Chapter Three: Has the World Gone Mad?

Jia Zhengjin had chopped down more than a dozen coconut trees, filling his backpack with thirty coconuts and fifty-six logs. He was utterly exhausted, his stamina dropping to a mere twelve points.

He ate another coconut, then selected the [Craft] function on the virtual interface before him, choosing [Construction]. He found the option to process logs into lumber and clicked [Craft All].

A green progress bar appeared instantly before his eyes, and when it moved from left to right, one log was successfully turned into four pieces of lumber. Processing all fifty-six logs took quite a while, but in the end, he produced two hundred and twenty-four pieces of lumber. The lumber looked like neat, square blocks of wood, all stacked together and occupying just one slot in his backpack. When he took them out and held them in his hands, they seemed weightless!

Place!

Jia Zhengjin silently mouthed the command, then reached out with the lumber to the designated spot. Miraculously, the lumber block appeared on the ground!

“It’s like it’s rooted to the spot—won’t budge!” Jia Zhengjin tried pushing and striking it, but the wooden block didn’t move an inch. However, attacking it with his dagger reduced its durability. When its durability reached zero, the block returned to his backpack.

Confirming that things worked just like in the game, Jia Zhengjin immediately began constructing a five-by-five foundation with the wooden blocks, then built upward by three layers, sealing it off at the top to form a perfectly square, sealed matchbox-like room. Through the construction options, he used six pieces of lumber to craft a wooden door and installed it directly, thus creating the simplest of shelters before his eyes.

Though the wooden house wasn’t especially sturdy, it would keep out wind and rain with no trouble.

But for a proper rest, he needed to light a fire and then make a sleeping bag.

The simplest campfire required four pieces of lumber and three plant fibers, but it was only good for one use. Jia Zhengjin planned to use eight stones and four pieces of lumber to build a reusable stone campfire inside the house.

Stones could be found everywhere on the beach, easily gathered. Plant fibers had to be collected from dense patches of grass in the nearby forest, but fortunately, the shelter wasn’t far from these resources.

“One stone, two stones…” Jia Zhengjin, in a good mood, made his way along the beach, carefully avoiding the corpses strewn about, and soon gathered eight stones. Cheerfully gripping his dagger, he dashed into the nearest patch of grass to collect plant fibers.

There were also stones in the grass, and he certainly wouldn’t pass those up—he’d need plenty more materials for upcoming projects!

Jia Zhengjin worked diligently to gather supplies, mainly stones and plant fibers, as these were the most abundant resources nearby.

He kept at it until a message appeared, warning him that his body temperature was too low and he needed to dry his clothes by a fire as soon as possible. Only then did he stop collecting materials and return to his matchbox room, his backpack now full of plant fibers and stones.

[Message]: Stone Campfire crafted successfully. Stones -8, Lumber -4!

“Whew!” Selecting the campfire from his backpack and placing it in the room, hot flames sprang up instantly.

“Humans really can’t live without fire!” Jia Zhengjin sighed, feeling his body temperature gradually rise as he sat by the fire. He took off his damp clothes and spread them next to the flames.

In truth, he wore only a single garment resembling a robe or tunic, crudely made. Even holding it prompted a message: [Shoddy Cloth Robe]: Poorly made, provides only minimal warmth.

Now completely naked, Jia Zhengjin was at least hidden within his sealed room, safe from prying eyes. Not that there seemed to be anyone around here—only a heap of corpses.

Jia Zhengjin wasn’t afraid of corpses. He didn’t fear the living, why fear the dead?

Sitting in the warmth of the fire, he soon felt drowsy. Having spent so much stamina, he definitely needed a good sleep to recover.

Through the [Furnishings] tab, he clicked to craft the only available option—a [Sleeping Bag]. More advanced beds required blueprints or skill points unlocked through upgrades.

In fact, not only sleeping bags—the crafting options at this stage only offered the most basic items. Anything more advanced required either blueprints or skill point investments.

For instance, under [Tools], only basic wooden and stone tools were available. To craft iron tools, he’d first need the relevant blueprint or to upgrade his skills in iron tool crafting.

Using twenty plant fibers, Jia Zhengjin created a simple sleeping bag. Even if it was the lowest-grade bed, it was still better than sleeping on the cold, damp ground.

Naked, he crawled into the sleeping bag beside the fire and felt thoroughly comfortable.

Completely exhausted, Jia Zhengjin quickly drifted off into a deep sleep as soon as he closed his eyes…

The blue sun set in the west, and darkness descended.

Sparse starlight highlighted a crimson moon in the sky.

Jia Zhengjin didn’t know how long he slept, but by the time he awoke, his body temperature had returned to normal and his stamina was back at a full hundred points. Needing to relieve himself, he climbed out of the sleeping bag.

The campfire had gone out, leaving the room in total darkness.

This didn’t trouble him. He felt around for the campfire and chose to reignite it.

After burning a few pieces of lumber, the warm flames returned. He also obtained a piece of coal from the fire.

“Charcoal turning straight into coal? What nonsense! The game system really doesn’t bother with realism—not that it’s surprising!” Feeling he was about to burst, Jia Zhengjin opened the door. But he didn’t want to relieve himself right at his doorstep—it would smell awful! Yet the fire’s light from inside the room didn’t reach the pitch-black outdoors.

He immediately chose to craft a tool, combining the coal he’d just collected with a piece of lumber to make a torch.

With the torch’s glow, he could confidently step outside. He hurried to a coconut tree over thirty meters from his house, spread his legs, and relieved himself.

No need to remove his pants? Of course not—he didn’t have any! His only robe was still lying inside the room.

What harm in running around naked at night? There was no one else around to worry about decency or public order.

Jia Zhengjin couldn’t bear to go back and put his robe on first—otherwise, he’d have wet himself right there in his house!

With the pressure relieved, he felt much better. He shook himself off, humming a tune as he prepared to return and resume his sleep.

Just then, a strange sound came from the beach nearby.

“Klak, klak…”

The sound was clear, like bamboo sticks being struck together. His curiosity aroused, Jia Zhengjin raised his torch and looked toward the source of the noise, but in the next instant, his scalp prickled with fear!

A bone-white skeleton was walking toward him from the beach, blue flames flickering in its empty eye sockets. With a life-like motion, its jaw opened and closed rapidly as it advanced, step by step, in his direction!