Chapter 7 The Price of Resurrection and the Sanctuary
Although the excruciating pain of being torn apart had disappeared, the lingering phantom pain in his nerves still left him with lingering fear.
"It's so real...it's fucking so real!" Lei Gang wiped the sweat from his face, showing no fear but instead revealing a ferocious and excited smile.
He immediately tried to put the helmet back on, chanting, "Link Start!"
However, inside the helmet was only pitch black, and a cold, red countdown timer:
[Physical reconstruction in progress... Remaining time: 59 minutes and 42 seconds.]
"Damn! There really is a resurrection cooldown!" Lei Gang cursed, but this only made him more anxious. "This feeling of being able to only watch and not play is too frustrating!"
He had no choice but to take off his helmet, take out his phone, and frantically send messages in the group chat:
Dangdangdangxinzhigang: "Brothers! I'm dead! I got forcibly logged out! This game has a 1-hour cooldown after death, so don't be reckless!"
"What canned food?" I said, "Got it. Gangzi, you drew aggro well that time, otherwise we would have been wiped out. Don't worry, you'll definitely get a share of the first kill reward."
Dangdangdangxinzhigang: "Canned Food Bro, you're gone too?"
I said, "I'm logging off to have a drink of water." (Regarding the canned food,)
Dangdangdang's Heartfelt Strength: "..."
...
An hour later.
As the countdown reached zero, Lei Gang put his helmet back on, and that familiar feeling of being detached from his soul returned.
The land forsaken by the gods, the temple's resurrection point.
A flash of white light appeared, and the figure of Dang Dang Dang Zhi Gang re-formed.
He touched his undamaged left shoulder, jumped a couple of times, and his face showed an expression of relief.
"I'm alive again... I was so bored!"
The onlookers gathered around.
"Brother Gang, how are you feeling?"
What does it feel like when you die?
"Did you lose any experience points?"
Dangdangdang shook his head with lingering fear: "It feels like I've been kicked out of the world, and I can only watch helplessly from the outside. And..." He opened the panel and glanced at it, "10 of my contribution points were deducted! They said it was for 'material costs for reshaping the physical body'!"
Holy crap! It's so dark?
"10 contribution points? That's enough for two black loaves of bread!"
"Isn't this death penalty too harsh?"
Players are in an uproar. In this game where you have to wash your own underwear, contribution points are practically a matter of life and death!
Just as everyone was discussing this, the temple doors slowly opened.
Li Wei, dressed in a black robe and surrounded by black mist (to save money, only low-end effects were used this time), walked out.
He glanced expressionlessly at the group of disheveled players.
"madness."
The two simple words silenced the entire room.
"Faced with the unknown abyss, you charged forward like wild beasts, without any strategy. If I hadn't granted you immortality, you would have already become that beast's excrement."
The players lowered their heads, somewhat ashamed. Indeed, the battle just now was too ugly; it was practically a street brawl.
"However…" Li Wei changed the subject, his tone softening slightly, "Your courage is commendable. As the chosen ones of the gods, you have proven your mettle."
He stretched out his hand and pointed to a stone tablet at the edge of the square.
"To reward you for your first kill, and to prevent you from fighting like savages, I have opened the [Treasury of Divine Favor].
Buzz!
Golden text lit up on the stone tablet. It displayed a redemption list:
[Refined Iron Longsword (Standard)]: Attack Power 5-8. Exchange Requirement: 100 Contribution Points.
[Hardwood Shield]: Defense +3. Exchange requirement: 80 Contribution Points.
[Basic Healing Potion (Diluted)]: Restores 30 health. Exchange requirement: 20 contribution points.
[Basic Swordsmanship/Martial Arts Skill Book (Action Instruction)]: Exchange Requirement: 200 Contribution Points.
[Evil God's Heart-Protecting Mirror (with built-in recording function)]: Allows viewing information on monsters up to 5 levels higher than yourself, as well as your own detailed attributes. It also allows first-person recording, which can be uploaded to the interdimensional (real-world) network. Exchange requirement: 500 contribution points.
"Holy crap! 500 points?" I'm not a husky looked at the price of the "Evil God's Heart Mirror" and couldn't help but curse, "That's outrageous! How many dogs would I have to kill to afford that?"
"Don't rush to change your equipment," Li Wei's voice rang out again. "Night is about to fall, and the monsters on the wasteland will become even more ferocious. Your most urgent task now is to establish a safe haven."
With a wave of his hand, he issued a new server-wide mission.
[Server-wide Quest: Building Your Home (Part 1)]
[Task Description: The temple is the dwelling place of the gods. As their followers, you need to establish your own gathering area outside the temple.]
[Task Objective:]
Gather Wood (0/500): Go to the Deadwood Forest west of the temple and cut down the dead trees.
Set up camp (0/1): Build a simple wooden hut and fence in the designated area.
Light a campfire (0/1): Dispel darkness and monsters.
[Task Reward:]
Unlock [Night Mode] (Cancel Forced Logout).
Enable the [Real Estate System] (each person can be allocated one plot of land).
All members' contribution points +80.
Upon seeing the words "night mode" and "property system," players went completely crazy.
"I want to stay up all night! I want to stay up all night!"
"I want to build a villa! I want a house with a sea view (even though there's only dirt here)!"
"Go chop down the tree! Does anyone have an axe? If not, smash it down with a rock if you have to!"
Without Li Wei even urging them, the players swarmed towards the western deadwood forest like locusts.
"Dangdangdangxinzhigang" relied on his great strength and directly broke a dead tree in two people's arms.
The "Edison reincarnation" then made several simple stone axes using sharp stone flakes and vines, doubling the efficiency.
A player named "Civil Engineering Dog" (yes, he was online too) loudly commanded: "Foundation! Make sure the foundation is solid! Don't just build a shack and call it a day! We're building a fortress!"
...
This lasted for a full eight hours.
They worked from midday until the moon was high in the sky.
As the twin moons (one blood-red, the other deathly white) of the Forsaken Land rose into the sky, a... well, a very "unique" group of buildings finally appeared on the open ground surrounding the temple.
It was more like a refugee camp than a camp.
A dozen or so makeshift cabins, haphazardly constructed from dead wood, rubble, and vines, huddle together crookedly. Some have drafty roofs, some let in light through their walls, and some even look like they could collapse at any moment.
The fence was even more perfunctory; it was just some sharp, dead wood stuck in the ground and wrapped with vines, and it didn't even reach knee height.
"This is what you call... a fortress?" Li Wei stood on the high platform, looking down at the appalling cluster of illegal buildings below, and his lips twitched involuntarily.
Are these players' hands-on skills a bit too "primitive"?
"Um..." The civil engineering student below was a little embarrassed, "My God, resources are limited, and we don't have enough materials. This is the best we can do. This is called... wasteland style! Yes, wasteland minimalism!"
"That's it! This is our home!" I, not a husky, patted my chest and said, "As long as we can live here, it's fine!"
The players looked at the fruits of their labor, their faces covered in dust, yet filled with a sense of accomplishment.
The system notification finally rang in the minds of all players.
[Server-wide announcement: Quest [Building a Home (Part 1)] is complete!]
Li Wei pursed his lips and sighed reluctantly.
"Well, even though it's as shabby as a rat's nest, it's still a place to stay."
He forcibly suppressed the urge to complain, adjusted his expression, and maintained that unfathomable, devilish demeanor, his voice echoing in the night sky:
"On this abandoned land, even a withered tree is a spark of hope. I acknowledge your efforts."
He slowly reached out and channeled a wisp of divine power into the huge bonfire in the center of the camp.
boom!
The originally orange flames instantly turned a deep blue, a [Protective Flame] blessed by divine power. As long as the flames remained burning, ordinary low-level monsters dared not approach.
[The Divine Favored Gathering Area is officially established! Night mode is now available!] [To celebrate the completion of the new home, all items at the Divine Favored Supply Station are 20% off today!] [Rewards have been distributed: +10 Favorability, +80 Contribution Points.]
"Hurrah!!!"
"It's done!"
Cheers resounded through the sky.
Some players danced awkwardly around the campfire, some couldn't wait to run to the supply station to buy discounted bread, and some (like me, who's here to teach you a lesson) had already put the leftover hyena meat from the daytime on the fire to roast.
"This skin is nice, could make an apron. This meat... hmm, a bit sour, needs to be pressed down with lots of spices." I'll teach you a lesson by sprinkling on some spices I've somehow found. "Extra for tonight! Braised Monster Meat!"
The second day of the Forsaken Land officially came to an end amidst an atmosphere filled with blood, sweat, and the aroma of roasted meat.