The Countdown to the House's Disappearance Began

[Players have now been in the game for 72 hours. The Novice Home disappearance countdown has begun. Please build your own houses as soon as possible...]

At noon, a message suddenly popped up. Large red letters flashed in both the quest window and the chat channel.

The disappearance countdown for the Novice Home had begun...

"Only... twelve hours..."

Ye Fei turned to look at his house. A countdown flashed above the little house that had given him a sense of security since his arrival.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 52 seconds...

He blinked, and the seconds had already ticked down into the forties...

[Snow Mountain/0121-7895-6644: Fuck! This is going to kill us!]

[Snow Mountain/0111-1175-6661: What's going on? I was living perfectly fine in my house, and suddenly this happens without any warning! Are they planning to make our houses vanish in the middle of the night and leave us to freeze to death on Snow Mountain?]

[Snow Mountain/0141-7551-9966: This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! Does anyone know how to build a house? I don't even know how we're supposed to do it! How is this a survival game? Are they just going to wipe us all out?]

The chat channel was filled with curses. Many people shouted that they had no idea how to build a house.

But this survival world paid them no heed.

Soon, someone spoke up, saying that they could buy a Semi-Finished Crafting Station in the Survival Mall for just twenty Survival Points.

They could process timber into semi-finished building components, then assemble a new house like a jigsaw puzzle...

The explanation was thorough, but that did nothing to stop the other players from breaking down and cursing.

Ye Fei watched for a while and noticed that most of those cursing were complaining that they had no points. Forget twenty points-they had already spent even their initial ten points on other things over the past few days.

Food and drinks, for instance.

Or they had continued enjoying a comfortable life at home, exchanging their points for energy to power the house...

"A house... even if it's just a matchbox, I need to get it built first..."

Ye Fei checked the remaining crafting time. Rather than going home, he took out a loaf of bread and ate as he walked, continuing to chop down the dead trees near his home.

Timber prices will probably go up now, won't they?

Besides, he still needed timber to craft the roof ridge and wooden shingles.

Otherwise, the nightly snowfall would ruin the ceiling.

[Low-Grade Timber +2]

[Sapling +1]

"?"

Ye Fei had just chopped down another tree. Before he could pick up the ice and pine needles on the ground, he suddenly noticed this unusual notification.

A sapling?

After picking up the ice and pine needles, Ye Fei examined the sapling in his inventory. It certainly looked interesting.

[Sapling (?): A mysterious sapling. Only after planting it in soil will you discover what kind of surprise awaits.]

Its grade was unknown. He would have to plant it before he could find out what kind of tree it was.

"They're still arguing? Wouldn't that time be better spent chopping trees?"

Ye Fei put the sapling away, checked the time, and returned to his yard to prepare to build his new house.

On his way back, he glanced at the chat channel. Seeing those people still ranting and cursing everything and everyone, he truly felt they were wasting their time.

They had already been told this was a survival game world. With even the basic necessities lacking, he certainly didn't dare indulge in the pleasures of life.

But some people did. They would rather freeze to death in the middle of the night than chop down trees.

One message that had just appeared, for example, came from someone claiming to be a rich heir whose family had luxury cars and villas before he came here. His family would fret over him if he so much as walked a few extra steps outside, so he couldn't bear to make himself suffer. That would betray his family's love for him...

Others called themselves their family's little princess, the emperor of the household, or even the little tyrant their parents worshipped...

Their noisy curses, boasts about the past, and present frenzy left Ye Fei feeling a little sad, as though he were watching one final feast before death.

"Whimper..."

When Ye Fei returned home again, rearranged the materials in the yard, and queued up the roof ridge and shingles for crafting, the little fox finally woke up.

"We're out of chicken. Will you eat bread?"

Ye Fei hadn't gotten any White-Feathered Chicken from his loot, and he didn't want to buy any through the trading interface. He could only take out some bread and ask whether the little fox would eat it.

"Yip~"

The little fox looked at the bread in Ye Fei's hand, then at his slightly bedraggled appearance after spending so long chopping trees. It affectionately rubbed against his hand before taking the bread in its mouth.

But after taking it, the fox suddenly stopped and put the bread back into Ye Fei's hand. It sliced across the middle with a little paw, then ran off with half.

The little fox climbed a pine tree and stood on a branch, looking at Ye Fei several times before lowering its head to nibble its bread.

This human is so pitiful. He went out to look for food while I was asleep, but all he found was this bad-tasting stuff. And he was going to go hungry and give it all to me.

I can't bear to let him go hungry. Half is enough for me.

The other half can stay with that silly human. He works so hard and even raises me as his own little one. He really has it tough.

Just wait. Foxes grow up. Once I'm bigger, I'll go out and find lots of meat. I definitely won't let this human go hungry!

All sorts of thoughts stirred in the little fox's mind. Meanwhile, as Ye Fei sorted out the wooden wall panels, he received only a single notification.

[Your pet has sensed your weakness and care. Loyalty +5]

*?*

Ye Fei held the half loaf of bread in his mouth and turned to stare blankly at the little white fluffball in the tree.

What has this little thing dreamed up now?

He had been worried that running out of meat and feeding his pet poorly would lower its loyalty. Instead, it had gone up another five points.

There was just one part he couldn't understand. The care was fair enough-he hadn't let the little fox go hungry, and whatever he ate, he gave it the same.

But it actually thinks its owner is weak?

Even if its loyalty went up, isn't that a bit too hurtful?

After inwardly grumbling about his pet's unpredictable train of thought, Ye Fei finished the half loaf in a few bites and began rebuilding his house.

He opened the housing interface, looked at the model, then steeled himself and pressed the build button.

The moment he placed the first wooden wall, the original little house collapsed and dissolved into smoke.

"!!!"

Up in the tree, the little white fluffball's eyes widened in fright.

Oh no, oh no! The human's den is gone! But humans can't survive in the snow. He'll freeze to death!

What do I do? What do I do?

Poor human! We might be different species, but I don't want to lose this family member!

I've already decided I don't care about us being different species. Stay strong, human! I'll always be here with you!