Chapter 1:

March 1, 2205, 07:29 AM.

Yun Shan stared at the digital clock in disbelief, thinking she hadn’t fully woken up.

“Ring ring—” a piercing alarm shattered the silence, bold black text dominating the screen, “Register ‘Doomsday Camp’ holographic online gaming account at 8 AM. Do not forget.”

Was she not dreaming? Had she truly traveled back three years?!

Yun Shan struggled to believe it, hastily donning her holographic helmet and logging into the game.

[Ding! You have not become a player in the ‘Doomsday Camp’ game. Please register an account first.]

Yun Shan, “…”

She was a professional gamer, earning her living by selling in-game currency, rare items, and high-level equipment.

Wherever the hottest game trend emerged, she was there.

By chance, she stumbled upon someone in a game group hyping up “Doomsday Camp,” praising it extravagantly and predicting its inevitable rise.

Despite significant technological advancements over time, holographic technology remained imperfect, and the released holographic online games all had their flaws.

What was the allure of “Doomsday Camp” that turned veteran gamers of over five years into avid supporters? Had it conquered technological barriers?

With a tinge of curiosity, Yun Shan decided to give it a try.

However, “Doomsday Camp” differed from other games on the market—it wasn’t open to everyone. Instead, they released registration slots at intervals.

Swift hands triumphed while the slow were left behind, everyone competing based on their abilities.

In the bid to secure a slot, Yun Shan set an alarm, reminding herself not to forget to log in and register her account.

March 1, 2205, marked the day she had raced against the clock to enter the game.

Recalling those times, Yun Shan felt a pang of sadness, almost on the verge of tears.

“Doomsday Camp” had no recharge options, no way for players to splurge. Wealthy players had to find alternative routes, often resorting to hefty purchases of in-game items within gaming communities.

For three years, Yun Shan struggled, finally managing to purchase vast lands, establish a legion of mythical beasts, and foster the strongest battle pets across the entire server.

Seeing her grand achievements, where she could sustain herself by selling almost anything, only to wake up and witness a data rollback, starting everything anew.

…

Sitting there for twenty minutes, Yun Shan cycled through emotions—from “mental breakdown” to “nearing the breaking point,” from “can’t go back” to “having to accept reality,” and finally arriving at “let’s start again” and “why not continue playing.” Ultimately, she finally regained her composure.

　***

At exactly 8 o’clock, 200 registration codes were promptly released.

Yun Shan managed to snatch one with lightning speed.

The system notification read, (“Please use within 3 minutes, expiration results in automatic disqualification.”)

Indeed, “Doomsday Camp” operated in such an unreasonable manner. A slight delay in action meant handing the opportunity to someone else.

Some players had jokingly remarked that, compared to the hellish game difficulty, they found snatching registration codes even more challenging.

But that was a year later when three thousand codes were contested by hundreds of thousands.

Now, as the game had just launched, few knew about it, and the competition wasn’t as intense.

With the code in hand, Yun Shan immediately put it to use.

System: [“Do you want to bind your ID?”]

Yun Shan clicked [“Yes.”]

System: [“Identity verification successful, account bound to this identity, usable by one player only.”]

Immediately after, a gentle white light descended, casting warmth upon the consciousness projection standing at human height.

After about ten seconds:

[“Physical attributes digitized.”]

Personal information as follows:

Name: Yun Shan

Stamina: 100/100%

Satiety: 100/100%

Overall Strength Assessment: One star.

(There are a total of five levels, ranging from low to high: one star, two stars, three stars, four stars, five stars)

Explanation:

Stamina determines the ability to act. Walking, running, battling, using skills—all consume stamina.

When stamina reaches 0, the game character faints.

Satiety decreases over time.

When satiety reaches 0, the game character starves.

Consuming food increases satiety.

　

At full capacity, further eating won’t increase satiety.

Glancing over, Yun Shan confirmed the attributes, explanations, and memories matched, slightly reassured.

A burst of golden light erupted from her chest.

[“Congratulations, player, on awakening talent: Affinity (Passive).”]

[“Affinity (Non-upgradable): 1. Animals find you very friendly, significantly reducing their desire for aggression. 2. You can effectively calm animals.”]

With that, all the important information was listed.

The system signaled, [“Registration successful.”]

[“Welcome to ‘Doomsday Camp’ game.”]

—

This was a canyon.

The stream flowed gently, lush vegetation abounded, birds chirped, and fragrant flowers bloomed, devoid of any apocalyptic ambiance.

Around Yun Shan stood over twenty players, a mix of men and women. Some were in their thirties, while others were eighteen or nineteen.

A female college student surveyed the surroundings, a hint of amazement flickering in her eyes. “It’s so beautiful here, like a tourist spot. How did the game developers achieve such high realism?”

The tall guy showed no interest in the flora, directly asking, “I’m Shi Jing, one star, with a combat talent. Anyone interested in teaming up to battle beasts?”

“The temperature’s good, ample water supply, fertile land—it’s a Feng Shui treasure trove.” A middle-aged man looked into the distance, quite surprised. “They’ve planted sorghum, potatoes, corn, wheat, rice in the ground, with NPCs guarding. Didn’t expect the game to pay attention to such details…”

The guy with a crew cut frowned as he looked down, visibly displeased. “Starting with hemp clothes, hemp pants, grass shoes, and a wooden stick—don’t even have a personal storage space. Too shabby!”

“Can we take photos? It’s my first time playing a holographic online game; I really want to take pictures for memories.”

“What are talents? Why don’t I have any?”

“A black wristwatch suddenly appeared on my right wrist, what’s this?”

“Clothes, pants, shoes without any attributes—aren’t they equipment?!”

With over twenty players, there was a discordance of voices discussing various things, creating quite a ruckus.

Yun Shan identified the direction and left alone.

—

Red Maple Camp.

The surroundings looked familiar yet unfamiliar.

Familiar because she had spent three years in the game, knowing the camp’s layout and how to navigate without needing a map.

　

Unfamiliar because in the subsequent three years, Red Maple Camp had rapidly expanded, growing more than ten times its initial size. The last time she logged in, there were numerous buildings, skilled players aplenty, and battle pets everywhere—a stark contrast to the relatively rudimentary camp before her.

Game time: March 1st, 5th year of the apocalypse, 08:05 AM.

Catching a glimpse in the upper right corner, Yun Shan felt the urge to sigh again.

The empire she had painstakingly built.

All! Gone!

Strolling forward, she soon arrived at the mission hall. Yun Shan had a clear objective and headed straight for the bulletin board.

On the left side of the board were seven notices, all job postings.

[Lumberjacks]

Work Location: Lumberyard.

Job Description: Tree chopping.

Salary: 2.5 points/hour, paid daily.

Contact Information: Visit the lumberyard and find Mr. Zhao, the NPC.

Points were the in-game currency, and transactions were carried out using the black wristwatch as a transfer medium.

Within the game, the price levels weren’t high, but the hourly wage of 2.5 points was exceptionally low. Coupled with the demanding intensity of the lumberyard work, the satiety dropped rapidly. Most of the points earned from labor had to be spent, at least seventy percent, on purchasing food.

In and out, even working a full day wouldn’t accumulate much, offering an extremely poor value for the effort invested.

The upside was its perennial job openings with no threshold, welcoming anyone, making it particularly friendly for new players.

Moreover… “Doomsday Camp” had a unique upgrading system—whether through logging or killing beasts in the wilderness, it improved one’s attributes. Once abilities reached a certain level, overall strength increased, leading to a successful “star upgrade.”

Although the lumberyard work was exhausting and paid little, it was relatively safe. Hence, some newcomers would labor there until their overall strength assessment reached two stars before seeking other jobs.

Yun Shan restarted her character but with substantial game experience, there was no need for her to engage in such arduous tasks.

She continued scanning through.

[Vegetable Cutter]

Work Location: Eatery.

Job Description: Cutting vegetables, preparing ingredients.

Salary: 4 points/hour, paid weekly.

Requirements: Basic knife skills, stamina over 100.

Contact Information: Visit the eatery and find NPC Chef Liao.

In comparison to the lumberjacks, the role of a vegetable cutter demanded more technical expertise and had certain entry requirements, naturally offering a higher hourly wage.

[Herbalist]

Work Location: Herb Garden.

Job Description: Tending to the herb fields.

Salary: 5 points/hour, paid weekly.

Requirements: Basic knowledge of herbalism, proficient in growing Purple Grass, candidates with relevant work experience preferred.

Contact Information: Visit the herb garden and find NPC Steward Sun.

…

Yun Shan scanned through but couldn’t find a suitable job. Consequently, she shifted her gaze towards the right side of the bulletin board.

[Seeking to Buy Calming Grass]

Quantity: 5 plants

Reward: 8 points

Requirements: Good quality

[Seeking to Buy Purple Grass]

Quantity: Unlimited

Reward: 2 points/plant

Requirements: Good quality

[Large-Scale Purchase of Beasts]

Quantity: Unlimited

Reward: 1-500 points/creature, based on species, quality, and weight

Species: Crimson-bellied Pheasant, Tiger-striped Rabbit, White Heron Duck, Black-striped Pig

Requirements: None

…

Over twenty notices, all were bounty missions.

In the “Doomsday Camp” game, defeating beasts didn’t yield equipment, coins, or materials. After killing small beasts, players had to carry the corpses back to the mission hall to fulfill the quest, only then could they exchange it for points.

In the early stages of the game, many new players suffered losses due to their lack of understanding.

“Calming Grass, Purple Grass, Red Cloud Mushroom…” Yun Shan noted down each herb she will seek in the wilderness, then headed towards the outskirts of the camp.

—

Out in the wilderness,

Shi Jing, along with two other players, surrounded a one-star crimson-bellied pheasant.

“Let’s go! Kill it!”

As the words fell, the trio charged forward with wooden sticks in hand.

One missed, another landed a hit on the pheasant’s leg, causing the beast to stagger and pause momentarily.

Seizing the opportunity, Shi Jing exclaimed, “Rallying Spirit!”

Talent: Rallying Spirit (Level 1) — Boost morale, next attack damage +50%.

Shi Jing accurately struck the Crimson-bellied Pheasant’s neck.

The creature cried out and fell to the ground.

“How’d it goes? Did it drop any gear?” Excitedly, the teammates gathered around.

Upon closer inspection, they were dumbfounded. “Not even a single copper coin?”

“No gear, no materials, no experience points—can we even play this game?”

Shi Jing flipped through the Pheasant’s corpse back and forth, finding nothing. He furrowed his brows. “That’s odd.”

Teammates chimed in, “Not odd, it’s too bizarre!”

The three looked at each other, a bit perplexed. “After all that hustle, we killed the beast for nothing?”

“We just fought a big battle, and both our stamina and satiety dropped. We need to figure out a way to make money, or we’ll starve.”

“If our stamina hits zero and we collapse in the wilderness, could passing beasts attack us?”

Before they could strategize, one teammate’s eyes widened, turning into white light.

Shi Jing was startled, whirling around.

Behind them stood a Crimson-bellied Pheasant, its eyes glinting maliciously.

Unlike before, this one was much larger, with the words “Crimson-bellied Pheasant” atop its head in blue. The earlier one had grey text.

A system prompt followed:

【Grey Text = Overall strength One Star.】

【White Text = Overall strength Two Stars.】

【Blue Text = Overall strength Three Stars.】

【Purple Text = Overall strength Four Stars.】

【Orange Text = Overall strength Five Stars.】

【Note: This rule applies only to beasts and players. NPCs, regardless of strength, always have black text.】

“Split up and run!”

In the nick of time, Shi Jing managed to shout these words before sprinting away.

Seconds later, cries of agony echoed through the sky from the teammates. As Shi Jing ran, a chilling sensation crept over him, as if some terrifying presence had fixated on him.