang Yu still felt confident. If the other player had bad intentions, he'd fire three shots from his Crossbow to take away the man's ability to fight, then finish him off with his Entrenching Tool.
With his plan set, Wang Yu cautiously started forward.
Just then, he saw the other player walking toward him too.
The fact that the man hadn't avoided him made Wang Yu even more wary. It meant the other player had something to rely on as well.
The two lights gradually drew closer.
Wang Yu got a clear look at the man approaching. He was over six feet tall and built like a Strong Man—not someone to take lightly.
Wang Yu's heart sank. Meeting a player like this in a Survival Game was no good thing.
The Strong Man grinned when he saw Wang Yu. "Kid, are you a player from upstream?"
"Yes," Wang Yu replied.
Just then, the Strong Man spotted the Crossbow in Wang Yu's hand. "Holy shit, a Crossbow."
It seemed the Strong Man knew his weapons.
"Bro, I just remembered I left the water I was boiling on the fire. I have to go back."
As he spoke, the Strong Man took a few steps backward, putting some distance between himself and Wang Yu. They were now over ten meters apart.
Seeing the Strong Man about to run, Wang Yu called out, "Wait."
The Strong Man jumped in fright. "Bro, what is it?"
"Are you a player from downstream?"
"Yes, bro."
"From now on, you can have the river downstream, and I'll take upstream. How about we stay out of each other's territory?"
The Strong Man immediately replied, "Don't worry, bro. I won't come upstream again."
"Good."
"Well, bro, if there's nothing else, I'll get going."
"Good luck beating the game."
With that, the Strong Man took off running.
Watching the Strong Man's retreating figure, Wang Yu slowly lowered the Crossbow in his hand.
There was a Strong Man player downstream, so Wang Yu decided not to continue that way.
That was enough for today. He planned to return to his shelter.
Wang Yu followed the creek upstream. The trip back was quick; after walking for a little over an hour, he arrived at his shelter.
He'd left at a little after nine that morning and returned to his shelter at a little after two in the afternoon.
He'd used up more than 50 milliliters of pine oil and collected quite a lot: over three pounds of berries, 157 Water Snails, and 12 White Melons. He'd also gathered plenty of firewood. It had been a productive outing.
He'd also encountered another player downstream.
Back at the shelter, Wang Yu lit a fire in the fireplace and started cooking. He decided to have Rabbit Meat for lunch; he had one last portion left.
By the time he finished lunch, it was already a little after three in the afternoon.
He could use the Dice in Right Hand to increase the quantity of his items again.
Wang Yu left the shelter. After meeting the Strong Man player today, he no longer felt the area around his shelter was as safe as before.
There were a hundred thousand players scattered across this wilderness. He'd probably encounter many more in the future, so he needed to prepare in advance to deal with them.
Whenever players met, they were bound to fight to the death. There was less food to be found in the wilderness with every portion taken. If they couldn't find food later, things between players would become even more dangerous.
He had to prepare for trouble before it arose.
Wang Yu's first thought was to protect his shelter. As long as he secured it and stocked up on enough food, he'd have no problem surviving in this wilderness.
How could he keep his shelter safe? Wang Yu had thought through many plans on the way back.
He realized that in the vast darkness, it was actually very difficult to find his shelter. If he hid it a little, other players would never discover where it was.
Now that he had a plan, Wang Yu decided to put it into action.
How could he hide his shelter?
Wang Yu thought he should first erase the traces of his activity nearby. If other players passed by and didn't see any signs that someone had been around, they wouldn't know there was a hidden shelter here.
He needed to remove the traces he'd left over the past few days. The most noticeable signs were where he'd made fires, followed by the stumps of the seven Big Trees he'd cut down.
He had to conceal the traces of his fires and the stumps. Otherwise, other players would immediately realize someone had been active nearby, follow the clues, and uncover his shelter.
Wang Yu had a crude and simple idea for erasing these traces.
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