The third day of humanity's survival game began with dark clouds gathering on the distant horizon.
The ocean seemed calmer than usual.
Too calm.
Lin Chen stood on the deck of his expanded raft while examining his inventory.
Thanks to the 10,000× System, his resources had reached terrifying levels.
Most survivors were worried about their next meal.
Meanwhile, he possessed enough supplies to build a small floating fortress.
Suddenly, a world notification appeared.
World Announcement
Storm Arrival Countdown: 24 Hours Remaining
New Feature Unlocked: PROFILE PANEL
A new icon appeared on every player's game panel.
Lin Chen immediately opened it.
Profile
Name: Lin Chen
Level: 1
Race: Human
Age: 22
Lifespan: 78 Years
Strength: 8
Agility: 7
Constitution: 8
Spirit: 10
Luck: 12
Titles: None
Equipment: None
Lin Chen's eyes widened.
So players had hidden stats.
Luck?
Lifespan?
These values could become extremely important later.
The regional chat immediately exploded.
[Player 821]: My luck is only 4!
[Player 519]: I have 102 years lifespan!
[Player 372]: What does spirit do?
[Player 641]: How do we increase stats?
Nobody knew.
The game provided no explanations.
As Lin Chen studied the panel, another notification appeared.
Warning!
Sea Creatures Have Started Appearing.
The peaceful ocean suddenly changed.
Large shadows moved beneath the waves.
One.
Two.
Three.
Dozens.
The entire sea seemed alive.
"Something's coming."
Lin Chen immediately grabbed his upgraded fishing net.
Moments later a massive creature burst from the water.
BOOM!
Water exploded everywhere.
The creature resembled a shark.
However, it was nearly four meters long and covered in black scales.
Sharp teeth lined its enormous mouth.
Mutated Sea Shark
Level 2
Danger Rating: Low
Lin Chen's face changed.
A monster.
An actual monster.
The shark circled his raft.
Its red eyes stared directly at him.
CRASH!
The monster rammed the side of the raft.
The entire platform shook violently.
Regional chat instantly filled with panic.
[Player 931]: Monster attack!
[Player 188]: My raft is damaged!
[Player 552]: They're eating people!
Lin Chen realized many players were already dying.
Unfortunately, he possessed no weapon.
At least not yet.
Fortunately, the shark eventually lost interest and swam away.
The danger passed.
But Lin Chen understood something important.
Combat had officially begun.
Weapons would now become a necessity.
...
A few hours later he continued harvesting floating objects.
His upgraded fishing net repeatedly brought back multiple targets.
Wood chests.
Barrels.
Materials.
Everything multiplied by 10,000.
Then he spotted something unusual.
A shining silver object floating far away.
His heartbeat accelerated.
"Silver Chest!"
Without hesitation he threw his net.
The upgraded fishing net expanded across the sea.
Splash!
The silver chest became trapped.
Slowly he pulled it closer.
Finally it landed on his raft.
Silver Treasure Chest Acquired
Lin Chen stared at it excitedly.
This was his highest-grade chest so far.
Taking a deep breath, he opened it.
Silver light exploded into the sky.
Silver Chest Opened
Obtained:
• Steel Ingot ×20
• Weapon Blueprint ×1
• Stat Fruit ×1
• Water ×10
Then familiar golden light appeared.
10,000× System Activated
The rewards evolved instantly.
Obtained:
• Steel Ingot ×200,000
• Epic Thunder Spear Blueprint
• Stat Fruit ×10,000
• Water ×100,000
Lin Chen almost stopped breathing.
An Epic Blueprint!
He quickly examined it.
Epic Thunder Spear
Grade: Epic
Requirements:
500 Steel
100 Rope
Special Effects:
Lightning Damage
Armor Penetration
Attack +50
Critical Rate +20%
His eyes shone brightly.
This was infinitely better than a normal weapon.
The blueprint had evolved directly because of the 10,000× System.
Without hesitation he crafted it.
Golden light erupted.
A beautiful silver spear materialized before him.
Blue lightning danced across the blade.
Crack!
Tiny sparks appeared in the air.
Epic Thunder Spear Created
Lin Chen gripped the weapon.
Immediately he felt stronger.
Much stronger.
Now if sea monsters attacked again, he wouldn't be helpless.
Next, he examined the Stat Fruit.
Stat Fruit
Permanently increases one random stat.
After enhancement he possessed ten thousand of them.
Lin Chen swallowed one.
Strength +1
He swallowed another.
Constitution +1
After consuming several fruits, his profile changed dramatically.
Profile
Strength: 15
Agility: 12
Constitution: 16
Spirit: 14
Luck: 18
His body became noticeably stronger.
Muscles tightened.
Reflexes improved.
Even his senses sharpened.
For the first time since entering the game, Lin Chen felt truly powerful.
...
That evening, a private message suddenly appeared.
Private Chat Request
Player: Su Yao
Accept?
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.
A private message?
He accepted.
Immediately a message arrived.
"Su Yao" : You're the one selling large amounts of food and water, right?
Lin Chen became cautious.
Several seconds passed.
Then another message appeared.
"Su Yao" : Don't worry.
"Su Yao" : I'm not interested in stealing your resources.
"Su Yao" : I simply want to cooperate.
Lin Chen remained silent.
The girl continued.
"Su Yao" : I obtained a Talent that allows me to detect treasure chest locations.
"Su Yao" : But I lack resources.
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed.
A treasure-detection Talent?
That sounded valuable.
"Lin Chen" : Why contact me?
"Su Yao" : Because only someone with massive supplies can afford long-term cooperation.
"Su Yao" : And because everyone in the regional market is talking about you.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Perhaps this mysterious woman could become useful.
"Lin Chen" : We can discuss cooperation later.
"Su Yao" : Be careful tonight.
"Su Yao" : Something stronger than sharks is appearing.
The private chat ended.
Lin Chen frowned.
How did she know that?
...
Several hours later another major event occurred.
Auction House Opened
Special Event Auction
An item appeared before all players.
Auction Item
Strength Fruit ×1
Starting Price: 10 Wood
The bidding immediately became insane.
20 Wood.
50 Wood.
100 Wood.
200 Wood.
500 Wood.
Regional chat exploded.
[Player 183]: Rich people are crazy!
[Player 518]: It's only one stat point!
[Player 772]: Some people must have amazing resources!
The price continued climbing.
1,000 Wood.
2,000 Wood.
3,500 Wood.
Even Lin Chen was surprised.
A single stat point was worth this much?
Clearly wealthy survivors already existed.
Eventually the auction ended.
Winning Bid:
Player 901
Price: 5,200 Wood
The entire region fell silent.
Then chaos erupted.
[Player 274]: Who has that much wood?!
[Player 918]: The rich are appearing!
Lin Chen smiled.
If one stat fruit could sell for 5,200 wood...
Then his ten thousand enhanced fruits were worth an unimaginable fortune.
He suddenly realized that the true value of the 10,000× System wasn't merely survival.
It was domination.
Absolute domination.
Just then—
ROOOOAR!
A terrifying roar echoed across the ocean.
The water around his raft began shaking violently.
Even the waves trembled.
Lin Chen rushed to the edge of the platform.
Far away, a gigantic shadow slowly emerged from the sea.
It was at least twenty meters long.
Much larger than the mutated sharks.
Countless survivors screamed in regional chat.
Warning!
Elite Sea Creature Detected
The countdown to the first storm continued.
Only twenty-four hours remained.