Chapter One: The Mysterious Lake

Inside the Arctic Circle.

Qin Fei trudged along a stretch of railway track, shivering uncontrollably. He felt utterly hopeless—he had only gone downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes, yet inexplicably found himself transported to this frozen, desolate land.

It was beyond belief.

Fortunately, it had been winter when he crossed over, so he was at least dressed for the season. He wore a well-insulated down jacket and a pair of thermal pants beneath. Without them, he doubted he would have survived more than a few minutes in this boundless expanse of snow.

Even so, he was still freezing to the bone! His legs had gone completely numb; now, he was moving forward purely on instinct.

He had to find shelter—somewhere warm—before long.

After about ten minutes of walking along the tracks, a fork appeared ahead on his right. Beside the junction stood a two-story wooden cabin. Behind the cabin stretched a frozen lake.

This sight seemed strangely familiar...

Qin Fei’s eyes widened in disbelief. The surrounding scenery—it was the map from The Long Dark... Mystery Lake.

Could it be that he had crossed into a video game?

By the lakeside stood a two-story wooden building with a flag fluttering above it, a maple leaf emblazoned on the fabric.

The moment he spotted the game’s iconic structure, the “Camp Office,” Qin Fei was certain—he had truly been transported into the world of The Long Dark.

He still didn’t know the rules of this new reality.

The game had two modes: sandbox survival and story mode. If it was the story mode, at least there would be other people to meet. But if it was sandbox mode, he’d be truly alone—the only living soul in the entire world.

Not a single other person in sight!

Numb from head to toe, Qin Fei hurried to the camp office door and pushed it open.

Suddenly, a familiar game interface flashed before his eyes:

[The Long Dark world transmission complete. Welcome to Mystery Lake!]
[Primary objective: Survive 200 days in The Long Dark game world.]
[Reward 1: Unknown; Reward 2: Return to the real world upon completion!]

Staring at the screen, Qin Fei’s heart skipped a beat.

Was this the game system?

At the top of the interface was a backpack icon. Qin Fei willed himself to click it, and an inventory screen identical to the one in the game appeared before him.

Inside were basic survival supplies: 0.5 liters of antiseptic, a flare, firestarter, a recycled empty can, cloth, wooden matches, a down sleeping bag, and more.

The system backpack also had a weight limit, just like in the game: thirty kilograms. He could carry more, but exceeding the limit would slow him down.

The mission description was clear: survive over two hundred days, and he could return to reality.

Qin Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

At least there was a way home!

But what would happen if he died in the game? Would he simply vanish, or respawn? He didn’t want to find out the hard way.

He continued to examine the interface.

Below the information panel were progress bars for various skills: fishing, fire-making, cooking—all crucial for survival.

The camp office was blessedly warm. Inside, he didn’t even need to light a fire for warmth. But after three hours trekking in the snow, he was desperately thirsty.

In the cold, the body burns through sugar and fat for energy, consuming water at a rapid rate.

He decided to boil some water.

On the first floor of the camp office stood a potbellied stove, with several logs nearby. Qin Fei gathered the wood, stuffed it into the stove, found some paper for kindling, and struck a match.

He had a box of wooden matches from the system—enough to last a while.

The fire slowly grew. Qin Fei quickly grabbed an empty tin can from his backpack, rushed outside to scoop it full of snow, and set it on the stove to melt.

Dusk was falling. While there was still light, he began searching for supplies inside the cabin.

At the medical kit by the front door, he found a box of antibiotics.

In the filing cabinet, there was a bottle of orange soda.

Other than the soda, he found nothing edible in the camp office.

However, he did find a pair of insulated rubber boots, a pair of work pants, and a thermal undershirt.

On the counter sat a sewing kit and a kerosene lantern.

With nothing to eat, he would have to sleep hungry tonight.

He changed into the work pants and thermal undershirt, then pulled on the newly found boots. Wearing a couple extra layers wouldn’t restrict him much.

The polar daytime was short. By the time he finished searching, darkness had fallen. In such gloom, all he could do was rest.

Feeling his way in the dark, he stowed the boiled snow water in his backpack and made his way to a bed on the second floor. His stomach growled painfully, so he drank the orange soda before sleeping—just enough to replenish a bit of sugar and water.

With a little relief in his belly, he lay down.

After hours trudging through the snow and going hungry, exhaustion swept over him in waves. Before long, he was sound asleep.

He slept dreamlessly.

When he opened his eyes again, daylight had returned.

The system prompt floated before him:

[You have survived: 1 day, 1 hour, 33 minutes.]

He couldn’t help but feel at a loss.

The Long Dark was set in the late twentieth century. Most of its regions, including Mystery Lake, belonged to the Great Bear area.

Located inside the Arctic Circle, the climate was brutally cold. Supplies were scarce; finding food was a constant struggle.

Surviving over two hundred days here would be no easy feat.

Qin Fei not only had to worry about food and water, but also keeping warm to avoid freezing to death. He’d have to monitor his mental state as well—spending two hundred days in solitude, cut off from the modern world, could easily drive a person mad.

All he could do was take it one day at a time.