"Welcome to the Misty Land."
"Whether you're filthy rich or bedridden, everything starts over here."
"You'll all have a relatively fair starting point. Regardless of age or gender, your weaknesses will be forcibly raised to the average. Cherish this new opportunity."
"The Shelter Log is important. It can help you understand this world faster."
"Lastly, stay alive."
The voice slowly faded. It was impossible to tell what gender it belonged to—or even whether it was a voice at all. It felt more like some inexplicable insight welling up from deep within.
Bai Yi lay motionless on a small wooden bed.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, almost as if pleading, yet also testing the waters.
His first impression was of unfamiliar colors. There were no windows, so the sunlight wasn't glaring, and he couldn't tell what time it was.
Lying on the bed, his eyes darted around, greedily taking in everything he could see.
The roof, walls, and door had wooden frames, but the rest was nothing more than thatch, ready to collapse at any moment.
He tried to lift his upper body, slowly sitting up in bed. Now Bai Yi could see the entire room.
The room wasn't large, perhaps twenty square meters. It contained a shabby single bed covered with thatch, a table with a book and a candle on top, an iron box and a battered stone axe beside one of its legs, and a tightly shut door made of thatch.
There were no windows, but a faint light seeped in from outside, just enough to see by.
By now, Bai Yi had managed to stand. He headed toward the small table.
One step, then another. Delight filled Bai Yi's mind, and his body trembled faintly with excitement.
Thump. His legs gave way, and he fell to the floor. Fortunately, he'd made it to the table. Remembering the voice in his mind, he picked up the Shelter Log.
He reached for the Shelter Log and opened it.
The first page listed important notes:
[1. The shelter is unique and cannot be replaced] [2. You need to strengthen your shelter so it can withstand danger] [3. Daytime is not necessarily safe, but do your best to explore] [4. Nighttime is dangerous. Do not go out exploring] [5. The beginner protection period lasts seven days. During this time, players inside their shelters will not suffer any physical harm. The protection period ends after seven days]
The log was made of some kind of leather. Bai Yi turned to the second page, which contained the weather, and then the third, which contained information about the shelter.
[Thatch Hut] [Level: 1] [Durability: 10/10] [Capacity: 50 units] [Traits: None] [Upgrade: 0/30 Wood] [Description: A thatch hut with no defensive capabilities. It can't even withstand you giving it a shove. Do not try!]
The fourth page contained personal information.
(Personal information can be viewed at any time. Other information can only be viewed while holding the log.)
[Bai Yi: Healthy] [Age: 30] (The average attribute value for adults is 3; the maximum is 10) [Strength: 3](The strength you can exert with your whole body. The stronger your legs, the faster and more agile you are)(Originally 0.2, only enough to maintain the bare minimum of biological activity; forcibly compensated) [Spirit: 9](The higher your spirit, the greater your resistance to losing your reason and the faster you recover) [Constitution: 3](Originally 0.5, only enough to maintain the bare minimum of biological activity; forcibly compensated) [Reason: 100/100](Below 70, you will experience mild hallucinations; below 50, severe hallucinations and mild aftereffects; below 30, you will descend into madness, your perception will become distorted, and you will suffer severe aftereffects; below 10, you will become permanently mad, all your perceptions will be completely distorted and irrecoverable; at zero, you will mutate) [Talent: Steel Spine Will: Effect One (Active): When activated, as your reason decreases, the hardness of your spinal bones will increase, reaching a maximum comparable to steel. Your strength and constitution will also increase significantly, up to three times their normal values. Lasts ten minutes. Once it ends, all lost reason is fully restored, and the ability enters cooldown. Cooldown: 12 hours. Effect Two (Passive): 1. When your reason drops to 1, it is forcibly locked there. 2. You are immune to all negative effects related to reason. At the same time, your consciousness will suffer immense pain. The pain will lessen as your reason recovers and disappear once your reason exceeds 30.] [Description: During the ten years when all five of your senses were taken from you, you were never broken. Countless times, you imagined what your life would have been like if that steel bar hadn't pierced your spine and compressed your brain stem. After countless hopes and prayers, your soul answered you!]
As he ran his fingers over those words, Bai Yi's vision gradually blurred, and tears fell onto the log.
He would never forget those ten years of darkness. He couldn't see, hear, or touch anything. He could do nothing at all—only think, only imagine.
Now he had a new beginning!
The corners of Bai Yi's mouth slowly lifted. No matter where he was, he was sincerely grateful to the being that had given him another chance.
He kept turning the pages. The next ones contained the players' forum and plaza, both completely empty. No one had posted anything.
Beyond those were the chat channels, divided into three sections: World Channel, Regional Channel, and Personal Channel.
Messages were rapidly flooding the World Channel and Regional Channel.
"Is this some kind of reality show?"
"Where is this? I want to go home."
"Mom, Dad, where are you? I'm scared!"
"Kid, I'm here."
"Get lost!"
The player count wasn't displayed, and Bai Yi didn't know how many there were. He said nothing, instead looking at the small print below.
World Channel: Each player can send up to ten messages a day. Regional and Personal Channels have no limit. The limit resets at midnight.
Bai Yi noticed there was another page and was about to turn to it when a gust of wind blew through.
The wind carried a thick smell of blood, along with a hint of crimson.
Bai Yi looked up and saw that, at some point, the door had quietly cracked open.
"I remember the door was shut tight just now, right?"
Bai Yi felt uneasy. He didn't know where he was, but according to the log, outside wasn't necessarily safe, even during the day.
Still, he slowly got to his feet and headed for the door.
"The log says it's completely safe inside the shelter and I can't be physically attacked? Wait, physical—could there be mental attacks? But I don't know how the shelter's protection works. If it stops working after I open the door, I'll be in trouble. Better safe than sorry. I should close it."
Bai Yi muttered to himself, both analyzing the situation and trying to work up his nerve.
He moved slowly and stepped lightly, trying not to make a sound. He could feel the deep malice lurking behind the door.
The closer he got, the worse he felt. Even the air around him seemed to be rejecting him.
A faint breeze seeped through the crack. The air he breathed grew thicker and thicker, until it seemed to solidify inside his body, taking root and sprouting.
At last, he reached the door. To avoid an unknown attack, Bai Yi chose not to look outside and instead focused on closing it as quickly as possible.
He closed it slowly. The door was made of thatch and poorly constructed; if he slammed it too hard and knocked it off its hinges, he'd be in for a world of trouble.
The door shut slowly. Nothing happened.
Bai Yi didn't relax. He carefully checked the room, making sure there were no gaps or anything of the sort. When his gaze swept across the table, his pupils suddenly contracted.
The log had turned a page at some point. It was covered in warnings. With a thought from Bai Yi, words appeared on the page:
[Warning! Warning! Warning!] [An "Unseeable" entity is outside the door. Keep all doors and windows closed. Do not look outside!] [Beginner protection period in effect. The system is driving it away. Time remaining: 10]
The first part made Bai Yi's heart sink. He thought that, having only just managed to stand up, he was about to end up flat on his back again.
Then he read the rest, and finally relaxed a little. There was an "Unseeable" entity out there. He didn't know what it was, but if the log warned him not to look, then looking would probably end badly.
Bai Yi shuddered, relieved he'd been cautious. But did the timer mean ten minutes?
The next second, more words appeared.
[9] [8] [7]
"So it means seconds!"
Only then did Bai Yi finally relax. He turned his back to the door, took a step away, and let out a long breath.
[5] [4]
That breath seemed to be the last straw.
As he breathed out slowly, a large amount of air entered his body. The air that had already begun to dissipate rapidly solidified and multiplied as more of it poured in.
[You have suffered mild contamination from an "Unseeable" entity. Reason -21]
The moment he felt something wrong with his body, Bai Yi realized he'd made a careless mistake at the last moment. He immediately held his breath and backed away.
[3]
But it was too late. Maybe it had sensed someone inside—or maybe it had simply shifted carelessly.
[2]
The next second, a piece of flesh the size of a fingernail, attached to a shard of bone, arced through the air and lightly struck the door.
A tuft of thatch slowly fell away, leaving a small hole in the door where the piece of flesh had hit.
[1]
By then, Bai Yi could no longer control his body. He was being forced to look, in despair,
through the tiny hole,
at what lay outside!
Before you continue