In the morning, the four of us slowly woke up. As soon as we climbed off the ground, we heard the system’s notification.
“Welcome to the Second Stage: Extreme Survival.”
“The rules for this round are: challenge extreme heat and cold. Survive for one month to win.”
“Note: Find the hidden quest to unlock a premium item: Angel’s Tear.”
Four blind boxes appeared before us. The blind boxes contained gold coins of varying denominations, which we could use to purchase the materials we needed for the upcoming challenge. Valerie reacted the fastest, choosing a blind box first. She actually won 1000 gold coins, the most among the four of us. Sterling won 500 gold coins, I only got 800, and Ryker was even worse off–he didn’t get any gold coins at all. Seeing that Ryker’s blind box only contained a wooden stick, Valerie’s face filled with triumph.
“You only have 800 gold coins! Well, well, how the tables have turned! Now it’s your turn to taste what it’s like to be broke!”
Ryker, disheartened, was about to throw the stick away when he heard the system notification: “Congratulations! You’ve acquired a premium item: Infinite Firewood.”
“What’s so great about that?” Valerie sneered, then took Sterling to look for the hidden quest. At the time, we didn’t realize how precious that item was, only later learning its value couldn’t be measured In money.
The hidden quest was random, requiring both luck and keen observation. We walked through most of the town but still found no clues. It was already noon. West of town was the food street, where we ran into Valerie and Sterling. Having money now, they were eating to their heart’s
content at a restaurant. Ryker and I, with limited funds, had to be frugal, so we just ate a couple of steamed buns.
Next to the food street, an old man was selling birds. It was a small, brightly colored parrot. He said his bird was special and knew many secrets. Valerie and I both thought the bird might be related to the hidden quest, and we rushed to the old man’s stall simultaneously.
