After Qi Guang finished writing his first small goal, his stomach growled a second time, and it was even louder and more distinct.
This serves as a reminder that failing to pay the debt could result in his death, and he would face the same consequences if he didn’t eat.
Despite the system providing him with a one-month extension to settle his debt, the threat to his survival was already looming1 迫在眉睫
pressing in on one’s eyelashes (idiom); imminent ; extremely urgent .
The last time Qi Guang remembered eating was already several days ago. It goes without saying that in the apocalypse, you have already become the food yourself. How can you have the chance to eat?
When he was collecting branches just now, he’d only found a few clusters of berries.
He refrained from eating them due to safety concerns because a large amount of white juice oozed out when he squeezed them.
Naturally, the water supply was even more scarce, and the memory of him drinking water was even more distant.
After a day of hard work, he can still stand up and take a stroll, with 90% of this attributed to the system repairing his body. He believes he can endure for two more days.
At the moment water is more important than food.
In the intense heat of summer, Qi Guang will have beads of sweat, for the sake of balance in a day, he needs to take in at least 2 liters of water to ensure his own survival.
His top priority2当务之急 IDIOM most pressing matter of the moment; a top priority task; urgent matter 1 top priority job 2 matter of vital importance was to find a generous amount of clean, fresh water—preferably if he could boil it later.
In that case, the next task is to light a fire to boil water…
Qi Guang furrowed his brows and pondered for a while, but ultimately, he crossed out the option of lighting a fire.
Indeed, fire is an extremely important tool. It can be said that having fire can illuminate numerous branches in the technology tree3In strategy games, a technology tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades a player can unlock.
. However, under the current inferior conditions, the only method he has to start a fire is by drilling wood.
This method requires materials and high repetition. It’s extremely depleting of physical strength and it’s very likely to require a dozen attempts or more to succeed. Therefore, he must have a stable source in place and consider it carefully before proceeding.
The stories of people having fire but lacking the physical strength to find food, resulting in starving to death, were all no laughing matter.
Qi Guang changed “starting a fire” to “gathering suitable materials to start a fire,” the task was prioritized in fourth place.
The second task is to find food supplies, the third is to locate a place where he can establish a long-term shelter.
After writing these bits and pieces of tasks, Qi Guang wrote down four more words next to the goal of one hundred points in the notepad.
Prepare for winter.
This was the most optimistic situation; he was able to survive until winter. For him to endure winter, there are things he should consider.
Qi Guang’s current location is in Shen City. This city is located in the Southern part of China situated in alluvial plains4An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms., with fertile land and a rich river system5A river system consists of a system or group of rivers so united that the water carried by the minor component streams finally unites in one body of flowing water..
Following ancient times to this day, it’s well known as the land of fish and rice6鱼米之乡 well-watered place where fish and rice are abundant; land of milk and honey (fig.) fertile region, in the south of Yangtze River, and prosperous land. Yet in addition to the subtropical climate7subtropical climate has hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. It also offers four distinct seasons and it’s not particularly delightful….
Not particularly delightful.
The short spring and autumn often pass before you can even feel it, additionally, there was the dump plum rain8梅雨 , a term for the rain in the fourth and fifth lunar months. It specifically refers to the historical belief that when the plums turn yellow and fall south of the Yangtze in the fourth and fifth months, the moisture that evaporates from the plant turns into rain. for half a month.
Qi Guang was now familiar with the heat and humidity of summer—also mosquitoes.
However, compared to the summer when the urban heat island effect9Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island effect, that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day and is most apparent when winds are weak, under block conditions, noticeably during the summer and winter. Wikipedia is absent and the intensity of summer lessens, the winter season without the greenhouse effect10The greenhouse effect is the process through which heat is trapped near Earth’s surface by substances known as ‘greenhouse gas.’ Imagine these gases as a cozy blanket enveloping our planet, helping to maintain a warmer temperature than it would have otherwise. would be more deterrent.
Qi Guang feels that he is still unprepared to endure and survive the strong, continuous magical attacks of the southern winter—water, ice, and mist. The odds of him getting rescued before winter arrives are also slim to none.
Qi Guang made a list on the notepad, planning what he needed to do next according to his memories of the autumn and winter seasons in Shen City.
He must find a steady source of water and food and build a long-term “home” at its center; a home that could shelter him from wind and rain, at least for this summer.
The goal of the next task is to successfully make a fire. Having a fire source means having basic safety and health conditions. Fire is also indispensable for the production of many tools.
To officially start the live broadcast he needs to have enough food and warm clothing.
Taking a walk with a bird in the open11taking a walk with a bird May also refer to an exhibitionist man who exposes his genitals in public. xD Well, its bird = p*nis. can be resolved after. As long as it’s not going to show his lower body, he can start muddling through the duration of the broadcast, so he can start to accumulate points and….
It shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Qi Guang left this matter for further discussion and planned for the future.
If luck is on his side and things go smoothly, he hopes that within a week, his wilderness life will be on the right track.
It would be best if he were able to thoroughly sense and understand the conditions of the nearby terrain while simultaneously improving his quality of life and making preparations for winter.
Overall, the task’s degree of difficulty is extraordinarily high and the likelihood of success is particularly low.
It’s a good thing, this area was around the University he was familiar with.
Although it became a primeval forest now after a thousand years, at the moment it seems like this golden finger was a bit more reliable than the system.
Qi Guang closed his eyes, recalling the topography of the university and deciding which direction to take tomorrow.
He remembered that inside the University, there were several flowing rivers originating from the Pujiang River. It traverses Shen City, splitting the river flow.
Perhaps there was still a river that had not dried up, with a steady flow and thriving with fish, shrimp, snails, crabs, aquatic plants, algae, and yellow floating heart12
.
It could solve both his eating and drinking problems at once.
Qi Guang caressed his starving belly, which was already numb from hunger, and dispelled the images of braised fish, steamed crab, and spicy crawfish from his mind.
After completing the task list, he double-checked to ensure nothing had been overlooked. Qi Guang opened a new page in the notepad and drew a map of the university that he could still remember before going to bed.
S University, Outside Shen City, Shen City’s ocean….
Qian Street, Oriental Cherry Road, Small Hua…
Memories before and after the apocalypse churned in his mind, while he drew on the notepad. He eventually loses consciousness as his energy hits rock bottom.
On the first night after time traveling, Qi Guang managed to get no more than four hours of sleep.
His sleep quality was extremely poor, more than half his sleep was filled with nightmares of zombies gnawing on incomplete arms and broken legs.
It causes him to wake up from the phantom pain of being nibbled like food, but instead of lessening, it becomes even more severe after waking up.
Fortunately, living in the apocalypse, he has grown accustomed to sleeping on the floor and It’s unlikely that he will have a backache because the “mattress” is too hard.
In the forest, the small birds woke up even earlier than Qi Guang. Still, with closed eyes, he could already hear the wave of clear and melodious chirping of birds.
Qi Guang yawned and looked at the roof made of jointed branches, once more making an effort to be happy about the fact that he was still alive.
It’s a pity that he was starved, slightly dehydrated, and sleep-deprived. Enduring triple converging attacks on his only meager personal strength left, he was incapable of being happy for half a second longer.
The only thing he could do was rub his face and climb out of the temporary shelter to confront the overwhelming pressure on his survival.
