There is One New Rule Every Month Globally

The scenery around could neither be said to be entirely unrelated to wilderness, nor could it be said to be related.

The definition of wilderness.

Generally seen as barren, desolate, countryside.

Yet the scene before was quite the opposite.

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An oasis.

Countless pine trees towering into the clouds densely packed, it was hard to resist the urge to lie comfortably beneath them, enjoying the comfort of the shade in the harsh sunlight.

Of course.

If you didn't mind the fist-sized spider dropping from the treetops into your clothes the moment you closed your eyes.

Or a grass snake silently slithering up your pant leg amidst the underbrush.

By comparison, the sudden appearance of a brown bear with a gaping maw behind you was relatively more acceptable, at least to some people.

Forget it, suicide was a quicker and cleaner way out.

They had just steadied themselves when a panel materialized before them.

"Welcome, players, to the pioneer 'Wasteland' map. Below are the map details and rules; please read carefully."

"Players have one minute to review the map details."

"1. The map is vast, allowing plenty of room for exploration. Within the map, all player Skills, Props, and Titles can be used normally."

"2. Felling pine trees will drop wooden resources, which have many uses, such as building houses, and constructing defense structures like walls and arrow towers."

"3. Man-faced beasts will appear on the map, and by killing these monsters, players can obtain rare resources, which can be used to build exclusive items, like fur for warmth or a sofa bed."

"4. The map features many animals for players to hunt. Besides the dry provisions in their backpacks, they cannot purchase any food resources from personal stores while on the map, including purified water and dry provisions."

"5. The pioneer phase of the map lasts 10 days and will feature a building score event with exclusive leaderboards. The top-ranked player after map pioneering will receive an extra exclusive Title reward."

"6. Once pioneering is completed, the map will open to all players. At that time, any player holding a 'Wilderness Pass' can freely enter the Wasteland map. Players will attack the structures built within the past ten days, and those who successfully capture a structure will be rewarded. If a player's structure isn't successfully captured, the owner of the building will receive a reward."

"7. During these 10 days, the map will announce tomorrow's weather every day. Players, please take timely countermeasures."

"8. Within the map, players can respawn indefinitely, but all resources gathered such as wood or fur will be dropped upon death."

"9. For more fun gameplay, players should explore proactively."

"10. After the pioneering phase, players will be evaluated based on their performance on the map, and corresponding rewards will be given out."

"Sounds like... we're supposed to build houses?"

Tuberculosis Rabbit nodded thoughtfully, then glanced around with an increasingly strange expression. There were nearly 100 players in total, and aside from a dozen or so players in beginner gear.

The rest were essentially in fashion wear.

Only that each fashion wear was weirder than the next.

To the left, one was dressed as a clown with a cockscomb on their head, and social canvas shoes on their feet, looking extremely bizarre.

The one in the distance was even stranger, dressed as Ultraman. He had seen this outfit in the store but never thought anyone would actually buy such a thing.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Although everyone shouted for the light, dressing up as Ultraman was quite odd, to say the least.

The rest were hardly normal by comparison.

Next to them, Yi's bear pajamas were surprisingly tame, at least they were meant for humans.

"Wait."

Tuberculosis Rabbit suddenly spotted a familiar player, not too far away, the one draped in a trench coat with a fluffy fox tail swishing about. It seemed they had seen them several times before.

They must be players from Yancheng, right?

Before the players had the chance to interact,

They suddenly felt lighter underfoot, and a strong sense of weightlessness came over them.

When they opened their eyes again, they were in a forest.

...

"Wow."

Tuberculosis Rabbit looked up at the many pine trees around, each over 30 meters tall or more, and couldn't help but exclaim in awe, "All these trees would sell for so much."

The pine trees around were very dense, blocking out more than half of the sunlight above.

"Looks like it really is a wilderness survival series?"

Chen Yi looked around and said thoughtfully, "Before we entered the map, we just stocked some provisions in our backpacks, along with a few props that can stave off hunger and thirst, and the game's available game."

"Surviving 10 days shouldn't be a problem."

"It seems the biggest challenge of this map might be the food resources, and... the threat of savages."

At that moment, he discovered that a new Prop had appeared in his backpack, shimmering brightly.

'Prop Name': Logging Axe.

'Prop Grade': None.

'Prop Effect': Used for chopping wood, spend 20 logs to upgrade it to a 'One-Star Logging Axe' to greatly increase logging efficiency.

'Prop Introduction': "One must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well."

"For logging?"

Chen Yi murmured to himself and nodded, hefting the Logging Axe in his hand and weighing it a few times—it was pretty heavy. He took a trial swing at the root of a pine tree next to him.

Suddenly.

A panel popped up in front of him.

'1/15.'

Did this mean it would take 15 swings to fell the tree? Deciding that practice would reveal the truth, he didn't waste any more words but rolled up his sleeves and began to vigorously hack at the root of the pine tree.

"Hmm."

Tuberculosis Rabbit stood by, looking at Yi, who was wearing a little bear onesie and chopping down a pine tree with a Logging Axe, feeling like the scene was just a bit odd.

Chopping wood in a little bear onesie was incredibly discordant.

It was like when you catch a glimpse of your girlfriend cooking instant noodles in the kitchen wearing a nightgown, and the image that comes to mind isn't the delicious instant noodles that are about to be done.

Just then—

"Boom!"

The pine tree in front of Chen Yi suddenly collapsed, not to the sides but as if splitting down the middle, ten round logs fell to the ground and turned into streaks of light that flew into his body.

Not a single leaf or twig was left on the ground, just an extremely flat cross-section of the pine trunk.

"Ding, darkness will descend in 12 hours."

"After darkness descends, wild people will start moving and hunting players, please build a defensive structure to protect yourself as soon as possible."

A notification sounded in the ears of all players.

Chen Yi looked at the ten round logs in his backpack, and a building panel popped up in the air.

10 logs could be used as a foundation laid on the ground.

Or they could be piled up to make the walls of a house.

Alternatively, they could be used to construct defensive structures like arrow towers.

Wait a second.

By that calculation, constructing the most rudimentary house would require about 30 logs, and with defenses, probably around 100 logs.

Chopping down a pine tree yielded 10 logs, so 100 logs would just mean chopping down 10 pine trees, which could be done in a couple of hours if one had decent stamina.

It looked like the survival difficulty shouldn't be too hard.

"Yi, I'm going to start now, huh."

Tuberculosis Rabbit lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then pulled out a Logging Axe from his embrace and eyed a pine tree before him, swinging down hard!

"1/32."

"Huh... why do I have to chop 32 times?"

"It must be different depending on physical strength; different people need different numbers of swings, but don't rush it."

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes with a thoughtful expression, "Perhaps we could try... a level push?"

...

"This..."

Li Yide stood in his trench coat, having read through all the content and rules of the map. His Fox Tail couldn't help but shake wildly behind him as the corners of his mouth lifted uncontrollably into a broad laugh.

"Heaven is truly aiding me!!!"

He looked at a Prop in his arms, with eyes sparkling with excitement.

Before coming here, he had seen Chen Yi as well.

That handful of titles was exceptionally noticeable among the players. After being suppressed by Chen Yi in Yancheng for so long, it was time for him to turn the tables on Chen Yi.

With the Prop in his embrace, he was set to be the strongest player on this map. At the very least, his building's score would definitely rank first on the leaderboard!

"Prop Name": Bald Qiang's Logging Chainsaw.

"Prop Grade": D-grade.

"Prop Effect": An unstoppable chainsaw that could instantly slice through any hard tree.

"Prop Introduction": "You know, I have a wish to chop down all the trees in the neighbor's yard that block the sunlight in my own yard."

"Heh."

Li Yide's eyes shone; he glanced at the building score leaderboard, which was still empty, and tossed the One-Star Logging Axe that the system had gifted him into the hands of his Little Rascal.

"Here, this is for you, Little Rascal."

"Now, watch my performance."

"A true man stands between heaven and earth; how can he be content living under others for long!"

The next second—

Li Yide leaned forward slightly, grabbing the whirring chainsaw between his hands, his face resolute and his eyes full of anticipation for the future, and let out a low roar.

His Fox Tail began to tremble ferociously.

Suddenly!

The Fox Tail emitted an exceedingly bright light, and Li Yide's body shot straight forward, leaving an orange fiery trail behind!

"Heaven is aiding me!"

In almost the blink of an eye, Li Yide had shot hundreds of meters away.

Little Rascal, who had been standing behind Li Yide, could only gape as the trees along the way were all chopped down by Li Yide, with the logs turning into streaks of light and flying into his body before they even hit the ground.

In a matter of seconds!

More than thirty pine trees were chopped down in the blink of an eye!

His backpack instantly filled with a whopping 300 logs!

A visibly clear path had suddenly emerged in the dense forest!

While other players needed nearly ten minutes to chop down a single tree, Li Yide had felled more than thirty pine trees in a matter of seconds!

The difference was incomparable.

"Excellent!"

Stopping on the clearing, Li Yide turned around to look at the cleared space behind him, smiling uncontrollably as he admired his handiwork.

Then, he became somewhat hesitant as he looked at the panel of his Fox Tail Vehicle.

While his Vehicle could burst with speed, it wasn't very long-lasting.

The fuel he had been saving up for so long had just been used up by one-fiftieth in that moment.