[Sunlight poured in.]Ethan Fang was already awake.
He hadn't slept well last night—his mind was uneasy. Plenty of others hadn't slept either.
Although the system made people adapt quickly, quick acceptance didn't erase fear. The system didn't come with a "bravery" switch.
Ethan drank a mouthful of spring water and looked out the window. The two wolves outside the cabin hadn't gone far. He frowned."Damn… they're still here."
Mia Su stirred, stretching lazily before sitting at the edge of the bed."What do we do, Senior? If we can't go out, how will we find resources?"
Ethan stayed calm."Hold on. I'll take a look first."
Through the window he watched the wolves. They were small and a little scrawny—about the size of full-grown rural dogs.
Ethan had grown up in the countryside, ran around hills as a kid, done odd jobs and light training. He wasn't especially bulky, but he was confident he could handle one wolf—maybe. Two at once would be risky.
"Okay, get up and help me."
Mia scrambled up, but when she saw Ethan she quickly turned her face away. The awkwardness of the morning made itself known—Ethan had a natural physiological reaction. He noticed it, swallowed, and shifted his gaze.
Patting his face, he muttered, "Calm down, Ethan. Focus on surviving—don't get stupid."
He picked up a shard of broken glass and handed it to Mia. "Cut the straw mat into strips, about the width of my forearm."
Blushing, Mia did as told. Ethan wrapped the strips around his forearms several times, making crude protective bracers.
"Here's the plan: I'll throw a piece of wood out. You open the door. As soon as one wolf comes in, slam it shut. If two come in at once, I can't handle it."
Mia took a breath and nodded seriously. "Got it."
Ethan tossed the wood. It hit the ground with a clatter; both wolves ran toward it."Quick—open the door!"
Mia yanked the door wide. The faster wolf abandoned the wood and charged. The other sniffed around the wooden block.
A white shadow lunged into the cabin. Ethan was ready, arms braced with the straw. Mia slammed to close the door—but the second wolf wedged itself in the gap and jammed it. She threw her weight against it, legs braced, keeping the wolf's head stuck in the crack.
The white wolf howled and scratched at the wood, but it couldn't squeeze through.
"Senior! I can't hold it much longer!" Mia screamed.
The white wolf bit Ethan's arm—but the straw padding saved him. He yanked his arm back; the wolf was thrown forward.
Seizing the moment, Ethan flipped onto the wolf's back and pinned it down with his weight. One arm squeezed the wolf's neck; the other hand gripped the shard of glass and stabbed.
Stab, stab—Ethan drove the glass into the wolf's throat, hitting the thin, vascular spots. Blood spurted. The wolf thrashed, legs kicking wildly, but it was dying.
Quickly Ethan turned to the wolf trapped in the doorway, forced its head against the door to expose its neck, and with a final slash the throat was cut.
The whole fight—less than a minute. Mia stared, half in disbelief. "Is he… some kind of pro?"
Ethan panted heavily, chest heaving. That was his first real fight with wolves.
A clear, ethereal voice chimed in from the system:[Ding! Congratulations—you are among the global top 10 million humans to slay ferocious beasts. You have gained a Talent.][Detected: a double kill. Your team completed a double kill within 3 minutes—the only team worldwide to do so. Both you and your partner receive a Talent.][Note: Only the first 10 million to kill beasts can obtain unique Talents. Others receive low-level Talents.]
"A Talent?" Ethan blinked, surprised.
They checked the Talent descriptions:[Talent 1 — Treasure Appraiser: Two Resource Chests are automatically marked on your map each day; your appraisal skill upgrades to Advanced and can identify additional item properties.][Talent 2 — Deadly Hunter: In combat you enter a frenzy—reaction speed triples, adrenaline surges, and enemy weak points will appear before your eyes.][Note: No side effects. Prolonged use causes severe fatigue or drowsiness; rest restores normal condition.]
"Nice," Ethan breathed.[Please assign your Talents.]
"I'll take Talent 2," Ethan said without hesitation."Then I'll take Treasure Appraiser!" Mia smiled.
They realized this was rare—even among those top 10 million, usually only one person per team got a unique Talent. Their team was special: both gained useful abilities. Treasure Appraiser would stop blind chest-hunting; Deadly Hunter would make dangerous fights far safer.
"Senior—what do we do with the bodies?" Mia asked.
Ethan dragged the two wolf carcasses onto the table and handed Mia the shard. "Help me butcher them. There's meat here—we won't starve for the next few days."
Mia, having grown up in a village where she'd seen animals slaughtered, didn't flinch. She set about disassembling them: legs, cuts of meat, organs—everything sorted and packed into their Storage.
The Storage had ten slots; each slot could hold 100 units and items didn't spoil—information they'd just read in the guide.
"Not bad. Storage's still got room. When we finish, we'll go look for more Resource Chests." Ethan said.
"Okay, Senior," Mia replied with a faint smile.
The wolves were thin—about 40 jin each in body weight; after trimming inedible parts, each yielded under 20 jin of edible meat. Two wolves gave roughly 40 jin total.
"Senior, these wolves are so skinny—barely any meat!" Mia complained.
"Still meat," Ethan said. "If they'd been bigger and stronger, we might not have won."
They both knew the numbers—on Earth a typical wolf might weigh 36–54 jin and big North American gray wolves could reach up to 140 jin. These were tiny by comparison.
System notification:[Ding… The 10 millionth Talent has been distributed. Others receive low-level Talents. Chaos Star survival officially begins!][In 3 days you will face famine: crops and fruit trees will fail, though wild animals survive. Famine lasts 60 days.][If you want to avoid starving to death, find food—now.]
The two paused, hands mid-task."Three days to stock sixty days' worth of food… and in seven days the shelter's protection ends," Mia said, voice tight.
Ethan's face turned serious. "We'll get to it. With our Talents combined, surviving should be doable."
A red alert box popped on the interface:[Current Temperature: 26°C, Weather: Sunny][Time until Famine: 3 days][Time until Newbie Protection Ends: 7 days]
They put the meat away, plans already forming in both their minds.