Chapter 2: Obtaining the A-Class Treasure Chest
At this moment, the admin group updated the logs.
Ryan opened the group files and clicked on the log file, which was filled with complex lines of code.
[Update log synchronized successfully]
[You can view it on the map for detailed information]
Ryan exited the Admin Work Group.
He clicked to open his own map, and the map function reloaded.
A few seconds later,
a crystal-clear satellite map appeared before Ryan.
Compared to the earlier rough map, it was like night and day!
The previous map could only display a range of about 50 meters, roughly the same as what he could see with the naked eye, and it only showed a blurry 2D representation.
Now, however, not only was the range vastly greater, but he could also zoom in and out freely, clearly seeing objects several kilometers away.
The map was filled with numerous annotations, which were the update logs for this round of the game.
[Round 1 Update Contents]
[Update 1: Newbie Protection Mode activated, countdown 16 hours, players will not encounter each other]
[Update 2: Regional chat room has been opened]
[Update 3: Challenge mode countdown activated, 31 hours remaining]
[Update 4: New A-Class monster "Nightmare" added to challenge mode, a powerful humanoid creature with a strong predatory instinct that can track prey by scent, possessing low intelligence. Weakness—afraid of any form of ultraviolet light]
[Update 5: An A-Class supply crate has been set at coordinates 341,169 on the outskirts of the Polar Wasteland]
[Update 6: Trading post countdown activated, 3 hours remaining]
Ryan glanced at the updates, which were exactly what had been mentioned in the group chat.
He reached out and clicked on the coordinates for the A-Class supply crate.
The map began to zoom quickly, locking onto that location.
56 kilometers away, there was an icon of a purple supply crate, located about 20 meters into the desert along the right side road.
The other similar icons were all white or blue.
Ryan clicked on it.
The information for the purple icon appeared.
[A-Class Supply Crate]
[Contents: Extreme Cold Suit X1, Water Filter Blueprint X1, C-Class Vehicle Battery Module X1]
Upon seeing the contents of the supply crate, Ryan became instantly excited. "Wow, this A-Class supply crate is loaded with crucial resources!"
Putting aside the water filter and battery module for now.
Ryan felt like he was about to freeze to death if he didn't find some warm clothes soon.
Moreover, according to the information in the chat room, monsters would spawn in less than an hour, raising the danger level significantly.
It was best to reach the supply crate before the monsters appeared.
"I need to hurry over." Ryan thought, flooring the gas pedal and speeding towards the target location.
Ryan noticed that this small truck could only reach a maximum speed of 60 km/h.
With over 50 kilometers to travel, it would take around 40 to 50 minutes.
While driving, he opened the regional chat room to observe the chat history, searching for any mentions of the administrators.
However, after scanning through all the current messages, Ryan found no relevant terms.
Not a single one among the hundreds of messages.
It seemed he was the only player in that Admin Work Group.
Ryan took a deep breath.
Right now, he felt like he had the perspective of a god.
However, he needed to be cautious, if his actions were too conspicuous, the administrators might become suspicious.
Who knew what tricks those guys had up their sleeves?
Ryan only knew one thing: this so-called game could genuinely be lethal.
Moreover, from the tone of the administrators' chats, it seemed they didn't regard these players as human, their job might just be to conduct some form of "filtering."
Ryan wasn't clear on their objectives.
But he had a premonition that as long as he survived long enough, he would inevitably draw closer to the truth.
…
Twenty minutes later, having traveled about halfway,
Ryan noticed a white pillar of light flashing not far ahead.
[50 meters ahead, detected a C-Class supply crate]
Ryan clicked to view it on the map.
[C-Class Supply Crate]
[Contents: Bread x1, 500ml Bottled Water x1]
This is a basic food supply crate.
Ryan had initially planned to skip this supply crate and head straight for the A-Class one.
There was just over 30 minutes left until the zombies would spawn.
He hadn't encountered any other players on the way.
But Ryan suddenly realized something: "If I head straight for that A-Class supply crate, wouldn't it be too obvious in the eyes of the administrators?"
After all, the administrator responsible for placing the supply crates, "Square K." was quite pleased with his hiding spots.
Ryan thought for a moment and decided to reduce his speed.
He needed to make his actions seem reasonable.
It would be best to appear as if he was just lucky and stumbled upon the supply crate.
An idea quickly formed in his mind.
Through the car window, Ryan spotted the C-Class supply crate by the roadside, sitting there like a welcome gift for newcomers.
He parked the truck and engaged the handbrake, then got out with his crowbar.
He approached the supply crate.
Using the crowbar, he easily pried open the white metal box.
Just as he had seen on the map,
Inside the crate was a piece of yellow-brown whole grain bread, wrapped in a transparent plastic bag, alongside a bottle of unlabelled mineral water.
Ryan reached in and pulled out the items.
[Obtained: Bread x1, 500ml Bottled Water x1]
He pretended to be very thirsty, immediately opening the bottle of water and gulping it down.
He didn't just toss the empty water bottle aside.
Instead, he took the items and turned back to his truck, continuing towards the A-Class supply crate's location.
Another 25 minutes passed.
Ryan finally arrived at the marked location of the dry well on the map.
Indeed, this hidden supply crate did not have the beacon of light like the ordinary supply crates.
Ryan had already slowed down, pretending to pass by for a bit.
Then, as if he had just noticed the well, he backed the car up.
Stopping the vehicle, Ryan took the empty water bottle and walked over to the dry well on the desert, pretending to collect some water. Looking down into the well, he spotted a supply crate glowing with purple light.
"Wow, there's a purple crate!" Ryan feigned surprise and immediately started working the well's crank.
The hemp rope wound around the crank.
Soon, the purple supply crate tied below was being hoisted up from the well.
Ryan grabbed his crowbar and forcefully pried open the A-Class supply crate.
[Obtained: Extreme Cold Suit x1, Water Filter Blueprint x1, Vehicle Battery Module x1]
The purple light flashed momentarily.
The supplies inside were revealed, with a pure white outfit on top, made from waterproof material.
It felt very thick and should be quite warm, likely a professional outdoor cold-weather suit. The inside of the clothing was blue, allowing it to be worn inside out.
This way, it wouldn't be too conspicuous even at night.
Beside the clothing was a pair of thick climbing shoes that looked very warm.
He picked up the crate and headed back to the truck.
After quickly changing into the new clothing and shoes, Ryan let out a sigh of relief as a warm sensation spread slowly from his feet upward.
In just a short moment, his body temperature began to rise and returned to normal levels.
Ryan turned back to look at the supply crate placed in the back seat.
Inside, there were still two items: a blue blueprint and a square battery.
Ryan first picked up the blueprint, and information popped up on the system panel.
[Water Filter Blueprint]
[Function: Can filter impurities, bacteria, and larvae from contaminated water, making it safe for drinking]
[Filtering Speed: 200 milliliters (per hour)]
[Required Materials: Plastic x5, Metal x2, Electronic Component x1]
"Water filter? That sounds pretty useful, I should prioritize making this…" Ryan thought, realizing that water resources were quite scarce.
From the current situation, the only way to obtain drinking water was from supply crates.
Given the weather, it was likely to snow in the future.
Despite snow being white, it actually contains many impurities and has a bitter, earthy taste.
Directly consuming it could hydrate you but would definitely lead to diarrhea.
In this survival game, lacking medication in the early stages, even diarrhea could be very dangerous.
It would cause the body to lose water rapidly, leading to a weak and dehydrated state.
So this filter was quite important.
As long as he could craft it, he would have a sufficient water supply in the early game, possibly even some surplus.
Ryan put away the blueprint for now and examined the last reward.
[Vehicle Battery Module]
[Level: C-Class]
[Function: Provides a larger battery capacity for the vehicle beyond the regular battery, can be installed on the vehicle's engine, and can be charged through kinetic energy recovery. Adding a solar photovoltaic panel can significantly improve charging efficiency.]
[Capacity: 5 kWh]
Ryan's eyes lit up, this was a great item. He couldn't help but exclaim, "5 kWh, that's quite a lot."
There's so much that can be done with 5 kWh.
A typical LED ceiling light uses around 40 watts, meaning this 5 kWh could provide about 125 hours of lighting.
A 3000mAh phone battery could be charged approximately 300 times.
If used sparingly, it would easily last a week.