After a few seconds, the white light faded, and everyone’s vision gradually returned.

A blast of hot air hit them, and Long Ming couldn’t help but squint as he looked around.

Countless ruins and crumbling walls filled his vision.

The ruins were mostly made of a mixture of earth and stone, eroded beyond recognition by wind and sand. The ground was covered in yellow sand, but a few dilapidated buildings still retained their main structures.

"Whoa, where are we?!"

"I don’t know, but it feels really hot!"

"Is this a desert?"

"Fuck, don’t tell me we’re this unlucky. They dropped us in a desert."

"What do we do now?"

"No idea!"

...

The crowd of players looked around, completely bewildered.

Long Ming, however, lowered his head to check his wristband for any notifications.

He found that his quest log had been updated.

Quest: Survival!

Objective: Survive in the world of Wabiga for at least 12 hours and evacuate safely.

Reward: 500 1D Coins

Note: Only the living are entitled to anything.

Alert: As you are using a gaming helmet, your maximum game time is 24 hours. Exceeding this limit will result in an automatic death and forced logout.

After reading the quest details, Long Ming saw that the wristband’s interface had also updated with a map.

He eagerly opened it, only to find the map was almost completely black, revealing only the area where he was standing.

’If I’m not mistaken, I’ll have to explore to unlock the map.’

However, the blacked-out map showed several green dots, which were the evacuation points.

There were quite a few of them, and several were not too far from his current location. It seemed evacuating wouldn’t be too difficult.

Long Ming closed the wristband’s interface and looked up, surveying the ruins around him.

Judging by the layout of the debris, he could vaguely make out the ruins of a town. The destruction was severe; many buildings were reduced to just one or two earthen walls.

Long Ming immediately set off to explore. As he walked, he carefully examined the crumbling buildings, hoping to find something of value.

Unfortunately, he found nothing but gravel. There was nothing of value in sight.

Still, Long Ming patiently continued his search.

After ten-odd minutes, Long Ming finally found the ruins of a relatively intact house. It only had three walls, and its roof had collapsed.

He crept inside cautiously. The interior was littered with rubble and gravel.

At first glance, there was nothing of value.

Just then, however, Long Ming’s keen eyes spotted something seemingly hidden in a corner.

He walked over, squatted down, and gently brushed away the top layer of gravel, revealing a section of a metal chain.

Long Ming gave it a tug and pulled out a three-meter-long, thin iron chain.

Long Ming raised his wristband to scan it, and information appeared on the screen.

Metal Chain

Grade: White.

Material: Iron.

Value: Extremely Low.

Weight: 3 KG.

Long Ming looked at the information on his wristband. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to put it in his backpack.

’It might have an extremely low value, but it’s better than nothing.’

When he put the chain in his backpack, Long Ming clearly felt it grow heavier. The weight was still manageable, however, so the effect wasn’t significant.

Long Ming scanned the area one last time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, then left to search the other ruins.

He found the area outside swarming with other players, so he quickened his pace to search further ahead.

Half an hour later, having found nothing else, Long Ming reached the center of the ruins. Large groups of players had gathered there, chatting amongst themselves.

"Did you find anything valuable?"

"Found jack shit. There’s nothing here but sand."

"Sigh, me neither."

...

In the crowd, a fair-skinned woman with twin pigtails was constantly fanning her face with her hand, complaining nonstop.

"It’s so hot, I can’t take it anymore."

Unfortunately, the air itself was hot, so the breeze she created was also warm and had almost no effect.

So, she reached up and undid a button on her collar, revealing a wide expanse of her fair skin.

Her action immediately drew the attention of the players around her. As they stared, many couldn’t help but gulp.

Just then, a rather sleazy-looking man with shifty eyes broke into a wicked grin. He turned to the man beside him—who wore a black tank top and had a faint scar on his forehead—and said,

"Cao Heng, what do you think of that chick?"

"Fresh meat!"

"This world is so realistic... I wonder what it would feel like to ’play’ with her."

"Zheng Bin, you mean...?"

"Heh heh!"

Zheng Bin gave Cao Heng a lecherous grin.

An understanding smile instantly appeared on Cao Heng’s face as well.

With a shared, unspoken understanding, the two of them walked up to the woman and spoke with a smile.

"Miss, I see you’re playing alone. How about we team up?"

Lin Yue saw how sleazy Cao Heng and his companion were, their eyes glued to her chest. Instantly realizing they had bad intentions, she refused.

"No, thanks!"

"Don’t be shy. We’ll take care of you."

Cao Heng shamelessly sidled up to her.

Lin Yue instinctively took a few uneasy steps back and asked nervously,

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. We just want to team up and play with you."

Not caring in the least whether she was willing or not, Zheng Bin reached for her with a smirk.

Although many of the surrounding players looked on with disgust, no one stepped forward to intervene.

Long Ming spared it only a single glance before returning his attention to observing the surroundings and the crowd.

’After all, the others are here for fun. I’m here to find a way to survive.’

Just then, a sharp voice rang out.

"Stop!"

Zheng Bin’s hand froze. He turned his head, annoyed.

A tall, handsome young man with sharp eyes, dressed in a white shirt, was walking toward them.

Zheng Bin looked at the man and warned him in a hostile tone,

"Kid, this is none of your business. Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong."

"I can’t stand to watch. And I like to meddle. You got a problem with that?"

The young man wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

Lin Yue quickly hid behind the young man.

Zheng Bin and Cao Heng felt they had completely lost face. Just as they were about to make a move, four other players approached.

"Qin Yan, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. Just a couple of scumbags from Sinful City."

Qin Yan cracked his neck, posturing as if ready for a fight.

"Haha, just kidding! We’re leaving."

Seeing that Qin Yan had backup, Zheng Bin’s whole demeanor changed. He immediately backed down and left with Cao Heng.

Once the two had left, Qin Yan turned to Lin Yue.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank you."

Lin Yue said gratefully, her cheeks flushing slightly as she gazed at the tall, handsome Qin Yan.

Now that the show was over, the other players went back to their conversations.

"What kind of shitty game is this? I’ve been searching forever and haven’t found a single thing."

"I know, right? And it’s crazy hot!"

"I’m getting kind of thirsty."

"Are we here to play a game or to be tortured?"

...

"So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Who the hell knows? I guess we have to leave this place and search somewhere else."

"You think it’s dangerous out there?"

"Definitely."

"Then what do we do? Can someone carry me?"

...

Listening to the players’ complaints, Long Ming concluded there was likely nothing of value here. He turned and walked away.