Chapter 8: Assessment Reward

The night in the world of fog is silent...

In the distant wooden houses, faint candlelight flickers.

Countless people, cold and hungry, curl up in the corners of the floor, waiting for dawn.

And some are striving for better survival.

At midnight, a world announcement appears in the "Survival Handbook in the Fog."

[Fog Announcement]

The temporary task has ended!

A total of 1,135,894 survivors have completed the task!

Congratulations on successfully completing the task!

The announcement is brief but stirs up the chat channel.

"Oh my God! Over a million people completed the task!!"

"How is that possible, how could there be so many resources on the first day??"

"I chopped trees all day and didn't even eat!!! Can someone help me?!"

"I want to complain! It's impossible to have that many resources on the first day!!"

"Exactly, we need the truth!"

"Truth! Truth! Truth!"

"..."

The system doesn't respond, but some people start explaining to them.

"Brothers! It's actually quite possible! Some people are just too lucky!"

"Yeah, those near water sources made a fortune!"

"And those with food near their cabins!"

"Though generally scarce, there are still many lucky people who were born in resource-rich areas."

"Incomparable!"

"But isn't that number too high! Over a million people!"

"I thought I did well! Having food and drink on the first day. Didn't expect I couldn't even make it into the top million!"

"Brothers, a million is not really that many!"

"7 billion people! A million is only about 0.014%, a very small portion indeed!"

"Never thought there would be so many amazing people!"

"Has anyone come out to say what the reward is?"

"A 0.014% chance of getting a reward, you know it's extraordinary!"

"Don't ask, it's said to include food, drink, and clothing!"

"So envious!"

"Envious! Envious! Envious!"

"Me too!"

"..."

"Is there a big brother who can take in a little girl! Pure and innocent!"

"This chat channel is getting dirty..."

"Brother, brother, please support me, I can do video training too!"

"I added you, honestly! I'm one of the top million!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Don't lie, you're obviously a guy!"

"Brother, I'm a little girl too!"

"Ever seen a girl named Terry???"

"I'm cute too!"

"I'm gonna throw up, brothers, I can't take it anymore!"

"..."

Then, someone comes out and reveals the specific rewards of the task.

5 liters of purified water!!

A brick-sized compressed biscuit!!

A cotton coat!!

A bronze resource box!!

Each one is beyond the reach of countless people.

James doesn't know about the happenings in the chat channel, as he is already asleep.

...

"What time is it?" James groggily opens his eyes and fumbles in the dim firelight.

Only faintly glowing embers remain in the fire pit.

The oil lamp on the table still emits a dim light.

He finds the "Survival Handbook in the Fog."

Less than an hour till dawn.

The sky is beginning to lighten, and the bone-chilling cold wind rages outside the wooden house.

Even with a cotton coat and blanket, James feels icy cold.

The temperature has dropped below zero, and the level 2 wooden house can't block such cold weather.

James rubs his face, trying to wake up from the drowsiness.

Sleeping for so many hours hasn't made him feel refreshed; instead, he feels sore all over.

Stretching his body, James mutters, "I shouldn't sleep so long in the future, need to find something to do."

Eighteen hours of night, seven or eight hours of sleep should be enough.

He glances at the fire pit, almost extinguished.

"Need to store more wood in the future, or I won't even be able to light a fire... But I'll probably be using charcoal mainly."

With the last pieces of wood used up, James relies on the oil lamp.

He rummages through the resource boxes, thinking about what to take with him when he goes out.

Axe... take it!

Pickaxe... take it!

Well, just the pickaxe.

Travel light!

He doesn't need to bring much, but for safety, James still takes the pickaxe.

It could serve as a weapon in case of danger.

...

Time flies quickly.

Outside the window, the dim sky brightens.

The heavy fog clears from the sky, and the sun's rays fall on the vast land of the world of fog.

Birds chirp in the distant woods, along with other small animal sounds.

As the last second of night passes, James is ready to go.

[Today's Weather]

Clear weather, bright sunshine!

The perfect choice for collecting materials.

Daylight duration: Six and a half hours

Weather: Clear

Temperature: 10-14℃

Weather trend: Cold wave coming, collect enough materials for winter and stay warm!

The daily weather update appears in the handbook.

Not much different from yesterday, except for a few degrees drop in temperature.

James gets dressed, grabs the pickaxe, and quickly runs out of the wooden house.

The location of the secret realm is uncertain.

But it's definitely within the fog-free area.

The secret realm exists only for the first few minutes of daylight.

James has no sure way to find it, just relying on luck near the cabin.

He heads north first, having had a great find there yesterday.

Sprinting to about 50 meters north of the cabin, he sees no sign of a stone pillar.

He circles clockwise around the cabin, searching in the damp grass.

The cold air makes James sweat.

White puffs of breath scatter from his mouth.

"Why isn't it here? Did Mary lie to me? That can't be..."

James runs from north to south, still not finding the secret realm stone pillar Mary mentioned, starting to doubt.

Running through the grass is exhausting, especially in such cold weather.

His legs are beginning to feel weak.

Suddenly, he glimpses something.

A five-to-six-meter-tall white stone pillar appears to the west of the cabin.

James's eyes brighten, and he sighs in relief.

Biting his lip, he heads towards it.

Approaching the pillar, information appears in front of James.

[Secret Realm Pillar]

1. Appears randomly in the first three minutes of daylight.

2. Each survivor can enter once.

3. Evaluates survivors' overall strength among all humans, granting rewards. (Evaluation includes but not limited to shelter level, shelter facilities, collected resources, resource box quantity and grade, etc.)

4. Evaluation grades:

1-1000: S

1000-100,000: A

100,000-1,000,000: B

1,000,000-5%: C

5%-20%: D

20%-50%: E

50% and beyond: F

5. The secret realm exists for seven days, then disappears completely.

Choose to start the evaluation?

James understands the secret realm's information, similar to what Mary said.

The only consideration is whether to evaluate now.

The evaluation is based on the current overall strength among all humans.

James is unsure if he'll develop better later.

But for now, his overall strength must be among the top.

Comparing shelter levels?

The highest is level 2!

Comparing shelter facilities?

At most, a room or two extra!

Comparing resource box grade and quantity?

Two bronze and one wooden resource box, almost top-notch!

The chance of getting a high grade now is very high!

James, confident, declares, "Confirm evaluation!"

The white pillar emits a gentle glow, linking with James.

"Ding! Evaluation result: S"

James's pupils constrict, captivated by the letter before him.

"Top 1000 globally now?" James can hardly believe it.

But it's understandable, given it's only the first day.

Most of the current strength is based on luck.

The differences between individuals are minimal.

Those truly strong might still be struggling for basic needs.

It's the lucky ones who might get an advantage in the evaluation.

James benefits from the information gap!

If everyone developed for some time and got on track before evaluating, the rankings would differ.

But that's not James's concern now.

A wheel appears on the pillar, divided into seven parts.

Featuring plants, animals, scrolls, buildings, items, natural resources, and a question mark for special items.

[S Grade Evaluation Level]

Draws: 2

Items per draw: 5

Guaranteed grade: Excellent

Confirm the draw?

Confirmed!

The wheel spins and stops on plants and natural resources.

James is somewhat disappointed.

He had hoped for buildings and special items.

But the wheel has its own will.

Five plant items appear, and James can choose one.

Seeing the information on the five plants, James realizes how rich the reward is.

All five are excellent-grade:

[Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer Tree]: Modifies the surrounding climate temperature in a small area, warm in winter and cool in summer.

[Sunflower]: Auxiliary plant, absorbs sunlight to enrich the soil, providing nutrients and life energy to other plants.

[Crystal Rice]: Food plant, long-term consumption improves physique and physical quality.

[Life Flower]: Its juice has healing properties, effective for external and internal injuries.

[Predator Flower]: Its fragrance attracts and paralyzes wild animals.

James trembles, unable to decide which to choose.

Each plant's effect is excellent.

Not one to dither, James still finds it hard to choose.

"Which one should I choose?" James frowns in thought.

He wants them all!

James uses the elimination method.

First, he eliminates the Life Flower.

Already having the "Healing Potion Crafting Scroll," their functions overlap.

Thinking of "Healing Potion," James considers the "Predator Flower."

It can efficiently hunt animals, helping to obtain "Flesh Essence."

But then he thinks, if choosing the "Predator Flower" just for making healing potions, why not choose the "Life Flower" directly?