"Brother Shan, forgive me."
"Brother A-Long, sorry about this."
With two more dull thuds, the two brothers departed together, hand in hand.
Brother Shan dropped a hundred units of fuel, while Brother A-Long dropped a machete.
[Scale-Breaking Blade]: Tier 1. A machete with an armor-piercing effect. Even if an opponent is protected by scales, it has a chance of cleaving through them in a single strike.
"You really are lucky, kid. You've got fuel, a ranged weapon, and a melee weapon. That's enough to protect yourself during the beginner period."
Zhou Chang continued, "But those alone won't guarantee you first place in distance traveled during the beginner period. That depends on whether you can get the good stuff I prepared for you to drop."
"Brother Zhou, what good stuff?" Su Ye asked curiously.
"A workbench. Once you have that and get some blueprints, you can craft things. Whether you use them yourself or trade them, they'll give you a solid advantage early on."
"It's very hard to get during the beginner period. Back when we first joined the game, none of us got one that early. I've seen four civilizations participate in the game, but so far, no more than three people have obtained a workbench during the beginner period."
Zhou Chang said, "Besides the workbench, the second-most likely drop is a Tier 1 combat suit. It can withstand attacks from ordinary Tier 1 monsters. Of course, I'd prefer you to get the workbench."
Su Ye's eyes lit up. The workbench really was a good find. Crafting still required blueprints and materials, but those two things were easier to obtain.
"Come on, kid. Once you send me back, you should be the only player to have completed the initial trial quest. The game will give you some decent rewards, too."
With that, Zhou Chang stood still and closed his eyes, waiting for Su Ye's attack.
Su Ye glanced at Zhou Chang's health bar. Only 1% remained, and it had taken Brother Shan and Brother A-Long ages to whittle it down that far.
"Brother Zhou, here I come."
Without making a fuss, Su Ye took out the Scale-Breaking Blade and slashed straight at Zhou Chang.
After eighteen consecutive slashes, Su Ye's arms were aching and weak, but he finally depleted the last 1% of Zhou Chang's health.
The instant Zhou Chang fell, a small platform dropped.
[Workbench]: Tier 1. Can craft simple Tier 1 items using blueprints and materials.
"It dropped!"
Su Ye's face lit up with delight. Though the workbench had a 70% drop rate, he had worried about hitting that other 30%. Fortunately, his luck held.
Just then, the game system's voice rang out across the entire Survival Road.
[All-channel announcement: Congratulations to 'Never Checks the Fuel Gauge' for becoming the first player to pass the initial trial. All players, keep up the effort.] x3
The all-channel announcement sounded three times in succession. Even without checking the chat, Su Ye knew it had to be buzzing.
But Su Ye had no interest in paying attention to the other players right now. He was examining his reward.
[Congratulations on becoming the first player in the entire Fivefold Race civilization to pass the initial trial. Special reward obtained: one Storage Ring.]
"A Storage Ring?"
Looking at the pitch-black ring before him, Su Ye couldn't help swallowing. Could this be the kind of Storage Ring he was imagining?
[Storage Ring]: Bound. Upgradable. Currently Tier 1, with ten cubic meters of storage space. Living things cannot be stored within it. Time within the storage space is permanently frozen.
"Nice, very nice. Ten cubic meters is enough to hold plenty of things. I won't have to worry about running out of room when scavenging supplies, either. And this Storage Ring can even be upgraded."
Su Ye nodded in satisfaction and immediately put on the Storage Ring. With a thought, he stored the workbench, Desert Eagle, Scale-Breaking Blade, and hundred units of fuel.
"Including the fuel that came with the pickup, I now have 130 units. That'll take me 1,300 kilometers, enough for about two days."
"Time to leave this place."
Su Ye glanced at the Gray Fog in the distance. It hadn't started moving yet. It would wait until the second day of survival began—tomorrow morning—before advancing, giving the newly arrived players a little breathing room.
Su Ye climbed into the pickup and started the engine. The vehicle headed forward along the highway, and his journey officially began.
I wonder what those so-called War Gods will think of me once Brother Zhou and the others get back, Su Ye couldn't help thinking.
If he really could get help from all the Blue Star Humans, surviving in Road Survival would become much easier.
If they treated him as an outsider and did everything they could to take him down, he would be in serious trouble.
"Forget it. Worst case, I die and become a monster in the Gray Fog."
Su Ye laughed. "Being a monster and stopping other civilizations from reaching the end of the Survival Road actually sounds pretty interesting."
As he thought, Su Ye opened the chat interface and began reading.
"Holy shit, who's Never Checks the Fuel Gauge? He actually completed the initial trial? Those five monsters can actually be killed?"
"He's definitely one of our Tide Tribe's big shots. You're awesome, cousin! Carry me!"
"Stop flattering yourselves, you bunch of Tide Tribe slackers. He's obviously one of our Flame Tribe's big shots. We're unbeatable in one-on-one fights."
"Come on out and say something, boss! What reward did you get for completing the initial trial? I'll trade three pieces of bread for it."
"You Sand Tribe people really have no shame. You want to trade three pieces of bread for a game reward? Dream on."
"You'd better hope I don't run into you, or I'll plant all you Feather Tribe bastards in the dirt."
"..."
The chat was still extremely lively. At first, everyone had been discussing what reward Su Ye had received for passing the initial trial.
But the conversation gradually went off the rails, and they began hurling insults at one another. The battle was fierce.
Looks like the Fivefold Race really isn't united. That's good. Maybe I can exploit that for some benefits later.
But first, I have to make sure they don't discover I'm an outsider. Otherwise, no matter how bad relations are between the Fivefold Race, they'll definitely band together against me.
I wonder if I can get an item later that changes my appearance and makes me look like one of the Fivefold Race. That would be much safer.
Su Ye mulled it over. For now, during the beginner period, things were fine. The chances of encountering another player were very low.
But sooner or later, he would meet members of the Fivefold Race. Changing his appearance would be necessary.
Meanwhile, as Su Ye drove and watched the drama unfolding in the chat...
In the Gray Mist World.
Every civilization that failed on the Survival Road had a region in the Gray Mist World where it could settle.
The size of that region varied according to its performance in the previous round on the Survival Road.
In addition, anyone who reached Tier 10 during the game-a so-called War God-became eligible to establish a Hall of Civilization.
The Blue Star Humans' civilization had seven Halls of Civilization. One of them was the Great Xia Civilization Hall.
At that moment, a group of senior leaders sat together inside the Great Xia Civilization Hall, with a young man seated at the head.
The young man was Chu Ge, Great Xia's War God, and Zhou Chang's son-in-law.
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