The Neon Nation Contestants' Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

For Blue Star, a resource-scarce world, a premium ingredient like Kobe Beef naturally skyrocketed in value.

A single pound could sell for tens of thousands of Neon currency.

Beyond its exquisite taste, Kobe Beef also provided ample protein and energy.

From any angle, it was a fairly decent reward.

However...

Comparison is the thief of joy.

The Neon audience, and even Neon Nation's own contestant, Koichiro Mori, had barely begun to bask in their delight when a mysterious announcement shattered their excitement entirely.

It was...

The notification of contestant Xu Fan's reward from the treasure chest!

Wrist Strength Enhancement!

To help contestants and viewers grasp what this reward meant, an additional explanation was attached.

The degree of enhancement was roughly five times that of an adult male!

This left Koichiro Mori feeling unavoidably disheartened.

Just moments ago, he had fought to the death to slay an E-Rank Beast, successfully claiming a small stream.

He became the first contestant in the Forbidden Land to secure a gain.

Undoubtedly, this not only put him ahead of all other Forbidden Land contestants but also earned a point of honor for his nation!

Yet, in less than an hour's time, He had been surpassed!

And thoroughly so!

Yan Kingdom contestant Xu Fan had slain a D-Rank Beast!

Claimed a mountain forest resource.

And obtained a physique-enhancing reward from the treasure chest!

A total crushing defeat!

"Xu Fan, huh..."

"How exactly did he kill that beast?"

"Martial arts?"

"Swordsmanship?"

Koichiro Mori had once participated in various tournaments in the Yan Kingdom.

He knew the Yan Kingdom had strict gun control laws.

"No..."

But soon, Koichiro Mori shook his head.

Though he had never seen a D-Rank Beast, based on his experience from the recent battle, A D-Rank Beast was no monster that martial arts or swordsmanship could handle.

"Perhaps..."

"In those twenty minutes of preparation, the Yan Kingdom officials provided Xu Fan with modern weapons."

Koichiro Mori analyzed quickly.

He felt Xu Fan's identity was likely, no...

"Xu Fan must be a special forces soldier, and with high-lethality firearms, he managed to take down the beast!"

Koichiro Mori stated with certainty.

Guns were different from blades.

Even an ordinary person could wield a blade with enough lethality.

But not guns.

Even a rifle had tremendous recoil; without professional training, there was a risk of injuring one's arm.

And an ordinary pistol had both short range and greatly reduced power, utterly insufficient to kill a D-Rank Beast.

This was also why Koichiro Mori had chosen only a Nodachi and a Katana to bring into the Forbidden Land.

Thinking this, Koichiro Mori's mood eased somewhat.

Yet envy and jealousy refused to fade.

"Wrist Strength Enhancement..."

Koichiro Mori looked down at his own wrist.

If he could obtain this reward, his swordsmanship would improve dramatically.

By then, even D-Rank Beasts—maybe even D+ Rank ones—would be easy kills for him.

But the livestream audience, watching Koichiro Mori's every move, was in a terrible mood right now.

Because they all knew Xu Fan wasn't a soldier at all, and he'd entered the Forbidden Land without carrying any supplies.

When he fought the Snow Wolf King, all he had was a broken longsword.

Far inferior to the fine Katana Koichiro Mori wielded.

As the strongest swordsman representing the entire Neon Nation, he couldn't understand Xu Fan and instead made up a whole bunch of assumptions.

That basically proved Xu Fan's performance had completely exceeded Koichiro Mori's comprehension.

Without a word, the Neon Nation's representative had already lost a step.

"No, it's not Mr. Mori's fault—who'd have guessed the Yan Kingdom contestant would be that lucky?"

"Exactly, the Yan Kingdom contestant is just ahead for now. I believe our Mr. Mori can kill a D-Rank Beast too, and when he does, the rewards will be even better than the Yan Kingdom contestant's!"

"That's right, this Forbidden Land expedition, our Neon Nation will definitely surpass the Yan Kingdom and become the strongest in the East!"

A flood of comments scrolled across the top of the screen.

But...

An undeniable truth stared them in the face: Koichiro Mori didn't seem confident he could kill a D-Rank Beast.

And as night fell, all the contestants inside the Forbidden Land began facing their toughest trial yet.

Even though the beasts in the Forbidden Land were ferocious beyond measure, very few contestants had run into one on the first day.

Except for the Zhayu Kingdom, the others had either barely escaped with their lives or successfully turned the tables.

Of course, so far, the only contestants to have killed a lord-level beast were Xu Fan and Koichiro Mori.

Viewers from every nation were worrying about their own contestants, praying they'd make it through the night safely.

Inside the Yan Kingdom livestream room.

"It's about to get dark." Host Xiao Ying swallowed hard, her heart clenching for Xu Fan.

Even though Xu Fan had gotten supplies from the Zhayu Kingdom contestant, that guy clearly wasn't a wilderness survival expert.

There wasn't a single fire-starting tool in the backpack.

Worst of all...

The area Xu Fan was in had extreme temperature swings between day and night.

Without a fire to keep warm, this night was going to be brutally tough.

"Now we can only wait and see how Xu Fan handles it." Brother Qiang stared fixedly at the screen.

He had plenty of wilderness survival tricks himself, but there was no way to talk to Xu Fan.

After all, the once-a-week opportunity had already been used.

"Still, judging by his performance so far, Xu Fan has a solid grasp of wilderness knowledge. I don't think starting a fire will be a problem for him."

The Warrior King beside him offered his opinion.

But in reality, starting a fire in the wild wasn't easy.

And as failed attempts piled up, it could easily lead to anxiety and panic.

Back in the Forbidden Land, Xu Fan, didn't seem to have realized this yet.

That was exactly what had everyone so worried.

Xu Fan was leaning against the Snow Wolf King's corpse, using its fur to keep warm. He opened the Marching Backpack and pulled out a bottle of fresh water and a can.

The moment he opened the can, his face turned pale.

The Zhayu Kingdom contestant had packed all fish cans; the one he'd grabbed at random was tuna.

The meat was not only mushy but had a weird smell.

Putting it in his mouth, it was indescribable.

"Suddenly feeling pretty sorry for myself..."

Xu Fan couldn't help grumbling, but then it hit him—wasn't there a huge chunk of meat right beside him?

And it was fresh.

"I wonder what wolf meat tastes like."

Xu Fan's eyes sharpened, and a bold idea popped into his head.

"Better start a fire first."

Muttering to himself, Xu Fan got up and began gathering dry grass and branches.