"Is this my shelter?"
Lin Yi sneezed and, upon waking up, felt a sharp pain in his head and ribs.
He turned over, allowing the sun to warm his half-numb buttocks, and eventually rose comfortably.
He glanced around and found himself on a green clearing in the middle of a forest.
Nearby was a tent, with a hammock hanging between two poplar trees.
Under a makeshift shelter was a table with a laptop and a radio on it.
Not far from the tent was a spring, where water gushed from the ground, forming a small pond.
On the other side of the clearing was a bottomless pit. Curiously, Lin Yi threw a stone into the hole and waited for more than a minute but never heard it hit the bottom.
Lin Yi found a military backpack under the table, containing ten cans of stew, five liters of water, a flashlight, a Swiss army knife, a lighter, and a folding shovel.
He happily finished the canned meat, rested for a while, and then opened the laptop.
There were several icons on the desktop:
An icon with the word "Mail," marked with the number 3, indicating three unread emails.
An Excel document named "Income and Expenditure."
An application file named "Package."
And an icon called "Shop."
Lin Yi clicked open the mail and found three emails titled: Welcome, Item Received, Level Upgrade.
He opened the first email.
[Reply: Welcome]
Congratulations on acquiring the shelter. This shelter exists in an Other Dimension, and you are its ruler and deity.
Currently, the shelter covers an area of 8,000 square meters. Many ways exist to expand it, including through the Shop.
If you bring items from the real world into your shelter, you will gain experience points. Once you accumulate enough experience points, the shelter will level up.
Each time the shelter levels up, its functions will enhance. You can also gain experience points by bringing survivors back to the shelter.
P.S.: If you bring two identical items into the shelter, you will only gain experience points for the first item.
[Reply: Item Received]
The shelter has received the System Weapon—Baseball Bat, and gained 10 experience points.
[Reply: Level Upgrade]
Congratulations! The shelter has reached Level 2. As a reward, you have received a bag of special potato seeds and a small plot of land. You can claim the reward in the Package.
"Potato seeds? Are you kidding me? Do I look like a farmer?"
Lin Yi scoffed disdainfully and reached out to open the Package on the computer.
Then, he saw a picture of a bag of seeds and a small plot of land appear on the list.
Lin Yi clicked the potato seeds button, and in the next moment, a bag of seeds appeared on the table!
He read the planting instructions, which stated that with watering from the spring, it could fully grow in special soil within 72 hours.
Lin Yi put down the seeds and clicked the special plot of land, as if playing a game.
He found a suitable spot not far from the pond and then initiated the placement.
In an instant, rows of small wooden fences burst from the ground, enclosing a plot of 50 square meters.
"And then? Where's the plant button?"
Plant it yourself.
Lin Yi was immediately furious.
Make me, a gang leader, a farmer?
You think you can get away with this?
However, after a whole night's toil.
"Calm down, stay calm, first survive. How many are out there fighting desperately for a bite to eat."
Lin Yi grumbled discontentedly, finally throwing the shovel aside.
He rubbed his sore back and watered the field with spring water before finally looking at the farm.
Finally looking at the farm.
[Plot 1]
Planted Crop: Special Potatoes
Planting Effect: 100%
Watering Effect: 100%
Time until Harvest: 79 hours 56 minutes
Seeing the condition of the field, Lin Yi fell asleep immediately.
He was utterly exhausted, waking up on a hospital bed before his body healed, having to flee for his life and farm; this truly wasn't the life of a gang leader.
Three days passed in a flash.
During this time, Lin Yi kept resting, occasionally giving himself massages, trying to bring his sore muscles back to normal.
The canned meat ran out yesterday, and with his stomach growling from hunger, he headed toward the garden.
The sight before his eyes made him light up; the potatoes were vibrant, the entire small plot of land like a green ocean.
He gently turned over some soil and was delighted to find many fist-sized potatoes hidden within.
Lin Yi quickly dug out some potatoes, using the resources at hand, using the bucket as a pot, setting it up on a pile of stones, and picking up some branches to start a fire.
During this process, he further discovered the miraculous properties of the pond.
The water in the pond had powerful self-cleaning abilities; virtually any foreign impurities would be instantly removed.
Whether used for washing potatoes or bathing, the water could purify quickly.
Moreover, the water could not only be drunk directly but also quickly heal wounds and accelerate plant growth.
"Delicious!" Lin Yi cooked the potatoes with their skins. After eating one, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
The potatoes were so delicious they made him insane; it seemed they could also instantly restore some physical strength.
He ate an entire half-bucket, finally feeling satisfied.
After eating and drinking enough, a wave of fatigue came over him again like a tide, and Lin Yi fell asleep once more.
This sleep lasted until four o'clock in the afternoon.
However, just as he woke up, a message from the system instantly shattered his good mood.
Warning! The crops in small plot number 1 will begin to rot in 12 hours.
"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner that these crops would rot in the ground if not harvested?!" Lin Yi glared angrily.
He didn't care much at all, ran straight to the garden, with only one thought in his heart: to dig out every potato.
50 square meters of land seemed not large, but for someone with sore muscles, whose waist and back were almost unable to straighten, it was no small feat.
Late at night, Lin Yi, naked, swung his shovel, tirelessly digging up potatoes, ignoring both meals and sleep, using up the last bit of strength.
He was drenched in sweat, his muscles burning with pain, his whole body as limp as a wet rag.
Lin Yi had a tenacious spirit that was admirable, continuing to dig in the soil under starlight.
Who knows how much time passed.....
Bam! Lin Yi sat down on the soft soil.
"Done it!"
Looking at the pile of potatoes in front of him, Lin Yi felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment surge within him.
In just this 50 square meters of land, he actually harvested nearly 800 pounds of potatoes!
"Heh, not bad at all! …" A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Lin Yi's mouth as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning, Lin Yi was as hungry as a mad dog; he gulped down food while checking the condition of the land.
[Land Status: Ready for tilling]
Lin Yi picked out some small potatoes to be used as seeds to plant.
After a round of busy work, he looked at the pile of potatoes and began to ponder where to store this food.
Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he quickly went to the computer, opened the store option, and indeed found a "construction" category.
A simple cellar: composed of a layer of wooden shed, can be used for storing food. Food stored in the cellar will never spoil, with a storage capacity of ten tons.
The price is 200 coins.
Wait... coins?
Where can I get coins?
Hmm... there's a "sell" option...
What?! Two pounds of potatoes for a coin? Don't I have to sell half of the harvest?
Screw you, you think you can dupe me like this?
Selling how much? 400 pounds? Deal.
Lin Yi turned and looked at the potato pile, finding only half remained.
After purchasing the cellar, an idea struck, and all the potatoes were suddenly lifted as if by an invisible hand and were then instantly transported into the cellar.
Another thought flashed through his mind, and the potatoes returned to the open ground, then were easily sent back to the cellar.
After eating and drinking, it was time to go out and see the outside world.
Lin Yi practiced repeatedly quickly exiting and entering the shelter, finding that each exit position was the same as the entry position.
After confirming that there were no zombies at the landing point in the real world, Lin Yi grabbed the baseball bat and left the shelter.
By nature, he wasn't someone content with the status quo, and although he could choose to live safely in the shelter, he scoffed at it.
He was the leader, past or present, and in this apocalyptic world, freedom always was his creed.
Lin Yi cautiously looked around, confirming that the zombies had indeed left, before he began slowly heading towards the stairs.
Now on the sixth floor, from the look of the lights and other equipment all turned off, it was clear that the power had long been out.
This meant the elevator was unusable, so apart from jumping out of the window, the only way down was the stairs.