Ding! Brain data saved.
Gu Ning jolted awake to a breathtaking expanse of azure sea, misty rain falling from the sky as he floated on a weathered wooden plank.
What the hell? Had he died from pulling an all-nighter gaming yesterday?
[Welcome to the Lord Continent. Your mission: locate an island, plant the domain core, and build your territory to become a lord.
This month is the Disaster Month—navigate with caution.
Tianmu, the Will of the Continent, watches over you.
Open the system panel to begin your journey.]
Gu Ning stood stunned, the disembodied voice deepening his confusion. Had he transmigrated? Was he some chosen one,补偿 (compensated) for a past life?
Hope faded quickly—what compensation involved drifting at sea?
He closed his eyes, steadying his breath to calm down.
Open system panel, he willed silently.
A glowing screen materialized, divided into two rows.
Top left: [Personal Information].
Top right: [Territory], grayed out—likely unlockable only after establishing a domain.
Below, left to right: [Chat], [Trade], [Construction], [Personal Mall], [Technology].
Gu Ning first accessed Personal Information:
Gu Ning (ID: 0020221025)
Level: 1 (0/100)
Skills: Spiritual Eye
Talents: None
Class: Hero
Title: None
Tapping "Spiritual Eye":
Initial skill granted by Tianmu—scans basic information of objects.
A supportive ability, he noted.
Closing the panel, he opened Chat, divided into [World Channel], [Regional Channel], [Friend List].
World Channel buzzed with endless messages—panicked rants, desperate pleas for kin, and cringy declarations of being "chosen to conquer the world."
Gu Ning scoffed. Conquer the world? Survive the day first, kid.
He had no urge to post—an orphan raised on government aid, what could he possibly say?
Amid the noise, one message stood out:
"What's happening? Why am I on a tiny boat? I have thalassophobia!"
Gu Ning spared a silent moment for the poor soul, then eyed his plank. I deserve a century of mourning.
Why a plank when others have boats?
"Tianmu, did you make a mistake?" he called out, frustration in his voice.
[Initial error detected. Initiating compensation.
Compensation: One random draw.]
She actually heard me? Best not to provoke Tianmu—she was watching.
[Initiate random draw?]
" Initiate," he replied immediately.
A square chest materialized, its circular top slot perfect for a hand. Peering inside, he saw only glowing white orbs—no clue what lay within.
What the hell. He reached in and pulled one out.
[Congratulations! Acquired Random Grand Gift Box.]
The chest vanished, leaving a red gift box in his palm. Another random? Great luck.
" Open," he ordered. Light flashed—his hand was empty.
[Items stored in Spatial Inventory. Please check.]
He navigated the panel, finding Spatial Inventory nested within Personal Mall. Twenty slots, ten already occupied.
Inventory scan: 10 wood, 10 plastic, 10 copper ingots...Two blueprints and a random talent sphere. These items occupied six slots in the inventory, while the remaining four slots contained 500 grams of bread, 500 milliliters of water, a fishing rod, and the Lord Core—initial supplies provided by Tianmu.
Gu Ning didn't bother examining the items in detail. His immediate priority was upgrading the wooden plank; floating on a single piece of wood felt like courting death. He accessed the [Construction] menu, which offered three functions: [Upgrade], [Build], and [Decompose].
Under [Upgrade], two items were eligible for enhancement: the fishing rod and the wooden boat. He selected the boat.
Wooden Plank: A barely seaworthy piece of timber. Only a fool would rely on it for navigation. [Upgradable]
Clicking "Upgradable," he saw the requirements: 10/10 pieces of wood. With the exact amount in hand, he initiated the upgrade. A flash of white light later, the plank transformed into a small boat, measuring three meters in length and one and a half meters at its widest point.
Wooden Boat
Level: 1
Facilities: None
Propulsion: None
Technology: None
Special Abilities: None
"Not bad," Gu Ning mused. "Even this bare - bones boat is an upgrade." Checking the next level, he found it required 20 pieces of wood and would add a cabin. With no wood left, he decided to postpone that for later.
Gu Ning retrieved the useful items from his inventory and began inspecting their properties.
Fishing Rod (Green): Catches fish and treasure chests, with a maximum catch quality of green. This was likely a standard starting item for everyone.
Seawater Purifier (Green): Converts seawater into freshwater, with a daily output of 1000 milliliters.
Resource Fishing Rod: Randomly retrieves materials, including but not limited to basic resources, blueprints, and special items. Three uses per day.
Map Fragment (Green): Sets a starting location and reveals the surrounding sea area on the map.
Random Talent Sphere: Grants a random talent.
The map fragment intrigued Gu Ning the most. Remembering Tianmu's instructions to find an island for his territory, he knew navigating the vast ocean without guidance could take years. He set his current position as the starting point on the map fragment, his heart pounding with anticipation.
As the blank paper gradually filled with colors, a blue expanse emerged with a red dot marking his location. In the top - right corner, a black dot materialized. "Yes!" Gu Ning laughed triumphantly. "Thank goodness! There's an island."
"While others drift aimlessly, I have a destination." He understood the difference between having a goal and wandering blindly. A goal offered hope and motivation; without one, despair would surely set in over time.
"I just hope the map's scale isn't deceptive. What looks close could take a year to reach," he muttered, aware of the world's unknown vastness.
Next, he reviewed the construction requirements for the seawater purifier. Since water was essential for survival, getting it up and running was crucial.
Seawater Purifier: 10/10 plastic, 0/3 wood, 0/5 white stones
"Only the plastic requirement is met. It'll be fine," he reassured himself, though he wondered, What exactly are white stones?
He reopened the [Personal Mall], having skimmed through it earlier. The mall had four sections: [Assets], [Inventory], [Buy], and [Sell]. Currently, it only purchased fish, and the prices were unknown. He planned to test the market once he caught something. The sell section listed only two items: wood, priced at two white stones, indicating that white stones were the currency here, and a Tech Card for 500 white stones, marked as [Weekly Special Item], suggesting it would restock in a week.
However, the countdown below the Tech Card showed just over five days remaining. Could it be that weeks here only have six days? Gu Ning pondered.