Chapter Fifty-Six: The Core Island

When Qin Fei awoke again, he found himself lying at a dizzying height. The place was so far above the ground—at least several thousand meters up—that it felt as though he floated in the clouds. Most unsettling of all, the floor beneath him was transparent, giving the sensation of hanging suspended in the open air. No one is truly immune to the fear of heights; it’s only a matter of degree. Dangling thousands of meters above the earth, nearly anyone would be terrified. The immense fear caused Qin Fei’s legs to go weak. He pressed himself flat against the floor, not daring even to stand.

Around him, many other survivors had assumed the same posture, faces pale with terror as they lay prone on the transparent surface. Qin Fei felt a small measure of comfort—evidently, everyone was in the same predicament.

He quickly counted the survivors nearby. Including himself, there were twenty-two people present. Among them, he did not see Xie Nai Nai. Had he missed her? Perhaps she had relinquished her right to compete, choosing not to cross over after all. Or maybe his assumptions were wrong: even if two people became teammates, that didn’t guarantee a reunion in the next world.

Once he had somewhat acclimated to the altitude, Qin Fei mustered his courage and peered downward. Far below lay an island surrounded on all sides by ocean. Others might not recognize it, but as a veteran player of Ark, Qin Fei knew it instantly—this was none other than the familiar map of the Lonely Isle, well-known to nearly every player in the game.

Around him, the other survivors were slowly waking. Anyone qualified to participate in a PVP game world certainly wasn’t some first-timer. Thus, there were no wild cries or loss of composure among them. Everyone was exceedingly vigilant; upon waking, they kept their distance from one another, wary and silent. It is said one should not harbor ill intentions, yet one must never let down their guard. Keeping one’s distance was only prudent.

Most people, like Qin Fei, simply sat in place, quietly observing those around them without a word. In such a setting, keeping a low profile was only natural. In a PVP survival scenario, anyone who drew too much attention would only expose themselves. The early bird, after all, gets shot. Instinctively, most people remained silent. Yet a few whispered quietly among themselves.

Revealing oneself was dangerous, but actively engaging with others might yield useful information. At present, the team-up interface was grayed out, indicating that formal alliances were not possible. Still, people could make private agreements. In this way, one could reduce the number of enemies and join forces to eliminate others first.

Qin Fei, however, intended to remain inconspicuous. Since he already knew the plot, conversing too much with others might reveal his knowledge of the game’s events. While he kept quiet, he listened intently to the others’ conversations, hoping to gather more intelligence.

Suddenly, twenty-two columns of light appeared in the sky, stretching from above down to the island below. Qin Fei immediately understood: the twenty-two beams corresponded precisely to the twenty-two people present. If his guess was correct, survivors need only step into a beam to be transported to the surface.

He looked down to where the beams touched the ground—each one landed at a different spot. Thus, whoever chose a particular beam would start at a unique location. The first to pick would, of course, have the privilege of selecting what they believed was the best landing site.

Yet no one wanted to be the first. No one wished to draw attention—and what if stepping into a beam led to sudden death? Patience became the contest. After a while, someone finally lost their composure. The person stepped forward, picked a beam that landed in the center of the map surrounded by dense forest, and slowly descended along it.

Qin Fei sneered inwardly. The center of the map was a red forest. With forest came animals, and as veterans of other worlds, the survivors were likely armed. Hunting for food would seem easy, and the nearby river—a loop around the woods—would provide fresh water. It looked like a good choice.

How unfortunate that this person’s calculation was utterly wrong. In the forests of the Ark world, even guns make hunting difficult, for there are no deer or wolves. Instead, only perilous prehistoric creatures abound—dinosaurs, titanic pythons stretching over ten meters, blood-sucking leeches the size of a fist, and giant dragonflies. Each one was deadly.

The best choice, in fact, was the relative safety of the beaches, where creatures were fewer. Moreover, the seawater in the Ark world was, peculiarly, fresh and drinkable.

Once it was clear the beams were safe, Qin Fei and the other survivors quickly rushed to claim their own. Qin Fei chose a beam landing near the southern shore, and as the light transported him down, a message echoed:

“You have landed on the southern part of the Lonely Isle. The game officially begins! As the surrounding seawater rises, the survivors’ territory will shrink. Whoever survives to the last will complete this trial!”

When the beam faded, Qin Fei finally stood firmly on solid ground. The sensation of hanging in the sky was not one he wished to repeat. Before him stretched an endless expanse of sea; behind him stood dense tropical forest. Occasionally, seabirds could be seen flying overhead—false-toothed birds from the prehistoric era, carnivorous and preying on fish and small animals.

On the shore, he saw no animals or dinosaurs, but the ground was dotted with stubby plants bearing marble-sized berries in various colors. From his game experience, he knew that aside from black and white berries, which were inedible, all the others could be eaten raw. Each color tasted different, but the purple berries were the most delicious—sweet and juicy. Qin Fei picked them all.

Suddenly, in the sky above, a photo of a survivor appeared, marked with a great red X. Qin Fei gazed up in puzzlement—what could this mean? After about ten minutes, the photo vanished. He concluded the person must have died and been eliminated. The image in the sky, marked with an X, was the system’s way of notifying the remaining contestants.

This prehistoric world truly was fraught with danger at every turn. The first casualty had fallen with astonishing speed. Now, including Qin Fei, only twenty-one survivors remained.