Please note: monsters in higher-level areas would become even stronger. Survivors should choose carefully while exploring.
"Higher-level areas?"
Han Xing looked around and noticed that there were indeed many more clouds in the distant sky, varying in size.
There were far more of them than in the area he was currently in.
"So I'd been staying in the beginner area all along. Only after defeating the strongest monster in this area could I reach the advanced map."
Han Xing seemed to have figured out some of this game's mechanics. He shook his head. "Forget it. That area is still far from here. At my current speed, it'll take at least four or five hours. I'll deal with it tomorrow."
With that in mind, Han Xing decided to deal with the spoils in front of him first.
He walked over to the Graystone Giant Wolf's corpse and directly dismantled it.
Graystone Giant Wolf corpse successfully dismantled. Recovered Fine Iron Arrow x13. Obtained one-star High-Quality Animal Hide x1. Obtained thick wolf meat 104 kg. Obtained beast heart x1. Obtained Blood of the Strong x5...
"High-Quality Animal Hide?"
Han Xing looked at the thick pelt on the ground. "I remember this can be used to craft blue leather armor. Good stuff!"
As for the beast heart and Blood of the Strong, he had yet to figure out their uses, so he stored them away for now.
There was nothing particularly valuable in the Graystone Giant Wolf's territory. However, after Han Xing merged the floating islands, he discovered an unexpected surprise.
Under the moonlight, several patches of rocky ground at the edge of the wolf's territory shimmered with silver light.
"Treasure!" Han Xing's eyes lit up.
He walked over and crouched down to examine them.
Han Xing said uncertainly, "There should be some kind of ore in here."
"Should I dig it out?"
With that thought, Han Xing took an iron pickaxe from his backpack and began striking away with all his strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking stone rang out continuously.
After Han Xing chipped away the surface stone around the ore, the silver-speckled mineral beneath was finally revealed. At that moment, a System Prompt appeared.
Mithril Ore. Requires smelting to extract the mithril within.
"Smelting?"
Han Xing was puzzled. "I don't have the equipment. Do I need to build a smelting workshop?"
Mithril was good stuff, and it was also a primary material for crafting other blue equipment.
But at the survivors' current stage, it seemed they still could not refine this metal.
Unless a future update unlocked the territory construction feature.
At that point, survivors would be able to build all kinds of facilities in their territories, such as smelting workshops, weapons research institutes, Defensive Fortifications, and even taverns.
For now, mithril could only be obtained from treasure chests at a very low probability.
Han Xing had previously managed to receive over twenty mithril ingots thanks to the efforts of those incredibly lucky players. Of course, the odds were very low.
Since he could not refine mithril for the time being, Han Xing stuffed the entire pile of Mithril Ore into the Storage Box.
Then, he looked at the points leaderboard.
First place: Xinghe, territory points 184.
Second place: Whisperer, territory points 162.
Third place: Black Hawk, territory points 123.
Fourth place: Papaya Star Spirit, territory points 115.
Fifth place...
"Hm? That Whisperer is about to catch up? Black Hawk has also surpassed Papaya Star Spirit and taken third place?"
Han Xing was somewhat surprised when he saw the leaderboard.
The gap between him and Whisperer had gradually narrowed, and the other party was also working hard to catch up.
But on second thought, it made sense. Although he now had nearly a full set of green gear, the actual attribute gap between him and other survivors was not that great.
As survivors continued exploring outward, they would also discover various pieces of equipment, Skill Books, and so on in other territories.
Even if they could not use them themselves, they could still trade them on the Trading Channel.
The survivors' strength was steadily improving, especially that of the few at the very top, who were growing rapidly.
Of course, there was a corresponding price behind all this.
Han Xing saw that the number of survivors in District 107 had dropped from 10,000 to 9,632.
This meant that in just three days, more than three hundred people in their district alone had lost their lives!
By that ratio, the total number of human survivors who had died was likely already a terrifying figure.
Although most of them had died in accidents, as survival became more difficult and the monsters they encountered grew stronger, that number would continue to soar.
At this moment, Cheng Jianyong said in the Discussion Group, "Xing Ge, that Whisperer's got some skills. He's actually about to catch up to you!"
Ever since learning that Han Xing was Xinghe, Cheng Jianyong had been keeping an eye on the leaderboard.
Han Xing replied, "Yeah, he's definitely strong. If I'm not mistaken, he should be a mage."
"A mage?"
"Yes."
Han Xing said confidently, "Of the mage's first five skills, four are offensive skills. As the captain of a team, Whisperer has probably gathered all of them with help from his teammates. Combined with equipment bonuses, mages really do explore much faster than other classes."
"I see." Cheng Jianyong suddenly understood, then continued asking, "Xing Ge, how do you know all this?"
"Read the game introduction more, and you'll know too."
Han Xing paused before continuing, "By the way, what are your two rankings now?"
"Hm?" Cheng Jianyong seemed puzzled. "Xing Ge, didn't you look at the leaderboard? Brother Yun and I both made it onto it!"
"You never told me your virtual names. How would I know what you're called?"
"You never asked."
Han Xing: "..."
"Quit messing around and tell me already."
Cheng Jianyong laughed. "Fine. I'm 'Lonely Hero,' and Brother Yun is 'Yun Tianming.'"
"..."
Han Xing: "What embarrassingly edgy names..."
"Right? I also think Yun Tianming is an embarrassingly edgy name."
"I meant yours."
Cheng Jianyong: "???"
At this moment, Shen Yun was still grinding territory points through the night and had not seen the conversation between the two in the Discussion Group. Otherwise, he would definitely have argued with Cheng Jianyong for at least half an hour.
Han Xing opened the leaderboard and saw that Lonely Hero had already reached sixty-fifth place, with 33 points.
Yun Tianming—that was, Shen Yun—had actually charged into the top forty. With 57 points, he held thirty-seventh place.
Han Xing was somewhat surprised, but after thinking about it, it was within expectations.
After all, he had given them nearly a full set of high-quality green gear, as well as so many Skill Books and a large amount of Spirit Spring Water. They could explore boldly with almost no concerns.
Such rapid climbing on the leaderboard was only natural.
After closing the chat, Han Xing continued moving toward the other clouds.
After reaching level 3, the floating island's speed had become 8 meters per second, equivalent to 28.8 kilometers per hour. That was already quite fast.
While the floating island traveled, Han Xing took a moment to glance at the Chat Channel.
After an entire day of fighting and exploration, survivors were sharing their experiences there.
"Damn, my luck was awful today. I ran into an Elite Grade jungle tiger while exploring a territory and nearly got bitten to death. If I hadn't known the ancestral ultimate technique of the slide tackle, I'd really have died there."
"What's that compared to mine? I ran into a huge bear today. One slap broke more than ten of my ribs. Good thing I'm a sports student—I carried it and ran more than ten kilometers, and it only let me go after the bear collapsed from exhaustion."
"You guys are incredible. Compared to you, getting bitten once by a five-step snake doesn't seem like much."
"Bro, you can still talk after getting bitten by a five-step snake?"
"Oh, because I pulled out its fangs. It's fine if it bites me now, and it even feels pretty good. I'm planning to keep it as a pet."
"..."
"..."
"Man, you're such a pervert..."
The Chat Channel filled with speechless symbols.
At that moment, someone said, "Stop joking around. Go look—Papaya Star Spirit just posted another guide."
"The big shot posted another guide? I saw his post before and followed the tips to avoid several clouds hiding monsters."
"Me too. Thanks to Papaya Star Spirit's guide, I easily opened a Bronze Treasure Chest."
"Quick, what's this one about?"
Everyone clicked in and saw that it was indeed a guide post published by Papaya Star Spirit, and it had already received several hundred replies in a short time.
But unlike before, the post's title carried a grave tone.
"Warning! Dark Elf Squad!"
Before you continue