Chapter 3: Day 2 of Desert Survival (1): Trading Chicken Wings for Scrap Metal…

【System Notification: All beta test players have now arrived in this world.】

【Currently, Desert Survival is in beginner mode. The first three days are considered a protection period. After three days, small wild beasts will appear at night. On the tenth day, survival difficulty will be upgraded from beginner mode to normal mode. Please try to stay alive.】

This system really never missed a chance to remind everyone: “Please try to stay alive.”

When she clicked the question mark icon, Yu Miaomiao could view a record of the previous notifications.

She glanced at the chat channel—world online player count had already risen to 99,764, and the number of deaths had reached 236. That meant this post-apocalyptic world now held 100,000 people.

It was clear everyone had received this new notification at the same time. Many had originally assumed this was just a game, and didn’t take it seriously at all.

Some people even ate all their food and drank all their water on the first day, assuming they’d be sent back to the real world the next day.

But after hearing the system’s announcement, many of them fell into despair. The world chat was filled with cries of anguish.

More and more people started venting their complaints and anxiety. No one knew what the “small wild beasts” would be, and if the beginner protection period was already this difficult, no one dared imagine what normal mode would be like—let alone what harder difficulties could come later.

Yu Miaomiao felt the system was truly unfair—never clearly explaining anything, and leaving most functions and quests for the players to figure out on their own.

Just then, a different kind of voice appeared in the world chat, from someone who had apparently arrived only that afternoon—a person named Yang Haotian.

『YangHaotian: If the system wanted us dead, it could’ve just killed us. The fact that it gave us items and set up a platform for trading resources shows it wants us to survive. Everyone, don’t give up so easily.』

What he said made sense, and many people agreed with him. The tone of the chat gradually became less pessimistic.

『LonelyMother: But I have a six-year-old daughter back in the real world. I don’t know how she’s doing. I want to go back and be with her. If I die here, will I go back?』

Many others also had relatives and loved ones. After all, these 100,000 people weren’t everyone from the real world.』

『WhinyGremlin: How could we go back? When I came here, my real-world items came with me. My phone has no signal—that’s proof. If you die here, you die for real.』

Everyone had already suspected this. They initially thought it was just a highly realistic VR game, but not only were the sensations incredibly real—even their belongings from the real world had come with them. That proved there was essentially no difference between this place and reality.

『YangHaotian: Has anyone noticed the prompt we saw when we arrived? It said Apocalypse Survival Game – 1, and mentioned we were on a beta test server. Doesn’t that suggest there might also be servers 2, 3, 4, and so on—just like games that have multiple regions?』

Yu Miaomiao had also wondered what the number 1 meant when she first saw it. After Yang Haotian brought it up, the explanation suddenly made a lot of sense.

『YangHaotian: Since there are likely multiple servers, then according to normal game mechanics, there will probably be a server merge later on. And as beta players, we’ve got a head start and the upper hand. If our loved ones were sent to other servers, once those merge with ours, we’ll be able to take care of them.』

The world chat erupted in praise for this statement. Many who had felt hopeless before were suddenly energized again. Even if they weren’t fighting for themselves, they now felt they had to survive—for their children, their parents, or their loved ones and friends.

Yu Miaomiao was also encouraged by this. She hadn’t been particularly depressed—after all, she still had enough food and water—but she’d been constantly thinking about her best friend, who was like family to her.

After losing both her parents, Yu Miaomiao had relied on her best friend, Yue Yina, for years. In the original world, Yue Yina had taken great care of her and given her more warmth than even a real relative. Yu Miaomiao now wanted to gather as many resources as possible before Yue Yina arrived, so they could both survive this place together.

That night, Yu Miaomiao slept peacefully—so much so that she didn’t hear the whistling cold wind outside at all.

Temperatures outside dropped close to zero at night. Many people had a rough time surviving it—not because they didn’t have beds, but because they lacked shelter. Some people even froze to death in the middle of the night.

Yu Miaomiao, wrapped tightly in her blanket in her dreams, slept straight through until the next morning.

She woke up from the heat, completely unaware of what had happened overnight. Still lying in bed, feeling a bit lazy, Yu Miaomiao summoned the system’s holographic interface with a thought.

The world chat was much quieter than the day before. Hardly anyone was chatting idly, and even trade messages were few and far between. It was a stark contrast to what she’d seen before going to bed.

Had something happened last night that she wasn’t aware of? As she got out of bed, Yu Miaomiao scrolled back through the message history.

And what she saw shocked her.

At first, people had been complaining about how cold it was. Then came a flood of messages begging for blankets and clothing.

Later, someone advised building wooden huts and beds to resist the cold, and people started begging for wood and screws. Eventually, it seemed many were too cold to even type, and the world chat gradually went silent.

Yu Miaomiao didn’t expect her earlier guess to be so accurate. The system had provided those beds with blankets specifically to help players survive the extreme nighttime cold.

Seeing that the number of deaths had already reached 783, Yu Miaomiao became increasingly aware of how brutal this apocalyptic world truly was.

【Desert Survival – Day 2 | 10:01 AM】

There were still two hours left before the new supply pack would be distributed. Yu Miaomiao glanced at her personal panel:

【Player Real Name: Yu Miaomiao

Player Nickname: MeowMeowNotLackingWater

Age: 23

Game Trait: Luck

Stamina: 29 (Upgradable)

Agility: 66 (Upgradable)

Intelligence: 15 (Upgradable)

Strength: 35 (Upgradable)

Luck: 900 (Not upgradable)】

Her stamina had actually dropped by one point—and right at that moment, her stomach growled loudly.

She took out a hamburger from her backpack. It was still warm, and Yu Miaomiao didn’t hesitate to start eating it.

Before she knew it, the burger was gone. The taste was very similar to a well-known fast-food chain—coincidentally, it was her favorite flavor. She glanced at her personal panel again and noticed her Stamina had increased to 32, two points higher than yesterday.

Could it be that eating well plays a major role in maintaining or increasing stamina?

After finishing half a bottle of water, she began studying the three remaining item synthesis formulas.

The sun had already turned the inside of the hut unbearably stuffy. She pushed the door open, and a wave of heat rolled in. Familiar with the scorching air, Yu Miaomiao quickly pulled the broken umbrella from her system backpack and opened it up.

Although the umbrella made her feel noticeably cooler, the sunlight streaming through its holes still burned her skin—it seemed today’s sun was even more brutal than yesterday’s. The parts of her skin exposed to the light were gradually turning red.

Staying inside the hut might prevent sunburn, but she’d definitely be suffocated from the heat. After thinking it over, the simple repair station now seemed extremely important.

Today, on the Item Synthesis Guide, a question mark button had been added next to each item besides the “Synthesize” button. Tapping it brought up a brief description of the item.

The description for the Simple Repair Station read: “Can repair items of level 10 and below.”

Through the holographic interface, Yu Miaomiao checked the umbrella’s attributes:

【Name: Outdoor Sun Umbrella (25/100)

Level: Level 3

Function: Provides decent sun protection

Attribute: 50 Defense】

Yesterday she had wondered what the number following an item’s name meant. After seeing this, she finally understood—it represented durability.

Creating a simple repair station required 4 scrap metal pieces, but she only had 2 right now—she was short by 2. And Yu Miaomiao didn’t just want to build a repair station, she also wanted to make a workbench.

Glancing at the rising sun, she posted a message in the world chat offering a trade: 1 chicken wing for 4 scrap metal pieces.

Before noon, chicken wings were likely still a highly sought-after food item. In order to get the most out of her resources, she hoped to trade quickly for the scrap she needed.

World chat was moving slowly now, so many people saw her message. If she hadn’t waited so long and seen that no one was offering to trade scrap, she wouldn’t have stuck her neck out with this offer.

Sure enough, someone spoke up.

『SunnyDay: Someone actually got chicken wings? Suddenly my steamed bun doesn’t smell so good anymore.』

『NotShortonCash: Anyone who can trade food like that must have other food too. Instead of helping us who are starving, they only care about making things for themselves. So selfish.』

『SpringBlossomsinBloom: I have 2 scrap metal pieces, can I trade them for one chicken wing?』

『SealedHeart,LockedLove: It’s almost noon. Soon we’ll get the chance to draw for a gift pack, and there’ll definitely be food in it. Let that person hoarding chicken wings rot with them in their backpack.』

Most people in the world chat were talking about Yu Miaomiao. She tried her best to ignore them, and soon received a notification alert.

When she tapped the small red dot at the bottom of the chat interface, a temporary message list appeared in the holographic display. Among them was a message:

『IsPipiThere: Can I trade 3 scrap metal pieces for 1 chicken wing first? If I manage to get one more today, I’ll make it up to you later.

With only 3, she’d only be able to craft the simple repair station. The temperature was rising quickly, and her skin was already showing signs of sunburn. After hesitating for half a minute, she replied with one word: Okay.

Soon, the other party sent a trade request.

Both sides just had to place their items in the trade box, confirm the items, and click “Confirm Trade” to complete the exchange.

Seeing 3 new scrap metal pieces added to her inventory, Yu Miaomiao couldn’t help but feel that at least this part of the system was quite convenient.

『IsPipiThere: Thanks for the chicken wing. It’s delicious.』

She didn’t expect the person to be so polite, so Yu Miaomiao replied courteously:

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: You’re welcome, enjoy it slowly.』

The other party sent another message:

『IsPipiThere: This temporary chat window only lasts for one day. If I don’t get another scrap metal piece today, and I still see you chatting in the coming days, I’ll make up the rest for you.』

『MeowMeowNotLackingWater: Alright.』

Yu Miaomiao took it as just polite conversation. Now that the trade was complete, she accepted it as a 3-for-1 deal. In a post-apocalyptic world like this, she didn’t expect anyone to truly keep their promises based on just a nickname.

She tapped the “Synthesize” button next to the Simple Repair Station, and a small square table began to materialize from a holographic image into a physical object. Yu Miaomiao checked the time—constructing this repair station had only taken one minute.

On the simple repair station, there was a built-in repair kit. Yu Miaomiao tried taking one of the small hammers from it, but it quickly disappeared—only to reappear back on the repair table. It seemed the items there could only be used on the table itself.

So how did she repair things? Through the holographic interface, she dragged and moved the umbrella onto the surface of the repair station, and sure enough, a miniature version of the umbrella appeared. When she tapped it lightly, a “Repair” button popped up.

But surprisingly, repairs required materials. Well, of course they would—how could she have thought otherwise? She had been too naive.

Next to the repair button, there was a display: Nylon Fabric (0/2), Wood (2/2), Screws (2/2).

It was clear she had enough wood and screws, but where was she supposed to get 2 pieces of nylon fabric?

In just this short time, her whole body had turned red from the sun. Yu Miaomiao had no choice but to open the umbrella again.

She glanced at the time: 【Desert Survival – Day 2, 11:58 AM】

All she could do was hope that the noon gift pack would contain something useful. If not, she’d have to keep trading chicken wings.

As the card draw time approached, everyone in the world chat started speculating about what good stuff they might get at noon.

【System Notification: Please draw your gift pack card.】