Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 25 Ten Square Metres Island(2)

“Super Mall is open.”

“Player’s current balance is 1023 yen. Would you like to enter the Super Mall?”

Qian Yue, “Yes.”

In the next second, a shopping interface popped up in front of Qian Yue.

Unlike what she had seen before at the Item Merchant, the entire shopping interface had around ten different categories, comparable to a certain Double Eleven(11.11) shopping app.

Qian Yue marveled, “Truly deserving of being called a Super Mall.”

In addition to that, there was a lottery pool set up on the homepage.

There were no big rotating wheels or miscellaneous items. It simply had a button with one word written on it—

【Lottery】

Selection range: All products within the Super Mall.

Qian Yue glanced at the rules explanation again: 198 yen for one try, 468 yen for three tries, 888 yen for five tries, 100% chance of winning, no deception.

“…”

They even have bulk discounts for multiple tries.

Although the option to spend real money hadn’t been opened yet, this was essentially a game designed to deceive players into spending, right?

198 yen wasn’t a significant loss. Even though she knew it might be a trap, Qian Yue hesitated for a moment and couldn’t resist trying it once.

Just one try, she silently thought to herself.

A burst of white light flashed, and the lottery ended.

However, unexpectedly, nothing appeared in front of Qian Yue but the initial lottery screen.

Wasn’t it guaranteed to win every time?

System: “Congratulations to player Qian Yue for a successful lottery draw!”

“The selected prizes from the Super Mall lottery will be delivered to the player along with the prizes obtained on the first day of the instance. Please check them carefully.”

Qian Yue was stunned. “They’ll be delivered after entering the instance?”

Qian Yue had a head full of question marks. After players finished the lottery, they couldn’t immediately know what they had won? How would she know if she should continue trying?!!

…However, it turned out that because she couldn’t immediately know what she had won, Qian Yue seemed to have a stronger desire to continue trying _(:з」∠)_

“What if the items I previously won were ordinary? If I don’t continue the lottery now, wouldn’t I be wasting the opportunity?”

Although she said this, Qian Yue ultimately regained her rationality and refrained from continuing. She still needed to buy items and couldn’t spend all her money on this.

Moreover, Qian Yue was certain that there wouldn’t be a shortage of people who felt the same. But in reality, if they continued, they would likely fall into a vicious cycle, making it difficult to escape later.

Just like a gambler, they would never think of stopping until they reached the very end.

“It really is a game designed to deceive players into spending.”

Qian Yue said that and decided not to bother with the lottery anymore. She directly clicked on the categories and began shopping.

In the previous round, she had almost used up all her consumable items, so she needed to buy food, medicine, and suppressants again.

Qian Yue pondered, “The prices are the same as in the first instance.”

Qian Yue couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander: …So she was indeed retaliated against by the Item Merchant in the previous instance, right? She should have asked Qian Chi about his situation in the last round.

Before making the purchase, Qian Yue contemplated for a moment.

“Rely on the sea for sustenance. I don’t need to buy too much hard bread, but I must buy fire starters and seasonings.”

“The terrain in this instance is more enclosed, and there are either very few or no NPCs, so medicines are scarce. Basic medicines and anti-inflammatory drugs are a must-buy.”

“Mental Suppressants are not very useful for me, and they are expensive. There’s no need to buy too many. With the remaining money, I might as well see if there are any handy tools.”

After thinking it through, Qian Yue bought five loaves of bread, ten packets of vitamin C, three doses of anti-inflammatory medicine, five mental suppressants, one fire starter, and two bottles of seasoning.

She was left with a little over a hundred yen. Qian Yue originally wanted to buy some tools with it, but after a quick glance at the store shelves, it seemed that there was nothing urgently needed within that price range, so she gave up.

“I’ll save this bit of money for use in the instance.”

Shopping was done.

System: “The third instance, ‘Ten-Square-Meters Island,’ is now open. Good luck.”

Once again, when Qian Yue opened her eyes, she found herself sitting by the water.

Yes, it wasn’t a beach, but by the water’s edge.

Beside her was a clump of reeds, and behind her was a small cluster of bamboo and a large stone. In the center of the island, there was a triangular red flag planted in the ground. Apart from that, it was all water.

The entire island seemed to be less than half the size of her bedroom.

Qian Yue muttered, “…Indeed, it’s ten square meters.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the system’s prompt sounded in her ears once again:

“Welcome to the instance ‘Ten-Square-Meters Island.’ This instance has gameplay that is relatively unique compared to the previous ones, so a game guide will provide explanations.”

“There are several islands within this water area, and players will be randomly assigned to a small island measuring ten square meters— becoming the island’s owner, with a red flag representing the small island.”

There was a red flag planted on the island behind Qian Yue, symbolizing its occupation, with herself as the island owner.

“Each small island, in addition to basic greenery like lawns, will randomly grow two large plants that can be harvested or reaped.”

“The growth cycle of the plants is one hour, and when they mature, materials can be harvested without the need for tools.”

“For the first three days of the game instance, only the island owner can harvest the plants. Starting from the fourth day of the game instance, this rule no longer applies.”

“Unoccupied islands have green flags, and they can be occupied but not bound. Resources on the islands can be harvested by anyone regardless of their status.”

“In addition to plant resources, helicopters will randomly airdrop supplies to unoccupied islands throughout the day, with limited quantities. Seize the opportunity!”

“More exciting gameplay will be up to players to explore on their own. The commentary for this session is complete. Enjoy the scenic beauty of the island!”

Compared to the previous two instances, this “Ten Square Meters Island” is clearly closer to a real “game.”

Elements of survival, strategy, and management are blended together, and it took someone like Qian Yue, who doesn’t often engage in online games, several minutes to fully understand the meaning behind the rules.

She summarized, “So, the first three days are the period of resource expansion, while the following days will be a defensive battle.”

During the initial three days of the game, players don’t have to worry about their backyard catching fire and can safely go to uninhabited islands to gather resources.

During this time period, players must gather as many resources as possible to ensure their future usage.

Because starting from the fourth day, others can come to their island and collect resources— it’s like stealing crops or energy in simpler terms.

By that time, not to mention leaving the island for other places, it’s likely that even before finding resource points, everything at home will have been harvested by others.

The ideal scenario is to stock up enough supplies and then stay on one’s own island without moving.

But before that…

Qian Yue thought, “I must build a boat first.”

She stood up and took a glance around. Although the island itself wasn’t large, the distance between the islands couldn’t be considered short. Just swimming alone would probably take several minutes to reach the shore.

From what Qian Yue could see at the moment, there were around seven or eight islands nearby, and the faces of the island owners were all unfamiliar. The distribution of the islands seemed random.

At the same time, the crops growing on the islands were vastly different.

There were reeds and coconut trees, giant lotus and apple trees, banana trees, and nettle…

Comparatively, Qian Yue suddenly felt that the reeds and bamboo on her island weren’t that strange after all.

—Even though both of them weren’t originally plants that should appear on a deserted island.

A little further away was a “large” island of about twenty to thirty square meters. In the center of the island stood a green flag, indicating that it was an uninhabited island.

There were coconut trees and medicinal herbs planted on it—the former represented food, and the latter represented medicine, both of which Qian Yue urgently needed at the moment.

Looking at the distribution of the terrain in front of her, Qian Yue instantly thought of the set of pictures she had previously seen, which included a scene with islands of different sizes. The large island was situated in the middle of the small islands, resembling stars surrounding the moon.

“So it should be the same as in that picture. Several small islands surrounding a large uninhabited island.”

In other words, the resources on an uninhabited island may be contested by dozens of people simultaneously.

In this situation, whoever gets to the island first and obtains the first batch of resources will have the advantage!

Qian Yue instinctively glanced at the island owner who possessed the giant lotus.

However, it seemed that the other person didn’t know the usage of the giant lotus. They were currently contemplating whether to chop down the apple tree, lost in thought.

At that moment, a sound of “splash” suddenly came from nearby.

Someone jumped into the water and swam rapidly towards the deserted island.

The person’s island was not particularly far from the deserted island, but it wasn’t very close either. Based on Qian Yue’s estimation, it would take around ten minutes for the person to successfully reach the shore.

For some, ten minutes might be a bit rushed, but it seemed to be enough of a stimulus for many others to dive into the water as well!

“Damn it! Why are these people so fast!”

“What’s the use of being fast? I’m closest to the island, the resources are mine!”

Players continued to swim towards the deserted island, creating a splashing sound all around.

Players who couldn’t swim could only sigh in frustration, while Qian Yue, who was the farthest from the island, remained calm…

She sighed softly, “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to make you all run for nothing.”

In order to have a more comfortable time in the following days, Qian Yue was determined to be the first to acquire the initial batch of resources on the deserted island.

【Name: Reeds】

【Growth Status: Mature (100% remaining for harvesting)】

【Name: Bamboo】

【Growth Status: Mature (100% remaining for harvesting)】

In this instance, plant resources could be harvested directly without using any tools. After Qian Yue clicked on “Harvest,” a skill progress bar appeared before her.

【Temporary Skill: Harvest】

【Description: Harvest mature plants without using any tools. The specific amount of harvest may vary.】

【Player Note: If the skill is interrupted during the progress bar, the skill release will be ineffective and needs to be reactivated. Additionally, this skill can only be used in the “Ten Square Meters Island” instance.】

After a ten-second progress bar for each, Qian Yue’s inventory had ten reeds and ten bamboos.

The harvesting status of the two resource points became:

【Name: Reeds】

【Growth Status: Mature (75% remaining for harvesting)】

【Name: Bamboo】

【Growth Status: Mature (50% remaining for harvesting)】

Qian Yue walked to the reed marsh and completed another progress bar, harvesting ten more reeds, making a total of twenty.

There was also a gift box in her inventory, which was probably obtained from a previous draw in the super mall. Qian Yue opened it and received a piece of hard bread.

“…”

Qian Yue stared at the “198 yen overpriced bread,” hesitating to speak. She suddenly felt that she might have misunderstood the Item Merchant. After all, compared to the lottery in the super mall, his price increase didn’t seem like much : )

“Never mind, let’s focus on the task at hand.”

She put the hard bread back in her backpack and took out the collected items to start building a bamboo raft.

Yes, she was going to make a boat herself.

Although bamboo rafts were used for shallow water navigation, since bamboo had grown on the island, it seemed that nothing was impossible.

The bamboo raft had two layers. The upper layer was the bamboo raft that floated on the water’s surface, while the lower layer was the support structure to secure the bamboo raft.

Qian Yue built the two-layer framework based on their thickness, then took out the twenty reeds.

“These reeds have good toughness. Hopefully, the raft won’t fall apart later.”

Qian Yue quickly twisted two reeds into a rope, threading it back and forth between several bamboo poles. In the blink of an eye, the basic form of the bamboo raft was completed.

Under normal circumstances, the process of making a bamboo raft would be much more complicated. It would involve steps such as selecting bamboo, drying it, and applying oil, which is all meticulous.

But this is a game— fortunately, it’s a game. Qian Yue only needed to tie the reeds and bamboo together to obtain a crude bamboo raft.

【Bamboo Raft】

Attributes: Player-made

Quality: Poor

Durability: 20/20

At the same time, Qian Yue obtained a blueprint:

【Blueprint: Bamboo Raft】

Description: A very ordinary bamboo raft, seemingly not very durable due to being secured with reeds.

Required Materials: Reeds x20, Bamboo x8, Synthesis Stone x1

“After exploration, player Qian Yue discovered the method to craft a bamboo raft. Hereby, a corresponding blueprint is rewarded as encouragement.”

Qian Yue raised an eyebrow. She clearly remembered that her self-made items didn’t receive such treatment in the previous two instances.

“Encouraging exploration, huh?”

It was probably another optimization during the closed beta.

Although it seemed a bit like taking advantage of players’ ideas, Qian Yue had to admit that she liked this feature.

High degree of freedom and a fantastic gaming experience.

“This game seems to be getting more and more interesting.”