For resource-poor Blue Star, premium ingredients like Kobe Beef naturally came at a steep price.
Just one pound could fetch tens of thousands of Neon coins.
And besides its exceptional taste, Kobe Beef could also provide plenty of protein and energy.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a pretty good reward.
However...
Without comparison, there was no hurt.
The Neon Nation's viewers—and even its contestant, Koichiro Mori—hadn't yet had time to bask in their joy when a mysterious voice shattered his excitement completely.
It was...
An announcement that Xu Fan had obtained a reward from a Treasure Chest!
Wrist Strength Enhancement!
To help the contestants and viewers understand what this reward meant, the announcement even included an additional explanation.
The enhancement was roughly five times that of an adult man!
Koichiro Mori couldn't help feeling a little down.
Just moments ago, he had risked his life to kill an E-Rank Beast and successfully claimed a stream.
He had become the first contestant in the Forbidden Land to secure a resource.
Without a doubt, this had put him ahead of every other contestant in the Forbidden Land and earned a point of honor for his country!
And yet, in less than an hour...
He had been surpassed!
And thoroughly surpassed, at that!
Yan Kingdom's contestant, Xu Fan, had killed a D-Rank Beast!
He had claimed the resources of a mountain forest.
And he had even received a reward that enhanced his physical strength from a Treasure Chest!
He had been outclassed in every way!
"Xu Fan?"
"How did he manage to kill a beast?"
"Martial arts?"
"Swordsmanship?"
Koichiro Mori had attended various competitions in Yan Kingdom.
He knew that Yan Kingdom had laws banning firearms.
"No..."
But soon, Koichiro Mori shook his head.
Although he had never seen a D-Rank Beast, he could judge from his recent battle experience.
A D-Rank Beast wasn't the kind of monster you could take down with martial arts or swordsmanship.
"Maybe..."
"During those twenty minutes of preparation, Yan Kingdom's authorities provided Xu Fan with modern weapons."
Koichiro Mori quickly analyzed the situation.
He thought Xu Fan's identity was probably... no...
"Xu Fan must be a special forces soldier. And he could only have taken down the beast with the help of powerful firearms!"
Koichiro Mori said it with certainty.
Firearms were different from swords and knives.
Even an ordinary person could wield a sword or knife and inflict serious injuries.
But not a firearm.
Even a rifle had a great deal of recoil. Without proper training, you risked injuring your arm from the kickback.
And ordinary pistols had a short range and far less power, making them completely inadequate for killing a D-Rank Beast.
That was why Koichiro Mori had entered the Forbidden Land with only a Nodachi and a katana.
Only then did Koichiro Mori's mood ease a little.
But his envy and jealousy still wouldn't fade.
"Wrist Strength Enhancement..."
Koichiro Mori looked down at his wrists.
If he could get this reward, his swordsmanship would improve tremendously.
Then, never mind a D-Rank Beast—even a D+-Rank Beast might be easy for him to cut down.
But the viewers watching Koichiro Mori's every move in the Live Stream Room...
They felt awful.
Because they all knew Xu Fan wasn't a soldier, and he hadn't brought any supplies into the Forbidden Land.
When he fought the Snow Wolf King, all he had in his hands was a battered long blade.
It was nowhere near as fine as Koichiro Mori's katana.
The strongest swordsman, and the hope and representative of all Neon Nation.
Yet he couldn't understand Xu Fan and had made up all sorts of explanations in his head.
That alone showed that Xu Fan's performance had gone completely beyond Koichiro Mori's understanding.
Without anyone noticing, the contestant representing Neon Nation had already fallen behind!
"No, this isn't Mr. Mori's fault. Who could've guessed the contestant from Yan Kingdom would be so lucky?"
"Exactly. Yan Kingdom's contestant is only ahead for now. I believe our Mr. Mori can kill a D-Rank Beast too. When he does, he'll get an even better reward than Yan Kingdom's contestant!"
"That's right! In this Forbidden Land expedition, Neon Nation will definitely surpass Yan Kingdom and become the strongest in the East!"
A flood of comments scrolled across the screen.
But...
A starkly real fact lay before them: Koichiro Mori didn't seem confident that he could kill a D-Rank Beast.
And as night fell...
All the contestants who had entered the Forbidden Land began to face their most serious trial yet.
Although the beasts in the Forbidden Land were incredibly powerful, very few contestants had encountered one on the first day.
Aside from Zhayu Kingdom, the other contestants had either escaped with their lives or successfully killed their pursuers.
Of course, so far, only Xu Fan and Koichiro Mori had managed to kill a lord-level beast.
Viewers in every country began to worry about their own contestants.
They prayed that they would make it through the night safely.
Inside Yan Kingdom's Live Stream Room.
"It'll be dark soon." Xiao Ying swallowed, her heart tightening with worry for Xu Fan.
Although Xu Fan had gotten supplies from Zhayu Kingdom's contestant, the other man clearly wasn't an expert in wilderness survival.
There wasn't a single tool for starting a fire in the backpack.
Most importantly...
The temperature in the area where Xu Fan was staying dropped sharply between day and night.
Without a fire to keep him warm, this night was going to be a miserable one.
"Now all we can do is see how Xu Fan handles it." Brother Qiang stared fixedly at the screen.
He knew plenty of ways to survive in the wilderness.
But he had no way to talk to Xu Fan.
After all, they had already used up their one chance to communicate that week.
"Still, judging by his performance so far, Xu Fan knows a lot about surviving in the wilderness. I don't think starting a fire will be a problem for him."
The Warrior King beside him shared his opinion.
But in fact, starting a fire in the wilderness wasn't easy.
And each failed attempt would make a person more and more anxious and panicked.
By contrast, Xu Fan in the Forbidden Land...
Seemed not to have realized this yet.
That was what had everyone so worried.
Xu Fan leaned against the Snow Wolf King's corpse to keep warm with its fur. Then he opened the Marching Backpack and took out a bottle of water and a can of food.
The moment he opened the can, Xu Fan's face turned ashen.
Zhayu Kingdom's contestant had packed only fish cans. The one Xu Fan had grabbed at random was tuna.
The meat inside was not only mushy but also had a strange smell.
The taste was even harder to describe.
"I'm suddenly feeling kind of aggrieved..." Xu Fan couldn't help grumbling. Then he suddenly realized that there was a huge chunk of meat right beside him.
And it was fresh, too.
"I wonder what wolf meat tastes like."
Xu Fan's gaze sharpened as a bold idea suddenly came to mind.
"I'd better start a fire first."
As he spoke, Xu Fan got to his feet and began gathering dry grass and branches.
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