Chapter 4: Survival
In the distance, a massive crowd was surging toward the river.
Liu Xiang's group wasn't far from the river—only about a hundred meters away—so they quickly made their way there as well.
The riverbank was packed with people. After squeezing through the crowd to reach the water's edge, a single glance at the river told Liu Xiang why he'd felt that unease earlier.
On the calm surface of the river, several bodies floated slowly downstream from upstream. No—not just several. When he looked further upriver, the sight would stay with him for life.
Countless corpses, so many they nearly blanketed the river's surface, drifted slowly with the current.
On both banks upstream, more people were continuously jumping into the water.
Liu Xiang watched as a mother and daughter, weeping, embraced each other and sank beneath the surface. After a brief struggle, they vanished.
Confronting death so directly left everyone deeply unsettled.
Some people nearby wanted to cry but only dared to sob behind their hands.
Their previous lives might not have been perfect, but they'd known no war, no famine, and rarely encountered death. They'd almost never faced such primal fear—until now. Everything had changed, completely.
Even if what the female voice had said was true—that death here didn't mean true death—everyone understood that their current bodies were undeniably real. To test her words by dying once would require immense courage. What if it was all a lie?
More and more people plunged into the river. The floating corpses seemed to declare to those still on shore: "We've gone back first. You stay here and suffer."
Thus, more wavered. More joined in.
Seeing this, Liu Xiang didn't linger. He turned, pushed through the crowd, and left the riverbank.
He refused to believe—not that the woman had lied, but that an advanced civilization would transport them here for no reason.
What stuck with him were her additional words: This was an unprecedented opportunity.
If so, why pass it up?
Throughout history, could any emperor at the height of their dynasty claim to live better than an average middle-class person today?
This was the gap between technology, culture, and civilizations.
Liu Xiang's lips curled into a faint smile. At this moment, he decided: He would survive here, no matter what.
Fearing the suicide scene might affect the team, Li Tianjia decided to relocate them away from the river, closer to the forest. The group remained relatively stable—after all, faced with death, rational people tended toward cowardice.
Their numbers had also grown slightly, with seven more lone college students joining.
The girls had mostly completed acquiring knowledge. They'd discovered that each person's available knowledge rewards differed, suggesting the Origin's knowledge system was vast and impossible for any individual to master entirely. This made sense—even on Earth, no one could learn all existing knowledge in a lifetime.
But at least they now had basic survival knowledge.
Liu Xiang didn't have time to ask each person for details. He simply noted which girl had which type of knowledge, memorizing their names and faces.
Soon, Li Tianjia gathered everyone to prepare for survival.
"The knowledge is extensive and varied. I'll outline key directions. Based on what you know, suggest what items the guys should obtain and our next steps."
Once assembled, Li Tianjia began:
"Top priority is food and water, followed by safety, then shelter. We don't know about day-night cycles here yet, but better safe than sorry. Ye Shan."
Ye Shan was the de facto leader among the girls. A top graduate and former student council vice president, she was intelligent, straightforward, and respected. If not for her petite stature reducing her imposing presence in this environment, she might've been co-leader.
"Right," Ye Shan took over. "The river remains our main water source, despite... recent events. It's flowing water, and those... haven't decomposed yet. We can boil it, but we'll need containers and heating tools. As for food..."
She grabbed a yellow-stemmed plant at her feet, struggling to uproot it.
"Help."
Two boys immediately assisted, pulling up the plant to reveal seven or eight long, tuberous roots.
"This is 'foot eggplant.' According to basic plant knowledge, these tubers are edible." She broke one open to show the interior.
"Looks like yam?"
"Since when does yam grow like this?"
One boy tasted a piece.
"How is it?" Everyone watched his expression.
"Not bad. Sweet, like sweet potato." He ate the rest.
"That's one food source. Also, this waist-high plant with blueberry-sized fruits—'ground plum'—is edible. Others are in the forest."
Ye Shan glanced warily at the distant trees.
"I must warn you: Many plants here are dangerous—not just poisonous, but aggressive."
"What?"
"Attacks from plants?"
"Exactly. Even among low-level flora, some can harm animals. For example, 'Wood tear'—a vine-like plant—secretes corrosive sap from above that can blind if it hits eyes."
She continued gravely, "Wood tears are among the most threatening low-level plants. Others cause minor harm. Higher-level plants could be worse. So entering the forest requires extreme caution."
"Due to our numbers, most low-level animals have retreated into the woods. Until we enter, aquatic life may be our only meat source."
"As for rest cycles: Days here last about 336 hours—half a month on Earth. Nights are equally long."
"WTF?!"
"So we sleep during daylight?"
"Capitalism's final solution to 996!"
"Let her finish," Li Tianjia cut in.
"On Earth, sleep cleanses brain toxins. Here, our new biology likely has different needs I can't explain yet."
Though shocked, the group adapted quickly—they'd already absorbed too many revelations.
While Ye Shan spoke, Liu Xiang monitored other groups.
"We need to act now," he interjected, pointing. "Look—they're already gathering food."
About a hundred people were harvesting plants, some using hoes and shovels.
"This grassland can't support millions. We must collect food before competition intensifies," Liu Xiang warned. "To survive here, we must stay ahead. Otherwise, we'll be squeezed out."
His insight came not from life experience, but gaming—mass players competing for limited resources in new servers. Those who rushed ahead gained lasting advantages.
Liu Xiang had always been that top-tier player.
Recognizing the urgency, Li Tianjia assigned tasks:
"Zhou Peng, Cui Wei—get shovels. Huang Yuchen, Hu Leyi— get axe and saw. Wu Dongquan—choose large water container. Tiger—firestarter..."
Each male selected their item reward while girls began collecting ground plums.
Eventually, only four males—including Liu Xiang and Li Tianjia—remained unassigned.
Acquiring items went smoothly. As imagined objects materialized, Ye Shan delegated tasks.
Then Li Tianjia gathered the unassigned four.
"No job for us?" joked Zhou Yuke, clearly familiar with Li Tianjia.
"None? Think again." Li Tianjia lightly kicked him.
"Earlier, Liu Xiang suggested forming a combat squad. I agree—something feels off about being brought here just to survive."
Lowering his voice, he continued, "Zhou, Yang Zhe, Yang Zhao—you're all athletes. Liu Xiang's from Wucheng, home of the Qi Family Army [T/N: A historic elite force]. The five of us will form the first combat team. Thoughts?"
"No objections!" the Yang twins chorused. Being burly rugby players, they had intimidating presence.
"I'm with you, boss!" said Zhou Yuke, a sprinter.
"Same. I have archery experience," Liu Xiang offered—his only notable skill besides gaming.
"You shoot? Perfect!" Li Tianjia brightened. "I use swords—family tradition."
"We practiced martial arts—spear and sword," said Yang Zhe.
All eyes turned to Zhou Yuke, who stiffened.
"I... helped grandma rake fields last summer?"
"Meaning?"
"A rake. You know?" He mimed a two-handed swinging motion.
"Like Zhu Bajie's weapon!" Yang Zhao laughed. [T/N: Zhu Bajie: A pig character from Journey to the West wielding a rake]
"...Fine. At least it's multipurpose," Li Tianjia sighed.
They selected weapons through the reward system:
Liu Xiang envisioned his archery club's composite bow—and received it with a quiver of 20 arrows.
Li Tianjia acquired a rare two-handed ceremonial dao [Chinese saber], blending Japanese katana and Ming Dynasty designs used by the Qi Family Army against pirates.
The Yang twins got a spear and short sword.
When Zhou Yuke's nine-toothed rake appeared, the others tactfully looked away, suppressing laughter.
Armed, they guarded the food stockpile—Zhou Yuke's rake drawing particular attention.
"Zhou, evolving into Zhu Bajie now?"
"Piss off! I'm Marshal Tianpeng!" [Zhu Bajie's heavenly title]
As harvesting continued, Liu Xiang noticed groups distancing—a bad sign, indicating territorial claims.
Soon, a thousand-strong group encroached on a hundred-member team's area, sparking verbal then physical conflict.
Outnumbered ten to one, the smaller group eventually retreated.
"This won't work," Liu Xiang murmured. Their fifty couldn't compete when survival overrode civility.
His gaze returned to the endless forest—a primordial beast encircling them.