Chapter 6

The cold wind blew across his cheeks, the chill seeping into his skin and quickly spreading to cover his entire body, penetrating deep into his muscles, bones, and organs...

The wind carried the howling of the mountains, like the waves of the sea, with faint sounds of beasts and birds barely audible.

The wind and the cold made one feel insignificant and humble, involuntarily making one feel as if they had been abandoned by the bustling world, leaving only oneself in the vast universe.

Muci deeply took a few breaths, tightened the coarse cloth on his body, and opened his eyes again.

Yes, it was still that primitive, cool, yet not desolate world!

The continuous green mountains stretched endlessly, their length unknown, perhaps hundreds or thousands of miles long; the layers of forests undulated, like the waves of the sea under the cold wind, endless and ceaseless.

In front, behind, left, right, up, and down, wherever his eyes could reach, there was not a trace of human habitation.

Tai Chu... really ruthless!

To send him to such a primitive and desolate place, Muci sighed lightly.

He didn't know where this was, or even which game world it was...

What was even more terrifying was that this might not be a complete game world, but one under construction, or even an abandoned world.

In that case, this vast universe would be a huge prison, and he would be the only prisoner in it.

Tai Chu, having been isolated and imprisoned by him, had turned around and imprisoned him as well, which seemed entirely reasonable.

Of course, if Muci were still a player, it wouldn't be a big deal...

No matter how realistic the game world, players could instantly respawn after death; no matter how solid and remote the prison, players could log out from the system menu.

But, if...

Yes, if!

This was the harshest revenge Tai Chu had inflicted on him!

He was no longer a player who could infinitely respawn, view attribute panels, have a perfect body, inventory space, and countless skills. Now, he was an NPC!

With only one life, flesh and blood, ordinary, and even a bit weak.

Although he couldn't see the attribute panel, the fatigue from climbing the hill and the bone-chilling cold from the wind gave him a sense of it.

Becoming an NPC, the clarity of the world around him remained unchanged, but the feeling was truly different.

So real, so tangible, everything around him felt as if it were part of reality. The fragrance of the grass and trees in the air, the heavy breathing from intense exercise, the slight pain from the air exchange in his lungs...

As a player, he had never felt such subtle sensations.

Tsk, how did he become so sentimental, having these random thoughts after changing his body? Muci shook his head, regaining his composure.

Now that he understood the situation, his next goal was simple—survive! Leave here! And then... take revenge!

Even if this was a deserted space, a place of exile for Tai Chu, it was still possible to leave.

This world, after all, was created by humans, not by God, Buddha, or the heavens, so it had boundaries.

Find the edge of the world, rush into the data stream there, and there would be a good chance of entering other worlds, worlds with people.

So there was hope, it wasn't time to despair yet!

Of course, before that, he had to... survive!

Don't underestimate these three words; in such a primitive jungle, with nothing but himself, it wasn't an easy task.

Muci looked up at the sky with concern; it was getting dark, and the clouds were gathering.

The climate in the virtual world was entirely modeled after the real world, so his experience was still applicable. If things went as expected, it would rain in a few hours.

Before that, he had to find a place to shelter from the rain, and if possible, start a fire.

If the surface of the body was wet, the rate of heat loss was twenty-five times faster than when dry.

He was no longer a player immune to all diseases; his physical condition was average and weak. The temperature in the mountains was relatively low, and getting drenched in the rain could lead to illness, which would be troublesome.

Not only that, but water, food, weapons, containers, and direction...

As a player, these were never issues, but as an NPC, he had to consider them in detail.

Muci descended the hill along a gentle slope, quickly recalling survival-related information from his memory and bringing it to the forefront.

There was no place to shelter from the rain on the mountaintop, but he had to consider the possibility of mudslides and flash floods if it rained, so he needed to find a place to shelter on the hillside.

The mountain paths, always looking close but far away, were rough and uneven. This body wasn't well-trained, and soon his mouth was dry, his throat sore, and his stomach growled.

If it rained, it would solve the drinking water problem, but eating...

Plucking the flower buds of the parasol tree, Muci put them to his mouth and sucked: they were sweet, but only slightly better than nothing.

Unless he had the appetite of a bee or the strength to eat all the flowers on the tree...

Apart from the blooming parasol flowers, he hadn't found anything else to eat along the way.

It was normal; the game world's time was synchronized with the real world, and it was spring, so there wasn't much ready food in the wild.

On this journey, he had gathered quite a few other things—

A bundle of young mugwort, which could disinfect and kill bacteria, and when burned, could repel insects;

A bundle of oleander stems, and the roots of a spruce tree to tie the mugwort and oleander together.

The bark of the latter two contained tough fibers that could be processed into ropes.

Carrying these on his back could also conceal his body and mask his scent, preventing large carnivores from noticing him.

There were also a few naturally dried, uneven, and cracked wild gourds.

They didn't look very good, but after processing, they could serve as water containers, better than using his hands.

Additionally, he had picked up a "Y"-shaped walking stick, which could save energy while walking and serve as a weapon. He had also used it to pick the parasol flowers, saving the effort of climbing the tree.

With nothing on him, he was eager to collect anything useful.

As he walked, Muci suddenly stopped. Through the branches and leaves of the forest, he saw a distant mountain wall, and on it, what seemed to be...

Unable to contain his excitement, he pushed through the underbrush and approached. After a short while, the vague black shadow became clearer and more real.

A cave, indeed, it was a cave!

Truly, there was a way out of every predicament. Approaching the cave, he glanced inside and let out a long sigh of relief.

The cave was only about seven or eight meters deep, short and shallow, but it was enough to shelter from the rain.

And from its structure, it was higher inside and lower outside, so it would remain dry and clean as long as there wasn't a flood.

With a place to stay, the next problems were starting a fire and finding food.