Chapter Seven: To Become Rich, Start by Harvesting Trees

There can be no order without rules.

Especially for players who are inclined to stir up trouble, leniency cannot be afforded.

**[Shelter Resident Manual 1.0]**

1. The commands of the administrator supersede all else; all residents of the shelter must comply unconditionally.

2. For residents who violate the rules, the administrator reserves the right to resort to "forced dormancy" or "confinement" as final measures. (Note: Forced dormancy is equivalent to forcibly ejecting a player from the game, while confinement refers to banning login access.)

3. The administrator holds the ultimate authority to interpret all the aforementioned clauses.

Violations will result in being ejected from the game, a consequence far more common than in typical NP games with vast inventories.

Whether it's FPS, RPG, or SLG, no game type escapes his grasp.

"You've all probably noticed, we woke up inside a silvery-white capsule. Considering the theme of this game, there are two possible explanations for the setting. First, we may have been frozen in stasis since before the war. Second, we could all be clones."

"Personally, I think the latter option is more convenient. After all, this makes the question of resurrection much easier to explain—simply re-synthesize a new body using DNA stored in the incubation chambers."

Seeing the players exchanging puzzled glances, Fang Chang continued.

"I suspect that later, they'll introduce attributes and levels. Our physical differences may be a clue to something more!"

"I'm really hoping the developers will create a unique gameplay mechanism, something like... combining DNA with a class system, distinguishing strength-based players from agility-based ones, with distinct attribute growth curves. This would ensure freedom of play while enriching the gameplay."

"Too bad the character traits are random. It would be great if we could decide our starting attributes."

After speaking relentlessly, Fang Chang finally paused.

"Enough of the nonsense. When we log off later, I'll have a word with Brother Guang."

He recalled that Brother Guang mentioned he was one of the game's planners. Going directly to the planner for this issue would surely be more effective than endlessly speculating here.

At that moment, Ye Shi, who had been staring off into the distance, suddenly spoke up.

"How big do you think this map is?"

"Not sure."

"What if I keep walking in one direction..."

Seeing Ye Shi eager to test his idea, Kuang Feng, who was resting nearby with his axe, hesitated before speaking.

"Chances are, you'll hit an invisible wall or trigger a plot kill... But either way, I recommend you don't try it."

"Didn't you forget? The administrator told us not to stray too far from the sanitarium."

"Come on, he's just an NPC. Why listen to him?"

"But he can log us off. He can even revoke our beta test qualifications," Kuang Feng reminded him.

Fang Chang added from the side.

"Exactly, and I suspect that with the NPC's intelligence level, there might be a hidden affection system. You can tell that the NPC treats each player differently. There must be some underlying algorithm behind it."

"Alright, alright, I won't try it," Ye Shi finally gave in.

The gravity of those words was undeniable.

Anyone with eyes could see the potential of this game.

A fully immersive virtual reality...

Such technology, once released, would revolutionize not just entertainment, but the very lifestyle of modern society!

Even those uninterested in gaming would surely not mind gaining an extra 12 to 8 hours compared to others each day.

According to Brother Guang from the group, time spent in the game world equates to sleeping in the real world.

In other words, spending an entire night here wouldn't affect your work the next day!

It was hard to fathom how such a groundbreaking game could have been introduced with such a "hasty" and nearly silent beta test.

Didn't the company need to make money?

But no matter the circumstances, this opportunity had now fallen into their hands, and none of them were willing to let it slip away.

Just as Ye Shi had abandoned his urge to explore the edge of the map and was preparing to chop trees like the others, a sudden and overwhelming sense of danger washed over him.

His limbs went cold.

Cold sweat dripped down his back.

He didn't know where the sense of danger had come from, but it felt like he could already foresee his tragic end—

With his legs suddenly giving way, Ye Shi stumbled backward. But that very stumble allowed him to narrowly avoid the shadow that fell from the sky.

**Riiiip—!**

Wood splintered.

The tree beside him was marked with three claw-like gouges, each half a foot wide!

"Yikes—!"

A ghostly shriek rang out!

The large bird, diving from above, missed its strike, but using the force of its collision with a pine tree, it flapped its wings and soared back upward, disappearing into the treetops.

Staring at the fallen black feathers, Ye Shi, still sitting on the ground in shock, instinctively rubbed his head.

"Shit?"