Crossing the wilderness to survive, starting with a broken kitchen knife.

Zhang Shi built a fire, cut the two kinds of meat into large chunks, pierced them with plum branches, and slowly roasted them over the fire. He kept chatting with Zhao Feng via video chat, while Zhao Feng focused entirely on the grilling, occasionally reminding Zhang Shi to flip the meat over, fearing it would burn.

As the flames gently licked the plum branches, the aroma of meat gradually spread, intertwining with the faint fruity fragrance in the air, forming an indescribably alluring aroma. Zhang Shi expertly flipped the meat. The wild duck was plump, and the golden fat dripped into the fire, making a sizzling sound. The aroma became increasingly rich, making Zhao Feng, on the other side of the screen, practically drool with greed.

"Shi Tou, your cooking skills are amazing! I can smell the fragrance from here, and it feels like the glutton in my stomach has been aroused." Zhao Feng rubbed his stomach exaggeratedly, his face full of anticipation.

Zhang Shi smiled and shook his head, continuing his cooking spree while teasing, "It seems you're really starving. You can even smell the aroma in the video. But having said that, this plum wood with barbecued meat does have a unique flavor."

As time went by, the meat gradually became crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an attractive color. Zhang Shi finally nodded with satisfaction, took the roasted meat off the fire, cut it into two pieces, and squeezed a little plum juice on it.

"Eat it while it's hot."

Zhang Shi traded an extra luxurious bed and one of the barbecues.

Seeing this, Zhao Feng exaggeratedly opened his mouth to receive the meat, then received the supplies from the system and impatiently took a big bite of the meat, muttering as he chewed.

"Wow, your craftsmanship is incredible, Shitou. You are my savior."

Zhang Shi smiled without saying anything. He took a bite of the barbecue, the delicious flavor instantly bursting in his mouth, making him look satisfied. As he savored the food, he continued chatting with Zhao Feng, sharing their experiences exploring the wilderness that day. Upon learning that Zhang Shi had been bitten by a venomous snake, Zhao Feng's expression darkened.

"Shi Tou, didn't you notice that the number of people in the regional chat channel has decreased again today, and it's much less."

Zhang Shi then noticed the number of people in the regional chat channel, and his eyes narrowed. Sure enough, the number of survivors still alive had become 9553. In just one day, 400 people had logged off.

"This survival game is obviously much more difficult than yesterday. Many people in the chat channel were attacked by wild beasts today. I'm worried that tomorrow's situation will only be worse..."

Despite their gloomy mood, their appetites remained strong, and they devoured most of the barbecue. After urging Zhao Feng to be more careful, Zhang Shi ended the video call. Frowning, he opened the regional chat channel. Today's chat was much more serious, with everyone sharing experiences and occasionally posting information about buying and selling.

Cheng Xiaobai: Hey everyone, I opened a treasure chest today and got some pig iron. There's a forest near my shelter, so I crafted the pig iron into [Iron Axe (Blue) x1]. In an hour, I can collect over 20 pieces of wood, which is much better than the broken stone axe I had before.

Zhu Dachang: I also got a high-level treasure chest today, but this time it was guarded by a giant raccoon cat as tall as my calf, and it bared its teeth at me when I approached it.

Qian Duo: Damn, it’s not a lynx, brother, you are so awesome, please give me a follow-up.

Zhu Dachang: I got an iron spear a while ago, but it didn't take much effort to scare it away. I also got pig iron from the treasure chest, but I haven't figured out what to do with it yet.

Ge Dalong: "It's probably a small cat like a serval. A lynx wouldn't be easily scared away." @朱大常, safety is important. Be more careful next time and don't be so reckless.

Zhang Shi saw this and gave a reminder.

Zhang Shi (VIP): Everyone, I noticed many survivors encountered wild beasts today. I suspect the difficulty of this wilderness world is gradually increasing. Everyone who can afford it should prepare weapons to avoid being targeted by wild beasts without any means to defend themselves.

Sheng Mu: Haha, who are you trying to scare? Did you stockpile weapons in advance and hope to make a fortune?

After sending the message, Zhang Shi returned to the trading market without stopping.

"As more and more people upgrade their tools, basic resources will gradually become saturated. Their value will be greatly reduced, so we should seize the opportunity to consume now."

Zhang Shi's goal was food and water. In the early days of the wilderness, these two resources were essential for survival. Zhang Shi first purchased a large number of wooden barrel blueprints and crafted a batch of them. Then he began purchasing large quantities of river water from Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng. Brothers should settle accounts, and Zhao Feng refused to take it, but Zhang Shi insisted. Fortunately, the price of river water had dropped again, and 1 liter of river water only required 3 units of wood.

Zhang Shi wasn't surprised by this. He knew Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng, among the two selling water. The river water was practically endless, making for a huge profit, so a price reduction was inevitable.

After confirming that his backpack couldn't keep the food fresh, Zhang Shi put the remaining plums and snake meat on the market. He also spent a lot of resources to trade for some easy-to-store food. Vacuum-proof foods like bread, potato chips, and biscuits became his first choice.

By the early hours of the morning, Zhang Shi had consumed nearly all of his existing resources, save for the materials reserved for upgrading the shelter, in exchange for a large amount of water and food. Unfortunately, the stone house blueprints were still nowhere to be found in the market. It was understandable that even if someone obtained such important blueprints for upgrading the shelter, they would choose to keep them for their own use and not easily sell them.

Seeing no particularly urgent supplies, Zhang Shi bought a blue-quality pillow design for the price of a blue-quality plum. This type of design required a wide range of materials, and Zhang Shi successfully crafted a pillow using two rabbit skins and duck down. Since he had the resources, he couldn't afford to let himself suffer.

As night fell, Zhang Shi gently extinguished the flickering oil lamp and carefully added a few pieces of dry wood to the campfire, making the flames even warmer and brighter. He slowly lowered his head onto the soft, cloud-like pillow, sliding into the warm, comfortable blanket, feeling as if enveloped in a gentle embrace. His eyes drifted to the backpack beside him, overflowing with supplies, and an indescribable sense of security and contentment welled up within him.

"Gala, gala."

Zhang Shi was just about to fall asleep when a sharp sound came into his ears and woke him up.

Zhang Shi sat up, lit the oil lamp, took out Lao Duan, and went to the source of the sound.

"Gala, gala."

The piercing sound continued, and Zhang Shi concluded that something outside was scratching the wooden door. After a struggle between his inner self and his inner self, Zhang Shi let out a roar.

"roll!"

The movement outside the door suddenly stopped, followed by the sound of soft footsteps trampling grass. Zhang Shi could tell that the thing had left. Just in case, Zhang Shi waited ten minutes before carefully opening the door a crack to check.

The wooden door was scratched with several claw marks, but otherwise intact, suggesting a beast. Judging from its height, the beast wasn't large, otherwise it wouldn't have been scared away by his shout.

Zhang Shi closed the wooden door with a lingering fear and climbed back into bed. However, he had no desire to sleep now. He glanced at the time and saw it was almost midnight. Zhang Shi simply opened the chat channel to kill time, waiting for tomorrow's sign-in refresh.