Chapter 8

Looking at the mushroom on the screen, which was about the size of a palm and not particularly bright in color, Xiao Zhi found himself in a difficult dilemma.

Prompt: "You are very hungry and need to eat something."

The system's prompt, which had been occurring every few minutes, had now become more frequent, happening less than once a minute.

It was all because of those poisonous red wild fruits. Although the red wild fruits didn't kill Xiao Zhi's character, they had drained half of his health, making him even weaker and hungrier.

In his current state, if he didn't eat something soon, Xiao Zhi's character probably wouldn't last until the communal dinner in the evening.

Just as Xiao Zhi's character stood in front of the mushroom, hesitating, a female voice sounded behind him: "This mushroom is poisonous; you can't eat it."

Xiao Zhi used his finger to rotate the screen, controlling his character to look behind him.

He noticed that not far behind him stood a girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old.

The girl was wearing a gray cloth dress that was patched and didn't fit her well. Her skin was a bit dark, and she was thin and small, but her eyes were large and clear.

Seeing Xiao Zhi's character turn to look at her, she pointed at the palm-sized, grayish-yellow mushroom and said earnestly, "Doctor Li said this mushroom is called Snake Swallow Mushroom. Eating it will cause many red bumps on your body and can be fatal."

"Xiao Xi." A boy, also wearing a patched gray cloth dress, ran out from behind a large tree nearby.

He pulled the girl behind him and watched Xiao Zhi with a wary gaze.

The boy was about 15 or 16 years old. One hand held the girl, while the other clutched a black short blade.

Xiao Zhi was also watching him. His character was already very weak and could barely stand.

After a moment of eye contact, the boy slowly pulled the girl back, still watching Xiao Zhi warily.

"Quick, let's go!" After retreating a few meters, he shouted and pulled the girl to turn and leave.

"Wait..." Xiao Zhi couldn't help but speak up: "I'm about to starve to death. Can you two kind people give me some food?"

The character on the screen also spoke, but his voice was hoarse and weak.

Xiao Zhi was taking a chance, hoping for the best.

Hearing this, the girl stopped.

"Quick, let's go, don't pay attention to him." The boy shouted, trying to pull the girl away.

This time, the girl broke free from the boy's hand: "Brother, he really looks pitiful. Can we help him?"

Without waiting for the boy to respond, the girl ran up to Xiao Zhi. She took out a cloth bag from her body, pulled out a black, pancake-like object, and handed it to Xiao Zhi.

"Thank you." Xiao Zhi took the food and thanked her.

After thanking her, he controlled his character to put the food in his mouth and started chewing loudly.

"Xiao Xi, that's your lunch. You just gave it to him?" The boy returned.

"Brother, he really looks pitiful," the girl said.

"Ah." The boy sighed helplessly, glaring at Xiao Zhi, who was eating, but took no action.

He couldn't take back the food his sister had given.

"Since you've given him the food, Xiao Xi, can we go now?" the boy asked again.

"Um." The girl nodded slightly.

The boy gave Xiao Zhi a look of disgust and then pulled his sister, preparing to leave.

"Wait..." Xiao Zhi spoke again, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Stranger, what's wrong now?" The boy turned around, his face a mix of wariness and disgust.

The girl, with her large, clear eyes, looked at Xiao Zhi curiously.

"Um, kind people, I don't know your names yet," Xiao Zhi said, thinking quickly.

The boy's expression softened slightly.

The girl, with her large, clear eyes, said: "I'm Yang Xi, and my brother is Yang Xu. Big brother, what's your name?"

"My name is Xiao Zhi," Xiao Zhi replied.

"Xiao Xi, let's go." Yang Xu tried to pull his sister away again.

This time, Xiao Zhi didn't try to 'retain' them.

After eating the pancake, the annoying system prompt finally disappeared.

Xiao Zhi didn't want to stay in the forest anymore.

There were indeed wild fruits and mushrooms in the forest, but he didn't have the ability to distinguish whether they were poisonous. Eating them was purely a matter of luck.

Xiao Zhi hated relying on luck. Since that was the case, it was better to go back and stay there.

Yang Xu and Yang Xi, the brother and sister, should be villagers of Peace Village. Having grown up here, they could identify whether the wild fruits and mushrooms were poisonous...

Yang Xu, like the other villagers, was rather hostile and difficult to approach, but his sister Yang Xi didn't seem to dislike him... Thinking about this, a thoughtful expression appeared on Xiao Zhi's face.

After returning, he could ask Yu Cunzheng about the situation of these two siblings.

Xiao Zhi thought to himself.

After returning to Peace Village, Yu Cunzheng's house was still locked.

After playing for a few hours and feeling a bit tired, Xiao Zhi placed his character in an abandoned empty house and went to bed for a nap.

When Xiao Zhi woke up, it was already noon.

After having lunch with his parents, Xiao Zhi logged back into the game.

After entering the game, Xiao Zhi controlled his character to go to the extinguished campfire and take a look.

He found that about half of the players were still 'lying' next to the extinguished campfire.

These player characters might never wake up again.

Because these players had likely abandoned these characters.

This situation was very common in other games as well.

In this era, there were simply too many games, overwhelming in number.

Players had many choices.

No game was suitable for everyone.

When a new game appeared, as long as the promotion was effective, players would often flood in, but most of them would only be interested for a short time.

After a few days or even a few weeks, most players would leave.

Those who remained were the loyal players of the game.