Chapter Fifty-Five: The Sample Implant

The shape of this diamond-shaped crystal was almost identical to the specimen implant Qin Fei had seen in the game Ark: Survival Evolved. Qin Fei raised his wrist and examined the crystal carefully.

In that instant, a stream of data emerged from the diamond crystal.

[Specimen Implant/Ancient Artifact]
[Specimen Number: 2374]
[Alias: Human]
[Gender: Male]

Qin Fei was surprised. He hadn’t expected the crystal to actually be called a specimen implant—and it even bore a number, just like in the game. In Ark, each specimen implant’s number represented a player’s existence. Judging by this number… did that mean over two thousand survivors had already been granted official game qualifications?

He continued to check the other data within the diamond crystal.

[Survivor Level: 4]
[Imprint Skills: Advanced Engineer Mastery, Shotgun Specialist, Demolition Expert, Stealth Strike]
[Qin Fei’s Team: Qin Fei (Owner), Xie Nainei]

Compared to the previous system interface, after acquiring official game qualifications, the diamond crystal now displayed additional information: level and team. What caught Qin Fei off guard was that the team he had formed with Xie Nainei in the game world still existed even after returning to reality.

Did that mean survivors who formed teams would cross over together in the next game world? It was hard to say—but once Qin Fei crossed over, all he needed was to look for Xie Nainei to know for sure.

Qin Fei carefully tapped through the items in his spatial backpack. In terms of weapons, he had a metal baseball bat, an iron crossbow, a pistol, and a shotgun. As for the hunting rifle he obtained during The Long Dark, since it was a single-shot rifle with no remaining ammunition—and to save backpack space—he had to discard it.

For ammunition, Qin Fei currently had fifty rounds of nine-millimeter pistol bullets, two hundred shotgun shells, and five pipe bombs.

Beyond those, his backpack contained a set of winter clothing, a set of summer clothes, as well as enough food and fresh water to sustain him for about five days.

These were all the items he brought back from the world of 7 Days to Die.

It wasn’t that Qin Fei was unwilling to carry more supplies. Just these items together weighed over twenty kilograms—almost the upper limit of the system backpack. Compared to the first world, this time in 7 Days to Die, Qin Fei had harvested quite a lot. Besides the various firearms, armor, and provisions, his backpack also contained a special system reward: the Substitute Doll.

After checking his items, a new mission prompt appeared on the diamond crystal on Qin Fei’s wrist.

[New Game World Prompt: In six days, you will enter the world of Ark!]
[New Mission: Survive on Ark’s The Island and kill survivors from other teams]
[Mission Reward: Unknown]
[Upon death or completion, you may return to the real world!]

Ark, huh?

Qin Fei’s expression became thoughtful. Ark’s world setting was a mysterious prehistoric realm, filled with ancient creatures that could only be seen in distant eras—danger lurked everywhere. Judging from the introduction on the diamond crystal, this world was clearly in PVP mode.

Since he would be facing other players, Qin Fei scrutinized the mission prompt carefully—pondering every word.

The system’s prompts were always concise and clear, never giving unnecessary information. So every word in the mission hint carried the system’s intended meaning.

From this text, Qin Fei discerned two hidden pieces of information.

First, based on the mission description, this game world was a survival elimination contest. Death meant elimination. The completion requirement—“kill survivors from other teams”—made the word “team” especially important. This PVP world was not strictly individual; it was a contest between teams. Or perhaps survivors could privately form teams. Those unaware of this possibility would have to face two-on-one or even more unfavorable situations.

Second, the system mentioned at the end: survivor “death” also allowed a return to the real world. If you consider that the system always rewarded a Substitute Doll at the end of each game world… then the PVP world was likely some kind of bonus stage.

The losers, upon dying in this world, would not truly die. Every survivor who completed a mission carried a Substitute Doll in their backpack. So returning after death simply consumed the Substitute Doll.

The victor, however, not only retained the Substitute Doll but also gained an unknown reward distributed by the system upon completing the mission.

To have an extra Substitute Doll was to have an extra life in the game world—a matter of utmost importance to every survivor.

Qin Fei did not face these survivors without advantages. From information gained in the previous world, he could deduce that Xie Nainei and the others were not from the same time and space as him. According to Xie Nainei, in their worlds, there were no such sandbox games. In other words, among all survivors, only Qin Fei knew the storylines and gameplay of these sandbox games…

Knowing the plot was Qin Fei’s greatest advantage in the upcoming game world.

Six days remained until the next crossover. Qin Fei began preparing in every possible way.

With experience from the last crossover, he could now be sure that no item from the real world could be brought into the game world. So there was no point preparing weapons and supplies. As for learning fighting skills or training for a strong physique—it was basically unrealistic. There simply wasn’t enough time.

After all, Qin Fei could only remain in the real world for six days.

Moreover, the firearms in his spatial backpack were far more useful than his fists.

So the only thing he needed to do was go online and study wilderness survival knowledge to increase his odds of survival in the game world.

Six days passed quickly.

After donning the clothes acquired from the game world, the diamond crystal on Qin Fei’s wrist suddenly radiated a blinding white light.

Qin Fei’s whole body, in that white light, gradually dissolved into countless streams of code made of zeroes and ones.

He finally vanished from his room.

[Repairing all injuries on your body…]
[Mission begins. Preparing to enter the world of Ark. Transmission countdown commencing…]