Liao Fan had already made up his mind to be as cautious as possible.
It was one of his life principles.
He closed his eyes again and imagined a blank space.
Once again, the thatched cottage was the starting point.
Liao Fan tried to pinpoint the route by remembering the direction, distance, and the number of steps!
He managed to recall everything clearly.
Earlier, Liao Fan had indeed panicked when he saw that his mark was destroyed.
It was a normal reaction because he was not prepared.
In a situation where one was caught off guard, anyone would be alarmed. Furthermore, there was a high chance the monsters in the fog would attack.
The unknown was scary.
Nonetheless, Liao Fan managed to compose himself and control his emotions
With that, he was able to regain his rationality.
Shortly after, Liao Fan opened his eyes.
He looked at one of the lines on the ground.
Then, he slowly bent down and meticulously observed the angle of the line.
'This is the one. I'm sure of it!'
'It's because there are traces of footsteps on this line.'
Liao Fan could confirm that this line was the one followed by the first villager!
"Let's go!"
Without any hesitation, Liao Fan took a step forward!
There was no reason to doubt his own judgment.
Besides, it was important to believe in himself.
...
Five minutes passed.
Liao Fan could see the thatched hut in front of him.
The torch in his hand was about to burn out.
'What a relief.'
He let out a sigh.
There were still two more torches in his inventory, but Liao Fan did not really want to use them.
It was always important to have some sort of backup.
Exhausting one's resources all once was never a good idea.
This exploration was sabotaged.
Liao Fan was determined to not let it happen again!
A thought gradually emerged from Liao Fan's mind.
Although he was not the smartest, his intelligence quotient (IQ) was still higher than average.
In fact, he was accepted into the National Academy of Sciences at the age of twenty!
Liao Fan relied on his superb memory and learning ability. Coupled with his cautious attitude, he had a high chance of survival.
In a way, he was not an ordinary person.
He thought about what would happen if a regular person was in his situation. They would most probably die!
For instance, even though Liao Fan had already been extremely careful, he was still tricked.
If it was not for his superior memory, he would not have been able to return to the thatched cottage.
On the other hand, a normal person without his abilities would not be able to do anything.
Liao Fan realized the severity of his situation.
Those who managed to survive would become more and more ruthless!
In the end, this was a survival competition.
Those who got through the hurdles were definitely strong.
As mentioned by the scroll, it was the survival of the fittest.
There was no time to sympathize with others.
Liao Fan only needed to take care of himself.
...
He pushed open the cottage's door.
Then, Liao Fan sat on the bed and pondered.
The expedition had taken a total of two and a half hours.
Everything that had happened could be described as thrilling.
Fortunately, the harvest was extremely bountiful.
Liao Fan made himself comfortable on the wooden bed.
It was doable even when no beddings were provided.
After all, this was Liao Fan's only safe haven.
He could be at ease whenever he was in the thatched cottage.
"Sort out the supplies. I'm going to rest."
Liao Fan gave his order to both villagers.
Then, he took out everything from his inventory and put them on the ground.
In total, there were thirty-seven liters of water.
Apart from that, there was a delicious-looking fish.
The thought of being able to eat meat was really exciting.
"Yes, my Lord!"
Both villagers answered at the same time.
Then, they got to work.
Liao Fan accessed the world channel and began to search for valuable information.
"I'll trade a villager for a bottle of water. Let me know if you're interested!"
"Hey, let me tell you a secret. A torch can actually dispel the fog."
"I gave a torch to a villager and ordered him to go explore, but he has yet to return. It's been ten minutes. I wonder if something happened."
It seemed that people were already making use of the synthesis system.
This was to be expected.
People would evolve in order to survive.
However, they did not go out to explore by themselves.
Meanwhile, Liao Fan had already found a water source.
This was the difference between him and the rest!
Furthermore, he had even covered five percent of the area.
Although it may not seem like much, this was still an impressive achievement.
After reading the messages, Liao Fan's face had a helpless expression.
Normal torches only last for three minutes.
As mentioned by one person, his villager had already been out for ten minutes. Obviously, he had died in the fog.
Liao Fan felt sorry for that villager.
His body would not even be discovered.
Anyway, Liao Fan decided to make his first trade.
He obtained a lot of wood during his exploration, but only some stones and coals.
Stone was extremely difficult to mine, so Liao Fan did not focus too much on it.
Coal mines were even harder to find.
Even if they were found, they would be in low quantities.
If Liao Fan wanted to collect a large number of stones and coals, he would definitely need to find specific mines.
With that being said, Liao Fan figured that the best way to obtain these resources was through trading.
He needed more materials!
Otherwise, he would not be able to explore for a second time.
However, what interested him the most was the white beast egg.
...